COVID-19 Vaccine Development and Mistrust and Hesitancy in Minority Communities

With the pandemic raging on and communities of color heavily impacted by the virus, an effective and safe vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 would seem like a Godsend to outsiders looking in. However, due to the real and sordid history of medical experimentation and exploitation of Black and Brown people, there is a fair amount of skepticism and wariness that could lead to rejection of this therapy by the people and communities that arguably need it most. In this episode we sat down with Dr. Jane Zucker, Assistant Commissioner in the Bureau of Immunizations at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; Dr. Noel Manyindo, Assistant Commissioner of the Harlem Neighborhood Health Action Center at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; and Dr. Italo Brown, Assistant Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Clinical Instructor of Social Emergency Medicine at Stanford Hospital to discuss the development of the COVID-19 vaccine, participation of Blacks, Latinx, and other minorities in clinical trials, and finally the history of medicine as well as looming myths and misconceptions that will certainly make any COVID-19 vaccine a hard sell.

 

Please check out the following links if you want more information about COVID-19 vaccine development and if you would like to inquire about participating in a clinical trial:

U.S. National Library of Medicine-

https://clinicaltrials.gov/

The New York Times-

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/health/volunteer-coronavirus-vaccine-trial.html

COVID-19 Prevention Network-

https://www.coronaviruspreventionnetwork.org/

National Geographic- 

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/health-and-human-body/human-diseases/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker-how-they-work-latest-developments-cvd/

New England Journal of Medicine-

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2025111

Routine Vaccinations During the COVID-19 Outbreak (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)-

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/visit/vaccination-during-COVID-19.html

Finally, shoutout to Dr. Cedric "Jamie" Rutland and his YouTube series Medicine Deconstructed! Check out this video to understand how a COVID-19 vaccine works and why it might be our best shot in combatting this disease. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBFQ_jbIR84