Service , working with the Tuskegee Institute , recruited 600 Black sharecroppers from Macon County , Alabama under the guise of receiving free medical care , food and burial insurance in exchange for their participation . They believed they were being treated for what is termed in the South “ bad blood ,” but the project was actually an observational “ study in nature ” of untreated syphilis in Black ( Negro ) populations . The 399 participants with syphilis were not told they had the disease , and did not receive adequate treatment , even after penicillin was shown to be effective in the late 1940s . The study was not stopped until 1972 , after information was leaked to news outlets and then published by the New York Times on Nov . 16 , 1972 .
In 1989 , around 1,500 infants , most from poor Black or Latinx families , were enrolled in a study comparing two measles vaccines ; the parents were not informed during the formal consent that one of those was an experimental injection that had not yet been approved . In the 1990s , Johns Hopkins did a study on lead abatement that involved working with landlords to get families to live in apartments that had been abated with different methods - including only partial removal or using cheaper methods - then observing the differences in instances of lead poisoning in low-income neighborhoods .
When these stories of Tuskegee , Henrietta Lacks , the night doctors , Mississippi appendectomies , the victims of J . Marion Sims and more combine with the current mistreatment of minorities through implicit biases of physicians , improper pain management , discrimination , violence and barriers to care , skepticism of the health care system is understandable and merited . But considering the overwhelming evidence that some racial and ethnic minority groups are being disproportionately affected by COVID-19 , we must urgently prioritize vaccinations to protect these communities .
We strongly recommend COVID-19 vaccinations , especially to the Black and Brown communities . We recognize that restoring confidence in vaccinations will take focused , coordinated efforts from the health care community to make amends through transparent communication , ongoing conversations and continual demonstrations of trustworthiness . All of these together can create a new narrative that instills confidence in people that these vaccines are effective and safe .
Health care and biomedical research institutions have a significantly overdue amount of work ahead , to reduce health disparities for and medical mistreatment of marginalized communities . But we must ensure that we are actively working , together , to protect members of those communities from the current pandemic .
Take your COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it ’ s your turn . Protect yourself and those you love .
References :
WHO coronavirus disease ( COVID-19 ) dashboard . Geneva : World Health Organization , 2020 . Available online : https :// covid19 . who . int / ( last cited : [ 12 / 18 / 2020 ]).
https :// www . pewresearch . org / science / 2020 / 12 / 03 / intent-to-get-a-covid-19-vaccine-rises-to-60-as-confidence-in-research-and-development-process-increases /
FEATURE
https :// www . ncbi . nlm . nih . gov / pmc / articles / PMC3828970 / pdf / AJPH . 2013.301356 . pdf
Dr . Lewis Hargett is President of the Falls City Medical Society and practices physical medicine and rehabilitation .
Dr . Mark Burns , FACP is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Louisville School of Medicine . ( non-member )
DID YOU KNOW , YOU CAN NOW support the GLMS Foundation JUST BY SHOPPING ?
The GLMS Foundation is now participating in Amazon Smile and Kroger Community Rewards . By enrolling in these programs , Amazon and Kroger will automatically donate a percentage of your purchases to the GLMS Foundation .
For more information , visit :
https :// smile . amazon . com / gp / chpf / about
https :// www . kroger . com / i / community / community-rewards
FEBRUARY 2021 19