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The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint
• Thursday, September 30, 2021
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LOCAL/STATE NEWS SDABJ Holds Panel Debunking Tyler Perry COVID Myths to Fight Vax Misinformation CA PARTNERS WITH
By Voice & Viewpoint Staff
Hosted by Angela DeJoseph, Vice President of the SDABJ, the panel featured five local Black doctors to discuss the facts and fictions regarding COVID. The five doctors were the director of the Alliance Health Clinic Dr. Suzanne Afflalo, Dr. Robert Gillepsie, a cardiologist with SHARP Healthcare, President and Chairman of the Multicultural Health Foundation Dr. Rodney Ho o d , 7 9 t h D i s t r i c t As s e m b l y m e m b e r D r. Akilah Weber, and Dr. Wilma Wooten, a public health officer and Director of Public Health Services in San Diego County.
D r. Wi l m a Wo o t e n reminded viewers that, “no vaccine is ever 100 percent effective.” She remarked, “Even if you are vaccinated, your chances of becoming infected, getting hospitalized, and even dying is far, far less than those same events occurring in individuals who are not vaccinated.”
Director Tyler Perry interviews medical professionals for the CDPH video series. (Photo: CHPH Twitter)
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The San Diego Association of Black Journalists (SDABJ) hosted a virtual discussion regarding COVID-19 and it’s related vaccines last Wednesday, September 22. The goal of the panel was to debunk common misconceptions and myths about COVID and the vaccine, aimed specifically to speak to San Diego’s Black community.
Lauren J. Mack, a reporter with the San Diego Union Tribune, and Natay Holmes, a reporter at ABC10 news, both moderated the panel and asked questions of the five doctors. Questions ranged from “Is the vaccine safe for pregnant people?” to “How does the vaccine protect me against COVID19?”. The main questions concerned vaccine hesitancy among the San Diego community.
Photo: Cori Zaragoza via Facebook
likely to become infected with COVID-19. “I can’t predict how the vaccine will work on other variants that will appear in later months or next year, both the WHO and the CDC are closely monitoring new variants that crop up,” said Dr. Wooten.
MYTHS UNKED
Wooten went on to reference a study done in Los Angeles that showed fully vaccinated p e op l e are five times less
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Dr. Hood also explained his approach to reaching vaccine hesitant patients. “What I like to say to patients [is], ‘I know of nobody who got sick because they got the vaccine and I know nobody who died because they got the vaccine’, but I can mention a lot of folks who got sick and died because they did not get the vaccine.” The five doctors agreed by the end of the discussion that the best way for San Diegans to avoid becoming infected with COVID is to become fully vaccinated.
Gov.’s $15 Million Climate Change Program Includes Grants for Communities Photo: CBM
By Aldon Thomas Stiles California Black Media Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a historic $15 billion climate change package. The initiative has funds in it to combat the state’s current environmental crisis as well as to help communities prepare for and prevent any disasters that may result from shifting weather patterns and changing global temperatures.
climate crisis — from record heat waves, to extreme drought, to massive wildfires,” Newsom tweeted after the press conference he held in regards to this investment.
It is the largest investment of its kind in the history of the state.
The governor was referring to a range of wildfires authorities have designated the KNP (Kings Canyon National Park) complex that has been burning since Sept. 9 in that park and in the adjacent Sequoia National Park. As of Sunday, that wildfire had burned nearly 46,000 acres of land.
“At the KNP fire today, while the realities of climate change surrounded us, we signed into law a $15 BILLION package that will help California tackle the
Across the state, the effects of climate change have decimated over 1.9 million acres of land, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Some experts believe this is due to California’s severe drought this year. As is the case with many other crises in the United States, communities of color are disproportionately affected by climate change. This climate package hopes to change that by providing grants to help communities plan for climate change, as well as bolstering fire and drought prevention and response through program funding. “California is doubling down on our nation-leading policies to confront the climate crisis head-on while protecting the hardest-hit communities,” said Newsom. “We’re deploying a comprehensive approach to meet
the sobering challenges of the extreme weather patterns that imperil our way of life and the Golden State as we know it, including the largest investment in state history to bolster wildfire resilience, funding to tackle the drought emergency while building long-term water resilience, and strategic investments across the spectrum to protect communities from extreme heat, sea level rise and other climate risks that endanger the most vulnerable among us,” he explained. The state has not yet announced a schedule for release of the funding to communities or at how it will be dispersed. California Black Media will be following that process.
ARTICLE CONTINUATION AMERICA
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the face of the outrageous police killings of Black men and women, but some who identify with their white parents are not as ready as others to take a strong stand. Still, young voices are driving our reality. On August 28, young Tamika Mallory called the “Good Trouble” Rally that drew thousands to the Lincoln Memorial on the 58th Anniversary of the
March on Washington. In the tradition of Dr. King, who was but 34 when he delivered the “I Have A Dream Speech,” Mallory called people out and took them to task. She asserted her leadership role and said she would take it, come what may. More importantly, she told Democrats to do their job, do their work, end the filibuster, and implement the voting rights agenda. This is the future of our nation—young, bold, boda-
Dr. Kimberly Manning explains how mRNA vaccines work. (Photo: CDPH Twitter) t
cious, multiracial energy. There are too many who would throwback to the past, too many who would deny the demographics, too many who are frightened about what comes next, who insist on humming, singing and swaying plaintively, “We Shall Overcome.” In this multiracial world, there will be less singing and swaying, and more demanding. Those of us who watch the demographics know that numbers don’t mean sol-
idarity (otherwise, how could we explain South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and the unhinged radio talk show host Larry Elder) and that we will have to work to get the coalitions that we want. And we must also know that no matter how the demographics shift, our nation still owes Black folks. Shifting demographics don’t cancel the debt. Tamika Mallory, with her inspired leadership, reminds us to hold those we voted for accountable.
By Cori Zaragoza Contributing Writer The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced on September 15 that they have teamed up with director Tyler Perry in a public education campaign to help encourage Californians to get the COVID-19 vaccine and answer any questions or concerns they may have about it. The campaign will be spread across various social media channels in an attempt to combat the current onslaught of misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine. In the past, Perry has directed big Hollywood hits, such as Madea’s Family Reunion and Diary Of A Mad Black Woman, but now he has moved to the small screen -- social media -- to debut the series of videos for the CDPH. The series intends to focus on answering questions about the COVID-19 vaccine -- such as, “What side effects are caused by the vaccine?” and “Does the vaccine affect fertility?” from trusted sources in the medical field. The first two videos were posted to the social media site Twitter on September 17 and highlight interviews with various medical professionals, such as Dr. Kimberly Manning. Dr. Manning, in her video, explained how mRNA vaccines work to Perry. She talked plainly and in simple terms, seated across from Perry, on what the vaccine does to the immune system and how it protects against COVID-19. Aimed to be understood by anyone, Dr. Manning does a great job of providing a lot of important information in a quick and conversational way. The information provided was straight and to the point, a goal Perry had in mind when he began shooting the campaign. “What I want to do is give people the facts,” said Perry in a press release from the CDPH. “There’s a lot of misinformation out there, and my hope is that this content will give people the answers they need to make their own decisions based on the truth.” Misinformation has been the biggest hurdle that all of America -- not just California -- has had in the battle against the COVID19 pandemic. On August 31, 2021, the San Diego Board
of Supervisors passed a measure that declared health misinformation a public health crisis in response to anti-vaccination efforts in the County. The measure will devote resources specifically towards public education and better communication between the local government and the people they serve. This action has even inspired other cities across California and the U.S., such as Sacramento and Nevada’s Clark City, to adopt the same measures. As of September 23, 78 percent of the entire population of San Diego County have been fully vaccinated, but significant gaps are still occurring, according to the County’s weekly COVID watch. For example, the Black population in San Diego County only accounts for 3 percent out of the entire local population that has currently been vaccinated. Additionally, areas in the Southeast have the lowest vaccination numbers compared to the rest of the County. The impact of health misinformation will only be known if and when this pandemic is over, but San Diego County and the state of California are trying hard to combat the effects with their own measures and education campaigns. Between Tyler Perry’s partnership with the CDPH and Chair Fletcher declaring health misinformation a public crisis, there are many resources now and upcoming that will benefit every person who lives here, regardless of what their ultimate vaccination status is. To watch Perry’s videos for the CDPH, visit twitter.com/ CAPublicHealth or facebook.com/CAPublicHealth. The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper’s coverage of local news in San Diego County is supported by the Ethnic Media Sustainability Initiative, a program created by California Black Media and Ethnic Media Services to support minority -owned-and-operated community newspapers across California.
