Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease doctor, is speaking with a coalition of Black doctors, faith leaders and academics on Tuesday about COVID-19 vaccines. Black Americans are nearly three times more likely to die from the virus than their White counterparts, according to the CDC, but because of a long history of mistrust, some studies suggest Black Americans are less likely to get vaccinated than other ethnic groups.
"By bringing someone like Dr. Fauci to a conversation with the community, we hope that the community will have a chance to inform Dr. Fauci about some of the issues and concerns that they have," Dr. Reed Tuckson, founder of the Black Coalition Against COVID-19, told CBS News. "We also hope that questions that community-based leaders have, they'll propose those and they'll get answers from Dr. Fauci. But more than anything, I think it's a two-way learning process."
The conversation comes as two coronavirus vaccines are awaiting approval from the Federal Drug Administration. More than 280,000 Americans have died from the virus, which has infected nearly 15 million people across the country, according to Johns Hopkins University.
How to watch Dr. Anthony Fauci speaks with the Black Coalition Against COVID-19- What: Dr. Anthony Fauci speaks with Black doctors on coronavirus vaccinesDate: Tuesday, December 8, 2020Time: 6 p.m. ETLocation: OnlineOnline stream: Live in the player above and on your mobile or streaming device
The Black community's distrust of the American medical establishment can be traced back to a history of mistreatment. Most infamously, a 1932 study in Albama misled Black men with syphilis to examine the disease's progression.
Hundreds of Black men were told they were being treated, but nearly 40 years later, a report from The Associated Press revealed they went untreated and misled about the experiment. The families of the men were later granted a $10 million settlement and continued health benefits but the incident remains on the minds of Black Americans.
"I hope (Fauci) will learn from the community and the community will learn from him and this will hopefully go a long way towards bridging that distrust gap that still is so existent," Tuckson said.