The Biden administration has awarded millions of dollars to counter fear and misinformation in communities of color that have indicated they're concerned about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Over the past three weeks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has awarded more than $17 million to several organizations planning vaccine education, according to the Department of Health and Human Services funding database.

Fifteen organizations advocating for Black, Hispanic, Asian and Native Americans have received funds to boost their COVID-19 vaccine educational outreach.

People of color are more likely to contract COVID-19 than White people, and Black, Hispanic and Native Americans are two to three times more likely to require hospitalization, according to CDC data.

Even with these rates, White Americans are getting vaccinated at a far higher rate than other racial minorities.

As of February 22, more than 19 million people were fully vaccinated, 65% of whom are White, according to CDC data.

Before any COVID-19 vaccines were developed, vaccine hesitancy was most prominent among Black Americans.

A Pew Research Center survey from last fall found only 42% planned to be vaccinated, compared to 63% of Hispanic and 61% of White adults.

The survey noted Asian Americans who speak English were the most likely to get a vaccine, with 83% saying they would do so.

Two of the most grievous abuses took place within the past 50 years: The Tuskegee syphilis study, which targeted Black men for more than 40 years; and the sterilization of thousands of Native American women without their consent by the Indian Health Service in the 1970s.

The Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum is set to use its $1.8 million dollar award to address the "digital divide" in Asian American communities and offer additional simplified vaccination instructions in less broadly spoken but critical languages like Samoan, Marshallese and Chuukese, said CEO Juliet K

If vaccinated from this outreach, individuals may be able to wear another recent CDC purchase from the Immunization Action Coalition: $1 million dollars of buttons and stickers promoting the message "I Got My COVID-19 Vaccine."