Subject(s)
Black People/psychology , COVID-19 Vaccines , COVID-19/prevention & control , Culturally Competent Care/ethnology , Healthcare Disparities/ethnology , Vaccination Refusal/ethnology , Vaccination , Black People/statistics & numerical data , COVID-19/ethnology , COVID-19/psychology , Canada , Culturally Competent Care/methods , Empowerment , Health Promotion/methods , Health Services Accessibility , Health Status Disparities , Humans , Patient Participation/methods , Patient Participation/psychology , Professional-Patient Relations , Racism/psychology , Trust/psychology , Vaccination/methods , Vaccination/psychology , Vaccination/trends , Vaccination Refusal/psychology , Vaccination Refusal/trendsABSTRACT
Eissa et al argue that clinicians should not only communicate information about the vaccine itself, but also support patients in navigating a complex system. Conflicting messaging about SARS-CoV-2 variants, vaccine safety, adverse events, priority groups and vaccination sites has been detrimental to building trust in vaccines. Confidence in the vaccines will not improve if Black communities are told that they are at high risk and should continue to socially distance, while they are also excluded from vaccine priority lists or are not provided greater access to vaccines. Providers should offer accurate, current information to high-risk Black patients about how to access vaccines, given the difficulties in keeping up with changing preregistration criteria at different sites. Black-led health care partnerships play a pivotal role in bridging this gap.