In an article in Biography, it tells how the 31-year-old mother of five young children entered the hospital in January of 1951 complaining of abdominal pain and unusual bleeding. By that October, Mrs. Lack died of cervical cancer. Doctors had previously tried to harvest cells from other patients for future experiments, but none lasted long. Mrs. Lack’s tumor cells were the first to ever remain viable indefinitely. Her cells have led to revolutionary research such as the polio vaccine. Once it was revealed that the HeLa cells were used in discovering the polio vaccine, the scientific community took notice and the cells were cloned. More that ten thousand patents have been registered since the 1950s using these cells.
These are just a small fraction of incidences where African Americans were used as human guinea pigs without their knowledge or compensation. Therefore, once the COVID-19 vaccine finally arrives, there may be some black people who may be somewhat hesitant about taking it because of this country’s history in experimentation on unsuspecting African Americans.
But getting people to take any vaccine comes down to risk and benefits according to Dr. Garth Graham, vice president of community health and impact at CVS Health in a USA Today article. He believes the resistance to the vaccine is unwarranted citing data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention that shows the flu vaccines prevents millions of illnesses and flu-related doctors visits and complications each year. Dr. Graham cites another major study that shows how the flu vaccine can significantly reduce the risk of children dying from the flu.
So, when it comes to taking the upcoming COVID-19 vaccine, people will have to think about the effects this virus can have on those that contract it and weigh the risks versus the benefits for themselves.