Experiences of American Health Departments, Health Systems, and Community Organizations in COVID-19 Vaccine Provision for Refugee, Immigrant, and Migrant Communities.

Effective provision of COVID-19 vaccines could mitigate the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic experienced by many immigrant communities. To describe organizational experiences in using COVID-19 vaccination programs, qualitative interviews were conducted from September 2020 to April 2021 with representatives from public health, health system, and community organizations responding to the COVID-19 pandemic among immigrant communities across the United States. Interviews followed a semistructured interview guide and were audio recorded, transcribed, and coded. A latent thematic analysis was facilitated by Dedoose software. Interviews representative of 18 public health departments, 20 healthcare systems, and 18 community organizations were included in the analysis. Five identified themes referenced the importance of 1) appreciating community and individual heterogeneity in health priorities and attitudes; 2) addressing vaccine fears with trustworthy messages; 3) ensuring equitable access to vaccine opportunities; 4) making substantive investments in community partnerships and outreach; and 5) adapting to meet new needs. It is essential that vaccine efforts consider community heterogeneity, communicate in a trustworthy and culturally and linguistically appropriate manner, strive for equitable provision of care, build partnerships, and learn from prior experiences.

Increasing COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage for Newcomer Communities: The Importance of Disaggregation by Language.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected refugee, immigrant, and migrant populations. Vaccines are essential for decreasing transmission and severity of COVID-19 infection. Understanding differences in vaccination coverage based on preferred language is crucial for focusing efforts to decrease COVID-19-related disparities. Four sites in the Minnesota Center of Excellence in Newcomer Health collaboratively evaluated completion of primary COVID-19 vaccination series on or before December 31, 2021, for patients who were 12 years or older on June 30, 2021, by preferred language. The non-English/non-Spanish speaking population included 46,714 patients who spoke 174 languages; COVID-19 vaccination coverage by language ranged from 26.2% to 88.0%. Stratifying vaccination coverage by specific language is a critical first step toward dismantling disparities and shaping interventions that best meet the needs of communities served.