The Delta Grassroots Caucus (DGC) is a broad coalition of grassroots leaders in the eight-state Delta region. DGC is also a founding partner of the Economic Equality Caucus,
which advocates for economic equality across the USA.

Delta Has Worst Vaccination Rates in USA; Please Get Vaccinated Now

Posted on August 26, 2021 at 03:30 PM

August 26, 2021

The Greater Delta has the worst vaccination rates against Covid-19 of any region in the USA, with four of the six worst states—Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas—and Tennessee at ninth worse. Five of the 10 worst states are in the Delta.

Please get vaccinated now. The Pfizer shot is now fully approved. The vaccine is powerfully effective at preventing serious cases or deaths from Covid-19, and its side-effects are mild.

Some key facts on the vaccine and the virus:

• If you live in areas like the Delta that have a low vaccination rate, you’re 4 times more likely to be hospitalized and more than 5 times more likely to die from the virus.

• As of August 19, 2021, almost 200 million people had taken at least one dose of the vaccine. For those who are fully vaccinated, 99.99% do not get hospitalized or die.

• The Delta ranks at the bottom of American regions in vaccination rates (see chart below). Many people have no side-effects from the vaccines, and when effects occur they are mild and temporary; soreness at the injection site, headache, fever, chills and fatigue that lasts a day or so.

• An increasingly large number of companies require their employers to be vaccinated, spurred by the announcement that Pfizer is fully approved.

• According to CNN, the 10 states with the lowest vaccination rates have only 41% of their people who have been fully vaccinated, as opposed to the 58% level in states with the highest rates.

The 10 worst states regarding vaccination levels are:

  1. Alabama

  2. Mississippi

  3. Wyoming

  4. Idaho

  5. Louisiana

  6. Arkansas

  7. West Virginia

  8. Georgia

  9. Tennessee

  10. North Dakota

Some people apparently pay more attention to testimony from people they know as opposed to rows of data or the “experts” like Dr. Fauci.

In that spirit, here are some experiences with the vaccine from a number of people who are well-known in our Greater Delta Region network:

–Mike Marshall, former Federal Alternate Co-Chairman of the Delta Regional Authority, now CEO of the Sikeston, Missouri Regional Chamber and Economic Development Corp. said he and his wife Beth “got our shots as soon as we could. My 65th Birthday was Feb.10th but we were able to both get ours first Pfizer shots on Jan. 25th and the second two weeks later. Never had a bit of a problem. We are ready to get our booster shot in October.”

–Millie Atkins, senior Delta Caucus adviser based in Monroe, Louisiana and a former senior official at CenturyLink before retiring, said that as an African American she initially had some reservations about taking the vaccine because of the history of African Americans “being used as pawns in the past, and not just the Tuskegee incident.” But she ultimately decided that the need to keep her family and herself safe was the crucial concern.

Ms. Atkins said she felt “a sense of freedom” after receiving the vaccine because she no longer had to be concerned about whether to take it or not. She had mild reactions to the vaccine consisting of headaches and off-and-on fever for 24 hours, which she resolved by taking Tylenol and fluids.

–Rev. Ray Higgins, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Arkansas in Little Rock, said “I’m so glad I got the vaccination. I had very minor side effects the day after the second shot. Very much worth it.”

–Delta Caucus Director Lee Powell had no side effects other than very mild soreness in his arms for a day.

–Wilson Golden, former US Dept. of Transportation official and Mississippi native, had virtually no side effects, with only minimal soreness at the injection site.

–Joel Berg, CEO, Hunger Free America and frequent speaker at Delta Caucus meetings: “I received both Moderna shots, and only had slight chills for about an hour the day after the first shot.” “It was more than well worth it to protect myself, as well as everyone I come into contact with, from the deadly disease of COVID-19. Because my job takes me into contact with low-income populations – who often have compromised immune systems and are thus at extra risk from the pandemic – it was especially important for me to get vaccinated so that I did not unintentionally get others sick.”

–Billy McFarland, nonprofit executive at TS Police Support League in Eutaw, Greene County, Alabama in the Alabama Black Belt, had no significant side effects.

–Harvey Joe Sanner, American Ag Movement of Arkansas based in Des Arc, Arkansas, had no problems from either shot and only very mild soreness in his arms.