On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with three people who participated in an MDOT public service announcement, explaining why they received a COVID-19 vaccine and think others should, too. 

First, Kim Henderson, who manages MDOT’s Graphic Design and Mapping Unit, talks about why she felt it was important, as a Black woman, to share her testimonial. She has been volunteering at Union Missionary Baptist Church in Lansing to help promote the need to get vaccinated. She also served on the Covid Help Team for the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), completing daily case reports and directing calls to individuals that tested positive for Covid statewide. 

Next, Aaron Jenkins, MDOT media relations representative for the University Region, comprising the counties around Lansing, Ann Arbor and Jackson, shares his reasons for getting vaccinated and being an advocate for others to do the same - from wanting to hug his grandchildren to feeling the need to be an example in the community. 

Jenkins and Henderson reference the historical reasons for distrust of government and health care officials among some Black people, including the horrors of the Tuskegee Experiment.  

The third guest, Melissa Greif, a financial analyst in MDOT’s Gaylord-based North Region, talks about her experience being infected with COVID-19. She details the mental and physical discomfort she experienced and how she hopes her story inspires others to pursue vaccination and avoid the same symptoms.

Photo courtesy of the National Cancer Institute on Unsplash. Image shows a nurse administering a COVID-19 shot.