COVID Vaccine Trials Seek Black, Latinx Participants But History of Medical Apartheid Sows Mistrust
Summary
TLDRIn this Democracy Now segment, Amy Goodman and Nermeen Shaikh discuss President Donald Trump’s acknowledgment of downplaying COVID-19 despite knowing its severity early on. The segment also highlights journalist Bob Woodward’s revelations about Trump's private statements. As COVID-19 disproportionately impacts Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities, concerns are raised about the mistrust of the medical system, influenced by historical events like the Tuskegee syphilis experiments. Medical ethicist Harriet Washington discusses ongoing skepticism toward vaccines, historical medical abuse of marginalized groups, and the underrepresentation of these communities in current vaccine trials.
Takeaways
- 😷 President Trump admitted to downplaying the coronavirus pandemic to avoid causing panic, even though he was aware of its severity early on.
- 📅 Trump knew by February 7th that COVID-19 was airborne and deadlier than the flu but did not declare a national emergency until March 13th.
- 🦠 As of the report, the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 had reached 190,000, and vaccine trials were struggling with participation from Black, Indigenous, and Latinx communities.
- 💉 Operation Warp Speed, aimed at fast-tracking a vaccine, faced skepticism from communities of color due to mistrust of the healthcare system, influenced by historical abuses.
- 🔬 The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, one of the most notorious cases of medical exploitation of African Americans, involved withholding treatment from Black men for decades.
- 🧪 Despite penicillin being a known treatment for syphilis by 1945, subjects in the Tuskegee experiment were left untreated until the study was exposed and halted in 1972.
- 📚 Harriet Washington, author of 'Medical Apartheid,' discusses how historical and ongoing unethical medical experimentation on Black Americans has fostered mistrust in healthcare.
- 🧠 Medical abuses like those documented in 'Medical Apartheid' included experiments on enslaved people, disfiguring procedures, and the use of Black bodies for dissection after death.
- 🌍 Vaccine trials, both in the U.S. and globally, have faced similar ethical concerns, particularly in developing nations, contributing to hesitancy among marginalized groups.
- 🧑⚕️ Dr. Anthony Fauci has called for more significant participation of Black and Latinx people in vaccine trials, noting that current levels are far below the recommended targets.
Q & A
What did President Donald Trump admit regarding the COVID-19 pandemic during the early stages?
-Trump admitted that he downplayed the threat of COVID-19 in public, despite being briefed on the severity of the pandemic in early February. He explained that he did so to avoid creating panic.
What did Trump tell Bob Woodward in a February 7 phone call about COVID-19?
-Trump told Bob Woodward that the virus was airborne, highly contagious, and more deadly than the flu, with a mortality rate of 5%, compared to the flu’s rate of less than 1%.
When did the White House declare a national emergency for COVID-19, and why is the delay significant?
-The White House declared a national emergency on March 13, over a month after Trump was briefed on the seriousness of the virus. The delay is significant because it suggests that action could have been taken earlier to mitigate the pandemic’s impact.
What challenges has Trump's Operation Warp Speed faced in terms of vaccine trials?
-Operation Warp Speed has faced challenges due to a lack of participation in vaccine trials from African American, Indigenous, and Latinx communities, many of whom distrust the healthcare system.
Why do many African American and Indigenous communities mistrust the healthcare system, according to the NIH report?
-The mistrust stems from a historical legacy of mistreatment by the medical profession, such as the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, where African American men were deliberately left untreated for syphilis for decades.
What was the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, and why is it infamous?
-The Tuskegee experiment, started in 1932, involved 400 African American men with syphilis who were left untreated to study the disease’s progression, even though penicillin was identified as a reliable treatment in 1945. The experiment continued until a whistleblower exposed it in 1972.
How did the Tuskegee experiment contribute to distrust in the healthcare system among African Americans?
-The Tuskegee experiment reinforced the idea that the healthcare system could exploit and deceive African Americans, as the men were misled into believing they were receiving treatment, when in fact, they were given placebos and not properly treated.
What are some examples of medical experimentation on African Americans mentioned by Harriet Washington?
-Examples include boiling water being poured on the backs of slaves, amputation demonstrations on enslaved individuals, experimental reproductive surgeries, vaccine testing on slaves, and using African American bodies for medical dissection and experimentation post-mortem.
Why is there a lack of representation of African Americans and Latinx people in current vaccine trials?
-The lack of representation is due in part to historical abuses in medical research, which have led to deep mistrust in the medical system. Additionally, ongoing discrimination in healthcare contributes to the reluctance to participate.
What participation rates are recommended by Dr. Fauci for Latinx and Black communities in COVID-19 vaccine trials, and how do current participation rates compare?
-Dr. Fauci recommends that Latinx participation be at 37% and Black participation at 27%. However, current participation rates are much lower, with Moderna having 16% Latinx and 10% Black participants, while Pfizer has 11% Latinx and 8% Black participants.
Outlines
📰 Trump Admits to Downplaying COVID-19 Risk
In the opening paragraph, President Donald Trump acknowledged that he publicly downplayed the coronavirus threat despite knowing its seriousness as early as February. Trump responded to a question about whether he misled the public to reduce panic, stating that he didn’t want to create fear and wanted to act as a 'cheerleader' for the country. This admission came shortly after excerpts from journalist Bob Woodward’s book 'Rage' were released, revealing that Trump had a conversation with Woodward in February in which he described the airborne nature and lethality of the virus. Despite this knowledge, the White House did not declare a national emergency until March 13th.
💉 Vaccine Trials Hampered by Mistrust in Minority Communities
This section discusses the struggle to recruit African American, Indigenous, and Latinx participants for vaccine trials under Trump’s 'Operation Warp Speed.' Mistrust in the healthcare system, exacerbated by historical medical abuses like the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, has made these communities hesitant to participate, despite being disproportionately affected by COVID-19. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has attempted to combat this hesitancy by launching TV commercials targeting these groups. The Tuskegee experiment, where African American men with syphilis were purposefully left untreated for decades despite available treatment, remains a powerful example of medical exploitation that fuels mistrust.
🧪 The Deception Behind the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment
This paragraph recounts the details of the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, highlighting the deceit and unethical practices employed by the U.S. Public Health Service. The experiment misled African American men into thinking they were receiving treatment for 'bad blood,' when in reality, they were given placebos. Despite the availability of penicillin as a treatment for syphilis, these men were denied proper care, resulting in severe health deterioration. The experiment continued for 40 years until a whistleblower brought it to light in 1972. It remains the longest and one of the most notorious cases of medical abuse in Western history.
📚 Centuries of Medical Exploitation Beyond Tuskegee
Harriet Washington, a medical ethicist, provides historical context, stating that the Tuskegee experiment is only one example of centuries of medical exploitation of African Americans. Her book 'Medical Apartheid' details various unethical medical practices, such as performing surgeries on slaves without anesthesia and using their bodies for dissection after death. This legacy of medical racism has persisted, and recent unethical vaccine experiments, especially in the developing world, continue to foster distrust in the medical system. The exploitation of black bodies for medical experimentation was not limited to the past but is a continuing issue.
📖 Widespread Mistrust and the Role of Medical History
Washington explains that the history of medical abuse in African American communities is not widely taught in academic circles but is well known within black communities due to a strong oral tradition. While most people were unaware of the detailed accounts found in medical journals, African Americans have long been aware of medical abuses that their families endured. Washington’s 'Medical Apartheid' was one of the first works to document this history in detail. She also notes that contemporary discrimination in healthcare, combined with knowledge of past abuses, contributes to the reluctance of African Americans and Latinx communities to participate in vaccine trials.
💉 Current Vaccine Trials and Participation Disparities
Dr. Anthony Fauci's comments on the current COVID-19 vaccine trials reveal significant disparities in participation rates among minority groups. Moderna’s trials have 16% Latinx and 10% Black participation, while Pfizer's trials show only 11% Latinx and 8% Black participation. Fauci recommends much higher levels of participation: 37% for Latinx and 27% for Black communities. The segment closes with a mention of Washington's continued analysis of vaccine trials, particularly unethical experiments in places like Nigeria, and how this continues to affect global trust in medical systems.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Coronavirus
💡Downplaying
💡Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment
💡Operation Warp Speed
💡Medical Apartheid
💡Mistrust in Healthcare
💡Bob Woodward
💡Vaccine Trials
💡Historical Legacy of Mistreatment
💡Dr. Anthony Fauci
Highlights
President Donald Trump acknowledged that he downplayed the threat of COVID-19 to avoid creating panic, despite early briefings on the severity of the pandemic.
In a February 7th phone call, Trump admitted to journalist Bob Woodward that COVID-19 is more deadly than the flu and spreads through the air, yet no national emergency was declared until March 13th.
The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 reached 190,000 by September, coinciding with Trump's push to release a vaccine before the November election under 'Operation Warp Speed.'
Participation in COVID-19 vaccine trials is low among African American, Indigenous, and Latinx communities due to mistrust of the healthcare system, rooted in historical abuses like the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment.
The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, which ran from 1932 to 1972, involved African American men being misled into thinking they were receiving treatment for syphilis, when in fact they were given placebos.
Even after penicillin was identified as a treatment in 1945, the men in the Tuskegee Experiment were deliberately left untreated, leading to prolonged suffering and death.
The Tuskegee Experiment is one of many documented abuses against African Americans in medical history, but the broader history of medical experimentation on Black people was largely ignored until the publication of 'Medical Apartheid.'
Medical ethicist Harriet Washington highlights other unethical experiments, such as boiling water being poured on enslaved people to treat typhoid, and amputations performed solely for medical students’ practice.
Dr. James Marion Sims, considered the 'father of modern gynecology,' conducted reproductive surgeries on enslaved women without anesthesia, part of a long history of using Black bodies for medical experimentation.
Northern medical schools had contracts with southern medical institutions to use the bodies of deceased Black people for dissection and medical training, illustrating 'post-mortem racism.'
Washington argues that recent vaccine experiments and medical procedures in the developing world have also been exploitative, fueling skepticism among African Americans toward modern medical practices.
Many African Americans retain knowledge of historical medical abuses through a rich oral tradition, even though these events were largely ignored in mainstream medical history until 'Medical Apartheid.'
Dr. Fauci has recommended 37% Latinx and 27% Black participation in COVID-19 vaccine trials, but current enrollment falls far short, with Moderna showing only 10% Black and 16% Latinx participation.
The NIH launched a series of TV commercials targeting Black and Latinx communities to encourage participation in COVID-19 vaccine trials, as these groups are disproportionately impacted by the virus.
Harriet Washington highlights the importance of addressing both historical and current discrimination in the medical field, as both factors contribute to mistrust among marginalized communities.
Transcripts
this is democracy now the quarantine
report i'm amy goodman with nermeen
shaikh
president donald trump acknowledged
wednesday he publicly downplayed the
threat of the coronavirus even as he
received briefings in early february
about the severity of the looming
pandemic
trump was responding to a reporter who
asked if he misled the public in order
to reduce panic
well i think if you said in order to
reduce panic perhaps that so the fact is
i'm
a cheerleader for this country i love
our country and i don't want people
to be frightened i don't want to create
panic
mission came hours after washington post
journalist bob woodward published
bombshell experts from his forthcoming
book about trump called
rage along with tape conversations with
the president
in a february 7 phone call trump told
woodward about what he learned about the
coronavirus from chinese president xi
jinping
it goes through air bob that's always
tougher than the touch you know the
touch you don't have to touch things
right but the air
you just breathe the air and that's how
it's uh passed
and so that's a very tricky one that's a
very delicate one
uh it's also more deadly than your you
know
your even your strenuous flues this is
more deadly this is
five per you know this is five percent
versus
one percent and less than one percent
you know so
this is deadly stuff now again that was
president trump
on february 7th but the white house
would not declare a national emergency
on covet 19
until march 13th the revelations come as
the u.s death toll from covet 19 reached
190
000 on wednesday this comes as trump's
push to release a vaccine before the
november election called
operation warp speed could be slowed by
a lack of participation in vaccine
trials by african-american indigenous
and latinx people
many of whom mistrust the health care
system even as the coronavirus
disproportionately impacts these same
communities
a national institute's health report
attributed part of this mistrust to
quote the historical legacy
of mistreatment at the hands of the
medical profession
the most notorious abuse of
african-americans at the hands of the
medical establishment was the tuskegee
syphilis experiment in 1932
the u.s public health service recruited
400 african-american men with syphilis
studying the disease's progression when
purposefully
left untreated the subjects were given
useless placebos and tracked over
decades as their symptoms worsened even
though penicillin was identified as
reliable treatment in 1945
syphilis can disfigure cause dementia
blindness extreme
chronic pain and death repeated concerns
with the unethical study were ignored
until a whistleblower's account of the
experiment to the press in 1972
shut it down well on tuesday the nih
attempted to overcome the legacy helped
law and helped launch
a series of tv commercials on the bet
network the oprah winfrey network
telemundo and univision
like this ad which features a series of
black people
we know that someone somewhere is full
of hope
and strength and wants to take action
and will take a step forward to hug her
grandkids
walking the walk and rolling up their
sleeves
to go back to normal sooner
volunteer to find the covet 19 vaccine
we're joined now by harriet washington
medical ethicist author of medical
apartheid
the dark history of medical
experimentation on black americans from
colonial times to the present
her latest book a terrible thing to
waste environmental racism and its
assault on the american mind
welcome back to democracy now harriet
washington we're going to talk
on global issues in a moment but for
people who
are not familiar for example with the
tuskegee experiment
and what that experiment means which you
lay out so well
in your book medical apartheid how
this could possibly happen i wanted to
go to a 1993 document
documentary about the tuskegee
experiments called deadly deception
which addresses how black men were lured
into the tuskegee experiment
with assurances they were actually
receiving medical care many told spinal
taps were a form of treatment
this clip includes interviews with
tuskegee subject
herman shaw and medical historian
vanessa gamble
this letter sent to each man before his
spinal tap
claimed it was a very special free
treatment
some time ago you were given a thorough
examination
and since that time we hope you have
gotten a great deal of treatment for bad
blood you will now be given your last
chance to get a second examination
this examination is a very special one
and after it is finished you will be
given a special treatment if it is you
believe
you are in a condition to stand at
remember this is your last chance for a
special
free treatment the men were told
that the spinal taps were a treatment
that shows you some of the deception and
deceit involved in the study
and these are physicians saying this so
that it has a certain power
and authority a physician saying this on
each subject they performed physicals
and blood tests
and to maintain the appearance of
treatment the doctors gave the men
placebos
vitamins aspirins and tonics all useless
against syphilis
we've got three different types of
medicine we got a round peel
and sometimes they give us a capsule and
then they would give us a little vial of
liquid medicine
everybody got the same thing these were
men who weren't going to question the
system
who weren't going to question the
government doctors who weren't going to
be out there picketing
and writing and protesting about it
these were men in macon county alabama
who was going to speak for them
stat clip from a 1993 documentary about
the tuskegee experiment called deadly
deception
this experiment harry washington went on
for
40 years
yes it did it's the longest instance of
um
unethical medical experimentation in
western history
however it's one study my book medical
apartheid
documents centuries of studies
many if not most of which were far worse
than tuskegee
can you go through just some of them
with us a kind of
um short journey with us to the
i mean it's hard to talk about this the
um
experimentation on african americans in
this country
of course you know it's 500 pages and
four centuries so i can't possibly
summarize it
but they range from things like
pouring boiling water on the backs of
slaves to treat them for typhoid
to removing slaves arms and legs simply
to show medical students how the
procedures of amputation were done
two locking women in literally a
cage a small laboratory on the um
property of dr james mary and sims and
then subjecting them to reproductive
surgeries that were experimental
over the course of five years at least
and
then also removing the jawbone of a
slave despite his protests
testing vaccine on slaves testing other
novel procedures
and appropriating the bodies of slaves
in order to test modalities in order to
use them for various experiments
and also to use their bodies after death
for anatomical dissection as medical
training material
post-mortem racism these things were so
prevalent that
most northern medical schools had
contracts with southern medical schools
to get the bodies of dead black people
because they didn't want to use
dead whites in this matter it was
considered disrespectful um the history
is extremely extensive it goes on for a
very very long time
and frankly it has not ended when it
comes to vaccine
i actually find more troubling far more
troubling than tuskegee which is not a
good parallel for this um problem
um more recent problems with vaccines
uh vaccine experiments that have been
very um
have been unethical and exploitative and
other procedures especially in the
developing world that have been
exploitative
that have caught the attention of
african americans and others
so even the recent history of vaccine
abuse has been
very troubling and caused a lot of
reticence
harriet washington could you talk about
how widespread the knowledge
is of the older medical experiments that
you were speaking of
and what role you think that history
as opposed to the treatment of
latinx and african americans in the
medical
world today to what extent is knowledge
of that medical history
uh kind of a disincentive for people to
enroll in the vaccine trials now
as opposed to the continuing
discrimination
against latinx and black communities
now
i would not put those things in
opposition to each other they both
contribute
but it's important to realize that the
written history of medicine the canon
has been carefully curated to
elide the experience of african
americans you simply
would not find this history detailed in
other history of medicine books
until medical apartheid was published it
was ignored
it was certainly documented in the past
in
old journals and medical doctors own
you know own research reports but no one
had collected
it so you find that in academia there is
very little knowledge of that
however amid african-american
communities there was a great extensive
knowledge of it because there had been a
rich oral tradition
passed on many people had those in their
families
who had been subjected to ex to
experimental abuse
and this knowledge was prevalent and
passed on so we had the unusual
situation where african americans were
quite conversant with the history
they may not have known they probably
could not have known
the details that i got from reading
medical journals because they were not
allowed access to the medical journals
but they knew these things were
occurring
but in terms of history of medicine
canon they were routinely ignored
and there's a lot of reluctance until
medical apartheid was published
and scholars could see how carefully i
had documented the things i had
described
only then was there an admission that
these things actually happen
within academia dr fauci
the infectious disease specialist
says that if you look at the trials that
are pla taking place in the united
states today
moderna has 16 percent latinx
participation
pfizer has 11 latinx participation
moderna has only 10 percent black
participation and pfizer only 8 percent
fauci recommends
37 latinx participation
and 27 black participation
when we come back we're going to go
global um with you harriet washington
again uh harriet washington is a medical
ethicist and author of
medical apartheid the dark history of
medical experimentation on black
americans from colonial times to the
present
she mentioned advisor test in nigeria
and we'll talk about that
look at south africa india and beyond
stay with us
you
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