Reminder that our next PTA meeting will be next Tuesday, May 4 at 7:00 p.m. (dial-in information below), which will feature Dr. Barbara Kanninen, who in addition to being an APS School Board Member, is also a leadership member of the Arlington Complete Vaccination Committee (CVC), a volunteer group established by the Arlington County Manager to increase awareness of the COVID-19 Vaccine.
Among other topics relating to vaccinations, we will discuss ways to help improve vaccination rates among the immigrant and economically-disadvantaged community. A recent Washington Post article (attached), "For immigrants, IDs prove to be a barrier to a dose of protection", raised concerns that
"Immigrants have been turned away from pharmacies and other places after being asked for driver's licenses, Social Security numbers or health insurance cards — specific documentation not mandated by states or the federal government but often requested at vaccination sites across the country, including right down the road from here. Often the request comes in English, a language many of the vaccine-seekers don't fully understand."
Further, while "the federal government says everyone has a right to the coronavirus vaccine regardless of immigration status...each state's registration process is different, and vaccination sites often make up their own rules — policies inflaming racial and ethnic divides in coronavirus vaccinations."
To be clear, an article from CQ Roll Call, "Broader vaccine eligibility may exacerbate racial inequities", noted that:
"Black and Hispanic individuals are getting shots at a lower rate than white Americans, and polling indicates this is due more to challenges in getting the vaccine than a vaccine hesitancy problem." Yet, "Black and Hispanic people also represent the majority of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths. For example, in Texas, Hispanic people make up 40 percent of the population but 45 percent of deaths and just 28 percent of vaccinations, according to Kaiser Family Foundation data."
I'm hopeful that our PTA meeting next Tuesday will provide our families with pertinent information and allay any fears in registering (or receiving) the vaccination shots.
A full agenda will be sent out in a few days, but to dial into the meeting via Zoom, use the link below:
OR, Dial-in by phone: (301) 715 8592
Meeting ID: 820 5657 2725
Please join us for this important meeting.
Will
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Members" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to members+unsubscribe@kwbarrettpta.org.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/a/kwbarrettpta.org/d/msgid/members/CANc5P%2BAjWdzfeUQGbRpwP1UmrwkMdXCVC8wpkx63JbR8hAJG7Q%40mail.gmail.com.
