NJ Doctor Building COVID Vaccine Trust Among Black People

NEPTUNE - When Dr. David Kountz arrived in the mid-1990s at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia to lead a medical clinic for the underserved, he couldn't help but notice the waiting room.

Patients would arrive there each day at 9 a.m. and sit in a row of plastic chairs, sometimes for two or three hours, until their name was called.

For a community he was trying to reach, the clinic was uninviting. "There was a lot of distrust. There was a lot of anxiety," Kountz said. "It was kind of a day-to-day part of interacting with members of the community."

Twenty-five years later, Kountz is vice president of academic affairs at Jersey Shore University Medical Center here, trying to build trust with the Black community and hoping they will participate in a clinical trial and get the coronavirus vaccine itself.

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There is a lot at stake. In New Jersey, African Americans make up 13% of the population, but 17% of all COVID-19 deaths, according to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation, a health research group.

The vaccine could provide a line of defense.

Kountz, 61, lives in Little Egg Harbor with his wife, Maria. They have two sons, David Jr., 29, and Matthew 26.

These days, he is a chief advocate for the vaccine. He was vaccinated at Jersey Shore University Medical Center the first day it was available. And he has reached out into the community, hoping to recruit participants in a Johnson & Johnson clinical trial now underway at the Neptune hospital.

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Convincing African Americans to participate is a tall order for a group that historically has been mistreated by the health care system.

There is no shortage of examples. The Tuskegee Study from 1932 to 1972 examined syphilis in Black men, but researchers didn't receive informed consent from the participants or provide proper treatment.

More recently, studies have found Black women are three times more likely than white women to die in childbirth.

When health providers reach out into the community, they often find a skeptical audience.

Pastor Semaj Vanzant Sr. of the Second Baptist Church in Asbury Park said many of his congregants are taking a wait-and-see approach before getting the coronavirus vaccine.

"In so many areas, a Black or brown person doesn't receive the same level of care," Vanzant said. "Sometimes it has nothing to with insurance, only the prejudice that exists there."

As the vaccine program rolls out, he said, "it's almost unfair to say, 'We treat you wrong in all these areas, but this one you can trust us.”

Kountz has spent much of his career trying to bridge the gap between the health care system and the underserved. He grew up in Menlo Park, California, attended Princeton University, and followed in the footsteps of his father, who was a doctor.

Kountz joined Jersey Shore University Medical Center in 2007, eager to help it develop academic programs and connect with the community. Since then, the hospital became part of Hackensack Meridian Health, and Kountz's role has expanded.

He has helped develop curriculum at Hackensack Meridian's new medical school that connects students to underserved communities, giving aspiring doctors a chance to take a broader view of health care. It's one that includes housing, day care and nutrition.

And last summer he joined co-workers who took a knee in front of Jersey Shore University Medical Center in the midst of the Black Lives Matter protests, pledging to improve the health and safety of people of color.

In that context comes Kountz's latest task: help recruit 300 people for a Johnson & Johnson clinical trial that's underway to develop another vaccine that can protect against COVID-19.

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He recently spoke to reporters about the mission:

Why is it important to recruit diverse clinical trial participants?

Kountz: We know that two to three times as many minority populations either contract COVID, or die from COVID. So this is a very important to (Johnson & Johnson). And it's very important to us that we are very intentional about reaching out to minority populations, as well as populations that are at high risk, whether they're minority or not. So people who are in the frontlines, people who have comorbidities, other conditions that may put them at high risk. So reaching out to those broad populations rather than just checking the box that another person's in the study is important to us.

Is there evidence that the disease affects people of color differently?

Kountz: Yes, there is. And we don't know exactly why. A lot of it is what's referred to as structural racism and social determinants of health so that people who are in minority populations are more likely to be "front facing." They may be working in jobs where they can't stay home.

For the last nine months, individuals who work in food service or public transportation, they may live in multigenerational households. So they are in a greater risk for that reason. They may not have, for variety of reasons, access to health care. They may not have a primary care physician as frequently, or confidence in the health care system. So yes, there are a variety of reasons, probably more to do with the environment rather than something intrinsic to an individual that has put these groups at high risk.

Why is it more difficult to recruit people of color for clinical trials?

Kountz: I think it gets back to some of those structural issues is a lack of trust. There is unfortunately not a great history that we have to acknowledge with certain populations.

And I think our job is to acknowledge that distrust and listen to those concerns. And tell them about our programs, help tell people about our commitment to their safety. Listen again and listen again, and provide opportunities for people to reassure the public. (It's important to put a public face on the issue) so I was happy to get vaccinated when it became available.

When you do outreach at churches, what do you hear from congregations?

Kountz: You hear, "My congregation's scared. My congregation's angry. My members of my congregation feel that they're being experimented on." So some of the some of the comments are tough to hear.

We answer their questions. And often people will still leave skeptical, and we understand that. And we may look for the opportunity to talk with them again, or provide different information or different perspectives. So I think we have to go in with a very open mind. You have to be willing to understand their history where people are coming from.

Michael L. Diamond is a business reporter who has been writing about the New Jersey economy for more than 20 years. He can be reached at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NJ doctor tries to build COVID vaccine trust among Black people after years of mistreatment

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