Latinos make up just over 18% percent of the population.
A recent study suggests that 32% percent of Latinos could conceivably reject a COVID vaccine. Add the 40% to 50% rejection rates among other population subgroups and herd immunity becomes mathematically impossible.
Mass vaccination alone won’t achieve herd immunity, as the effect of COVID vaccines on preventing virus transmission remains unclear. Ongoing preventive measures will likely still be needed to stop community spread.
Continuing resistance to facts and science creates the need for credible information dissemination and trust-building related to vaccines becomes more important.
A study led by Dr. Giselle Corbie-Smith at the University of North Carolina identified distrust of the medical community as a prominent barrier to African American participation in clinical research. Another of Corbie-Smith’s peer-reviewed studies found that distrust in medical research is significantly higher among African Americans than whites.
The current messaging of vaccine importance may be falling on deaf ears to those in a community who wonder why their health is so important now, at the vaccine stage.
Many feel Black health was not a priority during the pandemic’s first wave when race disparities in COVID emerged, so why is it of concern now.
It remains important to spread the word and encourage receipt of the vaccine by all races to help the pandemic reach its’ end.