1/4 As a number of us anticipated black folk are being recruited excessively as subjects for coronavirus vaccine clinical trials, including college presidents at Xavier and Dillard imploring their students to join trials. Other med centers are targeting the local black community.

2/4 I feared that the fact that we are disproportionately affected by the disease (3 times the mortality rates of other groups) would become the rationale for encouraging us to disproportionately be the guinea pigs for previously untested vaccines.

3/4 These are not trials for a curative medication that, understandably, might be given to folk who are suffering severe symptoms from the disease. These are tests of candidate vaccines intended to prevent infection, and there are at least two dangers:

4/4 a. Folk who take the vaccine may believe that they have acquired immunity and may take greater risks in public place. b. We have no idea what the range of side effects are from any of these candidate vaccines. Black people should not bear more of the risk than any others.