PM2090: Increasing COVID-19 Vaccination Rates Amongst Adolescents in a Minority, Historically Under-resourced Community

Background: This project focused on parents of unvaccinated adolescent children in an urban, historically under-resourced region where the population is 91% African American. While rich in history and culture, these areas of the city have suffered from disinvestment and historically have the lowest rates of vaccine uptake. The well-documented history of exploitation, devaluation, and maltreatment of communities of color in this country by medical establishments has had far-reaching repercussions which are still palpable today. Given this context, there was a cautious trust in government authorized health guidance or "mandates." Our goal was to offer a bridge of confidence to these communities by mobilizing trusted pediatricians who are currently practicing in targeted areas of the city. This initiative focused on the COVID-19 vaccination rates amongst adolescents and later expanded to school-aged children. At the project initiation, the uptake in the adolescent population was 17-24% in residents ages 12-15 and 22-27% in those between ages 16-17. This was compared to the significantly higher city-wide vaccination rates of 44% in eligible 12-15 year old residents and 42% in those ages 16-17 years.

Methods: We identified community-based organizations in our target area and conducted an IRB-approved mixed-methods survey with a subset of parents and caretakers in these organizations to better understand the contributing factors for under vaccination and vaccine caution as well as influential factors that aided in making the decision to vaccinate their children. Using the knowledge acquired from these conversations, we created curated informational sessions for these organizations and the community of focus. Youth and family-centered digital and printable infographics were created to promote the COVID-19 vaccination and address specific hesitancies. Interested parents and caregivers of the community were invited to be a part of a Vaccine Champion group that also helped promote the messaging. We also implemented targeted media, social media, and website opportunities to provide patient interviews and Q&A opportunities for families. Lastly, we partnered with healthcare centers and the leading managed care organization to host a town hall session and disseminate the information.

Results: There was new knowledge acquired from the interviews of participating families. There were also several external factors that influenced vaccination rates in our target population throughout our intervention. In March of 2022, the school system announced a vaccine mandate for all students who were eligible for a vaccine fully approved by the FDA (ages 16 and up).

Conclusion: We will continue to build upon the feedback and knowledge gained from interviews with families of the target population to tailor our messaging for their community. Change is hard in many communities. However, we hope that with continued persistence and education, we will eventually see COVID-19 vaccination rates in this minority community comparable to the general uptake of the city.