The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently donated $3 million as part of a partnership dedicated to combating COVID-19 alongside Black churches.
Reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the donation was made to the Conference of National Black Churches otherwise known as the CNBC. Representing 31,000 congregations across the U.S., the CNBC includes churches such as the Church of God In Christ, National Baptist Convention USA, the Progressive National Baptist Convention, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.
The donation was made as part of an $18 million vaccine grant program. Known as the Bridge Access Program, the program set to end in August gives American adults free COVID-19 vaccines if they are missing health insurance.
CNBC has also previously led efforts to ensure vaccinations, leading a “Vote & Vax” program to ensure people are caught up with the vaccinations needed.
“Pastors are trusted messengers,” said CNBC chairman Rev. W. Franklyn Richardson per the AJC. “Pastors are with people in the most intimate times of crisis — in sickness, in death. … Churches are trusted spaces. Not only did they provide vaccinations during the crisis, they served tons of food to families in need.”
Although the pandemic struck worldwide, previous research has shown that Black Americans were amongst those most affected by COVID-19.
According to a study by the KFF, Black Americans recorded an infection rate of nearly 3,029.4 out of every 100,000 people during the Omicron resurgence. Comparatively, white Americans recorded a rate of 2,826.4 infections per every 100,000 people.
Black Americans were also at increased risk of requiring hospitalization because of COVID-19 at a rate that was 2.1 times that of white Americans. Cases were also found to often be more fatal as they recorded a rate of death that was 1.6 times that of white Americans.
As these disparities continued to persist throughout 2022, a major contributor to these higher rates included the lack of vaccination. As Black Americans were included in a gap during the initial phases of the vaccine’s rollout, the gap continued during the Omicron variant surge as only 51% of Black people in the U.S. received at least one dose.
“Black people have not always gotten the greatest attention by the CDC,” said the Rev. W. Franklyn Richardson per the AJC. “I said that to them and they owned it and wanted to correct it.”
