Syphilis
FILE - This 1975 microscope image made available by the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria. After an unprecedented push to test and track COVID-19, public health workers are grappling with a worrisome side effect: a collapse in screening for sexually-transmitted diseases that have been on the rise for years. Testing for diseases like chlamydia and gonorrhea plummeted in many parts of the U.S. in 2020 as COVID-19 sapped away resources and staff. (Dr. E. Arum, Dr. N. Jacobs/CDC via AP)
COVID testing blitz undermined screening, fight against STDs

By Matthew Perrone Apr. 07, 2021 10:50 AM EDT

In this photo from Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt answers questions at a news conference with Republican legislative leaders, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. Legislators in 2020 imposed special rules for tracing the contacts of people exposed to COVID-19 to protect their privacy at the GOP attorney general's urging, and they're now considering making them permanent. (AP Photo/John Hanna)
GOP says pandemic justifies special tracing rules in Kansas

By John Hanna Mar. 31, 2021 01:56 PM EDT

Rev. Patricia Hailes Fears, pastor of the Fellowship Baptist Church in Washington, is administered with the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine during a gathering of a group of interfaith clergy members, community leaders and officials at the Washington National Cathedral, to encourage faith communities to get the COVID-19 vaccine, Tuesday, March 16, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Faith leaders get COVID-19 shot to curb vaccine reluctance

Manuel Balce Ceneta Mar. 16, 2021 08:40 PM EDT

Beshear promotes efforts to overcome vaccination hesitancy

By Bruce Schreiner Feb. 24, 2021 05:53 PM EST
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — The Rev. Jim Thurman counts himself among the converts who recognize the importance of taking the COVID-19 vaccine. ...

A man carries his empty oxygen tank to be filled after arriving at the head of the line, in the Villa El Salvador neighborhood of Lima, early Thursday morning, Feb. 18, 2021. A crisis over the supply of medical oxygen for coronavirus patients has struck in Africa and Latin America, where warnings went unheeded at the start of the pandemic and doctors say the shortage has led to unnecessary deaths. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
The Latest: Kentucky urges Black citizens to get vaccinated

By The Associated Press Feb. 24, 2021 02:54 AM EST

In this Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, photo Melvin Marriott, 69, poses for a photograph with his 93-year-old mother at the home they share in southeast Washington. Marriott has been unsuccessful in finding an appointment for himself or his elderly mother, who he cares for. "She's my priority," says Marriott. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Washington taps pastors to overcome racial divide on vaccine

By Ashraf Khalil And Hilary Powell Feb. 21, 2021 08:24 AM EST

FILE - In this Jan. 26, 2021, file photo, registered nurse Andraya Zelle treats a patient in the COVID intensive care unit at UW Medical Center-Montlake in Seattle. The deadliest month of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. drew to a close with certain signs of progress: COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are trending downward, while vaccinations are picking up speed. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)
VIRUS TODAY: COVID-19 cases down as US ends deadliest month

By The Associated Press Feb. 01, 2021 03:06 PM EST

Georgette Moon receives a COVID-19 vaccine at the county health department in Tuskegee, Ala., Monday, Jan. 25, 2021. The clinic has yet to reach its maximum capacity for immunizing people in the mostly Black city, the site of the infamous "Tuskegee syphilis study," that ended in 1972. Moon, a former city council member, said she wanted to both protect herself and be a role model to encourage others to get the shot. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)
Vaccine skepticism lurks in town famous for syphilis study

By Jay Reeves Feb. 01, 2021 01:00 AM EST

Rev. Derrick Scobey, right, Ebenezer Baptist Church Senior Pastor, talks with the media as as Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, center, and Dr. Lance Frye, left, State Commissioner of Health, look on, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in Oklahoma City. Scobey helped to organize the event in an effort to encourage more African Americans in Oklahoma City to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Dozens line up at Oklahoma City church for COVID vaccine

By Ken Miller Jan. 26, 2021 04:39 PM EST

Amid hesitation, Nashville urges vaccine trial participation

By Kimberlee Kruesi Nov. 12, 2020 02:05 PM EST
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The head of Nashville’s Meharry Medical College, the oldest historically Black medical school in the country, on Thursday urged Black...

FILE - In this 1950's file photo released by the National Archives, a black man included in a syphilis study has blood drawn by a doctor in Tuskegee, Ala. Historic failures in government response to disasters and emergencies, medical abuse, neglect and exploitation have jaded generations of black people into a distrust of public institutions. Some might call it the Tuskegee effect, referring to the U.S. government’s once-secret syphilis study of black men in Alabama that one study shows later reduced their life expectancy due to distrust of medical science. (National Archives via AP, File)
Amid coronavirus pandemic, black mistrust of medicine looms

By Aaron Morrison And Jay Reeves Apr. 05, 2020 08:00 AM EDT