BRIDGEPORT, Conn — **What you need to know about the COVID-19 vaccine**
Senator Marilyn Moore of Bridgeport is working on raising awareness regarding health disparities raised by the COVID-19 pandemic for Black and brown people.
Senator Moore wrote a letter to Commissioner of Public Health Deidre Gifford in an effort to come up with better solutions to vaccinate people in Bridgeport, Connecticut's most populist city. Moore added that Bridgeport does not have a health director which means no one is assigned to ensure its community gets information regarding the COVID-19 vaccine or how to make an appointment.
"There is definitely something wrong here," said Sen. Moore. "Urban centers like Bridgeport have high percentages of Black and brown people who were left behind in the early days of testing. Now, when we should be considering the most vulnerable populations that suffer from health inequity, we are last. We should look at the vaccination process through a racial equity lens, not just age."
On Thursday, Governor Ned Lamont said Connecticut is working on vaccinating vulnerable communities. Recently Bristol Health and the NAACP held a town hall meeting for those with questions regarding the vaccine. The meeting was held to dispel vaccine rumors and concerns with the goal of instilling trust within the community. Vaccine totals for those in vulnerable communities have been low, with only 23.5% of people 75 and older had first doses coverage.
The CDC reports Black or African-American people are more vulnerable to getting COVID-19 and are 3.7 times more likely to be hospitalized than people who are white.
Senator Moore has requested the state's Department of Health to assign a health professional to Bridgeport immediately.