Webnar Thursday, July 15, noon EDT-Johns Hopkins new report on Carrying Equity in COVID-19 vacinations Forward

Today, CommuniVax, a group led by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Department of Anthropology at Texas State University released a new report, Carrying Equity in COVID-19 Vaccination Forward: Guidance Informed by Communities of Color, that outlines findings from local research within Black and Hispanic/Latino communities in Alabama, California, Idaho, Maryland, and Virginia and provides specific guidance to government officials on adapting COVID-19 vaccination efforts to achieve greater vaccine coverage in underserved populations and, through this, to develop sustainable, locally appropriate mechanisms to advance equity in health.

Key findings of the local research are:

1. Naming vaccine hesitancy as “the problem” obscures a more complex set of realities
2. Assuming communities of color are homogenous is a critical error
3. Hyperlocal responses to the pandemic result in better health outcomes

In response, the recommendations from the Working Group on Equity in COVID-19 Vaccination are:

1. Humanize delivery and communication strategies for COVID-19 vaccines
2. Anchor COVID-19 vaccination for hard-hit areas in a holistic recovery process
3. Develop a national immunization program to protect people throughout the life course
4. Rebuild the public health infrastructure, properly staffing it for community engagement
5. Stabilize the community health system as the backbone for equity and resilience

Read the report.

Join us for a webinar tomorrow at 12pm ET as we share key findings and recommendations.