Black people are 2.6 times more likely to spread Covid-19 than White people, and Latinos are 2.8 times more likely to spread Covid-19 than White people
A series of ads aimed at increasing minority participation in coronavirus vaccine trials starts airing Tuesday.
A group funded by the National Institutes of Health has released a series of emotional television ads asking black people and Latinos to roll up their sleeves and become study participants in clinical trials for coronavirus vaccines.
The vaccine trials -- there are three underway in the United States -- need more minorities to sign up. Dr. Larry Corey, who runs the group that put out the ads, said he knows the ads won't instantly increase enrollment, but he hopes they help.
The ads were developed by the Covid-19 Prevention Network. The ads are scheduled to start airing Tuesday on major television networks as well as the BET network, the Oprah Winfrey Network, TV One, Telemundo, and Univision.
Why clinical trials are seeking minority volunteers
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has urged that about 37% of the volunteers in coronavirus vaccine clinical trials be Latino, and 27% be black.
Enrollments so far have fallen far short of that.
Last week, 16% of Moderna's new enrollments were Latino and 10% were black. And as of August 31, 11% of Pfizer's US trial volunteers were Latino and 8% were black.
Researchers have two reasons for wanting to improve these numbers.
Vaccines and medicines can work differently in different racial and ethnic groups, so diversity in clinical trials is important.
Also, in order for the vaccine clinical trials to succeed, scientists have to recruit people who have a high likelihood of encountering the virus.
Otherwise, the researchers will have to wait a longer time to know if the vaccine works or not.
Black people are 2.6 times more likely to spread Covid-19 than White people, and Latinos are 2.8 times more likely to spread Covid-19 than White people, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Pastor Ricky Temple, who leads a large black church in Savannah, Georgia, said he found the ads "touching."
"I think these are great. The pointing to the arm was a graceful invitation to participate that was inviting and personal," he said of the ads, which include black and Latino bus drivers, teachers, nurses, students, parents, and grandparents.
The black community has historically been neglectful of their health and hygiene.
Temple said the ads won't change all of this, but they're "a good start" towards getting blacks to help in medical research.
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[–] offender ago
It's hard to get the dose right. Too much and it kills you, too little and it doesn't injure you enough. They try to be cautious when testing, and go with the higher dose.