Important question, the cdc tracks flu every year all i am so pleased to moderate this important session. We are a nonprofit, nonpartisan Public Health policy research and Advocacy Organization based in washington, d. C. The covid19 pandemic is an immense challenge. Envision a nation that values the health and wellbeing of all. Since the spring of this year, we have held a series of webinars focused on the impact protecting older adults from the arm of social isolation. How the pandemic is concentrated in many gaps. We also cohosted a congressional briefing on advancing Racial Equity. It should go without saying that this is an unprecedented pandemic. The likes of which has not been seen in this country. Seenve certainly disparities in past Public Health emergencies. The pandemic has greatly exposed trust for Americas Health has been advocating. Calling for data disaggregation. We are also focusing on other issues. Calling for investment in Public Health infrastructure. This includes increased funding at local levels. As we prepare for a vaccine, it is important to realize that hesitancy and access issues are real. The underlying reasons are many, from higher rates of being uninsured or underinsured to lack of act as to health care to. Istrust as you will hear from our panelists today. Leadingbeen one of the voices advocating for policies that would increase equitable Vaccine Access. We advocate for increased funding for the centers for Disease Control. We have heard many saying that this pandemic should serve as a call for action. Two in systemic inequities. We released a blueprint for the new administration and Congress Focusing on health for all. This report is available on our website. With that background and introduction, im excited to turn to todays discussion. These are the longterm recommendations to build Vaccine Confidence. Remind us to never forget that we are not simply speaking about policies and programs. Lets get started. This is our panel of experts. The president of howard served as previously provost and chief academic officer. He is the author of numerous aerreviewed articles and is widely recognized expert on disparities in health care and medical education. Next is the executive Vice President of the Robert Wood Johnson foundation. She oversees research and communication activities. Before joining the foundation, she led the Chicago Department of health. She led the development and implementation of a fouryear Health Improvement plan focused on equity. She has served on many committees. She has over 13 years of thank you for all of our panelists to are joining us today. Thank you. Grateful that i have been invited to speak today. This has been a movement to deal with centuries old prejudices. Excitedever been more about the direction of our country. The American Society today has problems lying right there on the surface. Public thinking is shifting to more widely acknowledged insperitys for people of color. We have data to prove that these are not groundless or baseless. This is fact. Hardly anyone in the community would have lead to this accelerated timeline. When the world focuses on our communal problem, this is proof of what we can achieve. A vaccine is not a panacea. There is much we need to understand. The realities of the coronavirus pandemic have included deepseated mistrust of the medical system. Africanamerican men and women are twice as likely to die from covid19. The results of these discussed in cr many fold. Independent and interconnected solutions. Is also the simple explanation that black people do not receive equal health care. This is an undeniable truth. Black patients have more medical problems. These continue to do real harm. Pandemic, we have been not admitted to hospitals. Because of income inequalities, we are more likely to work on the front lines. All of this adds up to the black community being the brunt of the pandemic. Problems echoday a disturbing history which were caught in these two films. Black men infected with the disease were lied to. Despite the researchers knowing it was not in the best interest of their health. Her cancer cells were taken and used for Research Without her knowledge. The family received no financial compensation. Her medical information was publicly available. We also have a problem in the opposite direction. Too many Scientific Research opportunities do not involve any black participants. Drugmakers have been slow to relate the breakdown of participants. Dharna moderna reported participants6 of were people of color. A vaccine with limited testing can have negative effects on black bodies. This is even more so impactful. Trials usually have about 30 participants. This problem of trust has been here for the covid19 vaccine. It will not be safe to reopen our country and resume life as normal. Trust can never be restored if we dismiss and ignore. We have to understand where this mistrust comes from. The 6 of participants from communities of color. They should look like the population. Fauci has called for twice that number because of how hard covid19 has hit them. The next step is for the medical establishment to partner with institutions that have high trust within the africanamerican community. Institutions like howard and other historically black colleges and universities should serve as a conduit for bringing in black individuals for trials. Making Great Strides in this area. Howard has been selected by the national covid19 prevention institute. It is vital that we make this as easy as possible for black americans to participate in this clinical research. We must be clear. They should be included in plans to distribute the vaccine. We need to achieve equality in all areas of life. This is being recognized as a problem. The family is now being involved in the research. If we can correct some of these mistakes of our past, we should be able to solve the problems of our present. We understand the magnitude and nuances of these problems. By continuing to place greater emphasis on diversity of representation, i confident that we can in the pandemic on a more equal note. Thank. Thank you very much. You forth that incredibly insightful presentation. We will delve into that more in our q a. You. Ank i was like to start by thanking the team for hosting this important discussion. I am pleased to have the opportunity to join this discussion about Vaccine Access, safety, and utilization. And to share my perspectives. A are focused on building culture of health and advancing Health Equity. ,s a former Health Commissioner i led the 2009 pandemic. I have marveled at the speed at which covid19 vaccine has been developed. I am concerned about the lack of confidence in our Vaccination Program. I would like to share some recommendations. Before i review the recommendations, i want to provide some background information. Rate amonghigher native, black, and latino americans in the united states. This is reflected in this chart. This is not new to any of you. There are structures that are barriers to health. They are exacerbated during Public Health emergencies. We saw this and the h1n1 pandemic in 2009. These graphs have inspired the nation to confront health and Racial Equity more boldly and strongly than other public emergencies. This might not be as familiar to you. Americans are hesitant to get a covid vaccine. The lowest rates of trust lie within the black community. We know coverage will be required to achieve herd immunity. I share this slide with you because it represents the opportunity and responsibility are us to create a Vaccine Program that is equitable. Longommunities that have faced structural barriers to health are the more adversely impacted. It can be challenging to know how to put this into action. Of healthd a set equity principles that can be used as a roadmap. The principles include ,ollecting, analyzing data including those most affected in decisionmaking. Identifying and investigating and investigating in Public Health infrastructure. There have been several sets of investigations. In june, the nih and cdc and the National Academies of sciences, engineering, and Medicine Community committee of experts. They were asked to develop a framework for flexible allocation of the covid19 vaccine. The most attention from the media and policymakers and the public. The Committee Also released seven excellent recommendations. I will be talking about the priority groups. And the other recommendations and highlight their role in Vaccine Confidence. The second and third recommendations are critical components of ensuring an equitable Vaccination Program. The second one is to leverage and expand existing systems and partnerships. I will review why these recommendations are so important. I know firsthand these things need to happen. Vaccine manufacturers, insurance companies, and other federal agencies need to ensure that Vaccine Supplies are widely available. These tap into the existing infrastructure. These are for ongoing stable funding. The cdc works with state, territorial, and local Health Agencies to distribute more than 80 million doses of back scene vaccine annually. This Program Supports other critical elements of the system. Building on this system is efficient and effective. Making a vaccine available will not be enough if no one shows up to get the vaccine. Having ame of you are flashback to 2009. We distributed more than 1. 1 million doses in less than four months. The Health Department collaborated with a few communities and organizations to disseminate vaccine information. And demand from communities of color. Next slide. Chicago learned great lessons from the experience. We needed to earn trust and establish Authentic Communication with communities of color during times of calm. Involvesommunications not just talking but really listening. Next slide. Since 2009, the department of Public Health and many other Public Health agencies have focused on Health Equity and accuracy rigorously developing plans to bring more voices to the table. Chicago 2. 0, that Healthy Chicago 2025 prioritized Health Equity in content and in process. Key pillars of both plans include leveraging disaggregated data for planning and use by the community. And engaging communities of color in the development and Implementation Plan for both. Relationshipshed are key to addressing covid19 when it emerged. Next slide. The city of chicago was able to rely on partnerships when it became clear that a majority of deaths were people of color. The partners helped the city launches its Racial EquityRapid Response effort, they plan to mitigate covid19 illness and death for black and latino communities. To meet these goals they focused on listening and responding to Community Partners to benefit and not burden communities. And working in partnership with black and Latino Community organizers and leadership to develop a citywide Community Mitigation effort. These relationships will be essential to be as effective as chicagos covid19 Vaccination Program. Next slide. The National Academies recommendations are in building, public confidence, especially among communities of color. They recommended federal agencies lead a court needed response. They recommended hhs create and fund a vaccine risk orientation and Community Engagement program. They have recommended the cdc develop and launch a National Vaccine promotion campaign. They recommended cdc and nih building evidencebased vaccine promotion and acceptance. Emphasizedendation the need to engage with the community to understand the concern, develop appropriate messages, and identify appropriate messengers. More federal coordination reflecting our need for recommendations to be fully implement it and for the full potential of the covid19 Vaccination Program to be realized. 2009, and every large Public Health emergency since then, cdc hosted media briefings and Health Care Provider webinars to provide clear and consistent updates, guidance, and message is. Betweend estimated 6 billion in a billion dollars are needed for vaccination efforts. Without this coordination and support widespread Vaccine Hesitancy will continue. Communities of color be disproportionately impacted by covid19. Next slide. Although federal coordination and funding have been related to date, some has already happened. State Health Officials have begun this work. They submitted to cdc their immunization plan, which included the communication plan and the engagement plan. Other organizations are responding. The National Medical association has scheduled a meeting on october 29 with the goal of developing policy recommendations for ensuring access to and utilization of a safe and effective covid19 vaccine among communities of color. Some academic institutions are putting together initiatives to fill knowledge gaps and help informed decisionmaking about vaccines. Supporting john hopkins an understanding and addressing Vaccine Hesitancy in communities of color. They are also supporting a High Level Panel to make recommendations for managing misinformation related to covid19 vaccines. Next slide. Isritical thing to remember if earning trust for the vaccine and vaccination system is a color is essential the filling the vaccination confidence. When we speak we need to communicate clearly, consistently, and transparently. We need to remember indication is a twoway street. All of us can work on this now, whether you are federal, state, territorial, local, Public Health staff, Health Care Providers, vaccine manufacturers, policymakers. We need to be focusing on earning the trust communities of color and understanding their concerns, determining what messages will address their concerns, and identifying the most appropriate messenger. Next slide. Recommendations and examples i have shared were helpful. The bottom line is this. There are quite a few things we can do now to earn trust and help ensure a more equitable program. Once again, here are the resources i mentioned to help guidance. We have made Health Equity are central aim. The pandemic has made it more clear. This is the work we have to focus on. It is time for all of us to Work Together to dismantle the barriers of structural racism. Together we can set our nation on a course toward a more fair and just society where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. Thank you. Thank you very much for that informative presentation of resources and Lessons Learned from examples from the h1n1 outbreak. I will turn it over to michelle cantu. My first live please. Good afternoon and thank you to trust for Americas Health for inviting me today. Thank you to our previous speaker, dr. Frederick and dr. Marita for providing feedback in your words on the timely and crucial topic related to covid19 Vaccine Access and utilization. Inober 19 has exposed cracks the infrastructure, our department is working in their Diverse Community to share policies associated with this work. The work begins by providing a little more information about the National Association of county and city Health Officials. Next slide please. Nonprofit. We are a leader partner for nearly 3000 local Health Departments and we engage in activities and conduct Research Evaluation on local Health Departments for the National Profile study by advocating for local Health Departments. We aim for optimal Health Equity and security for all people in all communities. Next slide. Naccho has a history of working hard to focus on Health Equity an