COVID-19

Barbers and Beauticians Discuss COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in the Black Community

In the cornerstone of the community, one of the biggest topics is getting a vaccine for COVID-19 - but not everyone is on the same page.

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Like most barbers, Angel Lugo not only sees his job at Tranformerz Barber in New Haven as a career but a calling.

"This is where everybody comes and they talk about their issues, we have guy time, you know, the boys can be boys, kids can be kids, so this is just so great we can talk about life experiences, you know, everything," said Lugo.

In the cornerstone of the community, one of the biggest topics is getting a COVID-19 vaccine, but not everyone is on the same page.

"A lot of our clients are skeptical about getting it because of the fact that they have no knowledge about it," Lugo said. "A lot of people are just talking and they're listening to everyone else instead of doing their own research."

In an effort to educate people, about a week ago, two New Haven city health nurses set up a pop-up clinic and staged information sessions in the shop to talk about the vaccine. 

Lugo, who has already had a brush with COVID-19 and has gotten his vaccine wants people to understand that "it’s not just about you it’s about everybody around you."

"What about your grandmother? What about your mom? What about your little brother and sister? You know what I mean, what about your friend whose wife is pregnant - do you really want to pass that along?" he said.

Just right next door, Shawn Perkins is a beautician at Elite Hair studio. She said she’s fully vaccinated and feels good about it and the tune in the salon is different than the barbershop.

"Actually, there are more women that believe in getting vaccinated than I think the barbers and their clients."

But when it comes to giving the kids vaccine that’s where the line gets blurry.

"That is still difficult like I said this is new... our children have been vaccinated with other vaccines, my concern is their reproductive systems as far as when they get old enough and want to have children, will it be an issue?"

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