IN THE MINDS OF AMERICANS.
AS THE FDA CONSIDERS EMERGENCY
USE OF ANOTHER COVID VACCINE
THIS MORNING.
HOW DO WE REBUILD THIS
ALL-IMPORTANT TRUST?
JOINING US, DR. AILA STANFORD, A
SURGEON WHO STARTED THE BLACK
DOCTORS CONSORTIUM AT THE START
OF THIS TO PROVIDE TESTING AND
CARE TO THOSE IN THE BLACK
COMMUNITY WITHOUT INSURANCE OR
ACCESS TO QUALITY HEALTH CARE.
AND DARRYN WALKER IS THE
PRESIDENT OF THE FORD
FOUNDATION, A PHILANTHROPIC
ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO
FIGHTING INEQUITIES SINCE THIS
PANDEMIC BEGAN.
THEY HAVE FOCUSED THEIR EFFORTS
ON THE HARDEST HIT COMMUNITIES.
HE IS ONE EXTRAORDINARY
AMERICAN.
YOU BOTH ARE.
DR. SANFORD, I WANT TO START
WITH YOU.
YESTERDAY YOU GOT THE VACCINE
AFTER MONTHS OF TESTING AND
TREATING COVID-19 PATIENTS.
WHAT WAS THAT MOMENT LIKE FOR
YOU?
>> IT WAS VERY EMOTIONAL.
IT WAS EMOTIONAL.
I HAD SOME FEAR, BUT I HAD
ALREADY MADE THE DECISION THAT I
WAS GOING TO DO IT.
AND SET AN EXAMPLE BECAUSE SO
MANY PEOPLE HAD SAID TO ME, DOC,
WHEN YOU TELL ME IT’S OKAY TO
GET IT I’LL GET IT.
WHEN YOU SAY IT’S ALL RIGHT,
I’LL ROLL UP MY SLEEVE.
AND I REALIZED THAT IT WAS LESS
ABOUT ME AND MORE ABOUT EVERYONE
ELSE THAT DOESN’T HAVE THE
ACCESS THAT I HAVE.
>> HOW AND WHY DID YOU HAVE
THOSE FEARS, THOSE RESERVATIONS
ABOUT TAKING THE VACCINE?
YOU ARE THE EXPERT.
WHEN WE SEE YOU TAKE IT, IT
GIVES US A LOT OF CONFIDENCE.
WHY WERE YOU CONCERNED?
>> BECAUSE BEFORE I WAS A
DOCTOR, BEFORE I WAS A SURGEON,
I AM A BLACK WOMAN.
AND CULTURALLY, THAT IS ALMOST A
NORM.
IT’S HOW WE WERE RAISED.
THAT YOU GO TO THE DOCTOR WHEN
YOU’RE REALLY SICK AND YOU THINK
YOU’RE ABOUT TO DIE.
BUT OTHER THAN THAT, YOU DON’T
GO.
YOU DON’T TRUST BECAUSE OF THE
PAST EXPERIENCES THAT HAVE
HAPPENED.
AND SO SCIENCE ME WAS LISTENING
TO THE EAU HEARING, READING
EVERYTHING I COULD GET MY HANDS
ON, BUT BLACK ME WAS LIKE, I’M
NOT SURE THAT I’M GOING TO DO
THIS.
WHEN I CONTRACTED CORONAVIRUS, I
HAD ANTIBODIES, AND I STILL DO
AND MY DOCTOR AND I HAVE BEEN
FOLLOWING IT AND I WASN’T GOING
TO GET THE VACCINE UNTIL I NO
LONGER HAD IGG.
AND I THINK THAT WAS MY
TREPIDATION AND FEAR.
AND THE MORE PEOPLE SAID THAT TO
ME, WHEN YOU TELL ME IT’S OKAY,
DOC, I’M THERE, IT BECAME LESS
ABOUT ME.
AND MORE ABOUT ALL THE
AFRICAN-AMERICANS THAT ARE DYING
AND HAVE A DISEASE GREATER THAN
ANY OTHER GROUP IN THIS COUNTRY.
AND EVERYONE CAN’T GET THEIR
ANTIBODIES CHECKED EVERY FOUR
WEEKS LIKE I CAN AND THEN SAY,
OKAY, NOW I’M READY FOR A
VACCINE.
AND SO THAT MAY HAVE BEEN GOOD
FOR ME AS AN INDIVIDUAL, BUT IT
WASN’T GOOD FOR THE MASSES OF
PEOPLE THAT WE’RE TRYING TO
SERVE AND PROVIDE ACCESS FOR.
AND SO THAT’S WHAT CHANGED MY
MIND.
>> DARRYN, IS ONE OF THE REASONS
THERE IS SO MUCH MISTRUST IN THE
BLACK COMMUNITY SIMPLY BECAUSE
THE SYSTEM HAS ALWAYS FAILED
THEM, ESPECIALLY DURING THIS
PANDEMIC?
>> ABSOLUTELY, STEPHANIE.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSISTENT
COVERAGE OF THIS ISSUE.
IT’S SO IMPORTANT.
THE REALITY FOR MOST
AFRICAN-AMERICANS IS A
NARRATIVE, A HISTORY IN THIS
COUNTRY OF INEQUALITY.
IN ALL OF OUR SYSTEMS AND IN
PARTICULAR, OUR HEALTH CARE
SYSTEM
SYSTEM.
IN ADDITION TO THE
EXPERIMENTATION WITHOUT CONSENT,
THE WAYS IN WHICH WE HAVE BEEN
EXPLOITED THROUGH THE HEALTH
CARE SYSTEM, WE HAVE COME TO
TIME IN THIS PANDEMIC WHEN ALL
OF THIS HAS CONVERGED.
THE PEOPLE WHO WE JUST SAW WERE
SAYING IS THAT WE ARE ALWAYS
LAST IN LINE.
AND WE ARE MOST LIKELY TO BE THE
VERY WORKERS, THOSE ESSENTIAL
WORKERS WHO ARE POORLY PAID,
DON’T HAVE BENEFITS, DON’T HAVE
ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE, AND ALL
OF THIS HAS CONVERGED IN THIS
CRISIS WITH MONUMENTAL DETRIMENT
TO THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN
COMMUNITY.
>> OBVIOUSLY, PHILANTHROPY IS SO
IMPORTANT IN THIS COUNTRY.
IT’S EXTRAORDINARY THE WORK THAT
YOU DO.
BUT THIS PANDEMIC HAS EXPOSED
INEQUALITIES THAT YOU HAVE SPENT
YOUR CAREER FOCUSED ON.
IS THERE ANY SORT OF SILVER
LINING, DARREN, THAT YOU BELIEVE
THAT NOW, ONCE WE GET THROUGH
THIS, OUR GOVERNMENT WILL
FINALLY SEE THIS AS A CALL TO
ACTION AND ADDRESS ALL SORTS OF
HEALTH, INCOME INEQUALITY
ISSUES?
>> I THINK THIS YEAR THE SILVER
LINING IS THE INEQUALITY OF
RACE, THE RACIAL CAST SYSTEM
THAT IS MANIFEST IN OUR
ECONOMICS, IN OUR SYSTEMS OF
EDUCATION, HEALTH CARE, HOUSING
AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE ARE STARK
DIFFERENT FOR WHITE AMERICANS.
FOR AFRICAN-AMERICANS, FOR
LATINX AMERICANS, FOR THE FIRST
TIME WE BELIEVE THAT THE REALITY
OF OUR LIVES IS NO LONGER
DENIABLE, THE RACISM THAT EXISTS
IS NO LONGER DENIAL, BUT
STEPHANIE, WHAT WE HAVE TO ALSO
RECOGNIZE IS WHAT YOU TALKED
ABOUT EARLIER.
8 MILLION PEOPLE HAVE FALLEN
INTO POVERTY THIS YEAR.
DURING THIS PANDEMIC.
WHILE THAT WAS HAPPENING, PEOPLE
LIKE YOU AND ME WHO HAVE ASSETS,
WHO HAVE REAL ESTATE, HAVE SEEN
OUR NET WORTH INCREASE
SIGNIFICANTLY.
THERE’S SOMETHING WRONG IN A
NATION WHEN IN THE MIDST OF A
PANDEMIC, THOSE OF US WHO ARE
PRIVILEGED, OUR PRIVILEGE IS
COMPOUNDED.
OUR BANK ACCOUNTS, OUR
INVESTMENTS HAVE BEEN COMPOUNDED
WHILE THOSE ESSENTIAL WORKERS,
THOSE AFRICAN-AMERICANS, LATINX
WORKERS WHO ARE ON THE FRONT
LINES, THEIR DISADVANTAGE HAS
BEEN COMPOUNDED.
YOU KNOW WHO OUGHT TO NOT BE IN
LINE RIGHT NOW OR THINKING ABOUT
BEING IN LINE RIGHT NOW, ARE
PEOPLE LIKE ME AND YOU BECAUSE
WE ARE PRIVILEGED IN THIS
SYSTEM, AND AS DOCTOR STANFORD
KNOWS FROM HER WORK, PEOPLE LIKE
US HAVE NO REASON RIGHT NOW TO
BE THINKING ABOUT GETTING IN
LINE.
>> I AM SO, SO GLAD YOU BROUGHT
THAT UP.
WE HAVE NO REASON TO BE IN LINE
BUT DR. SANFORD, YOU KNOW PEOPLE
OF PRIVILEGE ARE.
THEY ARE TALKING TO CONCIERGE
DOCTORS, PULLING EVERY STRING
THEY CAN TO GET THIS VACCINE.
WHAT DO WE DO TO STOP THAT?
I’LL TELL YOU, TWO WEEKS AGO
WHEN I HAD THE COVID VACCINE IT
WAS A WHOLE LOT EASIER FOR ME, A
PERSON OF PRIVILEGE, TO GET
MYSELF A RAPID TEST THAN PEOPLE
IN A DIFFERENT SITUATION.
>> RIGHT.
SO I BELIEVE, FOR EXAMPLE --
>> EXCUSE ME, TEST, NOT VACCINE.
>> YES, THE VACCINE ADVISORY
COMMITTEE FOR PHILADELPHIA
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND
I HAVE TO BE A VOICE.
I HAVE TO BE AN ADVOCATE.
THE AMERICAN MEDICAL
ASSOCIATION, THE NATIONAL
MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, THE
HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE AND
UNIVERSITIES AND FOR THAT
MATTER, THE NONTHOIRSHISTORICALL
BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
HAVE TO BE THE ADVOCATES AND
STICK TO THE CRITERIA ABOUT
PHASE 1A, B AND C WORKERS AND
THAT YOU DON’T ENTER THAT
CRITERIA UNTIL IT’S YOUR TIME.
THE OTHER THING THAT I WOULD SAY
IS THAT THE PHASE 1A AND 1B,
REMEMBER, HEALTH CARE WORKERS OF
THE 63% OF HEALTH CARE WORKERS
WHO DIED, MOST OF THEM WERE OF
COLOR, AND THE MAJORITY WERE
AFRICAN-AMERICAN.
SO THAT DOES REPRESENT US BEING
IN THAT FIRST GROUP.
BUT WHAT HOSPITALS HAVE TO MAKE
SURE THEY INCLUDE, AND I HEARD
YOUR PREVIOUS GUEST MENTION THIS
IS THAT IT IS THE FOLKS EMPTYING
THE GARBAGE, TRANSPORTING
PATIENTS, BRINGING PEOPLE FOOD,
THE SECURITY FOLKS AT THE ER.
THEY ARE EQUALLY EXPOSED TO THE
CORONAVIRUS AND THEY SHOULD GET
THE VACCINE.
AND DARREN, WHAT YOU MENTIONED,
THE EXPERIENCE THAT
AFRICAN-AMERICANS HAVE HAD WITH
THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM BEING
UNTRUSTWORTHY TO THEM, I AGREE.
I KNOW THE HISTORY.
BUT WE CANNOT ALLOW THAT TO
IMPEDE US FROM RECEIVING HELP
THAT IS ON THE WAY.
IT’S HERE.
>> AND THAT IS WHY WE NEED
PEOPLE LIKE YOU TO SPEAK UP.
WE NEED PROMINENT VALIDATORS
LIKE YOU, DOCTOR, WHO ARE
RESPECTED IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND WHEN WE HEAR MORE PEOPLE
LIKE YOU SAYING, PLEASE, GET THE
VACCINE, YOU WILL SEE THE
NUMBERS GO UP.
>> THAT IS MY FERVENT PRAYER.
>> AND I AM -- WELL, I AM SO
FORTUNATE, AND OUR AUDIENCE IS
SO FORTUNATE TO HAVE BOTH OF YOU
JOINING US TODAY.
DR. SANFORD, DARREN WALKER,
THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH.
>>> A REMINDER FOR YOU AT HOME
IF YOU NEED HELP, ASK FOR IT.
BUT IF YOU CAN GIVE HELP, PLEASE
GIVE IT BEFORE THE END OF THE
YEAR.
IF YOU ARE ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE,
SOMEONE WHO HAS ASSETS, SOMEONE
WHO SAVED MORE THAN THEY
NORMALLY DO THIS YEAR.
MANY PEOPLE ACTUALLY SAVED MORE.
PEOPLE WHO WORK FROM HOME WHO
WEREN’T PAYING TO COMMUTE IF YOU
HAVE SOME EXTRA MONEY, THINK