“This is personal,” Correspondent Michael Hill says, describing why he got the COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday.

“My 89-year-old mother last April contracted the virus in a long-term care facility and because of her health conditions she really had no chance, no chance to survive. And, I don’t want that same thing for me because of the people I love and the people I take care of. It happened to my mother but I vowed it won’t happen to me,” Hill explained.

Communities of color are particularly hard-hit by the pandemic with higher infection rates and increased deaths. As the vaccines roll out across the country, people in those communities are not being vaccinated at the same rate as whites.

Now, about a quarter of adults surveyed across the country say they won’t get a vaccine. A new Monmouth University Poll says that 24% said under no circumstance will they get a shot and 50% said they’d like to be vaccinated as soon as possible. That divide is driven by partisanship, according to the poll.

But there’s also a lack of trust in government. For Black and brown communities that feeling is often compounded by this nation’s history of experimental medical practices on minority residents.

Getting the word out that the vaccine is both safe and effective is no easy task and New Jersey is now stepping up efforts to reach those communities.

Our correspondent Michael Hill decided to take us along for his vaccination journey hoping to shed a little light on the process.