Stay Well Community Vaccine Events offer lifeline
BY TIA CAROL JONES
Vaccines have provided a lifeline for the Black community in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stay Well Community Health Fairs and Vaccine Events have given Black people across the country an opportunity to get vaccinated and boosted.
In March, the Chicago Stay Well Community Vaccine Event provided access to vaccines and booster shots. At this event, 160 people attended, more than 125 people were vaccinated, with 115 of those receiving boosters. During the Stay Well pop-up events more than 3,200 people attended, more than 1,500 vaccinated in 15 targeted cities, including a recent event in Atlanta on Saturday, April 16.
Stay Well Community Health Fairs are a partnership between the W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute, local health agencies and community-based organizations in cities across the country.
Dr. Niva Lubin-Johnson described the vaccines as a God send to the Black community, in terms of preventing illness and transmission of the virus. Johnson decided to participate in the Stay Well vaccine event and other vaccine events because it was an all hands on deck need for doctors to get involved and help
“We were the ones who were dying of COVID early on. We were the majority of deaths and serious illness. And, that’s because we have a majority of the contributing factors for having a serious illness or death,” she said.
Johnson said the events are good because they bring the vaccines where people are. At the last event Johnson participated in, the people were brought to where the vaccines were being distributed.
Johnson believes it will take a higher vaccination rate to get us to the endemic stage. Overall the vaccine numbers are improving. But, because of the variants that exist and are forming, it will take a higher percentage of vaccination to help decrease the mutations of the variations. However, Johnson does believe we are closer to the endemic stage.
“The more of us who get vaccinated, the more of us who prevent transmission,” Johnson said. Johnson gave examples of people who were vaccinated and boosted but still got COVID-19. But, what they had was a milder case of the virus. She also talked about the options that are now available to treat the virus, including oral medications from Pfizer and Merck, as well as antibody treatments.
Johnson doesn’t think the variants will stop. She explained that coronavirus is like a cold, and we haven’t ended people having colds. She believes it will take science to create vaccines that will be able to cover the variants and mutations of the virus. And, she still believes the best way is to get vaccinated.
Johnson is still encouraging people to wear masks, despite mask mandates being lifted in cities and states and on various modes of transportation. Johnson also advises people to get their information about COVID-19 from a physician, who she called reputable sources.
“And, if you’re on the fence, go ahead and get vaccinated. You are around people all day, everyday, and run the risk of transmitting to them,” she said. “I think people need to continue to be smart and yes, we can do this together.”
For more information about Stay Well Community Vaccine Events, visit staywellcommunityhealthfairs.org.
Stay Well also is hosting a webinar titled, “Mental Wealth: COVID’s Impact on Mental Health in the Black Community,” at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 28. To join, visit https://bit.ly/WeCanDoThis2022.
