Soften the blow | New

Springfield NAACP Chapter President Teresa Haley has lost her father to COVID-19. He died of complications from the disease in December. “I only got to see him a few times before he died and we couldn’t touch him,” Haley said. Illinois Time.

The retirement home where Haley’s father lived has closed to visitors due to COVID-19. She said her father died before her nursing home had access to vaccines. “It’s terrible,” she said of the inability to comfort her father with a hug or even a touch of the hand. Haley said having one-on-one conversations to educate and encourage people to get vaccinated makes a difference in people’s attitudes about injections. “If you tell people that you have received the vaccine, then you are living proof” of the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine, Haley said.

Health providers and community partners hope that an upcoming vaccine awareness campaign linked to incentives will improve rates for the least vaccinated neighborhoods in the city.

Haley said NAACP, a member of the state’s Pandemic Health Navigator program, has so far held eight immunization clinics in Springfield, one per month, and looks forward to this next vaccine awareness effort.

Springfield Memorial Hospital, HSHS St. John’s Hospital, SIU School of Medicine, and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), in partnership with the state’s Pandemic Health Navigators, are planning vaccination and awareness sites with a launch date of October 9. according to Angie Muhs, communications manager at Springfield Memorial Hospital.

Muhs also said that attendees will receive a $ 50 gift card for their choice of grocery store or for City Water, Light and Power after receiving each hit. Those who choose the Johnson and Johnson single dose vaccine will receive a $ 100 gift card. The incentives are funded by a grant from Molina Healthcare, a health insurance company. Suggested sites for upcoming walk-in immunization clinics include the Springfield NAACP office, Union Baptist Church, and One in a Million Inc.

Springfield zip codes with the lowest rate of fully immunized population are 62,703 at 40% and 62,702 at 48%, according to recent data from the IDPH. The percentage of the population fully vaccinated in Sangamon County is 56%, compared to 65% for the state’s total population and 56% for the US population.

Outreach efforts will involve community organizations, religious leaders and elected officials, including the 2 Ald neighborhood. Shawn Gregory, Ward 3 Ald. Roy Williams, Jr. and Ward 5 Ald. Lakeisha Purchase, said Lingling Liu, equity, diversity and inclusion program coordinator at Springfield Memorial Hospital. The door-to-door and social media canvassing campaign will focus on predominantly black communities residing in the targeted areas, Liu said.

The black and Latino community has died from COVID-19 at higher rates than other groups, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, several factors contribute to higher death rates, such as living in crowded spaces, having jobs considered essential, a lack of access to health care, persistent health problems and stress.

“Income inequality, discrimination, violence and institutional racism contribute to chronic stress in people of color which can weaken immunity, making them more vulnerable to infectious diseases,” according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Addressing residential segregation, the lack of affordable housing and access to health care can greatly improve health outcomes in the black community, according to the school.

Regarding the barriers to receiving the vaccine, Liu wrote in an email that “transportation to and from vaccination sites and access to devices and the Internet to schedule vaccine appointments.” are among the obstacles. Liu said this outreach effort is aimed at solving transportation issues by hosting sites in the community where outreach is being conducted.

Community leaders know they will face the fear and misinformation about taking the vaccine with some reluctance associated with mistrust of the government, said Michael Williams, president of One in a Million, Inc. – a community resource center.

When it comes to mistrust of the black community, examples of medical racism, like Tuskegee’s experience with syphilis, come to mind. From the 1930s to the 1970s, the US government conducted a study in which about 400 black men, without their consent, were intentionally untreated for syphilis, although there was a readily available cure, according to the CDC.

Williams said he has pointed out to those who are reluctant to get vaccinated that the vaccine is similar to other vaccines taken for the safety of the community. For example, children are given vaccines against diseases such as measles and polio “and if they don’t have them, they can’t go to school.”

Maria Gardner is a graduate student in the Public Affairs Reporting program based at the University of Illinois at Springfield.