What community and faith-based organizations can do to aid in the pandemic response
- Share clear and accurate information to educate community members about COVID-19 vaccines, raise awareness about the benefits of vaccination, and address common questions and concerns with the help of CDC’s Community-Based Organizations COVID-19 Vaccine Toolkit.
- Review and role-model CDC’s guidance. Promote prevention measures, such as physical distancing, wearing a mask, avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces, frequent handwashing, and staying home if you have or think you might have COVID-19.
- Help those who need assistance connecting with healthcare providers; for example, with scheduling a vaccination appointment or accessing resources for treatment and medicines.
- Work with others to connect people with goods (e.g., healthy foods and temporary housing) and services to meet their physical, spiritual, and mental health needs.
- Address and alert others about issues related to misinformation, myths, and lack of access to appropriate resources.
- Share COVID-19 prevention information with communities using ways you know are effective to connect with community members
- Work with trusted local media (such as local or community newspapers, radio, TV) to share information from CDC and other reputable public health organizations in formats and languages suitable for diverse audiences.
- Ask people from the community to share COVID-19 prevention messages and link people to resources and free or low-cost services, including testing.
- Reach out to the local public health department to offer to be a community testing or vaccination site, provide a platform for information-sharing, and share community insights.
In addition, here is the FPWA faith-based toolkit: https://rollupyoursleevesny.org/
Source: CDC