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Increasing Vaccine Access And Building Trust In Black Communities

Rafiki Coalition
Rafiki Coalition Covid team members

As the COVID-19 vaccine rollouts continue across the state and the country, there have been multiple polls, surveys, and articles that say among all racial and ethnic groups, Black Americans are the most hesitant to get it.

People who took a Kaiser Foundation poll cite some reasons being lack of trust in government, systemic racism in the healthcare system, and historical atrocities on Black bodies, like the infamous Tuskegee experiment.

At the same time, health equity organizers and community leaders are saying, actually, that’s only part of the story. In this interview with Dr. Monique LeSarre, executive director for the Rafiki Coalition for Health in Wellness, we hear about her work with UCSF to dig deeper into the issue.

This interview was produced by Victor Tence.

Click the play button above to listen to the interview.

Hana Baba is host of Crosscurrents, KALW's weeknight newsmagazine that broadcasts on KALW Public Radio in the San Francisco Bay Area.