CLAYTON — Two members of the ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Council on Tuesday outlined an ambitious plan to address health disparities in north ºüÀêÊÓƵ County, including lagging vaccination rates among Black residents.
Council Chair Rita Heard Days and Councilwoman Shalonda Webb, Democrats who represent North County districts, offered a proposal to use $50 million in federal relief funds, out of $195 million the county has received, to boost COVID-19 vaccination and health services in North County, including the construction of two health centers, the addition of two mobile vaccination units and a door-to-door campaign led by the councilwomen and other Black officials.
Both women have in recent weeks faced sharp criticism for joining with the council’s three Republicans to rescind a public order requiring masks be worn indoors and on public transportation to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
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Joined at a news conference by more than two dozen Black leaders from North County, Days and Webb pushed back against those critics, and accused County Executive Sam Page’s administration of refusing to work with them on vaccine outreach while using the mask mandate to deflect their criticism of the county’s response to the pandemic.
“‘Masks’ is not the be-all and end-all to this,†Days said. “It’s vaccinations. … Join us as we try to get this message out to others.
“Don’t stand behind a building and throw a rock, get out here and help us get the word out to all of our citizens that you need to be vaccinated.â€
In response, Page said in a written statement that the ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Department of Public Health “respectfully disagrees with the two councilwomen on mask mandates.
“Many people in the community are disappointed in their position and have expressed concerns,†Page said. “I agree with the public health experts. Masks save lives.â€
Page said he meets with Days and Webb weekly and that he “looked forward†to receiving their proposal. A Page spokesman also referred to a July letter in which Page suggested other uses for federal aid in North County, including $36 million to build a new health center, which could include services to combat substance abuse, and $22 million to expand workforce development programs at the Metropolitan Employment and Training Center in Wellston.
Days and Webb, who represent majority-Black districts that have been harder hit by COVID-19 than wealthier, white suburbs, voted with Republicans Tim Fitch, Mark Harder and Ernie Trakas last month to rescind a mask order by Page, a Democrat, arguing that Page didn’t consult with them beforehand and that masks were a matter of personal choice. Last week, the same group voted against a proposal by Lisa Clancy, D-5th District, to reinstate a mask requirement.
Page and other Democrats, pointing to testimony from health officials that masks limit the spread of the virus, have criticized Days and Webb for their votes and argued the move put their residents at risk of more COVID-19 exposure. Last week, 13 North County officials, including two political appointees of Page, released a statement saying “North County Democrats fully support the mask mandate.â€
But Bellefontaine Neighbors Mayor Tommie Pierson Sr., who appeared on the flyer, told the Post-Dispatch on Tuesday that he was included in it without his knowledge or consent. Pierson, who wore a mask while standing by Days and Webb, said the flyer mischaracterized his views.
“I don’t think they’re being fair with me, or the community,†he said.
Other Black officials supporting Days and Webb said the criticism was politically motivated and meant to undermine the councilwomen’s status as local leaders.
The Rev. Darryl Gray, an activist and representative of two coalitions of Black clergy, accused Page and other critics of disrespecting Webb and Days’ status as elected leaders and called on them to follow the two councilwomen’s lead.
“Stop planning for the Black community without talking to Black officials who have been elected to represent the Black community,†Gray said. He said officials who appeared on the flyer were “pawns†to divide Black North County leaders over the mask mandate debate.
The Page administration repeatedly has referenced North County in public messaging on COVID-19 mitigation and recovery efforts, outlining uses of $173 million in federal COVID-19 aid such as food and mask distribution, laptops for school students and child care support that also went toward North County. The county also has held mass vaccination events in North County locations such as the University of Missouri-ºüÀêÊÓƵ campus and Dellwood Recreation Center.
In January, Page appointed 20 civic leaders with ties to North County to a vaccine outreach group, and named former Councilwoman Rochelle Walton Gray, who Webb unseated in the August Democratic primary, to an $89,000-a-year role coordinating the group’s efforts.
Still, recent data has shown a lag in adult vaccination rates in Black-majority areas of north ºüÀêÊÓƵ and north ºüÀêÊÓƵ County, compared to whiter, more affluent areas. Health officials have pointed to a range of barriers, from available transportation to technology, that made vaccinations less accessible to those without the ability to sign up online, take time off of work and drive to vaccination sites.
Webb, who earlier this year won support for a bill that created a vaccine incentive gift card program, also has pointed to a history of abuses in medical practice that have led to distrust of the medical establishment among some Black Americans.
She and Days on Tuesday said the county didn’t do enough to address such distrust, arguing their legislation would create a more comprehensive plan.
In addition to the construction of two health centers and the immediate deployment of two mobile health units, the remaining funding would be divided among North County municipalities to distribute information about COVID-19 vaccines and conduct outreach with paper mailers and door-to-door campaigns.
Webb said she would be out in Hazelwood on Saturday to knock on doors, and Days said she would be in Castle Point doing the same.
Webb said she had repeatedly asked Page’s administration for support for similar efforts, but was always told “that there were no resources.
“We have tried to play in the sandbox politely,†Webb said, “but with no true collaboration.â€
At the County Council meeting Tuesday night, the council voted 5-2 against a resolution to support a mask mandate. It was the third time the council rejected such a measure. Councilwoman Kelli Dunaway, who sponsored the measure, and Clancy voted for it; Days, Fitch, Harder, Trakas and Webb voted against.