Monroe County launches COVID-19 Vaccination Task Force 

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Monroe County officials have formed a COVID-19 Vaccination Task Force to oversee the coordination and distribution of the novel coronavirus vaccine within the community, County Executive Adam Bello said during a Wednesday press briefing.

Bello stressed that the task force would work to ensure equitable and transparent distribution of the vaccine in Monroe County. The task force announcement comes one day after the first doses of the vaccine to be given in Monroe County were administered to a small group of health workers at Strong Memorial Hospital.

The task force is intended to help the county reach its goal of immunizing 75 percent of county residents, said Dr. Michael Mendoza, Monroe County’s public health commissioner.

Dr. Nancy Bennett has been selected to lead the task force and will serve as special advisor to Dr. Mendoza. Wade Norwood, CEO of Common Ground Health, has been tapped to lead the community engagement and public education campaign about the vaccine and its distribution.

“They both bring authenticity to the table,” Mendoza said of Dr. Bennett and Mr. Norwood.

Bennett, who is the co-founder and director of the Center for Community Health and Prevention at the University of Rochester’s School of Medicine and Dentistry, brings specialized expertise in immunology, having recently served as chair of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Bennett has also previously been deputy public health director for Monroe County.

In addition to his role at Common Ground Health, Norwood is a former Rochester City Council member who chaired its Committee on Housing and Community Development. He’s also senior pastor at Holy Jerusalem Spiritual Church and a board member of the nationwide Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement.

A timeline for vaccine distribution depends not only on which vaccines get approved and when, but on how many doses are available and who is considered to be a member of a high-risk population or a first responder, Bennett said.

According to Mendoza about 50,000 people in Monroe County who are front-line health care workers, live in nursing homes, or are otherwise most vulnerable to the disease would be in the first tier of vaccine recipients. Close to 100,000 people in the county, including first responders and teachers, would be in line to receive a vaccine next.

Daniel J. Kushner is CITY’s music editor. He can be reached at [email protected].