At a glance
Pickens Community Action led transformative efforts to ensure vaccine equity in underserved communities, overcoming barriers such as transportation challenges and misinformation.
Success Story
Pickens Community Action collaborates with the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), CDC’s prime partner IP21-2113. Pickens Community Action and partners provided access to holistic vaccine education and outreach at various sites. They shared the following story about recent efforts:
Pickens Community Action (Pickens), based in rural Pickens County, Alabama, led transformative efforts to ensure vaccine equity in underserved communities. They created a Community Advisory Team (CAT) to raise awareness of vaccines and formed a faith-based advisory committee that spoke at churches. This allowed them to overcome barriers such as transportation challenges and misinformation.
Pickens attended Peewee Football league practices to talk to parents and provide vaccinations. They also partnered with the Pickens Head Start program to reach parents and led outreach at their weekly Male Involvement Day/Father Friday group.
Key successes from their work include establishing church-based vaccine clinics, with church members on the CAT leading the charge. They also reached Spanish-speaking community members through hired outreach workers. Beyond vaccine administration, Pickens helped connect community members to housing, transportation, and healthcare, addressing broader disparities.
Looking ahead, Pickens remains committed to continued collaboration with partners to sustain their efforts. Their story exemplifies the power of community-driven initiatives in fostering health equity and resilience in rural Alabama.