The Biden administration has provided millions of dollars to counter fears and misinformation in communities of color that have indicated they are concerned about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine. In the past three weeks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has awarded more than $ 17 million to several organizations planning vaccine education, according to the Department of Health and Human Services funding database.
Fifteen organizations advocating for blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and Native Americans have received funding to increase their educational capacity for COVID-19 vaccination. UnidosUS and the National Urban League received the largest grants, amounting to $ 3.2 million and $ 2 million, respectively.
Black people are more likely to get COVID-19 than white people, and blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans are two to three times more likely to need hospitalization, according to the CDC.
Even with these rates, white Americans are vaccinated at a much higher rate than other racial minorities. As of Feb. 22, more than 19 million people have been completely vaccinated, 65 percent of whom are white, according to the CDC. About half of the states keep records with demographic information.
The Biden administration did not comment on CDC funding for information efforts, but an HHS official confirmed the coordination of information.
Prior to the development of any COVID-19 vaccine, vaccine hesitation was most important among black Americans. A Pew Research Center survey last fall found that only 42% plan to be vaccinated, compared to 63% of Hispanics and 61% of white adults. The survey showed that English-speaking Asian Americans were the most likely to get vaccinated, with 83% saying they would.
Distrust of health persists in communities of color, resulting in part from past medical abuse by the federal government. Two of the worst abuses have occurred in the last 50 years: the study of Tuskegee syphilis, which has targeted black men for more than 40 years; and the sterilization of thousands of Native American women without their consent by the Indian health service in the 1970s.
The nonprofit group of the National Black Churches Conference received $ 1.56 million to encourage its parishioners to be vaccinated.
“Black churches have more contact with black people even during a pandemic than any other organization in the country,” said Dr. Jacqui Burton, president of the conference. “Even if we are not in our buildings, we worship and continue to provide services.”
The conference hopes the money will help its efforts to ensure vaccination in its churches as well.
In the coming weeks, it will be a “ministry of health … that touches people’s lives and puts vaccines in their arms,” said AME Bishop Adam J. Richardson.
Other organizations are focusing on bridging the language gap for reliable information.
The Asia-Pacific Health Forum is to use its $ 1.8 million prize to address the “digital divide” in Asian American communities and to provide additional simplified vaccination instructions in less spoken but critical languages. such as samoans, marshals and chuukese, said CEO Juliet K. Choi.
Choi also said that online messages about vaccines will be prominent on popular communication platforms such as WeChat, WhatsApp and KaKao.
Covering a language barrier is also a priority for the American Indian Physicians Association, a group that received a $ 950,000 grant. Because tribal nations are sovereign, they can choose who to vaccinate. In some places, such as the Cherokee Nation, vaccinations are a priority for language holders.
“One of the critical ways to support ourselves is to maintain our language and traditions,” the association’s president, Dr. Mary Owen, told CBS News. “I know that this is closely involved in maintaining our health.”
If vaccinated in this action, people can carry another recent CDC acquisition from the Coalition for Action for Immunization: $ 1 million of buttons and stickers that promote the message “I Got My COVID-19 Vaccine.”
Max Bayer and Alex Tin contributed to this report.