TAMPA, Fla. — COVID-19 is hitting the entire nation pretty hard, but it's having a disproportionate impact on the African American community.
This week, Hillsborough County Commission Chair Les Miller announced plans to expand outreach in the African American and Hispanic communities to address gaps in testing.
The county says it is placing targeted radio spots and internet ads based on zip code to reach out to this community. It’s a plan that already seems to be working.
A county worker overseeing the site confirmed on Friday a dramatic rise today in the number of African Americans and Hispanics coming for tests. The county is also working to help those without transportation.
"If they have those symptoms, and they feel that they've got to get tested, that we can get transportation to them,” said Les Miller.
Dr. Haywood Brown of USF says this type of outreach is critical, especially since many African Americans are less likely to have access to quality health care and also have higher rates of pre-existing conditions.
Also, even though state data shows numbers among African Americans are low in Hillsborough County, with more coming for testing, that could change.
“And [whenever] this vaccine comes out…it's going to be important for people, for individuals who are most at risk to receive the vaccine. And those are the kind of things that I think that we need to talk about now in the health promotion perspective,” said Dr. Haywood Brown of USF.
St. Pete is also working on increasing access to south St. Pete where there is a high concentration of American Americans. The city said in a Facebook comment it is working with the Rays, BayCare and county health leaders to make that happen.
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