Push continues to get more people in Black, Hispanic communities vaccinated

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — As the delta variant continues to keep hospitalizations and deaths high across the nation, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows people in Hispanic and Black communities are almost two times more likely to be hospitalized, and three times more likely to die.

Health leaders are still battling vaccine hesitancy in both communities.

Former Kissimmee City Commissioner Angela Eady had five of her friends die in a week from COVID-19. They were all Black and mostly unvaccinated.

READ: 95% of Florida’s ICU beds in use, even as COVID-19 cases start to decline

She is taking it upon herself to get Black communities vaccinated.

“I will do whatever it takes to sustain life,” she said. “That’s the initiative I support.”

She held a vaccination event this week at a church, and 19 people showed up to get vaccinated.

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But she said misinformation is still an issue a year and a half after the pandemic started, and she said there is still a need to fight to educate those communities.

According to the CDC’s data, both Hispanics and Blacks are three times more likely than whites to die from COVID-19, and two times more likely to be hospitalized than whites.

The CDC also reported that of the 63% of people vaccinated in the U.S. and identified by race, a little more than 9% were Black. Black Americans make up about 12.4% of the population.

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The CDC said Black Americans are getting vaccinated at a slightly higher rate than their share of the population in recent weeks, at 14.6%.

VIDEO: 95% of Florida’s ICU beds in use, even as COVID-19 cases start to decline Hospitalizations for COVID-19 continued to decline in Florida after peaking Wednesday. (WFTV)

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