We’ve been hearing a lot lately about people who are hesitant to get the coronavirus vaccine, and a lot of it comes in the context of “vaccine equity.” A Los Angeles Times columnist recently wrote that California forgot transgender people in its push to get people vaccinated: “This is especially true among Black and Latino trans people, such as Sasha Morehead, who doesn’t want to get vaccinated because she believes ‘they are just testing it on people.'”
A group called Hip Hop Public Health put out an animated rap video to encourage blacks to get vaccinated: “If doc says it’s good then trust me, it’s good,” goes one line. Vice President Kamala Harris went on MSNBC with Al Sharpton to say she was visiting a pharmacy to help combat vaccine skepticism in communities of color; she also noted that a black immunologist helped develop the Moderna vaccine.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley took the COVID vaccine despite the medical community “exacting ostensibly medical apartheid on black Americans.”
Keeping that in mind, a lot of people are awfully quick to judge those skeptical of the vaccine in response to CNN’s article on how to speak to someone who’s hesitant to get the shot.
How to speak to someone who's hesitant to get vaccinated https://t.co/eDljKauqwv
— CNN (@CNN) April 10, 2021
“Look for a time to have a calm, rational conversation, where neither person is angry or likely to start a fight,” CNN recommends.
How about fuck off.
— Caveman Deetz (@tahDeetz) April 10, 2021
We don’t suppose it’s helped either that Dr. Anthony Fauci has made it clear that virtually nothing changes if you get the vaccine, despite the Weather Channel reminding you that your vaccination card could be your “ticket to freedom.” And Harris didn’t do anyone any favors by saying she wouldn’t trust a vaccine just because President Trump said it was safe.
If CNN has to have a whole article on how to convince people to get the vaccine, then that makes me even more skeptical of the vaccine.
— Alfie (@Aelfred6) April 10, 2021
Remind them it’s a choice not a requirement.
— Trying To Write (@sarcasticAF_41) April 10, 2021
Now do, “How to speak to someone who’s irrationally afraid of COVID.”
— John William Sherrod (@jwsherrod) April 10, 2021
Don’t. Mind your own business
— Steve (@terr_burr) April 10, 2021
Respect their decision and move on.
— Mike Wilson (@wagon_hunter) April 10, 2021
You dont you stay out of people's business..
— Robertosmadness (@robertosmadness) April 10, 2021
Step 1: dont
— Chris Hicks (@chrishicksmus) April 10, 2021
Live and let live. These types of vaccines are new. Some vaccines are causing strokes in certain populations and allergic reactions. Most people will get the vaccine, stop shaming people. Let them continue to wear masks and social distance.
— Lyn ??❤️?? (@Lynn26306020) April 10, 2021
Don't, because they may not have the time and/ or resources to do so. And if they do and they just don't want to get it, don't try to put them down or peer pressure them into doing so as it's their choice when it comes to their body. Respect the liberties given to them and you.
— Brandon Caron (@BrandonCaron17) April 10, 2021
I would say “I understand”
— ᑕOᑎᔕEᖇᐯᗩTIᐯE ᕼIᑭᑭIE (@Be___Free__) April 10, 2021
You know, it's really none of my business.
— AFNAN (@afn2019k) April 10, 2021
Mind your own business.
— Amy Beth (@absinbr) April 10, 2021
Talk about something else since it's unlikely either one of you are versed in medicine or data analysis.
— Adam, CPA ????? (@refereecpa) April 10, 2021
How about let them make up their own mind ?
— chris lee (@nancyle28546251) April 10, 2021
My favorite part of this condescending garbage was when they basically said- hey you're white and all the other white ppl are getting it, so you should too!
— Mike (@Mike55707256) April 10, 2021
Good point. For all the people saying, don’t bother, let them die of COVID — it’s only ignorant red-staters who would refuse the shot — would you say the same thing to Pressley, who said she, as a black woman, had some trust issues to overcome herself? Distrust is apparently so great in the black community that Cornell University exempted students of color from the mandated flu vaccine because the school recognized that “historically, the bodies of Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) have been mistreated, and used by people in power, sometimes for profit or medical gain.”
What does CNN suggest we say to those people? Nothing, obviously — respect their choice.
Related:
Vaccine skeptic Vice President Kamala Harris trying to help combat vaccine skepticism in communities of color https://t.co/oxiJOBdr97
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) February 25, 2021
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