Dozens of people gathered at the Word of Life International Church in the South Bronx on a recent Saturday for its weekly food bank, but the pastor wanted to ask the crowd a question before the groceries were handed out: Did anyone know where to find the closest vaccination site?<\/p>\n
\u201cYankee Stadium is always open!\u201d shouted one woman, seated on one of the many folding chairs in the windowless, fluorescently-lit room. \u201cTake the six bus, straight up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c174th street and 3rd avenue is 24 hours,\u201d said another woman, standing up in the crowd. \u201cYou go there at 2 o\u2019clock in the morning, it\u2019ll still be open.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pastor, the Rev. John S. Udo-Okon, said he wanted everyone there \u2014 mostly Black residents, including seniors and mothers with small children \u2014 to know that the coronavirus vaccines were easy to find and, more important, that they would not harm them. More than 80 percent of adults in New York City have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, but there are significant racial disparities in the vaccination rate.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n Only 55% of Black New Yorkers have received at least one Covid vaccine dose.<\/p>\n To address the gap, health officials and some Black churches are using the power of the pulpit to vouch for the safety of vaccines and push back against misinformation. https:\/\/t.co\/fphjG280gQ<\/a><\/p>\n — The New York Times (@nytimes) October 10, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n