The public health battle to promote vaccination to mitigate sickness, death, and economic impact from COVID-19 is largely waged at the individual level, due to the United States’ culture of individualism, independence, and autonomy. While we all have a critical stake in the pandemic’s impacts, Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities’ historical distrust and lower uptake of vaccines, as well as lower access to health services, have contributed to higher rates of hospitalization and deaths from COVID-19. There is also some indication that widespread misinformation and disinformation about COVID has penetrated BIPOC communities as well as others, contributing to these problems.
To help community-based organizations (CBOs) build vaccine confidence in their communities through information campaigns, we’ve been working with the Partnering for Vaccine Equity Program (P4VE) on its Vaccine Resource Hub (VRH). The VRH offers social media graphics and videos and other resources such as flyers and talking points to those working to increase COVID-19 or flu vaccination. There is a specific emphasis on materials that are culturally appropriate to people who are BIPOC, and many of these assets are unbranded, so the CBOs can tailor them with their own branding and design. All resources are reviewed for clarity, accuracy, and consistency with best practices, and the VRH is reviewed regularly to remove outdated material and update the “Trending Topics” section. (author introduction)