The state is partnering with an organization that works to achieve health equity to reach as many people as possible about the COVID-19 vaccine, particularly communities that have been disproportionately impacted in access to health care, according to the governor’s office.
Gov. Ned Lamont said his administration is partnering with Health Equity Solutions, a nonprofit based in Hartford, on an outreach program to ensure the state makes contact with as many people as possible.
Health Equity Solutions has developed a plan to reach more than 10,000 people of color over a three-month span, according to the governor’s office.
Lamont’s office said sart of the plan is to share facts and dispel myths about the COVID-19 vaccine. It will focus on faith-based and education-based networks and address issues concerning distrust of the medical system within the African-American community, according to the governor’s office.
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“This partnership is paramount to our broader efforts to ensure that we reach every single person we can, particularly in our communities of color,” Lamont said in a statement.
Acting Connecticut Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Deidre Gifford said the pandemic has “disproportionately impacted underserved communities, particularly the Black and Latino communities in Connecticut.”
“We want to ensure that communities at highest risk have equitable access to the vaccines that will protect them and allow everyone to return to a sense of normalcy. The team at Health Equity Solutions will strengthen and enhance our outreach efforts in the Black and Latino communities,” Gifford said in a statement.
Dr. Tekisha Dwan Everette, executive director of Health Equity Solutions, said it is important that the organization not only identify the challenges to health equity but also that it is part of the solution.
“We wish there was not a pandemic at all, but we are ready, willing, and able to make sure that people have accurate information to make a timely decision that is best for themselves and their family,” Everette said in a statement.
The governor’s office said Health Equity Solutions has been hosting webinars that have reached more than 3,000 people and there are more than 20 events scheduled with more being added.
If you are interested in hosting an outreach event for faith or education-based organizations, email info@hesct.org for more information.
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