Miami commissioner who pushed for vaccines in Black communities in hospital with COVID
Miami Commissioner Jeffrey Watson, who has pushed to improve vaccination rates in Miami’s Black communities, has been in the hospital for nearly a week after contracting COVID-19.
“I’m fighting,” Watson told the Miami Herald in a phone interview Wednesday evening from his room at Jackson Memorial Hospital. “I’m old and rusty, but this won’t take me down.”
Watson, Miami’s only Black elected official, said he fell ill before a Feb. 25 commission meeting, forcing him to participate via video call. After logging off in the early evening, he said he fell asleep for more than 12 hours. When he woke up Friday with difficulty breathing, he called Fire Chief Joseph Zahralban, who rushed over and recommended he go to Jackson.
Watson, 63, has urged Black seniors to get vaccinated while arranging pop-up vaccination sites in senior living facilities in his district, which includes Overtown, Liberty City, Little Haiti, Wynwood and the Upper Eastside. Watson said he had not yet been vaccinated because he was not eligible under Florida guidelines.
State data shows vaccination rates among Miami-Dade County’s Black population is lagging. The county’s population is 17% Black, but as of Tuesday, only 7.6% of residents who have received either one or both vaccine doses are Black.
Watson is the second Miami elected official to contract the novel coronavirus. Mayor Francis Suarez tested positive almost one year ago.
On Wednesday, Watson said he felt even more strongly about encouraging residents to get vaccinated. Alone in his hospital room, he said what he’s experiencing is “not your grandma’s pneumonia.”
“This ain’t something where you can run with it and be a big man about it,” Watson said, coughing afterward. “If it can catch you right, it’ll throw you down on the floor. It’ll put you in the hospital.”
The commissioner said he was feeling better than he did over the weekend. His colleagues noted the improvement in his voice.
“I’ve been in touch with him daily,” said Commissioner Ken Russell. “He sounds strong and tells me he’s feeling better.”
Commissioner Manolo Reyes said Watson’s presence at multiple vaccination events put him at risk as he encouraged residents to get inoculated.
He was out there in the field forgetting about himself and trying to get people vaccinated,” Reyes said.
Watson has recognized the reluctance from members of Miami’s Black communities to get vaccinated, particularly given mistrust in healthcare systems rooted in a history of medical experiments performed on Black people without their consent. The commissioner said COVID was different, and he encouraged residents who were eligible to discuss the vaccine in their communities, get comfortable and make an appointment.
He pointed out that even people wary of needles can look for the recently approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which requires only one shot. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is now available at a federal vaccination site at Miami Dade College North Campus.
“A lot of people are scared of needles and the vaccine itself, but they can just grind it out and get one shot,” he said. “If they do, they’ve done themselves a world of good.”
Miami commissioners appointed Watson to his position in November after the previous District 5 Commissioner, Keon Hardemon, won election to the Miami-Dade County Commission. Watson’s seat is up for election Nov. 2.
On Tuesday, officials marked the opening of a new state-sponsored vaccination site in Overtown where appointments are not required. The walk-up site at 1551 NW First Ave. is now open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily for those eligible for COVID vaccines under state regulations, including Florida residents 65 and older and healthcare workers. Seniors must bring ID to verify their age, and healthcare workers must bring their professional license.
This story was originally published March 3, 2021 at 8:51 PM.
