Recently, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) field team focused efforts in Chelsea to spread information about the COVID-19 vaccine. Trained canvassers worked with local businesses as well as traveled door-to-door to answer questions and hand out information for residents to get vaccinated. These efforts are part of DPH’s larger Vaccine Equity Initiative, which works with populations and communities that are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 to reduce barriers to vaccination, increase awareness of vaccine safety and efficacy, and ultimately increase vaccinations. Prioritizing vaccine outreach to these communities is key to ending the pandemic.
DPH’s trained canvassers continued field operations on the ground. The team, comprised of Chelsea residents, traveled door-to-door to hand out flyers, hang doorknob knockers, and answered questions such as “When can I get the COVID-19 vaccine?” “How will I know it’s my turn to get vaccinated?” and “Is vaccination safe?”
This focused grassroots outreach strategy is the product of a collaboration between DPH and Archipelago Strategies Group (ASG) and Health Care for All (HCFA), and is just one component of DPH’s larger Vaccine Equity Initiative.
The initiative prioritizes 20 cities across the state that were identified as having been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. These priority populations were determined using case data and the COVID-19 Community Impact Survey, which DPH conducted in the fall of 2020. To ensure the vaccine is accessible to our most disproportionately impacted populations, the Commonwealth prioritizes vaccine to each of the 20 municipalities every week, subject to program administration guidelines.
For additional information on the initiative, please visit: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-vaccine-equity-initiative-focused-grassroots-outreach