Talking COVID-19 vaccines inside Detroit barbershops

Talking COVID-19 vaccines at Detroit's barbershops, hair salons

Detroit's COVID-19 vaccine rate is the lowest in the Metro Detroit area and the question of why or why not to get one is hotly debated in places where most people feel very comfortable holding these conversations - the barbershop and hair salons.

DETROIT (FOX 2) - While Michigan resumes some sense of normalcy, the state is pushing to increase the number of people vaccinated as hesitation remains high, specifically in the African-American community, which has been greatly impacted by the COVID-19.

The push is moving from press conferences into the neighborhoods in Detroit where the city's Chief Public Health Officer spoke with people in their own comfort zones - the barbershops and hair salons.

The COVID-19 vaccine is already a topic that you can't help but overhear - specifically whether people are or are not getting it.

"A lot of people in our community are dying from it, so it’s just good to have it done," said Latrice Carter, who said she's getting vaccinated.

Detroit's Chief Public Health Officer, Denise Fair, and FOX 2's Josh Landon spoke with people at African-American barbershops and hair salons - places where many candid conversations take place in our community.

Ryan Jones told Josh he wasn't vaccinated and didn't plan to be.

"Just personal belief, and in my opinion the vaccine hasn’t been out long enough to trust it or put my own body at risk," he said.

While he's among those not getting it, some are talking to their clients about the process and side effects.

"I want to say 35 percent of my clients are in the medical field. A lot of them are required to get the vaccine. I've been talking to them a lot and they've been telling me the reactions behind it. I have quite a bit of elderly (customers). They have gotten it and they feel just fine," hairstylist Ja’Net Turner said.

According to the Detroit Health Department, the Motor City (34.5%) is lagging behind on the list for people vaccinated. When compared to Macomb (53%) and Oakland (64%), Detroit is far behind.

That's why city leaders are urging people to take the jab to knock out the coronavirus.

"We lost two thousand Detroiters and we didn’t have to lose them. But now, we have a vaccine. We have hope," Fair said.

Inside Detroit's barbershops and hair salons, we took candid questions on the spot with the city's top expert ready to answer them.

"Is it safe? Over the next three, five, or ten years, will there be a recall? Will something be wrong with it? Would there be a problem? I don’t want to put something in my body that I haven’t had a chance to study to understand myself," Alexander Washington said.

A few days later, the same questions were posed to a panel of medical professionals during a webinar where the vaccine was called a beacon of hope to allow us back into the community.

As for who is more likely to get vaccinated, between the barbershop and hair salon we visited, women were more open-minded to getting the vaccine.

"I just didn’t want to be the first one to get it. You really don’t know what you’re getting yourself into," Patrice Johnson said.

"My very dear friend who is a doctor said 'Brenda, did you get your shot?' and I said 'eh, I'm waiting to see'. He said 'what are you waiting on?' I said 'I'm waiting to see if people get sick or anything.' He said 'Okay Brenda, let me tell you something. Sick. Dead. He said 'I can fix sick, I cannot fix dead'," said Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence.

That gave at least one person, hairstylist Marion Smith, the confidence to get the vaccine.

"That really pushed me to really consider to get the vaccine. My family, my salon family, my home family. We want to really keep each other safe," she said.

But it didn't convince everyone and there's still hesitancy. The key, barber DeAngelo Smith said, is to understand why people feel the way that they do.

"It’s just so many feelings behind it. The yes and the no and the reasons behind it. What I've learned to do is to begin to respect everyone’s opinion. Everybody is different. Everyone’s body is different. Everybody has their reasoning. The biggest thing is I think it's important we get information about it," Smith said.

You can watch the entire webinar that Denise Fair conducted by clicking here and if you're looking for more information or have any questions regarding the vaccine, you're urged to contact the Detroit Health Department at 313-876-4000.