Vaccinating Mississippi As Delta Variant Rages

Rural Americans are dying of COVID-19 at more than twice the rate of their urban counterparts. On the latest episode Health Centers on the Front Lines we get an update from Mississippi and learn how health centers are fighting rampant misinformation to limit the spread of the Delta Variant and build trust in the vaccine. We also talk about how the Delta Health Center achieved 100% vaccination rate of its staff. 

Guests:

* Tara Miller-Gallion of the Delta Health Center in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, the nation's first Community Health Center established by Civil Rights Leaders. 

* Terrence Shirley from the Community Health Center Association of Mississippi 

 

 

 

 

Key Takeaways:
0:00 Intro
1:29 Terrence talks about the current political climate and how it's at odds with the medical community
2:59 Tara talks about how they are trying to educate the community about dangers of COVID and why they should get vaccinated
4:35 Tara explains the struggles of keeping patients correctly informed due to misinformation on social media
5:43 Terrence talks about how the misinformation of the vaccine is when it became politicized
7:12 Terrence talks about how they are partnering with various places around the state to hold training sessions to help assist the community
8:03 Tara talks bout the 19 sites with tents they have set up across the state to help administer the vaccine 
9:29 Terrence talks about people who are against the vaccine and who speak negatively against it and how it hurts stopping the spread of COVID
10:25 Tara talks about overcoming her fear of needles to get the vaccine to protect her family
11:30 Tara talks about the struggle of convincing people to get vaccinated and the hardship of losing people to COVID
13:16 Terrence reflects on how he thinks his fathers outlook on the pandemic would be like
16:11 Terrence talks about the effect the Delta variant has had on the population
17:08 Tara talks about the history of the health center in Mound Bayou

Resources Mentioned:

Mound Bayou - a city in Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,533 at the 2010 census, down from 2,102 in 2000. It is notable for having been founded as an independent black community in 1887 by former slaves led by Isaiah Montgomery.

Delta Health Center - Dr. H. Jack Geiger and Dr.  Count Gibson (Tufts University Medical School Physicians) secured funding in 1965 from the Office of Economic Opportunity to establish what is now known as Delta Health Center, Inc. in Mound Bayou (then all African- American town), MS to serve Bolivar, Coahoma, Sunflower, and Washington counties, where poverty was widespread. 

Quotes Mentioned:

"Efforts to encourage vaccinations through mandatory policies are perceived as an infringement upon the rights of a lot of people here in the state of Mississippi. And this impacts the ongoing hesitancy campaigns and minimizes participation at our ongoing vaccination events."

"The thing about it is a vaccine that's here to help us. Just like all the other vaccines, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, everything is here to help us. So it is something that's not prevent you from getting COVID but it would help your body to fight against it, and we emphasize the importance to them over and over again and just tell them that you can't listen to the media because a lot of times the people on these different social media platforms."

Social Media Links:

Terrence Shirley
https://www.linkedin.com/in/terrence-shirley-47837530
https://chcams.org/staff/