Statistics from the Ohio Department of Health COVID-19 dashboard. show that minorities are infected, hospitalized and dying at disproportional rates, said Fabrice Juin of Public Health’s Local Office of Minority Health. Minorities, especially those who are Black, are also behind in receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
To combat that, Public Health is working with community leaders and local churches to educate residents about the vaccine and make them available to people who cannot make it to vaccine clinics at the Dayton Convention Center.
Some residents may not have access to reliable internet, a phone or transportation that would prevent them from signing up and getting to a clinic, Juin noted.
By working with churches, Public Health is reaching residents in an environment they trust and where they feel safe.
“We’re trying to change the narrative,” Juin said. “At a certain point in our history, some health institutions lost their trust.”
On Jan. 23 and on Friday, Public Health had a vaccine clinic at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church.
Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley praised Public Health for its “equity lens” and “walking the talk.”
She also thanked local clergy members for sharing Public Health information and also giving feedback on how the city can do better to serve minorities.
Dr. Alonzo Patterson of PriMed Physicians noted that most concerns he’s heard about the vaccines center around how quickly they were developed.
He noted that scientists have been working on vaccines like the COVID-19 vaccine for nearly 25 years. Scientists have been developing mRNA vaccines in recent years in response to similar virus outbreaks that did not reach a pandemic level, Patterson added.
As a result, “researchers were pretty much able to get started with trials right around the time the virus was hitting the United States,” he said.
Rev. Renard Allen, pastor of St. Luke Missionary Church, encouraged people to not make enlightenment and education the enemy.
“Faith and reason are compatible,” he said.
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