Tuesday, January 19, 2021 by Pien Huang (NPR)
Dr. Kristamarie Collman, a family physician in Orlando, has been dispelling vaccine myths through social media. She s among a growing cohort of Black doctors trying to reach vaccine-hesitant members of their communities.
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Black Americans have been catching the coronavirus, getting severely ill and dying from it, at a rate higher than other racial and ethnic groups in the U.S. Black Americans are also less likely to want to get the COVID-19 vaccine, according to polls. A survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation last month found that around 35% of Black adults are not planning to get COVID-19 vaccines.
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January 19, 2021
Black Americans have been catching the coronavirus, getting severely ill and dying from it, at a rate higher than other racial and ethnic groups in the U.S. Black Americans are also less likely to want to get the COVID-19 vaccine, according to polls. A survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation last month found that around 35% of Black adults are not planning to get COVID-19 vaccines.
So how can medical and public health leaders work to overcome this hesitancy? To start with, acknowledge the historical reasons for black mistrust of medicine, say researchers and Black physicians working to reach their own communities.
Black vaccine hesitancy goes back to history of distrust of medicine, say doctors and researchers. To help, it s important to empower people with knowledge to make their own choices.