‘It’s really thinking creatively’
Group aims to reach people with vaccine hesitancy, limited access
Recently, Carlos Millan had a conversation with a man who was worried about the COVID-19 vaccine. The man had read somewhere that it could have an impact on his sperm, so he was reluctant to be vaccinated. After their conversation, recalled Millan, who completed the city health department’s Vaccine Ambassador Course training, “he feels a lot better.”
Outreach to communities that are hesitant to get the vaccine, or have less access to it, will be a major focus this summer and fall as the city moves forward through this pandemic.
The University of Illinois at Chicago was recently selected by the National Institutes of Health as the main site for a multicenter collaboration to research and create outreach to communities disproportionality affected by COVID19. The group aims to improve access to testing, treatment and clinical trial opportunities. The university will receive a $1.4 million NIH grant to increase vaccine confidence.
Black and Latino communities have been heavily affected by the pandemic. Meanwhile, state data shows that Black and Hispanic people in Illinois have been vaccinated at half the rate of white residents.
The UIC’s Dr. Molly Martin, associate professor of pediatrics at the College of Medicine and principal investigator on the NIH grant, said the researchers hope to use their understanding of access to the vaccine and information sharing through communities to go beyond COVID-19. For example, Black women face major health disparities, and what researchers find out about connecting with communities of color could help approach those issues as well.
“We’re really excited to be joining this national group,” she said.
NIH is funding groups in multiple states through the Community Engagement Alliance Against COVID19 Disparities.
Martin’s team hopes to encourage vaccine confidence in Black and Latino neighborhoods. It includes researchers from Loyola University, Northwestern University, Rush University Medical Center and the University of Chicago, as well as groups like Sinai Urban Health Institute and Equal Hope, a nonprofit working to eliminate health disparities.
Already, Martin said, there’s been an enormous amount of partnership among health care systems in Chicago.
They hope to begin by evaluating different programs and efforts around vaccines to learn what works and where gaps might exist.
Looking ahead to the fall, when schools will reopen, getting information to families and vaccines for children will be important, she said. She is also monitoring whether or when people might need boosters, another moment when information will be key. People might question whether the vaccine was effective if they need a booster, even as health experts have said this is a likely possibility.
“How do you help people to understand and trust the science enough to protect themselves?” Martin said.
Lack of vaccination does not only reflect hesitancy, she said.
“There are fears and there are concerns about vaccination but also sheer access issues,” Martin said. “The solution is not simple. … It really has to come from that level of understanding.” That’s why community groups and connecting with unvaccinated people are so important.
In May, to boost confidence in the vaccine, the city created the Vaccine Ambassador Course, which provides free online training to help people become educated about the vaccine and to share that with their communities. The training is offered in English and Spanish through the Malcolm X College’s Continuing Education Department. Participants learn about the background of COVID-19, the history of mistrust and causes of vaccine hesitancy.
When talking to people, Millan shares that he has been vaccinated and “I don’t have another head growing out of me,” he said. “It helps when I told them my mother was also reluctant. She took her time to get vaccinated. You don’t pressure people into now, now, now.”
The man who was worried about the vaccine affecting his sperm, for example, seemed to hear what Millan said when Millan was patient and curious, he said.
He added, “I think it’s better if it comes from someone that looks like him, or someone that lives in the community, than a stranger with a medical degree, even though we trust medical doctors.”
Martin hopes what they learn through the grant will translate to other ways some communities are hit harder by health issues than others.
“It’s really thinking creatively, out of the box and not pushing what works for one mindset onto everyone,” Martin said. “Our goal is to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to get fully vaccinated, and that they do.”