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Baltimore's COVID Vaccine Ground Game

A clinician administers a COVID vaccine to an elderly man.
Tech. Sgt. Enjoli Saunders/175th WG - Maryland Air National
/
Flickr
Vaccine outreach has pivoted from mass vax sites to mobile and pop-up clinics.

As the Delta variant drives up the number of residents with COVID, Baltimore’s public health web is hard at work, running vaccination clinics and deploying community ambassadors.

Baltimore City Health CommissionerDr. Letitia Dzirasa talks about what it takes to dispel vaccine myths, "It’s different for different communities, but what has been relatively universal is having a trusted messenger. And that’s not always the government. I think that’s really how the concept of VALUE ambassadors were born."

We hear how the VALUE project offers culturally responsive outreach and education, including to some who may have felt ignored by the health system.

And Evan Serpick, of Open Society Institute-Baltimore, tells how grants are supporting vaccine equity and outreach to marginalized groups.

If you have a question about COVID-19 or the COVID vaccines, you can reach the city’s COVID Call Center at 443 - 984 - 8650. Find a local vaccination site here. Check out this weekend's Ceasefire Block Party - vaccinations available Saturday - here.

Maureen Harvie is Senior Supervising Producer for On the Record. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and joined WYPR in 2014 as an intern for the newsroom. Whether coordinating live election night coverage, capturing the sounds of a roller derby scrimmage, interviewing veterans, or booking local authors, she is always on the lookout for the next story.
Sheilah Kast is the host of On The Record, Monday-Friday, 9:30-10:00 am.