TUSKEGEE, Ala. (AP) – Lucenia Dunn spent the early days of the coronavirus pandemic encouraging people to wear masks and keep a safe distance from each other in Tuskegee, a largely black town where the government once used unsuspecting African American men as guinea pigs in a sexually transmitted disease study.
Now the city’s former mayor has been immortalized as the home of the infamous “Tuskegee Syphilis Study” is wary of inoculation against COVID-19. Among other things, she is suspicious of the government promoting a vaccine that was developed in record time, when it does not appear to comply with conducting adequate virus testing or consistently providing high-quality rural health care.
‘I’m not doing this vaccine right now. That doesn’t mean I never will. But I know enough not to get it until we see what’s involved, ”said Dunn, who is Black.
The coronavirus vaccination campaign has got off to a shaky start in Tuskegee and other parts of Macon County. Area leaders point to resistance among residents fueled by mistrust of government promises and decades of failed health programs. Many people in this city of 8,500 have family members who were subjected to unethical government experiments during the syphilis screening.
“It does influence decisions. Being in this community, having grown up in this community, I would be very untrue if I didn’t say that, ”said Frank Lee, Macon County director of disaster management. Lee is black.
Health experts have emphasized both the safety and efficacy of the vaccines. They noted that while the vaccines were developed at record speed, they were based on decades of previous research. Vaccines used in the US showed no signs of serious side effects in studies involving tens of thousands of people. And with more than 26 million vaccinations administered in the US alone so far, no red flags have been reported.
Tuskegee is not a complete outlier. A recent survey conducted by communications company Edelman revealed that as of November, only 59% of people in the US were willing to get vaccinated within a year, while only 33% were willing to do so as soon as possible.
But the skepticism seems to run deeper here.
With Alabama and the rest of the South still segregated by race, in 1932, government medical workers stopped treating unsuspecting men infected with syphilis in Tuskegee and the Macon County area so doctors could monitor the disease. The study, which involved about 600 men, ended in 1972 only after it was revealed by The Associated Press.
A lawsuit filed on behalf of the men by Black Tuskegee attorney Fred Gray resulted in a $ 9 million settlement, and then President Bill Clinton formally apologized on behalf of the US government in 1997. But the damage left a legacy of mistrust far beyond Tuskegee: A December poll found that 40% of black people across the country said they wouldn’t get the coronavirus vaccine. This hesitation is more deeply rooted than in whites, even though black Americans have been disproportionately hit by the virus.
Chicago-based black nationalist group Nation of Islam is warning nationwide members with an online presentation titled “Beyond Tuskegee: Why Black People Must Not Take The Experimental COVID-19 Vaccine.”
Gray, now 90 and still a lawyer in Tuskegee, rejects such comparisons. The syphilis study and the COVID-19 vaccine are completely different, he said. He believes enough that he got the vaccine himself and publicly encourages others to do the same.
Georgette Moon has a similar mission. Hoping to protect herself and encourage skittish friends, the former city councilor recently bared an arm and had a nurse immunized her. Now, Moon said, only more black fellow residents could get over their lingering fears and get the vaccine.
“The study is a huge factor,” said Moon. “I’ve had very qualified, educated people who have told me they won’t accept it now.”
The Macon County health department, which administers two-step Moderna vaccines in its modern building near the center, could perform as many as 160 immunizations per day, officials said. But up to 140 people received the vaccine on a single date during the first six days of the appointments, with a total of 527 people being immunized during the period. Health workers, counselors, and long-term care residents are currently eligible for admission in Alabama, along with people 75 and older.
There are some signs of hope. State statistics show a slow rise in the number of people coming in for vaccinations, and the message seems to be filtering through the community that it’s okay to get vaccinated.
Down the street from the provincial clinic, the Veterans Affairs hospital in Tuskegee vaccinates veterans 65 and older. While only 40% of VA workers in the area have been vaccinated, officials said, more people agree with the shots than during the first wave.
“They know people who have had the vaccine, they hear more about it, they feel more comfortable,” said Dr. April Truett, infectious disease doctor at the hospital.
Reverend John Curry Jr. said he and his wife took the shots after the health department said they could get appointments without waiting. The pastor of the oldest black church in town, Curry, said he is encouraging congregants to get the vaccine.
Still, he said he also understands the power of the ongoing distrust in a city that will forever be linked to the study of syphilis, one of the most maligned episodes in American public health history.
“It’s a blot on Tuskegee,” he said. “It’s in people’s minds.”