Some black Americans and Latin Americans are still hesitant to get vaccinated. Here’s what feeds this mistrust

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“I don’t know, I don’t understand,” said the 85-year-old. “I would like to know where it came from.”

Cunningham, who lives in Hobson City, AL, is among black Americans who have little faith in doctors and Covid-19 vaccines recently developed by pharmaceutical companies.

Alabama is a victim of the coronavirus, with the state’s 14-day positivity rate just above 29%. In Calhoun County, where Hobson City is located, the rate is 37%.

Still, older residents like Cunningham won’t even pass a Covid-19 test.

The city, located about 160 km from Tuskegee, is home to one of the darkest chapters in American medical history.

America’s history of racism in medical research and lack of confidence in the federal government makes some black Americans and Latin Americans reluctant to get vaccinated.

Health and community officials fear that the reluctance to get vaccinated may result in some black and Latin Americans not being vaccinated as Covid-19 continues to strike their communities at disproportionate rates.

On Monday, Moderna announced that it is asking the US Food and Drug Administration for an emergency use authorization for its Covid-19 vaccine which it says is 94.5% effective against the virus. Pfizer applied Nov. 20 and says its vaccine is 95% effective in preventing infections.
But a study published by the COVID Collaborative, NAACP and UnidosUS found that only 14% of black Americans believe a vaccine will be safe and 18% believe it will be effective.

Latin Americans, however, were more optimistic, with 34% saying they were confident the vaccine will be safe and 40% believing it to be effective.

Much of their reluctance stems from distrust of the federal government and the nation’s history of racism in medical research and healthcare, the study found.

Carlton Gordon also says he will not take the vaccine immediately.

Gordon, a black father who lives outside Chicago, says he is concerned that the vaccine is rushing to the market and that few black people have been tested to find out if it is safe.

Pictured is Carlton Gordon of Chicago with his wife and children.

“I would rather not try to pivot to a vaccine which, frankly, is not entirely proven,” said Gordon, 34. “If this vaccine proves to be effective after being distributed more widely to people, then we can certainly appreciate it and I could change My mind.”

Building confidence around the vaccine will require a concerted effort by black and Latino doctors, researchers, activists and elected officials, said Renee Mahaffey Harris, president and CEO of the Center for Closing the Health Gap in Cincinnati.
People of color, she said, are more likely to trust leaders who look like them rather than officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the FDA.

Communities should start planning information campaigns and town halls to discuss how and why the vaccine works, Harris said.

“It must be a black person talking to a black person,” Harris said. “You’re not going to suddenly trust a bunch of people you are suspicious of just because the science says so.”

A fear of being “ guinea pigs ”

Ernest Grant, the president of the American Nurses Association, participated in a vaccine trial this fall in hopes of combating fears in the black community around the vaccine.

Grant, who is black, said he took the required two doses of the vaccine – the first September 9 and the second October 5 – and experienced mild side effects such as fatigue and chills.

Although the trial is double-blind, which means researchers and participants don’t know who is actually getting the real vaccine or the placebo, Grant said he is confident the vaccine is safe. He recommends that other black leaders get vaccinated so they can share their experience and knowledge with the community.

“I have no doubts that once it is made public there should be no hesitation in taking the vaccine,” Grant said. “At some point there is always this potential for this (Covid-19) to happen to you and if I know there is a cure that could potentially save me, I think I would go and find the cure. .

Yet it is still difficult for some blacks to be trusted due to the racial biases of health care providers.

Carmen Bailey, of Cleveland, OH, said she was diagnosed with Covid-19 in April and avoided medical help because doctors treated her badly in the past.

Bailey, who still suffers from the side effects of Covid-19 with her heart, lungs and kidneys, said she refused to take the vaccine.

“We don’t know the side effects,” said Bailey, 52. “I really feel like at this point … the people who are going to take this vaccine are guinea pigs.”

History has left a dark cloud for some black people.

Tuskegee’s experiments from 1932 to 1972, recruited 600 black men – 399 who had syphilis and 201 who did not – and followed the progression of the disease by not treating the men because they died or were suffering from serious health problems.

Blacks who were enslaved were also historically used by doctors to test drugs and surgeries that caused health complications or death.

The racist history of medical research prevented drug companies from recruiting enough people of color earlier this year for vaccine trials, said Dr Nelson Michael, coordinator of Operation Warp Speed, an effort led by the government to develop a Covid-19 vaccine.
Almost 40% of reported Covid-19 cases were blacks and Latin Americans, according to the CDC.
However, Moderna reported that 10% of its vaccine trial participants were black and 20% were Latino. Pfizer said 10% were black and 13% Latino.
CNN en Español's Dr Elmer Huerta volunteered for a coronavirus vaccine trial. here's why

Still, black doctors have rallied around the vaccine in recent weeks.

Last month, the Black Coalition Against COVID released a “Love Letter to Support America” ​​signed by eight prominent black doctors who encouraged black people to participate in vaccine trials and take the vaccine once it got there. is proven safe.

“We know that our collective role in helping to create a vaccine that works for blacks – and that we trust – has an impact on our very survival,” the doctors wrote.

Black pastors have also united to share information about the vaccine.

Reverend Horace Sheffield of Detroit said he joined six prominent pastors – including Reverend Al Sharpton and Reverend Raphael Warnock – from churches across the country to launch Choose Healthy Life, an initiative that aims to combat impact of the pandemic on the black community.

Sheffield has said he is set to be one of the first blacks to take the vaccine when it is released.

“We have a great job to do convincing people to take the vaccine,” Sheffield said. “And the only people who can carry this message are us (black leaders).”

Black leaders in New York City, including Sharpton, launched a task force this week to address the delivery of the Covid-19 vaccine to the black community and concerns about the safety of the vaccine.

Reverend Horace Sheffield (far right) of Detroit and volunteers donated the COVID-19 test to the community this year.

In the Latin American community, many will not take the vaccine because of their distrust of the federal government, activists say.

The anti-immigration policies of President Donald Trump’s administration, public office rules that create barriers to citizenship, and threats to the affordable care law have made some Latin American families reluctant to receive health care said Rita Carreon, vice president of health for UnidosUS, a non-partisan group that advocates for Latinos.

Lack of access is the other half of the battle

Carreon said Latin Americans would look to their leaders and trusted organizations for information on vaccine trial data, side effects and where it is safe to get vaccinated in their neighborhood if they are not insured.

“Historically, there has not been significant outreach in the community to help them feel confident in the health care system,” Carreon said. “We want to make sure that the information is communicated in clear, simple and straightforward terms.”

But winning the trust of blacks and Latin Americans is half the battle.

Many people of color living in poor and urban neighborhoods do not have doctors or health facilities near their homes. They also lack means of transport.

CDC advisers voted this week to recommend that healthcare workers and residents of long-term care facilities receive the Covid-19 vaccine first. If Modern and Pfizer vaccines are approved, the federal government estimates 40 million doses could be available by the end of December.

Existing clinics in urban centers such as Chicago and Atlanta fear that they will not have the resources to reach every patient once the vaccine is rolled out to the general public.

Earlier this year, some ran out of personal protective equipment and Covid-19 testing.

CommunityHealth in Chicago, which provides free health care to nearly 8,000 patients – mostly latino – is understaffed with just 42 staff and 1,000 volunteers, said CEO Stephanie Willding.

Willding said his clinic was not equipped for community outreach, vaccine storage and any other logistics needed to deliver two doses of vaccine to each patient.

She is also concerned that her patients, especially single parents and essential workers, may not be able to bring their families to the clinic twice.

“Covid-19 has brought to light something that safety net health care providers have always known about and that is inequity in access to health care,” said Willding. “When we talk about an equitable approach to the distribution of vaccines, free and charitable health centers must be taken into account in this approach.”

Breanna Lathrop, who runs the Good Samaritan Health Center in Atlanta, is in the same boat.

Lathrop said she needed funding for syringes and needles. She also needs help convincing patients that the vaccine is safe and necessary.

“I think people are already feeling a little bit scared and overwhelmed,” Lathrop said. “We talk about their questions and we want them to feel comfortable. But when you talk about suddenly vaccinating hundreds of people, I can’t sit with hundreds of people and have that conversation.”

CNN’s Laura Dolan, Elizabeth Cohen and Maggie Fox contributed to this report.

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