Philadelphia’s Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium is getting much more involved in the city’s vaccine distribution efforts.
Consortium founder Dr. Ala Stanford shared on Instagram that the group — which has provided COVID-19 testing to more than 20,000 people — will be administering the vaccine to Philly’s Black communities.
Dr. Ala Stanford, founder of the Consortium, took to Instagram to inform the public that the group, which has previously provided Covid tests to over 20,000, will now be administering the vaccine to Philly’s Black communities.
The vaccines will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Those interested in receiving the vaccine can sign up through a contact form or send an email to [email protected].
The Consortium will begin offering vaccines when Philidelphia starts phase 1b of its vaccine roll-out plan. This phase includes critical essential workers and is expected to start in early 2021.
The organization’s vaccines will be available for city residents only.
The Philidelphia Department of Public Health announced Tuesday who will be eligible for the vaccine during Phase 1B, including first responders, service providers working with high-risk populations, public transit workers, food handlers, child care and education providers, high-volume essential retail workers, and those who manufacture critical goods.
However, signing up via the consortium’s form does not guarantee you will receive the vaccine during Phase 1B.
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, more than 40% of the people who have received COVID immunizations so far have been white, while just 12% were Black. Forty-four percent of the city’s population identifies as Black, according to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data.
“I understand the hesitancy. I understand the atrocities that Black people have endured previously and current day,” Stanford said in an Instagram video. “Please, do not allow things of the past and the present prevent you from protecting yourself and those whom you love. There is not enough vaccine to go around, and when it’s gone, it’s gone, until it’s made again.”
The striking racial disparity in vaccine distribution could be caused by several different things, among them a distrust of medical treatment that stems from racist medical malpractice. The practices date all the way back to the early 1930’s when the Tuskegee experiment took place, in which U.S. officials enrolled Black men in a syphilis study to see what would happen if the disease were untreated for several years.
“If you’re not sure, fill out the form. … And if you know you don’t want it, still complete it and let’s keep talking about it, because we’re breaking records every day with the number of disease and deaths, and statistically, the ones who will continue to die at a greater rate are Black people,” Stanford said.
“I don’t want to see another life lost, especially if it can be prevented.”
The Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium will continue to provide COVID-19 testing in neighborhoods across the city several times a week. Below are the next available testing dates and locations:
Thursday, Jan. 14, 3 to 7 p.m.
Mastery Charter School, Pickett Campus
5700 Wayne Ave., Philadelphia 19144
Friday, Jan. 15, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Deliverance Evangelist Church
2001 W. Lehigh Ave., Philadelphia 19132
Monday, Jan. 18, 9 a.m. to noon.
Girard College (as part of the annual MLK Day of Service)
2101 S. College Ave., Philadelphia 19121
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