Some COVID Vaccine Hesitation Stems From History of Conspiracies and Racial Abuse

Experiencing Vaccine Hesitation? Stay Informed to Make the Decision that is Right for You.

Throughout history, vaccinations have represented one of the essential strategies in preventing diseases in children and adults. To a much greater extent, this strategy has successfully reduced mortality and morbidity rates, particularly in the event of epidemics.

While it is naturally expectable for one to imagine that everyone should appreciate vaccines owing to this fact, vaccines continue to be a source of controversy, despite the medical consensus that they are safe and effective, outlined in these reports of extensive testing by the Food and Drug Administration and informative analyses from the Center for Disease Control.

You might be worried that we may not know the long-term effects of a COVID vaccine, or how it could affect pregnancies, but those very concerns are addressed by the manufacturers during testing, as well as the FDA review during their recent two-month testing phase before any vaccine was released to the public.

Dr. Ashish Jha, Dean of Brown University School of Public Health, stated in a recent CNN interview that “we should not be demonizing people who are saying, ‘I want to wait and see.’ I understand why people want to wait and they want to understand more. Here’s what I say to them: You know, with every other vaccine we have developed, in almost every one of them, all the side effects that are important show up in the first few weeks, and certainly by the first two months. That’s one of the reasons why many of us, last fall, were asking for the FDA to wait at least two months before making a decision about these vaccines, because if there were going to be problems — including fertility problems or other types of immune problems — that they would become apparent within two months of people getting vaccinated. That’s what the FDA waited for, we didn’t see those (problems), now we’ve got one hundred and four million Americans who have gotten a shot. We’re not seeing complications in any meaningful numbers, and all of that to me is extremely reassuring.”

You can also read the evidence for yourself on the FDA website, where the “FDA’s analysis of clinical trial data, as well as demographic information about the clinical study volunteers, is available in the FDA Briefing Document for each vaccine.”

Here are links to each FDA Briefing Document for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, and the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 Vaccine.

While some will think that most of the people who reject vaccinations do so because of potential side effects, a close examination can reveal that a significant number of those who experience vaccine hesitation are sociologically motivated.

For instance, race appears to play a role in determining whether or not a person has some reservations about vaccination.

According to the Scientific Advisory Group for Engineers, about 72 percent of Black people are unlikely to take the Coronavirus vaccine, which is significantly higher than the 47 percent of people who do not have the confidence to receive a vaccine in America.

Controversies over vaccines tend to fall along racial lines for a range of reasons. Since the government oversees vaccine administration, some feel their freedoms are being taken away by the government. Mistrust of the government, particularly among Black people, has a lot to do with vaccine skepticism.

Vaccine Hesitation: Historical Injustices

Many Black Americans have experienced institutional and blatant racism along with various forms of historical injustices, sometimes perpetrated by local, state, or the federal government. Many still suffer discrimination today, which can lead to being overwhelmed with mistrust.

Research indicates that some Black Americans are afraid that the Coronavirus vaccine is a tool to experiment on them. The exact cause of such a belief stems from actual historical events, including the Tuskegee syphilis study, where Black people were deceived and mistreated to a vast extent for decades.

Black subjects in the nationwide Tuskegee Institute syphilis study were used for medical research, resulting in thousands of deaths. The study began in 1932 and initially included 600 Black men, 399 of whom already had syphilis.

It was supposed to last six months. It continued for 40 years.

The study only came to an end in July of 1972, when an Associated Press story about the Tuskegee Study caused a public outcry that led the Assistant Secretary for Health and Scientific Affairs to appoint a panel to review the study. They found that these men were never given adequate treatment for their disease, resulting in countless transmissions of a treatable condition.

Medical and research abuse has a long history, with prestigious academic institutions linked to unethical medical research on Black bodies. Such systemic failure defies human comprehension and compassion. Many people of this race who are aware of their medical history are skeptical of the government’s vaccine intentions. They are concerned that by receiving a vaccine, they will be putting themselves through involuntary medical trials.

This is why we take care in assembling articles such as this one, so that you are informed and can make the best decisions for you and your family based on the facts, not on rumors or trauma. Your concerns are valid, and we are here to help.

Vaccine Hesitation: Fear of Involuntary Population Control

Black Americans also dispute the use of vaccines, fearing that it is a government-sanctioned population control measure.

According to recent studies, racism experienced by Black people makes them believe those racist communities are dissatisfied with them living amongst the population. Thus, they feel unwelcome and discriminated against, causing insecurity. Through these experiences, some truly fear that the vaccine is a de-population strategy.

This notion can be exacerbated by statistical facts that show there will be a substantial drop in America’s White population and a noticeable increase in America’s Black, Hispanic, and Asian populations by 2030, posing a threat to the White majority.

Vaccine Hesitation: Side Effects

White people have historically shown vaccine hesitation only on the grounds of potential side effects. Since the first smallpox vaccination in 1796, there have been widespread public concerns about vaccine side effects.

Increases in vaccination programs have resulted in an increase of the adverse events that occur after vaccination simply due to the increasing number of programs, which can heighten public awareness and spark controversy about vaccine safety.

Such risk factors include both actual vaccine effects and events that occur in conjunction with vaccinations but are not caused by it. These effects have spurred a lot of debate and issues since each vaccine’s release, and the potential side effects of administering them have induced panic and fear in some across all races, but the safety of the COVID vaccines has been proven.

As of April 13^th, Johnson & Johnson vaccine injections have been paused across the United States to investigate rare cases of blood clotting in six vaccine recipients. It is important to note that almost seven million Americans have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and so far the cause of these these extreme circumstances has not yet been determined. Investigations are ongoing.

As reported in the same New York Times article, “All six were women between the ages of 18 and 48 and all developed the illness within one to three weeks of vaccination. One woman died and a second woman in Nebraska has been hospitalized in critical condition.”

“We are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution,” Dr. Peter Marks, director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, and Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the C.D.C., said in a joint statement. “Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare.”

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine and the AstraZeneca vaccine are both “viral-vector vaccines,” meaning they use a modified version of a different virus (the vector), such as the common cold, which has been rendered harmless to deliver important instructions to our cells. The genetics in the harmless virus set off an immune response to protect people against the Coronavirus.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines use a different technology called Messenger RNA to build immune responses to the Coronavirus. MRNA vaccines teach our cells how to make a protein—or even just a piece of a protein—that triggers an immune response inside our bodies.

There are still ongoing European investigations into some extremely rare instances of blood clotting in very few people who also received the AstraZeneca vaccine in other countries. But, millions of people throughout the world have successfully received the AstraZeneca vaccine with no adverse side effects.

Last month, Reuters reported that “many countries are resuming use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine after the European Medicines Agency and the World Health Organization (WHO) said the benefits outweighed the risks following investigations into reports of blood clots.”

According to the New York Times Covid World Vaccination Tracker at time of this article’s publication, over 806 million people have received a vaccination worldwide—that’s equal to 10 doses for every 100 people.

It is important to emphasize that serious coronavirus vaccine side effects are extremely rare. Each vaccine available in the U.S. has been cleared by the FDA, and no one vaccine has been proved better than another. They all carry a slight risk of side effects, but serious side effects are extremely rare.

If you have any vaccine hesitation, please schedule an appointment to speak with your doctor or a medical professional for advice that is specific to you and your health history. Getting vaccinated doesn’t just protect you, it also protects your loved ones and your communities.

If you need access to free or affordable health resources, please read our short article on Affordable or Free Health Centers in Chicago and visit our free Chicago Devotion Resource Directory.

Vaccine Hesitation: Trust in Government

Most White people have never faced discrimination and have generally had positive experiences with the health system. Government institutions have consistently provided an atmosphere in which trust comes easily and is not often questioned, and White people have come to trust the government and believe they will not be harmed.

The majority of these Americans follow the government’s orders and presume that no one will be put in danger unless it is necessary. When a vaccine is regulated and mandated for administration, White people turn up to get vaccinated in large numbers.

Demographic data available from the CDC at the time of this article’s publication shows data from 122,295,530 Americans with at least one dose administered. The Race/Ethnicity data of those who have received at least one dose was available for only 67,829,091 (55.5%) Americans with at least one dose administered.

Out of those approximately sixty-eight million people:

• 64.9% were of White/Non-Hispanic ethnicity
• 11.1% were of Hispanic/Latino ethnicity
• 8.5% were of Black/Non-Hispanic ethnicity
• 5.3% were of Asian/Non-Hispanic ethnicity
• 1.1% were of American Indian/Alaska Native/Non-Hispanic ethnicity
• 0.3% were of Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander/Non-Hispanic ethnicity
• 8.8% were categorized as Multiple/Other/Non-Hispanic ethnicity

It genuinely does not make sense to most White Americans how Black Americans could think the vaccine is meant to harm them.

Despite the passage of time, the emotions and deep-seated political and ethical beliefs that underpin vaccine hesitation or opposition have remained relatively coherent. Black people have a hard time trusting the government as they believe the vaccines are not genuine.

White people, on the other hand, due to their inherent confidence that has existed since the beginning of time, have little to no vaccine hesitation, apart from the fear of potential side effects.

With the government’s help, the healthcare system must resolve vaccine controversies because the lives of so many people are being jeopardized. Black Americans should be informed about the importance of being vaccinated, and including more Black doctors in the process could make vaccination efforts more trustworthy.

If you are experiencing any of these concerns or fears about the COVID-19 vaccinations, please contact your doctor. They will be happy to talk through these issues with you and help make the best decision for you.

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