Our Call to Action to Reduce Vaccine Hesitancy in AAPI Communities
After reading “Death Toll of COVID-19 on Asian Americans: Disparities Revealed” and USA Today’s “Asian Americans in San Francisco are dying at alarming rates from COVID-19: Racism is to blame,” you might feel a fiery passion inside you and think, now what?!
Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is going to be our best bet in beating this pandemic. However, there is lingering vaccine hesitancy in Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities due to: (1) fear of negative side effects (2) concerns regarding vaccine safety (3) lack of data on distinct communities that are typically lumped under the “Asian” monolith (See references 1 and 2).
As future physician leaders, we believe that there are many ways we can still make a positive impact! We encourage you to:
Strive to address vaccine hesitancy in your personal community.
Stay educated on what has been happening to AAPI communities during COVID-19.
Volunteer to help translate health-related materials for National APAMSA.
We have linked many sources that you can continue reading and researching to help fight vaccine hesitancy within our communities. As always, please reach out to us if you have any questions or have more resources you would like to add to this list.
References
Ta Park, V., Dougan, M., Meyer, O., Nam, B., Tzuang, M., Park, L., Vuong, Q., & Tsoh, J. (2021). Differences in COVID-19 Vaccine Concerns Among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders: The COMPASS Survey. Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities, 1–13. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-021-01037-0
Kiana, M. (2021, May 31). Poor vaccine access and hesitancy in the Asian Community. DU Clarion. Retrieved September 19, 2021, from https://duclarion.com/2021/05/poor-vaccine-access-and-hesitancy-in-the-asian-community/.
