---
title: Drawing a Path From Vaccine Hesitancy to Vaccine Confidence
date: 2022-09-23T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/drawing-a-path-from-vaccine-hesitancy-to-vaccine-confidence"
section: Articles
---
# Drawing a Path From Vaccine Hesitancy to Vaccine Confidence

*September 23, 2022* — by [Karen Shih ’09](/author/karen-shih)


> Center’s Graphic Novel Series, Featuring Terp Artists, Showcases Local Pandemic Stories

*Comicbooks 1920x1080 — The Barbershop Storybook Project, a six-book graphic novel series created by Jasmine Mitchell ’20 and Marcus Ford ’20, is the latest initiative from the Maryland Center for Health Equity's Health Advocates In-Reach and Research (HAIR) campaign. The comics aim to address COVID-19 misinformation and open dialogues about mental health, grief, vaccines, masking and more, starting in barbershops and salons.*

From an unvaccinated man struggling to find a job to a little girl feeling overwhelmed at school by the pandemic, the people at the heart of the Barbershop Storybook Project feel like friends, neighbors and family members.

That’s the goal of Jasmine Mitchell ’20 and Marcus Ford ’20, the artists behind the new comic book series from the School of Public Health’s [Maryland Center for Health Equity](https://sph.umd.edu/research-impact/research-centers/maryland-center-health-equity). The graphic novels build on its work in barbershops and hair salons through the [Health Advocates In-Reach and Research (HAIR) campaign](https://sph.umd.edu/hair), including offering COVID-19 testing and vaccines.

“When the pandemic hit, we had been in these shops for over a decade. We were able to quickly pivot to addressing the misinformation going on in the community,” said center Director Stephen Thomas. But once people left those shop chairs, it was hard to reinforce the information they were getting—so he decided a graphic novel would be an accessible way to reach a broad audience.

\[*[Barbershops to Cut Through Vaccine Hesitancy](https://today.umd.edu/barbershops-cut-through-vaccine-hesitancy-8485de9e-fc7e-443c-b3b8-5f21ea6ffaa9)*\]


*Jasmine Mitchell ’20 and Marcus Ford ’20 — Jasmine Mitchell ’20 and Marcus Ford ’20 during a live reading of the comics at the Woolly Mammoth Theater. (Photo by Jason Mukendi)*




**Topics:** [Campus & Community](https://today.umd.edu/tags/campus-community)


**Tags:** [Books](https://today.umd.edu/topic/books), [Health Equity and Literacy](https://today.umd.edu/topic/health-equity-and-literacy)


**Units:** [School of Public Health](https://today.umd.edu/topic/school-public-health)