TOPEKA — The Kansas COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Taskforce, or COVET, began discussion Wednesday on communication best practices to encourage and connect with more Kansans who have hesitancy surrounding the new “medical technology.”
About 38.1% of all Kansans have received at least one dose of a vaccine to date, but COVET members hope to increase those numbers, especially in vulnerable communities. Data collected by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment presented to the panel earlier this month shows a significant discrepancy between white and nonwhite Kansan vaccination rates.
Members of the task force touted creativity and empathy as effective tools to help those hesitant to receive a vaccination feel more comfortable doing so. They also emphasized a need to break the one-size-fits-all mold and meet these communities where they are.
“When you get into the homes of people we’re trying to serve, it is not what’s being reported on TV and radio which causes a lot of distrust,” said Broderick Crawford of the NBC Community Development Corporation in Wyandotte County. “We have to be very careful when we are spouting numbers and percentages and things like that, particularly in communities of marginalized people.”
Stakeholders from across the state and health care organizations engaged in the discussion, hoping to identify ways to leverage communication and community resources to their advantage. The task force is led by Ximena Garcia, special adviser to the governor for COVID-19 vaccination equity, with assistance from Marci Nielsen, chief adviser to the governor for COVID-19 coordination.
During the panel’s second meeting Wednesday, members heard from Karen Ernst, of Voices for Vaccines, about how best to engage in conversation with those who are hesitant to get a vaccine. She asserted that in most cases vaccine hesitancy or distrust is not rooted in facts but values, emotions and personal risk assessments.
This means conversations surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine must dive into shared experiences, Ernst said. She said factors such as personal autonomy and belief in keeping your body “pure” are two common values that drive hesitancy and are easy for most people to empathize with.
“When we can show someone that we understand their feelings and that we validate that their feelings make sense, that’s really so key,” Ernst said. “Especially since we know that people make decisions about vaccines not based on facts but based on those values and emotions.”
Ernst said it may take several conversations to turn a hard “no” into a “yes,” or it may not occur at all. Still, she said connecting people with an expert and increasing access to a vaccine can help people to reconsider their personal risk assessment or sources.
She also encouraged the use of prominent or well-respected community figures — be it a famous athlete or a popular high school teacher — to strengthen the message.
Aude Negrete, executive director of the Kansas Hispanic and Latino American Affairs Commission, noted that much of what has pushed the Kansas Latino community away from vaccinations comes from misinformation of disinformation. For example, many have told her they are concerned about being deported should they seek a vaccine.
Her commission has put forth an effort to reverse these misconceptions through short videos informing the Latino community of what will and will not happen if they apply for a vaccine, Negrete said.
“The approach has to be multifaceted, and it has to come from different ways, so we need (social) media, we need one-on-ones, we need the news,” Negrete said. “If we don’t fill those vacuums with reliable sources, they will fill with information that is not correct.”
