TOPIC WAS SHUT DOWN BY ASSEMBLY CHAIR LAST MONTH
According to Alaska news sources, Alaska’s African-Americans are skeptical of the COVID-19 vaccine. The Alaska Black Caucus is working with medical professionals to address that, however.
It’s a message that was first brought to the attention of the Anchorage Assembly by Assemblywoman Jamie Allard, who was shut down by Assembly Chairman Felix Rivera when she began talking about the concerns of different communities of color.
“Dr. Johnston, are you aware that almost 62 percent of black Americans aren’t willing to take the vaccine?” Allard said to the municipality’s epidemiologist in December during a regularly scheduled Assembly meeting.
Rivera interrupted her, spoke over her, and then ruled her out of order and pounded the dais with his gavel. Allard was trying to find out what the city was going to do to address the concerns of minorities. Rivera said it was inappropriate.
Allard has since said that many people of color are reluctant to take the vaccine and yet those same ethnic groups are being hit hard by the coronavirus.
A recent survey by the Pew Research Center showed that African-Americans are the most reluctant, when it comes to this new vaccine that is now being used under emergency use provisions only, due to being rushed to production.
“Black Americans continue to stand out as less inclined to get vaccinated than other racial and ethnic groups: 42% would do so, compared with 63% of Hispanic and 61% of White adults. English-speaking Asian Americans are even more likely to say they would definitely or probably get vaccinated (83%),” according to Pew.
The survey by Pew found that 60% of Americans overall say they would definitely or probably get a vaccine for the coronavirus if it were available today.
That was the information that Rivera did not want Allard to discuss in December, but that the Alaska Black Caucus is addressing in January.
