For Navajo, crowded homes have always been a lifeline. The pandemic threatens that.

Hailey Sadler Darian Woehr

August 30, 2021 |

The Washington Post |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Navajo Nation, Utah

Multigenerational homes allowed indigenous families to pass down culture and language for thousands of years but living in crowded homes left them more vulnerable to COVID-19. Navajo teams have built 300 8-by-15-foot “tiny homes” to provide extra space for the most vulnerable or most exposed family member to isolate. Government-sponsored hotel rooms also provide spaces for those with the virus to quarantine safely. An aggressive vaccination campaign also got nearly half of those living within the Navajo Indian Health Service Area fully vaccinated, further reducing risk in crowded households.

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Personal responsibility in Andrews, Texas

Betsy Ladyzhets

August 29, 2021 |

COVID-19 Data Dispatch |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Andrews, Texas

Thanks to a trusting and open relationship between school officials and parents, Andrews, Texas, schools kept COVID-19 infections under control when classes resumed in August 2020, even though virtual learning was hardly used and some CDC guidelines on quarantines and masks were disregarded. School officials navigated local politics over pandemic controls by emphasizing personal responsibility while taking precautions like improving classroom ventilation, intensive cleaning regimens, and keeping kids outdoors more often.

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FDA Vaccine Approval, Mandates Persuade New York City Holdouts

Amy Yee

August 28, 2021 |

Bloomberg |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

Community groups in under-vaccinated areas helped tens of thousands of people get vaccinated, made slightly easier since the FDA approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and more employers requiring it. Nonprofits like the Bronx Rising Initiative, Vision Urbana, and Union Settlement are trusted messengers that have a long-standing presence in their communities. They understand their communities' needs and speak their language - both literally and figuratively. The groups conducted door-to-door educational outreach, signed people up for appointments and held community events where people could get the vaccine.

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A group of moms on Facebook built an island of good-faith vaccine debate in a sea of misinformation

Gerrit De Vynck Will Oremus Elizabeth Dwoskin

August 24, 2021 |

The Washington Post |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Vaccine Talk is a Facebook group for evidence-based discussion to help both pro- and anti-vaccine people wade through all of the conflicting, and oftentimes wrong, information about the COVID-19 vaccine. The group has a tough reputation because of its strict moderation system and rules of discourse. Each of the group’s 70,000 members was approved by an administrator to join and committed to a code of conduct. Users must be ready to provide citations within 24 hours of posting and the moderators don’t hesitate to kick out members who lack civility, misrepresent themselves, or make unsubstantiated claims.

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How Wayanad became first district to vaccinate all adults: Collector Adeela intv

Cris

August 20, 2021 |

The News Minute |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: India, Wayanad, Kerala

Wayanad is the first district in Kerala to have vaccinated the entire adult population with at least one COVID-19 vaccine. Rather than waiting for people to make appointments, officials went door-to-door providing all adults with appointment times. The district’s efforts started early, setting up vaccine infrastructure and assigning people appointment dates by where they live. Rapid Response Teams conducted outreach and education efforts, particularly among tribal populations, and made sure people showed up at their appointment. Getting vaccinated with their neighbors also decreased vaccine hesitancy.

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Why U.S. cities are enlisting micro-influencers to fight vaccine disinformation and hesitancy

Erica Hellerstein

August 11, 2021 |

Coda Story |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Santa Clara County, California

Santa Clara County City officials, together with the digital marketing agency XOMAD, paid 49 mico-influencers to promote COVID-19 vaccines and dispel misinformation. The micro-influencers were paid between $200 and $2,500, depending on their number of followers, frequency of posts, and level of engagement. Over two months, the influencers published 339 posts across Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram, which received 2.5 million total views and impressions.

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An Innovative Tool to Increase Vaccine Access? The Block Party

Emma Specter

August 05, 2021 |

Vogue |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Lowell, Massachusetts

The Greater Lowell Health Alliance offered COVID-19 vaccines using a “block party” model where community members enjoy free food, music, activities, and even childcare, while also having access to information about vaccines in multiple languages as well as the ability to actually get vaccinated. This model reduced barriers for immigrants, refugees, and other people who don’t speak English fluently, as well as caregivers who can’t attend vaccine appointments due to their caregiving responsibilities. The relaxed environment, where loved ones can support each other, increased comfort with getting the vaccine.

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When Disaster Strikes

Taylor Perse

August 05, 2021 |

Eugene Weekly |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Cleveland, Ohio

Disaster preparedness in the form of close inter-agency coordination and communication helped Cuyahoga County, Ohio, protect its unhoused population from COVID-19 to a greater extent than Lane County, Oregon. Although Cuyahoga (Cleveland) is larger, with more resources, its effective responses still offer a model to Lane County (Eugene), where a scattered approach and homeless-camp sweeps proved counterproductive. In Cleveland, hotels were quickly enlisted to house people, reducing crowding in shelters by half and street homelessness by 30%. Its largest men's shelter ended up with a low infection rate.

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Inside North Carolina's 'little Dare County,' most vaccinated county in the rural South

Andrew Yawn

August 05, 2021 |

USA Today |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Dare County, North Carolina

Dare County, a relatively isolated and rural coastal county in North Carolina, has the highest vaccination rate in the southern U.S. The successful vaccination campaign is due in part to an existing communication infrastructure that local governments and healthcare systems use to coordinate during hurricane emergencies. Existing communication channels and relationships made it easier to publicize mass vaccination sites and get people to register online. Officials also went to great lengths to get more vaccines, petitioning the state for extra doses and even driving to other counties to pick up surpluses.

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Faith-Based Vaccine Outreach Underway to Reach Northern Nevada Latinos

Natalie Van Hoozer

July 30, 2021 |

KUNR |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Reno, Nevada

To increase vaccination rates among Reno’s Latino/a population, organizers conducted outreach with congregants at a local church that offers Spanish-language masses. Confidence in clinic locations and feeling safe due to immigration status presented as the biggest obstacles keeping people from getting vaccinated, so organizers used the church to hold pop-up clinics. The initial outreach helped build trust and gave organizers a chance to provide information and answer questions. Hundreds turned out for each clinic and the vaccination rate among the surrounding Latino/a community increased from 22% to 41%.

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