Colorado Springs Hispanic Chamber organizes One School, One Vaccine at a Time

The Colorado Springs Hispanic Chamber, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and Julissa Soto of Latino Health Equity Consulting have launched a new community outreach initiative, One School, One Vaccine at a Time(Una Escuela, Una Vacuna a la Vez).

The initiative is based on increasing community wellness through vaccination efforts in partnership with local school districts and healthcare providers.

The first collaboration of this program will be with Harrison School District 2 and will be held at the school's district offices on Jul. 22 followed by Fox Meadow Middle School on Jul. 31. After these two opening events the program will continue to expand its effort across District 2.

The program wants to help locals who live and learn in their area receive wellness education, community-based resources, and routine childhood immunizations. The program also takes into consideration the cultural validation approach to help address vaccine hesitancy and understand and respect the diverse cultural heritage in these communities.

"Our strategy hinges on cultural validation and community involvement," said Julissa Soto, Vice Chair of the Colorado Springs Hispanic Chamber, Global Vaccine Ambassador and international Latino Health Equity expert. "We understand that overcoming vaccination obstacles requires more than just accessibility; it necessitates trust-building and meeting families on familiar ground."

Teams in the program are multilingual and research the culture surrounding the unique demographics in the school district, in order to make sure they are well-versed before reaching out to families in the area. This process ensures that outreach efforts and educational material can resonate with the families including those who have lower incomes, are refugees, or are other underserved populations.

The Colorado Springs Hispanic Chamber encourages creative incentives to help boost excitement and vaccine participation and use these tools to partner with local community-based programs, including early childhood education providers.

They also encourage other school districts in Colorado Springs to participate in the One School, One Vaccine at a Time program to benefit the health and well-being of their students, staff, and families by fostering healthy school environments and building community immunity.
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