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Mecklenburg County Manager Dena Diorio appears on the Tuesday Morning Breakfast Forum on July 13. /Screenshot. QCITYMETRO.COM

County manager expresses concern as Covid vaccination rates stall in Black and brown communities

By Sarafina Wright, QCity Metro

Despite high-profile efforts to curb the spread Covid-19, only 22% of Mecklenburg County’s Black residents are fully vaccinated against the contagious virus.

Speaking to a virtual meeting of the Tuesday Morning Breakfast Forum, County Manager Dina Diorio said health officials are struggling to convince some sectors of the population to get the recommended vaccinations, which health officials say are safe and highly effective.

Black residents make up about 34% of Mecklenburg’s population, according to current estimates.

Countywide, about 46% of Mecklenburg’s adult population are fully vaccinated, and 49% are partially vaccinated. Considering all that’s at stake, Diorio said those numbers aren’t high enough.

“The data that we’re seeing now is that people who are getting Covid now and dying from Covid are people who are partially vaccinated or not vaccinated at all,” she said.

Diorio said that that while she understands that people have differing views on vaccines, the science is clear.

For the Hispanic community who make up 14% of the county’s population only 11% percent are fully vaccinated, according to the county.

“That’s something we need to be concerned about,” Diorio said.

As of last Friday, the county had recorded 114,864 total Covid-19 cases and 985 related deaths since the pandemic began more than a year ago.

Read more at QCityMetro.com

 

Main Photo: Mecklenburg County Manager Dena Diorio appears on the Tuesday Morning Breakfast Forum on July 13. /Screenshot. QCITYMETRO.COM

The Charlotte Journalism Collaborative is supported by the Local Media Project, an initiative launched by the Solutions Journalism Network with support from the Knight Foundation to strengthen and reinvigorate local media ecosystems.

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About The Project

Solutions Journalism Network launched the Charlotte Journalism Collaborative in 2019, a partnership of six major media companies and other local institutions focusing on issues of major importance to the Charlotte region. The collaborative is supported by $150,000 from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, as part of its $300 million commitment to rebuild the future of local journalism, essential to a functioning democracy.

The Charlotte Journalism Collaborative (CJC) is modeled on the Solutions Journalism Network method of investigating and reporting news with a primary focus on solutions to community problems. “At a time when local journalism jobs are disappearing and trust in media has hit an all-time low, the Solutions Journalism Network has taken on the challenge by organizing collaborative journalism reporting projects that promote excellent reporting and civic dialogue. the model has the potential to be part of a new wave of great local reporting, which is vital to building strong communities,” said Karen Rundlet, Knight Foundation director for journalism.

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