Mon. October 27, 2003
To the Editor-
The City Health Department's eight-day vaccination drive ended on Sunday night, October 26, with 14,267 people protected against potentially deadly meningococcal disease.
This campaign was amazingly successful, and its success could not have been accomplished without the strong, positive community response from the beginning.
We are grateful to the many individuals and organizations within the community that contributed so much to this life-saving public health initiative. We particularly thank David Wilshire of Cheetah Gym and Art Johnston, Chuck Hyde and Pepin Pena of Sidetrack, who were among the first to step forward and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with us against this public health threat.
There are many kudos and thank yous to go around, especially to the North Side business community, LGBT advocacy organizations, health and human services providers, members of our community's news organizations, and the many avid e-mailers and cell phone carriers in our community who spread the word about a centuries-old disease with 21st Century speed.
Health officials tell me that our community's response was a model mobilization to protect the public health, one that will be studied for years to come.
May the unity we displayed in this instance carry over to other public health concerns and all issues affecting our community.
Bill Greaves
William W. Greaves
Director/Community Liaison
Advisory Council on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues City of Chicago Commission on Human Relations
740 N. Sedgwick Street
Room 300
Chicago, IL 60610
312-744-7911
wgreaves@cityofchicago.org
For the complete article (non-reader view with multimedia and original links),
Tap here.
Head to the local LGBTQ news, events, directory and people network at ChicagoPride.com