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Date: 4/21/2021
SPRINGFIELD – Springfield is one of 20 Massachusetts cities most disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. To help with efforts in supporting local vaccine clinics and building vaccine trust and confidence, the commonwealth has awarded Springfield with the Best Value Grant Award. From now through June, the Springfield Health Department will receive a total of $296,713.
According to Helen Caulton-Harris, commissioner of Health and Human Services for the city of Springfield, these funds will help with COVID-19 outreach and vaccinations. The city of Springfield has vaccinated over 6,600 individuals so far, said Caulton-Harris.
With the Best Value Grant Award, Springfield will be able to hire additional individuals to work at vaccine clinics, spend funding on marketing for vaccination clinics as well as tackle outreach efforts into neighborhoods where COVID-19 rates are highest.
“Currently in the city of Springfield, in the commonwealth and across the nation, there are many pockets of vaccine hesitancy, particularly amongst the brown and black communities. So this funding will allow us to dive deeper into our community for outreach and to try and debunk the myths around vaccination hesitancy. It is not our intent to force individuals into being vaccinated, but rather to give credible information so that individuals can make their own decisions,” said Caulton-Harris.
According to Caulton-Harris, the city has already purchased outreach materials to distribute in neighborhoods. These materials will be available in seven languages and given to neighborhood councils as well as in a door-to-door campaign. Their goal will be to educate individuals on the vaccine, its efficacy and combat hesitancy.
“This funding, while it will support vaccination clinics, is for a number of initiatives including marketing. We have received additional funding from the State Department of Public Health to promote vaccine hesitancy and to make sure we were able to pay our employees who are working overtime and tirelessly,” she said.
Springfield has already purchased a media buy that Caulton-Harris said will go live within the next week. It will be available in several different languages and will feature trusted voices of the city of Springfield who have already been vaccinated.
As Commissioner of Health and Human Services, Caulton-Harris gave her expertise on the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Based on the data, based on what we understand as far as vaccines are concerned, they are safe, they are effective and so we are encouraging our residents to take advantage of the vaccination clinics. In addition, on April the 19 all residents in the city will be able to avail themselves of a vaccine and so we are heavily promoting that initiative so that all residents can take advantage of being vaccinated,” she said. “So our message is simple: We encourage our residents to get vaccinations as soon as they’re eligible.”
Those seeking more information on COVID-19 and the vaccine are encouraged to visit the Springfield Health and Human Services website at https://www.springfield-ma.gov/hhs/.