The Savannah Morning News, The Savannah Tribune and radio stations E-93 and Magic 103.9 hosted the panel The COVID Vaccine and You: What Black and Latino Communities Need to Know Feb. 11 at St. Philip AME Church in Savannah. The panel was livestreamed at savannahnow.com and on Facebook to allow broader participation.
Panelists included Dr. Bonzo Reddick, a primary care physician at JC Lewis Health Center; Beatriz Severson, a registered nurse and advocate for Hispanic communities in Savannah; Tammi Brown, Chatham County Nurse Manager; and Karla-Sue Marriott, Interim Chair of the Chemistry and Forensic Science Department at Savannah State University.
Here are some frequently asked questions along with the with panelists answers. Their responses have been edited for clarity.
Interview by Adam Van Brimmer
African American professionals are underrepresented in science fields, and schools, educators and STEM-related organizations across the country are collaborating to address the shortage. Karla-Sue Marriott, a biomedical researcher at Savanah State University and the founder of the school s forensics science program, is our latest Difference Maker.
Find the latest and archived episodes of Difference Makers at SavannahNow.com/podcasts or search Savannah Difference Makers on podcast app.
Past Difference Makers include the Ossabaw Island Foundation s Elizabeth DuBose; Plant Riverside District developer Richard Kessler; and the Creative Coast s Jennifer Bonnett.
The Difference Makers podcast is presented by the Savannah Economic Development Authority.
Blacks and Latinos are more likely to get sick and die from COVID than their white counterparts but also have more hesitancy and less access to the vaccine that can protect them.
In Chatham County for example, 13 of the 15 people age 45 or under who have died from COVID were Black or Latino. But of the first 18,000 people who received the vaccine through the Chatham County Health Department, only 17 percent were Black. African Americans make up 41 percent of the county.
To discuss these issues the Savannah Morning News, The Savannah Tribune and radio stations E-93 and Magic 103.9 hosted the panel The COVID Vaccine and You: What Black and Latino Communities Need to Know Thursday evening at St. Philip AME Church in Savannah. The in-person event was limited in number to comply with social distancing guidelines, but the panel was livestreamed at savannahnow.com and on Facebook to allow broader participation. It can be viewed at http://bit.ly/SMNcovidpanel
Tammi Brown rolled up her sleeve at an outdoor ceremony at the Chatham County Health Department on Dec. 15 and as Gov. Brian Kemp and Georgia Commissioner of Health Dr. Kathleen Toomey looked on, she became one of the first people in Georgia to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
As the Chatham County Nurse Manager, Brown likes to lead by example. And like the other five panelists who will be joining her 6 p.m. Thursday for a public discussion about the facts and myths of the COVID-19 vaccine, she wants to know why some people don t want the vaccine.
One recurrent theme stands out as she talks to the vaccine reluctant, even other healthcare workers.