Fast rollout of virus vaccine trials reveals tribal distrust

In this Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020, photo provided by Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health, registered nurse Starla Garcia prepares a coronavirus vaccine in Chinle, Ariz., for someone who enrolled in the COVID-19 vaccine trials on the Navajo Nation and initially received a placebo. (Nina Mayer Ritchie/Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health via AP)

TIME FOR MOVEMENT AT 9 AM EST SATURDAY, JAN. 2 This undated photo provided by Arvena Peshlakai shows Melvin Luke Peshlakai, left, and Arvena Peshlakai at their home in Crystal, New Mexico. The couple volunteered to participate in coronavirus vaccine trials on the Navajo Nation. As coronavirus vaccines were being developed around the world, few Native American tribes signed up to participate. The reasons range from unethical practices of the past to the quick nature of the studies amid the pandemic. Native researchers say without participation from tribal communities, tribes won't know which vaccine might best be suited for their citizens. (Courtesy Arvena Peshlakai via AP)

This undated photo provided by Arvena Peshlakai shows Melvin Luke Peshlakai, left, and Arvena Peshlakai at their home in Crystal, New Mexico. The couple volunteered to participate in coronavirus vaccine trials on the Navajo Nation. As coronavirus vaccines were being developed around the world, few Native American tribes signed up to participate. The reasons range from unethical practices of the past to the quick nature of the studies amid the pandemic. Native researchers say without participation from tribal communities, tribes won't know which vaccine might best be suited for their citizens. (Courtesy Arvena Peshlakai via AP)

This photo provided by Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health shows a brochure that was used to provide information about a COVID-19 vaccine trial on the Navajo Nation, Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020, in Chinle, Ariz. (Nina Mayer Ritchie/Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health via AP)

Dr. Cristina Toledo-Cornell, left, shares a socially distanced fist bump with Dr. Dakotah Lane after the first COVID-19 vaccination was given to a Lummi Nation tribal member Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020, on the Lummi Reservation, near Bellingham, Wash. The Native American tribe began rationing its first 300 doses of vaccine as it fights surging cases with a shelter-in-place order. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

This undated photo provided by Arvena Peshlakai shows Arvena Peshlakai opening the gate to her sheep corral at her home in Crystal, New Mexico. She and her husband Melvin volunteered to participate in coronavirus vaccine trials on the Navajo Nation. As coronavirus vaccines were being developed around the world, few Native American tribes signed up to participate. The reasons range from unethical practices of the past to the quick nature of the studies amid the pandemic. Native researchers say without participation from tribal communities, tribes won't know which vaccine might best be suited for their citizens. (Courtesy Arvena Peshlakai via AP).