COVID-19 and Vaccine Confidence in Black Communities: Status Report and Education and Mobilization Programs

How can we explain that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have more devastating consequences for racialized communities when they are the least willing to take preventive measures such as vaccination? To date, this question has no answers because there is a lack of reliable information to inform authorities and public health policy makers in Canada. Our project aims to better understand the factors that explain the distrust of Black communities in Canada towards COVID-19 vaccination. Moreover, it will allow us to understand how these factors evolve and change over time, depending on the evolution of the pandemic and the associated health measures as well as the vaccination promotion campaigns at the heart of this project. Participants in this research will be recruited in Ontario and Quebec, both among the vaccinated and the unvaccinated; these two provinces account for nearly 80% of Black communities in Canada. They will provide information on their profile and whether or not they will be vaccinated, their knowledge, beliefs and attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines, their experiences of discrimination and their mental health. Focus groups will also be held with vaccinated and unvaccinated participants, Black community leaders and primary health care and public health professionals. The information collected will be analyzed and the results will be used to set up education campaigns on the vaccine. These campaigns will help reduce erroneous or false beliefs about vaccines and increase confidence in the benefits of getting vaccinated against COVID-19. The programs and tools that will have proven themselves through this project can be used in the future in other vaccination contexts with Black communities in Canada and elsewhere in the West.