Coronavirus

Discussing Delta: Four Influential Black Women Share Views on the Variant and Vaccination

Four influential California Black women came together for a Facebook Live conversation focused on the Delta variant of COVID-19, the safety of vaccines and how they work.

Published

3 years ago

September 7, 2021

Isabelle Price

Facebook Live Session Screen Capture, Photo courtesy of California Black Media

Dr. Rhea Boyd, pediatrician, and minority community health advocate was the medical expert on the panel hosted by Regina Wilson, executive director of California Black Media, with the support of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). The other two participants were former Miss Teen USA Kamie Crawford and Teala Dunn, an actress and social media influencer.

The discussion was livestreamed on the CDPH’s Facebook page and is still available to the public.

With Wilson moderating, Dunn and Crawford posed a series of questions to Boyd – inquiries that reflected some of the most common concerns African Americans have regarding the COVID vaccine.

“We are actually at the most dangerous point in this pandemic that we have been in yet,” Boyd responded. “The Delta variant is more than twice as contagious, which means you’re more likely to be exposed to it right now if you’re out in the community. Because of that, it’s spreading like wildfire.”

Crawford shared that she has contracted the Cornonavirus twice. She was unvaccinated during her first bout and experienced another breakthrough case after being vaccinated.

“The first time I got COVID, I lost my sense of smell for nine months. I had plenty of lingering symptoms afterwards. Thankfully, I didn’t have to end up in the ICU for anything. The second time around when I got COVID with the Moderna vaccine, my symptoms were cut in half. It felt like the common cold that time around. So, I felt very lucky to be vaccinated.”

The conversation also addressed – and debunked — many misconceptions about the vaccine and its effects on the body. Dunn asked a question went to the heart of a major concern among Black women: reproductive health and the vaccine. Could the vaccine negatively affect pregnancy and cause changes in menstruation patterns.

“We have the lowest vaccination rate in our community,” said Boyd. “Nine out of 10 Black pregnant women do not have a COVID vaccine, and I want you to consider getting one, but I understand your concern because you want to keep your baby safe. And what I want to say as a doctor is the No. 1 way to protect your baby and yourself during this pandemic is to get the COVID vaccine.”

Boyd went on to explain that if you breast feed after you deliver, mothers can share the immunity and antibodies that you build up from the vaccine to your child through your breast milk. She also assured the panel that the vaccine did not have any effect on menstrual patterns. She attributed an uptick in those cases to the increased stress and overall environment we are living in during the pandemic.

So far in California, 48.4 million people have received at least one COVID vaccine. That number represents more than 80% of the state’s population who are eligible to get it. About 22.2 million Californians are fully vaccinated, accounting for more than 56% of the state’s total population.

Boyd said many Blacks want to hear from a Black provider about the vaccine. But only 4% of our physician workforce is Black. We can’t talk to everybody one-on-one, which is why we have events like this one so you we can try and tell as many people as possible and hear from my face to yours that this vaccine is safe.”

Dunn responded to the information by asking what we can do to help protect our communities and what we can tell our friends and oved ones who are still unsure about the vaccine.

“Black folks have been through a lot with the pandemic. We know the toll that COVID-19 takes, and we are the most motivated to do something about it,” Boyd said. “Unfortunately, Vitamin D supplements and exercise are not enough to prevent anyone from getting the virus.”

For additional information about access to the COVID vaccine, visit vaccinateall58.com to find a local clinic or call 833-422-4255 to have your questions answered.

You can also watch the recording of the Facebook Live here.

Isabelle Price

Posts by Isabelle Price

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Bay Area

Authorities Warn: There’s a COVID Surge in California

According to data estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the coronavirus in California’s wastewater has spiked for eight consecutive weeks. Hospitalizations and emergency room visits have also increased since the rise of the new subvariants. Over the last month, Los Angeles County experienced an average of 389 hospital patients per day that tested positive for the coronavirus. The FLiRT subvariants such as KP.3.1.1. Made up over 2% of coronavirus samples nationwide, an increase of more than 7% last month.

Published

3 months ago

August 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Photo provided by California Black Media.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

California is experiencing a COVID-19 surge this summer, experts warn, as numbers of infections increased for the third month this year.

State public health authorities attribute the summer COVID surge to more infectious subvariants that have emerged as the coronavirus evolves.

Dr. Elizabeth Hudson, regional chief of infectious disease at Kaiser Permanente Southern California, stated that subvariants of COVID-19 called FLiRT increased in recent months, particularly one named KP.3.1.1 that has become the most common strain in the country.

Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious diseases expert at UC San Francisco, said that the subvariant KP.3.1.1 seems most adept at transmission.

“The subvariant is the one that people think will continue to take over, not only in the United States, but … around the world,” Chin-Hong said.

The majority of the people who tested positive for COVID-19 complained of a sore throat and a heavy cough. Risk factors that can increase the illness include age, underlying health issues, and vaccine dosage.

Health experts stated that the demand for the COVID-19 vaccine has increased in Northern California. However, people are having a hard time getting the vaccine due to the increasing number of cases.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

California Black Media

Gov. Newsom and Gov. DeSantis Go Head-to-Head in Nationally Televised Debate

Conservative Fox News personality Sean Hannity moderated the duel, during which the TV pundit, more than once, injected his opinion, and appeared to be providing subtle assists to DeSantis. As the debate progressed, it was clear that opinions about each topic discussed was representative of the philosophical and political chasm that divides liberal and conservative America, and a preview of campaign mudslinging that is bound to intensify as the 2024 presidential campaign ensues.

Published

12 months ago

December 10, 2023

Oakland Post

The debate between Gov. Gavin Newsom and Gov. Ron DeSantis was moderated by Fox News personality Sean Hannity. California Black Media image.

By California Black Media

In an intense, 95-minute-plus televised faceoff between California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Nov. 30, the men traded jabs and putdowns, defended their respective gubernatorial records, disagreed sharply on how to solve the country’s most pressing problems, and expressed clashing views on the performance of the Biden-Harris administration.

Conservative Fox News personality Sean Hannity moderated the duel, during which the TV pundit, more than once, injected his opinion, and appeared to be providing subtle assists to DeSantis.

As the debate progressed, it was clear that opinions about each topic discussed was representative of the philosophical and political chasm that divides liberal and conservative America, and a preview of campaign mudslinging that is bound to intensify as the 2024 presidential campaign ensues.

“I’ll tell you why I’m here,” Newsom said. “I’m here to tell the truth about the Biden-Harris record and also compare and contrast Ron DeSantis’ record and the Republican Party’s record” with that of California.

DeSantis blasted Newsom’s management of the COVID-19 crisis and criticized Newsom for prevalent crime, homelessness and deteriorating social conditions in California cities.

“You have the freedom to defecate in public in California,” DeSantis said. “You have the freedom to pitch a tent on Sunset Boulevard. You have the freedom to create a homeless encampment under a freeway and even light it on fire. They’re not the freedoms our founding fathers envisioned.”

Newsom took a jab at DeSantis’ presidential candidacy, predicting that the Florida Governor would be endorsing GOP frontrunner Donald Trump soon.

“There’s one thing we have in common,” Newsom said. “Neither of us will be the nominee for our party in 2024.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

BayCityNews

FDA Updates Approval of Pfizer Booster Vaccine for Children Under 5

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated its approval Tuesday of the Pfizer-BioNTech booster vaccine, making it available to some children under age 5. Before this update, children under 5 were not eligible for COVID-19 booster shots. Instead, they received three doses of the regular vaccine.

Published

2 years ago

March 22, 2023

Oakland Post

As of December 2022, children age 4 and younger who have not been vaccinated receive the omicron variant-specific booster vaccine as the third dose in their primary vaccine series, following two doses of the original Pfizer vaccine.

By Eli Walsh
Bay City News

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated its approval Tuesday of the Pfizer-BioNTech booster vaccine, making it available to some children under age 5.

Before this update, children under 5 were not eligible for COVID-19 booster shots. Instead, they received three doses of the regular vaccine.

However, children in that age range who completed their initial vaccination series before December 2022 only received three doses of the original Pfizer vaccine, and are less protected against more infectious variants of the virus as a result.

FDA officials updated the vaccine’s emergency use authorization Tuesday to allow those children who only received the original Pfizer COVID vaccine to receive one dose of the bivalent booster if it has been at least two months since they completed their initial series.

Other children under age 5 are not eligible for the booster, although everyone age 5 and up is eligible for a booster.

“Currently available data show that vaccination remains the best defense against severe disease, hospitalization and death caused by COVID-19 across all age groups, and we encourage all eligible individuals to make sure that their vaccinations are up to date with a bivalent COVID-19 vaccine,” said Dr. Peter Marks, the director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

Clinical data has found that both the original Pfizer vaccine and the booster vaccine that targets the omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 are safe for everyone aged 6 months and up and effective at preventing the worst outcomes of COVID infection, including serious illness and death.

COVID vaccines are available at primary care providers, retail pharmacies and some facilities operated by local health departments.

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