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Date: 9/20/2022
NORTHAMPTON – At the end of August, the Northampton Department of Health and Human services (DHHS) Commissioner Merridith O’Leary announced that Public Health Nurse Katherine Kelly received the Immunization Champion Award for Massachusetts.
The award, which used to be titled the Childhood Immunization Champion Award, is presented jointly by the Association of Immunization Managers (AIM) and the Center for Disease Control with recognition to only one champion from each state.
According to AIM, award recipients are considered to be individuals who made a significant impact and contribution toward improving public health in the community by “going above and beyond to promote or foster adult and childhood immunizations in their communities.”
Kelly received the award for her continued efforts in administering the coronavirus vaccines to as many people as possible.
“It’s a really special moment in my professional career,” Kelly told Reminder Publishing. “There are a variety of positions in my background that led to this that are a little unique.”
Kelly, the medical lead for Northampton’s public vaccination efforts, said she heard of social distancing as early as 15 years ago when she worked in public health emergency preparedness. In this position, she worked on drills for how to dispense something like a vaccine or medication to the public.
“I’m also a nurse practitioner and really cared about vaccines,” said Kelly. “It’s pretty neat to be able to do this work that felt like it was really making a difference in the [coronavirus] pandemic. The award feels really special, but I also can’t accept the award without the acknowledgment that this is a huge team effort.”
That huge team effort includes over 100 volunteers directing traffic in parking lots for vaccine clinics, to registration people, to other volunteers who provided shots where they could. “We have some really dedicated folks,” Kelly said. “I’m so proud to be part of this team.”
O’Leary had this to say in a statement about Kelly: “Kate takes pride in establishing creative clinic locations and collaborations that reach disenfranchised and marginalized populations. Her goal has been to reach people from all walks of life, races, ethnicities, gender identities, and ages with the COVID[-19] vaccine. We are very proud that one of our own was selected by the state to receive this honor and know that this award is well deserved. It has been my personal privilege to work with such a tremendous and considerate leader as Kate Kelly.”
Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra added, “Kate Kelly is a force of nature. I hope everyone in Northampton will join me in profound gratitude for her tireless work to make our community safer for everyone. We are fortunate to have Kate on our team.”
The initial days of vaccine administration
Reflecting on those first few days when vaccines were eligible to the general population, Kelly said she remembers the initial excitement floating in the air, even though there were still a lot of variables to consider regarding the coronavirus.
“We weren’t inviting crowds of people into an indoor space,” said Kelly. “We were doing everything in our power to keep everyone from getting sick…and yet we were trying to vaccinate as many people as possible. It was definitely exhausting.”
Kelly and volunteers provided vaccines six days a week for the first six months at the Northampton Senior Center. “It was a lot of long hours and constant training of new staff and new volunteers who joined us to be a part of the effort,” said Kelly. “It was very rewarding.”
Partnering with other organizations
After getting as many people as possible vaccinated through the mass clinic site, Kelly began thinking about partnerships with other organizations to push the efforts forward and reach people who may not be able to access the vaccination sites.
“We started partnering anywhere we thought we might reach someone who was either disenfranchised in some way, or unable to physically get to the senior center, or unable to access the internet to make an appointment,” said Kelly.
The partnerships and outreach allowed Kelly and the DHHS to expand the vaccine movement to all of Hampshire County. These partnerships included the community hospital, local businesses, multiple public-school systems, local healthcare providers for unhoused individuals, Boards of Health in nearby communities, Hilltown Community Health Centers, the University of Massachusetts, Smith College and others.
“We got out to at least four or five other school districts with our regional effort, which was really great, because sometimes just coming into Northampton feels like a barrier for rural communities,” said Kelly. “I did vaccines on street corners sometimes, too.”
Northampton quickly became a regional depot for vaccines since many of the smaller communities did not have the capacity to carry in large bulk. “We’ve partnered with a variety of other towns,” said Kelly. “We’ve partnered with our public health partners in Franklin County so that they can do homebound visits and other clinics up there.”
Because of these partnerships and equitable outreach efforts, 59 percent of Northampton residents have received the prime COVID-19 vaccine and one or more of the booster dose. Forty-four percent of Hampshire County residents fall under this category, as well. Comparatively, the United States sits at 31 percent regarding people who have received the prime vaccine series plus one or more booster shots.
Allowing people in with open arms
“We know 100 percent of the population is not vaccinated for several reasons, whether it’s because of fear, not trusting the science, or other reasons,” said Kelly. “But we’re still meeting with those people and providing a first dose for children or adults. And we meet them with open arms.”
Kelly said she and the many volunteers continue to celebrate people who decide to receive their vaccine doses, even if they are receiving their first one this late in the game.
“We meet them with open arms,” said Kelly. “We really try to celebrate them when they come in. I think our team is really positive.”
According to Kelly, Pulaski Park has been a great location for outreach and convincing people to get the vaccine. “People would walk by week after week to ask questions,” said Kelly. “That location was really great for meeting that need of, ‘you didn’t have to commit to getting the shot.’ You could just walk up and talk to us.”
Current vaccination efforts
The DHHS is continuing to offer vaccine clinic hours Monday through Thursday at the Elks Club in Florence. People can visit the Northampton website to learn more about scheduling appointments: https://www.northamptonma.gov/2219/Vaccine-Clinics. More information about the bivalent booster, which targets the original COVID-19 strand and Omicron variant, is also available on the site.
“There’s going to be a lot more of building public trust, continuing to get the word out there that boosters actually matter…that they keep people out of the hospital,” said Kelly.