CLEVELAND — A group of religious leaders in Cleveland with United Pastors in Mission are calling for city, county and state officials to designate churches as distribution sites for the COVID-19 vaccine. Their group held a press conference Tuesday morning.
“We helped convince the health care system during the AIDS crisis to allow churches to become tests sites as we are trusted voices for oppressed communities,” says Rev. Dr. Larry Macon, Sr. “We also want to continue becoming distribution sites of the vaccines and want to receive as high as 500 doses to be available through the churches for the community.”
We streamed their entire press conference, which you can watch in full below:
Organizers say their call also “includes protection, provision and education for people who are misinformed on the many misnomers about what the doses actually do. ...”
“We have not seemed united when centuries of social neglect have caused African Americans to die from COVID-19 at a rate that greatly exceeds our percentage of the nation’s population,” Dr. Marvin McMickle of Antioch Church of Cleveland said in a press release.
Clergy from across Cleveland who will be speaking at the press conference include:
- Dr. Tony Minor: Director of Advocacy and Faith Assembly Church Pastor
- Bishop Omar Medina: Westside Latino Community Bishop
- Dr. C.J. Matthews: pastor of Mt. Sinai Ministries