Given the low COVID-19 vaccination rates and the unique challenges rural areas face in overcoming vaccine hesitancy, the COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project convened a conversation around building vaccine confidence in Southwest Missouri. Bringing together unique perspectives from the business community, local health officials and Missouri Senator Roy Blunt, the event addressed common questions about COVID-19 vaccines, the importance of vaccination in rebuilding the local economy and efforts underway to encourage vaccinations in the state.

Confirmed participants included:

• U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO)
• Katie Towns, Director, Springfield-Greene County Health Department
• Dan Mehan, President and CEO of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce

The COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project facilitated a Spanish-Language Fireside Chat, featured on Facebook, on September 9th at 2:00 pm CT. This virtual event focused on building COVID-19 vaccine confidence and how health experts are working to increase vaccine uptake in Houston’s Latinx communities and beyond.

Confirmed participants included:

• Venus Ginés, President and Founder of Día de la Mujer Latina
• Dr. Zaida Lopez, epidemiologist with the Houston Health Department’s Bureau of Epidemiology

The discussion can be viewed here.

With children 12 years of age and older eligible for COVID-19 vaccination and families gearing up for the start of a new school season, the COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project convened a webinar intended to answer commons questions about the vaccine and provide parents with the information they need to include vaccination as part of their school-ready checklist on August 3^rd.

Confirmed participants included:

• Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Chief Medical Advisor on COVID-19 to the president
• Dr. Peter Marks, director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) at the Food and Drug Administration
• Dr. Lee Savio Beers, President of the American Academy of Pediatrics, professor of Pediatrics and the medical director for Community Health and Advocacy at Children’s National Hospital
• Linda Mendonca, DNP, RN, PHNA-BC, NCSN, FNASN, President of the National Association of School Nurses
• Karyne Jones, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Caucus and Center on Black Aging, Inc. and co-convener of the COVID-19 Vaccine Education Equity Project
• Sue Peschin, President and CEO of Alliance for Aging Research and co-convener of the COVID-19 Vaccine Education Equity Project

With summer camps, sports leagues and the rollout of vaccines for adolescents underway across the country, the COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project convened a discussion around building confidence in and ways to increase access to vaccines for children age 12-17 on July 1st.

Speakers included:

• Laura Blaisdell, MD/MPH, FAAP, Medical Director at Camp Winnebago, Vice President of Maine AAP and founding member of Maine Families for Vaccines
• Dr. Amanda Cohn, Chief Medical Officer of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; Executive Secretary of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices; CAPT, US Public Health Service
• Jessica Gamaché, Director, United Methodist Camp and Retreat Ministries Association

Sue Peschin, President and CEO of Alliance for Aging Research and co-convener of the COVID-19 Vaccine Education Equity Project moderated the discussion.

Watch the COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project’s June 9th town hall discussion hosted in conjunction with WBRC FOX6 News in Birmingham, Alabama. This conversation brought together a panel of healthcare, faith-based and community leaders for a dialogue on the infrastructure, geographic and socioeconomic barriers impacting rural and underserved communities’ ability to equitably access COVID-19 vaccinations, as well as the importance of addressing vaccine hesitancy in communities throughout the state and country.

The one-hour town hall was moderated by WBRC FOX6 news anchor Morgan Hightower and began with a video message from Alabama U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville , encouraging all Alabamians to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The subsequent discussion included panelists:

• Karyne Jones, COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project convener and President & CEO of the National Caucus and Center on Black Aging
• Dr. Derrick Jordan, Pastor at Hope Everlasting Ministry
• Michael Saag, M.D., Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases Associate Dean, Global Health, UAB Medicine
• John Waits, M.D., FAAFP, CEO, CFMR Program Director, FM & OB Faculty, Physician at Cahaba Medical Care

Watch the “Exploring the COVID-19 Vaccine Development and Approval Process for Adolescents” webinar featuring a panel of pediatric and family medicine experts discussing how the clinical trials were done for 12-15 year-olds, the regulatory approval process that was followed and addressing parents’ top questions to help build confidence in the vaccine for adolescents. Panelists included:

• Dr. Peter Marks: director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) at the Food and Drug Administration
• Dr. Ada D. Stewart, MD, FAAFP, a family physician with Cooperative Health in Columbia, South Carolina, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians
• Patsy Stinchfield, MS, CPNP, past voting member and current liaison to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) representing the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP), President-Elect of National Foundation for Infectious Diseases

Beth Battaglino, RN-C, CEO of HealthyWomen and a co-convener of the project moderated this discussion.

Watch the COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project’s April 29^th Vaccine Townhall Special with FOX Soul, a live and interactive streaming channel dedicated to reaching the African American community. The townhall style event was moderated by Dr. Sean McMillan and Anton Peeples and focused on increasing awareness and understanding about the safety and effectiveness of authorized COVID-19 vaccines.

The event helped address questions that exist within the African American community about the vaccines and the COVID-19 pandemic, and informed the audience about the benefits of vaccination. The following panelists participated:

• Karyne Jones, COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project convener and President & CEO of the National Caucus and Center on Black Aging, Inc.
• Rev. Dr. Derrick DeWitt, Director of Maryland Baptist Aged Home and Senior Pastor of First Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Baltimore, MD
• Dr. Freda Lewis-Hall, leader in life sciences
• Dr. Takeisha Davis, CEO of New Orleans East Hospital

Featured speakers included:

• Dr. Radhika Gharpure, epidemiologist on CDC’s Vaccine Task Force and lead author, “Early COVID-19 First-Dose Vaccination Coverage Among Residents and Staff Members of Skilled Nursing Facilities Participating in the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program”
• Dr. Stephen Perez, nurse epidemiologist and clinical lead for CDC’s Vaccinate with Confidence team
• Dr. David Gifford, American Health Care Association’s Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President of Quality, Research, and Regulatory
• Rev. Dr. Derrick DeWitt, director, Maryland Baptist Aged Home and senior pastor, First Mount Calvary Baptist Church, Baltimore, Md.
• Dr. Krista Capehart, Clinical Associate Professor & Director of Wigner Institute for Advanced Pharmacy Practice, Education & Research at West Virginia University

Additional resources:

• Resources on how to talk to family and friends about COVID-19 vaccines:
  • from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • from the COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s long-term care toolkit
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s information on ways long-term care facilities can continue to receive COVID-19 vaccines

Listen to the COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project’s February 2021 webinar, “Building Vaccine Confidence in Diverse Communities,” in partnership with WUSA9 – Washington, DC’s CBS affiliate. Moderated by WUSA9’s Lesli Foster, panelists included: Anita Jenkins, CEO, Howard University Hospital; Dr. Uzma Syed, infectious disease specialist and project partner representative on behalf of the American Muslim Health Professionals; Dr. Tinisha Cheatham, Physician in Chief, Baltimore, Kaiser Permanente; and Dr. Reed Tuckson, founding member, Black Coalition Against COVID-19. For more resources from the townhall discussion, click here.