CPCA Members Ensure Vaccine Equity in Diverse Communities
When the COVID-19 vaccine became available in California, community health centers (CHCs) were well-positioned to vaccinate their communities. With the prospect of a “twindemic” looming ahead of last year’s flu season, they had already ramped up flu vaccine education and outreach and used flu vaccine clinics as a “dress rehearsal” of sorts for upcoming COVID-19 vaccine distribution efforts. As trusted providers within diverse, less-resourced communities, CHCs were well-versed in what it would take to ensure equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine and were ready to get to work. As soon as they had adequate supply of the vaccine to begin vaccinating their staff, patients and communities, they started quickly organizing mobile clinics, walk-up clinics, and outreach efforts. Here are some highlights of the different ways that CPCA member health centers worked to drive health equity thus far in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
Quick and Efficient Vaccination of CHC Staff and External Medical Providers
Early on in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, CHCs were eager to receive the vaccine, but due to a series of hiccups at the federal and state level, they didn’t know when they would get it, or how many doses they would receive. Once they did start receiving shipments of the vaccine, they quickly got to work vaccinating their frontline staff, as healthcare workers were first in line to receive the shot based on federal and state guidelines. CHCs did an outstanding job of protecting not only their own staff, but other medical providers in their communities. AltaMed Health Services, a large network of health centers in Southern California, had vaccinated more than 2,000 of their employees by January 15th, proving how proficient health centers are at getting shots into arms quickly. Quickly vaccinating staff was an important part of ensuring health equity, as many frontline workers at CHCs come from the diverse communities they serve. And they didn’t just stop at vaccinating their own staff. Health centers such as St. John’s Well Child and Family Center in South LA were also vaccinating other local healthcare workers.
“In fact, based on data collected through HRSA’s Health Center COVID-19 Survey, community health centers have administered more than 10 million vaccines nationwide (as of May 19) with 61 percent going to racial and/or ethnic minority patients. Of those, nearly one-third were administered by California CHCs (3.2 Million) of which nearly 76% were given to racial and/or ethnic minority patients. ”
Vaccinating the Elderly and Addressing the Digital Divide
When vaccine eligibility opened to residents over 65 years old, health centers got to work to reach their high-risk, elderly patients who were high risk for contracting COVID-19, many of whom lacked access to a computer, smartphone or internet to be able to secure a vaccine appointment online. Health center staff began calling patients and scheduling their shots, bypassing the state’s confusing online scheduling site, MyTurn.
CHCs’ boots-on-the-ground, grassroots efforts to reach the older population were key to ensuring that these vulnerable seniors didn’t slip through the cracks, especially amid low-supply of the vaccine and the competitive nature of accessing it at the time. Gardner Health Services, recognizing that many of the seniors in East San Jose lacked internet access, transportation and/or were non-English speakers, began operating a walk-up vaccine site at the Mexican Heritage Plaza to ensure health equity in the predominantly Latino area of East San Jose.
Ensuring Access to the Vaccine for Hard-Hit Farmworkers:
California’s farmworkers have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, both in terms of financial impact and health, due to close working and living conditions. After farmworker advocates worked for months to have farmworkers prioritized in the state’s vaccine eligibility guidelines, eligibility was finally opened up to farmworkers. However, ensuring their place in line was only half the battle to get this high-risk population vaccinated. Mass vaccination sites were not going to work for non-English speaking essential workers who lacked transportation, internet and could not make traditional clinic hours during the day.
Seeing the need to expand access to the vaccine for farmworkers, Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas, a trusted provider for Salinas Valley farmworkers, bypassed the state’s vaccine distribution system, and started securing doses from the federal government so that they could operate weekly vaccine clinics, in partnership with the Grower-Shipper Association, for the area’s agricultural workers. The two organizations worked together to vaccinate up thousands of workers each Saturday, and as of early May, they had vaccinated 25,000 people, or about 40% of Monterey County’s farmworkers.
OLE Health in Napa Valley, also did an excellent job of ensuring vaccine equity for local farmworkers. They set up a clinic at the Napa Valley Wine Train, and by April 26th they had administered their 10,000th dose of the vaccine.
Vaccinating the Hard-to-Reach Homeless
The FDA emergency use authorization of the Johnson and Johnson one-dose vaccine was a game-changer for vaccinating the hard-to-reach unhoused population. LifeLong Medical Care’s street medicine team made national news for their outstanding work to vaccinate the homeless in Alameda County. Essentially, instead of waiting for the homeless to come to them and ask for the vaccine, they brought it directly to the homeless encampments. A large part of these efforts involved building trust with the homeless and educating them on how to stay safe from COVID-19 and protect others by getting vaccinated.
Leading Efforts to Ensure Vaccine Access to Communities of Color in COVID-19 Hotspots
St. John’s Well Child and Family Center has been a standout in the space of vaccine equity right from the start of the rollout. Serving the diverse communities of South LA, which are predominantly Black and Latino, St. John’s knew exactly what had to happen for these hard-hit communities to have an equitable opportunity to be vaccinated. In addition to sending their vans out to homeless encampments, the health center quickly began organizing vaccine walk-up vaccine clinics as soon as they had enough supply to begin getting those shots into arms. They strategically worked with other trusted organizations such as Compton College and local churches to place the clinics in areas that would best provide access to the community. As of April 15th, they had administered over 150,000 doses! What is even more impressive is that 97% of those vaccines went to communities of color.
Community health centers (CHCs) continue to be a central component of both the state and federal COVID-19 vaccine response. In fact, based on data collected through HRSA’s Health Center COVID-19 Survey, community health centers have administered more than 10 million vaccines nationwide (as of May 19) with 61 percent going to racial and/or ethnic minority patients. Of those, nearly one-third were administered by California CHCs (3.2 Million) of which nearly 76% were given to racial and/or ethnic minority patients.
CPCA is extremely proud of the accomplishments of our member health centers throughout the first half of 2021. They have worked tirelessly to combat COVID-19 by protecting and vaccinating the communities that would otherwise have been left behind. As the vaccine distribution has now reached a “tipping point” with supply outpacing demand, the work of community health centers to address vaccine hesitancy and drive health equity will be even more essential.