Worried about the COVID vaccine? Experts at this Coast virtual town hall have answers.
A virtual town hall Thursday evening will give participants the chance to question experts about all things COVID-19, from the effectiveness of vaccines against new coronavirus strains to the emotional toll of contracting the disease.
The People’s Town Hall at 7 p.m. Thursday is part of a Black History Month initiative titled “Take the Shot — Score a WIN Against COVID.”
Expert panelists include Chigozie Udemgba, director of the Office of Health Equity for the Mississippi State Department of Health; Monique Harden, the Assistant Director of Law and Policy and the Community Engagement Program Manager at the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ); and J. Preston Parry, one of three fertility specialists in the state of Mississippi.
“We have assembled a veritable pantheon of experts from diverse medical backgrounds to answer the many questions people have about COVID,” said Kathy Egland, founder of the Education, Economics, Environmental, Climate and Health Organization (EEECHO), one of the Coast organizations hosting the event.
“This unique Town Hall will be a Q&A session where there will be no formal presentations upfront — only answers to questions submitted in advance or in the chat during the Zoom.” Attendees can submit questions via email to eeecho@cableone.net.
Other hosts include the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ), Gulfport Section of National Council for Negro Women (NCNW) and the Harrison County Board of Supervisors.
Promoting information and access
The People’s Town Hall continues the conversation started during a virtual, informational meeting about the COVID-19 vaccines on Jan. 26.
Building trust in the vaccines and providing information about how they were developed and how they work has been a major focus of local organizations, officials, doctors and church leaders on the Coast since vaccine distribution began.
Participants — including state Rep. Sonya Williams-Barnes (D-Gulfport) and some of the same experts who will join Thursday’s panel — discussed how lack of trust in the medical system among Black Americans has led to skepticism of the vaccine. That mistrust is rooted in historic mistreatment — as in the Tuskegee syphilis experiments — as well as current inequities. For example, Black women die from pregnancy and childbirth complications at three to four times the rate of white women.
“As a funeral home owner, I see firsthand the effects that COVID has on our community,” Williams-Barnes said at the Jan. 26 meeting. “We are not just testing positive, people, we are dying, and we are dying at a great rate. So tonight I hope that the myths that run throughout our community are dispelled. I hope that questions are answered, and that people are educated so that they can make wise decisions for themselves.”
The Sun Herald received data from the state health department showing that Black residents on the Coast have received an even smaller share of vaccines than Black Mississippians overall. Statewide, Black Mississippians, 38% of the population, have received 21% of all vaccines delivered. In Harrison County, Black Mississippians comprise 26% of the population and had received less than 9% of all vaccines as of Feb. 12.
Advocates have said holding vaccination sites and events in majority Black neighborhoods would increase access and build trust at the same time. A one-day event at the Isiah Fredericks Community Center organized by Memorial Hospital and Gulfport officials including Councilwoman Ella Holmes-Hines distributed more than 700 vaccines, mostly to Black recipients, earlier this month.
How to attend The People’s Town Hall
To participate in the 7 p.m. Thursday town hall go to this Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82388071446?pwd=emlacWRUYmJCWForVXFxNVFQSmMxUT09
Meeting ID: 823 8807 1446
Passcode: 527385
This story was originally published February 24, 2021 at 5:50 AM.
