How to Help Overcome Vaccine Hesitancy for Black Americans (RESEARCH)
With data showing that communities of color are more likely to be skeptical of messages encourage vaccine adoption—despite adverse outcomes from the COVID-19 pandemic—here’s how to push back.
Ted Kitterman For organizations and wellness pros looking to amplify vaccine messaging, the increase in vaccine skepticism in the U.S. is a major concern. In data from Morning Consult, a little more than half (56%) of working adults said they would readily take a COVID-19 vaccine if offered one.
Black Americans have been more hesitant when it comes to vaccines, for a variety of reasons from poor health care options in their communities to historic injustices and mistreatment at the hands of health care companies and government agencies.What does the research suggest can be done to help drive vaccine adoption in these communities? Here are some recommendations from researchers.1. Don’t ignore mental health.Higher rates of depression could be linked to a reduced rate in vaccine adoption, argues one paper published in BioMed Research International. The paper, titled “Influenza Vaccination among Underserved African-American Older Adults” makes the connection between instances of depression in patients leading to fewer attempts to receive care and treatment.Continue reading here...
