DOCSLIB.ORG

What Contributes to COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Black Communities, and How Can It Be Addressed?

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
What Contributes to COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Black Communities, and How Can It Be Addressed? Research Report C O R P O R A T I O N LAURA M. BOGART, LU DONG, PRIYA GANDHI, SAMANTHA RYAN, TERRY L. SMITH, DAVID J. KLEIN, LUCKIE ALEXANDER FULLER, BISOLA O. OJIKUTU What Contributes to COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Black Communities, and How Can It Be Addressed? ecent polls show that Black Americans are less willing than Americans of other races or ethnicities to be vaccinated for COVID-19, even after the November 2020 announcements by pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and BioNTech and Moderna about their vaccines’ R 1 high efficacy. For example, responses to a November 2020 poll of an online survey panel found that 42 percent of Black Americans, versus 63 percent of Hispanic or Latinx Americans and 61 percent of White Americans, said that they would definitely or probably get vaccinated.2 A December 2020 nationally representative telephone poll found that 35 percent of Black adults said KEY FINDINGS that they would definitely not or Q A survey of a nationally representative sample of 207 Black Ameri- probably not get vaccinated3—and cans conducted in late 2020 found high levels of vaccine hesitancy about half of those who did not and mistrust of COVID-19 vaccines in the overall sample, as well as want to get vaccinated cited mistrust among health care workers in particular. of vaccines as well as worry about Q Those who expressed vaccine hesitancy also showed high levels getting COVID-19 from the vaccine of overall mistrust, concerns about potential harm and side effects, as main reasons. Evidence thus and lack of confidence in vaccine effectiveness and safety. far suggests that the percentage Q Participants reported higher trust in COVID-19 information from of Black individuals who show health care providers and public health officials than from elected COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy has local and federal officials. stayed consistently high, relative to Q Mistrust of the government’s motives and transparency around other racial and ethnic groups in COVID-19, as well as beliefs about racism in health care, appear to the United States, from April 2020 be contributing to mistrust of the vaccine. Q Black Americans attribute their medical mistrust, in general and specific to COVID-19 vaccines, to systemic racism, including discrimination and mistreatment in health care, as well as by the government. to January 2021.4 Additionally, initial data suggest and continuous and repeated discrimination, racism, that Black Americans are receiving the COVID-19 and harmful experiences toward Black Americans vaccine at lower rates than are White Americans.5 by the health care system, health care providers This phenomenon is not unique to COVID-19: (who are mostly not Black individuals), and the U.S. Black adults are less likely than White adults to get government.13 Such repeated, systemic discrimination vaccinated for seasonal influenza, which contributes experiences, as well as the perceived failure of health to greater influenza-related morbidity and mortality.6 care organizations to take authentic measures to Lower vaccination rates among Black Americans build trust and become more trustworthy, have led to would further widen COVID-19 inequities in avoidance of health care among Black Americans,14 diagnosis, hospitalization, and mortality. As of mid- which may translate further into unwillingness to February 2021, compared with White Americans, accept COVID-19 vaccination. Black Americans were 1.1 times more likely to be To support efforts to reduce COVID-19 vaccine diagnosed with COVID-19, were 2.9 times more hesitancy in Black communities, we conducted a likely to be hospitalized, and had a 1.9 times higher survey of Black Americans in November–December mortality rate.7 Black Americans represent 2020 to better understand the drivers of such 12.5 percent of the U.S. population yet accounted for reluctance. We also conducted follow-up interviews 18.7 percent of COVID-19 deaths from May through with survey respondents who expressed hesitancy. August 2020.8 These unfortunate realities stem Using the results of the survey and interviews, we from systemic inequity in health care access and worked with community stakeholders to identify provision as well as in society in general, leading an initial set of public health messaging and to disproportionate rates of poverty; lower-wage communication strategies likely to be successful employment as frontline, essential, and critical in addressing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and infrastructure workers; and unstable and crowded increasing vaccination in Black communities. living conditions, all of which, in turn, are correlated with greater prevalences of underlying health conditions (e.g., diabetes, obesity, chronic obstructive Approach pulmonary disease) that are associated with severe American Life Panel Survey COVID-19 outcomes and death.9 Vaccine hesitancy, defined by the World Health We invited all 318 self-identified Black participants in Organization as “delay in acceptance or refusal of the RAND American Life Panel (ALP), a nationally vaccines despite availability of vaccination services,”10 representative internet-based panel, to complete a varies by context and time, making it critical to survey between November 17 and December 2, assess this challenge for different populations and 2020. We received responses from 207 participants. subpopulations to tailor policy approaches that The survey contained about 50 items assessing respond to community needs.11 Vaccine hesitancy levels of and reasons for vaccine hesitancy and may be influenced by three main factors: medical mistrust that were developed for the (1) perceived need for and value of the vaccine, survey or adapted from prior research,15 including (2) access to and convenience in getting the vaccine, beliefs about the vaccine’s effectiveness, necessity, and (3) confidence and trust (or mistrust) in the and likely convenience, as well as mistrust of the vaccine itself (in terms of effectiveness and safety) vaccine and of government information and motives and in health care providers, health care systems, and around COVID-19. The survey began about a policymakers who support the vaccine.12 week after public announcements about the high The third factor—trust and mistrust in efficacy of the Pfizer and BioNTech and Moderna vaccines—is affected by general mistrust of health vaccines. Participants were provided with a $17 care systems and providers. Such mistrust has arisen incentive for the 25-minute survey. Data from the in Black communities as an understandable, rational, survey were linked to sociodemographic data on and self-protective reaction to history, knowledge, ALP participants. All analyses employed sample 2 discussions on this pressing issue.) Respondents were About Survey Participants asked about social influences and trusted sources related to COVID-19 and recommendations and Participants came from various Black subpopulations and communities: They proposed solutions for addressing COVID-19 vaccine were 50.8 years old on average (range was hesitancy and increasing COVID-19 vaccination 25–86 years), and 71 percent self-identified in Black communities. Participants were given a as female and 29 percent as male, and $40 incentive for the one-hour interview. 6 percent identified as Latinx; 13 percent identified as a sexual minority (lesbian, gay, bisexual, don’t know, or something else) Stakeholder Engagement and 0.5 percent as transgender. Most We engaged with an advisory committee comprising (91 percent) were born in the United States eight key stakeholders who represent organizations and 37 percent were married. Half in Black communities or subgroups of Black (50 percent) were not currently employed, communities (e.g., people living with HIV, sexual about one-quarter (23 percent) had a high and gender minority individuals, immigrant school degree or less, and about half communities) that have been most affected by (48 percent) reported less than $40,000 in annual household income. Most COVID-19. (Information about the committee (93 percent) resided in urban areas. members is listed in the acknowledgments at the end of this report.) Several stakeholders were selected because of their affiliation with organizations that weights such that results were adjusted to represent focus on people living with HIV or HIV-affected the demographic characteristics of the national individuals, because successful interventions and population of Black and African American adults policies from the HIV domain are applicable to (ages 18 and older). The methodology of the ALP COVID-19 and can be used as a starting point (including recruitment and response rates) is detailed for reducing COVID-19 inequities. The advisory in a prior report.16 committee met throughout the project to collaborate A limitation of our survey, and of other recent on study and protocol design and to review and national polls about COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, interpret data to make recommendations for regards the low proportion of especially vulnerable interventions and policies to reduce COVID-19 subgroups, including youth and young adults, sexual inequities. Preliminary recommendations are and gender minority individuals, and individuals not discussed later in this report. born in the United States. These groups exhibit even greater disparities in health outcomes than Black Americans as a whole. Thus, we did not have the American Life Panel Survey: statistical power to adequately evaluate differences in Key Findingsi vaccine hesitancy by such subgroups. Intention to Get
Load more

Recommended publications
  • TESTIMONY Peter J. Hotez MD, Phd President, Sabin Vaccine Institute
    TESTIMONY Peter J. Hotez MD, PhD President, Sabin Vaccine Institute “The Growing Threat of Cholera and Other Diseases in the Middle East” Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations Committee on Foreign Affairs United States House of Representatives March 2, 2016 Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. I am Peter Hotez, a biomedical scientist and pediatrician. I am the dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and also the Texas Children’s Hospital Endowed Chair in Tropical Pediatrics based at the Texas Medical Center in Houston. I am also past president of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, and currently serve as President of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, a non-profit which develops vaccines for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) through a product development partnership (PDP) model. This year I am also serving as US Science Envoy for the State Department and White House Office of Science and Technology Policy focusing on the urgency to develop vaccines for diseases that are emerging in the Middle East and North Africa due to the breakdowns in health systems in the ISIS occupied conflict zones in Syria, Iraq, Libya, and also Yemen. In my submitted written testimony I highlighted some of the successes in US global health policy, many of which can be attributed to the hard work of this Subcommittee working hand in glove with two presidential administrations since 2000. I cite evidence from the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) that brings together hundreds of scientists - I am also a part of this - who are measuring the impact of large scale global health programs.
    [Show full text]
  • COVID-19 Vaccine Weekly Update
    Ramona Whittington From: Roxana Cruz Sent: Tuesday, February 23, 2021 10:02 PM To: [email protected]; [email protected]; Myrta Garcia; Lindsay Lanagan; catherine.threatt; [email protected]; Medical Directors; Dental Directors; [email protected]; [email protected] Cc: ClinicalTeam; Cassandra Caravello; Jana Eubank; Daniel Diaz; Shelby Tracy; Nancy Gilliam; Ramona Whittington Subject: COVID-19 Vaccine Weekly Update: Week 11 (02/22/2021) Attachments: COVIDVaccineAllocation-Week11_final.pdf; americanlungassociation_vaccineeducationtoolkit.pdf; ACP_Addressing Mistrust About COVID-19 Vaccines.pdf; COVIDVaccineAllocation-Week10.pdf Dear Fellow CMOs and Vaccine Coordinators, We hope you are well and that your communities have recovered since last week’s winter storm. As I am sure you know by now, COVID vaccine distribution was put on hold last week 2/15‐ 2/19 (Week 10) due to the inclement weather. Per the weekly DSHS Call today, the following updates were provided: • 100K of 1st dose vaccine not shipped/distributed • 300K of 2nd dose vaccine not shipped/distributed • 1 million vaccine doses will be distributed this week, to include last and this week’s allotments. • 600k 1st doses will go to 563 providers in 230 counties • Mass vaccination clinics this week: Dallas, Tarrant, Harris Counties COVID‐19 Vaccine Weekly Update: Week 11 (02/22/2021) During week 11, there were 61 health center sites that received allocations that total 18,550 doses this week. Vaccine Allocations for Week 11 (02/22/2021) attached w/orange highlighted health center sites. Vaccine Allocations for Week 10 (02/15/2022) although previously sent out, we have attached this list again for your reference.
    [Show full text]
  • 1999 Annual Report
    1999 1999 BANBURY CENTER DIRECTOR'S REPORT The Banbury Center program continues to be as eclectic and exciting as ever. The year was filled with more meetings than ever before-a record 23 of them! Laboratory scientists used the Center for seven in-house meetings, and local community groups came here on eight occasions. Together with the five neurobiology courses, there was hardly a week when the Center was not in use. Not surprisingly, 1999 was also a record year for the number of visitors to Banbury Center: 667 par­ ticipants attended the 23 meetings. The demographics of our participants remain much the same: 25% of visitors to Banbury Center came from abroad, with the United Kingdom, Germany, and Canada lead­ ing the way. Of the American scientists, those from New York, Massachusetts, and California together accounted for more than 32% of the total. However, participants were drawn from no fewer than 42 states. This is the first year that we have been able to use the Meier House to accommodate participants, which proved to be wonderful. Now the number of participants that we can house on the Banbury estate matches the number we can have in the Conference Room-we do not have to transport peo­ ple between the Center and the main campus. Biological and biomedical research is becoming ever more interdisciplinary, and as it does so, it also becomes ever more difficult to categorize the topics of Banbury Center meetings. A meeting may deal with the same phenomenon in a range of organisms, or many different strategies may be used to study one phenomenon in a single species.
    [Show full text]
  • Coalition Communication: Healthcare
    Updated 1/15/2021 Coalition Communication: Healthcare COVID-19 UPDATES We need your help in sharing information about the COVID-19 vaccine. KEY STATS Vaccine.coronavirus.ohio.gov is an online resource for Ohioans to learn which providers received a COVID-19 vaccine allotment and how to contact them. Data as of 1/14/2021 Tentative dates to start vaccinating these Phase 1B populations are: • Jan. 19, 2021—Ohioans 80 years of age and older. PUBLIC HEALTH • Jan. 25, 2021—Ohioans 75 years of age and older; those with severe ADVISORY SYSTEM congenital or developmental disorders. • Feb. 1, 2021—Ohioans 70 years of age and older; employees of K-12 schools that wish to remain or return to in-person or hybrid learning. • Feb. 8, 2021—Ohioans 65 years of age and older. When a new age group begins, vaccinations may not be complete for the previous age group. It will take a number of weeks to distribute all of the vaccines given the limited doses available. If you are older than 65, please connect with an Area Agencies on Aging about questions or if you need transportation assistance. For more information, visit aginig.ohio.gov or call 1-866-243-5678. More information can be found at coronavirus.ohio.gov. 21-DAY TRENDS INDUSTRY INFORMATION Case Average 7,316 ■ The Ad Council and the COVID Collaborative have released a series of Death Average 73 videos, available in a YouTube playlist, feature an introduction from Dr. Anthony Fauci and include experts leading healthcare organizations. Hospitalization 293 Average ■ BlackDoctor.org’s Making It Plain: What Black America Needs to Know ICU Admission 29 About COVID-19 and Vaccines aired on January 7 and is now available on- Average demand on YouTube.
    [Show full text]
  • Sabin in the News Recent Scientific Articles Sabin Vaccine Institute
    Home About Us News & Resources Support Sabin Sabin in the News October 2011 The Sabin Report | Volume 13 Issue 2 New York Times article featuring Dr. Peter Hotez's new study on increased Sabin Vaccine Institute Establishes a Houston prevalence of NTDs in Europe. Office Drs. Ciro de Quadros and In September 2011, the Zulfiqar Bhutta highlight Sabin Vaccine Institute the dire need for a dengue established offices in vaccine in an opinion Houston, Texas in the piece for GlobalPost. heart of the city's Texas Medical Center (TMC). The In an interview on Voice of new facilities will house the America Dr. Peter Hotez Sabin Vaccine Institute & focused on NTDs in Sub- Texas Children's Hospital Saharan Africa. Center for Vaccine Development, which will be An article by Dr. Neeraj operated in partnership Mistry was featured in a with Baylor College of special supplemental Medicine Department of section of the USA today, Pediatrics. Sabin Dr. Hotez and team at Sabin's new Houston facility titled "Neglected Diseases President, Dr. Peter J. in Developing Nations". Hotez will direct the new center. In an op-ed for the Houston Chronicle, Dr. The new space includes offices and laboratories through which the Peter Hotez writes about Sabin Vaccine Institute Product Development Partnership (PDP) will the establishment of the advance and strengthen its collaborative work in the field of vaccine new School of Tropical biotechnology. The change is the result of a year-long plan to expand Medicine at Baylor College the scope and depth of the Sabin PDP's partnership and to enhance of Medicine.
    [Show full text]
  • UMBC Alumnae Racing to Develop Coronavirus Vaccine
    Newsletter SPRING 2020 To our UMBC/Meyerhoff families: We hope you and your families are all doing well during this strange and stressful time of Covid- 19. Although the world has changed quickly with so many things shut down and many of us sheltering at home, we hope this newsletter will represent a ray of sunshine during a dark and difficult time. Please enjoy this positive representation of our student and alumni community. MPA Board UMBC Alumnae Racing to Develop Coronavirus Vaccine Kizzmekia Corbett ’08, M16, biological sciences, says it feels like she’s “living in a constant adrenaline rush.” Maybe that’s because she and her team at the Vaccine Research Center at the National Insti- tute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases have been working around the clock for weeks. They’re racing to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus faster than it can race across the globe. “To be living in this moment where I have the opportunity to work on something that has imminent global importance…it’s just a surre- al moment for me,” Corbett says. Despite it feeling surreal, the advances Corbett and her team are making are very real, and they’re setting records. “We are making better progress than I could have ever hoped for,” she says. After three months of studies in test tubes and in animals, the vaccine her team developed is about to enter a phase I clinical trial, a crucial hur- dle on the way to FDA approval. Read the complete article about Kizzmekia and her team’s efforts to develop a Covid-19 vaccine in the latest UMBC magazine at https:// Kizzmekia Corbett, NIH magazine.umbc.edu/umbc-alumnae-racing-to-develop- coronavirus-vaccine/.
    [Show full text]
  • Covid-19 Vaccination Disparities and Hesitancy
    COVID-19 VACCINATION DISPARITIES AND HESITANCY + Stanley Thompson, MD, MHA, FACEP + David Hogan, DO, MPH, FACEP + Khadeja Haye, MD, MBA, FACOG teamhealth.com COVID-19 VACCINATION DISPARITIES AND HESITANCY Numerous studies have shown that the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected people of color in the United States. Black, Hispanic or Latinx, and Native American people are approximately four times more likely to be hospitalized and nearly three times more likely to die of COVID-19 than their majority counterparts. There are numerous reasons for these disparities, many of which are the same as other findings of disparity in other disease states (i.e. the social determinants of medicine). We know that vaccination is the key to preventing COVID-19 in all people. Vaccinated People – What We Know America’s vaccination effort is among the best in the world. However, where race is known, people of color are getting vaccinated at lower rates than white Americans. The Kaiser Family Foundation analysis reveals a significant disparity where race is known (about 54%) for those who have received at least one dose of vaccine as of April 13, 2021. It shows the racial/ethnic breakdown as White Americans 65%, Hispanic or Latinx 11%, Black 9%, Asian 5%, Indigenous American or Alaskan 2%, Native Hawaiian <1%, and Multiple race 9%. A YouGov poll further supports and illustrates this point as well. Among White adults polled, 26% have gotten the vaccine, compared to 17% of Black adults and 11% of Hispanic adults. Access to Vaccines A big part of what is occurring is disparate access to vaccination.
    [Show full text]
  • The Neglected Tropical Diseases: the Ancient Afflictions of Stigma And
    3 The Neglected Tropical Diseases: The Ancient Affl ictions of Stigma and Poverty and the Prospects for their Control and Elimination Peter Hotez, Eric Ottesen, Alan Fenwick, and David Molyneux 1. Introduction The World Health Organizations and other international health agencies iden- tify a select group of 13 tropical infections as the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). These diseases, which include leprosy, kala-azar, river blindness, guinea worm, schistosomiasis, hookworm and lymphatic fi lariasis, strike the world’s poorest people living in remote and rural areas of low-income countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Americas. They infl ict suffering by causing life-long disabili- ties, disfi gurement, reduced economic productivity, and social stigma (WHO, 2003). Unlike better-known global health threats such as HIV-AIDS, malaria, and tuber- culosis, the NTDs do not receive enough international attention. Instead, they are neglected diseases among forgotten people found only in the setting of geographic isolation and intense poverty (Molyneux, 2004). Impoverished and marginalized populations with the NTDs represent the lowest priority markets for U.S. and European pharmaceutical manufacturers. The NTDs do not occur in the industrialized world or even among the substantial wealthy and middle-classes in developing countries. They are not a signifi cant health risk for foreign travelers or the military. This is in contrast to the more substantial com- mercial markets for HIV-AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis (“the big three”). The recent creation of massive funding schemes for the big three, such as The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, and the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • TRANSCRIPT Peter Hotez, M.D., Ph.D. Dean, National School Of
    TRANSCRIPT Peter Hotez, M.D., Ph.D. Dean, National School of Tropical Medicine Professor, Departments of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology & Microbiology Baylor College of Medicine Endowed Chair of Tropical Pediatrics, Texas Children’s Hospital President, Sabin Vaccine Institute Helene D. Gayle, M.D., M.P.H. President and CEO CARE USA William Foege, M.D., M.P.H. Senior Fellow, Health Policy, Carter Center Senior Fellow, Global Health Program, Gates Foundation Emeritus Presidential Distinguished Professor of International Health Emory University Meeting 20, Session 2 February 5, 2015 Washington, DC SESSION 2: PUBLIC HEALTH PERSPECTIVES ON THE CURRENT EBOLA EPIDEMIC IN WEST AFRICA DR. WAGNER: All right, Commissioners. Let’s—since our guests are ready to go, let’s the rest of us also do that. Delighted to welcome our next panel, and we’ll use the same process as before. One by one, we will introduce you and ask you to speak, and then we’ll introduce and move each successive—to each successive panelist and hold all questions until all three of you have had a chance to speak. This session, we’ve asked our panelists to help us advise us on the public health perspectives on the current Ebola epidemic in Western Africa. And we will begin with Dr. Peter Hotez. Dr. Hotez is Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine and Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology and Microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine. He also heads the new section of pediatric tropical medicine and is Texas Children’s Hospital Endowed Chair of Tropical Pediatrics. He’s the President of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, is an internationally recognized physician-scientist in neglected tropical diseases and vaccine development.
    [Show full text]
  • Dân Chúa on Line Số 67 - Tháng 1.2021 Nguyệt San Công Giáo Trong Số Này Katholische on Line
    Dân Chúa on line số 67 - tháng 1.2021 Nguyệt San Công Giáo Trong Số Này Katholische on line . Lá Thư Chủ Nhiệm. Monthly Catholic on line . Lịch Phụng vụ tháng Một 2021. Email: [email protected] . Năm Mục vụ Giới Trẻ 2021. Herausgeber: Franz Xaver e.V. Ghen và ghét. Dân Chúa Katholische on line . Khi Nào Trẻ Em DÂN CHÚA ÂU CHÂU Có Thể Chích Ngừa Covid-19? Chủ nhiệm: Lm Stêphanô Bùi Thượng Lưu . Những Ai Đã Góp Phần Sáng Chế Phụ tá chủ nhiệm: Lm Paul Đào Văn Thạnh Thuốc Ngừa Covid-19?. Thư ký : Sr. Anne Marie Nguyễn Thị Hường . Khát vọng Hòa Bình. Chủ biên thần học : Lm Vincent Lê Phú Hải omi . Đánh giá đời sống thiêng liêng Chủ biên văn hóa: Sh Bonaventure Trần Công Lao qua 4 điểm cốt yếu. hình bìa : Trần Anh Dũng omi. Một năm đặc biệt để làm chứng DÂN CHÚA ÚC CHÂU cho tình yêu gia đình. 715 Sydney Rd. Brunswick, Victoria 3056 . Loài Người Đã Được Tạo Dựng Tel.: (03) 9386-7455 / Fax: (03) 9386-3326 Hay Do Tiến Hóa?. Chủ nhiệm: Lm. Nguyễn Hữu Quảng SDB . Nguồn gốc vũ trụ theo Thánh Kinh Chủ bút: Rev. James Võ Thanh Xuân và khoa học. Phụ tá Chủ bút: Trần Vũ Trụ . Thiên Chúa Sáng Tạo Vũ Trụ Tổng Thư Ký: Sr. Nguyễn Thùy Linh, FMA Và Con Người. Ban kỹ thuật: Hiệp Hải . Trái đất có thể khóc không?. NHÀ KHẢO CỔ NGƯỜI ANH TIN RẰNG Mục đích & Tôn CHỈ Dân Chúa ÔNG ĐÃ TÌM THẤY NGÔI NHÀ Mục đích: Góp phần vào việc phục vụ tập thể Công THỜI THƠ ẤU CỦA CHÚA GIÊSU Giáo Việt Nam và đồng bào để cùng thăng tiến toàn .
    [Show full text]
  • Newsletter Spring 2021
    A Year Like No Other - the 2020 UGSP Newsletter Written and Assembled by UGSP Newsletter Committee Charlesice Grable-Hawkins (Chair), Nyree Riley, Makheni Jean-Pierre “Each time new experiments are observed to agree with the predictions the theory survives, and our confidence in it is increased; but if ever a new observation is found to disagree, we have to abandon or modify the theory.” - Dr. Stephen Hawking From the global push to develop a vaccine, institutional restructuring, and changing schedules to the massive transition into a virtual environment, the year of 2020 was nothing like anyone could have planned for. This near universal experience has led many to reassess the working model of their everyday lives, to reflect and experiment with how they approach their wellness and their connections with others, and to think critically about moving forward. The Undergraduate Scholarship Program, under the direction of Dr. Darryl Murray, continues to support students who are from disadvantaged backgrounds and who are passionate about advancing biomedical, behavioral, and social science fields for the improvement of human health. This newsletter will highlight some of the ways in which current UGSP scholars have adapted to the challenges of 2020, provide insight into the perspective of both a mentee and mentor, as well as how UGSP alumni Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett has contributed to the development of the Moderna SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. Table of Contents Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett – a Powerful Voice in Science During COVID-19 ....................................................... 2 Current Scholars ............................................................................................................................................ 3 UGSP Alum and Mentor Reflections ............................................................................................................. 4 Dr. Darryl Murray’s go-to wellness activity over this past year has been walking his family’s new rescue dog Pepper! Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • March 11, 2021
    Sector Email 3.11.2021 Subject header: Updates on COVID-19 from Public Health - Seattle & King County (PHSKC) Schools Dear school partners, March is Women’s History Month and this year we are grateful to some of the women who are making history by changing the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Have you learned about Kizzmekia Corbett, an African American Immunologist who co-led the development of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. This month, we celebrate Dr. Corbett and thousands of her colleagues in healthcare, research and public health as women who are making history. Reminder: please review the King County Schools COVID-19 Response Toolkit, related resources, and training videos. ---------- This week’s Public Health—Seattle & King County (PHSKC) Schools and Child Care Task Force sector email includes the following topics: 1. Key indicators of COVID-19 activity 2. Vaccine Updates a. Educators, school staff and child care workers now eligible for COVID-19 vaccine b. How school and child care staff can access vaccines c. Getting Vaccinated Resources d. Signs and Symptoms Following Vaccination 3. COVID Community Vaccination Event Planning Workbooks 4. Special Enrollment for Washington Health Care 5. Updated Mask Posters 6. Events a. Public Health’s upcoming trainings and community discussions on COVID-19 b. COVID-19 Vaccination Webinar and Q&A c. COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Webinar and Q&A d. Oromo Session – COVID-19 and Vaccinations e. Somali Session – COVID-19 and Vaccinations 7. Updated Guidance from the CDC – When You’ve Been Fully Vaccinated 8. School and District Town Hall Meetings 9.
    [Show full text]