• NAACP vaccine clinic in Penn Hills aims to dash hesitancies,
As vaccinations become more available every day, hesitancy to get one has moved to the forefront as one of the problems in the fight against COVID-19.
Black Americans, in particular, have been cited as a major group that is hesitant to take the shot, due in part to health care disparities and a history of racist medical practices.
With that in mind, the NAACP Pennsylvania State Conference and Rite Aid held a 400-person vaccination event Saturday at the Penn Hills Charter School Of Entrepreneurship to communicate the efficacy and safety of the vaccine.
Young Black adults are among some of the most vaccine hesitant, said Kenneth Huston, Pennsylvania NAACP president.
According to a recent poll by the Kaiser Family Fund, COVID19 vaccine hesitancy has gone down overall but remains significant, with 55% of Black adults saying they had been vaccinated or plan to be soon, rising 14 percentage points from February.
But the poll also showed that Black adults were most likely to be in the “wait and see” group, with 24% responding as such. (Republicans and white evangelical Christians were the most likely to say they would “definitely not” get vaccinated.)
“I think waiting and seeing is, you’re playing with your life,” Mr. Huston said. “This pandemic is real, the numbers of deaths that we see across the breadth of our nation is real, and time is of the essence.”
Dr. William Simmons, chair of the state NAACP’s health committee, said events such as the infamous Tuskegee syphilis experiments, where Black men were infected with the disease and left untreated without their informed consent, had caused many Black Americans to distrust the medical establishment.
“This [vaccine] is something that people should want to get, but those legacies are still in their minds,” Dr. Simmons said. But African Americans are more likely to be hospitalized and die from COVID-19 compared to white people, due to such factors as underlying health conditions or front-line occupations that make someone more likely to
Statewide, there were 4,882 new cases and 40 deaths from the virus reported Saturday, bringing Pennsylvania’s total to 25,402 deaths and 1,068,974 cases.
catch the virus.
Statistics emphasize the importance of Black people getting vaccinated, Dr. Simmons said.
“This is a significant problem,” he said. “Having the vaccine and taking care of yourself — getting regular checkups and evaluating what’s necessary, getting a doctor that you trust — all of those things are incredibly important.”
Rashida Walker, 34, of Penn Hills, said she wasn’t 100% comfortable about getting vaccinated, but she got a shot at the clinic because she thought it would set a good example.
“I know a lot of family members who are reluctant to get it, so I just want to take it back to them and let them know it was painless, it was easy, it was worth it,” she said.
The clinic was held on a day that the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 6 million vaccine doses had been administered in the state.
Statewide, there were 4,882 new cases and 40 deaths from the virus reported Saturday, bringing Pennsylvania’s total to 25,402 deaths and 1,068,974 cases.
Allegheny County on
Saturday reported 372 new cases of COVID-19 and six more deaths.
Three of the deceased people were in a longterm care facility, and the dates of death ranged from Dec. 14 to April 7. The victims were in their 60s, 80s and 90s.
The new cases came from 350 confirmed and 22 probable positives, with newly infected people ranging in age from six months to 93 years, with a median age of 35, the county said.
More information about COVID-19 and vaccines can be found on the county’s dashboard and the Pennsylvania Department of Health website.