Celebrating Black History Month: African American influence and contributions to science, infection prevention and infection control

02Feb 2024 by Chelsea Song

African American influence and contributions to science, infection prevention and infection control

In honor of Black History Month, we reflect on the many contributions made by African Americans that have influenced and shaped our country as we know it today.

While most of us are familiar with the extraordinary civil rights work and sacrifices of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., or the brave Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, there are other lesser-known contributions from African Americans, both past and present, that directly affect or influence health care and infectious disease prevention and management.

The concept of inoculation was brought to the Western world by an enslaved Black man

Did you know that in 1716, an enslaved African man named Onesimus in Boston, Massachusetts, helped save generations of people from the devastating disease of smallpox?

During the 1700s, there was a huge wave of smallpox raging through the Boston community. Onesimus shared with his white, Puritan owner (Cotton Mather) that when he was in Africa, he had once had smallpox, but was cured by rubbing pus from an infected person into an open wound on the arm.

Read more here: www.history.com/news/smallpox-vaccine-onesimus-slave-cotton-mather

Kizzmekia Corbett-Helaire and the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine

Kizzmekia Corbett-Helaire, Ph.D., an African American immunologist, is praised as a key scientist behind the COVID-19 vaccine.

Dr. Corbett-Helaire was part of a team that developed the Moderna vaccine at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Corbett-Helaire worked hand in hand with Moderna, the pharmaceutical company that developed one of the two mRNA vaccines.

When she is not busy creating vaccines, she also acts as an assistant professor of immunology and infectious diseases at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She wrote in 2020 in Nature Medicine about mentoring and having a duty to foster STEM awareness in young minds. (Corbett K. The duty to mentor, be visible and represent. Nat Med 26:1670 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-020-1122-y)

Read more about Dr. Corbett-Helaire, her team and their work

Corbett Lab – Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

The duty to mentor, be visible and represent | Nature Medicine – Dr. Corbett-Helaire reflects on the importance of being visible and mentoring to influence and encourage young people of color with an interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math).

Immunization rates among African Americans

  • African American adults are less likely than non-Hispanic white adults to have received a flu vaccine in the past year or to have ever received the pneumonia vaccine.
  • In 2018, Non-Hispanic Blacks ages 65 and older were 10% less likely to have received the influenza (flu) shot in the past 12 months, compared with non-Hispanic whites of the same age group.
  • African American children ages 19 to 35 months had comparable rates of immunization in 2017.
  • African Americans are 10% less likely to have received an HPV vaccine than white populations.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health

How does heart disease affect African Americans?

  • In 2019, African Americans were 30% more likely to die from heart disease than non-Hispanic whites.
  • Although African American adults are 30% more likely to have high blood pressure, they are less likely than non-Hispanic whites to have their blood pressure under control.
  • African American women are nearly 50% more likely to have high blood pressure, compared with non-Hispanic white women.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health

Not sure about the COVID-19 booster shot?

Dr. Corbett-Helaire answers common questions about the COVID-19 booster shot.

Vaccinologist Kizzmekia Corbett-Helaire on COVID-19 | News | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (November 2023)

How SAFE are COVID-19 vaccines?

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024)

Are you up to date on your COVID-19 vaccination? What are the latest COVID-19 vaccination guidelines and recommendations?

Use the link below to check:

Stay Up to Date With COVID-19 Vaccines | CDC

Looking for a place to get vaccinated for COVID-19?

Search Vaccines.gov.
Call (800) 232-0233.
Text your ZIP code to 438829. (Message and data rates may apply.)
(CDC, 2023)

Check out the CDC’s 2024 immunization schedule for adults and children

Vaccines for children: Vaccines for Your Children | CDC – Use this link for information on vaccines recommended for your child.

Vaccines for adults: Scan the QR code with your phone or use this link:2024 Recommended Immunizations for Adults Ages 19 and Older

Resources on health disparities

The following links will take you to reputable sources for more information on minority health and health disparities, and additional resourcesto help bridge the gap to provide equitable health care for all.