Seema Bhansali, Executive Director of Corporate Affairs, speaks with Debra Fraser-Howze, Founder of Choose Healthy Life, on increasing awareness and acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine among communities of color.

We are excited to launch the next phase of “Wearing is Caring,” our public health campaign in partnership with The UPS Foundation. The campaign was first launched in October 2020 with a primary focus on promoting access to health care among underserved communities, and to encourage mask-wearing as an effective measure in reducing the spread of COVID-19. This third phase is focused on promoting health equity regarding education on and access to the COVID-19 vaccines.

Education about and enhanced access to COVID-19 vaccines is critical to help navigate the pandemic, and additional work is needed to engage segments within our communities. According to the CDC, approximately 56% of Americans are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. But some Black or African American people, as well as Hispanic or Latino people, are less likely to be vaccinated than non-Hispanics or people in other racial and ethnic minority groups. Americans who are members of racial and ethnic minority groups, including American Indian or Alaska Native people, have also been more severely affected by COVID-19 than non-Hispanics due to gaps in health care access, employment and working conditions, education, income, and wealth.

To help reinforce the importance of COVID-19 vaccinations, Henry Schein and its Foundation will be supporting the following organizations:

Choose Healthy Life

Choose Healthy Life is an initiative that ensures Black churches—the oldest and most trusted institutions in the Black community—receive the necessary resources, training, and support to address COVID-19 and other health disparities by making available health services to hard-to-reach communities.

Society of American Indian Dentists (SAID)

Society of American Indian Dentists (SAID) is a national, non-profit organization comprised of oral health professionals and students dedicated to promoting and improving the oral health of the American Indian/Alaskan Native community and providing advocacy for American Indian/Alaskan Native dental professionals across the U.S.

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT)

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) are comprised of the Bitterroot Salish, the Pend d’Oreille and the Kootenai tribes. Their mission is to adopt traditional principles and values into all facets of tribal operations and services so that its tribes become a completely self-sufficient society and economy.

Hispanic Dental Association

Hispanic Dental Association is the leading voice for Hispanic Oral Health. The organization provides service, education-research, advocacy, and leadership for all healthcare professionals, to promote overall health of the Hispanic/Latinx and underrepresented communities in support of their community Outreach Program in target areas, nationally.