Communication

Black doctors' group takes aim at Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy A professional society of African American doctors is trying to learn about communities' concerns — and address them. Eric Boodman STAT

In September, after the Food and Drug Administration authorized Covid-19 treatments based more on presidential puffery than on clinical data, some physicians decided to take matters into their own hands.

How Latinx Health Care Providers United to Spread Information About COVID-19 “I feel like I’m in the company of brothers and sisters and members of a community who really care, and it feels really, really good.” Anne Blythe INDY Week

It was the first Wednesday after Thanksgiving, and Durham County’s COVID-19 cases were surging much more rapidly than Rodney Jenkins, the county health director, wanted to see.

 .... Public health officials stress that the COVID-19 vaccines will provide the best hope for returning to “normal.” Yet, a recent study from Kaiser Family Foundation revealed one-quarter of the population “probably or definitely would not take the coronavirus vaccine.”   

Much is at stake. For life to return to anything approaching normal, 75% of the population must be immunized. If enough people avoid the vaccine, COVID-19 transmission will continue. Honest, fact-based conversations about the vaccine among family and close friends have an urgency that strikes close to the heart. Since some conversations are likely to be emotionally charged, it’s important to be able to communicate and listen actively. You’ll need to understand your own feelings about the issues, and also deal with someone else’s strong feelings — all while being able to think clearly and stay focused — basic psychoanalytic technique!