By Lorrie Irby Jackson – Dallas South News Contributor
Too many minorities groups, already plagued by chronic diseases, are failing to take advantage of the H1N1 vaccination. And with four more months of flu season still to endure and millions of lives at risk, the nation’s Chief Doctor wants to change that.
Dr. Regina Benjamin
“I was a practicing physician in a small fishing village for over 23 years, and I’ve never seen such a widespread version of the flu,” said Dr. Regina Benjamin during her first media conference with minority-focused press since taking the position of Surgeon General of the United States since last October. “There are lives to be saved from this vaccination, and while 60 million Americans have received the shot, others risk getting seriously ill, so we’ve created four new PSA’s, available at www.flu.org, to encourage more people to get the H1N1 vaccination during National Influenza Information Week.”
Although many in medicine have stated that the worst of the pandemic is over, Dr. Benjamin doesn’t want anyone to get lulled into complacency, especially adults and children with chronic health conditions such as diabetes, asthma and heart disease. “As more people are vaccinated, the threat lessens. The vaccine is safe, effective and can prevent death.”
Part of the reason why so many minorities have avoided the shot, Dr. Benjamin believes, is the cultural mistrust of health providers and cost, problems that she’s vowed to address during her time in the White House. To debunk many of the common myths surrounding the H1N1 vaccine, Dr. Benjamin assures that the medication cannot afflict anyone with the flu and that the vaccine is safe. She stated that the batches of vaccine that were recently recalled were due to reduced potency of the vaccine and was not a threat to the public.
As for those die hard conspiracy theorists who believe that the H1N1 vaccine is just a vehicle to spread a killer man-made disease, Dr. Benjamin strongly disagreed.
Those claims are simply not true. It’s just wrong. To put life at risk just because of an empty rumor you may have heard is wrong. We who deal with the public’s health on a daily basis are telling you it’s safe. President Obama and the First Lady were vaccinated last month, and I’ve received the shot as well. That’s why we can certainly use your help in consistently spreading the message, because you can either get the shot, or you can get the flu.
Dr. Regina Benjamin, U.S. Surgeon General
And for the nation’s sake, Dr. Benjamin hopes that more minorities choose the former instead of the latter.
Lorrie Irby Jackson is a freelance journalist based in Dallas and has covered entertainment professionally for several years, writing many articles for The Dallas Morning News. Her e-mail address is lorrie.irby@gmail.com.
Edited by Shawn Williams
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