Letters: Supervisor urges citizens to get vaccinated

Dear Editor,

It has been an honor to serve the people of the Varina District and Henrico County for a decade. Of all the challenges that have come before us, dealing with a pandemic due to COVID-19 was one I never would have imagined. I’m sure you didn’t either!

Like many minority communities across the country, the pandemic hit us and our loved ones harder than others. We now know that African people have a higher risk of becoming infected, hospitalized, and even dying from the COVID-19 virus. That’s why I worked so hard with other leaders in Henrico and our Commonwealth to encourage masks and to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Here in Henrico and our surrounding localities, we are fortunate to know that our outstanding local hospitals and their essential workers placed patient care at the top of their priority list.

The COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated for us just how much we value our local hospitals and frontline responders who work around the clock caring for patients, whether it’s someone fighting COVID-19, a surgical patient scheduling a life-saving procedure, or a victim of a car accident.

Of course, these locals hospitals are major regional employers and a strong economic multiplier. I’m glad we have top notch local hospitals, such as Henrico Doctors in Henrico and Retreat in Richmond, to name a few.

Because we all worked together, we’ve made great strides in getting citizens vaccinated. We are moving in the right direction, but we aren’t out of the woods yet.

Please get vaccinated and help others as well, so that we may soon get back to life as we used to know it.

Sincerely,

Tyrone Nelson, Henrico County Board of Supervisors