Vaccine Equity Initiative

Enrichment Services Program’s Vaccine Equity Initiative brings local health partners, community leaders, and nonprofit organizations together to address racial and/or ethnic disparities in adult vaccination coverage. This project will focus on Russell County, Alabama and Troup and Stewart counties in Georgia. It is a well-known, well-researched fact that COVID-19 has ravaged minority communities. However, access to other vaccines, such as the flu vaccine, also remains critical in these communities to maintain their health and well-being.

Vaccines are safe and effective.

One of the barriers we often encounter is that people have heard vaccines are unsafe. However, vaccines have been saving lives for centuries and they undergo strict trials to verify their safety and effectiveness, following standards set by the FDA.

  • More than 592 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been given in the United States from December 14, 2020, through June 21, 2022, according to the CDC. Serious side effects are rare. (Source: CDC)
  • For more than 50 years, hundreds of millions of Americans have safely received seasonal flu vaccines and life-threatening side effects are very rare.  (Source: CDC)

Vaccines save lives.

Getting vaccinated doesn’t guarantee that you won’t get the virus you are being vaccinated against. Though people may still be infected with COVID-19 or the flu, getting the vaccine greatly lowers the risks of severe illness, hospitalization, and death.

  • Senior citizens account for 75 percent of all COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. (Source: NPR) Getting vaccinated not only protects yourself but other people around you who may be vulnerable due to illness or age.
  • When it comes to the flu, people 65 years and older are at higher risk of developing serious complications from flu compared with young, healthy adults. Adults with chronic health conditions, such as asthma, heart disease, and diabetes, are also at a higher risk of flu complications. (Source: CDC)
  • Serious illness resulting from COVID-19 disproportionately affects people in communities of color, due to the underlying health and economic challenges that they face. (Source: Kaiser Family Foundation)

Vaccines can save your money.

If you are unvaccinated and you get sick, the chances are higher that you will have to miss work. The chances are also higher that you may have to be hospitalized, which will result in high medical bills. Sickness, especially COVID-19 and the flu, can greatly disrupt your household finances.

  • With COVID-19, even if you aren’t severely sick, you may have to quarantine for several days, affecting your pay if you don’t have the options for sick time.
  • Medical specialists estimate 750,000 to 1.3 million patients likely remain so sick for extended periods that they can’t return to the workforce full time. (Washington Post)
  • Getting hospitalized for a serious case of COVID-19 could mean bills averaging $1,600 to $4,000 for many patients. (University of Michigan study)