Black America's Sickle Cell Crisis. Vaccine Exemptions Hit Record High #SecondOpinion

9.3.2026 #SecondOpinion w/ Dr. Ebony Jade Hilton: Black America's Sickle Cell Crisis. Vaccine Exemptions Hit Record High #SecondOpinion

In this episode of #SecondOpinion, Dr. Ebony J. Hilton takes a deep look at sickle cell disease, the racial inequities patients face in emergency care, the rise in school vaccine exemptions, and why sexual health still matters well into your 40s and 50s.

Dr. Wanda Shurney, CEO and Medical Director of the Michigan Chapter of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, explains what sickle cell disease is, why it disproportionately affects Black Americans, the difference between sickle cell trait and sickle cell disease, how painful crises affect the body, and how new FDA-approved gene therapies are changing the future of treatment.

Then Lena Harvey, a sickle cell advocate known as the Queen Warrior, shares what it is like to live with the disease every day. She describes the overwhelming pain of a sickle cell crisis, the impact on work, travel, pregnancy, and family life, and the racial bias she says she has experienced in emergency rooms, including feeling pressure to look “cute and presentable” just to be taken seriously while in pain.

Pediatrician Dr. Ashanti Woods breaks down the growing number of schoolchildren entering classrooms without required vaccinations, what declining immunization rates mean for measles and other preventable diseases, and how individual vaccine decisions can affect babies, medically vulnerable children, schools, and entire communities.

In the Prescription of the Week, Dr. Hilton turns to sexual health after 40, reminding viewers that menopause does not eliminate STI risk, erectile dysfunction medications do not prevent infection, and sexually active adults should normalize testing, safer sex, and honest conversations with their partners.

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