By Vivian Shipe
KNOXVILLE, TN — It was a national effort put forth by the Administration for Community Living (ACL) under the guidance of USAging: get the senior population over sixty and those aged 18 to 59 with disabilities, with no insurance or those underinsured, especially in marginalized communities caught up on their vaccinations. The pandemic had caused many in these groups to stay in and not venture out, causing many to fall behind in needed vaccinations for shingles, RSV, boosters, flu, Tdap, Hepatitis, and other needed shots. Compounding the health problem was the CDC announcement that over 250,000 kindergarten age children are not vaccinated, thus putting elders in even more danger to exposure to life threatening diseases.
ETHRA, the East Tennessee Human Resource Agency was chosen to take on the mission in the sixteen counties of East Tennessee. Awarded a grant from USAging, the agency took on the task, creating its own special forces: Team ETHRA, the end result, over 4000 vaccinated. They did not do it alone; partnerships made the difference.
To help the Get Caught Up initiative succeed took trusted messengers. Pastors took to their pulpits and spoke to their congregations on the importance of staying healthy, getting vaccinated and encouraging their flocks to do so. Radio and television stations ran commercial after commercial with a goal of taking the fear and myths out of being vaccinated. The small community pharmacies were instrumental in getting people vaccinated, coming out into the fields with TEAM ETHRA, getting shots in arms in all sixteen counties and even setting up homebound visits to go to those unable or unwilling to come out of their homes. Meharry Medical Center, the prestigious HBCU, from Nashville, established in 1875, partnered to give incentives and CONNECT Ministries, located in the heart of East Knoxville, was the field site for ETHRA, the place to come to for resources, vaccine help and incentives when they couldn’t get to one of the more than hundred eighty field events that were held in food deserts, festivals, homeless shelters, churches, parking lots, even pharmacy lobbies.
To celebrate the victory of over 4029 vaccinations, a VAX and Chill party in the afternoon ice cream social will be held for the seniors, (the oldest senior was 104), and all partners who helped make this life saving effort a success.
4029 stickers were given out to all vaccinated and the value of all vaccine given was over 533,000 dollars. The theme was You got this, we got you!
Team ETHRA’s mantra was we didn’t come to play…. we came to save lives….
With 4029 shots in arms…they did just that.
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