WS Chronicle

By Dr. James B. Ewers Jr.

I was hesitant at first to take the vaccine. Black people like me had built-in reasons not to take it.

During the early stages, I saw the vaccine as a bit of an experiment. I had some questions and concerns about it.

What were the side effects? Was it safe?

We took the Johnson and Johnson vaccine some months ago and had no side effects. I am now a vaccine ambassador and strong advocate for African Americans to get the vaccine. If it is the single shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine like my wife and I had, get it. If it is the Pfizer and Moderna two shot vaccine, then get it.

What is most important is that you get the vaccine. This health remedy is giving us a pathway to better and brighter days ahead.

Unfortunately, the phrase “vaccine hesitancy” is firmly entrenched in our everyday language. This term is overwhelming us. It makes us slow to act and even slower to react.

We have a million excuses as to why we will not get the vaccine. This is despite the many television and radio advertisements. We see them and hear them, yet we are unmoved by them.

This must change. Our attitudes must go from hopeless to hopeful and from less encouraged to being encouraged.

As we have known from the beginning, Black people have suffered mightily from this illness. This is the reason that we as Black people must get vaccinated. We have one less plate to serve and one seat is always empty.

Dr. Fola May, a UCLA physician and health equity researcher, said, “My concern is if we don’t vaccinate the population that’s highest risk, we’re going to see even more disproportional deaths in the Black and brown communities. It breaks my heart.”

There is some good news on the horizon. It appears that more African Americans want to get vaccinated. The Kaiser Family Foundation conducted a survey, and the results were significant.

In December only 20% of African Americans said they wanted the shot as soon as possible.

However, in March 2021, 55% of African Americans said they wanted the shot or had already received the vaccine.

The signs look good for us. We need to continue to press forward with this life-saving initiative. We cannot rest or drop our guard until more of us receive the vaccine.

In a strange but comparable analogy, this is much like voting. We take our friends and neighbors to the voting polls. Now, we must take them to get vaccinated.

If we cannot, maybe Uber can. 

Uber, the transportation service, is offering 10 million free and discounted rides to communities across the country.

Lyft is also offering a similar service so that we the people can get shots in the arms. Both companies depend upon us to make money. Consequently, they want us to be safe and healthy when riding with them.

Vaccines are pretty much available from Wal-Mart to Walgreens. For example, Walgreens has over 9,000 locations across the nation where we can get vaccinated.

We do not have any excuses, at least we should not have.

My Brothers and Sisters, go and get vaccinated today. There are some things that you can put off. Postponing getting the vaccine is not one of them.

Life is much too precious to be stubborn and stern when it comes to our health.

Getting vaccinated must be a priority in your life.

We just celebrated Mother’s Day. There will be other occasions and holidays coming up throughout the year.

Let us be able to enjoy them with our family and friends because we are vaccinated.

James B. Ewers Jr., Ed.D., is a former tennis champion at Atkins High School in Winston-Salem and played college tennis at Johnson C. Smith University, where he was all-conference for four years. He is a retired college administrator. He can be reached at overtimefergie.2020@yahoo.com.