Keeping Vaccines in Style

Haircuts, vaccines, and a livestream? That was all a day’s work for Beacon Charitable Pharmacy, a non-profit pharmacy in northeastern Ohio. In partnership with four local, Black-owned barber and beauty shops, Beacon organized a livestream event in March to increase awareness of Beacon as a vaccine provider and to promote the availability of Covid-19 and flu vaccines at the pharmacy. The four-hour YouTube livestream included former NFL football player and local celebrity Kenny Peterson, as well as stylists and barbers, their clients, and trusted experts who provided information about the importance of COVID-19 vaccines while answering challenging questions from community members. One of the speakers was Lisa Johnson, president of the Stark County Black Nurses Association. “Sometimes [people] ask, well, why did you get it?” shared Johnson during the livestream. “Many of my loved ones and my friends… have succumbed to COVID-19. I thought that it was really important for [me and my family] to be as protected as possible.”