COVID-19 Immunity in Our Community

Recent polls show there is a political and religious divide in the desire to get vaccinated against COVID-19. But why? In this final episode of the series, we hear from some folks who can help answer that question, as well as providing further facts and nuance to the conversation. Pastor Jared Cornutt of Irving, TX, breaks down some of the theological arguments for getting vaccinated; then, host Robin Roberts sits down with Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health. A person of faith himself, Dr. Collins is known for his ability to speak about science to both sides of the aisle. Ultimately, both conversations reveal that what seems to be a political divide isn't always politically motivated. Tune in for tips on how to have effective conversations about the COVID-19 vaccines, and to get some of your own questions about the vaccines answered, too.

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Historic and ongoing healthcare disparities -- along with vaccine misinformation -- contribute to a higher rate of vaccine hesitancy in the Hispanic community. In this episode, special guest host and award-winning journalist María Elena Salinas explores some of the causes and solutions for vaccine hesitancy among Hispanic Americans. She sits down with Travis Escobar, a Hispanic millennial who had to use patience and compassion to convince his mother to get vaccinated. Then, she speaks with Dr. Eliseo Pérez-Stable, Director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. Together, they discuss the barriers faced by the Hispanic community, and how listeners at home should approach their own friends and family for conversations about the COVID-19 vaccines.

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Making health care decisions for yourself -- or the people in your care -- are some of the most important choices you will ever make. It's understandable to have questions about the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines. Community health care navigators are there to help ease vaccine-related concerns, and bridge the gap of trust between their communities and the health care providers that serve them. These navigators can be a local nurse or pharmacist, or even just a faith leader or friendly neighbor. This episode, we hear from Heather Simpson, a mother who was once part of the anti-vax community. Thoughtful discussion helped change her mind, and now she's been vaccinated against COVID-19. She talks about the best way to open up discussions with vaccine-hesitant people. Then, we hear from Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about the importance of these health care navigators, and what the CDC is doing to support them.

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The COVID-19 pandemic brought unique challenges for the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander -- or AANHPI -- community. AANHPI folks are the most likely ethnic group to live in multigenerational households, which must carefully balance lifestyle needs and COVID-19 safety. Statistics also indicate a greater prevalence of racist hate crimes against Asian Americans in the midst of the pandemic. This episode, we hear from a Vietnamese-American who quarantined with her 90-year-old mother for over a year. She shares the difficulties that she and and other members of her community faced in pursuit of a COVID-19 vaccine. Then, we hear from Dr. Tung Nguyen, Director of the Asian American Research Center on Health. He discusses some of the policy solutions for challenges faced by the AANHPI community.

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Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, confusion and misinformation surfaced online about the virus and the vaccines, leaving the American people unsure of what to trust. In this episode, we hear from two sisters who were influenced by a viral video that promoted wildly false conspiracy theories which made them second guess the vaccines. Then, host Robin Roberts chats with Dr. Anthony Fauci from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). At the intersection of what feels good to believe and what's actually true, we’ll uncover the science that is ultimately leading to people getting vaccinated.

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In December, we saw the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines authorized for emergency use in an unprecedented timeline. Following close behind was the single-dose Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine. Unfortunately, language like “unprecedented timeline” has some Americans concerned about cutting corners to produce these vaccines in record time. In this episode, we chat with Jay Greene, a journalist initially skeptical of the vaccine development speed, who, after learning the truth, came around to getting vaccinated. Then, we talk with Drs. Barney Graham and Kizzmekia Corbett from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), who break down what allowed for the rapid timeline, the ways safety was prioritized above all in the process, and how vaccines safely went from development and into arms in less than a year.

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The development of COVID-19 vaccines, questions about mRNA technology, equitable distribution, and uncertainty about the long-term effects aren't the only factors fueling vaccine hesitancy amongst African Americans: a history of harmful studies, medical malpractice, and health care inequities continues to impact the community today. In this first episode of Covid-19 Immunity In Our Community, host Robin Roberts chats with Sandra Lindsay, the first American and first Black American to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, COVID-19 Equity Task Force Chair in the Biden administration, about how we can start to rebuild the Black community's trust in the vaccines, in order to achieve herd immunity and, hopefully, regain some sense of normalcy in our everyday lives.

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With unparalleled speed and success amid a global pandemic, multiple vaccines are here to protect us from COVID-19. But as the vaccines roll out, difficulties far older than the virus continue to hold up the movement to vaccinate America, including geographic, economic, and racial inequities in health care -- and now: the widespread misinformation surrounding the vaccines themselves.

In COVID-19: Immunity in Our Community -- a new podcast series from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, iHeartRadio, and ABC News -- host Robin Roberts (Good Morning America) hears from Americans on the front lines: teachers, nurses, parents, and caregivers — many of whom were uncertain about the vaccines -- and uncovers the scientific facts that convinced them to roll up their sleeves and get vaccinated. Each episode will pair one guest’s journey with information from our country's top medical experts such as Dr. Anthony Fauci, to make sure that you and your loved ones have all that you need to make an informed decision about the COVID vaccines. 

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