PAGE 8 April Issue 2021
Toniann Richard, CEO of Health Care Collaborative (HCC) of
Missouri, joined a panel of colleagues to discuss the
reasons for vaccine hesitancy across various communities
and how providers can effectively communicate
information. The Impact of Vaccination on Lives and
Livelihoods: A People's Dialogue was hosted by American
Public Square and featured founder Allan Katz, fact checker
Chris Le Beau, deputy opinion editor Batya Ungar-Sargon,
and moderator Erika Blacksher. Alongside Richard, the
panel also featured Andrea Perdomo-Morales and D.
Rashaan Gilmore. Perdomo-Morales, a native of Guatemala,
works in Wyandotte County, Kansas to improve disparities
in Latinx communities. Gilmore is the founder and president
and CEO of Blackout, a grassroots organization working to
mobilize the Black LGBTQ+ community in Kansas City,
Missouri.
Vaccine Skepticism Across Communities
Reasons for vaccine skepticism and hesitancy vary
depending on a variety of factors. "It's the politics of it. It's
unavoidable," Gilmore said, pointing to the long history of
medical racism including the Tuskegee experiments as
reason for distrust among Black Americans. Perdomo-
Morales added that the process of vaccine registrations and
being asked to provide personal information incites fear in
the Latinx community that it may be used by Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or similar entities.
Throughout the pandemic, she has helped host testing and
vaccine events to provide an opportunity to explain and
answer questions so people can understand how their
information will be used.
People in rural communities prefer individual and
community choice; the challenge arises when
something becomes mandatory. According to
Richard, rural areas faced significant
pushback on mask mandates and
providers worry mandatory vaccine
messaging could drive people away.
She, HCC, and its Live Well Community
Health Centers aim to provide
information, answer questions, and
allow people to make the decision to
get vaccinated at their own pace.
"Because we are a trusted source,
that's an easier conversation," she
said. In Gilmore's experience, the
Biden administration helped to
restore some trust that will hopefully
continue to grow.
By
Elena
Cleaves,
Staff
Writer
