Recent Forum Answers Questions about COVID-19 vaccine

Vaccination with the COVID-19 vaccine is on track, but not everyone is enthusiastic about it. A recent virtual town hall meeting answered questions from the black community and addressed concerns.

“Easy to understand: What Black America needs to know about COVID-19 and vaccines” was moderated by health professionals, religious leaders, and several organizations.The event was hosted by Black Union against COVID-19.

Some may ask why a special conversation was needed for the black community.

COVID-19 hospitalizes blacks 3.7 times more often than white non-Hispanics and has a 2.8 times higher mortality rate.This is due to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

According to a recent press release from the Illinois Public Health Service, the average age of whites dying from COVID-19 in Illinois is 81 years. Blacks are 72 years old and Hispanics are 68 years old.

The CDC recommends that people over the age of 75 be vaccinated first. However, due to the mortality gap between the black and brown communities, IDPA and JB Pritzker have reduced their age to 65.

Mark Morial, President and Chief Executive Officer of National Urban League, Said that one of his main concerns is how the vaccine is distributed. But he also has other concerns.

“There is a lot of false information and lack of information about vaccines,” he pointed out. “About the processes used to develop vaccines, the processes commonly used to develop medicines and treatments in the United States.”

Morial said he had questions about whether the vaccine was in a hurry. He also suggested that some blacks did not trust it because of the past actions of the US government. Morial called this the “ghost of Tuskegee.”

The· Tuskegee experiment A black man was said to be being treated for his illness, but instead was given a placebo for a syphilis study. Many men died of the disease or had other complications.

Some members of the black community are wondering what the vaccine contains.

Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett is a viral immunologist. National Institute of Health.. She played an important role in vaccine development. Corbett advises that both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are “messenger RNA” vaccines.

She explained that these are composed of lipid nanoparticles. Lipid nanoparticles are fat spheres wrapped around messenger RNA.

Corbett said the vaccine does not contain carcinogens or other devices.

“There is no tracer device. There is no microchip or anything of its nature offered in this vaccine,” she explained.

Corbett addressed concerns about how quickly the virus broke out. She said the general public has only seen work in the last 10 or 11 months.

“But the preclinical science that propelled this vaccine development goes beyond his tenure at the National Institutes of Health to up to 10 to 15 years from the time of the SARS coronavirus,” Corbett emphasized.

Dr. Helen Gale is CEO Chicago Community Trust.. She pointed out that it is important to focus on how things are communicated to the black community and by whom.

“How do you send your message, making sure you have messages that are relevant to different communities?” She asked. “But again, the messenger who conveys the message is the messenger that people trust.”

Morial said the people who deserve to give recommendations are black doctors and other black professionals who are familiar with the vaccine process.

Dr. Anthony Fauci also participated in the forum. He answered questions about viral mutations and confirmed that the vaccine was still effective against it. He repeats that blacks continue to be disproportionately affected by the virus, which is why two things need to happen.

“One is when we comply with doubling public health measures and two when it becomes available to specific people in different subgroups to ensure that the vaccine is vaccinated.”

Fauci said there was light at the end of the tunnel. And as more people get vaccinated, he said we will be closer to returning to normal. But until then, he explained, people still need to wear masks, stay socially distant, and wash their hands.

The entire conversation can be viewed on BlackDoctor.org Facebook page.

• Yvonne Boose is a 2020 corps member of the Report for America, an initiative of the Ground Truth project. This is a national service program that places talented journalists in local newsrooms like WNIJ. For more information on Report for America, please visit wnij.org.