“It's not about me. It's about what's best for my community”: Factors impacting COVID-19 vaccine uptake among Native Americans and Latinos from two agricultural communities

Purpose

While SARS-CoV-2 significantly impacts rural Native American and Latino communities, COVID-19 vaccines offer an effective and safe mitigation strategy. Vaccine uptake is disproportionately lower in rural communities than in urban communities across the nation. This study examined barriers and motivators of COVID-19 vaccine uptake in two Native American and Latino rural agricultural communities in eastern Washington and Montana.

Methods

We conducted 28 key informant interviews with trusted community members and six community focus groups with 39 participants from May 2021 to June 2021. Participants were from the Yakima Valley (WA) and Flathead Reservation (MT). The Social Cognitive Theory and Social Context Framework informed development of the interview and focus group moderator guides. We used deductive and inductive approach to code transcripts and thematic analysis to generate themes.

Findings

Barriers to COVID-19 vaccine uptake were misconceptions about COVID-19 vaccines shaped by misinformation, politicization of vaccines, historical trauma and mistrust in government, and structural barriers in rural agricultural communities. Having access to accurate and understandable COVID-19 vaccine information and receiving information from trusted sources were motivators of COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Protecting families, children, elders, and the community, and striving to return to normal life were also noted as motivators.

Conclusions

Understanding the community's perceptions and experiences around the COVID-19 vaccine is critical for successful implementation of strategies to increase vaccine uptake during future public health emergencies. Strategies for vaccine uptake among communities in the Flathead Reservation and Yakima Valley need to address barriers and highlight motivators of COVID-19 vaccine uptake.