Overview
To date, a total of 22 organizations serving Worcester have received $3,922,136 through the Vaccine Equity Initiative.
These 22 organizations are part of the 196 community organizations that have been awarded over $51.1 million through the Vaccine Equity Initiative. Many of these organizations work across multiple communities, and some of them are funded through multiple components of the initiative.
Between March 3, 2021 and July 30, 2021, Worcester was allocated a total of 18,800 equity vaccine doses.
DPH Community Liaison program
A designated DPH Community Liaison is working with each of the 20 communities to help address the specific needs of each community.
Worcester liaison: Therese Fleisher, VaccineEquityInitiative@mass.gov
Community-specific vaccination data
Community-specific data includes an interactive dashboard of vaccine administration results in each Vaccine Equity Initiative (VEI) community, updated weekly, and data from the DPH COVID Community Impact Survey to help target approaches.
Support for municipalities and local boards of health
Support for municipalities and Local Boards of Health includes direct funding of municipalities and Local Boards of Health for coordination and support for vaccine clinics and promoting vaccine acceptance.
Worcester: $338,378 (Awarded 3/30/21)
Additional COVID-19 local boards of health funding supports includes direct funding to meet immediate personnel and equipment needs to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Distributed through state funds received through the federal CARES Act, the Public Health Trust Fund, and through direct appropriation beginning in March 2020.
Additional funding to Worcester: $300,000 (Awarded beginning March 2020)
Investment in community health centers
Investment in community health centers expands vaccination infrastructure and build capacity at community health centers, including support for community health workers. Community Health Worker Ambassador Program funding includes $25,000* per Community Health Center through June 2021, with an additional $25,000 for FY22.
*funded through a public-private partnership
Funded Community Health Centers
| Community Health Center | Municipalities | Funding |
|---|---|---|
| Family Health Center of Worcester | Worcester | $55,000 |
| Community Healthlink Inc. | Worcester | $50,000 |
Massachusetts Community Health Workers for Resilient Communities Program (MA-CRC)
Announced in January 2022, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) is partnering with 10 organizations to implement a new program, the Massachusetts Community Health Workers for Resilient Communities (MA CRC) Program. Program activities will focus on the training and deployment of community health workers to respond to the immediate needs of communities exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and to build community resilience to protect against inequities in future emergencies. Community Health Workers in Community-Based Clinical Care will promote COVID-19 vaccination, education and prevention. MA-CRC will support the establishment of the Community Health Workers COVID Action Collaborative which includes State Office of Community Health Workers, the State Office of Local and Regional Health, the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, and the Massachusetts Association of Community Health Workers.
| Partner Organization | Funding Amount | Municipality Served |
|---|---|---|
| Family Health Center of Worcester* | $400,000 | Worcester |
*Indicates partners who will place community health workers in the local board of health, in addition to the primary care setting.
Tailored community- and faith-based outreach and education
Tailored community and faith-based outreach and education includes supports to raise awareness of strategies to minimize the spread of COVID-19 and increase vaccination confidence and access for priority populations. Funding amounts to community and faith-based organizations reflect awards from December 2020 through June 2022:
| Organization | Communities Served | Initial + Expanded Award Dec. 2020 – Dec. 2021 |
New Grantees May – Dec. 2021 |
New Grantees June – Dec. 2021 |
Geographic Expansion Sept. – Dec. 2021 |
Renewal Jan. – June 2022 |
New Grantees March 2022 – June 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| African Community Education Program | Worcester | $80,150 | $37,500 | ||||
| Worcester Interfaith | Leominster, Fitchburg, Framingham, Southbridge, Worcester | $103,750 | $25,000 | $50,000 | |||
| The Joint Committee for Children’s Health Care, Everett | Boston, Chelsea, Everett, Framingham, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Revere, Somerville, Stoneham, Worcester, Statewide | $66,667 | $25,000 | $49,963 | |||
| Asian Women for Health | Boston, Dorchester, Brookline, Cambridge, Malden, Quincy, Worcester | $65,200 | $25,000 | $49,963 | |||
| Love Your Menses | Boston, Holyoke, Springfield, Worcester | $39,237 | |||||
| The Latino Health Insurance Program, Inc. | Boston, Dedham, Framingham, Marlborough, Milford, Norwood, Walpole, Waltham, Worcester | $66,667 | $25,000 | $50,000 | |||
| UHAI for Health Inc. | Auburn, Millbury, Oxford, West Boylston, Worcester | $48,153 | |||||
| JAHAN Women and Youth International | Boston, Brockton, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Framingham, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, Medford, Revere, Somerville, Springfield, Worcester | $61,829 | $25,000 | $50,000 | |||
| Southeast Asian Coalition of Central Massachusetts | Auburn, Boylston, Fitchburg, Worcester | $61,829 | $25,000 | $50,000 | |||
| Extreme Kid Inc. | Boston – Dorchester, Chicopee, East Longmeadow, Framingham, Hadley, Holyoke, Indian Orchard, Northampton, Randolph, South Hadley, Springfield, Worcester, Statewide | $50,000 | |||||
| The Everett Haitian Community Center | Chelsea, Everett, Fitchburg, Framingham, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Leominster, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, Methuen, Revere, Worcester, Statewide | $98,750 | $50,000 | ||||
| African Cultural Services, Inc. | Belmont, Burlington, Framingham, Lowell, Newton, Waltham, Watertown, Woburn, Worcester | $20,456 |
Focused grassroots outreach
Focused grassroots outreach in Worcester, led by ASG, includes teams of trained community residents to help increase vaccine trust and facilitate appointment registration through one-to-one conversations and providing referrals to services.
| Activity Type | Completed Week Ending September 26th | Cumulative Since Activities Began |
|---|---|---|
| Number of Doors Knocked | 781 | 36,539 |
| Number of Phone Calls Made | 139 | 23,414 |
| Number of One-On-One Conversations | 183 | 11,617 |
| % of conversations with unvaccinated | 25.1% | 43.2% |
| Number of Visibility & Outreach Events | 12 | 308 |
| Number of Materials Disseminated | 0 | 1,871 |
The ASG team from Worcester consists of approximately 41 people from the partner Community Based Organizations (CBOs) listed below. They are conducting all grassroots outreach activities for the community, including door-to-door canvasing, business walks, visibility events, town hall support, phone banking and texting.
- Latino Education Institute: $49,463
- Southeast Asian Coalition: $53,044
- Worcester Interfaith: $63,394
Total CBO Funding: $165,900
Mobile vaccination services
Mobile COVID-19 vaccination services address a particular community need that cannot be met by existing vaccination opportunities and are deployed to meet the needs of prioritized populations.
UMass Memorial Medical Center is providing mobile clinics to community spaces in Worcester to reach priority populations In addition, Worcester is coordinating community-based clinics with mobile vaccination resources provided by the National Guard and targeted grassroots efforts by the ASG team and community-based organizations. Worcester is also providing community-based clinics to reach priority populations through DPH-contracted vendors.
Vaccine access and administration in community setting
This funding is intended to increase community-based access to and receipt of COVID-19 vaccination for priority communities and populations who are experiencing disproportionate impacts of COVID-19.
Vaccine Access and Navigation Services funds organizations for services such as assistance with appointment registration, transportation to vaccination clinics, mobility assistance, medical interpretation, and other supports.
Customized Vaccine Administration funds qualified community organizations to directly administer vaccination to groups not effectively reached by other mechanisms. These organizations can be deployed to smaller venues, with populations that may require more intensive one-on-one support to get vaccinated.
The following organizations are receiving funding for 12 months to begin offering services by mid-May 2021:
|
Organization |
Funding |
Vaccine Access and Navigation Services |
Customized Vaccine Administration |
Communities of Focus (People from other communities may also be served) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
AIDS Project Worcester (Partners with UMass Worcester) |
$200,000 |
X |
|
Fitchburg, Leominster, Worcester |
|
UMass Worcester (Partners with AIDS Project Worcester) |
$151,894 |
|
X |
Worcester |
|
Centro Las Americas, Inc. |
$788,590 |
X |
|
Worcester |
|
Family Health Center of Worcester |
$250,000 |
X |
X |
Worcester |
Communications materials
Communications materials are available to support communities with vaccine information; translated materials available in 10 languages.
Visit www.mass.gov/TrustTheFacts.
The COVID-19 Community Impact Survey
The COVID-19 Community Impact Survey is a survey of more than 35,000 people regarding the social and economic consequences of COVID-19 on MA communities. View the findings.
COVID-19 vaccination and testing sites
COVID-19 Vaccination: Visit Vaxfinder.mass.gov to search for appointments at pharmacies, health care providers, and other community locations
COVID-19 Testing: Free testing is available in all 20 communities, including via the Stop the Spread program. Sites can be located using the state’s website: www.mass.gov/CovidTestSearch.