As this challenging year winds down, I hope you and your loved ones are safe and well. On behalf of the Georgia Watch team, we wish you peace and joy as you celebrate the holiday season.

Looking back at the year’s accomplishments, we are grateful for your support of our mission. Thanks to you, we were able to jump into action in response to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Even as we acknowledge the difficulties we all experienced due to the pandemic, we are mindful that for many, this year only widened existing disparities. So much work remains to help Georgians recover from the economic challenges they still face.

We pledge to remain a powerful voice ensuring equity and justice for all Georgia consumers. We all look forward to our continued partnership with you in 2021!

This year challenged all of us in ways we couldn't anticipate as our state and country experienced the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. From the beginning of this public health and economic crisis, Georgia Watch stepped up to serve as a resource and relentless voice for consumers in our state. We could not have done it without you. Because of your support, Georgia Watch:

We don’t know what next year will bring, but we can't wait to see what we can achieve together in 2021. We will make sure that equity and justice for all Georgians remains our top priority. We thank you for your steadfast support and engagement! 

As part of their Learnings in Leadership series, Families USA recently spotlighted our Senior Director of Policy and Access, Berneta Haynes, for her health equity efforts. The interview series highlights advocates from around the country who are engaged in health equity and dedicated to transforming health systems. In 2019, Berneta was one of just over a dozen national advocates chosen for the first class of Fellows of Families USA's Health Equity Academy in System Transformation National Training.

You can read the interview here.

Recently, we launched COVID-19 Resilience: Community Voices, a series of stories uplifting the lived experiences of health workers serving under-resourced Atlanta communities during and in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis. As part of this effort, we have engaged community health workers (CHWs) and social workers. When we first embarked upon this effort, we sat down with Aisha Williams, a CHW at Chris180. As a Program Manager at the Chris180 Adult Services Center, she connects clients to behavioral health therapy and social services, while addressing a variety of health-related needs. Aisha is committed to improving the quality of life of the people and community she serves. 

Click here to watch a short snippet of our conversation with Aisha.

On December 7, Georgia Watch and the Community Health Worker Advocacy Coalition co-hosted a virtual conversation on COVID-19 vaccines and vaccine trials in our state. Presenters included Lilly Cheng Immergluck, M.D. at Morehouse School of Medicine, Tabia Akintobi, Ph.D. at Morehouse School of Medicine, and April Coleman, CHW at Walmart Health. Dr. Immergluck discussed the vaccine, specifically what we need to know about the vaccine, phases of the vaccine trials, and why people of color should participate in the trials. She was followed by April Coleman, who provided powerful testimony about her experience as a CHW amid the ongoing pandemic. Dr. Akintobi closed out the conversation by sharing an overview of Georgia CEAL, a new initiative seeking to understand the factors that contribute to the disproportionate burden of COVID-19 in under-resourced communities and establish an effective, community-engaged research and outreach response.

You can find the recording here. There will be a follow-up conversation for CHWs to further air their concerns and information needs regarding the COVID-19 vaccine and trials.

Would you like to encourage your public health district leaders to prioritize racial equity in Georgia’s vaccine distribution plans? Submit a letter to your leaders by filling out the form here.