I’m fully vaccinated.
My decision to get the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine wasn’t an easy one. For me and many other African Americans, the word “Tuskegee” elicits both a sense of pride and a justified concern about medical procedures. It’s that latter association that, in part, fuels vaccine hesitancy among many black folks.
And then, there’s the speed with which the current COVID-19 vaccines were developed and green lit. I’ve not known our federal government to move quickly on much, but in a year’s time, we’ve come from wiping down groceries for fear of bringing the virus into our homes on a box of Cheerios to vaccines with 95% efficacy rates.
So I had to do my research, and this time around, I also listened to my children. (Parents know what I’m talking about. We’re used to…calling the shots.) My kids were worried about their hypertensive dad, and with our family having weathered two COVID scares over the last six months, I got my second of two shots 14 days ago this morning.
Read freelance writer MPC’s full feature, read his reasoning behind vaccine hesitancy in the African American community, hear about the side effects he suffered from the shots (Spoiler alert! He experienced none of them!), and hear his case for vaccine passports.
Michael P Coleman is a Sacramento based freelance writer who has his eye on the Pulitzer Prize. Connect with him at michaelpcoleman.com or follow his blog, his IG and his Twitter.
