By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Senior National Correspondent
Dr. Yolanda Lewis-Ragland, a double-board certified physician in pediatrics and obesity medicine, minces few words when protecting children.
After all, Dr. Lewis-Ragland has lived and practiced medicine in the Ward 8 section of Washington, D.C., for nearly two decades.
In one of the nation’s capital’s poorest and most traumatized communities, Dr. Lewis-Ragland has gained the kind of trust and respect from residents that other physicians often find elusive.
That respect and trust remain crucial as medical experts and providers attempt to give more access to the all-important Covid-19 vaccines many people of color hesitate to accept.
“We did a study and came up with the top reasons for hesitancy,” said Dr. Lewis-Ragland, a Children’s Hospital pediatrician and owner and CEO of Family Fitness and Wellness for Community Health.
Dr. Lewis-Ragland also counts as the founder and President of Dr. Yolanda Cares Foundation, her non-profit organization that focuses on reducing health disparities in at-risk communities.
“Negative coverage about the vaccine was one of the reasons,” Dr. Lewis-Ragland reflected, sitting in a white executive office chair inside the National Newspaper Publishers Association’s (NNPA) state-of-the-art television studio in Northwest, D.C.
“One of the top reasons also was not understanding the rapid development of the vaccine and needing more clarity,” Dr. Lewis-Ragland explained while prepping for an appearance with NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., on his PBS-TV and PBS-World news and talk show, The Chavis Chronicles.
“Community members didn’t understand, and they had no one who looks like them to talk to,” Dr. Lewis-Ragland continued.
“We need physicians of color having these conversations. I get all of my vaccines done because my parents are asking me direct questions. Kids are telling me what they see on Tik Tok and online, so I’ll have the candid conversation.”
Dr. Lewis-Ragland — the author of two pandemic-influenced books, “Navigating a Triple Pandemic (Volume 1),” and “Navigating a Triple Pandemic: Volume 2: COVID Virus and Vaccine Facts, Fiction & Fears” — said there’s a huge uptick in the number of Ward 8 parents receiving the vaccine.
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