Table 1.

Themes and relevant quotes.

Theme	Relevant Quotes
Disseminating COVID-19 Information through Multiple Communication Channels and Accessibility	“We pretty much utilize all aspects of communication, whether it be Facebook, or Instagram, or in person, bulletins, text message, any way that we can get out information we certainly take, take use of it, or make use of it” (Pastor 4, male, Baptist). “We talk about across the pulpit in online services. I am very hands on with my members, so I speak one on one as well. And, so far, I have not had any members say they don’t want to take the vaccine. All of my members are pretty much so vaccinated except for the young ones as they go by the CDC guidelines as you know some of the little kids cannot vaccinate them yet” (Pastor 5, male, AME). “My church, actually, did the COVID screening three times and the vaccinations twice, and we do have some on hand for those who might change their minds.” (Pastor 6, female, AME) “Every single, every single Sunday? It’s a part of the ongoing announcements, you know, Black churches, we have announcements, right. And, and these things are memorialized for a week, because even after the Sunday broadcast, people are still watching it during the week, on our different platforms, because they’re still there posted. For those who may not have caught Sunday services, they can watch it, you know, after the fact. And you know, that same information is available” (Pastor 7, male, AME). “We use everything that we believe to get the word out [from] our Facebook page, from our website, from YouTube, from radio announcements, from newspaper announcements, within the church from our marque board, from placing signs on the highway. from putting out flyers around the community, and also asking others who have a great social media network to put it on their Facebook page.” (Pastor 8, male, Baptist) “I got the maximum number of followers on my Facebook page. I put it my personal Facebook page. Even now, to this day, I talk about it every Sunday when we live stream” (Pastor 10, male, Baptist).
Source of Trusted Information	“My burden is that our community will keep suffering, because we don’t trust the system and the system doesn’t trust the avenues that we have available to build on. That’s a challenge, and it is a constant concern that our people will not get vaccinated… because they don’t trust the system” (Pastor 2, female, AME). “I think pastors can be a big influence for people to get vaccinated. They have to continue to talk about and encourage people. I am not sure what else we can do. I am a hospice chaplain, and I tell people all the time that COVID is not something that you want to die of. It is not something that you will ever really recover from, so your best bet is to get yourself vaccinated.” (Pastor 9, female, AME)
A Role Model for Vaccination: Lead by Example	“Many of them have express their gratitude that I got vaccinated and posted pictures of it and a video of it and spoke of how it affected me in that second shot. So for all the comments that I’ve received were positive” (Pastor 1, male, Baptist). “I was probably one of the first to be vaccinated twice in February, and then my officers pretty much followed suit—my stewards and trustee and class leaders.” (Pastor 6, female, AME) “We created a little video of not only those of us who are pastors but also leaders in the community, both Black and White. We are talking about police officers and first responders and giving our testimony. We have taken our shot and tried to encourage others to do so as well.” (Pastor 8, male, Baptist) “We partnered with those giving the shots, and we opened our facilities to give the shots. And I acknowledge it and encouraged it. And the greatest acknowledgement that I had was that me and my family had taken it, so I think personally before you can promote it you have to had personally had done it, so we promoted it and we encouraged it. And now, we encourage people to accept the science” (Pastor 10, male, Baptist).
Strengthening the Commitment to Health	“It’s a personal passion of mine. I also serve on the Health Advisory Board for the city, so I get all of the intel, all the information on the demographics that I pastor, of how vulnerable they are to COVID.” (Pastor 2, female, AME) “I told them if I need to go with you to take the shot I will. I have nothing else to do but to pastor my people (Pastor 6, female, AME). “We have to be more proactive and even now I say get the vaccine or get the virus” (Pastor 10, male, Baptist).