Thread by @kkidia

1/ ANTI-CHINESE RACISM & VACCINE HESITANCY IN AFRICA

“No way I’m taking that China vaccine,” is a phrase I’ve heard tons in #Zimbabwe from friends, family, & HCWs, after 200,000 doses of the #Sinopharm #vaccine arrived from China last week.

TLDR-this is racism. Get vaccinated.

2/ While governments have welcomed strengthening Sino-African relations, many people think of Chinese presence as neocolonialism. They’re half right. But it’s more complex than this.

theguardian.com/cities/2018/ju…

3/ This has made anti-Chinese sentiment rife and acceptable in Africa.

My family members accuse Chinese restaurants of serving up stolen pet dogs to their patrons. Friends say they would never board a “xing-xong” airplane.

The complex geopolitics get conflated with RACISM.

4/ Thinking of a vaccine as inferior because it was made in China, and spreading that sentiment, is also racism.

More doses are on their way from China to other African countries.

We need to promote the uptake of *this* vaccine. We cannot afford to wait and see.

5/ Some healthcare workers are concerned about the safety of the vaccine because its phase III data is not published in a peer reviewed journal. But, short term safety is determined based on earlier phases, already published in @JAMAcurrent.

jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/…

6/ This is not unique to Sinopharm. Other vaccines were rolled out before phase III data was published in peer reviewed journals.

Yes, we could do with more data, but that’s a different issue.

blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2020/11/27…

7/ To conflate the data issue with concerns over the vaccine being “Chinese,” is to consider this vaccine inferior based on its origins, not its contents.

8/ The answer is not to *force* everyone to get the Sinopharm vaccine. Or to keep calling it the "Chinese" vaccine.

We don’t call it the "American" Moderna vaccine.

9/ Instead, as healthcare workers, we have a responsibility to dismantle racism and share decision making with our patients. To help our community work through these strong feelings. To explain why they are wrong. To separate fake, racist news, from science.

10/ We also have a responsibility to lead by example in public health.

When I hear fellow HCWs turning down a vaccine that is ~80% effective cos we’ve allowed racism to creep into our profession, I am disheartened.

11/ If we can’t convince African *healthcare workers*, what will the repercussions be for the general population?

12/ The fight against COVID-19 is tough for HCWs. But it’s deeply intertwined with the battles against racism, corruption, sexism, and income inequality.

We’re nearly there. Let’s stick together as we cross the finish line.

#Twimbos
@kubatana @friendshipbench @efie41209591 @VascoDaGappah @daddyhope @Stranchi2 @rashida_abbferr @AusEmbZim @tariro @RuvhenekoP @harumutasa @petergodwin @DavidColtart @zenzele @DougColtart @regejean @DanaiGurira @WHO_Zimbabwe @HMAMelanieR @TrevorNcube @263Chat @CWGH1

#globalhealth
@michellemorse @DrwilfredoM @reganhmarsh @drlouiseivers @AaronLBerkowitz @paimadhu @GlobalHealthMGH @Craig_A_Spencer @DrMaryTBassett @RobertBonacci @KrutikaKuppalli
@ProfMattFox @megan_b_murray @JeremyFarrar @IlonaKickbusch @HelenClarkNZ @melanieabas @yates_rob

To clarify, vaccine hesitancy is clearly multifactorial. Racism is not the only thing. People have real, valid concerns that need to be addressed.

Racism is just one that should be taken off the table early on.