COVID-19 is devastating in many minority communities and no one wants to talk about it. Detailed studies of past epidemics show the same tragic pattern repeating again and again. How can we save black and brown lives during a pandemic? Dr. Fauci Says We’re Not Going Back To Normal Without A Vaccine Or Treatment
Parts of Asia and Africa, mistrust of vaccines is often tied to “Western plot” theories, which suggest that vaccines are ploys to sterilize or infect non-Western communities. One of the most striking instances of vaccine suspicion in Africa has concerned the polio vaccine.
In 1999, British journalist Edward Hooper speculated that the virus that causes AIDS transitioned from monkeys to humans via a polio vaccine. He argued that the polio vaccine was made from the cells of chimpanzees infected with the primate form of HIV (Simian immunodeficiency virus, or SIV), which adapted in humans and caused disease.
The Gates Foundation has been a strong supporter of polio eradication, previously providing US$ 75 million in funding. Polio once crippled 350,000 children a year globally.
In 2015, Bill Gates gave a TED Talk in 2015 where he outlined some of the potential concerns for Americans and the rest of the world about a highly infectious virus spread, it might affect more than 10 million people. Bill Gates hopes to reach 7 billion people with a potential COVID-19 vaccine.
WHAT’S NOT BEING TALKED ABOUT: “Iris scans”, Yes!! it’s embedding vaccine records “directly into the skin” of children., that might violate privacy, it was “funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation according to the MIT.
“Along with the vaccine, a child would be injected with a bit of dye that is invisible to the naked eye but easily seen with a special cell-phone filter, combined with an app that shines near-infrared light onto the skin. The dye would be expected to last up to five years, according to tests on pig and rat skin and human skin in a dish.”
OTHER CONCERNS: Jean-Paul Mira, A French doctor suggesting that Africa should become a testing ground for a COVID-19 vaccine, then later apologize for his comments.
“If I could be provocative, shouldn’t we do this study in Africa where there are no masks, treatment, or intensive care, a little bit like we did in certain AIDS studies or with prostitutes?” Mira asked. Link
WHAT WE SHOULD DO: We need more community health workers around the country—regular people who are trusted in our community.
Parents of children of color concerns related to a lack of information with respect to vaccine efficacy and safety. They fear that the vaccine will cost, long-term side effects, and a belief that vaccination may increase early deaths and deadly disease.
TO THE MEDIA: We need to remind them that our children aren’t testing labs. Africa isn’t a testing lab as well. They should practice on their self, their children and colleagues. CoronaVirus does not know any color. If we aren’t mentally prepared, it will take us out. We will do our best to remain safe and pray to God to protect our friends and family.
