Tennessee official urging minorities to participate in COVID-19 trials

The head of Nashville’s Meharry Medical College is urging Black and Hispanic people to participate in COVID-19 vaccine trials to ensure the treatments are effective in communities that have been hit the hardest by the virus.

FILE - In this Sept. 15, 2020, file photo, a Russian medical worker administers a shot of... — FILE - In this Sept. 15, 2020, file photo, a Russian medical worker administers a shot of Russia's experimental Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in Moscow, Russia. Developers of Sputnik V, Russia's COVID-19 vaccine, announced Wednesday that the jab appeared to be 92% effective in advanced trials, in a statement that comes just two days after a similar one from Pfizer Inc. and indicates Moscow's eagerness to get ahead in the worldwide race for a successful coronavirus vaccine.(Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr | AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr, File)

Published: Nov. 12, 2020 at 9:31 PM EST

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The head of Nashville’s Meharry Medical College is urging Black and Hispanic people to participate in COVID-19 vaccine trials to ensure the treatments are effective in communities that have been hit the hardest by the virus.

Yet Meharry Medical College President and CEO, Dr. James Hildreth, acknowledged Thursday that minority populations have at times been used as “guinea pigs” in medical research.

He said overcoming that hesitation of new medical treatments remains a battle today.

Hildreth’s comments come as Pfizer announced earlier this week that early data suggests its COVID-19 vaccine is 90% effective.