DOVER — Dr. Joan Coker admitted that even she had second thoughts, despite all the medical knowledge she had, when it came to getting vaccinated for COVID-19. There were always those lingering questions in her mind.

It turns out that Dr. Coker did get her COVID vaccination and is now pleading the Black community to trust the science as she spoke on a Zoom meeting Wednesday night organized by the Dover District Department of Christian Education and Church School of the Delaware Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

“The hesitancy in our communities of color is well-founded,” Dr. Coker said. “So we start with understanding that each of us (doctors), although vaccinated at this point, we had hesitancy ourselves, because there’s a rich history in this country of experimentation. There has been for years, I’ll say, of mis- and disinformation. So I completely understood what everybody’s hesitancy was all about. I, too, was hesitant.

“For me, the turning point was when the vaccine was not available before the election. Understanding that and understanding that big business was not playing politics, but instead doing real science. I don’t want to dismiss what I call our ‘Halleluiah moment,’ because that’s what this vaccine is.”

Dr. Coker joined Dr. Velma Scantlebury and Dr. Rebecca Walker in informing the 113 participants — mostly people of color — who attended the virtual meeting about why they should receive the vaccinations.

According to data released by the Delaware Division of Public Health on Wednesday, only 4,909 Black individuals (4%) had received the vaccine, compared to 41,955 White individuals (38%) and 27,404 people of multiple races (25%). Only 2,309 Latinos (2%) have received the vacation. A total of 32,954 (30%) of people who have received the vaccination’s ethnicity has gone unreported.

The Rev. Rita Paige served as the host and The Rev. JoAnne Holder was the technical person running the meeting, which lasted around an hour and 15 minutes.

The Rev. Ellis Loudon, presiding elder of the Dover District, helped provide a forum.

“I am looking forward to this learning experience,” he said. “I had my first (COVID) shot and as I’ve said kind of humorously to people, ‘I haven’t fallen over yet.’”

Dr. Scantlebury, a kidney transplant surgeon at Christiana Care, said the statistics surrounding the pandemic are real and should be taken very seriously.

“You’re probably sitting back and saying, ‘I’ve heard all this, why should I get this vaccine?’,” Dr. Scantlebury said. “Let me tell you something, we’ve had 25 million people who’ve contracted COVID-19 disease and over 450,000 of those here in the United States have died.

“So, what are your chances from dying of a vaccine? We’ve had over 20 million people receive their vaccine across the United States with only one reported death, so you take your chances. Do you want to live, because if you get COVID-19 you may die or get extremely ill.”

The panel took several questions from the audience and explained the intricacies of getting the vaccine.

Dr. Coker, an otolaryngologist at St. Francis, A.I. Dupont and Christiana Care, explained how the COVID vaccine works.

She said it is a Messenger RNA vaccine that moves at a rate of speed much faster than the traditional flu vaccine. She said it was designed to create a message for the spike proteins — those little red antennae on the molecule for COVID — which helps create antibodies against the virus.

“There is no part of the virus in the vaccine,” Dr. Coker said. “You will not get COVID from getting the COVID vaccine. Many folks have had a sore arm and some flu-like symptoms. Some had a little fever and chills and body aches.

“The more your body responds, the better you should feel about having this vaccination, because you had a robust response from your body. It doesn’t last more than 48 hours, so don’t panic. You won’t miss a whole week of work and you won’t get the flu, necessarily, but you may feel a little badly — not necessarily after the first shot, but possibly after the second shot.”

Panelists said that vaccines are 95% effective in keeping people from dying and after 28 days following the second shot, people are fully equipped to fight off the virus with added antibodies.

“You still need to wear that mask and social distance because there are variants out there, different viruses are coming along,” Dr. Scantlebury said. “But if you do get exposed to one, your body is ready to fight back.”

Dr. Walker, deputy director of the office of the medical director, handled most of the chat questions.

Dr. Coker said distribution events have had their difficulties with long lines and cold weather, which have made health care workers’ computers freeze up.

She believes that cooperation with churches and nonprofits will help in getting the vaccines delivered to underserved communities.

“We’re tapping into that relationship now because we know what makes you tick, we know what makes your kids sick, or your parents sick, so we get it,” Dr. Coker said. “Together we are a force to be reckoned with in this community – physicians and the persons of faith.”

“We’re going to be that one-two punch in opening up these churches and opening up nonprofits — that’s places where we all feel comfortable — and that’s one of the most important things about getting a COVID vaccine is that you’re comfortable in that facility.”