ROCHESTER, NY (WROC) — The Rochester City Council president is responding after a council member scheduled an anti-mandatory vaccination march. This comes on the same day Monroe County leaders announced a new COVID-19 vaccination taskforce, to educate the community about the COVID-19 vaccine.

It could take months for the vaccine to reach the general population. Until then, Monroe County leaders are focusing on education and equity.

“We are not naïve to the fact that there are a lot of questions and concerns surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine,” County Executive Adam Bello said, “and that is why we are taking this proactive step to ensure this process is done correctly and we are putting our community resources behind it.”

Leaders say there are concerns about vaccine safety and long-term effects, mainly due to the speed with which the vaccine arrived.

Some in Rochester City Council are echoing those concerns. Council member Jose Peo is partnering with Save Rochester, to hold a march against mandatory vaccination, after a state assembly member proposed bill on the matter.

“We’re not against vaccination,” Peo said, “we are against mandatory vaccination, which would take away from the freedom of the people to decide for themselves and their families what is best for them.”

“The number one issue that a lot of people are feeling is the fact that it’s come about pretty quickly and we don’t know what the long-effects are,” said Peo. “The other side of it is, we feel as though our freedoms have already been taken away, we can’t live our lives the way we want, we can’t go out in public the way we want and it seems as if, maybe it’s not mandatory right now, but it’s kind of like a peer mandated, a socially mandated vaccine.”

City Council President Loretta C. Scott responded in a statement saying;

“We are in the midst of the most devastating global pandemic of our lifetimes…Many of us have spent most of 2020 in our homes, away from our friends and loved ones, but there is hope; we have a vaccine on the way. I am aware of the dangerous misinformation related to the vaccine that has been shared by people, including one of my own colleagues. I want to appeal to those in our community to listen to the experts, those in the medical field with the knowledge and experience… As elected officials, we have the immense privilege of serving and representing the people who voted for us and I take that seriously. I want to encourage everyone to keep pushing forward because we are getting closer to normal every day. Keep wearing your masks, maintaining your distance from others, protecting your circle, and when you can, get the vaccine. If you have questions, ask your doctor or medical professionals, not those who think they know better on Facebook.”

When asked about a possible vaccine mandate, Monroe County Public Health Commissioner Dr. Michael Mendoza said a vaccine mandate is not being considered, and is highly unlikely. Mendoza reiterated that the vaccine is safe.

Sharing information like this is one of the goals of the county’s COVID-19 vaccination taskforce led by Dr. Nancy Bennett, a professor at the University of Rochester and Wayne Norwood, the CEO of common ground health. Both are already working to spearhead education efforts in both poor communities and communities of color.

“I’ve been adamant that before lining up for the vaccine or encouraging others to do the same, there must be a program and a community effort aimed at full transparency about the development of the vaccine,” Norwood said.

Dr. Mendoza said as we get ready for vaccine distribution, it is critical that efforts to reach underserved populations are coordinated and informed. He said this taskforce will bring together organizations that are already doing that work, creating a new way to share trustworthy information about the vaccine.