UNITED WAY OF LONG ISLAND RECEIVES GRANT FROM CDC FOUNDATION TO IMPROVE LONG ISLAND VACCINATION RATES
September 30, 2021 (Deer Park, NY) – United Way of Long Island is being funded to support effective community outreach centered on communities of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) in order to share accurate, culturally appropriate information about the COVID-19 and influenza vaccines as well as link adults to vaccine services. United Way, with funding through the CDC Foundation, will work to increase local COVID-19 vaccination rates through the initiative You Call the Shots—Protecting Communities, Empowering Families and Stopping Myths.
United Way’s program addresses the inequities in vaccination coverage that exist across different racial and ethnic populations on Long Island by improving access and raising knowledge through educational campaigns to decrease hesitancy and overcome refusal to vaccinate.
Nassau and Suffolk Counties have been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic with over 374,000 cases and 6,452 deaths, and residents continue to suffer the consequences: severe illness, job loss, decrease in income, unstable housing, separation and isolation. These numbers, in combination with vaccine data, illustrate the critical need for increased vaccine coverage. Compared to the overall Long Island population, vaccination rates differ greatly among African Americans and Latinos: 6.4% of African Americans and 12.6% of Latinos have received at least one dose.
“The pandemic is not over and it is critical that we address the root causes of why Long Islanders are not getting vaccinated. As an organization that focuses on education, health and income, this funding from the CDC Foundation goes a long way to help improve the safety and well-being of Long Islanders. By the program’s end, we hope to have empowered families to protect themselves, which benefits each of our neighbors,” said Theresa A. Regnante, President and CEO of United Way of Long Island.
“We are pleased to support the efforts of community-based organizations (CBOs) to improve vaccination confidence and increase equitable uptake in order to save lives during this pandemic,” said Lauren Smith, MD, MPH, CDC Foundation’s chief health equity and strategy officer. “CBOs understand the concerns and questions of their community members and can provide essential resources and information to help them make an informed decision to vaccinate.”
The CDC Foundation helps the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) save and improve lives by unleashing the power of collaboration between CDC, philanthropies, corporations, organizations and individuals to protect the health, safety and security of America and the world. Since January 2020, the CDC Foundation through the support of its donors has addressed a wide variety of critical needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. This work includes providing personal protective equipment for frontline responders; care kits for schools, jails and the unhoused; studies examining the impact of COVID-19; work to strengthen communities and community-based organizations to improve vaccination uptake and address misinformation; projects focused on health more than 100 projects focused on health equity; and much more.
United Way of Long Island’s You Call the Shots will focus its work in six communities designated by New York State as high priority for increasing vaccination rates: Elmont, Hempstead, Freeport, Huntington Station, Brentwood and Bay Shore. The organization will utliize its existing partnerships with corporate entities, government, labor, community leaders, school systems, health providers and over 100 funded community-based agencies to increase vaccine confidence and uptake through:
Bilingual community navigators who will connect Long Islanders to vaccination sites and providers. They will visit and speak with residents about the importance and safety of vaccines, while providing information on vaccination sites and availability. Navigators will work with state and local health departments to ensure pop-up clinics are located in areas where and when needed, as well as schedule appointments, arrange transportation when necessary, and provide facts about COVID-19 and the vaccine in multiple languages.
Leveraging trusted community-level spokespersons to provide consistent, factual and compelling science-based messages in support of vaccination. Spokespersons will be trained on COVID-19 facts and equipped with compelling scientific information to engage with residents and diseminate information through local media outlets, social media, faith-based venues, community events and other community-based, culturally appropriate venues.
Building trust with community members to address the concerns people have about COVID-19. To increase confidence in and encourage vaccination, United Way of Long Island spokespersons and health care partners will help combat misinformation, stop myths and build public trust through community outreach and education forums.
Funding for this effort is made possible through a subaward from the CDC Foundation and is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) financial assistance award totaling $25,660,048 with 100 percent funding from CDC/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, CDC/HHS or the U.S. Government.
For more information about United Way of Long Island’s You Call the Shots, visit www.unitedwayli.org/youcalltheshots.
About United Way of Long Island
United Way of Long Island advances the common good, creating opportunities for a better life for all by focusing on three key building blocks; health, education and financial stability. It is our priority to create equity across Long Island by investing in partnerships, helping the most vulnerable and at risk through organizations and programs that demonstrate raising the bar for fairness and equal access to services. Our organization provides a united solution and impact, fighting for families across Long Island.
We recruit people and organizations that bring the passion, expertise and resources needed to get things done. LIVE UNITED® is a call to action for everyone to become a part of the change. United Way of Long Island is an independent locally-operated 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, led and governed by an independent Board of Directors. For more information about United Way of Long Island, please visit UnitedWayLI.org, or follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.