So I'm going to ask you to look away for me while I give you the vaccination.
I'll disinfect it, give it to you and then we’ll monitor you for those 20 minutes.
OK? 30 minutes.
I was actually wanting to volunteer for a vaccine trial to begin with
because I knew that they would need people and a lot of people were scared of it.
And you will feel a small pinch.
Just let me know if you feel anything otherwise, OK?
People distrust the medical field in general because of history.
If you are black in America, you're twice as likely to die of Covid-19,
yet researchers are seeing a disproportionately low number of black volunteers
for vaccine clinical trials that could save lives.
Because of Tuskegee.
Because of what happened.
The United States Public Health Service conducted a study beginning in 1932
that involved deliberately withholding treatment from a group of 400 black men
who were afflicted with syphilis.
Well, people are afraid to think about Tuskegee, and I understand all of that,
but there have to be some people to make sure that it works for everybody.
I don't want to find, 'surprise,
there's a side effect that you would not have noticed.'
Among some 360,000 study volunteers so far, just 40,000 minorities.
People were like, I don't trust being a guinea pig
and crazy stuff like, oh, well, it's survival of the fittest
and, you know, Darwinism and it just goes back to, well,
don't you care about those who can't protect themselves?
I have a little bit more experience and I have a little more trust
because I'm in the medical field myself.
I'm still, I'm still feeling like,
it's going to be a euthanasia case, though, because of what lab we had planned.
So ...
Trying a new vaccine for people is really scary, but since I feel OK about it,
I think that I should be one to, you know,
get involved and hopefully other people would think that way as well.
It's our team at 8:00 tomorrow.
I think the anesthesia machine is going to be OK.
I'm thinking that they're going to have
like pictures and they're going to like, tell us what this is or ...
What does it do or if it's ...
My first thought when I hear a trial is the syphilis study
that they did in Tuskegee back in 1932.
Why did they go to the poorest community in the whole state of Alabama?
Why did they only test all black people.
I don't know, there's definitely ... it's always in the back of your head,
like, I don't know if I completely trust you.
But at the same time, this is the one thing that I could see as a means to some kind of aid.
You know, hopefully, we'll see.
OK, the syphilis thing was 1932,
but look at like, today's time.
Black people are not given the proper medical treatment
as everybody else.
The Black Lives Matter movement
and this pandemic do tie into each other, and I feel like the doctors play the same role
as the police do, just in different settings.
You really control life or death for me right now, and it's a matter of, do you see me as
something or someone that's easily disposable or are you going to treat me with the same equal value
that you would if it were someone else?
It's a tough situation because we want a vaccine, we want change, we want this to go away.
Yeah.
But at the same time, I don't want myself or my family to be, you know ...
To get any harm from it?
I was having such trouble with my blood pressure until I was going to the doctor,
I went to the hospital once a week.
And then when I did go into labor, I stayed in labor for 18 hours,
the doctor did not want to come.
He was saying, oh, she's OK, she'll be, you know, I’ll be up there in the morning.
She should hold on to the morning.
So until they lost a heartbeat and they had to rush me into emergency surgery
and I felt like he put both me and my child in danger.
When I talk to her about it, is that, like, a lot of the reason why you only have one child?
I'm an only child. She never had another child. And she said, yeah.
She said the doctor wanted to tie her tubes, burn her tubes right then
and there, like … soon as they pull me out on a C-section.
But that’s a lot of our bond, knowing that I will always be her only one child. So …
Hey, what are you doing?
Just watching the news. No big deal. How are you?
I'm good. How are you doing?
Not bad.
I told mom and dad, so I thought it's probably a good time to tell you
that I am involved in the coronavirus vaccine trials.
Oh, cool.
Yeah. I started about a month and a half ago and ...
Oh, did you? That's great that you are doing that. Somebody has to try it, you know?
Yeah.
I feel like I've been doing, well,
probably we all have been doing a whole lot of waiting,
waiting for them to make a vaccine,
waiting for the government to give us some direction,
waiting around while more and more people get sick, waiting for the future.
They just keep talking about how we've died from it at higher rates than people,
but they don't address the underlying issue of why.
I feel like they're getting more discreet
with the medical neglect, but it hasn't changed.
Just the way they go about it has changed.
Some hopeful news, in just a few weeks
the FDA is expected to approve the first vaccines for Covid-19.
The vaccines will be limited at first.
Come on, let's go for a walk.
This whole time, I've been a little bit more concerned
about others because I have grandparents
and I have people who are immune compromised in my life,
so I know that they're vulnerable.
Not that I don't think I wouldn't have symptoms, but I think I'm less likely to die from this.
Guess what's happening tomorrow?
Yeah, tomorrow's a big day for me, OK,
But I have the test and then at 12 I have my unblinding
for the the trial or whatever. – Unblinding?
So that's like, they let you know if you ... – ... were the placebo or you got the ... OK.
So they let you know if you got the placebo or you got the actual vaccine.
And then if you didn't get the actual vaccine,
they give you the vaccine, like your first dose that day.
All right, so here comes the fun part.
All right, how are you today?
I'm good, excited.
...
I've been waiting for this day the whole time.
Just the first two. – Cool.
All right, so I'm just going to sign just as a witness.
Thank you for witnessing me.
Another day of history for the United States.
And the world in general.
I'm ready.
You want to hear it?
Yes, give it to me straight.
You got a placebo.
You got to get another shot.
All right.
At least you are one of the ones that's going to get it .
Nice.
A lot of people out there, can't.
Why can't they? Why can't they?
Because they don't qualify for it yet. So you jump ahead of the line right now.
You know, I told Ralph the other day, I said, I think when this thing is all said and done,
we're going to have some close friends and relatives that's going to die from Covid.
And it's not because of anything we do.
But you know what, I wish the day comes when – and it may not ever come,
we may be like this for a while.
We don’t ever know how these drugs are going to work.
Hopefully they work OK.
Yeah, but if not, you know what?
Maybe it might be a way of life for us, so,
but if it's not, I can't wait for the time that I can hug my family.
Long time, no see!
So how are you feeling now that you got your vaccine?
Let me tell you, mentally, I'm comfortable.
But to be honest with you,
I don't think I'll ever be 100% comfortable.
Yeah.
I feel like you always have an option to be afraid,
because I'm afraid, I mean, you know, I'm afraid of all the side-effects too.
So you're going to have to choose like, OK, am I just going to be afraid
and just let people keep dying or am I going to
put my fears aside for a second, you know?