CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – The Clarksville chapter of the NAACP hosted a forum this week with three health professionals to address concerns from the Black community about the COVID-19 vaccine.

The conversation was moderated by NAACP members and the chapter’s president, Jimmie Garland. The forum was attended by 62 participants, including Congressman Mark Green, State Rep. Jason Hodges, City Mayor Joe Pitts and City Councilwoman Karen Reynolds.

The forum, held Monday night, gave the audience an opportunity to have questions answered by health professionals Dr. Greta Manning of Premier Medical Group; Dr. Keith Gray, Chief Medical Officer of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville; and Tene Franklin of the Metro Public Health Department in Nashville.

“My goal of tonight in being here is to allay some of those fears, and empower us with some information,” Manning said.

Gaps in race categories

After several crowdsourced questions were answered by panelists, Franklin gave a presentation on racial inequities in health care. Franklin argued that race is one of several factors that determines one’s access to health care, and the science of COVID-19 in looking at case rate by race reflects these categories are important to consider.

The differences among racial categories in terms of case loads are noticeable in the data statewide, and in Montgomery County.

Franklin added that race also determines access to important information to make decisions about one’s health, including the decision to want or not want a COVID-19 vaccine.

These factors are important to consider in trying to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, Franklin said, because they reveal a way forward that is mindful and inclusive of these inequities.

Race factor

Based on data provided by the Tennessee Department of Health’s COVID-19 dashboard, Franklin said Black people were bearing the brunt of the burden in terms of infections in Davidson County and statewide.

This is also true of Montgomery County. However, the “Other/Multiracial” category has the highest number of COVID-19 cases, and since March, has dealt with more than 7,142 cases per 100,000 of the population. This group is where race in the case of infection was not reported, not yet categorized, or is unknown.

Following “Other/Multiracial” in the highest case load is the “Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander” group that has just over 6,270 cases per 100,000 of the population in Montgomery County. This group only makes up 0.4% of the population in Montgomery County according to the most recent Census Bureau information.

After “Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander” group, the COVID-19 dashboard states that in Montgomery County, there are 6,069 cases per 100,000 “Black or African American” residents.

Comparatively, Black people make up 21.3% of the population in Montgomery County.

White people make up 70.4% of Montgomery County, while having statistically significantly less infection, and 5,086 cases per 100,000 of residents.

Vaccination disparities

As of the last data update on Jan. 14, the statewide metrics reveal that only 3.4 percent of those to have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination were Black, despite making up 16.4 percent of the state’s population.

In contrast, 34.27% of the vaccinations were given to white individuals.

“What I know of for instance is here in Middle Tennessee, the majority of our nurses are Caucasian, so that might account for the difference and the vast disparity in race,” Franklin said.

Additionally, in looking at what Franklin called “Vaccine hesitancy” data across the country, she said Black adults and those who live in rural areas displayed the most hesitancy in considering whether to take the vaccine.

This information was gathered through studies completed by the Kaiser Family Foundation and ESPN’s The Undefeated for a joint project titled The Survey on Race and Health.

According to this research and reporting, among the Black adults surveyed who said they were not planning to take the vaccine, nearly 40% cited safety concerns, and another 35% cited a lack of trust or doubts about the government or the healthcare system.

Those who live in urban areas and also have potentially dangerous comorbidities were more likely to want the vaccine, Franklin said.

“In order to try to encourage individuals, particularly those that haven’t quite made up their minds yet, it’s OK. Embrace hesitancy. We want people to ask questions, we want people to get the facts like they are today, know the vaccine distribution plan, and also lead with health equity,” Franklin said.

The next NAACP health forum will be hosted on Feb. 2 at 6 p.m.