Huntsville doctor and radio station team up against misinformation about COVID-19 vaccine
Huntsville doctor and radio station team up against misinformation about COVID-19 vaccine
Parts of rural Texas have faced numerous challenges during the pandemic. Our Maria Salazar spent the day in Walker County to see how a local doctor and radio station are working together to turn the tide in COVID-19 hospitalizations.
HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Since July 2021, Dr. Lane Aiena starts Thursdays at 101.7 FM KSAM in Huntsville.
"We saw the delta variant coming. We saw it starting to spread across the United States and knew that it would come here with vaccination rates in Texas," said Tim Johnson, Station Manager, 101.7 FM KSAM.
Johnson said the station wanted to use its voice to prevent more pain and suffering in its community. They reached out to Dr. Aeina to start the segment called "COVID Don't Care."
"It doesn't care what church you go to. It doesn't care what your dreams are. But we do and we want to help you get through this," Johnson added.
"COVID numbers are going up and up here in Walker County, and that's why we've made such a push in the past month or so to get the vaccine out there," Dr. Aiena told FOX 26.
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Vaccination rates in Walker County are going up but slowly. In the last month, those 12 and older who are fully vaccinated went from about 37 to 40 percent. It's an improvement but not enough to help relieve the current strain on the local hospital and providers.
"Personally, if I have a patient to send to the hospital, I can't. I'm having to manage things outpatient that I never would have imagined managing outpatient before COVID," Dr. Aeina explained. "Recently, I had a patient with a heart rate in the 160s, irregular rhythm, older gentleman. Wouldn't have considered trying to treat that outpatient but there's no where to send him."
But getting vaccines in arms in Walker County has been challenging. To begin with, there were no vaccines to give out.
"When the list came out of who was getting vaccines and Walker county was not on there, it was crushing," Dr. Aeina recalled.
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He says the vaccines began to roll out in Walker County in March. Then, the next challenge was hosting vaccine clinics. His office was one of the few providers in the area and his staff and volunteers worked long days to get people vaccinated.
But vaccine rates went down dramatically after a few months. Now, the biggest challenge is misinformation.
"I'm thinking of getting the vaccine. I am on the fence. I don't want it but I am exposed to it," said Cherry Altman, Dr. Aiena's patient who went to see him on Thursday. She is now considering the vaccine after feeling like she never would.
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"There's a real misconception on the danger of COVID versus the danger of the vaccine," Dr. Aeina explained.
FOX 26 watched as Dr. Aiena addressed her concerns based largely on misinformation she says she reads online and hears from friends and family.
"A lot of patients are surprisingly open to discuss that. You just have to have the time to have the conversation," said Dr. Aeina.
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He is hopeful the tide will turn in Walker County now that more conversations about the vaccine are happening on the airwaves.
"People trust their local physicians more than they trust their politicians and we try to run with that," he added.
As for the radio station, the station manager says when listeners say they're tired of hearing about COVID, it means they're doing their job.
"In radio, frequency makes all the difference in the world so when we start hearing I'm tired of hearing about it, it means we're finally getting through and the message is sinking in," Johnson concluded.