00:00The data ain't showing us that the vaccine is killing us.
00:19Data is not showing that.
00:20It is showing that COVID will take you out.
00:22Like personally, I had COVID in July.
00:24It was awful.
00:25I got vaccinated and I am still dealing with discrimination.
00:29From my own friends, my black friends, because I got the vaccine.
00:34And I feel like we have to find some way to stop making everyone feel bad for their choices
00:40in our community when it has everything to do with the individual.
00:44I've asked that same question, like why judge the other?
00:48What I'll say, and I agree with you, a risk is a risk.
00:50And when we look at getting the vaccine or not, there's a risk associated with either.
00:55And it is your choice, whether which risk you want.
00:58And for me, I know that African-Americans are two to three more times likely to die from
01:04COVID.
01:05That choice was much easier for me.
01:07And knowing that when the vaccine did come out and everybody was getting vaccinated and
01:1290-ish, 99%, thank you epidemiology.
01:15Y'all rock.
01:16We can't do this without y'all.
01:18And what you do in the clinic, sis?
01:20It's teamwork.
01:21It's all teamwork to make this work.
01:23But what we realized is that almost everybody in the hospital was not vaccinated.
01:27And I just keep it real with patients.
01:30So they say, well, what am I waiting on?
01:32What are you waiting on?
01:33What?
01:34Well, I'm waiting on more research.
01:36It has been researched for almost a decade now.
01:39This vaccine is new because this virus is new.
01:42But just having common sense questions and asking kind of that read back.
01:46You know, what are you?
01:47I'm waiting.
01:48I'm just still waiting.
01:49What are you waiting on?
01:50What are you waiting on?
01:51I feel like when it comes to vaccines and maybe internal decisions, when it comes to
01:55medicine, it's like we too struggle with that internal narrative of who are we?
01:59How do we feel about certain things?
02:00How will we be seen?
02:01So if my friend gets vaccinated and I don't, all of these things are being pressed onto
02:07her now.
02:08And I feel like it's like that internal conversation we struggle with so much.
02:11Yeah.
02:12Why we also contract COVID more is because our disproportionate, the way we, the health
02:17issues before that.
02:18So it's like, that's not a part of the conversation when we're talking about COVID and that's huge.
02:22We're talking about why black folks contract COVID higher than everybody else.
02:26Because our health risks are high.
02:29They call them comorbidities.
02:30And how we die.
02:31Right.
02:32And how we die is that the system is also not set up.
02:35And it's set up with bias.
02:36You may still get the infection.
02:38The idea of the vaccine in this particular case is to decrease the risk of death and decrease
02:43the risk of hospitalization and severe illness.
02:46And that's what is spreading to others.
02:48And so we were looking for this herd immunity to try to decrease the possibility of spread.
02:52But the other side of it was that the vaccine, if you do get the infection,
02:56you're less likely to be in the hospital, so that frees up beds.
02:59For those that may have had a heart attack, for those that may need that broke their foot
03:04and they need to be in the hospital, there's a bed available now if you get the vaccine.
03:08These three words will save your life.
03:10Don't project.
03:11Don't assume.
03:12Tell me more about your vaccine decision.
03:15I had a very good friend, nice looking brother, who did not want to get the vaccine.
03:22He's very healthy.
03:23Works out every day.
03:24Ginger tea.
03:25You name all that.
03:26Papaya, all of that.
03:27So, well, I never got the flu shot either.
03:29Oh, okay, cool.
03:30Why not?
03:31Because I don't ever get sick.
03:32Oh, how do you know that?
03:34Because I never get sick.
03:35Well, how do you know that?
03:36Because I don't have symptoms.
03:37I don't cough.
03:38Oh, so you mean, you could have been asymptomatic.
03:41Well, this virus is asymptomatic.
03:43And quite frankly, your daughter, your best friend and another person of all kinds of COVID.
03:47I was like, you probably meant to go super spread it, bruh.
03:49Like, right?
03:51And so really meeting people where they are and some passion and grace and really exploring people
03:55on where they are is important.
03:57When you are connecting with another human being, you want them to feel understood and connected with.
04:02And validation doesn't mean that I agree.
04:04Validation means I hear what you're saying and I hear where you're coming from.
04:06And so I think if we did more validating conversations in general, it would make the world a better place.
04:11And then people would be less likely to get defensive, which is what usually we get defensive.
04:14And then it's like, you know, the equity piece is like, let me be as compassionate and as loving as possible for you.
04:19Oh, person who the world said is not worthy of love.
04:21That's bull.
04:22That's BS, right?
04:23So let me like, really, if I'm going to do anything, I'm going to be compassionate and loving towards you.
04:27Let me tell you something.
04:28We got 700,000 people in the ground.
04:30Both of them look like us because of comorbidities or a system that does not afford us the opportunity to be well.
04:36There are some luxuries we cannot gamble with.
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