At Denver's National Western Complex, a heartwarming scene unfolded as over 5,000 doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine were given to mostly seniors eager to protect themselves and reunite with loved ones. 👴👵
\"I want to see my grandchildren and hug and kiss them and I can't,\" shared Ruthie Stoner, one of the vaccine recipients. For her and many others, this vaccine is a beacon of hope.
Dr. J.P. Valin, SCL Health's Chief Clinical Officer, emphasized, \"This is our way out of the pandemic is to get everybody vaccinated.\" The event was specially organized to support vulnerable populations in communities of color.
Deidre Johnson, CEO of the Center for African-American Health, highlighted the urgency: \"We are more likely to be infected but also more likely to be hospitalized and more likely to die.\" Statistics reveal that Blacks and other people of color have COVID-19 death rates nearly three times higher than Whites. Yet, vaccine uptake among Blacks lags behind, a gap rooted in historical mistrust.
Johnson noted, \"No one is running towards vaccines. We just happen to be a group that has historical reasons for that mistrust.\" The legacy of the Tuskegee experiments and misconceptions about pain tolerance have sowed deep unease towards the medical community.
To combat this, the White House's COVID-19 Task Force is distributing vaccine doses to federally funded clinics in underserved areas. In Texas, community health centers are actively vaccinating majority minority populations, employing diverse strategies to reach these communities.
Valin stated, \"There are a whole bunch of strategies that we're going to need to take to be able to reach this community. There's not a one size fits all solution.\"
SCL Health engaged with over three dozen organizations, including those serving the LGBTQ community. Ron Zutz, a gay vaccine recipient, expressed his relief: \"The last few months have been very difficult for me. I have never been so excited to have a stranger stick me with a sharp object.\"
Rex Fuller, CEO of The Center on Colfax, added, \"Many folks from the LGBTQ community are part of the service industry or retail workers or front-line workers, health care workers.\"
The combined efforts aim to reduce medical risks and close the vaccine racial gap, ensuring everyone can safely reunite with loved ones. \"I'm just over the moon,\" Stoner said. \"I'll be able to hug 'em and kiss 'em. Oh I'm just looking so forward to that.\"
