Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Aug 9;8(9):ofab417.
doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofab417. eCollection 2021 Sep.

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

Affiliations

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

Jasmine R Marcelin et al. Open Forum Infect Dis. .

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.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Strategies to increase vaccine uptake within minoritized communities. BIPOC, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color; HIVMA, HIV Medicine Association; IDSA, Infectious Diseases Society of America; SIDP, Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists.

References

    1. Khazanchi R, Evans CT, Marcelin JR. Racism, not race, drives inequity across the COVID-19 continuum. JAMA Netw Open 2020; 3:e2019933. - PubMed
    1. Bailey ZD, Feldman JM, Bassett MT. How structural racism works - racist policies as a root cause of U.S. racial health inequities. N Engl J Med 2021; 384:768–73. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bailey ZD, Krieger N, Agénor M, et al. . Structural racism and health inequities in the USA: evidence and interventions. Lancet 2017; 389:1453–63. - PubMed
    1. Yellow Horse AJ, Yang T-C, Huyser KR. Structural inequalities established the architecture for COVID-19 pandemic among native Americans in Arizona: a geographically weighted regression perspective [published online ahead of print, 2021 Jan 19]. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities 2021: 1–11. doi:10.1007/s40615-020-00940-2 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hatcher SM, Agnew-Brune C, Anderson M, et al. . COVID-19 among American Indian and Alaska native persons - 23 States, January 31-July 3, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2020; 69:1166–9. - PMC - PubMed