Stay updated with breaking news from Black social. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
Jessica Kirk is looking forward to her turn to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The 46-year-old mother of three and former medical secretary has a compromised immune system, which places her at greater risk of experiencing complications from the coronavirus that has already claimed more than 400,000 Americans’ lives. Kirk is confident in the safety of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Her fellow community members, however, don’t all feel the same way. Many of Kirk’s neighbors in the predominantly Black and low-income neighborhood of East Akron are hesitant to take the vaccine because they fear negative consequences. “They think it’s just the government giving them something just to kill off, you know… the poor Black community. … [Not] just Black people, but minorities,” Kirk said on a frigid early January afternoon outside of Dave’s Supermarket, a bustling neighborhood grocery store. ....
Disability Rights Ohio (DRO) Advocates for Rapid Inclusion of All Ohioans With Disabilities as State Develops Its COVID-19 Vaccination Plan Share Article DRO and its partners urge state to allocate vaccine in an equitable manner while ensuring the rights of Ohioans with disabilities are protected COLUMBUS, Ohio (PRWEB) December 17, 2020 As the leading non-profit corporation focused on advocating for the human, civil and legal rights of people with disabilities in Ohio, Disability Rights Ohio (DRO) and its partners urge the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) to consider its recommendations as it formulates the state’s COVID-19 Vaccination Plan. While DRO and its partners is encouraged that Phase 1A of the present plan includes the people with intellectual disabilities, as well as those with mental illness, who live in group homes and the staff there, and patients and staff at psychiatric hospitals ....