Biden turning to Black-owned barbershops for vaccine outreach

Part of the plan to get to 70 percent:  President Biden plans to turn to Black-owned barbershops and beauty salons as part of the administration’s vaccination outreach effort as he strives to reach his Fourth of July goal to get Americans vaccinated.

The president announced the “Shots at the Shop” initiative during Wednesday remarks, which will recruit barbershops and salons to mobilize their communities to get vaccinations throughout June.

Participating barbershops and salons are expected to provide and display vaccine information and educational materials, as well as host vaccination events with assistance from local partners.

“The ‘Shots at the Shop’ initiative will invite participation from across the country, with a particular focus on supporting shops in some of the hardest-hit localities still experiencing significant gaps in vaccination rates,” a fact sheet from the White House said.

Approaching deadline: The president set a target to have 70 percent of American adults receive at least one dose of a vaccine by Independence Day. About 18.5 million people still need to get vaccinated with their first dose in order to reach the goal.

The Biden administration has prioritized improving access and removing obstacles to the vaccine in the hopes of boosting vaccination numbers, particularly in minority communities.

The Kaiser Family Foundation said last week that Black and Hispanic people have received smaller shares of vaccinations compared to their disproportionate number of cases and their total population.