Can I tell you a secret? I’m afraid to take the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available. There, I said it. I’m sure this revelation wasn’t news to you. Hell, it wasn’t even news to me because I don’t even take the flu vaccine. Yes, the CDC estimated the deaths related to the flu for 2019-20 to be between 29,000 and 59,000. This toll doesn’t even count the flu-related hospitalizations for the October-to-March flu season. I knew the flu was deadly and I still didn’t take the vaccine.
But that was my thinking before 2020 and the coronavirus pandemic hit. In fact, according to a survey on Blackdoctor.org, that’s how 58% of Black Americans felt about taking a COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available. This new virus and its worldwide effect, has made me rethink my position of getting vaccinated. I cannot ignore over 5.4 million cases and 170,000+ fatalities associated with the virus domestically. That makes it 3-to-6 times more deadly than the flu. The virus just began picking up steam in February 2020.
I also have to take into account that I am a Black American. This makes the coronavirus and taking a new vaccine more complicated. Statistically speaking, I am more likely to get the virus and almost 2.5 times more likely to die if I do get it. It doesn’t matter how I feel about new vaccines being a modern version of the Tuskegee Experiment, I cannot ignore the deadly facts about the coronavirus. So, as my mom used to say, “I’m stuck like Chuck.”
