• Webb HooperMonicaM0000-0002-5520-6191Office of the Director, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA. monica.hooper@nih.gov., Anna María Nápoles, and Eliseo J Pérez-Stable.
• Office of the Director, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA. monica.hooper@nih.gov.
• J Gen Intern Med. 2021 Jul 1; 36 (7): 2130-2133.

AbstractRacial/ethnic minority communities are experiencing an undue burden from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and the availability of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized vaccines is critical for improving population health. National surveys assessing vaccination willingness and reports of vaccination administration by race/ethnicity indicate at least two areas that warrant attention: elevated vaccine hesitancy among African American and Latino adults, and the need to ensure equitable access to vaccination. COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is not uniform within racial/ethnic minority populations; yet, given the disproportionate impact, understandable distrust, and widespread misinformation, there is an imperative to overcome challenges associated with vaccination willingness and uptake, as well as implementation and access. This Perspective discusses the complexity of drivers for each of these areas, which include individual, community, and structural factors. It also highlights two initiatives at the National Institutes of Health. One is focused on addressing misinformation and distrust through academic-community partnerships, and the other on community-engaged behavioral interventions to address the population-specific reasons for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, support informed decision-making, and promote equitable access among populations with health disparities. For the foreseeable future, proactive and persistent efforts around COVID-19 mitigation strategies, including vaccination, will remain of paramount importance for health equity.© 2021. This is a U.S. government work and not under copyright protection in the U.S.; foreign copyright protection may apply.

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