COVID-19 has put a spotlight on deep-seated issues of racism and inequity that exist in our health care system. The virus has disproportionately impacted Black and Brown communities, causing more illness, more hospitalizations and more deaths.

Now, as vaccines start to roll out, this inequity is again taking a toll. In many African American communities there is strong and justifiable distrust of health care and government programs, and vaccination rates are lagging far behind.

In this episode, Brian Lucas interviews Adriene Thornton, an Infection Preventionist at Children’s Minnesota. Adriene is working to educate Black communities about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines, to hopefully get more people to participate.