Meeting People Where They Are in the Fight Against COVID-19 and Its Complications.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated socioeconomic and racial disparities. Because of the institution's commitment to health equity, Morehouse School of Medicine, one of four Historically Black College and University (HBCU) medical schools, took the leadership role in addressing disparities by becoming a community vaccination provider. With vaccines registered, ordered, and received from the Georgia Department of Public Health through the mobile community vaccine initiative, the Medical School vaccinated more than 2700 people in the metropolitan Atlanta area. The initiative took place from January 2021, shortly after the COVID-19 vaccines were initially released, until April 2022 when vaccinations became part of routine health maintenance and preventive health measures at the school. Eighty-six percent of the individuals vaccinated were African American or Hispanic/Latino. Our efforts highlighted the importance of addressing vaccine access barriers and providing culturally sensitive care. (<i>Am J Public Health</i>. 2024;114(S9): S714-S717. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2024.307768).