Addressing and Inspiring Vaccine Confidence in Black, Indigenous, and People of Color During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

Jasmine R Marcelin; Talia H Swartz; Fidelia Bernice; Vladimir Berthaud; Robbie Christian; Christopher da Costa; Nada Fadul; Michelle Floris-Moore; Matifadza Hlatshwayo; Patrik Johansson; Ravina Kullar; Kimberly Manning; Edoabasi U McGee; Christopher Medlin; Damani A Piggott; Uzma Syed; Jessica Snowden; Tina Tan; Jacinda C Abdul-Mutakabbir

doi:10.1093/ofid/ofab417

Addressing and Inspiring Vaccine Confidence in Black, Indigenous, and People of Color During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

Open Forum Infect Dis. 2021 Aug 9;8(9):ofab417. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofab417. eCollection 2021 Sep.

Authors

Jasmine R Marcelin¹, Talia H Swartz², Fidelia Bernice³, Vladimir Berthaud⁴, Robbie Christian⁵, Christopher da Costa⁶, Nada Fadul¹, Michelle Floris-Moore⁷, Matifadza Hlatshwayo⁸, Patrik Johansson⁹, Ravina Kullar¹⁰, Kimberly Manning¹¹, Edoabasi U McGee¹², Christopher Medlin¹³, Damani A Piggott¹⁴, Uzma Syed¹⁵, Jessica Snowden¹⁶, Tina Tan¹⁷, Jacinda C Abdul-Mutakabbir¹⁸

Affiliations

¹ Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha Nebraska, USA.
² Division of Infectious Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
³ Department of Pharmacy, University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
⁴ Division of Infectious Diseases, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
⁵ Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.
⁶ The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
⁷ Division of Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
⁸ Division of Infectious Diseases, John Cochrane VA Medical Center, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
⁹ Department of Medical Education and Clinical Sciences, Washington State University, Seattle, Washington, USA.
¹⁰ Expert Stewardship Inc., Newport Beach, California, USA.
¹¹ Division of General Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
¹² Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, School of Pharmacy, Suwanee, Georgia, USA.
¹³ University of Texas at El Paso School of Pharmacy, El Paso, Texas, USA.
¹⁴ Division of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
¹⁵ South Shore Infectious Disease & Travel Medicine Consultants, P.C., Bay Shore, New York, USA.
¹⁶ Division of Pediatric Infectious Disease, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA.
¹⁷ Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
¹⁸ Department of Pharmacy Practice, Loma Linda University School of Pharmacy, Loma Linda, California, USA.

Abstract

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, we have witnessed profound health inequities suffered by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). These manifested as differential access to testing early in the pandemic, rates of severe disease and death 2-3 times higher than white Americans, and, now, significantly lower vaccine uptake compared with their share of the population affected by COVID-19. This article explores the impact of these COVID-19 inequities (and the underlying cause, structural racism) on vaccine acceptance in BIPOC populations, ways to establish trustworthiness of healthcare institutions, increase vaccine access for BIPOC communities, and inspire confidence in COVID-19 vaccines.

Keywords: Black; COVID-19; Indigenous; People of Color (BIPOC); structural racism; vaccine confidence.