© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Governor, State 'Talking Over' People Of Color As They Message Vaccine Hesitancy

Yehyun Kim
/
CT Mirror
People wait in line to receive the COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday at the First Cathedral church in Bloomfield -- the same location where Gov. Ned Lamont got his first dose and implored people of color to "step up and do the right thing."

When Gov. Ned Lamont got his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine earlier this week, he asked local leaders to go to communities of color and tell them to “step up and do the right thing.”

Lamont got the shot at Bloomfield’s First Cathedral, a church led by Black pastors. Because the state isn’t doing as well vaccinating people of color as it is white Connecticut residents, Lamont and other officials spoke directly to Black people about the importance of getting vaccinated.

And they did it with a heavy concentration on vaccine hesitancy -- the assumption that people are reluctant to be vaccinated for a variety of reasons.

Though the governor might mean well, Dr. Wizdom Powell, director of the University of Connecticut’s Health Disparities Institute, said his framing was a missed opportunity.

“We’re talking over communities of color right now,” Powell said. “We’re presuming a lot about what communities of color want and need to get to a decision place that would truly represent their desires around vaccine uptake.”
 

Credit Yehyun Kim / CT Mirror
/
CT Mirror
Gov. Ned Lamont receives a COVID-19 vaccination record card from Patrice Marriott, a registered nurse at Trinity Health of New England, Tuesday at the First Cathedral church in Bloomfield.

Speaker after speaker focused on the issue of vaccine hesitancy among communities of color, with state Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Robinson bringing up the Tuskegee Syphilis Study as a reason Black people don’t trust medical professionals. Powell said that ignores a lot more recent history.

“They don’t have to look back to Tuskegee for evidence that systems may or may not treat them unfairly on the basis of their race or ethnicity because it’s happening every day,” Powell said.

For Powell, focusing all the attention on vaccine hesitancy is fighting the wrong war -- it's more about ensuring that every community has adequate vaccine distribution.

“We cannot talk about people not wanting to get a vaccine and dealing with trustworthiness when people don’t have access to it equitably to begin with,” Powell said.

The state can still tackle vaccine hesitancy while aiming for vaccine equity, but Powell said officials need to do it the right way: Invite Black people into the conversation, perhaps through a community forum where officials connect them to medical experts who can answer their vaccine-related questions.

“Listen to their concerns and also their desires in this moment,” Powell said.

As it stands, there’s a lot of work to do -- something the governor’s acknowledged.

Rather than pushing what Powell calls the “meta-narrative” that presumes the lag in vaccination rates is because of hesitancy, she says the state ought to first focus on getting the shots into the arms of those who need it the most.

Frankie Graziano is the host of 'The Wheelhouse,' focusing on how local and national politics impact the people of Connecticut.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Related Content
Connecticut Public’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.