Physicians in the order in which they speak:

Angelica Belo, MD Marshall, TX CHRISTUS Trinity Clinic Gastroenterology – Marshall

Jose Zapatero, M.D. Alexandria, La, Vice President of Medical Affairs & Chief Medical Officer CHRISTUS St. Frances Cabrini

Franca Iorember, MD, MPH San Antonio, TX, The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio

Loren Robinson, Texarkana, TX, MD Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Medical Affairs CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System

Kenneth Davis, MD San Antonio, TX CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System

Gretchen Petterway, MD, FAAP Shreveport-Bossier, La CHRISTUS Pediatric Associates – Shreveport Bossier

Janet Hurley, MD Tyler, TX CHRISTUS Trinity Clinic Family Medicine, Primary Care

Rita Alumanah, MD Jacksonville, TX CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital – Jacksonville

Mike Finley, MD Texarkana, Texas CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System

Linda Ray, MD Beaumont, TX CHRISTUS Beaumont Adult Medicine

Angelica Belo, MD Marshall, TX CHRISTUS Trinity Clinic Gastroenterology-Marshall

Gretchen Petterway, MD, FAAP Shreveport-Bossier, La CHRISTUS Pediatric Associates – Shreveport Bossier

Tiffany Egbe, MD Marshall, TX CHRISTUS Good Shepherd Medical 

Kenneth Davis, MD San Antonio, TX CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System

Lauren Jacoby, MD, Lake Charles, La CHRISTUS St Patrick Hospital

Loren Robinson, MD Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Medical Affairs CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System

To our neighbors in the communities we serve, especially communities of color:

As people of color and as health care professionals who have spent our careers caring for people of every race, faith tradition and background, we want to make sure we have done all we can to share reliable information about the COVID-19 vaccines and why we are recommending the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are the two available to us now.

From Henrietta Lacks to the Tuskegee syphilis study, and more, we recognize that the medical research industry has violated the trust of black communities. Furthermore, we acknowledge that like many others, systemic racism also plagues the health care industry as a whole, and has disproportionally impacted minority racial and ethnic communities. As a result, we understand that many may be skeptical of the medical establishment in general and of these vaccines, which were created in record time.

We are approaching this decision not only as medical providers, but also as people who have seen

firsthand the effects of COVID-19. We’ve been proud to help so many of our neighbors regain their health after fighting this deadly virus, but we’ve unfortunately stood beside many others who did not. We’ve seen families and friends lose loved ones, and those experiences, along with our commitment to our communities and to our mission, make us absolutely dedicated to distributing these potentially lifesaving vaccines.

At CHRISTUS, we have relied on a diverse team of clinical experts, pharmacists, physicians and others to determine if these vaccines are safe and effective and should be offered. These professionals have years of experience reviewing drugs and other therapeutics, and they agreed with the FDA that, yes, despite the speed of development, the clinical trials were appropriate and adequately conducted. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines use mRNA technology, which has been improved after 30 years of research to make the vaccines we have today., and were designed, developed and produced without the use of fetal cells. We believe the availability of safe and effective vaccines are some of the most powerful tools we have to help end this pandemic, and are proud to offer them to our communities.

At CHRISTUS, we have a higher calling to ensure that everyone is cared for, and offered equal opportunities and access to this preventative treatment. Currently, we have options for two effective vaccines, and we believe that NOT doing everything in our power to make them available to our communities, especially our communities of color, would be falling short of our commitment to offer hope and healing.

This is a personal decision, so we encourage you to review the data on these vaccines, ask questions and speak to your personal health care professional about the benefits and risks as they relate to your specific situation. And then when you are ready and the vaccine is available to you, please sign up to get your doses as soon as possible.

Thank you for the chance to serve you and your families during this pandemic and every day of the year. We are humbled by the opportunity to care for you when you need it most, and stand ready to provide safe, effective care to those with COVID and those without. We vow to work every day to fulfill the CHRISTUS mission of extending the healing ministry of Jesus Christ to all those we serve.

Sincerely,

The members of the CHRISTUS Health Equity Physician Taskforce:

Dr. Sam Bagchi, EVP & Chief Clinical Officer, CHRISTUS Health

Dr. Loren Robinson, Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Medical Affairs, CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System