Until mid-July of this year, Haiti did not have a single dose of any COVID vaccine. Not one single dose.

Elected officials representing Little Haiti, like Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn and Farah Louis petitioned the Biden administration and the members of the House Haiti Caucus to get shots into the arms of Haitians, and 500,000 doses were sent to the country by the U.S., through UNICEF. 

In a country of more than 11 million, that’s barely a good start.

Brooklyn City Councilwoman Farah Louis also represents Little Haiti, and she is among those fighting to get aid to Haiti as it faces even more instability. 

She joined In Focus to talk about that fight, and about joining with Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn in a letter to President Biden asking that he protect Temporary Protected Status for Haitians, and make the path into the U.S. easier for Haitians fleeing hunger, poverty and gang violence.