Dr. Erica Payton Foh (Public Health Education and Center for Housing and Community Studies) received new funding from RAO Community Health for the project “Community Needs Assessment: Vaccine Confidence, Acceptance, and Health Messaging in African American Communities.” Dr. Jennifer Toller Erausquin, Dr. Kenneth Gruber, Dr. Stephen Sills, and Dr. Robert Strack are co-principal investigators on the project.
As of February 25, 2021, there are 28.8 million cases, and over 500,000 deaths in the United States (CDC, 2021), and 849,630 cases and 11, 000 deaths in North Carolina (NCDHHS, 2021). The rates of COVID morbidity and mortality are the highest among people of color. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Non-Hispanic African Americans, Hispanics, and Indigenous people are almost four times more likely to be hospitalized and nearly three times more likely to die of COVID-19 than white people. After a vaccine was discovered and approved, vaccine administration began in the United States on December 14, 2020 and the first 3 million doses were distributed throughout the 50 states (BBC News, 2020). Despite higher rates of COVID cases and deaths among BIPOC, the vaccination rates are lower. Vaccine hesitancy is complex and context specific and is influenced by several factors including complacency, convenience, and confidence (MacDonald, 2015).
As part of a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), RAO Health will engage UNCG in conducting a needs assessment in Mecklenburg and Cabarrus Counties, North Carolina. The study will be used to identify drivers of COVID-19 and flu vaccine hesitancy; identify influential messengers, partners, and community gatekeepers in communities of color; and develop culturally appropriate and community-acceptable approaches to improving vaccination availability, accessibility, and confidence in these communities.
