about participating in its COVID-19 vaccine trial.
Tribal officials asked the company to go through its media team, meet face-to-face or arrange an online video meeting, Hualapai Chairman Damon Clarke said. The small community of 2,300 registered members was fearful of becoming mere test subjects in a larger experiment.
In the end, Moderna representatives did nothing outside of email and, with so little information and no trusted relationship with the company, Clarke said Hualapai leaders declined to participate. It s just like being hesitant about having someone come in and saying, Can I borrow your vehicle for a week? I mean that s how we take it, he said. We re protective of our nation.