Assessing Vaccine Hesitancy and a Pharmacist Led Intervention Model to Increase COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake Among African Americans

The investigators at Xavier University of Louisiana are utilizing a multicenter approach including clinic, health care institution, and community survey-based research project to
assess the beliefs and behavior regarding willingness to be vaccinated with a prospective COVID-19 vaccine among African Americans in the Southeastern Louisiana region. The
COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted the African American across the United States. Louisiana ranks 1st in the nation in per capita incidence of COVID-19. African
Americans make up over 50% of the deaths of all known COVID-19 patients in the state, while only representing about 32% of the population. With the development of a COVID-19
vaccine on the near horizon, an urgent assessment of the African American community’s readiness for vaccine uptake is needed to inform a pharmacist-led intervention model that
will increase vaccine uptake. The Specific Aims of this proposal are:
Specific Aim #1: To identify factors of vaccine hesitancy and the potential acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine among the adult African-American community in Southeastern
Louisiana.
Specific Aim #2: To assess the personal and financial impact of COVID-19, knowledge of COVID-19, as well as experience with the healthcare system with regards to COVID-19.
Specific Aim #3: To use the results of Aim #1 and #2 to inform a community pharmacist certification course and a pharmacist led intervention model among pharmacist vaccinators.
Method: Specific Aim #1 and #2 will be assessed by a survey at the start of study with an abbreviated follow-up survey 9 months later from clinic, community member and
community pharmacy patient respondents. Changes in vaccine hesitancy and the impact on vaccine uptake will be determined.
Aim#3 will be assessed by a pharmacist led education intervention model with vaccine uptake surveillance in community pharmacies across Louisiana to assess COVID-19 and
other ACIP eligible vaccines.
Impact: The implications of this proposed project are to understand health related beliefs and behaviors related to COVID-19 and vaccination and their impact on the likely uptake of
a COVID-19 vaccine among African Ameircans. It will also provide data to facilitate the development of strategies