Photo: Lawrence Hamm
In the above photo POP chairman Lawrence Hamm is receiving the Covid-19 vaccination.
Lawrence Hamm, Chairman, People’s Organization For Progress received the Covid-19 vaccine shot on Saturday, March 6th at the KMART in West Orange, New Jersey.
“I got vaccinated. Members of my family have been vaccinated. Individuals must decide for themselves but I encourage eligible adults, except those who have prohibitive medical conditions, to get vaccinated.” Hamm said.
He said he received the shot through the Essex County vaccination program. This was his first dose.
“I received the Moderna vaccine which requires two doses. I will receive the second shot in April,” he said.
Hamm, who is African-American, also expressed concerned about the low vaccination rate among African-Americans and other people of color.
“We are dying from the coronavirus at a rate two to three times higher than whites but we are being vaccinated at a rate less than half that of whites,” he said.
“I understand the hesitancy that some may have about getting the vaccine since we have been the victims of racist policies, practices, experiments and treatment in the medical field,” he said.
“However, I urge Black people and other people of color to get vaccinated. In one year Covid-19 has killed more than half a million people in the U.S. and 75,000 of them were Black people,” he said.
“Many people in our community want to get vaccinated but have encountered obstacles to doing so. I ask government officials to do everything possible to remove the obstacles and make the vaccine as accessible as possible to our community,” Hamm said.
To contact Lawrence Hamm call (973)801-0001.
