Kamala Harris receives first dose of coronavirus vaccine

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is the latest public figure to be inoculated against COVID-19.

Cars lined up to get free testing by the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium Tuesday at Enon Baptist Church in Mount Airy. Around the same time, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris received her first dose of the COVID vaccine. She is urging everyone to get it. 

"I look forward to getting a second vaccine and literally this is about saving lives," said Vice President-elect, who got the vaccine at United Medical Center located in Anacostia said to be a predominantly minority community in Washington D.C. 

"It helps. It helps," said Blount.

FOX 29's Shawnette Wilson went just over the county line from Mount Airy into Wyncote Montgomery County where we talked to Blount who is encouraged seeing VP-elect Harris get the vaccine but she's still taking a wait-and-see approach. 

"Yeah because how do we know what she’s getting really? The high profile, high priority people, VIPs, or whatever. How do we know? Would they really treat us the same way as them?" said Blount.

It's how many people feel which has led to a push by leaders in the Black community to encourage people to get the vaccine once it becomes available to the general public despite reservations. 

"History. History. Track record. Just can’t be trusted. It’s easy for somebody to say they’re giving you one thing but giving you another," said Blount. 

Bonetta Pettiway says she works in health care and is considering the coronavirus vaccine but she too is skeptical. 

"It's still new to everybody. I know people that still don’t get the flu vaccine till this day so I think it’s just them being against vaccines period," said Pettiway. Wilson also asked this couple out grocery shopping what they plan to do. 

"We are going to get it. We will see how it affects other people and we’ll go from there," said Williams. 

Most people said they want to see more research on possible long-term effects of the vaccine before deciding whether or not to get it.  

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