COVID-19 Vaccine Trusted Messengers

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Creating Vaccine Equity

Better Health Together (BHT) recognizes that vaccination information and resources are not accessible to all communities equitably. We're collaborating with local community partners to provide resources and funding for removing the barriers many in our community face.

COVID-19 poses undue risks to communities of color and vulnerable populations. In Spokane County, our Pacific Islander, Latinx, and Black community members are experiencing significantly higher rates of cases, deaths, and hospitalizations associated with COVID.

BHT is committed to doing all we can to support these communities in our region and ensure an equitable COVID vaccine distribution process. We admire our community partners' work sharing information, providing resources to their communities, and encouraging them to get vaccinated. We are excited to help in these efforts.

Trusted Messenger COVID-19 Vaccine Campaign

On April 16, the vaccine became available to anyone over 16 years of age. Our priority is to help get as many folks in our region vaccinated as quickly as possible in an equitable way.

Our Trusted Messenger COVID-19 Vaccine campaign supports partners working with communities disproportionately impacted by COVID to overcome vaccine hesitancy. We are working with partners to normalize vaccination, create a supportive environment for those likely to vaccinate, and share information about the vaccines through local trusted messengers.

BHT has committed to providing $450,000* in funding to support partners in their vaccination efforts. These grants fund community-driven health communications activities and can be outside our partners' usual operations. Community partners who are interested in funding can fill out our COVID-19 Trusted Messenger Outreach survey. *The funding allocated to each partner will depend on the needs of each organization.

Support for Partners

BHT met with community partners to understand the greatest needs and learn what additional support we can provide. We're working with DH, a Spokane-based communications and marketing agency that can offer our partners culturally appropriate communications support.

We've collaborated with partners to support COVID vaccination communications, develop outreach strategies, and create a variety of media resources for Partners to share. It's exciting working with our partners to expand their vaccination efforts further, and we look forward to supporting additional partners in our community.

We've already worked with the following partners:

SPOTLIGHT: Vaccine Hesitancy FAQ

A concern that has emerged during our conversations with partners is vaccination hesitancy among community members. There are many reasons individuals experience vaccine hesitancy, but we find it is often due to misinformation and a lack of trust.

To combat this, we worked with DH to develop a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) resource to provide accurate information about different COVID-19 vaccines available and debunk the common myths and misconceptions. Our partners have found this FAQ valuable, and we have had it translated into 20 languages for local partners.