This is a transcript of the “Randall’s Thoughts” commentary that you can find on HBCU Pulse’s YouTube and Instagram. The full audio is below:
What’s going on everybody! This is Randall Barnes, the Founder of HBCU Pulse here with the first edition of “Randall’s Thoughts”. “Randall’s Thoughts” is my take on the world at large and the issues that we face as a community. Today’s edition about the COVID-19 vaccine couldn’t be more fitting as we’re interviewing my friend and nurse Chelsea Walton, who’s taken the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, on tomorrow afternoon. My reasoning behind securing this interview is simple: I want to provide our audience with facts about the vaccine and the first hand experience of someone who’s taken it. I understand why we’re nervous and skeptical about the vaccine. It was rushed and it’s so many variables that are still unknown about it. Plus, the Black Community doesn’t have the best past with vaccinations. The Tuskegee Experiment is a perfect example. But, guys, we have to be cautious about spreading fake news. A perfect example of blatant fake news is this video floating around of a “nurse” that took the vaccine and had an “adverse” reaction. You’ve probably seen it but, if you haven’t, here’s a little bit of the audio.
Now, watching that video can get you in your feelings and tug on your deepest feelings about the vaccine. However, further research shows you that this video is not true. Don’t believe me? Check out this report from WPSD TV out of Kentucky.
Family, we can’t let fake news prey upon our fears and doubts about the vaccine. We all are nervous about this thing. COVID-19 is continuing to spread and cause so much harm to our communities and the ones that we love. However, we must be solution oriented, not reactionary. We can’t act like every video and article we see about COVID is fact. We have to do our research and then determine if this vaccine is right for us. It upsets me to see so many lies floating around and folks saying stuff just because. A lot of people have so much to say about taking the vaccine, yet they aren’t coming to us with any solutions. If the vaccine isn’t the answer, what’s the solution? What should we do to reverse the course of a pandemic that has taken over 300,000 people and affected the world?
We’re in a scary place right now and it’s primarily because we can’t separate truth from fact. We must move better to get out of this pandemic. We must only trust reliable sources of news, do our own research and come up with our own conclusions based on fact. If we don’t, we’re going to be suffering for a while. And, these are my thoughts for today. Make sure to check out my interview with FVSU alumna and nurse Chelsea Walton Thursday, December 31st at 4:30 PM EST.
