A Reuters/Ipsos poll in December showed Black people, in particular, were far more likely to fear vaccination than white people. Their skepticism stems in part from historical traumas such as the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, when government researchers left hundreds of Black men untreated for the disease to study its effects. Many Hispanic communities are fearful of interacting with the government in an era of widespread anti-immigration sentiment. Both communities have less access to medical care than white populations.

Some nonprofits are pushing for funding to reactivate the network that successfully encouraged people in minority communities to fill out the 2020 Census - another federal initiative dogged by fear and distrust.

In that effort, hundreds of grassroots groups knocked on doors and held information sessions to dispel fears. They recruited pastors, school teachers and other trusted locals to push the message. A similar model could work for vaccines, said Karthick Ramakrishnan, a public policy expert who ran a census outreach effort in southern California.

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