Beyond Tuskegee, Covid Vaccination in Communities of Color

In communities of color in the United States, there is severe distrust of the medical community that spans generations. This distrust, combined with the medical community’s lack of effort to engage and educate communities of color has resulted in significant differences between health outcomes of minorities compared to whites.

This difference has never been more apparent than in the Covid-19 pandemic. In the United States, blacks are 3 times more likely to contract and die from Covid than whites. The vaccines being developed offer a light at the end of the tunnel, yet whites have been vaccinated at a much higher rate than blacks. According to CDC data, whites are being vaccinated at a rate 3 times higher than black Americans.

Although not the only reason, trust may be a big factor in this discrepancy, 35% of Black Americans said they don’t plan to get the vaccine, citing fears about safety and concerns that the vaccines are so new. The webinar is designed to engage and educate on both Covid 19, reasons to be vaccinated, and the bigger cause of inclusion into clinical trials.  We hope to take a step toward alleviating the distrust by bringing together a researcher, a clinical trial expert, and a prominent member of the black community to discuss the issues and concerns, as well as try to educate the population on the vaccine.

Panelists:

Dr. Jayne Morgan
Clinical Director, Covid Taskforce
Piedmont Healthcare

Pastor Jeremy Tuck
Senior Pastor
Living Faith Tabernacle