A group of public health researchers across the country recently convened to discuss their work and outreach efforts around the coronavirus pandemic in African American and Latino communities, both rural and urban.
It’s no secret that COVID-19 has ravaged low-income communities of color at disproportionate rates. As a result, many public health officials are strategizing on how best to provide and promote access to vaccinations, especially when efforts to misinform are thwarting outreach initiatives.
A webinar titled, “CommuniVax: A Coalition to Strengthen the Community’s Role in an Equitable COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign,” was held last week and included social scientists, public health experts, and community advocates who seek lasting solutions to a serious health problem.
The national alliance is sponsored by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Health workers, doctors and anthropologists from Baltimore, San Diego, Prince George’s County, Maryland, rural Idaho, Hampton Roads, Virginia and rural Alabama shared their experiences in working to educate and vaccinate minority populations.
The researchers noted that while state health departments have tried to remove barriers to vaccine access, the most successful method has been to employ those who work at community clinics and other hyper-local agencies to develop efficient methods to increase the number of vaccinated residents.
Dr. Daniela Rodriguez, an associate scientist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, noted that there are a large number of Spanish-speaking residents who do not have access to laptops and smartphones that enable them to easily sign-up for vaccine appointments. In addition to the lack of technology access, she found that many of the undocumented residents who wanted the vaccine were plagued with fears about the ability to take off from work to get the vaccine. Additionally, others were concerned that they could be deported by ICE officials and complained that some vaccination sites did not have adequate resources to communicate with non-English speaking patients.
“Non-government agencies filled in to assist and many over-relied on these agencies,” said Rodriguez. To assist with vaccination efforts, she said, many of these agencies were able to provide food distribution at vaccine sites.
