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“I am determined to make sure that people who historically have not been seen or who have felt undervalued know that they matter, that they are extremely important,” said Manning, professor of medicine. and Associate Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Department of Medicine at Emory University in Atlanta.
“The biggest problem with citing the Untreated Syphilis Study as the reason people say ‘no’ is that it creates one of the reasons a large group of very different people, and individuals, feel this way. they do, ”Manning said. “Blacks are not a monolith.”
Manning received his bachelor’s degree from what is now Tuskegee University.
The researchers initially included black men who did not have syphilis and black men who had the disease but who agreed to be examined and treated.
However, the researchers did not tell the men the real goal of the study, which was to let the syphilis progress so that the researchers could prove that black men needed treatment programs. When penicillin became the leading treatment for syphilis in 1947, researchers did not offer it to participants. The six-month study actually lasted 40 years.
For communities of color, there are other factors to consider, Manning said, including access to immunization clinics, needle phobias and literacy. To facilitate an open and empathetic dialogue about these factors, Manning shares his conversations about the vaccine on social media.
CNN: What are the issues with attributing hesitation to coronavirus vaccination or low vaccination rates among blacks in the Syphilis Study?
Manning: Even this term “hesitant” is perilous. The language we use around the process of people’s deliberation is a racial issue. Because if a non-minority group were deliberating, they would probably be described differently. Each person’s deliberation process begins with deciding the scale of the decision and its personal impact.
I walked around the Atlanta community asking mostly black people what they think of the vaccine. One guy hadn’t decided to get the shot yet and he was pretty sure he wouldn’t.
He said, “I have never seen anything good in this country being offered to the poor at the same time as the rich. I can’t think of any example of something really good that the poor can have too. school, not health care, nothing. So why should it be any different? I’m skeptical of anything available to me. “
He told me to give an example of something good that was first offered to the poor. I couldn’t think of anything. These things play into how some people feel.
CNN: What are the other reasons for the hesitation, deliberation or refusal of the Covid-19 vaccine among black communities?
Manning: You may have heard that the second dose can make you sick, but you cannot stop working. Maybe you pass out when a needle comes your way. Maybe you don’t think you are vulnerable. Maybe you don’t know anyone who has had the vaccine yet, and you just need more time to see.
CNN: One of the problems with the syphilis study was the lack of informed consent. Among black people, are you aware of any concerns about informed consent related to coronavirus vaccines?
Regarding the syphilis study, the most important thing I stress is that the participants were not offered treatment. In the Moderna trial, when the vaccine was successful and was going to receive emergency use authorization, those of us who had received the placebo were offered the vaccine – which is different from what s went into the study on untreated syphilis. So times are different. Plus, more black people are in leadership positions and are scientists at the table.
CNN: Why do health professionals still blame the syphilis study for reluctance to vaccination or low rates of vaccination against Covid-19 among blacks?
Manning: Probably because the study was fairly recent and high profile. But if we’re being honest, the examples of medical abuse of blacks started long before either of us was born and continued to occur after the untreated syphilis study. Since the beginning of our country, a system based on one race as supreme has been built. The way our system was constructed – combined with the resulting prejudices – has demonstrated time and time again that there has often not been the same level of thought accorded to blacks as it is to whites. It is unfortunate but true.
CNN: What should healthcare professionals do to alleviate barriers to vaccination and reluctance among blacks?
Manning: Treat each patient as an individual. Ask them why they are feeling what they are feeling and listen. Build trusting relationships through cultural humility. It is so important to continue to diversify our medical workforce so that we can have voices like mine at the tables to say what I am saying. If your experience is that your life is not as valued as that of someone who is unlike you, but someone asks you to do something, you have reason to believe that the value of your life is not. may not have been taken into consideration. when that was developed.
CNN: You are aware of the disparities black people face as patients and in society, but you are also a doctor. Do you have something to say to black people who are reluctant to get the coronavirus vaccine?
Manning: Your individual feelings matter. If you don’t feel confident enough to be vaccinated, keep the dialogue open, keep an open mind, and keep asking questions that can help you become more confident.
I also say that I care about you and that I love you. For this reason, I recommend that you get the vaccine, but I respect you enough to listen to you and continue an open dialogue as you try to make the decision that is best for you. And if you change your mind and decide now that you want to be vaccinated, I will welcome you with open arms.
You will not hear anything from me about what you have said before. I’m just going to ask you, “Do you want me to go into your right arm or your left arm?” Then I can answer all your questions. But it’s a matter of respect and of complex individuals who have the right to deliberate.
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