Seniors Get Vaccinated Through Faith-Based Effort

Miami FL

28 January, 2021

10:19 AM

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By Johania Charles and Selena Stanley, Miami Times Staff Writers Jan 26, 2021 "Lupus warrior" Debra Dawkins, 70, who has survived kidney and heart failure, considers herself blessed. Despite being diagnosed with the autoimmune disease 18 years ago and undergoing regular dialysis, the retired educator from James H. Bright Elementary School wears many hats in the community, including president of the Northwest Miami Chapter #4686 of AARP, and member of the Metropolitan Dade County Section of the National Council of Negro Women and the Beta Tau Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority. A charter member of New Jerusalem Primitive Baptist Church who rarely misses virtual services, Dawkins is one of 60 senior congregants who received the Pfizer vaccine Friday through a partnership with Jackson Health System. Dawkins credited her faith and her pastor, Kenneth Duke, for the opportunity. She was previously unable to secure an appointment to get vaccinated, like countless other seniors in Miami who have grappled with chaotic online portals while some out-of-state seniors received the vaccine instead. Duke shared the opportunity with his congregation through call-ins and social media; the church's director of operations, Sabrina Floyd, coordinated the appointments. A total of 120 Black seniors from the church have been vaccinated since it joined the initiative two weeks ago. Data released last week by the state show just 6% of Black residents in Miami-Dade and 10% in Broward have received COVID-19 vaccines. In the city of Opa-locka, for example, only 2% have been vaccinated. Residents in more affluent suburban neighborhoods, such as Aventura and Deering Bay, have a 13% and 14% vaccination rate, respectively. In the über-rich enclave of Fisher Island, a whopping 51% have received vaccines. Numbers like those are a big part of what drove Jackson Health System and Miami-Dade County government to be more intentional about outreach, and to open up more vaccination sites for the underserved. "Black people in this community don't have access to a lot of things," said Dawkins. "With my age and underlying conditions, I felt like I needed to get the vaccine. When you have the opportunity to take the vaccine, you don't want it to run out [or find out that you] can't get it after it was available to you." Jackson Health System CEO Carlos Migoya launched the partnership with places of worship across Miami-Dade to target seniors with either limited internet access or who lack the technical skills needed to meet a government mandate that requires all doses received within seven days to be utilized. Miss the deadline and future doses are forfeited. "What we found is we have not, through the normal appointment process, we have not been getting enough people of color. Principally Black. Because we have gotten a fair amount of Hispanics," Migoya told the Miami Herald. The faith-based vaccination program was piloted with 23 churches its first week; it has since grown to include nearly 55 churches, synagogues and mosques. Across three vaccination sites, 2,095 appointments were fulfilled Friday with hopes of dedicating one day each week to appointments facilitated through places of worship moving forward. Churches in South Dade were included in the mix, with elders going to Jackson's Palmetto Bay location for appointments. Rev. Samuel Sullivan chose to lead by example. As the pastor of New Bethel AME Church in Goulds, he not only encouraged his congregation to get the vaccine through the Jackson Health System partnership, but also got the vaccine himself to make others feel more comfortable. Sullivan is big on transparency and recounts his upbringing – filled with hustling, crime and drugs – as a story of redemption. He revealed to The Miami Times that while in the bathroom of a Jacksonville courthouse in 1983, he made a promise to himself and to God that he would become His servant if criminal charges against him were dropped. Since then, Sullivan has served in pastoral roles in several churches across the state; he's been at New Bethel for the past three years. He views the current partnership with Jackson as another opportunity to serve. The vaccine is just the first step, according to him. There may still be a long road ahead for everyone, but he's ready to roll with the punches and continue being an example to his flock. Lillie Harris, a retired educator and member of The Bethel Church in Richmond Heights, also received the vaccine Friday at Jackson's southernmost site. Like Sullivan, Harris is drawn to helping others. She is a member of the Greater Miami Continental Societies, a community outreach group that serves local children. She also is a proud member of the Zeta Phi Beta sorority. Before the pandemic, Harris led a very active life. From sorority meetings to visiting with friends, she was always on the go. She also used to make frequent trips to Georgia, to help care for her brother, who has a disability. The vibrant 74-year-old said that staying safe required getting the vaccine, something she had reservations about at first. "I did a lot of research. I read all of the literature available about this vaccine," she said. "And I became okay with it." She hopes others will do the same. Jackson Health System has vowed the new initiative will commit to never canceling appointments because of a lack of supply, a concern voiced by many – seniors and otherwise – when Baptist Health System canceled all future COVID-19 vaccination appointments last Tuesday, due to a shortage. Seniors with faith groups selected for the partnership receive follow-up appointment dates for their booster shot on the day of their first vaccine and are receiving reminder notices. Members from Trinity Church are scheduled to receive their second dose on Feb. 3, while those who received the vaccine Friday return Feb. 12. "It was very generous for Jackson to consider this type of initiative," said Linda Freeman, an associate pastor at Trinity. "We are well aware of the need for the vaccine in the community, and we were honored to help people get vaccinated." Arthur Jackson III, senior pastor of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church's Miami Gardens campus, expressed the same sense of gratitude toward Migoya for the conscious decision to vaccinate members in the Black community. "Whatever is bad for the nation is worse for Black and brown communities. It's critical for conscious, deliberate efforts to make sure the vaccine is going to disenfranchised communities," said Jackson. "If not, we'll be the last to receive the vaccine." With its 6,500 members, Antioch is situated in the state's largest majority-Black city and is one of the largest Black churches in the county. An estimated 200 seniors from the church were vaccinated and another 150 congregants are on the waiting list for the next available doses. One issue Jackson has raised is coordinating transportation services for dependent seniors. Because appointments varied in time, it was difficult for his church to devise a schedule for its vehicles to transport seniors to and from the sites, while also taking into account social distancing guidelines. He suggested that Jackson Hospital bring vaccines to the community by making churches vaccination sites, an effort already piloted by Rep. James Bush III in Opa-locka at Holy Temple Missionary Baptist Church and Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kionne McGhee at Second Baptist Church in Richmond Heights. Pat Davis, a retired corrections officer and Antioch member since 1996, was among a few independent seniors who made the commute to a vaccination site without any problems. "I think this has been great, because a lot of [seniors] aren't computer literate," said Davis, who took the initiative to inform others in his community about the vaccination opportunity. Davis, who delivers meals to seniors on Sundays and served as transportation for others to attend Bible study events pre-pandemic, expressed interest in being a driver to help deliver seniors to vaccination sites in the future, if needed. Over at New Jerusalem Primitive Baptist Church, transportation was coordinated by Floyd. "I have personally taken a couple of seniors who were concerned about maneuvering to Jackson," she said. "I'm hoping we could do this again next week. We already have a waiting list prepared." As hospitals receive more doses, announcements for appointment slots will be made through social media platforms and the Miami-Dade County website. In a vaccination process that favors the wealthy, independent and tech savvy, community leaders are continuing to work together to widen access to the county's most vulnerable, and include more Black residents while encouraging them to be open to receiving the vaccine. "We don't know the side effects of the vaccine, but we know the effects of not getting it," said Jackson, after sharing that Antioch had been scheduling funerals every week for the past month. "It's worth the risk because we see the alternative." The Miami Times is the largest Black-owned newspaper in the south serving Miami's Black community since 1923. The award-winning weekly is frequently recognized as the best Black newspaper in the country by the National Newspaper Publishers Association.