Newsy: Black healthcare workers aim to build trust in COVID-19 vaccine
Family medicine physician speaks out about fears and science behind COVID-19
A Pew poll found just 42% of Black Americans are willing to get vaccinated, despite 71% knowing someone who died or has been hospitalized from COVID. The concerns about public confidence in the COVID vaccines, especially within the Black community, has prompted many in the medical community to speak directly to those worries.
Louito Edje, MD, associate dean for graduate medical education at the UC College of Medicine and UC Medical Center, spoke with Newsy for a televised segment about the history that leads to hesitation for some in the Black community when it comes to vaccinations.
The Tuskegee experiment that left Black men untreated for syphilis and the brutal gynecological studies on enslaved Black women are only some of the examples.
“So there's history, and it's very justified,” says Edje, also a UC Health family medicine physician. “I think the biggest impact that we will have is actually having those of us who have the vaccine, who live in communities with other people, see that we're doing very well."
Edje advocated for science right from the start. After her stepmother died from COVID, she volunteered for the Moderna vaccine clinical trial. She wanted to lead by example.
Listen to the full interview with Louito Edje, MD, and others on Newsy.
Other media also interviewed Edje for stories on this topic.
Learn more about Edje’s thoughts on COVID-19 online.
Featured image of Louito Edje, MD, in the UC College of Medicine Simulation Center taken by Colleen Kelley/University of Cincinnati.
Related Stories
Cancer Center plays key role in lab research, clinical trials for new pancreatic cancer drug
September 1, 2026
WLWT and WCPO highlighted the contributions of University of Cincinnati Cancer Center researchers that helped lead to the recent FDA approval of daraxonrasib, a new treatment for pancreatic cancer.
An expert pieced together this Roman document like a puzzle
September 1, 2026
National media highlighted a new project by UC Classics Assistant Professor Matthijs Wibier to piece together and translate an ancient Roman text from fragments buried in the desert for more than 1,600 years.
Cancer Center physician receives $150,000 New Investigator Research Grant to study treatment-resistant leukemia
September 1, 2026
The University of Cincinnati Cancer Center’s Sarah Skuli, MD, PhD, received a two‑year, $150,000 Leukemia Research Foundation New Investigator Grant to study TP53‑mutated leukemia, a treatment‑resistant subtype with very poor outcomes.