During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have witnessed profound health inequities suffered by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). These manifested as differential access to testing early in the pandemic, rates of severe disease and death 2-3 times higher than White Americans, and now, significantly lower vaccine uptake compared with their share of the population affected by COVID-19. This article explores the impact of these COVID-19 inequities (and the underlying cause, structural racism) on vaccine acceptance in BIPOC populations, ways to establish trustworthiness of healthcare institutions, increase vaccine access for BIPOC communities, and inspire confidence in COVID-19 vaccines.

Black Americans are disproportionately represented among coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19)‐related morbidities and mortalities. While the COVID‐19 vaccines are positioned to change this disparity, vaccine hesitancy, attributed to decades of systemic racism and mistreatment by the United States health care system, heavily exists among this racially and ethnically minoritized group. In addition, social determinants of health within Black communities including the lack of health care access and inequitable COVID‐19 vaccine allocation, further impacts vaccine uptake. Black pharmacists have worked to address the pandemic's deleterious effects that have been recognized within Black communities, as they are intimately aware of the structural and systematic limitations that contribute to lower vaccination rates in comparison to other racial and ethnic groups. Black pharmacists have been integral to promoting equity in COVID‐19 uptake within Black communities by disseminating factual, trustworthy information in collaboration with community leaders, advocating for the equitable access to the immunizations into vulnerable areas, and creating, low‐barrier, options to distribute the vaccines. Herein, we thoroughly explain these points and offer a framework that describes the role of Black pharmacists in narrowing vaccine equity gaps.

Although pharmacists are key members of the healthcare team, they are currently ineligible to independently prescribe the oral coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) antivirals. We report the roles pharmacists have undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic and provide evidence for the support of independent oral COVID-19 antiviral prescribing.