ISSUE: On December 11, the USFDA issued emergency use authorization for the first COVID-19 vaccine. While the vaccine is now launched and the first shots already given, not everyone will get access at once. Moreover, as access and availability open up, it will be increasingly critical to overcome vaccine hesitancy overall, especially among high-risk populations.

Historically there has been high vaccine hesitancy among minority populations. In a Pew Research Center survey conducted in 2020, only 54% of Black adults said they definitely or probably would get a COVID-19 vaccine compared with 74% of White and Hispanic adults.

In addition, an underrepresentation of minority groups in COVID-19 clinical trials presents a challenge, when the disease’s disproportionate impact on minority communities is widely documented.

OVERVIEW: This panel will explore the link between COVID-19 vaccine education and the broader vaccine hesitancy and health equity goals. Susan Garfield will be monitoring the panel and will give an overview of vaccine hesitancy and acknowledge the reasons for historical mistrust among racial minorities. The panel will discuss the impact of hesitancy on achieving herd immunity and the importance of the influence of cultural awareness, education, transparency and trusted voices in the community.

How can we enable an integrated vaccine advocacy approach to patient engagement, with a focus on at-risk, minority and vulnerable populations? How can we quantify the challenge and use demand planning tools to pinpoint where to focus? Five years into the vaccination experiment – we will discuss the outcomes of various public and private programs to overcome vaccine hesitancy- bringing proprietary data from state and national surveys of sentiment data to inform the conversation.

Lastly, the panel will debate and highlight the issues related to return to work and explore the employers role in the health and wellness of their employees.