• Lee Kirksey, Ahmed A Sorour, and Charles Modlin.
• Walter W. Buckley Endowed Chair, Department of Vascular Surgery, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA. Electronic address: kirksel@ccf.org.
• J Natl Med Assoc. 2021 Aug 1; 113 (4): 368-370.

AbstractMinority groups continue to suffer disproportionately from COVID-19's impact, with Blacks and Hispanics three times more likely to die from the disease than their White counterparts. The COVID-19 vaccine roll out has the potential to provide relief to these most adversely impacted communities. However, historic mistrust within racial minority communities threatens to derail the effective implementation of a vaccination program. The origin of this mistrust is multifactorial. Current day experience with structural racism and research abuses like Tuskegee Study collectively influence our perception of biased healthcare system. We outline issues and propose solutions that must be addressed to achieve a successful vaccination agenda. Mishandling of public expectations at any point may lead to an avalanche of vaccine opposition which might be unrecoverable.Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.

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