TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Days before the COVID-19 vaccination is distributed across the country, the Bryant family is ready to receive theirs.
"In order for us to be able to make sure we stay healthy make sure we don't catch the corona," said Marie Bryant who has been a Tallahassee resident for over 40 years.
Coming from personal experience, Bryant has seen the impacts of COVID-19 right here at home.
"My grandson's mother got Coronoavirus, and she's sick as a dog," said Bryant.
While some in Tallahassee's southside are ready for vaccines to be rolled out soon, that doesn't come without concern for African-American communities.
"We really have an uphill battle to make sure that these vaccines are well received by the communities we serve," said Dr. Folakemi Odedina who has been studying the reactions of minorities toward the vaccine.
She says, politics may have turned some away.
"They don't trust the fact that whole issue of COVID-19 has been politicized," said Dr. Odedina. "That increases the mistrust."
A recent Pew survey revealing 42-percent of minorities plan on getting the vaccine, but Bryant says she's all in.
"There's a lot going on. But at the end of the day, I encourage it," said Bryant.
