Print this article A man receives his second dose of a coronavirus vaccine at the Chief Andrew Isaac Health Center in Fairbanks, Alaska, March 30, 2021.
(Nathan Howard/Reuters)
On the menu today: a deep dive into why the two key demographics of Americans who are particularly hesitant or reluctant to get vaccinated against COVID-19 are White Republican men and African Americans, and why, gradually, that skepticism appears to be eroding.
White GOP Men and African Americans: The Two Lingering Vaccination Holdouts
There are two key demographics of Americans who are particularly hesitant or reluctant to get vaccinated against COVID-19: White Republican men and African Americans.
Borough faith leaders get vaccinated to set an example, help dispel myths and reduce hesitancy
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Today 6:00 AM
FILE - In this Monday, Dec. 14, 2020 file photo, Sandra Lindsay, left, a nurse at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, is inoculated with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine by Dr. Michelle Chester, Monday, Dec. 14, 2020, in the Queens borough of New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, Pool. File)AP
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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Faith leaders on Staten Island have been making examples of themselves by getting vaccinated, and sharing it publicly, to help dispel myths and address vaccine hesitancy in their communities.
In 1932, the US Public Health Service and the Tuskegee Institute began an unethical experiment on 600 black men without their informed consent. Over the next 40 years, it would lead to significant loss of life and unnecessary suffering for the participants, before it was exposed in 1972.
The study – titled
Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male – began with 399 men with syphilis, and 201 without. The goal was to “observe the natural history of untreated syphilis” in African Americans, essentially by tracking the men over the course of many years, ensuring that they didn t receive treatment for their disease.
“Free Blood Test; Free Treatment, By County Health Department and Government Doctors,” signs advertising participating in the study read. “YOU MAY FEEL WELL AND STILL HAVE BAD BLOOD. COME AND BRING ALL YOUR FAMILY.”