Trauma Throughout History: Does the Black Community Fear the COVID-19 Vaccine?

There have been 31,848,068 cumulative cases of coronavirus reported in the United States with 568,969 resulting in death. The 83% of data available for race/ethnicity shows that Black Americans are 13.65% of the population that died due to COVID-19. Only 8.4 % of Black Americans are fully vaccinated with 8.6% receiving one of two doses. In comparison, White Americans are 67.7 % fully vaccinated with 63.9% receiving one of two doses according to the CDC.

Black Americans have shown hesitancy in receiving the COVID-19 vaccine which could be due the distrust within the healthcare system from generations of being abused, mistreated and discriminated against. According to the CDC, “A growing body of research shows that centuries of racism in this country has had a profound and negative impact on communities of color.”

Atlanta, GA resident John Mahdi is not convinced that the vaccine is safe. “I’ve already had COVID. So why become a guinea pig for a vaccine that rushed through/suspended clinical protocol for? I’m not at all anti-vax, but I read the research on all of them, and we don’t have enough data on this one yet. It’s possible that in nine months to a year I will change my mind,” said Mahdi.

In 1932, the U.S. Public Health Department and the Tuskegee Institute conducted, The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male on 600 Black men. Of the 600 men, 399 had syphilis and 201 did not. Patients were not informed of the study or its actual purpose, therefore, were unable to give informed consent. The men were told that they were being treated for “bad blood,” however, they were not being treated at all and were unaware that they even had syphilis. A six-month study turned into 40 years. These men were deteriorating as researchers only gave them physical assessments without treatment. In exchange for their participation in the experiment, they received free medical exams, free meals and burial insurance according to the CDC.

In 1945, Penicillin is established as the treatment drug for syphilis, however, it is not made available to the men in the study.

In 2018, a statue of surgeon James Marin Sims, also known as the “Father of Gynecology” was removed from New York City’s Central Park.

Sims invented the vaginal speculum and created a technique to repair vesicovaginal fistula, a common problem during childbirth in the 19^th-century. Now, Sims is known for the pain and suffering he caused his victims/enslaved black women.  He practiced his techniques by operating on them without anesthesia.

Black women also endured a drastic rate of sterilization in the late 19^th century and mid-20^th century due to Eugenics, the set of beliefs and practices which aims at improving the genetic quality of the human population. From 1933-1973 the state of North Carolina Eugenics Board coerced and forcibly sterilized 7,600 women, 5,000 which were black, according to Greensboro News and Record.

“How did they find a vaccine so quickly when billions of dollars and time are invested into cancer and aids research, but they have yet to find a cure? I don’t trust that the medical world is giving us all the information and I feel like they are testing out the vaccine without fully knowing the side effects. I’m also fearful because my knowledge of the Tuskegee Study. There’s an overwhelming pressure for the black community to take the vaccine. They are using celebrities and things like marijuana to market us,” said Milwaukee resident Stephanie Bailey.

On March 17, 2021, the CDC announced a $2.25 million dollar bill to address COVID-19 health disparities in communities that are high risk and underserved.

According to the CDC, the bill will offer “grants to public health departments to improve testing and contact tracing capabilities; develop innovative mitigation and prevention resources and services; improve data collection and reporting; build, leverage, and expand infrastructure support; and mobilize partners and collaborators to advance health equity and address social determinants of health as they relate to COVID-19.”

Essential worker Charles Flemmings has his reservations but is willing to get vaccinated, “I just want to do my part to stop the spread. It does make me nervous that there are different shots, and some are getting recalled or saying you may need an additional shot.”

On April 13, 2021, after 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine were administered in the U.S., the CDC and the FDA recommend a pause of the vaccine due to a rare and severe type of blood clot called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis.  

As of April 23, 2021, the pause has been lifted following a thorough safety review.