‘It comes down to an equity issue.’ COVID-19 drives discussion during State of Black Miami.
COVID-19 dominated conversation Wednesday at the fifth annual State of Black Miami forum 2021.
“Historically, vulnerable communities have long suffered the impact of health inequality and that is the very case at this moment,” said Miami-Dade Commissioner Jean Monestime, one of the speakers at the Wednesday virtual conference. Nearly 1,000 signed on to learn about the pandemic’s effect on existing racial disparities.
Black Miamians, despite having died from COVID-19 at a higher rate than their white counterparts, are also reluctant to sign up for vaccines. Availability is now a concern; a recent report by the Miami Herald found that Opa-locka, a city with a primarily African American population, has a 2% vaccination rate compared to the majority white, affluent Fisher Island’s 58%. The initial online registration process also put Black Floridians at a disadvantage, as many work in jobs that don’t allow constant access.
Acknowledging the history of malpractice at the expense of Black bodies, Jackson Health System’s chief nursing officer Dr. Carol Biggs said the COVID vaccine could begin to rebuild the community’s trust with the medical professionals.
“We can’t let the past determine our future,” said Biggs.
Biggs specifically pointed to the handling and injection process which, in her words, left no room for tampering.
“When we pull out a vial and pull the medicine out, you get five to six doses on that vial,” Biggs added. “It’s the next five to six people in line who gets [an injection] whether Black, white, Spanish, brown.”
Jackson Health unveiled a new informational video which featured Biggs and Dr. Hansel Tookes addressing America’s history of medical practices. A similar video will be available in three languages, English, Spanish and Haitian Creole.
“This vaccine is how we end the racial disparities in COVID,” Tookes, a University of Miami Miller School of Medicine professor, said on the video.
Steve Gallon III, the vice chair of the Miami-Dade County Public School Board, spoke about the digital divide. Gallon fears that the strains of online learning on families and teachers could possibly even widen the achievement gap.
“It comes down to an equity issue,” Gallon explained. “Many of our children in certain communities and ZIP codes — usually communities of color, Black communities — have limited access… to technology and it’s access gap to having the reinforcement in the home.”
The issue extends to higher education. Florida Memorial University President Jaffus Hardrick said his school experienced a 20-percent drop in enrollment due to the coronavirus pandemic. Data showed that those who stayed in school struggled due to a dissatisfaction with the virtual environment, he said.
Learning online “is not [an environment] that’s highly embraced by many of our students,” said Hardrick.
Business leaders, too, took the time to address some of the misconceptions surrounding the COVID relief bills. Althea Harris, a marketing specialist with the South Florida office of the Small Business Administration, implored Black-owned business to take advantage of the Paycheck Protection Program.
“The PPP, assuming you use it the way you’re supposed to, is a 100% forgivable loan,” said Harris.
Five of the 13 Miami-Dade commissioners are Black — the most in history. All — Oliver Gilbert III, Keon Hardemon, Danielle Cohen Higgins, Kionne McGhee and Monestime — attended the meeting, along with county Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
Levine Cava said she is committed to more equitable distribution of the COVID vaccine and creating pathways to home ownership, a key foundation to building wealth.
“We cannot allow this pandemic, this economic recession to set us back,” Levine Cava said.
This story was originally published February 4, 2021 at 3:48 PM.
