yourdailylocal
WARREN, Pa. – Today, Commissioner Jeff Eggleston, in conjunction with the Warren County Development Association and various community leaders announced in a release that the Vaccine Awareness Team has been awarded a $50,000 grant from DCED to perform a multi-county vaccine promotion.
The grant is in addition to the $4,000 the team has raised in the last week.
“I think this is a huge step in battling misinformation and increasing vaccination in the region,” Eggleston said.
The grant will be used to purchase billboards, radio advertising, print advertising, create handouts, and other materials that will be circulated in a 7-county region including Warren, Crawford, Clarion, McKean, Elk, Forest, and Venango.
“With the size of the award it only makes sense to include the nearby regions as well and we will be reaching out to leaders there to make inroads on sharing messages from local voices,” Eggleston said.
Since the announcement of the warrenvax.com website and the effort to increase vaccination, a host of leaders including clergy such as Reverend Matthew Scott of Trinity Memorial Episcopal Church and Reverend James Swanson of Pleasant Community Church have already offered words of support.
“I am grateful how God works through the minds and hands of our scientists and medical community,” Rev. James Swanson of Pleasant Community Church said. “Despite experiencing COVID-19 near the beginning of this outbreak in the states, my family, including my teenage children, have all been vaccinated, and so too 100% of the adults in my church. I highly encourage others to do the same!”
Numerous medical professionals have come out in support of the effort including Dr. Sunny Thomas, Warren Pediatrics; Dr. Keith Price, Medical Director of Warren General Hospital; Dr. Timothy Stanton, Internal Medicine; Dr. John Sutton, Family Medicine; and Dr. Barney Eden, Cancer Center.
Dr. Price, while recording a statement for the radio program said, “Over 90% of the people we see at Warren General Hospital for COVID are unvaccinated. It’s up to you to take this problem head-on, get vaccinated, and help your community to conquer COVID once and for all.”
“We’re going to continue this campaign and do everything we can to give voice to reason on this issue and increase the safety of our citizenry,” Eggleston said.
