Delivering Information, Instilling Trust

Among the many events held over Memorial Day weekend, one community effort stood out for promoting health and safety.

Health care providers and community organizations teamed up to visit three Akron neighborhoods to deliver educational information and provide COVID-19 vaccinations onsite. 

Daniel Lamb, R.N., a rising fourth-year College of Medicine student, was among the volunteers. Afterward, he wrote this reflection:

“Getting out into the community allows one to gain significant insight into the fallacies thereof. I spoke with one individual within the community regarding the vaccine’s safety, the myths versus facts. A simple five-minute conversation was all it required to convince him to get vaccinated. 

“Additionally, I shared with him how I lost my best friend to COVID a few months back. The key to promoting vaccination is to instill trust within the community!”

Deborah Plate, D.O., a professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine and a physician at Cleveland Clinic Akron General, recruited Lamb and his classmates Laura Allen and Nicholas Pratt, R.N., to volunteer.