(Bethesda, MD, Tuesday, May 11, 2021) – COVID-19 has killed 575,000 people in the U.S., and the death toll continues to rise.

According to the CDC, the hospitalization rates for African-Americans is nearly 3x higher than White persons. The death rate for African Americans is nearly 2x the rate of their White counterparts. These disparities in African Americans can be attributed to their risk and exposure, the severity of underlying conditions like high blood pressure or diabetes, long-standing systemic health inequities, and/or lack of early access to health care.

Vaccines are the best protection against COVID-19, yet some in the African American community are reluctant.  At NIH CEAL we explain that safety always guides the scientific pathway toward vaccines and treatments. Safety steers scientific leaders who review and fund research, informs recruitment of volunteers who partner with researchers and participate in clinical trials, frames the rigorous and continuous oversight of studies, determines regulatory approval, guides engagement efforts in communities, and directs doctors and nurses who bring discoveries to patients. For more information, see the NIH Scientific Pathway.

At each step on the pathway we can find people, like Dr. Gary Gibbons, who represent a diverse group of people.

The National Institutes of Health Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) Against COVID-19 Disparities was established to support local outreach and engagement efforts in ethnic and racial minority communities disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s important that people get the facts from trusted messengers. To that end, CEAL is working with community- and faith-based organizations, doctors, patients, researchers, community advocates and minority-serving educational institutions to address the major impacts of COVID-19 by providing accurate information about the vaccines, addressing concerns, dispelling myths, and helping people who need the vaccine get it.

On Thursday, April 29, NIH announced $29 million in additional grants for CEAL. The awards will provide $15 million to 11 teams already conducting research and outreach to help strengthen COVID-19 vaccine confidence and access, as well as testing and treatment, in communities of color. An additional $14 million will fund 10 new research teams to extend the reach of COVID-19 community-engaged research and outreach.

For more information, visit covid19community.nih.gov.

Through the COVID-19 Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL), the NIH aims to:

• Make available the best, most accurate information about the transmission of COVID-19, prevention measures, and about the importance of inclusion in clinical studies. In addition, CEAL addresses the safety and effectiveness of vaccines and treatments, and any concerns that may come from misinformation or
• Increase the use of effective preventive practices that reduce the spread of COVID-19, especially in underserved communities, while offering timely access to proven new treatments.
• Increase the public’s understanding of how science works—specifically, the medical research process and how treatments and vaccines are developed.