WASHINGTON (AP) – Stately and willful, with a distinctive white streak in his black hair, Pastor Wallace Charles Smith began his Valentine’s Day sermon at Shiloh Baptist Church by talking about love and vaccinations.
That’s what love is all about. When you get a vaccination, you tell everyone around you that you love them enough so that you don’t want them hurt, hurt, or hurt, ”he said. “In the spirit of love, keep going until you get your vaccination. That’s the only thing that will wipe out this terrible plague. “
The church was empty except for a camera crew and a small choir. Thanks to COVID-19, Smith’s Sunday speeches are now virtual affairs.
Still, health officials in the nation’s capital are hoping that Smith and other black religious leaders will serve as community influencers to overcome what officials say is a continuing reluctance to fight vaccines in the black community. Smith and several other local ministers recently received their first vaccination shots.
Black residents make up just under half of Washington’s population, but make up nearly three-quarters of the city’s COVID-19 deaths. The District of Columbia now offers vaccinations for people over 65, but numbers show seniors are left behind in the poorest and blackest parts of Washington.
Officials partially blame historical distrust of the medical establishment, especially among black seniors, who still vividly remember the horrors of medical exploitation, such as the Tuskegee syphilis study, where hundreds of impoverished black rural men suffered syphilis effects for decades with minimal treatment as part of the medical study.
“We know to focus on black and brown communities,” said Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt, the district health department director, earlier this month. “Let’s not give up that communities of color are interested in the vaccine. Let’s continue to answer their questions. Let’s think carefully about how we answer their questions. ”
The DC government gives priority for vaccine registration to predominantly black zip codes and runs public information campaigns, including vaccinations for clergy. The latest figures show the gap is narrowing, but the southeastern core of the city’s black community is still being vaccinated at the slowest rate.
“There is mistrust in our community. We can’t ignore that, ”said Reverend James Coleman of All Nations Baptist, who had been vaccinated with Smith. “The church, and especially the black church, is essential. … That’s what pastors do. “
Coleman said he has been working to create a vaccine-positive atmosphere among the seniors in his church. Ahead of a recent Sunday morning sermon delivered via audio conference, older parishioners at Coleman’s church updated each other on their progress and congratulated those who had been vaccinated.
“There was some nervousness in the beginning that needed to be overcome,” Coleman said. “People outside the black community sometimes cannot empathize with that sensitivity.”
National health departments face the same challenges, and other jurisdictions are also calling on religious leaders to help allay fears about vaccinations.
“Our role as clergy and faith-based leaders is to be optimistic and hopeful. We tell our people that these vaccines are the gift of life. We believe in science, ”said Pastor HB Holmes Jr. of Bethel Missionary Church in Tallahassee, Florida.
Holmes has been vaccinated and his church has run vaccination campaigns.
“We knew we needed trusted voices because of hesitation and reluctance. So we’ve brought together individuals of great influence in black and brown communities, especially from our community, to say, you know, I’m going to take the vaccine and roll up our sleeves and do that in public. ” he said.
In Washington, the Pennsylvania Avenue Baptist Church has been designated a “faith-based vaccination partner,” with a portable vaccination trailer placed in the church parking lot twice a week. The vaccinations went smoothly. But to show that vaccine skepticism transcends racial boundaries, a white DC resident, Kathy Boylan, crossed town on a recent frosty day to stand on the sidewalk outside the church with a sign that read “Danger: COVID Vaccine Say No! ”
The city’s community influencer campaign doesn’t just target religious leaders.
Prominent Black Washington figures such as Vice President Kamala Harris, local radio host Kojo Nnamdi and Doug Williams, a Super Bowl-winning quarterback for the Washington soccer team, all received their injections at the United Medical Center in southeast Washington and used their public platforms to encourage others to follow suit.
“I really believe more people want to take it than not,” said hospital official Toya Carmichael, who said several people have asked for the same nurse who vaccinated Harris.
But some DC officials insist that simple cultural restraint, while real, doesn’t fully explain the delay in Washington’s racial vaccination. Interviews with black residents revealed a common set of complaints: seniors who did not navigate the online registration system or were on hold to be told all appointments had been fulfilled.
Lisa Chapman had to overcome both personal reluctance and logistical obstacles to plan vaccinations for her parents, Walter Coates, 82, and Rosa Coates, 80.
She had to convince them first.
‘I just wasn’t sure. I wanted to wait a while, ”said Rosa Coates. But (Lisa) convinced me. She kept talking to me about it. ”
Then it took more than 90 minutes to wait on hold, leave the phone on the speaker and turn it back on when a human answered.
‘That is really a long wait. I think a lot of people want to have it. They just can’t get through, ”Chapman said.
DC Council Member Kenyan McDuffie put part of the problem at the feet of the government. In an interview, McDuffie, who represents Southeast Division 5, called the vaccine rollout in the city “overwhelmingly unfair,” and said talk of vaccine reluctance obscured a reality of vaccine frustration, exacerbated by the digital divide.
“I think there is a higher percentage of people who want to get the vaccine and have had problems scheduling appointments and getting the vaccine,” he said. “I’m afraid some of those residents have just given up.”
In his Valentine’s Day sermon, Smith spoke not only of the fear but also of the logistical hassle of a confusing process.
“I know many of you have tried to get the vaccine, but there have been so many challenges… waiting for hours, only to find that what you thought was available isn’t there,” he said.
Given the community’s reluctance, city health officials say they cannot afford to frustrate or discourage those seeking vaccination.
Nesbitt said a new registration model would go into effect in March that would bring a new equity lens into the vaccination process. Officials have also organized teams of “senior vaccine buddies” to visit seniors’ homes and assist them in the online process.
Associated Press writer Emily Leshner in New York contributed to this report.