Frederick Douglass Parrott, Jr., MD, founded the “Real Men Cook Foundation” in 1986. The foundation raised more than $3 million for four Historically African American medical schools.
CDC Says All Vaccines Offer Strong Resistance to the Virus According to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two-dose regimens of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccines provided a high level of protection against COVID-19 hospitalizations in a real-world evaluation at 21 U.S. hospitals during the period between March 11 and August 15. Vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19 hospitalization for Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech doses were 93 percent and 88 percent, respectively, whereas the single-dose Janssen vaccine had a lower effectiveness rate at 71 percent. Protection for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine declined four months after
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) is joining with the nation’s other three Black Medical Schools and numerous Black health professions associations in launching a campaign called “Love Letter to Black America, from America’s Black Doctors and Nurses.” This initiative is designed to begin a national conversation speaking directly to the African American community, particularly to address the challenges presented by COVID-19, and to enhance participation in vaccine clinical trials and vaccine acceptance.
As the nation prepares for yet another wave of COVID-19 pandemic, lawmakers continue to discuss the possible vaccine and methods of dispersion. However, with the majority of cases still within the Black and Brown communities, the National Urban League set up a press call with Black medical experts to discuss what this will look like for the population.
Researchers are urging more people of color to participate in clinical trials for a COVID-19 vaccine, but participation numbers so far are low.
The difficulty in producing a vaccine for the deadly virus comes as a new wave of COVID-19 infection has begun. Data provided by Johns Hopkins University in Maryland revealed that the U.S. surpassed 51,000 new daily cases on Oct. 13, marking the first time in over two months that the number exceeded 50,000.
Inequality in education is one of the most fossilized civil rights issues that one can still witness today. There is a lot of discourse and imbalance found in the unequal funding and lack of federal or state priority within community-driven colleges of color. Recently, there has been meteoric change in social awareness, which is bringing more light to the current state of the educational system for people within the Black Community.
“People are stressed and worried, not only about caring for themselves but protecting and caring for someone in the home or someone long distance,” Choula stated.
“It’s very important that there is increased conversation with nursing facilities through virtual visitation and phone calls, which is what AARP is advocating.”
One of the largest and oldest historically-Black medical colleges in the nation has laid off 55 employees in Tennessee.