What's Happening
In this web forum, Dr. Mary Pittman, president and CEO of the Public Health Institute, and Pastor James D. Gailliard, a state representative in the North Carolina Assembly, reflect upon efforts to achieve equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and explore how faith-based organizations and state policy interventions work toward this goal in North Carolina.
Racial and ethnic minorities, elderly individuals, those in underserved urban and rural areas, and members of other vulnerable groups are the most in need of the COVID-19 vaccine but face the greatest challenges to getting it. These individuals may lack resources to or be hesitant, confused, and/or skeptical of information about vaccine availability, safety, and efficacy. How can governments, the medical community, and community- and faith-based organizations reach them?