Kizzmekia Corbett & the Fight Against Vaccine Hesitancy

Guest post by Kristine Schwartzman

 “Vaccines have the potential to be the equalizer of health disparities, especially around infectious diseases. I could never sleep at night if I developed anything — if any product of my science came out — and it did not equally benefit the people that look like me. Period.” - Kizzmekia Corbett, Immunologist

Kizzmekia Corbett, Imunologist

Kizzmekia Corbett is an immunologist at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). She is one of the many scientists who worked in collaboration with biotech firm Moderna to develop a COVID-19 vaccine now used around the world.

Her role in developing a vaccine to fight COVID-19 began in early 2020. But, her current challenge in that fight is nearly as important. As a Black scientist, Corbett understands all too well the vaccine hesitancy of people of color.

Medical research consistently exploited Black communities in particular. You only have to look back as recently as the 1970s, when conducting a long-term study that began in the 1930s, doctors withheld syphilis treatment from hundreds of Black men in Tuskegee, Alabama without their knowledge.

Or, look at the massive amounts of research and curatives that resulted from the cells of Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman who died of cancer. Neither she, nor her family, were asked permission for her cells to be used in research or received any type of monetary compensation until recent attempts at reparations came forth.

Kizzmekia Corbett is in a unique position to reach out to communities of color. She knows exactly what’s in the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as the undeniable history of medical research exploitation. She understands. But, as she says in an interview with Nature.com:

“I have studied health disparities since I was in college. I’m a double major in sociology. I understand the intricate interlacing of science and health, particularly for disparities, and particularly for people of color. So it’s near and dear to my heart. It’s actually the reason vaccine development is important to me, and is where I chose to take my viral-immunology career.”

How does Kizzmekia Corbett see her role now?

“My role is to deliver science in a digestible fashion. When I present a bar chart, I say, “This is the axis, and this is what you’re seeing, and this is how it was tested.” So, the goal is that eventually people see enough of this, and we get to a point where we don’t have to do that anymore.” - Kizzmekia Corbett, interview with Nature.com.