By SUSAN RAYMOND, Ph.D. For The Catholic Week SELMA — Alabama has one of the nation’s lowest rates of vaccination against COVID-19. Rates are especially low for the state’s poor and rural populations.
With the rapid spread of the Delta variant and the underlying compromised health of the poor, the public health dangers are even more intense. Edmundite Missions in Selma has received a grant from the Catholic Sisters Initiative of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation to undertake a major communications campaign in and around Selma to encourage vaccination.
The Hilton Foundation is the 12th largest foundation in the country and Edmundite Missions is the largest provider of nutrition and social services in Selma and surrounding rural areas. The combination of the two is a powerful engine for health equity.
The Alabama National Guard provided vaccinations on the Missions campus in Selma on July 16 with second shots scheduled for Aug. 13. The Missions is using a combination of social media, broadcast media, billboards, flyers and speaking engagements to encourage the community to think deeply about the benefits of vaccination. The Missions' on-campus partner, HealthLink, funded by the Selma United Way and a partner of the medical residency program of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, is providing physicians to answer any and all questions about the safety of vaccination.
In addition and through the fall of 2021, the Missions is providing transportation from its campus in Selma or its Good Shepherd Community Center in Mosses to anyone needing assistance in reaching a vaccination site.