Information, Data, and Tools to Support COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance in Underserved Communities

Originally aired March 2021

Co-hosted by the American Public Health Association, GWU Milken Institute School of Public Health, MDB, and SSF, this 90-minute webinar confronts the stark inequity in early COVID-19 vaccination rates — with minority communities vaccinated at a fraction of the rate of white communities. Experts from HHS, the Census Bureau, and local public health agencies share tools, data, and community-level strategies for raising vaccine acceptance in underserved populations.

Speakers

Tim Fields (Moderator)

Senior Vice President, MDB, Inc.; Former Assistant Administrator, U.S. EPA

Tim Fields is a Senior Vice President at MDB, Inc., a public health and environmental services firm, where he leads environmental justice, facilitation, and redevelopment activities. Before joining MDB, he spent 30 years at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and served as Assistant Administrator for the Office of Land and Emergency Management.

Cheryl Levine, PhD

Senior Advisor and At-Risk Individuals Program Director, HHS/Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response

Dr. Cheryl Levine serves as Senior Advisor and At-Risk Individuals Program Director at HHS’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR). Her work helps integrate information access with functional needs for at-risk individuals into public health and medical emergency preparedness, response, and recovery activities.

Juliet Bui

Public Health Advisor, Office of Minority Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Juliet Bui is a Public Health Advisor in the Office of Minority Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, serving in the Division of Policy and Data. She supported departmental efforts to implement COVID-19 and racial equity executive orders, working to address vaccination disparities in communities of color.

Bethany DeSalvo, PhD

Chief, Small Area Modeling and Development, Social, Economic, and Housing Statistics Division, U.S. Department of Commerce

Dr. Bethany DeSalvo is Chief of Small Area Modeling and Development in the Department of Commerce’s Social, Economic, and Housing Statistics Division. She leads research, development, and application of small area estimation techniques to population-level data — including the Community Resilience Estimates (CRE) program that measures local capacity to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gabriel Amaro

Survey Statistician, Small Area Modeling and Development Branch, U.S. Census Bureau

Gabriel Amaro is a Survey Statistician in the Small Area Modeling and Development Branch at the U.S. Census Bureau. He is one of the original team members involved in creating the Community Resilience Estimates, a granular data tool that helps public health officials identify communities with the least capacity to respond to and recover from health crises like COVID-19.

Ana Gallego

Executive Director, Health Systems Planning and Policy, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

Ana Gallego is the Executive Director of Health Systems Planning and Policy at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. She works with healthcare policy and planning strategists, health economists, social epidemiologists, and population health analysts to find ways that healthcare, social services, and government can collaborate to make targeted investments in social needs and improve New Yorkers’ health at scale.