Chicago lawmakers, healthcare professionals encourage Black community to get coronavirus vaccine
'I guarantee that if I had thought it would in any way harm myself, or any other people, I would never, ever recommend it,' Rep. Danny Davis said
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Earlier Sunday, local lawmakers made a virtual effort to encourage members of the Black community to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
"We know about the Tuskegee experiment and other draconian instances which have defiled and devalued our people. But we also know that changes have been put in place," said Rep. Danny Davis, D-Chicago.
Dr. Melissa Simon is the director of the Center for Health Equity Transformation, a joint center between the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University and the Institute for Public Health and Medicine.
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"Unfortunately we have earned this distrust, and so we in the medical field really have to work, you know, super diligently to, to earn it back," Simon said.
Dr. Simon said healthcare workers must not only lead by example but also provide information about the vaccine to their patients.
"This is not going to be a magic thing, I mean, many of us had our, our vaccines videotaped or live on camera. And just because I'm Latina doesn't mean all of my Latina colleagues and community members are going to just get the vaccine because they saw me get it," she said.
It could take months before the vaccine is available to the general population, but Congressman Davis said all Americans should plan on getting vaccinated.
"I've had it injected into my body, and I guarantee that if I had thought it would in any way harm myself, or any other people, I would never, ever recommend it," he said.
