Equity Lab: In Meadowview, COVID vaccination is a joyous, family affair

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Good afternoon, Equity Lab readers:

Today is Wednesday, April 14, 2021, and I’m Alex Yoon-Hendricks.

Last Friday, I drove down to the Sam and Bonnie Pannell Community Center in Meadowview, where thousands of doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been distributed to residents each Friday for the last month.

I was amazed by the sight, and felt hopeful for one of the first times since the pandemic first bore down on us. Hundreds of residents of all backgrounds patiently lined up outside. The auditorium pulsed with dance music, as nurses and volunteers waved placards ushering people forward. Rows of tents and chairs on the lawn outside for those already inoculated.

Christy Hanbyul Na passed out mandarins and water bottles to those waiting in line. During a global crisis defined by its disparities, Na said she saw an email requesting volunteers and felt compelled to help out. The first day the vaccine clinic opened, 90% of vaccines were administered to residents of color, 52% to individuals whose primary language was not English.

“I actually have to work today, but I read that email and I was like, ‘Hey, I really need to go,’ ” Na said.

Rhiannah Gordon arrived Friday to get her second shot, her two kids Flinn and Rhiley in tow. About a month ago, she had tried to get a shot at a pop-up clinic at Salvation Army, but when she arrived, the doctor there told Gordon she had just missed the last few doses.

The doctor, who was Black, told Gordon she’d take down her name and number to notify her if other appointments opened up. “We have to get Black people vaccinated,” she told Gordon. “I’ll call you.” Three weeks ago, the doctor called to see if Gordon would be free to go to the Meadowview site.

“She called me and got me registered, and I don’t even know her name,” Gordon said. “Which is tragic because that was really cool of her.”

Also lined up was Laura Xiong, who had come with mother Xia Vang. Xiong is a retail worker at a Ross in Elk Grove, and is getting vaccinated to feel safer at work. The store just issued new guidance saying customers don’t have to wear a mask, she said, and workers can’t require customers to wear them.

Inside the community center, Joan Holmes-Asamoah was busy injecting vaccines. The nurse practitioner had come out of retirement in January to pitch in on the Herculean task of vaccinating millions of county residents.

“One lady, she started crying and I thought it was because of the injection. And she said, ‘No, I’m just happy. Now I can have my grandchildren and do so much more,’ ” Holmes-Asamoah said.

Holmes-Asamoah had already vaccinated about 120 people on Friday when Carolina Ramos, a resident living off 47th Avenue, sat down in front of her table to receive her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

Ramos’ entire family contracted COVID-19 in January, including herself, her mother, her mother’s husband, and her aunt, who joined her to get a shot at the clinic.

Coronavirus killed Ramos’ mother’s husband, a loss that is “still fresh” for the family. As she waited outside the community center to finish her observation period, she said she hopes her family will now at least be “extra protected” from contracting the disease again.

Here’s what else you need to know this week:

Must-Read Stories

• COVID SMALL BUSINESS LOANS STRUGGLED TO REACH UNDERSERVED NEIGHBORHOODS: Despite a stated goal from city staff to distribute at least 75% of the forgivable loans ranging from $2,500 to $25,000 to businesses located in disadvantaged neighborhoods, only about 38% of funding went to those businesses. For some business leaders, it symbolizes continued disinvestment in communities that were already struggling before the pandemic. [Read more here]

• RACIAL DISPARITY AMONG STUDENTS RETURNING TO SAC CITY UNIFIED CLASSROOMS: Only about one in three Asian households in the district will send their children back to the classroom — the lowest rate of any ethnic group, and a trend that’s been reflected in school districts nationwide. [Read more here]

• HOW THE COVID PANDEMIC SET BACK CALIFORNIA WOMEN: The pandemic has caused more California women than men to lose their jobs, a discrepancy that persists as California’s economy improves, the latest state data show. About 11% of California women 16 and older were unemployed and seeking work, on average, each month during 2020, compared to 9.5% of men. In 2019, by comparison, the unemployment rate was 4.1% for California women and men. [Read more here]

• SACRAMENTO COUNTY WOMEN’S COMMISSION : Want to help Sacramento County women and girls overcome economic, social and judicial inequities? There’s a new commission for it, and it’s looking for commissioners. The county is seeking applicants as it puts together its inaugural commission on the status of women and girls, focused on advancing gender equity, justice, and well-being. [Read more here]

Are you vaccinated and reuniting with loved ones?

We know COVID reunions are happening all over the Sacramento region right now. Thousands will occur this month as more and more people received the vaccine.

We want to hear your story.

The Sacramento Bee invites you to submit a video and short description of your safe, fully vaccinated COVID reunion over the next few weeks. Please share your joy with the community as the region begins to slowly open back up.

➡️ Click here to submit your video.

Having trouble submitting your video? Please email it to The Bee’s Sohail Al-Jamea at saljamea@mcclatchy.com.

More Interesting Reads

• Daunte Wright killed by Minnesota police after being pulled over for air freshener | VICE News

• See COVID vaccination rates in every Sacramento County ZIP code | The Sacramento Bee

• Sacramento volunteers protect neighborhood elders on errands amid spike in anti-Asian hate | The Sacramento Bee

• Sacramento opens another homeless ‘Safe Ground.’ Here’s where and why | The Sacramento Bee

• ‘Fake Mexican,’ ‘African Princess’: Second Nav Gill report says he used racist nicknames | The Sacramento Bee

• Will Californians need a vaccine passport this summer? It depends on where you want to go | The Sacramento Bee

• Cops caught on video holding a Black army Lieutenant at gunpoint, then pepper-spraying him | VICE News

• Intersex kids are getting caught in the GOP’s war on Trans health care | VICE News

What we’re watching/listening to (and you should, too!)

Last week, the Hip-Hop community mourned the loss of rapper, Earl Simmons, better known as DMX. He was rushed to a hospital after suffering a heart attack as a result of a drug overdose at his home in White Plains, New York on April 2. Simmons was fighting for his life for a week until his family pronounced him dead on April 9. DMX touched the hearts of many people around the world not only through his music, but those that had the opportunity to meet him and engage in conversation with him have said through interviews and social media posts that he was one of the most genuine souls. He was one of a kind. He was a man of faith — a testimony of God’s work.

Through his unique rap style - passionate, soulful, and energetic — DMX shined his light on the world with hit songs like “Party Up,” “X Gon’ Give It To Ya,” and of course, one of my favorites “Ruff Ryders Anthem.” He stands in a class alone with the late-Tupac Shakur as the only rappers to have released two platinum albums in the same year. Simmons did it in 1998 when he released his debut album, It’s Dark and Hell is Hot, and followed it with Flesh of My Blood, Blood of my Blood.

I can recall as a kid in elementary school, mimicking the “Ruff Ryders Anthem,” whenever we had to perform practice fire drills. My friends and I would scream at the top of our lungs in a 20-25 student classroom, “Stop! Drop! Shut ‘em down, open up shop!” I remember teachers wanting to be upset and say take the practice drill seriously, but they too cracked a smile because that’s how compelling the song and DMX was.

When the news broke and I expressed my condolences on Twitter, I had a follower reply to my post to let me know that the DMX song “Slippin’” came on his Pandora radio station and the meaning of the song took a whole different approach after hearing of his passing. As the hip-hop community, his fans, and his loved ones are saddened by his passing I encourage everyone to listen to his catalog and pay respects. I encourage you, if anything, take the time to listen to DMX give a prayer, it’s bone-chilling. Songs like “Lord Give Me a Sign” contain his prayers through his music. Through the spirit of his art, his words of inspiration and redemption, DMX will live forever. Rest in power, Earl “DMX” Simmons.

-Marcus D. Smith

The Equity Lab: Black Communities Reporter

Where to find us

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Thank you for reading, and we will see you again next week!

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This story was originally published April 14, 2021 at 1:00 PM.