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The Daily Northwestern Thursday, January 28, 2021
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Local experts try to build vaccine trust Heistancy could end up increasing existing COVID disparities By JORJA SIEMONS
the daily northwestern @jorjasiemons
Anushuya Thapa/The Daily Northwestern
Communication sophomore Jared Kimmel takes class through Zoom in an in-person classroom in Ford Center. During Winter Quarter, some students got the chance to return to in-person instruction for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
Students return to in-person classes After Wildcat Wellness, hybrid courses officially begin Jan. 18 By ANUSHUYA THAPA
daily senior staffer
In the Ford Center, Weinberg junior Saurav Khadka and Communication sophomore Jared Kimmel attended their first inperson class since the pandemic began. Twelve students were seated six feet apart as the instructor lectured the class through Zoom, with several students
tuning in from home. Since the end of the Wildcast Wellness quarantine period on Jan. 17, Northwestern began inperson meetings for its hybrid Winter Quarter classes. For some students, classes where they have the option to meet their classmates and professors in person are a much-needed break from the abnormalities of remote learning. “(It was) the first time I felt like I was going to school in a long
time,” Khadka said. “I put on my backpack and walked out. In that regard, I think it feels more real.” Kimmel, who had COVID-19 but has since recovered, said he is optimistic about Spring Quarter and “can’t wait” to go back to regular classes. He said he hopes enough people will be vaccinated for more small classes to start meeting in person. Khadka and Kimmel are in the same studio team for a
McCormick design class. They both said attending class in person helped facilitate collaboration, even though they sat at different tables. “It’s also so much easier to focus when you’re actually around other people,” Kimmel said. “When you’re in your own room, just alone with your computer, it’s so easy to get lost.”
» See HYBRID, page 6
When healthcare workers from NorthShore University HealthSystem received the COVID-19 vaccine in midDecember, uptake rates hovered just above 50 percent. Lakshmi Halasyamani, chief medical officer at NorthShore, said the health system sent out over 11,000 vaccination tickets to get approximately 6,000 workers inoculated. Participation rates have since risen. But Halasyamani said her team anticipated the initial low turnout, given NorthShore’s diversity in race, ethnicity and political views. “Our vaccination efforts within healthcare ecosystems are kind of a microcosm of our communities,” she said. “We’re seeing those same concerns in our populations.” Scholars say decades of institutional racism have laid a foundation for legitimate distrust in medicine. As NorthShore and AMITA Health work with the Evanston government to distribute the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, local experts emphasize the need for messaging tailored to residents of color who may be vaccine hesitant. One Evanston resident, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of community retaliation, said he will not take the coronavirus vaccine because he sees echoes of the 1932 Tuskegee experiment in the vaccine’s
rollout. The 40-year project, conducted by the Public Health Service and the Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) denied Black men with syphilis proper treatment in order to track the full progression of the disease, even though they were told otherwise. “I remember Tuskegee,” he said. “The doctors had the penicillin, and they wouldn’t give it to them. That was a government study, and look what happened.” NU political science Prof. and Associate Director of the University’s Institute for Policy Research James Druckman said when it comes to the likelihood of being vaccinated, “very large gaps” exist between Black Americans and other racial groups. A member of the COVID States Project, a multi-university consortium aimed at analyzing national data about virus transmission, Druckman began tracking vaccine hesitancy last summer. According to the team’s research, only 52 percent of African Americans are likely to seek vaccination, compared to 67 percent of White people, 71 percent of Hispanic people and 77 percent of Asian Americans. “That (disparity) reflects the history of unethical and deadly medical trials that have been run,” Druckman said. Generations of medical bias and maltreatment have harmed communities of color. In 1951, The John Hopkins Hospital began using Black American Henrietta Lacks’ cells without her consent. Last September, a whistleblower alleged that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted forced
» See TRUST, page 6
Mayoral candidate Lori Keenan promotes access, equity
Longtime resident, activist hopes to open more lines of city-wide communication with residents By JACOB FULTON
daily senior staffer @jacobnfulton
If she’s elected to be Evanston’s next mayor, 7th Ward resident Lori Keenan said her Monday nights won’t look any different. With friends and supporters, Keenan jokes that she’ll attend the same number of City Council meetings no matter the results of this year’s municipal elections. The only difference? Instead of speaking during public comment, she hopes to bring her voice to the other side of the dais. The 22-year resident said her longtime involvement in the Evanston community sets her apart from the other candidates, 2018 Evanston Township High School graduate
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Sebastian Nalls and former state Sen. Daniel Biss (D-Evanston). She’s raised three children in the city, and her participation in Evanston life has run the gamut from serving on preschool boards to coaching T-ball in local leagues. “If you want to give back to your community, you can do it in a multitude of ways,” she said. “But if you really want to have a voice for the people, then you have to have been involved here for the duration — you can’t just show up now and try to make a difference.”
A history of activism Since Keenan first moved to Evanston, she said she’s challenged city officials on a wide range of topics. She supported the Preservation Commission’s effort to designate
the Foster School as a landmark, and recently pushed for a referendum that prevented the demolition of another landmark, the Harley Clarke Mansion’. Former Ald. Emily Guthrie (3rd) met Keenan in 2010 when Evanston Public Library’s branch campuses were facing a closure to bridge a budget deficit. Guthrie and Keenan agreed the two EPL branches were community staples, and worked with a team of residents to save them, raising $150,000 to pay salaries at both campuses for six months. Because the branches remained open, Keenan said the team created an opportunity for more than a million library visits. Guthrie said these community campaigns have allowed Keenan to connect with residents across all
Photo courtesy of Lori Keenan
Mayoral candidate Lori Keenan. Keenan, a 22-year Evanston resident, announced her candidacy in November.
nine wards. “I’ve often made the joke that if you had 100 Evanstonians in a room, you’d have 105 opinions,” Guthrie said. “Everybody has an
opinion, and it’s sometimes difficult to navigate, because some of those opinions compete. But I think Lori, because she’s been so involved, will be capable of doing that work.”
Guthrie said she expects Keenan would be a hands-on mayor — a departure from the past few
» See KEENAN, page 6
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