Page 10 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, June 11, 2021 Malden is a state leader in ‘Vaccine Equity’ with high rates in race and culture groups Asian Malden residents have highest percentage of vaccination rates in this community, among top numbers in Mass. By Steve Freker T COVID-19 | FROM PAGE 1 (DPH). Rounding out the top five in Massachusetts are Boston (5.9 cases per 100,000), Randolph (6.0), Worcester (6.2), Leominster (6.5) and Framingham (6.8). YARD SALE Saturday, June 12 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM Chelsea * Home Goods * Furniture * Lots & Lots of Items! (Off Rte. 16 Revere Beach Pkwy.) * New Air Conditioner - $50 * Heavy Duty Plastic Shelving he biggest rollout of a vaccine against a virus in world history has been accompanied from the outset with a conMalden also checks in at one of the lowest positivity percentages of all those who undergo COVID testing in Massachusetts. According to Mass DPH figures, just 1.06 percent of the 5,177 tests conducted in the city of Malden in the past 14 days have come out positive. Health experts both locally, statewide and nationally credit an efficient rollout of vaccines for the turnaround. More than 60 percent of people over 18, nationwide, have received at least one shot, and almost half are fully vaccinated, according to federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports. In addition to having the lowest case numbers, Malden ranks among the highest communities overall, statewide, in percentage of residents either partially or fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Some 61.7 percent of all Malden residents hit this mark, with over 42,607 local residents making this list, according to data compiled by DPH this week. This surpasses the Massachusetts state average of about 57 percent with partially or fully vaccinated. As a state, Massachusetts has consistently been ranked #1 or #2 in the state for vaccination percentages nationally. As of press time, Massachusetts was #2 in the nation, behind topranked Vermont, which has 58 percent of its population vaccinated. The six New England states happen to occupy the top six spots in the national rankings of top vaccination percentages. One of the reasons for Malden’s high vaccination rate – which spreads across all demographics – is the outreach by Malden city officials and agencies, including the Mayor’s Office and Malden Health Department, as well as outside agencies which are using grant funding to “get the word out.” Phone calls, emails and good, old-fashioned knocking on doors to deliver information on free COVID-19 vaccination clinics available in Malden and in the area have been going on for months, with the assistance of outside agencies. Health Care For All (HCFA) is just one of the agencies assisting locally in Malden through state and federal grant funding. SCHOLARSHIP | FROM PAGE 8 19.) Hoang Nguyen – $4,000 20.) Huyen Nguyen – $4,000 21.) Khiem Nguyen – $4,000 22.) Uyen Nham – $4,000 23.) Natalie Pham – $4,000 24.) Makayla Preston – $4,000 25.) Michael Shi – $4,000 26.) Ryleigh Stumpf – $4,000 27.) Yongye Tan – $4,000 cern whether it would be distributed fairly to different populations. The term “vaccine equity” is used to describe the efforts being made across-the-board, from the international level right down to the streets of Malden. After several months since the COVID-19 vaccine first began being administered, Malden has emerged as a state leader in vaccine equity. Malden is among the state leaders in vaccination rates among racial and ethnic groups, according to Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) data. In Malden: — Malden’s Asian residents lead the list with nearly 63 percent receiving vaccinations. (In Malden, Asian residents comprise 22.5 percent of the city's 61,000 population, close to 15,000 community members.) This figure surpasses the statewide average of 58 percent of Asian residents vaccinated in Mass. — Malden’s Caucasian/Non-Hispanic residents, the city’s largest racial group at 53.1 percent, have a 62.5 percent vaccination rate. — Malden’s Hispanic-Latino community, about 8.5 percent, or, 6.100 residents, has a 48.6 percent vaccination rate. — Black residents of Malden have been vaccinated at a rate of 30 percent. Comprising about 18.5 of Malden’s community, about 12,000 residents, the 30 percent is close to the statewide average and surpasses the national rate. A combination of intensive outreach and other actions has led to high rates of vaccination percentages among a number of race and ethnic groups. Malden’s data meets or exceeds the percentages of the highest rates across the state. City health and other officials have endorsed and embraced the statewide push for more and wider vaccinations for all. They have had a great deal of success working with agencies associated with the state’s COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Initiative, a grant program which has distributed over $3.2 million statewide to help foster increased awareness of the vaccine as well provide guidance to vaccine access. The Vaccine Equity Initiative works with the populations and communities hardest hit by COVID-19 to increase awareness and acceptance of the vaccine, access to vaccination locations and vaccine administration rates. According to the DPH, this approach “is driven by community needs and is centered on equity, a core pillar of the state’s vaccine distribution plan, and is informed by the state’s COVID-19 Health Equity Advisory Group and the Vaccine Advisory Group.” A chief concern of the CDC is that the longer some avoid or decline readily available COVID-19 vaccinations, the more prone they could be to becoming infected with new variants of the virus. Anyone with questions or concerns or who may be seeking information on the COVID-19 vaccine is encouraged to contact the Malden Health Department and Director Chris Webb at 781-397-7000, x2049 or the Office of Mayor Gary Christenson at 781-397-7000. 28.) Samantha Tang – $4,000 29.) Jasmine Tran – $4,000 30.) Jiaqi Ye – $4,000 31.) Li Yu – $4,000 32.) Ziyi Zeng – $4,000 Malden High School Scholarship, Inc. was founded in 1909 and through the years has granted over 1,900 scholarships totaling more than $1,900,000 to worthy Malden High School seniors. The scholarships are used to assist with the students’ first year’s tuition at a four-year college. Anyone wishing to make contributions to the Malden High School Alumni Scholarship Fund may do so by contracting John Doherty at Eastern Bank (605 Broadway, LF41, Saugus, MA 01906; telephone number 781581-4215).
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