West Virginia has a simple system that avoids wasting vaccine doses

Accredited social health activists (ASHA) across India fight COVID-19 related misinformation on WhatsApp. ASHAs provide basic health care to people in their villages, which puts them on the frontline of treating COVID-19 patients and educating people to dispel the many myths about the virus and its treatments. ASHAs' local interactions often identify prevailing myths, which they quickly dispel in their face-to-face exchanges and by posting in the many local WhatsApp groups that have been created. The local groups have been an effective mode of educating people and helped ASHAs gain villagers’ trust.

To help with the coronavirus vaccine distribution, a New York-based start-up has introduced a service that connects "vaccine providers who find themselves with extra vaccines to people who are willing to get one at a moment’s notice." Although the project is still being piloted, more than 500,000 vaccination-seekers and 200 vaccine providers have signed up for the initiative, and some health officials believe it could become a model for a more equitable distribution strategy.

To help students access the resources they need while schools are closed due to the coronavirus, administrators in China are utilizing "a national cloud learning platform," as well as broadcast television. While both supplement online lessons, the e-learning approach equips students with tools to learn 12 different subjects.

Technology has allowed courts across the country to maintain - and even expand, -services during COVID-19. In Utah, courts held remote hearings and used Doodle to schedule hearings and request interpreters. The virtual schedules filled up fast and, in some cases, officials had to bring laptops and tablets to people who lacked access to technology. Spreading the word in unique ways, including social media, and setting up mobile courts addressed some access issues, particularly among people experiencing homelessness.

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.

A mother and daughter in North Carolina have helped launch a successful vaccination events and campaigns without much aid from the local government. Both took to grassroots awareness campaigns and took to walking around trailer parks and other places where Spanish-speaking workers live in order to increase the number of vaccinated workers.

Online volunteer assistance efforts in New York have played a crucial role in the dissemination of the COVID-19 vaccine, while city and state appointment systems have caused confusion or created barriers for many. Although these efforts can't address all barriers, such as lack of computer access or literacy, they have been used by thousands of people each day to find available appointment times.

To help students and others internationals who are living in the Netherlands during the coronavirus pandemic, a Facebook group was formed that translates news reports into English. Although messaging from the government is readily available in English, the ten university students who run the page are translating news broadcasts as a means of offering "contextual information about the crisis." One of the students explains, ""It is more about how expats navigate through society, whose society they don't really know, and I think that proper journalism is highly important for understanding the bigger picture."

When it comes to containing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, many experts point to contact tracing, in which disease detectives track and monitor the interactions and movements of known infected people, as the key. From more manual, labor-intensive detective methods to high-tech app-based methods, contact tracing tactics can vary, but the basic concept remains the same. However, there is a trade off between safety and privacy.

The county of Alachua in Florida has created a centralized online portal that connects volunteers with those who need assistance during the coronavirus pandemic. The portal also expands access to who has been able to volunteer thus far, allowing those who may be more vulnerable due to underlying health conditions to take opportunities that can be fulfilled from home.