I have no desire to gaslight the Black community about Western medical practices. There are many Black folks skeptical about medical procedures and vaccines because of the very real history of white doctors experimenting on (and medically torturing) Black people. There is absolutely going to be a larger campaign here in America to ensure that Black people take the vaccine, especially given that the virus has devastated the Black community in huge numbers. For now, celebrities like Offset are NOT helping matters.
Offset says he is not planning to get vaccinated for coronavirus — and his reasoning all boils down to trust and fairness. We spoke to the Migos rapper Saturday in Bev Hills, and straight up asked if he’d take the COVID vaccine … which is on the verge of being distributed to the first group in the coming days. He’s blunt and to the point — he’s planning on passing.
Offset mentions a viral photo that’s been making the rounds … showing a few people with their faces frozen in a distorted position, with their mouths slightly open. The photos were supposedly taken of a few volunteers who were inoculated with the Pfizer vaccine. The online chatter — these were some of the side effects. The word from Scientists — the side effects are generally mild, flu-like symptoms.
The FDA DID acknowledge 4 Pfizer volunteers were struck with a bout of Bell’s Palsy — but the government agency notes there was no way to conclusively link the vaccine to the development of their temporary facial paralysis. Still, people got freaked out.
Same goes for Offset — who tells us that he simply doesn’t trust the government (for the most part) and that even Barack Obama being willing to get vaccinated on video isn’t enough to sway him. Offset then pivoted to a different train of thought… he starts talking about how celebs and politicians get special treatment when it comes COVID therapeutics and medical treatment — and he wouldn’t feel right getting vaccinated ASAP knowing there are others just as deserving who get lesser treatment.
He also talks about the fact that the government at large hasn’t done enough for the Black community to convince him they have his and his people’s best interest at heart. What he touches on here is a huge problem too, BTW — only 40% or so of the African-American community say they’ll take the vaccine, and even less (14%) say they trust it.
Again, I feel like Black people have every right to be cautious and concerned. That caution and concern is rooted in a very real history of American medicine. But… there’s a reason why Dr. Anthony Fauci is making specialized pleas to the Black community, and it’s because he understands their qualms and he wants everyone, of every race, to know that the vaccines are okay. It’s because the virus has already done so much damage to the Black community. Fauci has also been stressing the fact that the Moderna vaccine was partially developed by an African-American woman scientist, Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, who is one of the leading scientists at the National Institutes of Health. Also, the first person to get the Pfizer vaccine in New York was a Black health care worker:
First Covid vaccine administered in NYC, broadcast on live tv, to a Black woman healthcare worker by a Black woman healthcare worker. pic.twitter.com/LdT7W2XDtl
— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) December 14, 2020
I thank Dr. Fauci for both acknowledging the U.S. history of racism in medical research AND spotlighting the vital role of Dr. Corbett, an African American female scientist, in making sure a Covid vaccine will be safe & effective.https://t.co/EHmU3ZttwN
— Dwight Evans #CountEveryVote (@RepDwightEvans) December 12, 2020
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
This virus has particularly affected the black community. I hope everyone gets it when it’s available to them.
It will help if schools require kids to have this vaccine just like they do require the other vaccine shots before entry to public schools. I plan to get the vaccine just like I get every other vaccine. In 25 years of getting the flu shot, I haven’t had even one chest cold. Get your vaccine as soon as you can.
The American government didn’t even fund the Pfizer vaccination. Trust scientists.
Exactly ! This just tells you he did ZERO research before opening his mouth.
To add to this, the BioNtech/Pfizer vaccine (gotta love how American media seems to ignore BioNTech almost completely) was not developed by Pfizer, but by the German company BioNTech. A company that was founded by two first- and second-generation Turkish immigrants who have talked extensively about the discrimination they had to face growing up.
Offset and Cardi B are selfish jerks. They both had HUGE birthday parties ! They don’t care about the pandemic, just like most rich people and celebs don’t give a f*ck. I bet he expects his nannies, chefs, and maids to get the vaccine though right?
I do understand Black people not trusting medical authorities. I’m thinking of the Tuskeegee (sp.?) “experiment,” the Henrietta Lacks genetic material steal, etc. But as it’s true Black people are being affected by Covid at higher rates, please do look at the research and get the vaccine. Governor Cuomo deliberately asked a Black nurse to be the first recipient of the vaccine to help quell the doubts. Please buy into this.
I feel like Henrietta Lacks is by far not the most egregious example, since it didn’t really harm her any further. I don’t think if she were a poor white woman they wouldn’t have done the same. Maybe even a rich white woman.
No Black person who hears about Henrietta Lacks and her life and HELA cells cares how you feel. I promise. And it wasn’t a rich or poor white woman’s cells they stole. It was a poor Black woman’s and that means something.
@Yup, Me 💯
I agree with you @yup me – some people just don’t want to understand
@Yup, me: Exactly!
It’s not egregious in terms of physical harm to the patient, per se, but it’s actually very widely talked about in bio-STEM because it’s a major ethics discussion point in medical science. HeLA cells (nickname for cells descendant from her cancer cell line) are used constantly in scientific experimentation. They’re literally a core part of major cell line study, cancer and genetics research, and vaccine development. We’ve made huge strides in science because of her unethically procured cell line, yet neither she, or her family, ever saw a cent of compensation for what was taken from her without permission. Great for the rest of us but indicative of the rather problematic trend of neglecting the care of female, and particularly minority female, patients while exploiting their bodies for science.
Totally understood why Black people wouldn’t trust the medical profession.
It’s interesting that the Tuskegee syphilis experiment is given as an example re the lack of trust in the COVID-19 vaccine, however. The Tuskegee experiment was all about monitoring Black men who were already infected with syphillis until they died so they could experiment on them after their deaths. Totally horrid! And when penicillin was discovered as a treatment, these people were being denied treatment so the study could continue.
So the issue wasn’t one of a dangerous drug being given to Black people as part of an experiment. It was a question of unethical research practices and them being DENIED the treatment to run the experiment.
https://zora.medium.com/descendants-of-the-tuskegee-syphilis-study-survivors-speak-out-on-the-covid-19-vaccine-6bb800d1ad17
When he talks about how the medical profession has failed Black people — it is so true and it’s chilling and people know and remember. That said, I truly hope we can have a coordinated educational campaign to assure people of the safety of the vaccine, to stop the devastation it has wrought in our most vulnerable communities.
I should definitely listen to a guy who’s still wearing his mask under his nose.
Exactly right, so he can infect the woman who herself wants the camera to capture her smile, so when she gets sick she can leave 2 children behind.
The kids have more sense.
Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett is so amazing!!! I highly encourage anyone who wants a direct commentary on the vaccine development and data to follow her on IG. I am constantly sharing information that she breaks down for the lay person. She has been doing a lot of work directly with the community to help educate people on the vaccine. She needs a medal from the US government.
I am a POC and while I will get the vaccine when it is available to me I do understand not feeling comfortable or trusting it especially when it is encouraged that POC be the first (outside of healthcare workers) to get it. If I am being honest I feel uncomfortable myself, but I also don’t want to experience Covid-19 either and expose my family to it. At times I don’t think white people know and understand what POC have gone through throughout history at the hands of medical professionals in the name of science. POC have been told so much misinformation and treated with such disregard by the medical field and it still happens today. POC have been treated in ways that many people can’t imagine. So when people get upset on why POC aren’t racing to get vaccinated please take the time to understand why.
I’m truly bothered by the tone of this article and this lets show pictures of Black people getting the vaccine so Black people can be influenced to take the vaccine. This falls under the same problematic narrative of Kanye running for president will take away Black votes; or it’s ok for me (non-POC) to do or say xyz because my Black friend is ok with it. Not all Black people are wary of taking the vaccine. Not all of the Black people who are wary of taking the vaccine are wary because of the atrocities that the medical community has historically done to us. Some people are wary, regardless of race/ethnicity because of the short timeline for this vaccine. We are not a monolith. Throwing Black faces in front of the camera to be our examples or “ease of minds” is problematic and insulting. Also… it seems that we forgot that Black and Brown have been affected deeply during this pandemic, not just Black. Why are Black people the focus for this?
The issue that I don’t think most white (or any non Black person) understands is that YES there is the issue of the Tuskegee experiment, Henrietta Lacks, hundreds of years of surgeries and testing and torture without pain management and a whole host of other sociopathic behaviors by white people against Black folks, but most Black Americans have PERSONAL stories from their own families and friends, their communities and THEMSELVES of casual and egregious harm done by medical professionals. That’s challenging to overcome with the urgency needed to get people vaccinated asap.
Offset is definitely an ass, but anyone who thinks Black folks are just listening to him and his doofy opinions is also an ass.
This should be the only comment in this comment section.
@Yup, me: Couldn’t say it any better. This is what a lot of people refuse to understand and acknowledge.
Very well said.
Thank you! Also, can we stop thinking Offset and others like him speak for the Black community. We have our own minds and are allowed to think, make decisions, and be skeptical about things without it being about oh we just need to put a Black face to this. Like Black people only understand things if there’s another Black face attached.
Very important points, Yup Me.
This, to me, is a slightly animal than Letitia because of the lens through which they’re presenting it. She was posturing herself as promoting video evidence with objective scientific questioning at work. That’s dangerous when the material in the video was very blatantly not. Offset, on the other hand, is speaking from the subjective viewpoint of privilege (why should the wealthy get access before the more vulnerable youth populations?) and his own fears of a government that has repeatedly neglected, if not actively abused, the health status of black Americans. I’m not thrilled celebrities are doing this, but I’d rather that than framing it as objective. The subject fear is entirely valid on its own given the objective history.
it does, however, highlight for me the need for the medical community to begin reckoning this at some point. This history of ethical violations need to be acknowledged and reconciled with minority communities.
If you refuse to get the vaccine, you may end up not getting a job you want. Not only that, you may not be able to travel to other countries in the future.
In the US, it’s legal for an employer to demand that you have a vaccination for a particular disease if you want to get a job there. This holds true for vaccines that have been approved by the FDA. Right now, the Covid vaccine hasn’t reached the official ‘approval” status because it’s being rolled out for emergency reasons.
But once the FDA gives it the official stamp of approval, employers can demand that you’re vaccinated.
Qantas Airlines just announced that they won’t let you board an international flight if you haven’t been vaccinated. It’s coming, people, wait and see. Just a matter of time before countries start demanding proof of vaccination if you want to enter.
So anyone who refuses to get vaccinated could be cutting themselves off from gainful employment and foreign travel. Something to think about.
Fine. That dose can go to another person who wants it.
I was incredulous about these anti-corona-vaxxers at first, but now, I’m like, fine. I know that herd immunity relies on a very high percentage of the population to be vaccinated, but sheesh. If they want to wait it out, fine. Just makes it quicker for the vaccine to get to me.
Ive said it before but the celebrities are merely a mirror to what is happening in the black community and the white community is still not !listening to black voices and leaders on the ground. I’m not surprised distrust is at 40%. The aunties don’t know offset or shuri’s real name but that Bell’s palsy pic/story has been making the rounds in ALL the auntie what’s app groups. What’s app and Facebook are FARmore dangerous. Celebs aren’t the main problem because this is a constant personal lived experienced by present day blacks. And Obama getting a needle isn’t going to solve this in time nor is fauci, who while we’ll respected is still a white guy.
Black people just don’t trust white institutions and we are super cautious. Many are putting this under the heading of normal anti vaxx but the only reason black ppl are willing to get the polio etc. Is because they have proof from years of experience that they work. The speed of the vaccine means no long term examples. The same caution that voted in Biden is the same caution that will cause black people to wait and see with the vaccine. This is a lesson white people have forced onto us. when white people talk about our mistrust they act like these are sins of the past when it’s present day doctors as much as history like Tuskegee Any black women that’s been pregnant probably has horror story. Infant and maternal mortality numbers are double digits with an insane gulf between black and white experiences. Serena Williams an ATHLETE had to get her white husband to force the doctors to pay attention to her.
The reason I keep stressing this up is cuz I think white people are severely underestimating the fight to come. Even young STEM educated black people that want the vaccine immediately are doing so with hesitation. People keep prefacing their comments with “black people have reasons for not trusting medical science” but I don’t think they truly GET it. We are raised from childhood to expect white institutions to fail and dehumanize us and all our lived experiences reinforce that. Many in the black community have lost someone within 3 links. Telling them a vaccine is better than COVID isn’t the comeback you think it is.
Again I keep bringing this up not cuz like the current situation. SOOOOO many black people have died because white people choose a narcissist. And many more will die because of CURRENT racism in the system. Everytime I read the comments here I become more worried at how little non blacks truly understand or are listening to the black community. I can already tell that whites are gonna direct their frustration/anger at us instead of the actual cause. The comments under COVID vaccine stories always seem to be a bunch of people who identify or who I presume are white saying “I don’t understand anyone who doesn’t get the vaccine and they must be horrible selfish people.” With a few identifying as black popping up rarely to say “yea I’m probably going to get it but I’m super scared/hesitant so I may wait a while before I do.”
Him and Cardi are super spreaders with all of their parties and all of his cheating so I guess he plans to keep spreading the virus. Good thing they have all the COVID tests they want while many of us can’t get a test even if we need one. I get skepticism regarding the vaccine, especially within the black community but he is and continues to be a selfish jerk.
I’d like to add that having concerns and reservations about this vaccine does not automatically make one an anti-vaxxer. Please stop with this narrative.
This! I’m not an anti-vaxxer at all. In fact I’m fully vaccinated and so is my child. However, I have read various reports that they don’t know the long term effects on fertility. That worries me a bit 😕.
I am a medical social worker in an ICU. Most hospitalist and consulting physicians are opting not to take the vaccine the first round. These are highly educated individuals that are not anti-vaxxers but have reservations about taking the vaccine.
Considering Cardi and Offset keep throwing huge, maskless parties, he should not have a voice in this matter. At least, not one that should be listened to. I’m so disgusted with all these celebs doing whatever the F they want because they can afford a “rapid” COVID test.