COVID-19 Vaccine 101 and Myth-Busting
Explore animated videos that explain how COVID-19 vaccines work and debunk myths and misinformation, developed with Indigenous communities in Guatemala.
Audience: Community health education
Languages: Kaqchikel; K'iche'; Spanish
Format: Videos
Key topics: COVID-19; Vaccines; Myths; Misinformation
Indigenous Maya peoples make up over 40% of Guatemala’s overall population. They have faced substantial barriers to COVID-19 vaccine access and acceptance. Consequently, vaccination rates among Indigenous Guatemalans remained concerningly low in the months following the vaccine's introduction.
We worked with Wuqu’ Kawoq | Maya Health Alliance and the University of California San Francisco to understand the factors contributing to vaccine hesitancy in these populations and to explore a community-centric approach to vaccine outreach. As part of our multi-phase study, we created and shared culturally appropriate educational videos via social media.
Research showed that of people who saw the videos, 98% reported learning something new about the vaccines. People who watched the videos were also nearly 2x as likely to get vaccinated as those who did not.
"If you search the internet for information about COVID in Kaqchikel there is nothing… people do not have information and do not want to get vaccinated. They have reason to be afraid because fear arises from the unknown, from the lack of information."
— Focus group interview participant
Access Resources
This project includes six videos, free for use under the Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.
- Watch all videos on YouTube: COVID Vaccine 101 | COVID Vaccine Myths and Misinformation
- Download videos through your web browser: COVID Vaccine 101 | COVID Vaccine Myths and Misinformation
Questions? Contact us
Please reach out if you have questions or need to adapt the content for a different context.