Developing counter-narratives to address COVID-19 misinformation among 18-24 year olds in community and campus settings

Rhonda C Holliday; Asantewaa Darkwa; Gail A Brooks; Tabia Henry Akintobi; Amy Z Chen; Rakale C Quarells; Michael L Best

doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2025.127135

Developing counter-narratives to address COVID-19 misinformation among 18-24 year olds in community and campus settings

Vaccine. 2025 Apr 29:60 Suppl 1:127135. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2025.127135. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Rhonda C Holliday¹, Asantewaa Darkwa², Gail A Brooks³, Tabia Henry Akintobi⁴, Amy Z Chen⁵, Rakale C Quarells⁶, Michael L Best⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine, Prevention Research Center, Morehouse School of Medicine, 720 Westview Dr., Atlanta, GA 30310, United States. Electronic address: rholliday@msm.edu.
² College of Nursing, University of Illinois Chicago, 8545 S. Damen Ave, MC 802,Chicago, IL 60612, United States. Electronic address: adarkwa@uic.edu.
³ The BLK + Cross, 848 Oglethorpe Avenue SW #11500, Atlanta, GA 30310, United States. Electronic address: gail@theblkcross.co.
⁴ Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine, Prevention Research Center, Morehouse School of Medicine, 720 Westview Dr., Atlanta, GA 30310, United States. Electronic address: takintobi@msm.edu.
⁵ International Affairs and Interactive Computing, Institute for People and Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology, North Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30332, United States. Electronic address: amychen@gatech.edu.
⁶ Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine, Prevention Research Center, Morehouse School of Medicine, 720 Westview Dr., Atlanta, GA 30310, United States. Electronic address: rquarells@msm.edu.
⁷ International Affairs and Interactive Computing, Institute for People and Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology, North Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30332, United States. Electronic address: mikeb@gatech.edu.

PMID: 40307151
DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2025.127135

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, young adults represented one of the groups with the highest number of COVID-19 infections but experienced less severe symptoms and lower rates of mortality. The Georgia Peers for Equity Against COVID-19 and for Health (Georgia PEACH) was developed to address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among African American/Black and Latinx young adults (18-25) on college campuses and in the community. Existing community relationships and partnerships were leveraged to quickly engage young adults (Peer Champions) to develop counter-narratives to address mis/disinformation in their communities, using a community engaged approach. These counter-narratives were then used in community engagement activities and health communication messages on college campuses and in the community to increase vaccine confidence among their peers. The Peer Champions were able to reach 350 young adults through these strategies.

Keywords: African American/black young adults; COVID-19 disinformation; COVID-19 misinformation; COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy; Latinx young adults; community engagement; counter-narratives, health messages.