[Woman] I wasn't being listened to.
My feelings, my autonomy.
I walked away from this experience just traumatized.
[Reporter] Brayana Taylor still struggles to talk about her experience giving birth to her daughter in 2019.
During the most vulnerable and crucial moments of my entire life
my care was mishandled
by those that I was supposed to have been able to have you know the utmost trust and confidence in.
So now when it comes to the vaccine you know I'm definitely hesitant.
[Reporter] The 20-year-old runs an Instagram page called Black Motherhood Collective.
In a recent post she aimed to shed light on why she and so many others
are wary of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Troubling stats like this one from a 2018 study out of the U.S.
show that 84 percent of pregnancy-related deaths were Black women.
[Taylor] Anybody who has any sense of the history of the health care system and the Black community
would totally understand why any Black person would be hesitant
when it comes to the vaccine.
[Reporter] While Black people may not be the only ones hesitant about the vaccine, they may be more likely to be.
A survey by ECOS Research in December found 32 percent of racialized respondents said
they would not take the vaccine compared to 21 percent of non-racialized people.
The stakes are high for neighbourhoods like this one in Toronto's northwest end.
The predominantly Black and brown community has been a COVID hot spot
since the start of the pandemic.
One look around, it's not hard to understand why.
They have to go to work every day. They're essential workers, many of them.
[Reporter] Toronto's Black community has been hardest hit.
Black patients making up a quarter of hospitalizations from COVID-19
the highest of any race group in Toronto.
Despite being just nine percent of the population.
One would think that would make Black Canadians eager for access to a vaccine
but community advocates say skepticism abounds.
[Woman] When we talk about vaccines, again there's that mistrust.
Something will now be injected into your body.
Can we trust that substance, can we trust what's happening?
[Reporter] Cheryl Prescott, the executive director of the Black Creek Community Health Centre says
this fear of the medical system comes from a very real place.
We know that you know studies were done in the Black community, for example, by public health agencies in Tuskegee for example
where Black men were engaged in the syphilis study
and that's something that folks know and I think builds the mistrust.
[Reporter] Tuskegee syphilis study experimented on Black men in Alabama over 40 years without their consent.
Experts say understanding the historic and present day systemic racism in health care
has to be addressed as the COVID-19 vaccine is rolled out.
It's important to ensure that the messaging relating to vaccine prioritization is appropriate
and it's very transparent and very clear
so that there's no misinterpretation of intent.
In other words there's no perception that they're being used as guinea pigs.
[Reporter] Dr. Upton Allen is head of infectious diseases at the hospital for Sick Children in Toronto
and he's been meeting with government officials
encouraging them to create specific strategies targeted and vaccine rollout in the Black community.
What are some of the things that you hear from people in the Black community
that creates a barrier for them to want to take the vaccine when it will be available?
Number one is a trust of the health care system.
Second is misinformation or just people getting wrong information or data that drive their decisions.
There are quite a few questions in the chat so.
[Reporter] In the meantime community groups are being proactive.
I can tell you though that I know people who've been vaccinated
and they've been OK.
[Reporter] Holding information sessions like this one
hoping they can help get them ready for the vaccine when it's their turn.
[Prescott] That is so crucial that hat messaging gets out there and it's being delivered by trusted individuals in the community.
For many like Brayana the responsibility still lies with those at the top.
[Taylor] Show the effort, make the effort and let us know that this is something that
you're very serious about and you're adamant about repairing the relationship
and making sure that there is a level of trust between the Black community and healthcare professionals
so that we can have confidence moving forward.
[Reporter] It's still unclear exactly when vaccines might be available for these impacted communities.
Just today the City of Toronto announced it will invest millions
in a Black community COVID response plan.
[Adrienne] So Ginella, what more do we know about the efforts the local governments are making to try to address it?
Well, Adrienne, we heard today from the City of Toronto 6.8 million dollars in investment
that'll go directly to Black community groups who've already been doing this work
like Cheryl Prescott who we saw there and her organization.
And from the province of Ontario, they say phase two of the vaccine rollout that'll include essential workers
like the people who live in those COVID-19 hot spots.
Now, they also pointed out that last month they committed 12 and a half million dollars in funding
for culturally sensitive community outreach in 15 high-priority communities
and they admit that there is a gap in data when it comes to socio-economic groups and COVID-19.
And that is still a challenge that has to be overcome, Adrienne.
[Adrienne] All right, thank you, Ginella.
Ginella Massa, host of Canada Tonight.