On December 28, 2020, a KNWA report on a Fayetteville Board of Health meeting suggested that minority populations would be the hardest to convince when it came to getting the Covid-vaccine.  The news story specifically called out the Marshallese community quoting Dr. Marti Sharkey, Fayetteville City Health Officer: “They have somebody who speaks Marshallese on every board, on every shift.  They are refusing the vaccine almost universally.”  This sounded false on two accounts.  Very few Marshallese, outside the Marshall Islands, are included in this first phase of the vaccine distribution, making up a very small percentage of healthcare workers in NWA.  It also did not take too much Facebook scrolling to see government and traditional leaders in the RMI rolling up their sleeves for the COVID-19 vaccines.  So, Chikin Melele scheduled a time to bwebwenato with Consul General Eldon Alik and Dr. Sheldon Riklon to clear this up and get the real story.

Dr. Riklon confirmed that he received the first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech brand vaccine on December 21 and the second dose on January 11.  When I asked about other Marshallese doctors, he said that he and Dr. Wilfred Alik in Hawaii are the only Marshallese doctors in the United States, but “There’s more than a few of us who have gotten it.  One of our friends who works in the Oklahoma Public Health Department, Terry Mote, he also got it.  Dr. Alik’s daughter who works in a health care center in Hawaii also got hers.”  UAMS posted a video of Dr. Riklon getting the vaccine and pictures of Marshallese healthcare workers with UAMS getting vaccinated.  Dr. Riklon said public education is important in helping people understand what the vaccine is and that even though it was developed in a short period of time it is still safe and effective.  The vaccine is a much needed tool in public health “to get this pandemic under control.”  Chikin Melele will continue to report on how these COVID-19 vaccines have been developed and how they work.

When Chikin Melele reached out to Dr. Alik to use the photo he posted on social media, he said: “I wouldn’t mind sharing as I want our folks to know that it’s effective and safe.”  Dr. Riklon admitted that he “hates being on camera” but he wants “to show people that we’re actually getting it done.”  He emphasized that “we believe that it is safe and we hope that everybody gets it when it is their turn as well.”  Though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved the available COVID-19 vaccines, they have authorized them for emergency use based on the same standards of safety and evaluation for approval.  Everybody is encouraged to get vaccinated when it becomes available to them, but it is still voluntary.

Dr. Riklon said he was surprised by the comments of Dr. Sharkey in the news story, because his colleagues have all spoken highly of her in terms of public health.  Consul General Alik, however, has worked with Dr. Sharkey over the past year on the NWA Covid-19 Taskforce.  So, he reached out to her when he saw people talking about the story online.  He clarified, “It was a board meeting.  There were some reporters in there and when she made that statement she was not being interviewed.”  Dr. Sharkey was very discouraged that her comments were taken out of context.  The meeting was specifically about public health outreach to minority communities.  Dr. Sharkey continues to be in conversation with Consul General Alik to discuss the best ways to get the vaccine distributed in the Marshallese community. 

The responses to Dr. Sharkey’s comment and the news story reflect suspicions of stigma and bias against the Marshallese community when it comes to public health.  The 25-year long fight to restore Medicare and Medicaid access for COFA residents in the United States is likely to continue to be a significant factor in the lack of public trust in health services.  Several comments on social media reflected on poor treatment, misdiagnosis, delayed first response, and garnished paychecks for costly medical bills: “My family will never go to Northwest again.  Even in an emergency.”  Last week’s conference cautiously celebrated the restoration of health care access for COFA citizens which we all hope will improve the quality and reduce the cost of health care for all of us.

Dr. Sheldon Riklon and Consul General Alik have made recommendations to involve church and community leaders in vaccine distribution for the Marshallese community, suggesting both the Consulate Office and Marshallese churches as places to distribute vaccines.  CG Alik also suggested that it could be a challenge to convince people in the Marshallese community to get vaccinated.  He said, “There will be some challenges because there are a lot of people posting all kinds of things on social media about the effects of the vaccine.”  Consul General Alik said that since the pandemic he has been on the news “more than ever in my life” and he has learned that reporters “ask you all kinds of questions and then pick the ones that will fit their story.”  Dr. Riklon made the same comment, “They have their own agenda.  You want to get out the right story, but every once in a while depending on the reporter” the comments get taken out of context.  He cautions everyone “to make sure that they have credible sources of information, listen to the science, and listen to the leaders and the doctors and the health department.”  More than anything else, they cautioned not to let our guard down – to continue washing our hands, wearing a mask, and social distancing.