Battling the Pandemic and Systemic Racism in North Carolina

Health Centers On The Front Lines

Early in the pandemic when vaccines were scarce, Community Health Centers in North Carolina often had to contend with racial bias regarding who had access to the vaccine. Rocky Mount OIC Health Center managed to mobilize its community to operate outside of local government entities and reach the people impacted the hardest -- Black and brown frontline essential workers and their communities. OIC challenged the traditional public health assumptions about who was at risk from COVID-19 and who needed these vaccines. In this episode NACHC’s Senior Vice President for Public Health Priorities, Ben Money, talks with Reuben Blackwell and Sherri Bryant of Rocky Mount OIC Health Center about how they are battling systemic racism in addition to the pandemic as they protect their community from COVID-19.