Mobile vaccination units are essential to the national strategy to vaccinate hard-to-reach and high-risk populations. They also have the potential to address vaccine hesitancy, accelerate vaccine distribution, and increase vaccine equity.
As the pandemic progresses, governments must stratify their vaccination efforts and prioritize high-risk groups to achieve herd immunity as quickly as possible (OECD, 2021). They also need to build public trust in vaccination.
Increase Access to Vaccines
Mobile vaccination unit Boston MA can be vital to a pandemic response. They help vaccinate people far from health care providers or vaccine clinics. This can be especially important in rural communities, where traveling distance or transportation challenges make it difficult for people to access health care services.
These sites can be established by public health departments, often in indoor or outdoor settings, with support from local public health clinics, health care providers, pharmacies, community and faith-based organizations, employers, private sector vaccinators and federal resources.
The CDC and FEMA have developed materials to help jurisdictions establish these sites and expand their use as COVID-19 vaccinations become available.
These sites are critical for reaching refugee, immigrant, and migrant (RIM) communities. Because RIM communities are disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, they need safe and effective ways to receive COVID-19 vaccinations. This includes ensuring equitable barrier-free vaccine access and accurate information, especially for infants.
Reduce Vaccine Hesitancy
Vaccine hesitancy is present in the general population and among healthcare professionals, as the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted (11-12). Healthcare professionals play an essential role in vaccination efforts as they are trusted sources of information about vaccines and can explain their benefits in terms people understand.
However, vaccine hesitancy can also be influenced by factors outside the control of health authorities. For instance, pervasive anti-vaccine content and non-factual information on social media influence perceptions of vaccine safety and acceptance (21-22).
Therefore, effective communication about the risks of vaccines and the benefits of vaccination should be targeted at reducing vaccine hesitancy. Providing vaccines in culturally appropriate ways that target specific priority groups and improving general levels of science literacy are vital to combating this issue.
Efforts should be made to improve vaccine uptake now and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, aiming at optimal population protection. This requires consistent and high-quality messaging about vaccines’ benefits and effectiveness and exceptional care for patients and the public.
Increase Vaccine Uptake
Mobile vaccination units are critical in bringing vaccine services closer to the communities they serve. They can be staffed by public health officials, local medical providers, or health care workers in indoor or outdoor settings.
Mobile sites can be a way to reach populations that cannot receive vaccines at a traditional clinic or health center, such as high-risk groups and essential workers. They can also be used to target geographic and technological barriers that prevent people from receiving vaccines.
In addition to reducing healthcare barriers, the MMC-MVP has successfully built trust and established a connection with community members. They have partnered with faith-based organizations to foster this connection and improve the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Increase Vaccine Equity
Mobile vaccination sites are small-scale initiatives to bring vaccination services closer to people in need on a short-term basis. These sites often coordinate with public health departments and partners, including healthcare providers, pharmacies, community and faith-based organizations, and employers.
As more countries are prepared to respond to a vaccine crisis, they will need to expand the use of these units. They can help improve vaccine uptake in remote areas where transportation to clinics is a barrier or where communities are isolated.
States and localities should prioritize distributing COVID-19 vaccines to populations with the highest burden of illness or poverty. In New Hampshire, for example, 10% of the state’s COVID-19 vaccine supply is reserved for people living in quartiles 1 and 2 of social vulnerability index (SVI) ZIP codes.
