How to Support COVID-19 Vaccination Decisions in Latinx Communities
Understand, acknowledge, and address community members’ needs, concerns, and what’s important to them.
Address Evolving Information Needs
Coordinate with trusted and community-based, Spanish-speaking medical and public health professionals to provide information in English and Spanish on:
- Access to the vaccine.
- Vaccine safety, effectiveness, and how long adults and children may be protected against COVID-19.
- Addressing vaccine misinformation.
Acknowledge Values and Lived Experience
Cultural values – Latinx community members tend to feel responsible to others in their community.
Lived experience – Latinx community members tend to have strong, trusted relationships with local public health and doctors.
Other considerations – Build upon the community value of responsibility for others. Share information about the impact of following public health protocols and vaccination. Find forums for the Latinx population to meaningfully share their experiences with COVID-19 vaccination.
Support the Process of Decision-Making
- Ensure all materials and outreach are available in Spanish.
- Share real accounts from community members who have been vaccinated and can talk about their experiences with side effects.
- Share information about the issues of highest concern, what is known or not known at this time, and when we might know more.
- Host forums where community members can interact with Spanish-speaking local doctors and public health professionals.
- Acknowledge that the Latinx community is receiving misinformation about COVID-19 disease and vaccines. Provide training on how to fact-check information and provide sources of good information.
Identify and Address Obstacles
- Identify free or low-cost vaccine locations in your community.
- Remind them that the vaccine is free in most vaccination locations and explain where and how to make an appointment for children and adults where Spanish-speaking staff are available.
- Suggest vaccination sites that do not ask for a lot of personal information and that have weekend and evening hours.
- Have vaccines for children and adults available at the same location.
This project is focused on how public health and other stakeholders can best understand and support decision-making as individuals consider if, and under what conditions, COVID-19 vaccination is right for them. Participants in these conversations were African Americans, Latinx, and Native Americans recruited from local communities or panel survey respondents from four U.S. regions (Northeast, Midwest, South, West) who had indicated that they were undecided about their intent to vaccinate now or in the future against COVID-19. This project is funded by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and is a collaboration of AIM, NACCHO, Johns Hopkins, and other partners.
