CTSI-supported “get out the vaccine” campaign among California governor’s initiatives

On May 4, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a series of initiatives building on the state’s work to vaccinate California’s hard-to-reach communities against COVID-19, address vaccine hesitancy and drive innovative efforts in the communities hardest hit by the pandemic. The state is moving away from mass vaccination sites and toward more targeted outreach with small clinics in communities with the highest disease burden, making it easier for people to access vaccines.

New efforts include a focus on community outreach through neighborhood canvassing and phone banking, at-home vaccinations and transportation services, and an additional $33 million in funding, bringing the total to $85.7 million, to support community-based organizations.

The community outreach campaign, known as “Get Out the Vaccine” will include neighborhood canvassing, phone and text banking, and door-knocking. The campaign is modeled after successful ground-level campaigns and coordinated with 70 community-based organizations to employ callers and door-knockers to help Californians make a plan to get vaccinated. The program is in partnership with Healthy Future California and the UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute’s STOP COVID CA initiative. About 2,000 individuals from targeted communities will be employed to make peer-to-peer appeals and provide support to help overcome barriers to vaccinations.

The program, now underway, has already resulted in more than 4,900 appointments scheduled.

Read the full press release from the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom to learn about all the initiatives to support local outreach on vaccine adoption. You can also watch a recap of California’s work to equitably distribute COVID-19 vaccines across the state.

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