Black DoctoRs woRk to Build TRust in the COVID-19 Vaccine By Danielle Broadway
Black health leaders address vaccine mistrust
40-year experiment conducted by the Public Health Service on 600 Black men in rural Alabama without their consent. BIPOC communities throughout the U.S. have also endured the reprehensible — and often federally funded — practice of coerced sterilization. Starting in the early 1900s, state eugenics programs specifically targeted marginalized people, such as Latina women in California. One particular law in the 1970s led to the mass sterilization of Indigenous women on a scale tantamount to modern-day genocide. More recently, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been accused of the forced sterilization of immigrant women in its custody. Over the past year, Black Americans and people of color have been infected and killed by COVID-19 at disproportionate rates and without the same access to high-quality health care as white communities. Considering this long history of abuse and mistreatment, it’s not surprising that marginalized communities have reported some of the lowest levels of trust in the COVID-19 vaccine.
a s the COVID-19 vaccine rollout continues across the U.S. and Congress debates a $1.9 trillion relief plan to help fund its distribution, some Americans are choosing to opt-out of vaccination. Individuals who refuse the vaccine might automatically be seen as members of the anti-vaxxer movement that ignores scientific evidence on preventative health measures. However, many vaccine skeptics have legitimate reasons to be wary, rooted in a long history of medical neglect and abuse within the U.S. health care system.
Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, a viral immunologist at the National Institutes of Health and one of the leading scientists behind the COVID-19 vaccine, has used her platform on Twitter and Instagram to help spread awareness around the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. Corbett is one of many Black doctors and medical experts of color who are using their expertise, wisdom and experience to educate and protect their communities regarding the vaccine. These health leaders also acknowledge that the concerns of skeptical patients are entirely legitimate. Dr. Harris says the message he wants to share with BIPOC communities regarding the vaccine is one of solidarity and reassurance... Read the full article at tptoriginals.org/blackdoctors
America’s history of medical racism
Black people and people of color in America have been subjected to centuries of medical experimentation and abuse. In her book Medical Apartheid , author Harriet A. Washington details how enslaved Black Americans were used for medical experiments without their knowledge or consent, and how these practices continued long after the abolition of slavery. Other high-profile incidents include the case of Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman whose cells were stolen, and the Tuskegee Study, a highly unethical
This article was originally published on TPT's national website for young adults, Rewire.org.
This work is generously funded by a lead grant from the Otto Bremer Trust, with additional support from HealthPartners.
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