Garfield County work to be presented in CDC panel on COVID vaccines

PRESS RELEASE
Feb. 22, 2021

Since November, Garfield County has been taking part in a project with the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).

A group of 25 local Hispanic community members participated in a series of three listening sessions. The sessions were designed to help vaccine providers understand communities that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and barriers that influence vaccine acceptance.

The information is helping to frame local vaccine efforts. However, Garfield County’s involvement is part of a larger nation-wide project, with input from six communities across the U.S.

The findings will be presented next week in a workshop being held by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) during the virtual, National Forum on COVID-19 Vaccine.

The forum takes place February 22 – 24 and brings together practitioners from across the nation with the goal of mounting safe, effective, and comprehensive vaccine implementation strategies with a focus on protecting those most at risk and advancing health equity.

 

The Forum will facilitate information exchange on the most effective strategies to:

  • Build trust and confidence in COVID-19 vaccines
  • Use data to drive vaccine implementation
  • Provide practical information for optimizing and maximizing equitable vaccine access

 

All of the sessions will be available online and can also be viewed at a later date.

Garfield County participants contributed to Town Hall 3: Community Engagement for Vaccine Confidence that can be viewed Monday, February 22, from 11:30 a.m.- 1:00 p.m. MST.

 

“Through this process, we learned about the real needs and barriers facing people in our community. One thing we realized is that we don’t all fit into the same bubble. We need multiple avenues and multiple partners on board to provide everyone access to the vaccine. Some of our community members have hurdles and trust issues to overcome. But we have tools to bring us together and do this work. We are looking for others to help champion vaccine acceptance in Garfield County, to watch the webinar, and be part of developing ideas and strategies together,” said Brisa Chavez, Latino Outreach Coordinator with Garfield County Public Health.

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