On Kashmir's border, health workers fight Covid vaccine battles

Community health workers — or “promotoras” — work to buffer the harmful effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically in isolated, Hispanic regions. These bilingual healthcare workers serve as a vital connection in the communities they serve, sharing medical information, COVID tests, and vaccines and working to dispel vaccine mistrust and misinformation.

Crown Agents is an international development organization working to get people vaccinated against COVID-19, despite vaccine shortages and misinformation from anti-vaxxers.

The Arizona Health Department delivers COVID-19 tests, vaccinations and other medical services to underserved, low-income communities via mobile vans, pop-up clinics and in-home services for those who struggle to access health care. Since the mobile program started in 2021, more than 140,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.

Village Health Teams are groups of community health workers helping rural women access family planning services. They travel from home to home offering counseling, education and connection to the resources women need but struggle to access, including condoms and pills, often all without having to visit a health facility. VHTs have reached several thousand residents, both with short and long-term contraceptive methods.

Through well-coordinated efforts by healthcare workers, those living in rural, hard-to-reach areas were able to access the COVID-19 vaccine. As of July 2023, 83.9% of the country’s total population had been vaccinated with their first dose and 83.4% had received their second dose.

The solar-powered freezer donated by Green Life Energy allows vaccines to be stored at the appropriate temperature, providing more access to necessary immunizations, specifically for those in rural communities. Nurses say the freezer box has the capacity to hold up to 500 doses of different vaccines, including polio, measles, tuberculosis, and the COVID-19 vaccine.

In response to the severe lack of physicians, Shasta Community Health Center has increased telehealth services through its telemedicine center, which provides real-time video calls with physician specialists. This short-term solution helps patients get the care they need while lawmakers and work on long-term, financially viable solutions.

Givers Supportive Foundation provides free surgery for children with hydrocephalus and other chronic childhood illnesses by connecting with a network of neurosurgeons abroad. Beyond the surgeries, the organization also doubles as counselors and arranges one-on-one discussions with the parents of young patients with hydrocephalus, offering support throughout the treatment process.

Public health officials and resettlement groups are using community strategies to encourage refugees and other vulnerable people to get the COVID-19 vaccine. CDC toolkits allow local health departments and organizations to provide COVID-related messaging about the virus and the available vaccine in more than 30 languages.

The Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas and its subsidiary Building Health act as safety nets for uninsured people experiencing homelessness by expanding the definition of healthcare to also include housing, serving about 85,000 people a year. By providing wraparound care and services from help finding housing to legal assistance and education, the groups’ combined efforts helped shrink the rate of uninsured, unhoused people from 16% in 2020 to about 12% now.