Episode 1: Myths/Misconceptions

Episode 1 invites community members to contextualize the project. It lays the foundation where they share the myths and misconceptions they have heard that have created mistrust when seeking the vaccination in North Carolina. The episode concludes with Pediatrician Dra. Edith Nieves addresses these myths and misconceptions.

This podcast is produced by Antonio Alanís and Dorian Gomez Pestaña, with generous funding from Black Public Media. Cinematography by Iximché Media, edited by Mateo La Serna, and mixing by Michael A. Betts II, kidSweater Design Group, Ltd.

For episode transcripts and resources on Vaccine Equity:  https://www.mevacunoporque.com/

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This project is supported by the National Network to Innovate for COVID-19 and Adult Vaccine Equity (NNICE) through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $1.76 million with 100 percent funded by CDC/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government

Transcript

Antonio: [00:00:00] Welcome to the project called Me Vacuno Porque … sponsored by Black Public Media. And we're here because as an artist, I'm very interested in how we can join the fight to see how as an artist, as an activist, as community leaders, we can combat this through conversations, because we know that people are still getting infected, and hospitalization rates continue to rise.

Beatriz: [00:00:26] Good afternoon, my name is Beatriz Vázquez.

Edith: [00:00:29] My name is Edith María Nieves López.

Patricia: [00:00:32] I am Patricia Obregón.

Denise: [00:00:34] My name is Denise.

Jeymi: [00:00:35] My name is Jeymi Dubon Reyes and I work for two different organizations.

Cristina: [00:00:42] My name is Cristina Morales.

Cecilia: [00:00:44] My name is Cecilia Polanco.

Patricia: [00:00:47] And three years ago, when COVID started, I started working as a rapid response operator.

Edith: [00:00:53] I have been a training pediatrician for more than ten years and my job is to educate and care for people's health.

Antonio: [00:01:02] We're mainly here to talk about COVID and the pandemic, right? We know it's been three years since the world practically shut down. I'd like to talk a little bit more about what myths or misconceptions you have heard about COVID?

Patricia: [00:01:18] What I've heard the most is that people believe the vaccine is not real or that COVID is something that the government invented. Things like that.

Denise: [00:01:26] A lot of people would say "Those vaccines were made before COVID started." and would say that this vaccine was made too quickly.

Beatriz: [00:01:36] Well, they won't be able to get pregnant, they won't be able to be parents, so that is the myth I've heard from younger people.

Jeymi: [00:01:44] But there are others who also have their suspicions about the government and all of that. So how can you trust people in higher positions of power, especially when they are working too fast for a solution.

Edith: [00:01:59] That the government is going to use the vaccine as a method of tracking the population. The government is using that information for that. In fact, in the beginning we were giving vaccines without even verifying identity.

Cecilia: [00:02:10] It's a lot of misinformation. Information where people are either sharing something or you are commenting without having all the facts.

Cristina: [00:02:21] Well, in social media platforms since they have a wide reach to so many people, I think it is now the fastest and biggest way for people knowing what is going on. Unfortunately, social media sometimes misinforms people.

Denise: [00:02:42] Yes. I heard many things saying that COVID did not exist, that it was just something the government did to get them to implement the vaccines.

Cristina: [00:02:55] I believe that news programs often fall into this error because to our misfortune, sometimes the news broadcasts spread and promote this fear promote negative things, creating tension among people, creating fear.

Jeymi: [00:03:14] It's not just about whether they want to get vaccinated or not, is also about religion.

Patricia: [00:03:19] Once a religious person told us it was the mark of the devil, that we were going to be condemned for having been vaccinated.

Antonio: [00:03:27] Can you tell us a little bit more about how to use science, not to create distrust, but to create trust.

Edith: [00:03:36] We have been studying vaccine science for approximately 25 years,

and it's like baking a cake. If you already know the recipe and you have the ingredients it will be easier to make. With the vaccine, we had the technology and all we had to do is line things up to document it and to get it to market. They were made with very diverse populations. Hispanic people, Black people, Asian people. A huge group of people, about sixty-sixty thousand, and has been one of the most diverse projects in terms of research. When someone is not trusting something it is because there is a history.

Patricia: [00:04:14] In other words, it is something I recommend to people. To get vaccinated because it doesn't make us immune, but it helps us to make the disease less severe.