[VIRTUAL] How Misinfo & History Affect BIPOC Trust in the COVID Vaccine

The recording in Spanish is available on YouTube.

Join us for a conversation about vaccine trust, history, and misinformation within BIPOC communities with doctors, disinformation experts, activists and journalists.

There are many factors that jeopardize BIPOC trust in the coronavirus vaccine: History shows that American medicine has repeatedly failed to adequately serve communities of color. Conspiracy theories, misinformation, and anti-vaccine propaganda abound in conversations about the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine, and often target Black and Brown people. Vaccine distribution is far from equitable, with studies pointing to racial disparities. So how do we restore trust in medicine within these communities and revitalize the flow of accurate information?

Our panel of medical and disinformation experts will address these questions and explore the contours of the COVID-19 “infodemic,” the crisis of trust, and the necessity of reliable messengers to deliver news about and inspire faith in the vaccine. We’ll discuss the role racial traumas play in confidence in the medical system and how to confront them in the context of the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as the acidic effect of false narratives. As a proactive approach, we’ll explore best practices for parsing out the facts amid compromised information ecosystems, including fact-checking strategies and sourcing trusted messengers.

This conversation will be offered in English or Spanish via Zoom Interpretation – please be sure to download the Zoom app in advance to access the interpretation option.

If you tweet about the event, be sure to tag our Twitter handle @penamerica.

Please confirm your registration at the Zoom link below. For more information, contact Hannah Waltz at [email protected].

REGISTER HERE

panelists

Jacquelyn Mason is a senior investigative researcher and special projects manager at First Draft News. Previously, she worked as an editor of photography at media service organizations Meredith Corporation and NBCUniversal. She holds an MFA from Parsons School of Design with a degree in art, media and technology, as well as a Master of Science from NYU Tandon School of Engineering in integrated digital media.

Olveen Carrasquillo is a national expert in minority health, health disparities, community-based participatory research, access to care, and community health worker interventions. He has over 20 years of experience leading large NIH Center grants and randomized trials, totaling over $40 million in funding. His work includes research in cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, HIV, and precision medicine. He is now leading a statewide coalition whose focus is addressing COVID misinformation, miscommunication, and the elimination of COVID disparities in the state of Florida.

Moderator

Anoa Changa is an independent journalist based in Atlanta. Anoa focuses on electoral justice, voting rights, and politics. Anoa is an innovator of electoral justice as a reported beat. An organizer by nature and retired attorney, Anoa has a strong sense of equity and justice. She is the host of the podcast The Way with Anoa.