Task Force: Blacks Slow to Embrace COVID Vaccination
By Sharon Tubbs
For Fort Wayne Ink Spot
African Americans stood outside McMillen Park Community Center before the doors opened, eager to get doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine earlier this month. Other people of color strolled into the temporary state-sponsored site, as well. At least on the mobile clinic’s first day, they comprised a majority.
The early turnout was encouraging for a task force working to boost awareness in southeast Fort Wayne. Still, too many African Americans spout conspiracy theories and are reluctant to learn what they don’t know—signs that we need more education and outreach in our community.
The revelation comes after HealthVisions Midwest organized the Vaccine Messaging Task Force in March, pulling together representatives from about 20 organizations for Zoom meetings. Our efforts resulted in the “Vaccine Registration Week” project from April 10 through 17. Volunteers scattered to barber shops, apartment complexes, churches, food pantries, the American Legion, and other locations. They used laptops, iPads and cell phones to register people on-the-spot. The online registration process had proven problematic for non-English speakers and people who lacked Internet access. (The state offered a 2-1-1 line to help, but some people reported long, discouraging waits.) Volunteers also offered informational handouts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As the weeklong activities took off, interpreters stationed at registration sites for Burmese and Latino residents served steady streams. They wanted to be vaccinated and just needed the extra help to register.
African Americans? Not so much.
NAACP President Larry Gist logged just a handful of registrations at Unity Barbershop on Pontiac Street, for instance. At least one person told Gist he didn’t want to be “tracked,” repeating a false, but popular theory that vaccine doses include microscopic GPS-style devices.
Gist’s response: “Do you carry a cell phone?”
He doesn’t believe in the magical trackers but wanted to make the point that global positioning is nothing new.
Phyllis Bragg and a group of volunteers with Chi Eta Phi nursing sorority set up under a pavilion at the Villages of Hanna apartment complex, near Creighton and Bowser avenues. They engaged several residents but fewer than the heavily attended Burmese and Latino venues. Other venues had similar African American turnouts, with some people refusing to even discuss vaccination or accept any handouts. Still, we believe volunteers planted seeds for people to further consider vaccination.
The activities began just days before the Indiana Department of Health opened the McMillen site, from April 13 through 15. Task force volunteers who did register people steered many to McMillen, where supervisor Andre Patterson co-hosted with the state and the Army National Guard.
In the end, volunteers registered 197 people. Blacks accounted for only 16 percent, while Burmese were 50 percent, Latinos were 27 percent, and Caucasians and American Indians were 2.5 percent. (Racial data was not available for some.) In addition to registrations, volunteers engaged about 200 others, distributing handouts, food boxes, and sparking conversations about vaccination.
The experience taught us that acceptance among Blacks in Fort Wayne won’t be a quick process. We are now discussing future onsite registration activities to coincide with other efforts by the Indiana Department of Health to boost vaccinations in southeast Fort Wayne. At McMillen, state officials completed 685 vaccinations. They hope to vaccinate more at the Urban League site.
Efforts like these are needed. National and local data show that African Americans and Latinos were more likely to be hospitalized and to die from coronavirus. Yet, many still hesitate to get a vaccine that experts say could protect them. (A recent NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist survey actually showed that Republican men were the most reluctant to be vaccinated.)
In Allen County, African Americans accounted for 12 percent of the population but only 5.5 percent of vaccinations by mid-March, according to Dr. Matthew Sutter, Allen County Health Commissioner. Latinos, at 2.4 percent, and Burmese, at 2.5 percent lagged. Caucasians, meanwhile, were 84 percent of the total. (Data was not available for all vaccinations.)
Another outreach approach, HealthVisions has also launched a series of public service announcements, featuring local leaders and Black Greek fraternities and sororities. We plan to release a video soon of faith leaders who have been vaccinated.
We don’t want to condemn African Americans for vaccine hesitancy. Distrust of the government and medical professionals is understandable, given the history of medical malpractice against Blacks in America. Also, recent glitches with the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, though reportedly rare, also increase fears.
The task force strives to break down language barriers and help people who lack access to technology and transportation. We want to make sure they have accurate information to make informed decisions about vaccination, rather than buying into fake social media theories.
During Vaccine Registration Week, another volunteer and I sat in the lobby at Come As You Are Community Church, registering several members who stopped by our table after service. A few said our presence motivated them, and they were among that early group at McMillen a few days later.
Still, when I offered a handout to one fellow church member, he politely declined. “Nah,” he said, “I’m good.”
Sharon Tubbs is the director of HealthVisions Midwest of Fort Wayne and an occasional FWIS writer.
