TOLEDO, Ohio — This week both the Lucas County Rec Center and Health Department will host walk in vaccine clinics for anyone to come and receive a COVID-19 shot.
"It didn't take long at all, maybe 15 to 20 minutes. I just got it done and over with," said one person who received their shot at a walk-in clinic on Monday.
Pastor Willie Perryman is the president of the Toledo NAACP and has been pushing for people of color to get their vaccines for weeks. Perryman says the pause of Johnson & Johnson has created a new sense of vaccine hesitancy for many people, specifically people of color.
"I think it raised a level of reservation," Perryman said. "But the NAACP as well as other agencies were really working hard to try and get through those reservations. Get vaccinated because it saves lives."
Right now in Lucas County 20 percent of all vaccine doses are put aside for people of color, which Perryman says is being completely used more often than not. Data from the Ohio Department of Health shows roughly 18 percent of African Americans have received their first dose in Lucas County.
Perryman believes having walk-in clinics will help minority communities have better access to getting a shot.
"So I think the more vaccination locations along with the loosening up of the age groups down to 16 will help us reach those numbers," he said.
If you prefer to register for an appointment ahead of time, you can still do so on the health department's website.