Former WSB-TV anchor Monica Pearson encourages everyone to get COVID-19 vaccine

ATLANTA — Many of you are still debating whether you should get the vaccine.

Former WSB-TV anchor Monica Pearson got her shot over the weekend. At first, she was going to wait, but she told Channel 2 Action News anchor Jorge Estevez why she changed her mind.

“Well, my mother always told me never be the first to try the new or the last to try the old, so that was why I was waiting and, I had originally said it would be at least six months before I would try the vaccine,” Pearson said.

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But things changed when she said close friends got COVID-19 and were hospitalized. Pearson’s husband John, who is in law enforcement, got the vaccine and was fine. Another reason is Pearson’s mother-in-law: Momma Jo is 90 and lives with them.

“So I said, ‘You know what? I need to go on and do this because at my age and also with having preexisting health conditions, it makes sense to do it,’” Pearson said.

Pearson received her vaccination at the drive-thru vaccination site at Morehouse School of Medicine. She talked about the mistrust African Americans have towards the medical community.

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“And I have to admit that that was part of my fear too, not only from the Tuskegee experiment but you know, growing up in Louisville, Kentucky. I always heard stories about how when Black people walk past the hospital, they would disappear because they were being used for experiments. So, you know, you have to really trust, and I trust the Morehouse School of Medicine. I trust Dr. Fauci. I trust my husband. So why not?: Pearson said.

Another reason to get the shot? The first steps of returning to normal.

“Why wait? If this will allow all of us to get out and socialize again, and really be with family and friends again without having to worry, then, to me, it was worth it,” Pearson said.

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