January 4, 2022 – More than 1 million Americans have died of COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Departments of Public Health report that nearly 34,000 of those deaths have occurred here in Georgia and nearly 1000 people have died from COVID in Chatham County.
Although COVID is now considered endemic, that simply means its presence is steady and somewhat predictable, like the seasonal flu. Both are serious illnesses that can lead to hospitalizations and death. The CDC estimates that there have been 9 to 41 million flu illnesses a year between 2010 and 2020 and about 5% to 20% of the U.S. population gets the flu every year.
That’s why, as we are in the midst of flu season, I’d like to remind you there is still time to get a flu shot to protect yourself, your loved ones and your community.
This is also no time to become complacent about COVID, especially now that the flu season is in full swing, and the respiratory virus known as RSV is on the rise.
These diseases are impacting families and health outcomes in our community in many ways. The pandemic disrupted the ability for some to leave their home, eat more nutritious foods or get timely care for non-COVID medical conditions. Some people died sooner than they otherwise would have. Others continue to struggle with serious health issues, and that seems to be especially problematic in Savannah’s Black and Latinx communities.
During the bleakest days of the COVID pandemic, many of these communities lagged behind the general population in vaccine acceptance. People were skeptical of the vaccine’s safety, didn’t know how to get it, or were afraid of the potential cost.
That is why I decided to attend a “listening session” in the summer of 2021 that Healthy Savannah and the YMCA of Coastal Georgia developed utilizing a supplemental Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) grant from the CDC to provide a safe environment for Black and Hispanic Savannahians to voice their thoughts, concerns, and questions about the COVID-19 vaccine.
I had just moved to Savannah and wanted to get involved somehow. So, I went to the meeting and talked about my COVID experience and listened to others. I learned that to communicate effectively, you have to listen to have a conversation. I also learned that there is a lot of mistrust in the Black community but it’s often based on a misunderstanding of the facts.
Take the Tuskegee Study, for example. I learned that the men in that study were not injected with syphilis.
The truth is that the medication that could have helped them recover from the disease they already had was withheld from them without their knowledge. If you understand what exactly happened to them and apply it to our current situation with COVID-19 and other vaccines, it can shift your perspective. In their case, a proven treatment was withheld, and they suffered terrible consequences. Now, if someone rejects a proven vaccine, they are withholding a potentially life-saving medication from saving their own life.
Afterward the listening session, the leaders asked if any of us would like to do more. Nineteen of us accepted the challenge, and after taking online training, we went into our neighborhoods to talk with and listen to other people and groups about the COVID-19 and flu vaccines.
Ten of us completed the 15-hour volunteer service requirements to become the first graduates of Savannah’s Community Health Advocate program. I’m proud to stand with fellow trailblazers Taahirah Shakoor, Beatriz Severson, Norman Luten, Leslie Walker, Ramona Drayton-Jackson, Ervenia Bowers, Cassie Jenkins, Kim Jackson-Allen and Pat Edwards as the first, but not the last, to become a Community Health Advocate.
Since then, more than 50 Community Health Advocates, or CHAs, have completed the training course and many of us continue to work in the community. We listen and learn from our neighbors and friends and are equipping them with the facts that the COVID-19 vaccine and boosters are proven and safe. What’s better, they are free! They don’t cost anything, even if you’re uninsured. We also help people find a vaccination location near where they live.
We are additionally reminding folks that if they get an annual flu vaccine, they can increase their chances of staying well and staying out of the hospital. Flu season is peaking right now and will extend well into the new year.
There are still some who remain hesitant about the vaccine or have postponed routine health services because of COVID-19. Commonwealth Fund data tells us that premature deaths from treatable conditions like heart disease and diabetes rose between 2019 and 2020 and were particularly high in southern states including Georgia.
So, there is a lot of work still to be done. We want to encourage folks to start seeing their doctor again, to take advantage of free produce giveaway programs like the YMCA’s Fresh Express program or encourage their neighborhood markets to sign up for the Corner Store program that helps them stock fresh produce for their customers. Both the Corner Store and Fresh Express programs are supported by the REACH grant.
But we also know that COVID-19 vaccination rates are continuing to rise. In Chatham County, the rate for one dose rose from 8% in February 2021 to 64% in June 2022, to the current rate in November 2022 of 65%. According to the Georgia Department of Health, 59% of Chatham County residents are fully vaccinated, up 1% just in the past month, and 46% are vaccinated with an additional dose. Vaccination rates for the Black community are currently 52.4%, up from 51.8% in June 2022. For the Hispanic community, the rate is at 47%, up from 42.2% in June 2022.
According to the Commonwealth Fund, the COVID vaccine has prevented more than 2 million deaths across the nation and has saved more than $899 billion in healthcare costs. Without the vaccine, their data suggests there would have been another 17 million hospitalizations and 66 million additional infections. It also indicates that rates of preventable COVID-19 hospitalization and death were significantly higher in unvaccinated Americans than those of vaccinated Americans.
We’re sharing numbers like these with the people we speak with because knowledge is power and that’s a big part of staying healthy.
“I believe what the participants in the CHA program are doing is groundbreaking,” said Dr. Elsie Smalls, the program’s operations manager. “They are building the model for future Community Health Advocates to follow. They share their experiences, ideas and perspectives; we listen and together we develop some basic tools. They then go out into the community and make a difference.”
One of my CHA classmates, Pat Edwards, may have expressed what we do best. A social worker by trade, Pat utilizes her experience as executive director of Medbank, Inc, a prescription assistance organization, in her outreach. “You have to meet people where they are,” she said. “When I talk to people, they know I care.”
Another fellow CHA, Ervenia Bowers, is working to remind her neighbors in West Savannah that getting ready for the holidays should include getting vaccinated.
“If you plan to be at large family gatherings, consider getting boosted and get your flu vaccine, too,” said Bowers. “This will provide comfort to you and to others.”
Although you don’t need any specific expertise to become a CHA, many of our volunteers do have medical training. Take Beatriz Severson, for example. She is a registered nurse with a background in behavioral health who moved from Miami to Savannah two years ago and saw an opportunity to reach out to Savannah’s Latinx community.
“I wanted to help ensure information about how the vaccine works was correctly translated into Spanish,” she said. “I wanted to help people better connect with providers and organizations.”
These days, it’s not uncommon to see CHAs setting up their tables and handing out giveaways and flyers at school events, flea markets, church festivals and health fairs. But you’ll also find we’re listening to concerns and talking one on one with neighbors, students, parents, caregivers and friends.
We are always looking for new folks to help us continue to grow the program, too. If you’re considering a career in public health or just looking to get involved in your community, we hope you’ll consider learning more about our program. One thing we can all do is get vaccinated and encourage our family and friends to get their vaccines, too.
A native of Decatur, Ga., Charice Stroud moved to Savannah from Indiana in April 2019 to be closer to friends and family. She works remotely as a customer service representative and has been active as a Community Health Advocate since attending the first training session offered in the fall of 2021.
Funded by a supplemental grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Community Health Advocate program was intended to broaden the initiatives of the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) grant by increasing vaccine awareness and acceptance in communities at high risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death due to COVID-19 or flu. In addition to the $500 stipend that is offered to those completing the program, the training provided helps participants sharpen leadership skills and increase knowledge about health advocacy. To learn more, email elsie@healthysavannah.org or call (843) 323-9997.
