Given the devastating impact of the COVID-19 virus on communities of color, the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Black Faculty Group (BFG) and the MUSC Hispanic/Latino faculty encourage Blacks and Hispanics/Latinos in South Carolina and across the nation to take the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as they can schedule an appointment.
“Our lives depend on it,” said Marvella E. Ford, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences, and director, Population Sciences and Cancer Disparities at the MUSC Hollings Cancer Center. A leader of the MUSC BFG for nearly 16 years, Ford stated the group’s perspective, noting that “The vaccine is needed in these communities for three reasons. First, COVID-19 has caused more deaths in the United States than in any other country in the world. Second, COVID-19 infection rates are much higher among Blacks and Hispanics/Latinos than among Whites. Third, COVID-19 death rates among Blacks are double in comparison to the death rates among Whites.”
