Page 5 - Florida Sentinel 8-20-21

Editorial
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COVID-19 Forum
Live Forum About COVID-19 Held For Black Communities To Stay Informed
And Up-To-Date About The Virus
Milwaukee, Wisc. — On August 11, 2021, a combina- tion of three trusted Black doctors who are important he- roes and sheroes teamed up with Creative Marketing Re- sources (CMR) for a live, na- tional forum to share valuable COVID-19 information with a group that included more than 230 Black media partners, groups, and individuals. Du- ring this live event, these Black messengers amplified their in- sights, updated information, and dispelled myths about the vaccines and the variants while encouraging more Black Americans to get vaccinated and defeat the virus.
Georgeta Dragoiu,
a White House Presidential Innovation Fellow for the COVID-19 Public Education Campaign, Department of He- alth and Human Services (HHS), revealed that teaming up with Black doctors is an im- portant pillar of the strategy to reach underserved Black com- munities with life-saving in- formation about the virus.
Dr. Cameron Webb, Se- nior Policy Advisor for Equity on the White House COVID-19 Response Team, addressed the Delta variant, which, he said, has become a major fac- tor that’s adding to the cha- llenge Black Americans are facing during the pandemic. “I tell people all the time this is almost a new pandemic. If you look at rate of spread, the case rate that we’re seeing with the Delta variant, it is really incre- dible how different it is,” Dr. Webb added. “There is some good news here. The vaccines that we presently have do still seem to be very effective against this Delta variant.”
Dr. Rachel Villanueva,
President of the National Me- dical Association and Clinical Assistant Professor of Obste- trics/Gynecology at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, said it’s incumbent for the media to highlight minority organizations such as the Na- tional Medical Association, an important advocate for Black communities that represents local Black physicians of all specialties across the country. “We’re the individuals that Black and Brown patients have trusted to take care of them,” she said. “And we need for them to continue to trust in our care. We know that the de- cision to get vaccinated is a personal one. We need for our communities to trust us to have that conversation to allay their fears and to encourage the decision to get vaccinated.”
Dr. Michele Benoit- Wilson, an OB-GYN with WakeMed Health in Raleigh, North Carolina, amplified the recent recommendation from the Centers for Disease Con- trol and Prevention (CDC) that pregnant women get vaccina- ted for COVID-19. Dr. Be- noit-Wilson said that every day she strongly encourages her patients to get vaccinated while dispelling any myths about the vaccine. “We know that the vaccine is safe,” she
said. “There has been no incre- ased risk of miscarriage that has been seen in women who have gotten vaccinated prior to pregnancy or in early preg- nancy. The solution has got to be vaccinating all of us and getting the message out that the vaccine is very safe.”
The panel of Black doctors also answered the attendees’ questions about COVID-19, in- forming them that (1) getting vaccinated and wearing masks are our best protections against the Delta variant; (2) vaccines save lives and are vital on our Black commu- nity’s path to get things back to normal; (3) the COVID-19 vaccines are safe at any point of a pregnancy, including the first trimester; and (4) it’s im- portant to get accurate infor- mation and get vaccinated to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities.
As we get closer to approa- ching the fall season, we still have a lot work ahead of us to defeat COVID-19. Nelson Mandela once reminded us that “it only seems impossible until it’s done.” This is our call to action for each of us to reach at least one person in our Black communities in order to make a difference. To- gether, We Can Do This! Toge- ther, we will do this and must do this!
About Creative Marketing Resources (CMR)
Creative Marketing Re- sources (CMR) is a full-ser- vice, strategic communications agency that specializes in developing cause and behavior change marke- ting for Fortune 500 compa- nies, major nonprofits, and government agencies.
We are a Black, woman- owned marketing communica- tions agency and one of the nation’s leading agencies for engaging Black/African Ame- rican communities with criti- cal public health information. Since CMR was founded in 1995, our mission has been to develop innovative, culturally competent campaigns that lead to real and positive socie- tal change.
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COVID-19: Ten Things You Should Know
t this writing, six members of a family who attended a
baby shower recently have either tested positive for COVID-19 or have fallen ill with COVID-19, including the pregnant woman for whom the shower was held.
Earlier during the Easter season, members of a branch of the same family tested positive or became ill with COVID-19. These two cases within members of a family group prompts us to share information about COVID-19 that you should know. We certainly hope this information will encourage you to get vaccinated for COVID-19 to protect your loved ones and others with whom you come in contact.
Among the things you should know are:
1. More than 95% of all COVID-19 patients have not been vaccinated.
2. The longer it takes for everyone to get vaccinated, the Coronavirus becomes stronger and harder to fight.
3. If you have not been vaccinated, you are a danger to your children, elderly parents or grandparents, people with weak immune systems (people with cancer, kidney disease/dialysis, pregnant women, etc.), and other illnesses.
4. People against COVID-19 vaccinations are saying “get the shot” once they become ill with COVID-19. Two well- known Florida Anti-Vaxer radio hosts became ill (one of whom later died) and encouraged people to get vaccinated.
5. People not wearing a mask can spread Coronaviruses up to 19 ft. when they cough or yell and up to 26 feet when they sneeze, depending upon the room’s humidity, tempera- ture, or airflow.
6. Being within 6 ft. of an infected person for 15 minutes or more over a 24-hr. period, or (three people for 5 minutes of exposure), can lead to a COVID-19 infection.
7. COVID-19 infections vary according to the amount of virus to which a person is exposed.
8. Particles from an infected person can linger in the air for minutes or hours in some cases, even if the infected per- son leaves the room.
9. Particles from an infected person can travel throughout an entire room or indoor space.
10. COVID-19 Super spreader events include family gath- erings, wedding and baby showers, and choir practices. A 61- member Washington State 21⁄2 hour choir practice that used social distancing and hand sanitizer resulted in “32 con- firmed COVID-19 cases, 20 probable secondary cases, 3 hos- pitalizations and 2 deaths.” Singing loudly spreads particles
farther than 6 feet.
Finally, crowded spaces, indoors or outdoors, increases your chance of coming in contact
with COVID-19 infected sources. Therefore, we encourage you to get vaccinated NOW and wear a mask, for the greatest vaccine is common sense.
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