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SprinkL3 · Dec 24, 2021 at 10:11 AM

Here's some resources for racial trauma, if part of your historical and medical traumas include racial traumas:

American Psychological Association

Mental Health America

University of Georgia

A Psychology Today article on PTSD and Racial Trauma

JAMA Article on Vaccine Hesitancy

JAMA article on Racial/Ethnic Differences in Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy

Another article about Vaccine Distrust among Minorities

Trauma Psychology News - Vaccine Hesitancy in Black and Indigenous Communities

Quote:

Path forward

There is however reason to be hopeful. In the US, communities have taken direct action to specifically address fears and mistrust. For example, the Health Advocates In-Reach and Research network, an initiative that started with training barbers in Maryland to be lay health advocates for colorectal screening, has implemented on-site testing services and facilitated multiple information town halls. In Florida, a statewide, Black-led community task force aims to increase community immunization rates by facilitating access to vaccination sites in BIPOC communities. Minnesota Community Care a nonprofit clinic created videos and flyers to dispel COVID-19 myths. After receiving vaccine doses through the Federal Indian Health Service, Indigenous nations have in ambitious vaccination rollouts, setting their own eligibility criteria and encouraging their communities to consider vaccination as an act of protection towards community Elders. Some of these plans have been so successful that they have been extended to included local non-Indigenous persons [25-28].

Very recent data suggests that these active community approaches are gradually working. For example, a January Harris Poll showed acceptance in Blacks increasing from 43% in October to 58%; a further survey by the Urban Indian Health Institute with 318 tribes across 46 states, showed 75% of participants were willing to be vaccinated, also participants indicated that the primary motivation for getting vaccinated was a strong sense of community, including protecting Elders and traditional cultural ways [31, 32]. Things have been slower moving in Canada, due to a lower availability of vaccines, however, recent data is showing that vaccination rates in Indigenous communities are currently significantly higher than those reported elsewhere, with 25% of Indigenous adults having received at least one shot, a rate that is six times higher than in the general population [33]. Currently, reported hesitancy is still high within the Black community however grass-roots information campaigns are ramping up [29].

The new US administration has adopted a direct hand-on approach creating a COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force whose mission is to provide recommendations to POTUS, for mitigating inequities caused or exacerbated by the pandemic, as well as suggestions for preventing future discriminations. The task force is composed of healthcare providers, public health experts and members from a breadth of minority communities, as well as state, local, territorial and Tribal representatives. At its head is Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, an epidemiologist with considerable experience in health equity research. In a recent interview with the NY Times, she identified several key issues including developing more sensitive data collection to get a more comprehensive and accurate picture of which populations need to be specifically targeted to reduce vaccine hesitation and lag; and the identification and removal of structural barriers (e.g., transportation to vaccine centers, days off work for vaccination and /or recovery etc.) that disproportionately impact BIPOC communities [34].

Finally, as we slowly climb out of the pandemic, it is not just about access and confidence in vaccines, it is also about making sure that Black and Indigenous communities have access to ‘equity in the recovery’ which hopefully means coming out the other end with something more than just a ‘return to previous functioning’ for all.

NPR article on how Black doctors deal with vaccine hesitancy

Harvard University - Vaccine Hesitancy

Rare Disease Advisor article - Vaccine Hesitancy in MS patients

Scientific article on children with rare diseases and vaccination coverage

Article about Native Americans and Vaccine Hesitancy

More articles on Native Americans and the Covid-19 Vaccines:

BMJ

New England Journal of Medicine

Teen Vogue

Emporia Gazette

PBS