NY’s mass vaccination infrastructure, which initially relied on hospital systems, though robust, did not adequately engage community and grassroots groups that are positioned to mitigate these disparities – the trusted messengers that can deliver curated and scientifically-sound information to communities, such as New Yorkers of color and immigrants. While the mass vaccination operational hurdles are best addressed by government actors, philanthropy has played a role in supporting networks of community-based organizations (CBOs) to reach deeply into hard-hit communities and promote equitable vaccine distribution. The New York State Health Foundations mission is to improve the health of all New Yorkers, especially the most vulnerable. The Foundation was one of three foundation partners that supported a constellation of complementary and synergistic efforts in New York to improve equity in vaccine distribution and uptake. The Foundation will share lessons learned as well as the core elements of the successful partnership and complementary initiatives.

The New York City Vaccine Equity Project aims to increase equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and vaccine information by funding community partners to lead outreach, engagement and navigation in the 33 Taskforce on Racial Inclusion and Equity (TRIE) neighborhoods, which have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, systemic racism, and disinvestment. New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is contracting with community partners to develop and implement tailored, accessible, diverse, and culturally relevant messages and engagement for disproportionately impacted neighborhoods to increase vaccine awareness, health literacy, and confidence. The services to be provided encompass six distinct deliverables across the following areas: (1) tailored messaging, (2) community outreach and engagement, (3) navigation, and (4) evaluation. The presentation will describe the first phases of this community engagement and partnership work, including best practices for engaging partners and residents and measuring outcomes.

The New York Vaccine Literacy Project began in April 2021 to develop evidence-based tools and strategies to support community-based organizations in building vaccine confidence in their communities. This 18-month vaccine literacy project, supported by the New York Community Trust, the Altman Foundation, and New York State Health Foundation, is run by CONVINCE USA, an initiative at the CUNY School of Public Health and Health Policy (CUNY SPH) and aims to establish community-based channels for vaccine communication training and strategies, i.e., tailored webinars, education and training modules, and other capacity-building resources. The Harlem Health Initiative at CUNY SPH will serve as a partner in advancing these efforts. A dashboard will display both publicly available dosage data and population representative vaccine sentiments survey data among the lower eight counties of New York. The CUNY SPH team will present the early phase of the program, including the development of a Community Engagement Advisory Board, which will inform the needs assessment-based engagement and outreach.

PGP (The Public Good Projects) developed and launched Project VCTR (Vaccine Communication Tracking & Response) - the largest vaccine misinformation system in the United States, mid-2019. Today, Project VCTR is used by over 900 organizations involved in health communications and immunization programs. Users include major news organizations, federal, state, and local public health agencies, research institutions, and professional associations. Project VCTR identifies, tracks, and contextualizes vaccine news, misinformation, and legislation through weekly updates and real-time dashboards. Every day, Project VCTR’s team of analysts monitor all publicly available media channels, from broadcast and blogs, to social media and news. They apply public health expertise to themes and trends observed at both the national and state level. To support their vaccine outreach and access work, PGP is providing strategic communications guidance to Community Based Organizations (CBOs) within the five boroughs of New York City. Guidance includes “Misinformation Outbreak Alerts” detailing circulating misinformation and recommendations, including counter messages when appropriate. PGP also created custom communications templates and recruited NYC residents to be spokespeople for vaccines and against misinformation. The presentation will highlight key findings from Project VCTR regarding the scale and reach of vaccine misinformation as well as initial outcomes from Project VCTR’s contributions to the overall New York City vaccine equity initiatives.