Basketball Legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Says He Will Get Coronavirus Vaccine And Says Others Should Too

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sat down with Don Lemon on CNN in mid-December, where he talked about outreach being necessary to assuage the Black community’s fears regarding receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

“I’m definitely going to get vaccinated,” the basketball legend says when asked if he will get the coronavirus vaccine.

“Outreach is absolutely essential. Again, that’s why I’m with UCLA Health, but the fact that healthcare systems can reach out to minority communities and the Black community and let them know that they care and that the vaccine is safe and effective,” he added.

“That’s going to go a long way to overcoming traditional suspicions that go back some ways in the Black community because of irresponsible things that happened to Blacks in the past that were committed by medical professionals,” Abdul-Jabbar said.

Abdul-Jabar penned an essay for WebMD in early December. In the article, he opened up about his own health struggles and revealed he previously had prostate cancer. In the piece, Abdul-Jabbar discussed the Black community’s challenges in receiving quality healthcare in America. 

The former basketball star has become a UCLA Health Ambassador to reach the Black community better. He wants to make sure people get the medical care and information they need because it could potentially save their lives, as it did for him.