Black churches have long addressed the health of their congregations, but many ramped up efforts during the pandemic when they joined forces with health care providers to get vaccines in the arms of underserved communities.
As a continuation of that partnership, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently awarded $3 million to the Atlanta-based Conference of National Black Churches, which represents churches around the nation. The grant was part of a larger $18 million vaccine grant program aimed at organizations who work at the community level.
“Black people have not always gotten the greatest attention by the CDC,” said the Rev. W. Franklyn Richardson, chairman of the CNBC. “I said that to them and they owned it and wanted to correct it.”
It makes sense to enlist the faith community, he said.
“Pastors are trusted messengers,” said Richardson, who also wants more conversations around overall health. “Pastors are with people in the most intimate times of crisis — in sickness, in death. ... Churches are trusted spaces. Not only did they provide vaccinations during the crisis, they served tons of food to families in need.”
The CNBC is the umbrella organization for six historically Black Christian denominations: African Methodist Episcopal Church, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Church of God In Christ, National Baptist Convention USA., and the Progressive National Baptist Convention.
The CNBC represents 31,000 congregations nationally, with 3,000 in Georgia.
The funding was part of the CDC’s Bridge Access Program, which provides free COVID-19 vaccines to adults without health insurance and those whose insurance does not cover the vaccine. The program will make no-cost COVID-19 vaccines available through December 31.
The CNBC has previously received CDC funding for its vaccination efforts. Renewal of the funding comes four years into the pandemic, which had a disproportionate impact on African Americans, both in terms of health and economically, according the National Institutes of Health and the NAACP.
Other faith communities also had vaccination outreach programs or encouraged congregants to wear masks and get the shot.
Grant recipients are working to increase vaccine equity among racial and ethnic communities. It’s unclear how many recipient agencies were in Georgia.
The CNBC has led a “Vote & Vax” effort to ensure congregants are registered and active voters and also up to date on their vaccines. The organization ran a Vote & Vax effort as part of the Georgia primary earlier this year.
According to a 2021 Pew Research study, 64% of regular worshippers who attended at least once a month in historically-Black Protestant churches say their pastors encouraged them and others to get at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine. Among all U.S. religions, the number who say their clergy encouraged COVID vaccines was 39%.
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