Pearl A McElfish

Background: COVID-19 has disproportionately affected Pacific Islander communities, with disparities in the prevalence of infection, serious illness, and death compared to non-Hispanic whites in the US. Marshallese Pacific Islanders face significant COVID-19 disparities. Design and methods: This exploratory study aimed to understand Marshallese community attitudes about the COVID-19 vaccine to identify and implement culturally relevant strategies to encourage vaccine uptake. Data were collected from 17 participants in three focus groups. Results: Using content analysis, researchers identified two global themes: (1) barriers to vaccination and (2) facilitators of COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Within these themes, participants described fear, lack of knowledge about vaccines, negative perceptions of the COVID-19 vaccine, health concerns, and transportation as barriers to vaccination. Participants described several factors influencing vaccine behavior, including location of and personnel at vaccine clinics, vaccine experiences, the need for trusted information, positive perceptions, cultural leaders, and mandates. Conclusions: The qualitative study makes a significant contribution as the first to report community perceptions and experiences related to the COVID-19 vaccine in Marshallese participants’ own words. Findings show that cultural influencers and brokers are crucial bridges for public health messaging related to COVID-19 vaccination targeted to this vulnerable and underserved population. Culturally appropriate and effective public health messaging can help achieve vaccine equity and improve COVID-19-related health disparities in the Marshallese community.