Marshawn Lynch sits down with Dr. Anthony Fauci for candid one-on-one

Dr. Anthony Fauci has been a regular presence on television, in Congress, and everywhere in between throughout the pandemic. On Friday, he sat down for a different kind of interview, fielding questions from none other than former Seattle Seahawks star running back Marshawn Lynch.

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The goal of the conversation on both sides was to provide answers to the many questions Americans have had regarding the COVID-19 vaccines.

As Lynch pointed out at the start of the interview, there’s a sordid history of medical experimentation on the Black community in the United States, leading to concerns regarding the COVID vaccine and its relative safety.

“When it comes to vaccinations or the government giving back to communities of people who look like me, we don’t seem to be on the well-received end of those situations,” he noted. “Any time we’ve been told we were going to be in a position to have something put in our community to help, it seems to turn out very bad for us.”

Fauci was candid in his response.

“Let’s go there,” he said. “First thing, I do totally respect the reluctance African-Americans have about things like this, because you’re absolutely right — the history of the federal government going back decades, particularly in the area of medical issues — is not something to be proud of. The reluctance you’ve expressed is a reluctance founded in historical reality. So how do we get past that?”

“The reason we’ve got to get past that is because we don’t want African-Americans in the community to not have the advantage of the protection of something that really works because of history, even though the history was correct,” he continued, outlining how all three vaccines in circulation have gone through rigorous testing and research that proved their efficacy and safety.

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Fauci went on to detail how vaccinations in communities of color are especially crucial, given the way that COVID-19 has inordinately affected Black and Hispanic populations in the United States, and the higher rate of comorbidities like obesity and heart disease that those communities experience.

But now that many local health authorities are making concerted efforts to reach out to BIPOC communities with vaccinations, why has it taken until now to make them a priority?

“Now that there’s a vaccination for coronavirus, we’re trying to push Blacks and Hispanics to the front of the line and make it accessible, and it’s more just like why hasn’t this been the situation and the fight for us since the beginning of time?” Lynch asked.

“Let’s get through this pandemic now, but when it’s over, let’s try and make a commitment that would likely last for decades and decades to try and turn around those conditions that got African-Americans behind the eight ball in the first place,” Fauci answered.

You can watch the first interview between Dr. Fauci and Lynch at this link.

Content warning: Interview contains explicit language

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