Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson Receives COVID-19 Vaccine, Hopes To Convince Skeptics To Get It
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson backed up his message about the safety of COVID-19 vaccinations by getting one on camera on Thursday, Jan. 7 at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
"That is smooth as silk right there," he said moments after receiving the injection.
The mayor met with the local news media about 30 minutes later.
He called it easy and painless.
"As far as side effects out I have experienced absolutely none," Mayor Johnson said.
Mayor Johnson says he qualified in the 1B category to receive one based on underlying health issues.
The mayor pointed out that a recent study found only 42% of black people in the U.S. are planning to get vaccinated.
He says it's the result of a long history of African Americans being misled and mistreated by unethical medical procedures, like the Tuskegee syphilis study where 600 black men were falsely led to be believe they were receiving free treatments but instead got placebos.
"There is a known skepticism within certain communities and particularly the African-American community relating to some experimentation," said Mayor Johnson. "It was done in this country with terrible diseases on African-Americans and other people generations who still remember that very vividly and that is been passed along as a cultural legacy."
Mayor Johnson hope's his inoculation will give others who are worried peace of mind.
"I'm envisioning... drive-thru vaccines," he said. "We need to Chick-fil-A this thing we've got to get this vaccine as quickly to as many people as possible."
The mayor also expressed his serious concerns that the city is not receiving enough doses.
He called on the federal government to expedite shipments so the city can open mega centers to vaccinate everyone still waiting.
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