GLOUCESTER, Va. (WAVY) — The head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Gloucester recently quoted the late civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who said in 1964, “The time is always right to do what is right.”
King was calling for the continuation of the nonviolent movement for racial equality.
Brenda Dixon, a registered nurse, is president of the Gloucester chapter of the NAACP, was calling for more vaccines to save the lives of minorities, who have been disproportionately sickened or killed by the novel coronavirus.
With a population of 37,000, only 8.7% of the residents of Gloucester County are African American. According to the state of Virginia’s dashboard on COVID-19, 5,663 white residents in Gloucester have received at least one vaccination while 556 Black residents have received at least one shot.
Had it not been for clinics sponsored by the Gloucester NAACP, the numbers, if current, would reveal a vaccination disparity.
Dixon tells 10 On Your Side she negotiated for months with the Peninsula Health District, the Board of Supervisors, and Riverside Health in order to secure vaccinations specifically for the minority community.
The Gloucester NAACP held its first vaccination clinic for African Americans on Feb. 20 at Riverside Walter Reed Hospital where patients received their first dose of the Moderna vaccine.
After a second clinic on March 20, 157 minorities are fully vaccinated while another 100 received their first shot. It is not clear whether the dashboard includes numbers from two days ago.
Dixon, a registered nurse with 40 years of experience, has issued a clarion call to health officials and politicians in Gloucester: many minorities in the Gloucester area have high-risk factors including multiple comorbidities, no internet access, and other issues.
In a statement to 10 On Your Side Dixon wrote: “Transportation issues and health issues, such as dialysis which occurs on specific days, limit the days the client is available for vaccination, and a general lack of knowledge and resources hinder accessibility to the vaccine.”
While the statewide vaccine registration system is based on residents who have access to computers, an internet connection, and text messaging, Dixon contacted 257 residents by phone to register them on the state’s system. Some of the patients she has helped don’t speak English and one man, who received a vaccine Saturday, is illiterate.
Images of those who attended her clinics tell the story of a population in need. They came on crutches, in wheelchairs, and with oxygen tanks. Dixon said it’s not unusual to find residents in their 50s and 60s who have multiple comorbidities such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and kidney failure.
Volunteers from the Southeastern Chapter of the National Black Nurses Association were on hand to help. Monifa Dukes is the president of the 26 member organization
“A lot of them are handicapped, disabled so they are going to need help with their mobility. We need more culturally competent nurses that can relate to black and brown people,” said Dukes.
Dixon is calling on the state to provide 300 more vaccines, preferably the one-and-done Johnson & Johnson vaccine, for the high-risk minority population in the Gloucester area. The Black nurses are calling on more minorities in medicine to join their efforts.
Nursing students from Norfolk State University, who are members of the group, were also on hand for a real-time lesson on the coronavirus pandemic.
“From being in our association, they are with experienced nurses who are going to help them and lead them through nursing,” said Dukes.
“We are going to leave a legacy. We plan on making history in southeastern Virginia and Hampton Roads and we are ready. We are ready for the challenge,” said Telena Pollard, the founder of the Southeastern Virginia Chapter of the National Black Nurses Association.