Soon, everyone in America will be able to freely get the COVID-19 vaccine, but that doesn't mean all citizen are rushing to get their shot. As summer approaches and rumors of travel restrictions for the non-vaccinated abound, even the skeptical are changing their tune about not wanting to be vaccinated. Recently, LeBron James refused to answer a question regarding whether or not he'll be making an appointment, and Charlamagne Tha God said he didn't have a problem with Bron's lack of a response.
“I think that we live in this era where we think public figures have to make everything public," Charlamagne told Dr. Oz while visiting his show. "I think that LeBron understands the power of his voice meaning that if he does feel that way about the vaccine or he does have some distrust towards the vaccine, he's not going to just put it out there and say it because then that would probably make other people not want to make their own decision."
"They will be like, 'LeBron is not taking it so I'm not going to take it either,'" he added. "For him to say, 'It's going to be a private decision between me and my family,' I thought that was the responsible thing to do.” There have also been conversations regarding the historical treatment of Black people in the United States, particularly centered around how they have been used in medical experiments. This has caused a conversation about the community's lack of trust.
“Well, I can't speak for the whole black community because black people aren't monolithic," said The Breakfast Club host. "But it definitely is a distrust when it comes to just the systemic racism in the medical system. People will point to the Tuskegee experiment; they'll point to the Henrietta Lacks case. For me, I've had people from the Biden administration, I've had people from Governor Cuomo's team reach out to me and asked me to be on these task forces to help lead people to get the vaccine, lead black people to get the vaccine."
"I always say, 'Man, I've never seen you all in a rush to remedy anything else in the black community. When it comes to poverty, when it comes to police brutality, when it comes to all of these things that we know the black community could use in order to thrive. I don't ever see you all in a rush with anything to remedy those issues but with this vaccine, it's just like we've got to get it to black people and we've got to get it to black people now.' It's just like no.”
Have you received or do you plan on receiving the COVID-19 vaccine? Watch Charlamagne on The Dr. Oz Show below.