Columbia Black community hopes for more vaccination events in comfortable settings
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Columbia/Boone County health department hosted a vaccination clinic on Wednesday at Progressive Missionary Baptist Church to reach members of Columbia's Black community.
The health department chose to hold this clinic because of the barriers for Black Americans to receive vaccines and the ongoing disparities in access to health care and bias in the medical field.
"I think that every community should be reaching out, and especially the churches, because African Americans and people of color are comfortable with the church settings," said Progressive Missionary Deacon George Norman.
The state dashboard said Wednesday only 37,830 (4.7%) of Black or African American people have initiated coronavirus vaccination. Which is compared to 570,978 (12.2%) of white Missouri residents.
Across the U.S., non-Hispanic Black Americans are 1.1 times more likely to contract covid, and 1.9 times more likely to die of it, than white Americans, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis.
Ashton Day with the Columbia/Boone County health department said it was important to have this event as a part of the department's community outreach project. Day said the Live Well By Faith program helped coordinate the event.
"As we know the Black community is more affected by COVID-19 and more severe outcomes," said Day.
Day said 130 vaccine appointments were booked at the event and that all of the people were vaccine eligible. Leftover doses will not go to waste. The health department said unused doses will be given to people who are homebound.
Mary Ratliff with the NAACP said it's important to have events where people feel comfortable going.
Ratliff said many members of the Black community have been contacting her to assist them in getting signed up through the online surveys because they don't have emails or computers.
Norman said Black community members who usually attend church are more willing to get the vaccine there. Plus, Norman added, the church may help members get signed up through online surveys.
Health care worker, Faith Mejia, received her vaccine today at Progressive Missionary after being eligible for months.
Mejia said she was unsure of the vaccine, at first. She said after months of seeing the positive effect it has had on the community, it was time for her to get vaccinated.
"Covid is real. This is serious. I have dealt with and taken care of people with this," Meija said.
She encouraged other members of the Black community to get registered to receive the vaccine when they become eligible.
Sara Humm spokeswoman for the Columbia/Boone County health department said Wednesday's event was similar to outreach vaccination clinics the department has held recently. Humm said outreach clinics have also been held at Oak and Paquin Towers and for homebound residents in an effort to vaccinate all people in Columbia.
The health department plans to hold more outreach clinics, pending vaccine availability, as people become vaccine eligible. The goal is to breakdown barriers for people who don't have ready access to health information or can't make it to mass vaccination events.
