Opinion: To get the Covid-19 vaccine right, we must close the confidence gap and stop pathologizing communities of color
Broad skepticism about the safety and effectiveness of potential Covid-19 vaccines has created major challenges for policymakers and health officials as they develop vaccine programs. Much of this has been attributed to the anti-vaccine movement and the constant attacks on science by the outgoing presidential administration.
When discussions focus on skepticism in communities of color, particularly the Black community, the conversation tends to center around the argument that their distrust is rooted in history and a collective memory of racist policies such as the Tuskegee syphilis experiment and early 20th century forced-sterilization policies. This line of thinking is harmful.
