The series debuts on YouTube today with a launch video featuring W. Kamau Bell in an open, honest conversation with Black health care workers that gets to the heart of Black people’s questions and concerns. YouTube is providing significant support for the campaign, including high visibility promotion across its platform.
Despite having one of the highest COVID-19 mortality rates in the U.S., Black Americans are among those least likely to get the vaccines. “As Black health academicians, researchers, and clinicians, we understand our empathy-based responsibility to provide our community with the resources and guidance on surviving this pandemic,” said Reed Tuckson, MD, Founding Member, Black Coalition Against COVID. “As such, we appreciate this partnership with KFF to produce one of the largest of its kind campaigns to creatively provide trustworthy information that will save Black lives.”
“We’re seeing more Black adults want to get vaccinated when their time comes, but still a sizeable percent say they are waiting to see others vaccinated first. Among this group, many share common concerns that are directly addressed in this campaign,” said Drew Altman, PhD, President & CEO, KFF, which produced the campaign as the first initiative in its Greater Than COVID public information response to the pandemic.
“The Biden Administration has made a commitment to prioritize equity, in policy and practice. As we work toward eliminating the severe and pervasive health and social inequities that have been exacerbated by this pandemic, we know we can’t do it alone. Honest and transparent communication about the vaccine is a critical piece of this work. That’s why, I’m proud to listen to and support THE CONVERSATION. This work truly exemplifies the power partnerships have to uplift the voices of Black health care workers and ensure that those most impacted by this pandemic have the resources they need to respond to it,” said Marcella Nunez-Smith, MD, MHS, Chair, COVID–19 Health Equity Task Force and Associate Dean, Yale University.
“There are two major barriers to Black folks receiving the COVID-19 vaccines. Neither one of them are vaccine hesitancy. The barriers are accessible facts about the COVID-19 vaccines and convenient access to receive a vaccine,” said Rhea Boyd, MD, MPH, a pediatrician and public health advocate, who co-developed the project with KFF and the Black Coalition Against COVID. “This is a comprehensive effort on behalf of Black health care workers across the country, to ensure every Black person in the United States has the credible information they need to make this critical choice. It is time for us to have a conversation, between us and about us.”
“Effective communication is as critical to the outcome of the vaccine program as manufacturing the shots. YouTube is where people are, and it's where they are looking for information and support to guide them in health decisions. By partnering with KFF and the Black Coalition Against COVID, we are able to bridge the information gap between communities most at-risk and trusted health experts who are representative of those communities and make clinical topics like COVID vaccine development accessible and relatable in a way that only video can. Together, I believe we can reimagine how health information has traditionally been shared and make public health truly public," explained Garth Graham, MD, Director and Global Head of Healthcare and Public Health at YouTube.
For more about THE CONVERSATION: Between Us, About Us., go to:
www.BetweenUsAboutUs.org
www.YouTube.com/GreaterThanCOVID
The California Health Care Foundation, Commonwealth Fund and Sierra Health Foundation have generously contributed funding to the production and are supporting distribution of the series.
Through Greater Than COVID, KFF will also be working with partners to address information needs in other disproportionately affected communities.
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Black Coalition Against COVID is a Washington, D.C.-based community initiative which seeks to provide trustworthy, science-based, information curated on behalf of and for the Black community about COVID-19 and the vaccine development process in an effort to help save Black lives at the national and local levels.
KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) is a national nonprofit leader in health policy analysis and polling, journalism and social impact media. No affiliation with Kaiser Permanente. Visit the COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor Dashboard, Racial Equity and Health topic page, and KHN.
Greater Than COVID is a public information initiative from KFF to help individuals take charge of their health during the evolving COVID-19 public health crisis. Tailored media messages and community tools address information needs about the vaccines.
