Vaccine efficacy among minority groups

The waay 31 air care systems sky cam network.

Good evening and thanks for joining us tonight.

I'm najshe sherman.

And i'm dan shaffer.

Our coverage begins with what many hope will be the beginning of the end of the pandemic - a vaccine.

New at ten - as pfizer and moderna get closer to rolling out their vaccines in the united states -- we're learning more about their efficacy in minority communities... and how some people feel about taking it.

Waay 31's will robinson-smith joins us live from big spring park... he spoke with people in the area and the founders of a local company that educates people about the vaccines.

Will?

Today -- the alabama department of public health published a portal where healthcare providers can enroll to be able to receive, administer and report on vaccine distribution.

Folks i spoke with say they want to know more -- but they're on board with the vaccines.

On a brisk fall night -- shawn fitcheard and a co-worker came out to enjoy the tinsel trail.

An annual tradition for them -- updated with masks and social distancing for the 2020 edition.

Fitcheard told me he still has a number of questions about the moderna and pfizer vaccines.

Shawn fitcheard, supports taking the vaccine how effective it is and how much do we know about it being as effective as they say it is upon administering it to everyone.

According to its data -- pfizer's covid-19 vaccine has an efficacy rate of 95 percent.

However -- a study published by mit's computer science and artificial intelligence lab this week shows that there may be some variance in efficacy based on a person's race.

Experts say that's not a reason to avoid getting the vaccine once it's available.

Del smith, co-founder, acclinate genetics pharmacogenomics tells us that the efficacy of drugs can vary based upon a person's race or ethnicity.

So, it's really no surprise that we may find that the covid vaccine does not have the same level of efficacy for certain racial or ethnic groups.

Del smith and tiffany whitlow's company "acclinate genetics" helps empower communities of color with medical information.

They say they're encouraged by the engagement that pharmaceutical companies are having with small businesses like theirs to help get good information into the community.

Tiffany whitlow, co-founder, acclinate genetics i feel very hopeful from the support that industry is providing the academic medical centers doing the research and the cro's.

So, i do believe that together, that ecosystem is playing together so that people really understand why this is important and what it means for us right now.

Pfizer's data on participant diversity shows that only 10 percent of participants in the phase three clincal trials were black even though black people make up 13 percent of the country.

Smith says companies like theirs and many other players are needed to help overcome some of the longstanding trust issues that black americans have with clinical trials.

They must do the hard work right now on trying to build trust.

And if they can't build trust to overcome a total mistrust of the medical industry, you can start on a very strategic approach to try to address the mistrust and misinformation that exists as it relates to covid and covid vaccination.

Lifestyle youtubers like ezzra pierce and jayla rivera say they're also trying to do their part to bring constructive conversations about the vaccine to their social circles as well.

Jayla rivera, youtuber we're talking about it.

We discuss it.

It is a very big topic because with me having asthma, i have to mask up as much as i can and a lot of family members of mine have asthma as well.

Smith and whitlow are hosting a seminar with dr. jane morgan from piedmont hospital to help answer questions folks may have about the vaccines so that they feel more comfortable with them once they roll out to the masses.

Reporting live in huntsville -- will robinson-smith -- waay 31 news.