YMCA of Greater Nashua Awarded $100,000 in CDC Funds to Increase Adult COVID- 19 and Flu Vaccination Rates

Education and outreach work will address vaccine inequities and advance health equity

The YMCA of Greater Nashua has been awarded $100,000 to fund outreach and education efforts focused specifically on building vaccine confidence among communities in the City of Nashua that have yet to be vaccinated for COVID-19 and have not consistently received annual flu vaccines.

Made possible with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and in partnership with Community Catalyst, the project aims to increase understanding of and trust about COVID-19 and influenza vaccines among adults at highest risk of infection and death from these illnesses.

The initiative comes amid a concerning rise in cases of the COVID-19 Delta variant and significant disparities in vaccination rates in historically underserved communities of color.

“The Y has pivoted many times to meet community needs since the COVID-19 pandemic started in March of 2020,” says Mike LaChance, CEO of the YMCA of Greater Nashua. “We provided emergency childcare for healthcare workers when many centers shut down in Spring 2020, we launched virtual wellness and chronic disease prevention programming to support healthy living opportunities for people while at home and created the YMCA Education Academy where over 200 school-aged kids completed their remote learning and had physical and social activity at the Y each week for much of the past school year. Partnering with the CDC and Community Catalyst to provide on the ground vaccine education in Nashua and opportunities to get vaccinated at places like the Y is another way our organization is stepping up to assist the Greater Nashua community.”

Through this grant, the YMCA of Greater Nashua is partnering with Harbor Care to have two part-time community health workers provide vaccine education at various community events in Nashua over the next year. Additionally Harbor Care is a vaccine provider and has regular vaccine clinics at their High Street location in Nashua with registration available through the state’s VINI website at https://www.vaccines.nh.gov/ Harbor Care is also offering vaccine clinics off-site. One was held at the Nashua YMCA on July 30.

Additionally, 13 Vaccine Ambassadors, individuals who want to help spread the word about the importance of vaccination to underserved populations in Nashua will be recruited, trained and provided materials to assist in education outreach efforts through their workplaces, church, neighborhood or social circles. Vaccine Ambassadors will be asked to assist in four vaccine education opportunities per month through June of 2022.

For more information about the YMCA of Greater Nashua visit our website at www.nmymca.org Interested in learning more about becoming a vaccine ambassador, having the Y provide vaccine education at an event in Nashua and/or hosting a vaccine clinic in partnership with your organization? Please contact Kimberly Adie, Director of Healthy Living at the YMCA of Greater Nashua at kadie@nmymca.org