Meharry Medical College has joined the COVID-19 Vaccine Trials Network and will be “enrolling community members” in studies of a handful of vaccine candidates, announced the Nashville, Tennessee-based historically Black institution on Tuesday.
“I am excited given the importance of minority communities taking part in COVID-19 vaccine trials,” said Meharry’s president and CEO Dr. James E. K. Hildreth, referring to the disproportionate number of African Americans hit by the virus.
The vaccine trials will be conducted as a part of Operation Warp Speed, a public-private partnership the White House formed to fast track the development, testing and manufacturing of a vaccine to prevent the disease caused by the novel coronavirus and therapeutic drugs to treat those infected with COVID-19.
White House officials told the media on Tuesday that the COVID-19 vaccine, once available, will be distributed according to priorities, with the most vulnerable people ahead in line.
Globally, more than 100 coronavirus vaccines are being studied, but fewer than a dozen are being tested on humans. Operation Warp Speed “has narrowed its current list down to seven” vaccine candidates, National Public Radio reported on June 12. South Africa, which has the highest number of cases of coronavirus in Africa, began vaccine testing in the country last week. In the U.S., the federal government’s goal is to have a COVID-19 vaccine ready by January 2021.
Since the pandemic, Hildreth, a renowned infectious disease expert, has expressed skepticism that a vaccine can safely be developed and approved in a year, which is considered an extremely short window by most in the scientific community. Then he is reminded that the need for a drug to halt the spread of the highly infectious novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is unprecedented and urgent, especially for people of color.
As of Tuesday, COVID-19 has claimed more than 126,000 lives in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus tracker. The latest data reveals a continued uneven toll among people of color, especially among African Americans. While overall mortality rates from COVID-19 are climbing for all racial and ethnic groups in the country, an APM Research Lab study called Color by Coronavirus found that African Americans “continue to experience the highest overall mortality rates and the most widespread occurrence of disproportionate deaths.”
