The COVID-19 vaccine — Why Letitia Wright has a right
By: J. Stokes
Tags: Covid 19, Vaccines, Black Lives Mater, Coronavirus, Black History

You can run, you can hide, but the past will always find.

Actress Letitia Wright, known for starring in Black Panther, recently came under fire last Thursday after sharing a YouTube video on her Twitter account in which Light London Church leader Tomi Arayomi questioned the safety of the upcoming COVID-19 vaccine. In this video, Arayomi also accused powerful entities of wanting to control free speech, seemingly challenged climate change, and made statements several people have deemed transphobic.

Wright responded to some who criticized her on social media, in one instance asserting, “Just using my own mind to think — which I’m free to do.” Following further backlash, Wright tweeted, “if you don’t conform to popular opinions. but ask questions and think for yourself….you get cancelled.” On Friday, December 4th, during the afternoon UK time, Wright tweeted the following:

“my intention was not to hurt anyone, my ONLY intention of posting the video was it raised my concerns with what the vaccine contains and what we are putting in our bodies. Nothing else.”

As of this week Wright has deleted both her Twitter and Instagram accounts and Arayomi’s video has been removed from YouTube for “violating YouTube’s terms of service.”

A Troubled Past

Aside from Arayomi’s comments unrelated to COVID-19, both he and Wright’s concerns regarding a vaccine are not unusual. Misconceptions, questions, and rejection surrounding a coronavirus vaccine are even more prevalent among Blacks, especially Blacks residing in America. This reluctance persists despite data from the Kaiser Family Foundation indicating that as of August 4th the COVID-19 related death rate for Blacks in the US was more than twice as high as White people. Some believe vaccinating most in this group will help with herd immunity, where most people in a population are immune to an infectious disease, thus indirectly protecting those who are not immune. Still, there are several barriers preventing Black people from being inoculated.

First, America has a long, brutal history of mistreating Black people regarding health care. The Tuskegee Syphilis Study is often mentioned when highlighting this occurrence. Beginning in 1932, the study took place in Macon County, Alabama and lasted for about 40 years. Six hundred Black men were recruited, 399 diagnosed with syphilis and 201 without the disease who were used as a control group. Those participating in the study never gave their consent and the men with syphilis were withheld treatment for the disease without their knowledge. Instead, the intent of those conducting the study was to observe men with syphilis until they died and examine the bodies of those deceased for ravages of the disease.

Another example of Blacks being mistreated by American health care networks can by seen with Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman and the great-great-granddaughter of a slave. On October 4, 1951, Lacks, age 31, died from an aggressive cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. Months before she died, cancerous cells were harvested from her cervix, which remained alive and kept doubling within 24 hours without stopping. Today, Lacks’ cancerous cells have been repurposed and used to help scientists understand viruses, aid cosmetics companies, the military, and pharmaceutical firms, and advance biomedical research. Though her cells have resulted in thousands of patents and millions of dollars in profits for others, Lacks’ family has yet to be properly compensated.

Going back further, it has been documented that enslaved Blacks dealt with health care atrocities while in captivity. For example, James Marion Sims, considered as the “father of modern gynecology,” conducted research on enslaved Black women without anesthesia. Sims is credited with inventing the vaginal speculum, a tool meant for dilation and examination, and pioneering a surgical procedure to repair vesicovaginal fistula, a common complication of childbirth during the 19th century. Nevertheless, some critics claim Sims focused more on his experiments than providing therapeutic treatment, and that Black women were subject to immense suffering while in his care since he operated under the racist belief that Blacks do not feel pain.

Present. Tense.

Aside from invasive health procedures involving Black bodies, Blacks in the US have difficulty accessing adequate health care. A major reason for this is socioeconomic disparities stemming from historical hardship, including slavery, segregation, and race-based exclusion from health, social, educational, and economic resources. Additionally, when Black people are seen by health professionals, they are less likely to receive the care needed to remain healthy. To date, Black women are two to three times likelier to die from pregnancy-related complications than White women and the Black community collectively tends to receive fewer effective health services, such as diabetes monitoring and cancer screenings, when compared to Whites.

A proposed method of alleviating racial disparities among Black people in health care settings is to pair them with Black health care professionals. This could prove beneficial, with evidence suggesting that physicians and patients sharing the same race or ethnicity improves patient perceptions of treatment decisions, shared decision-making, medication adherence, time spent together, and wait times for treatment. Moreover, implicit bias may also be decreased. Despite these benefits, however, the US is in need of more Black health care professionals and more Black physicians, the latter of which makes up about five percent of all physicians in the country. Once again, socioeconomic disparities are largely the cause of this outcome, as well as systemic racism.

Damage Control

Given America’s troublesome history and how it has impacted current attitudes among Blacks regarding health care, convincing much of this demographic to take the coronavirus vaccine may be an uphill battle. Jamil Bey, head of the UrbanKind Institute, was quoted in a New York Times article saying, “It’s not the science we distrust; it’s the scientists.” This point is echoed by non-American Black individuals such as Arayomi, who, in his now-deleted YouTube video, also expressed an uneasiness with the assurance of government officials on coronavirus safety.

Building trust with the Black community is multifaceted and will take years to accomplish. First, it is imperative that health care professionals realize the health care system is to blame for widespread reluctance among Black people. The hardships faced by this demographic throughout US history and in present day has resulted in real, unwavering consequences. Second, those administering aid — including several Blacks who work in health care — must practice both cultural competence, though one cannot ever be fully competent in another culture, and cultural humility. Doing so may help lesson implicit and explicit racial bias among those in health care.

Regarding vaccines specifically, health care professionals should first educate themselves and become aware of the most accurate, up-to-date information. This will help them address concerns or answer any questions posed by Black individuals. Additionally, whenever possible pairing a Black person with a Black health care worker may prove beneficial for attempts at vaccination or handling other health-related matters. Representation is also important regarding vaccine trials. This might help health care professionals better understand how certain vaccines affect different groups. However, Black people are often wary of, and rightfully so, participating in such trials.

Lastly, health care professionals must reach out to individuals trusted by most in the Black community. This might include church leaders, community activists, or youth leaders. Recently, President Barack Obama, who many Blacks supported when in office, announced that he will take the COVID-19 vaccine publicly once available. However, using figures such as President Obama could prove costly if one is not fully educated on how they are perceived during these moments.

As some can recall, during his tenure as president he visited Flint, Michigan where residents were, and still are, burdened with unsafe drinking water. While there, President Obama seemingly drank water from the area to prove its safety, a decision which angered many and some called a political stunt.

In closing, Wright’s skepticism toward the COVID-19 vaccine is understood by many who look like her. Aside from the opinions of Blacks in America, there has also been talk of unethically using Africans for vaccine testing. This further complicates matters. While coronavirus continues plaguing many worldwide, it appears health care professionals and others charged with administering the coming vaccine must find better ways of ensuring and proving its safety, especially when speaking to Black people.