Vaccine Outreach Channels
We have listed outreach channels to reach marginalized populations, hard-to-reach, rural communities, and other identities such as undocumented workers, those with limited digital literacy levels, and uninsured people.
The list is based on literature and landscape review and ongoing discussions with state and local government partners and community-based organizations. It includes push/ outbound and pull/ inbound marketing methods to meet people where they are at.
Digital Channels
TV ads. The Colorado Department of Health and Environment has released commercials in English and Spanish featuring Colorado health care workers who are people of color, promoting the message that vaccines are safe.
Radio ads to reach undocumented workers, the uninsured, farmers, and digital desserts
Spotify and Pandora Ads
Social media toolkits such as HHS' We Can Do This Kit
Edutainment (entertainment-education) like comic books and cartoonish flyers to reach young kids and adolescents. Extensive research has shown efficacy in leveraging telenovela/fotonovela style communication in Latino communities. Another example is the work the KINA (TOGETHER), a series of projects headed by the University of Minnesota designing and developing in partnership with area Native American communities to create programs that share the exciting world of science with children in Kindergarten to 6th grade.
Reminder/recall approaches (postcard, letter, telephone, or combination)
Sound trucks to spread awareness of mobile COVID-19 vaccine clinics such as in Quebec
SMS and phone banking such as VaxDirect, which pulls tactics from phone banking from elections
Reserved appointments each week for high-risk neighborhoods where vaccinations have lagged, releasing them on a different day and only to residents of those areas
Appointments allocated for the weekend with access to transportation and other social services like food and tied to other benefits such as WIC and SNAP benefits
Door-to-door knocks with mobile device partnerships such as mPulse with leaders from the community. North Carolina has partnered with faith leaders to ensure communities of color and underserved communities have access to vaccinations at the state’s mass vaccination clinics, including releasing appointments to Black and Latinx church attendees before opening up registration to the general public.
Family member and child vaccine appointment scheduling with child immunization schedule cards in vaccine patient portals
Analogue Channels
Community-based partnerships like fraternities and sororities, HBCUs, and public libraries. Tennessee has an African American Health Care Clinician Workgroup, with working members from the NAACP, the Black Nursing Society, and other Black organizations, who are disseminating messaging on the importance of vaccinations and will ultimately help vaccinate Black communities. West Virginia is funding faith-based community members and people of color to administer COVID-19 vaccines directly to communities of color, ascribing to the principle that having trusted, local figures helping with distribution will improve those communities’ confidence in the vaccine
Vaccinations offered at major social and sporting events such as the Milwaukee Bucks offering Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines to eligible fans 16+ who are attending the game against the Nets on Sunday (on ABC) at Fiserv Forum
Virtual town halls to dispel COVID-19 vaccine myths and resources
Training Trusted messengers, promotoras, and community health workers with process improvements to their workflows
Local business partnerships like Krispy Creme in drive-thrus
Airport for testing and vaccination spots to reach tourists and travelers
Dollar tree as located clinics to reach low-income households within dollar store distances
Vaccine equity clinics and mobile vaccination vans to reach rural, farmers, and hard-to-reach communities
Equitable Vaccine Outreach Methods by States
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