>>> WELCOME TO "METROFOCUS."

I'M JACK FORD.

HISTORICALLY, PEOPLE OF COLOR IN

THIS COUNTRY HAVE DEALT WITH

DISCRIMINATION AND INJUSTICE IN

OUR MEDICAL SYSTEM GIVING REASON

FOR SOME MEMBERS OF THESE

COMMUNITIES TO APPROACH A NEW

VACCINE WITH UNDERSTANDABLE

CAUTION.

ACCORDING TO A RECENT POLICY

CONDUCTED BY THE ASSOCIATION FOR

A BETTER NEW YORK, ONLY 57% OF

NEW YORKERS SAY THEY ARE

PLANNING TO TAKE THE VACCINE.

WITH FOUR TIMES AS MANY BLACK

RESPONDENTS AS WHITE RESPONDENTS

SAYING THEY DO NOT INTEND TO

TAKE THE VACCINE.

NEW YORK CITY COUNCILMEMBER

VANESSA GIBSON HAS BEEN WORKING

WITH THE ADMINISTRATION TO

DISPEL MYTHS ABOUT THE VACCINE

WHILE ALSO ACKNOWLEDGING

CONCERNS OVER THE HISTORY OF

EXPERIMENTATION ON PEOPLE OF

COLOR IN THIS COUNTRY.

RECENTLY, AS PART OF OUR

"CHASING THE DREAM" ON POVERTY,

JUSTICE AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY

IN AMERICA, I HAD THE

OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH

COUNCILMEMBER GIBSON ABOUT THESE

ISSUES AND WHAT IS BEING DONE.

SO, COUNCILMEMBER GIBSON,

WELCOME TO YOU.

NICE TO SEE YOU.

>> THANK YOU SO MUCH.

NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU AND YOUR

FAMILY.

>> TO YOU ALSO.

I AM GOING TO GET IN A MOMENT TO

THIS NOTION OF THE HISTORICAL

BACKGROUND THAT HAS GENERATED

THIS SENSE OF CONCERN AND

DISTRUST, AND THEN WHAT WE'RE

DOING ABOUT IT.

BUT LET ME START, FIRST, WITH

WHAT YOU ARE ACTUALLY HEARING.

YOU ARE IN THE BRONX, ONE OF THE

HARDEST HIT COMMUNITIES IN THE

COUNTRY BY THIS VIRUS AND THIS

PANDEMIC.

SO WHEN YOU TALK TO YOUR

CONSTITUENTS ABOUT THE VACCINE,

WHAT KIND OF THINGS ARE THEY

SAYING TO YOU?

>> SO, I THINK GENERALLY

EVERYONE WAS SO HARD HIT BY THE

COVID-19 GLOBAL PANDEMIC THAT

STRUCK THIS COUNTRY LAST MARCH,

AND REMINDING MANY OF OUR

RESIDENTS THAT OLDER RESIDENTS

WITH UNDERLYING HEALTH

CONDITIONS WERE THE HARDEST HIT.

COMMUNITIES OF COLORS

UNDERRESOURCED IN THIS COUNTRY

AND THESY OF NEW YORK OF THE

BRONX HAS THE HIGHEST DEATH

RATES OF COVID.

WHEN YOU LOOK INTO THE DATA THAT

WE HAVE RECEIVED, YOU SEE THAT A

LOT OF THESE RESIDENTS HAD

ASTHMA, HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE,

HEART DISEASE, DIABETES, ALL

PREVENTIBLE DISEASES AND MANY

HAD INSUFFICIENT HEALTH CARE.

NOW THAT WE HAVE THE VACCINE,

NOW THAT WE HAVE PFIZER AND

MODERNA AND WE ARE LOOKING AT

VACCINATION DISTRIBUTION SITES

ACROSS THE BURROW OF THE BRONX,

WORKING IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE

STATE, THE CITY, HEALTH CARE

PARTNERS, H AND H, DEPARTMENT OF

HEALTH AND MENTAL HIGH JIEN, A

LOT OF CONCERN IS HOW EFFECTIVE

IS IT.

WHAT IS THE SIDE EFFECTS THAT I

HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT?

I HAVE DIABETES, I HAVE HEART

DISEASE, I SUFFER WITH ASTHMA,

DO I HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE

AFTEREFFECTS OF TAKING THE FIRST

DOSE AND THEN THE SECOND DOSE.

I ALSO THINK IN BLACK AND BROWN

COMMUNITIES THERE IS A

HISTORICAL RACISM AND HEALTH

CARE WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT BACK

IN 1932 WITH THE TUSKEGEEICS

PEER.

AT A TIME THERE WAS NO KNOWN

TREATMENT FOR SYPHILIS.

BACK PEOPLE ARE USED AS GUINEA

PIGS IN EXPERIMENTATION.

>> YOU'RE RIGHT.

AND BY THE WAY, THAT RESEARCH

WAS BEING DONE BY THE

GOVERNMENT.

>> YES.

>> THE CDC WAS TAKING A ROLE IN

THIS.

AS YOU SAID, BLACK MEN HAD

SYPHILIS, NOT GIVEN ANY

TREATMENT AND STUDIED TO SEE HOW

THEY WOULD REACT TO IT.

AND PEOPLE HAVE HEARD ABOUT

THAT.

OBVIOUSLY, THAT COULD BE

EMBEDDED IN SOMEBODY'S MIND WHEN

THEY ARE THINKING ABOUT, OKAY,

HERE COMES THE GOVERNMENT AND

THEY ARE SAYING THEY ARE GOING

TO HELP ME BUT WHY IS THIS GOING

TO BE DIFFERENT FROM TUSKEGEE,

RIGHT?

>> RIGHT.

>> WE KNOW THERE ARE OTHER

INSTANCES.

MY DAUGHTER IS A CANCER SURGEON,

GYNELOGIC ONCOLOGIST.

WE SAW THIS STORY ABOUT A DOCTOR

WHO WAS REFERRED TO AS THE

FATHER OF MODERN GYNECOLOGY AND

IT TURNS OUT HE WOULD DO

EXPERIMENTS ON SLAVE WOMEN

WITHOUT ANESTHESIA.

>> RIGHT.

>> SO, THERE ARE INSTANCES OUT

THERE, CERTAINLY.

SO MY NEXT QUESTION THEN

BECOMES, AND I KNOW THIS IS PART

OF WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO DO

HERE, HOW DO YOU GET MESSAGES TO

YOUR CONSTITUENTS CERTAINLY,

BECAUSE, AS WE SAID, THE BRONX,

THE HARDEST HIT.

SOME NUMBERS, YOU MENTIONED, IF

YOU ARE 2.8 TIMES HIGHER, THE

DEATH RATE FOR BLACKS THAN IT IS

FOR WHITES.

HOSPITALIZATION RATE IS 3.7

TIMES HIGHER ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

AND IN YOUR BOROUGH HIGHEST

RATE.

>> RIGHT.

>> SO IT SEEMS LIKE AN ENORMOUS

TASK.

HOW DO YOU THINK WE SHOULD BE

GOING ABOUT REACHING OUT TO YOUR

CONSTITUENTS, AND EVERYBODY, BUT

ESPECIALLY YOUR CONSTITUENTS,

ESPECIALLY PEOPLE OF COLOR TO

SAY TO THEM, IT'S OKAY, YOU NEED

TO DO THIS?

>> RIGHT.

WELL, A COUPLE OF STEPS I THINK

WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL.

FIRST OUR WORK HAS TO BE ABOUT

BELIEVING SCIENCE.

WHEN HEAR DR. FAUCI, THE NEW

PRESIDENT TALKING ABOUT

BELIEVING SCIENCE AND LISTENING

TO THE HEALTH CARE EXPERTS.

I THINK AT A LOCAL LEVEL THE

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND H AND H

REALLY HAVE TO SHARE ACCURATE

INFORMATION.

WE HAVE TO ALAYA LOT OF THE

CONCERNS AND ANXIETIES THAT

BLACK AND BROWN NEW YORKERS FEEL

WHEN IT COMES TO VACCINATION.

WE HAVE TO FOCUS ON HEALTH CARE.

WE HAVE TO TALK TO MANY OF OUR

PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIANS IN OUR

HOSPITALS, OUR MEDICAL

FACILITIES, OUR CLINICS.

WE HAVE TO HAVE THEM AS CREDIBLE

MESSENGERS SO THEY CAN REALLY,

REALLY ASSURE RESIDENTS THAT

THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO GO

BECAUSE THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC IS

STILL HERE.

EVERY DAY YOU HEAR ABOUT

HOSPITALIZATIONS, YOU HEAR ABOUT

MORE DEATHS RELATED TO COVID.

SO WE ARE STILL VERY MUCH IN

THIS PANDEMIC.

AND I HAVE ASKED EVERYONE THAT

MAY HAVE COME TO OUR OFFICE, IF

YOU HAVE A PRIMARY DOCTOR, TALK

TO THE DOCTOR.

HAVE YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED SO

YOU FEEL REASSURED GOING INTO

THIS PROCESS.

>> WHAT WOULD YOU SAY, ONE OF

YOUR CONSTITUENTS, A PERSON OF

COLOR, SEES YOU ON THE STREET

AND SAYS, COUNCILMEMBER, I GOT

TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THIS.

THE VACCINE IS OUT THERE, BUT I

JUST DON'T FEEL -- I HEARD

STORIES ABOUT THINGS IN THE PAST

AND THIS IS NEW.

IT WAS DEVELOPED IN NINE MONTHS

INSTEAD OF NINE YEARS AS WE

HEARD OFTENTIMES.

AND I'M JUST NOT -- I'M NOT

COMFORTABLE.

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO THAT

PERSON ONE TO ONE?

>> I WOULD SAY, MA'AM, SIR, DO

YOU HAVE A PRIMARY CARE DOCTOR

OR DO YOU HAVE A ROUTINE DOCTOR

THAT YOU SPEAK TO?

IF THEY SAY YES, I WOULD SAY

CALL THEM AND GET YOUR QUESTIONS

ANSWERED.

TALK TO THEM ABOUT YOUR CONCERNS

AND YOUR FEARS AROUND THE

VACCINE, FIND OUT IF YOU SEE

MORE ADVANTAGES WITH PFIZER

VERSUS MODERNA, AND REALLY MAKE

SURE THAT ANY UNCERTAINTY YOU

HAVE YOU FEEL A LITTLE BIT

REASSURED.

THEN I WOULD GIVE THEM MATERIAL

AVAILABLE IN THE LANGUAGE THEY

SPEAK AND I WOULD SAY I WANT TO

MAKE SURE THAT YOU FEEL

COMFORTABLE.

AT THE END OF THE DAY I DON'T

WANT TO FORCE THE VACCINE ON

ANYONE, PARTICULARLY

CONSTITUENTS OF COLOR THAT I

KNOW HAVE UNDERLYING HEALTH

CONDITIONS.

BUT I REMIND THEM ALL THAT WE

ARE CONTINUING TO LIVE IN A

GLOBAL PANDEMIC.

SO THE LIKELIHOOD OF GETTING

COVID-19 IS VERY REAL WITHOUT

THE VACCINE.

AND SO I WILL CAUTION THEM ON

WEARING THE FACEMASK, PRACTICING

SOCIAL DISTANCING, WASHING YOUR

HANDS, NOT BEING IN LARGE

SPACES, MAKING SURE THAT YOU DO

EVERYTHING AS BEST YOU CAN TO

KEEP YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES

SAFE.

>> WE WOULD LIKE TO THINK, AND

YOUR ADVICE IS CERTAINLY SOLID

AND SOUND WHEN YOU SAY TALK TO

YOUR PHYSICIAN, BUT SUPPOSE THAT

PHYSICIAN IS -- DOESN'T LOOK

LIKE THEM.

DOESN'T SOUND LIKE THEM.

JUST THE FACT THAT THEY HAVE AN

M.D. AFTER THEIR NAME, WILL THAT

BE ENOUGH, DO YOU THINK, TO GET

THROUGH THIS LAYER AND IN MANY

WAYS AN UNDERSTANDABLE LAYER OF

CONCERN AND DISTRUST?

>> I AGREE.

I DON'T THINK IT WILL BE ENOUGH.

SO WHAT I ALSO WOULD DO AND HAVE

BEEN WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH

MANY OF OUR COMMUNITY-BASED

ORGANIZATIONS, PARTICULARLY

SENIOR SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS

THAT HAVE A LEVEL OF

RELATIONSHIPS WITH MANY OF OUR

OLDER RESIDENTS.

SO I WOULD ENLIST THEIR SUPPORT

TO SEE IF THERE IS ANY WAY THAT

I COULD GIVE THEM A LITTLE BIT

MORE REASSURANCE, PROVIDING DATA

AND STATISTICS AND INFORMATION

BECAUSE I REALIZE AT THE END OF

THE DAY EVERYONE HAS THE ABILITY

TO MAKE THEIR OWN DECISION.

I WANT THEM TO BE AN INFORMED

RESIDENT WITH AS MUCH KNOWLEDGE

AS THEY NEED TO MAKE THAT

EDUCATED DECISION FOR

THEMSELVES.

IF THEY HAVE FAMILY MEMBERS, I

WOULD ALSO TALK TO CHILDREN,

ESPECIALLY IF THEY ARE AN OLDER

RESIDENT.

WHO IS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD, WHO

IS IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD THAT I

COULD TALK TO TO MAKE SURE YOU

FEEL COMFORTABLE.

AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT'S NOT

A MANDATE.

I WANT TO BE MINDFUL OF THAT.

I WANT EVERYONE TO UNDERSTAND

THAT THE VACCINE HAS THE DATA TO

PLOF THAT IT IS SUCCESSFUL TO

PREVENT GETTING COVID-19.

AND THAT'S A REAL FACT AND A

REAL NUMBER.

SO I WOULD REMIND THEM OF THAT

AS WITH.

>> TALKING WITH NEW YORK CITY

COUNCILMEMBER VANESSA GIBSON AND

HER EFFORTS TO GET THE WORD OUT

TO HER CONSTITUENTS AND ALL

NEIGHBORS ABOUT THE VALUE OF

THIS VACCINE.

WHAT ABOUT THE IDEA, ENLISTING

THE AID OF CELEBRITIES.

CAN CELEBRITIES HELP, DO THEY

HURT?

WE HAVE SEEN ACTUALLY, AND THIS

SORT OF TIES INTO WHAT YOU

MENTIONED BEFORE, HANK AARON,

WHO JUST -- WE JUST LOST WITHIN

THE LAST WEEK OR SO.

ONE OF THE GREATEST BASEBALL

PLAYERS OF ALL TIME.

SHORTLY BEFORE HE DIED HE MADE A

STATEMENT, HE GOT THE VACCINE.

HE MADE A STATEMENT SAYING,

LOOK, IENL G AM GETTING IT.

YOU NEED TO GET.

PEOPLE ON THE INTERNET RAISING

THE SPECTOR, COMPLETELY

BASELESS, THAT HE DIED AS A

CONSEQUENCE OF THE SIDE EFFECTS

OF VACCINES.

THAT DID NOT HAPPEN.

SHOULD WE BE ENLISTING FAMILIAR

FACES THAT MAY WELL LOOK AND

SOUND LIKE PEOPLE OF COLOR TO

TRY TO HELP THEM UNDERSTAND

THIS?

>> I THINK IT CAN BE HELPFUL.

I THINK IT CAN BE MORE HELPFUL

THAN HURTFUL.

I THINK IF YOU ARE USING

CELEBRITIES AND CERTAINLY

ACTORS, ACTRESSES, YOU KNOW,

PARTICULARLY SINCE THEY HAVE

EXPERIENCED COVID THEMSELVES AND

THEY CAN TELL THEIR OWN STORY

AND THEIR TESTIMONY.

YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SEEN RAPPERS

AND ACTRESSES AND OTHERS THAT

HAVE BEEN AFFECTED PERSONALLY BY

COVID.

I THINK WHEN YOU TELL THAT

STORY, IT REMINDS OUR

CONSTITUENTS THAT NO ONE IS

IMMUNE FROM COVID, NO MATTER HOW

MUCH MONEY YOU HAVE, NO MATTER

YOUR STATUS, YOU CAN BE AFFECTED

BY COVID AUR WYOURSELF.

USING THEM AS A PLATFORM THAT

ALLOW THE CONCERNS TO SHOW THAT

THE VACCINE CAN BE SAFE AND

EFFECTIVE WHEN USED PROPERLY AND

ADMINISTERED PROPERLY CI THINK

CAN BE A GOOD THING.

>> IS THE CITY DOING ENOUGH, DO

YOU THINK, RIGHT NOW?

>> WE CAN DO BETTER.

WE HAVE GOT A ROUGH START WITH

THE VACCINE.

YOU KNOW, WE HAD A LOT OF ISSUES

AROUND THE SUPPLY FROM THE FDA

AND CDC AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL.

I THINK SOME OF THE SITES ON THE

GROUND WERE OVERWHELMED ALTHOUGH

THERE WERE APPOINTMENT ONLY.

WE BEGAN TO SEE A SHORT SUPPLY

THAT THE MAYOR KEPT TALKING

ABOUT.

I HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH COUNSEL

MER AIELLO AND WE HAVE SECURED

YANKEES STADIUM AS A NEW MASS

VACCINATION DISTRIBUTION SITE.

WE ARE WAITING FOR THE SUPPLY SO

THAT WE CAN BE UP AND RUNNING

THE BEGINNING OF FEBRUARY WE

HOPE AND THEN YOU HEARD THE

ANNOUNCEMENT ON CITI FIELD.

I THINK RESIDENTS WANT LOCAL

PLACES THAT THEY FEEL

COMFORTABLE GOING TO IN THEIR

NEIGHBORHOOD.

WE HAVE HEARD ISSUES AROUND THE

HOTLINE.

LONG WAIT TIMES.

AND THEN YOU DO GET AN

APPOINTMENT, IT'S FAR OUT AND

ACROSS THE BOROUGH, REALLY FAR

AWAY.

I THINK WE HAVE TO ADDRESS THOSE

ISSUES ON THE GROUND.

WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH HEALTH

CARE AND OTHERS, H AND H TO MAKE

SURE THAT WE HAVE THE PARTNERS

ON THE GROUND TO FACILITATE THE

DISTRIBUTION.

>> LAST QUESTION FOR YOU, A

MINUTE AND A HALF LEFT.

I MENTIONED IN THE INTRODUCTION

YOU INDICATED YOU ARE RUNNING

FOR BRONX BOROUGH PRESIDENT.

WE WILL TALK DOWN THE ROAD ABOUT

POLICIES AND ISSUES.

A QUICK QUESTION FOR YOU.

I APOLOGIZE I HAVE A MINUTE AND

15 SECONDS.

WHY DO YOU WANT TO DO THAT?

>> I WANT THE BRONX TO CONTINUE

TO HAVE STRONG LEADERSHIP.

I BELIEVE MY SEVEN PLUS YEARS

WITH CITY GOVERNMENT AND FOUR

YEARS AS A STATE LEGISLATOR

ALLOW ME TO BE EQUIPPED TO BE

THE NEXT BRONX BOROUGH

PRESIDENT.

IT'S AN HONOR LOOKING AT THE

BOROUGH, THE CULTURAL DIVERSITY,

OPPORTUNITY AND POTENTIAL THE

BRONX HAS.

WE HAVE BEEN SET BACK BY COVID.

IT'S PREPARATION FOR A COMEBACK.

WE HAVE TO GET BOROUGH RESIDENTS

BACK TO WORK.

WE HAVE TO HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE

JOBS PLAN, REALIZE REAL

AFFORDABLE HOUSING, ECONOMIC

DEVELOPMENT, SMALL BUSINESS

SUPPORT AND FOOD INSECURITY.

SO I WANT TO RUN FOR BRONX

BOROUGH PRESIDENT AND TO TALKIN

PLATFORM.

>> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING

US AND THANK YOU FOR THE GOOD

WORK YOU ARE DOING WITH REGARD

TO THIS VACCINE AND THE PARN.

YOU BE WELL.

>> THANK YOU SO MUCH.

YOU, TOO.

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY.