Stone Anthony J, Arriaza Madeline, Brindley Claire, Meador Elliot, James Wesley L, Matthews Karen
Department of Sociology, University of Memphis, 231 Clement Hall, Memphis, TN, 38152, USA.
Delta Health Alliance, 435 Stoneville Rd, Leland, MS, 38756, USA.
J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2025 May 29. doi: 10.1007/s40615-025-02479-6.
The COVID-19 vaccines have been public for several years and have been shown to mitigate symptoms in recipients. Yet many Americans are still hesitant or late to receive the vaccines for several reasons, especially Black Americans. To better understand how Black Americans who reside in the rural Mississippi Delta understand the COVID-19 virus and vaccines, we conducted a qualitative study focusing on their hesitance toward the vaccine, and how they make decisions or change(d) their minds regarding receiving it at intersecting layers of social disadvantage-race and place-based inequalities.
In 2021, we conducted 10 in-person, in-depth, semi-structured interviews with Black residents of the Mississippi Delta who were vaccinated months after the vaccines' release. We used an iterative, grounded approach to study design and data analysis, as well as the constant comparative method, until data saturation was achieved.
Participants reported they were initially hesitant toward the vaccines for the following reasons: an overabundance of misinformation, fear of illness, mistrust of decision-making institutions, and uncertainty of unknown side effects. Participants cited several reasons that motivated them to change their minds and receive the vaccine, including positive results when people in their networks vaccinated, increased feelings of safety, work requirements, and faith in God.
Our findings unpack the complications around vaccine hesitance and motivations for vaccine uptake for late vaccinators at the intersections of social and racial inequality. Findings underscore the importance of recognizing the pervasive influence of generalized institutional mistrust and spirituality when providing health advice to Black Mississippians about the COVID-19 vaccines.
新冠疫苗已问世数年，且已证明可减轻接种者的症状。然而，许多美国人仍因多种原因对接种疫苗犹豫不决或延迟接种，尤其是美国黑人。为了更好地了解居住在密西西比三角洲农村地区的美国黑人如何理解新冠病毒和疫苗，我们开展了一项定性研究，重点关注他们对疫苗的犹豫态度，以及他们在社会劣势——种族和基于地域的不平等的交叉层面上，如何做出关于接种疫苗的决定或改变主意。
2021年，我们对密西西比三角洲的黑人居民进行了10次面对面、深入的半结构化访谈，这些居民在疫苗发布数月后才接种。我们采用迭代、扎根的方法进行研究设计和数据分析，以及持续比较法，直至达到数据饱和。
参与者表示，他们最初因以下原因对接种疫苗犹豫不决：存在大量错误信息、对患病的恐惧、对决策机构的不信任以及对未知副作用的不确定性。参与者列举了促使他们改变主意并接种疫苗的几个原因，包括其社交圈中的人接种疫苗后产生的积极效果、安全感增强、工作要求以及对上帝的信仰。
我们的研究结果揭示了疫苗犹豫问题的复杂性，以及在社会和种族不平等交叉点上，延迟接种者接种疫苗的动机。研究结果强调，在向密西西比州黑人提供有关新冠疫苗的健康建议时，认识到普遍存在的对机构的不信任和精神信仰的广泛影响的重要性。
