Or, why the Vaccine is Like a Condom
If the COVID-19 Vaccine, like Santa Clause, actually comes to town, I’m gonna stand in line to get it. I know this might shock a lot of people, but I’m gonna get. I know that in the African American community, when it comes to vaccines, the first thing that pops into our minds is the Tuskegee Experiment–you know, the one in which Black men were injected with syphilis, unknowingly, so that researchers could observe the long-term effects of the disease when it is not treated. The one that went on from 1932 to 1972, until the mask was finally removed and the US Public Health Service and the CDC got caught with, excuse the pun, their pants down. Not only was it unethical, it wasn’t until Bill Clinton was president, 50 years later, the the United States’ government issued an official apology to the Black community.
There is the argument that, “Hey, HIV has been around for a long and they haven’t come up with a vaccine for that! Why should I trust one that they created in less than one year?” My first thought is, “well, what about Polio? What about diphtheria? I mean, didn’t we all get vaccinated for those diseases when we were little? Didn’t your mother and father saw to it that you were vaccinated against those diseases? Don’t you get a flu shot every year against getting sick during the winter months?”
Granted, it’s hard to convince people that the government is on their side, especially when he-whose-name-shall-not-be-mentioned is still in charge. And wasn’t the CDC and the Health Services Dept. take part in the “bad-blood study.” When the majority of the community is convinced that if they get this vaccine, will it be the same one they give the white community. Or will it be a generic drug that might (or supposed to) have the same affect?
If I were a scientist, I would have the answers to these questions. But I’m not. I’m just a guy who runs a community-based organization. But, I am told, I’m also a community leader, and supposedly, people listen when I speak. They might not take what I say to heart, but that’s okay–I don’t do everything people tell me to do. But unlike president #45, I believe in science, and I believe in folx like Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Richard Besser and Dr. Tom Frieden. Interestingly enough, these names are not new to me. Before COVID-19 reared its ugly head, they were all involved in HIV work, and I’ve seen each of them a number of times at HIV conferences over the past 20 years or so.
Personally, I think that getting the corona-virus vaccine is akin to wearing a condom–albeit an all-body condom. Its all about protection and prevention. I remember in the early days of the AIDS epidemic when we touted “wear a condom, wear a condom!” Some people listened, and some didn’t. Even with condom usage, one had to be consistent because, you know, just one slip and you could get (or transmit) HIV. And in African American communities, the resistance was alarming because, in the early days, AIDS was a gay, white disease. As a result, HIV infiltrated the Black community unfettered. Falsehoods and conspiracy theories gave way to heavy infections, and we’re still reeling from the effects of HIV.
Now, I don’t want to hash old memories, I’d rather look forward. We’re in the midst of another pandemic. We have some tools to combat it. We wash our hands, we wear face masks. We keep a social distance with others when we’re out and about. And now there is a vaccine, that could possibly keep the uninfected, well, uninfected. Its my duty, as a leader, as a Black man, as that guy who runs a CBO, to put as much information out there as is possible. So, while I did not participate in any clinical trials, I hope to be among the first to get the vaccine, since I work in the healthcare field and come in contact with the public on a daily basis. If I have to be a guinea pig, I’m willing to do it. If there are unseen (at this time) side effects, you can rest assured you’ll hear about it. If I grow two noses, you’ll know. But somebody Black, local, and able to shout from the mountaintop is what we need to do–right now–to convince a community that science isn’t out to kill us. This time.
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