Tidewell Hospice and the Sarasota chapter of the NAACP have partnered to ensure the Covid-19 vaccine is available to at-risk and under-served populations. The organizations have scheduled four vaccine clinics in predominantly Black neighborhoods in Sarasota. About 200 people, registered through the NAACP, will receive a first dose of the Moderna vaccine at each of the first two clinics. Those people will return four weeks after their first shot for a second dose. Tidewell Hospice clinicians and volunteer nurses will administer the vaccine. Staff and volunteers from Tidewell, the NAACP and other community organizations will provide logistical support at the sites.

Nationally, although African-Americans make up 13 percent of the population, they represent a third of deaths related to Covid-19. Numerous well-known social determinants of health drive the multicultural disparities that exist in healthcare and socioeconomic outcomes for the ethnic and cultural minority communities in the United States. Trevor Harvey, the president of the Sarasota Chapter of the NAACP, said his organization’s goal is to bring a coalition of churches and other grassroots organizations together to create equitable access to Covid-19 vaccination within Black and brown communities.

The schedule is as follows:

First Shots

Saturday, April 10: Light of the World Int’l Church (3809 Chapel Drive, Sarasota)

Wednesday, April 14: Bethlehem Baptist Church (1680 18th St., Sarasota)

Second shots

Saturday, May 8: Light of the World Int’l Church (3809 Chapel Drive, Sarasota)

Wednesday, May 12: Bethlehem Baptist Church (1680 18th St., Sarasota)

The current pandemic of COVID-19 has underscored the already disparate treatment and care of vulnerable multicultural populations across the nation. The same is true in Sarasota County.