‘CommuniVax is a national alliance of social scientists, public health experts, and community advocates who seek lasting solutions to a serious problem: in the United States, historically underserved Black, Indigenous, and Latino populations have endured negative health and economic impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic at tragic and disproportionate rates. While these communities could benefit greatly from safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines, longstanding biases and barriers hinder their access to and acceptance of vaccination.
‘The coalition is strengthening national and local COVID-19 vaccination efforts in the United States by putting communities of color at the center of those endeavors. The coalition is listening to Black, Indigenous, and Latino/Latinx individuals on how best to promote awareness of, access to, and acceptability of COVID-19 vaccines in their respective communities; and developing longstanding, local governance systems that enable underserved groups to exercise collective agency over their own health and wellness, during this pandemic and going forward. Funding for CommuniVax is provided by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
‘CommuniVax relies on efforts from 3 groups: local teams, a central working group, and national stakeholders.
- Local Teams are composed of resident researchers, grassroots leaders, and public health implementers. They will engage local communities of color to identify improvements needed to vaccine delivery and communication strategies in their communities.
- The Central Working Group includes experts in public health, public policy, medical science, anthropology, and public involvement. With input from diverse stakeholders, the working group will coordinate the local research processes and ensure the implementation of findings nationwide
- National Stakeholders represent groups with political, technical, cultural, and social justice perspectives on vaccine delivery and uptake. These associations will amplify information generated from local teams within their networks and provide feedback to the central working group.
Read here (John Hopkins Center for Health Security, Feb 2021)
