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Members of Greater Cleveland Congregations (GCC) are getting trained to host question-and-answer sessions about the COVID-19 vaccine in their communities, expanding the number of people available to address Clevelanders' questions and concerns 鈥� without pressuring anyone to get vaccinated.

About 45 GCC members have attended training sessions with the Union of Concerned Scientists, according to GCC Executive Director Keisha Krumm. Those members will go on to host their own sessions in March.

鈥淲e felt like it was really important to create the space for people to learn what scientists were doing with the vaccine, what it is, and really be able to ask their questions, before anyone says to them, 鈥榊ou have to do this,鈥欌�� Krumm said.

A majority of the questions that have come up so far relate to the problematic history and negative perception of medical trials and vaccine testing in Black communities, Krumm said, as well as confusion on how vaccines work.

鈥淲e really wanted to address that history,鈥� Krumm said, 鈥渁nd then also show there have been regulations put in place so that doesn鈥檛 happen again.鈥�

While the sessions don鈥檛 aim to pressure anyone to get vaccinated, Krumm said talking to scientists about how the vaccine worked did change her mind about getting the shot. She now feels safe getting vaccinated when it is available to her.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 been really good about it is that people come with questions,鈥� Krumm said. 鈥淭here are people that are coming that are not sure if they鈥檙e even going to take the vaccine. There are people that are coming that have already taken it. And there鈥檚 people that know when they鈥檙e available for them, they are going to take it.鈥�

The sessions are an extension of GCC鈥檚 Color of Health program, which launched efforts to increase testing in minority communities last year. About 4,000 people in the Greater Cleveland area were tested for COVID-19 through the program, Krumm said, and it helped build trust within the communities.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really created this dynamic where people see the congregations in the neighborhood as trusted places to go, and also, it just clears the confusion,鈥� Krumm said.

The initiative has also provided scientists with an opportunity to hear directly from residents, said Anita Desikan, a research analyst for the Union for Concerned Scientists, who helps run the training sessions.

Questions asked during the sessions have pushed Desikan and her colleagues to dig deeper into how the vaccine was managed and created, she said. It has helped her to feel more confident in that process, she said.

鈥淚 have a lot of faith now that the scientists did the dorkiest, most robust science you can imagine,鈥� Desikan said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been really helpful to not only learn but to present this information to community groups.鈥�