The state Department of Health Office of Operational Excellence and Office of Health Equity have been collaborating with a number of community partners across Pennsylvania to ensure adequate information is being served to a multitude of under-served, marginalized communities through their website, the COVIDAlertPA mobile application, townhalls and campaigns.

According to Brian Lentes, director of the Office of Operational Excellence, studies have shown that a public health crisis like the pandemic can have the potential to have more severe negative effects in underserved, marginalized communities, leading to more severe illnesses and more deaths.

“Longstanding systemic health and social inequities have put many people at an increased risk,” he said.

Communities in poverty, with limited English proficiency and other racial and ethnic minority communities have been underserved in terms of health care and educational tools.

“We can ensure a high percentage of these vulnerable communities are part of an equitable approach when considering vaccine provider placement,” Saunders added.

This approach will look at census records, demographic surveillance databases, Center for Disease Control information as well as population of counties, case and death rates per county.

Partnerships with the Muslim Coalition, the Black COVID-19 Equity Coalition, CHOPS Policy Lab, Latino Connection, University of Pittsburgh, Capital Blue Cross, United Way and other groups have been essential in providing the latest information according to David Saunders, director of the Office of Health Equity.

“Information sharing and collaboration is a two way effort,” he said. “They are as excited … they see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

The DOH has since made multiple edits to their website, translating the YourTurn tool to Spanish and adding specific documents for those in the Autism and American Sign Language communities.

“Planning is on the way to utilize these same avenues for mobile vaccine units (once more vaccine supply becomes available,” Saunders added.

Reverend De Neice Welch, Bidwell Street United Presbyterian Church, spoke to her community’s vaccine apprehension.

“We as a community could not trust the information … circulating in the streets,” she said.

She added that after taking it upon themselves to use the legislative task force information, state Department of Health press releases, and consulting from community frontline workers, did they learn to “fear the virus, not the vaccine.”

“We were able to discover fact from myth. So far, over 40 percent of the congregation has been vaccinated,” she said.

She, as well as her husband, are both fully vaccinated and have not had any adverse reactions to the vaccine.