On January 5th, baseball legend Hank Aaron publicly received the COVID-19 vaccine in Georgia, partially as a way of inspiring the Black community to become vaccinated. He died seventeen days later in his sleep from natural causes. A coroner clarified that he did not have COVID-19 symptoms at the time of his death. Vaccine skeptics have falsely linked his death to the vaccine, claiming it is part of a wave of vaccine-related deaths among older adults across the world (which is not true). Anti-vaccine advocates are also framing his death as evidence that the Black community in the US is correct to be hesitant of COVID-19 vaccines, and should distrust any public health outreach to the Black community. Anti-vaxxers are capitalizing on a legendary American’s death and tarnishing one of his final heroic acts, to encourage vaccination, in order to cast him as an unwitting pawn of public health authorities.
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Black / African American health experts and community leaders in the United States have recently begun advising health communicators to stop using the term “vaccine hesitant” when referencing Black communities, and to stop referring to information circulating within Black communities as “misinformation.” These experts are advising health communicators to instead focus on partnering with and empowering Black community leaders and organizations, and to earn trust instead of asking for or expecting it. Given the legacy of unethical treatment of Black communities and individuals in the United States by the medical and public health fields, this approach is recommended. Focusing on the anti-vaccine movement’s actions in this case will distract from priority talking points regarding vaccine safety and efficacy, the equity of vaccine distribution, disproportionate risk of and mortality from COVID-19 among African Americans, and structural racism. Fact Checking Source(s):wsbtv.com, factcheck.afp.com, usatoday.com
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