Infections, hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 continue to rise across the country and the virus has had a disproportionate impact on communities of color.One of the communities hit hard by the pandemic is African Americans."We don't want to have a period of worsening of our disparities, and a lost generation of our young children of color," said Dr. David Tom Cooke, head of general thoracic surgery at UC Davis Health.In California, African Americans make up 6% of the population but account for 4% of coronavirus infections, and 7% of COVID-19-related deaths.Health officials are pushing for Black communities and other marginalized groups to have access to vaccines, which they say is crucial to defeating the pandemic. KCRA 3's Brittany Johnson went to Eminent DoMane Barbershop in Sacramento to see how the barbers there feel about COVID-19 vaccines. "To be honest, the community is scared, especially my generation," explained Kenan Jackson. "I wouldn't really say scared to but I'll say like, skeptical," he added."I'm honestly scared to take anything," Joe Montgomery said when asked if he was going to get vaccinated. "I'm really scared to put anything in my body. I think that's my main fear."Genesis Whitehead, co-owner of Eminent DoMane Barbershop, said he doesn't "plan on having anything to do with" coronavirus vaccines, and he'd rather wait and see how the first few waves of distribution are handled."The side effects is really what I'm looking at looking at. I don't want to get sick, or it might make me worse, or it can cause me other health issues," he said. Distrust in the medical field is also holding some people back."There's been so much misinformation about COVID in itself. So now we're going to trust a vaccine when we don't even really have full details on COVID?" Leah Lawrence asked. Lawrence believes a vaccine to protect against COVID-19 is needed, but also wants to see more research and testing before she would feel comfortable taking it."I do have medical people in the family and they're like, without a doubt, you need to get vaccinated," Lawrence said. Cooke, the UC Davis Health doctor, said the lack of trust some Black Americans have for the medical system is merited. "There's a profound distrust in many of our communities, especially African American communities in regards to health care and that distrust is warranted," he said. Scars of historical traumas that help explain that distrust includes the notable Tuskegee Study which began in the 1930s and lasted 40 years, in which hundreds of Black men who were already infected with syphilis were intentionally left untreated by doctors so they could research the effects of the disease on their bodies. There is also the case of Henrietta Lacks, an African American woman whose cancer cells were removed, and without her knowledge used to create one of the most important cell lines in medical research. The cell line became a billion-dollar industry. Lacks died in 1951 but her cells continue to impact the world. The Lacks family didn't receive payment until recently. The above examples are only two of many scars that still resonate today."COVID-19 started last year and they already have a vaccine that fast. Did they already know that COVID-19 existed or did they just put something together real fast and then make us lab rats?" Whitehead asked. "You're not a guinea pig," Dr. Cooke counters. "Individuals like us who participated in the trial we're the guinea pigs. Now we have a defined product that you can benefit from." Cooke is part of the 10% of African Americans who participated in Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial. The general thoracic surgeon felt it was imperative to change the tide and signed up for the trial in hopes that his decision and transparency about the process would help build trust in his community. "I myself had very little symptoms. I did have some muscle ache at the site of injection and a little bit of fatigue. Perhaps it's hard to say because I'm always tired based on my work. But no real significant symptoms. I operate for a living. I do surgery for a living and I did not miss work at all."Pfizer and Moderna received emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. Although both companies tout nearly 95% effectiveness, Cooke said it is going to take more than just statistics to get the message across."The onus is on health care to understand our communities, and reach out and communicate in a language that they understand," he said. That's not only literally but figuratively."How California plans to reach out to the Black community California's COVID-19 Vaccination Plan includes a communication plan to target African American communities. A portion of the plan includes partnering with faith-based organizations to "rapidly disseminate information" and "ensure these groups have access to vaccination.""We need to do a better job partnering with our diverse communities, our faith leaders," Gov. Gavin Newsom announced virtually during a press conference recently.Pastor Darryl Scarbrough of Boss Church in Sacramento said he will keep his congregation informed, but won't tell them what to do. "We have nurses and doctors at our church. We will give them all the information, but I will stop short of suggesting that they take it," he said. "That is not the role or the responsibility of me as their spiritual leader to push that agenda."Boss Church hasn't held any in-person services since the beginning of the pandemic, and although Scarbrough wants to get back to a sense of normalcy in the coming months, he hopes progress is made on multiple fronts. Relying on a vaccine alone is not the answer, he said."So many churches want to get together. We have not done that simply because I need to make sure my people are safe. I have a different population than many churches. Forty-percent of our church is white, but 60% is African American and Latino," he said. "I have to be cautious of how it disproportionately affects them. I carry, you know, some more responsibility to how I deliver that message, another level of urgency. But at the same time I'm cautious as to how hard I push the message."How aggressively to push the Black community to get the COVID-19 is up for debate. Back at Eminent DoMane Barbershop, Jackson is skeptical about the vaccine and said it will take something drastic to change his mind."It will have to be something literally in my face," Jackson said, when asked what it would take in order for him to change his mind and get immunized. "I will have to see somebody flat out right now in this shop die from COVID on the floor.""Until that is, then that's when I'll be like, OK, for sure, let me go get my vaccine. But other than that, no. I'm cool."Dr. Anthony Harris, chief innovation officer and assistant medical director for WorkCare, said dying from COVID-19 is a possibility, but there are other medical risks that need to be considered."Let's talk to the gentleman in the barbershop sitting across from you that has erectile dysfunction," he said. "We know the virus can cause erectile dysfunction. Let's talk to the young lady sitting down and getting her hair done that now has history of a stroke because we know the virus can cause a stroke or heart attack. There are other clinical outcomes that can lead to permanent, and in some cases, as well as temporary illness and disease that we need to protect our community from. It's not just about dropping dead. It's about quality of life."The state of California is currently in its phase one plan of distributing the vaccines, which includes healthcare workers, first responders and people in long-term care facilities.When California moves into phase two, which will include more of the general population, messaging will include, "providing credible vaccine information to dispel myths," "partnering with community-based organizations," and using "social media," all in hopes of reaching "California's most vulnerable communities."The year "2020 has proved much that is lacking in the area of trust between the Black community and in the country," Pastor Scarbrough said. "I think we have to give some patience in our congregations and our churches and our leaders to allow people time to digest what's coming at them.""If we're fighting for equality and this is our opportunity to have an equal proportion of this vaccine allocated to us, then we should double down on those efforts," Dr. Harris said. "We want to be in a population that is protected from this virus that has disproportionately killed more of us than our white counterparts. "If we're talking about equality, if we're talking about equity, if we're talking about access to health care, quality health care, this is an opportunity. To pass that up would be a disservice to our brothers and sisters in our communities nationwide."More | Dr. Cooke answers your questions about vaccines on Facebook