How public health partnerships are encouraging COVID-19 vaccination in Mississippi, Michigan, Indiana and South Carolina

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Debra Furr-Holden, Michigan State University; Brooke W. McKeever, University of South Carolina; David R. Buys, Mississippi State University, and Omolola Adeoye-Olatunde, Purdue University (THE CONVERSATION) About 18 months into the coronavirus pandemic, roughly 61% of all Americans have gotten at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. In some states, however, the share of vaccinated people is as low as 43.6%. There are many counties where numbers are even lower than that, leaving them especially vulnerable to surges in coronavirus infections, hospitalizations and deaths. Here, four public health and communications experts from Michigan, Indiana, Mississippi and South Carolina explain how they are teaming up with nonprofits and other partners to encourage more people in their states and local communities to get these potentially lifesaving shots. 1. Closing the racial gap in Michigan’s COVID-19 vaccination Debra Furr-Holden, professor of public health, Michigan State University Initially, Michigan was one of many states with tremendous racial disparities in COVID-19 cases and deaths. As a result, the state tried to make it easier for Blacks and other people of color to get tested, acquire personal protective equipment and, once vaccines became available, get vaccines. But as an epidemiologist who participated in the partnerships formed between the government, academics, health care professionals, nonprofits and philanthropic funders, I’m concerned because African Americans are still disproportionately getting COVID-19 and dying from it. And despite our concerted efforts, I’m troubled by the big gap between vaccination rates for Black people and white people in Michigan, even if these differences by race and ethnicity are dissipating across the country overall. About 13% of Michigan residents are Black, and yet 10% of the people in the state who had gotten at least one dose of a vaccine by Aug. 16, 2021 were Black, according to the Kaiser Foundation. This imbalance is one reason why I helped launch the National Network to Innovate for COVID-19 and Adult Vaccine Equity, funded with a $6 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One overarching goal of this project is to close the racial disparities gap in COVID-19 and other adult vaccinations, such as the flu and shingles. The project is a partnership between Michigan State University, Michigan Public Health Institute, the Community Foundation of Greater Flint and Community Campus Partnerships for Health. It also partners with organizations committed to reducing African American health disparities, including the NAACP, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and the National Medical Association. 2. Outreach to Latinos and members of the Haitian community in Indiana Omolola Adeoye-Olatunde, assistant professor of pharmacy practice, Purdue University Marion County, which includes Indianapolis, is racially and ethnically diverse, with nearly half the population identifying as people of color. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, it had Indiana’s highest level of food insecurity. As of mid-August, Black and Latino residents were underrepresented among people in Indiana who had gotten at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. Roughly half of all people in Marion County had gotten at least one dose by late August 2021. The Purdue University Center for Health Equity and Innovation, or CHEqI, where I work, partnered with the Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana and Walgreens to design and pilot an initiative that gave COVID-19 vaccines to people arriving for drive-thru food distribution.