LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kentucky is set to start vaccinating groups of people against COVID-19 as soon as next week, but some faith leaders are still looking to elected leaders for help in quelling fear of the vaccine.
One Louisville pastor, Tim Findley, Jr., hopes a real conversation on vaccine buy-in from the African American community can begin between citizens and elected leaders. Without it, Findley feels coronavirus will continue to disproportionately impact the Black community.
Findley pastors Kingdom Fellowship Christian Life Center in Louisville. He's been cautious of COVID-19, holding services virtually for the rest of the year; however, his concerns over how the virus impacts his congregation is growing due to perception of the new vaccine.
"You can’t have one population who doesn’t trust the vaccine and then another population that’s getting the vaccine, and then think that we’re gonna be able to move forward with you know, 100% health," Findley explained.
Findley says mistrust in medicine is a factor for his community, as people are wary of underlying racism in healthcare.
"The first thing you think is, 'I don’t wanna be used as a guinea pig. I don’t want to be used as a test subject,'" Findley said. "And that is within the mind of many, many Black people in this country, and I think it's, again, it's warranted."
Findley's tweeted at President-elect Joe Biden, making noise in hopes of some conversation involving Black medical professionals.
Gov. Andy Beshear says the first wave of vaccinations goes to long-term facility residents and frontline medical workers with 11 hospitals across Kentucky receiving shipments.
"They were selected because the CDC required that they had to have ultra-low cold storage. They were selected because they had completely enrolled as a COVID provider," Beshear said.
As the shots are rolled out, Findley is also hoping for a racially equitable distribution plan.
"I hope that even in the distribution of the vaccine, I hope that in the West End of Louisville the distribution looks like it does in...Prospect," Findley added. "I hope the process is not changing when you come to lower-end or lower-income communities. I hope that it’s equal across the board."