Both UnityPoint Health - Trinity and Genesis Health System are partnering with local organizations to openly inform Black and Brown community about the COVID-19 vaccine's safety and effectiveness.
A study done by the Kaiser Family Foundation reports that 17 percent of Black Americans and 37 percent of Latinx Americans say they would definitely get the vaccine.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Center, the African-American Leadership Society at the United Way of the Quad Cities and the NAACP branches in Rock Island and Davenport were involved in the virtual event 'COVID-19 Vaccine: Is it safe? Effective? Is it for me?' on Jan. 28, 2021.
The panel of healthcare officials joined the community online to answer questions about the COVID-19 vaccine and how it works.
"You're not receiving COVID-19 from the vaccine," Dr. Wanakee Carr of Genesis Health System says. "Your body is creating a very small of that protein so your body knows what to recognize."
Both Quad Cities hospital systems and the Scott County Health Department taking this opportunity to address communities of color and the specific risks they face.
"Socioeconomic factors (and) systemic racism puts (Back and Brown communities) at higher risk of being exposed and at higher risk of disease, as well as potential access to care of being treated early," Dr. Carr says.
Daniel Joiner with UnityPoint Health -- Trinity helped coordinate the event and he says it's important to have diverse representation talk about the vaccine.
"We need to show people that are from those communities that are experts in the field, practice medicine and spend time researching information to provide accurate information to the communities most adversely affected by it," Joiner says.
He says open and transparent virtual events aren't the only way to get the message out.
"We can develop fact sheets that speak to certain demographic groups in our area, then engage with community partners on a regular basis," Joiner says. "Talking to community orgs like the African-American Leadership society, Martin Luther King Jr. Center, NAACP here locally and local Hispanic partners. We can talk w them about questions coming up... I think that's a natural way to continue with the vaccine rollout."
Joiner, along with the healthcare panelists, say it's important that everyone make an informed, personal decision about getting vaccinated once they are informed about it.
Joiner says more virtual events can be expected in the future to encourage more conversation and education.