Page 9 - DemoFlorida Sentinel 3-5-21

Feature
Black Churches Have Helped, But A Big Disparity Still Exists In Local Distribution Of COVID Vaccine
BY MONIQUE STAMPS Sentinel Staff Writer
As two COVID 19 vaccines have been rolled out and an- other is on the way, there are concerns about the disparity in vaccine distribution be- tween African Americans and whites in the Tampa Bay community.
Dr. Kevin Sneed, Sen- ior Associate Vice-President, USF Health and Dean of Taneja College of Pharmacy, compiled information from the Hillsborough County Health Department. Dr. Sneed’s research revealed that 959,989 whites have had the full complement of both shots, while only 72,584 African Americans have re- ceived both shots. This is a serious and complex problem concerning availability and attitudes toward the vaccines.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Black, Hispanic and Native Americans are dying from COVID at nearly three times the rate of white Americans. This bleak fact coupled with hundreds of years of danger- ous and racist health policies and clinical experiments have hindered vulnerable Black communities. The statistics prove, that a multifaceted ap- proach is necessary to edu- cate Black people about the vaccine, as well as making the availability of the vaccine eas- ier.
Several local Black churches have been at the forefront to hundreds of sen- iors 65 and older receiving the vaccine.
According to Hillsbor- ough County Commissioner Gwen Myers, a coalition of 10 churches in connection with a pilot program from Hillsborough County partici- pated in a vaccination effort at Greater Bethel Missionary Baptist Church where 640 seniors were vaccinated. The coalition included: Mt. Olive AME Church, New Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church, Re-Birth Missionary Baptist Church, Beulah Bap- tist Institutional Church, Allen Temple AME
Church, Pilgrim Rest Mis- sionary Baptist Church, Col- lege Hill Church of God in Christ, 34th Street Church of God, Cathedral of Faith Church, and Victory AME Church.
The City of Tampa has also made an effort to reach vulnerable communities by partnering with the Barks- dale Senior Center where 308 seniors were vaccinated; St. John Progressive Missionary Baptist Church vaccinated 590 citizens, and Revealing Truth Ministries vaccinated 634 citizens.
A few people who received both doses of the vaccines shared how they felt after- wards:
Dr. George and
Liz York Cohen
“We are happy and blessed to have been vacci- nated with the Pfizer shots and we did not experience any side effects.”
Atty. Delano Stewart
“I have had no symptoms or ill effects from the vac- cine.”
Willa Peterson
“Although I was con- cerned about the vaccine be- cause of an autoimmune disorder, all of my doctors encouraged me to take it and I had no ill effects. I went out and ran errands after both shots!”
Willa Peterson
Dr. J. Shannon Smith
“Thankfully, I had ab- solutely no ill effects”
Frank and Renee Lee, ESQ
“I didn’t have any symp- toms, but my husband, Frank was lethargic for about a day.”
Ronald Adams
“The next day, I had body aches and joint pain. Taking Tylenol helped and I was back to normal after that.”
Virtual Mental Health Issues In The
Family Seminar
Building Strong Families, Inc., will host its second vir- tual mental health wellness seminar on Saturday, March 20, 2021 from 11 a. m. to 12:45 p. m. through Zoom.
The focus of this seminar is "Mental Health Issues in the Family.” Licensed mental health professionals will dis- cuss: Recognizing the Signs and Symptoms of Mental Health Issues; Impact of Mental Health Issues on the Family; Coping Strategies as a Family; and Getting the Help Needed: Mental Health Resources.
The speakers include: Sarah Smith, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor from At One Counseling Services, and Dr. Jeanene Robinson-Kyles, a licensed clinical psychologist and founder of Robinson-Kyles Counseling & Testing Serv- ices.
There is no cost to attend this virtual seminar, but pre- registration is required
DR. PAULINE RIVERS
by March 12, 2021. The ZOOM meeting ID, passcode and seminar materials will be emailed to those who pre- register.
For registration informa- tion, contact Dr. Pauline Rivers, Founder and Presi- dent of Building Strong Fam- ilies, Inc., at 813-759-0260, by email at pmrivers@aol.com, or visit http://www.buildingstrong- familiesofflorida.com.
FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 2021 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY PAGE 9-A