Let’s talk about disparity in vaccine rate and the factors contributing to those disparities! We know quite a lot about who is and isn’t getting vaccinated in Alberta, which is going to help us figure out how to get more people vaccinated. #COVID19AB [1/16]
Right now, there’s a clear lag in the 20-29YO age groups, especially men. And we’re already hearing from people in that group who booked after hearing about the lottery—we are anticipating this to be the most effective demographic for the lottery incentive. [2/16]
But there are also significant geographic disparities. We saw this in #yyc in the last few months, and targeted efforts in the Upper NE including the #VaccineRodeo and a new drive-through vaccine clinic have resulted in a significant reduction in the gap there. [3/16]
We need to see that kind of targeted outreach in more places around the province. In #yeg, Twin Brooks is the most vaccinated AHS subzone in the province, with 81.1% of 12+ people with one dose. Across the river, Eastwood is at only 61.4% of 12+ with one dose. [4/16]
This is not because people who live in Eastwood are more vaccine hesitant. 22.6% of families in Eastwood are single parent families, compared to the provincial average of 14.3%. Childcare is often a significant vaccine barrier for people. [5/16]
32.9% of families are considered low income in Eastwood compared to a provincial average of 15.6%, making it more likely they have limited schedule flexibility or lack paid sick time in case of side effects. We need more drop-in clinics and late night and evening options. [6/16]
Residents of Edmonton Eastwood are also 1.5x more likely than the provincial average to be immigrants who arrived in the last five years. We need culturally sensitive resources and options for people who aren’t familiar with navigating the health care system. [7/16]
People in Eastwood are twice as likely to not speak English or French than the provincial average, and nearly 20% of households speak a language other than English or French at home. We need information easily accessible in multiple languages. [8/16]
So what can we do? Many organizations are doing incredible work in this area with targeted clinics and outreach. We’re contacting as many more orgs as we can—we don’t have any official resources but we’ve got a lot of reach and we’re making connections where we can. [9/16]
We’ve also reached out to all elected officials in the area, from the federal government all the way down to school board trustees, to let them know about this disparity, share resources, and ask them to put the weight of the government behind these efforts. [10/16]
We’re also contacting candidates in that area in the upcoming municipal election—they’ve got volunteers out in the neighbourhoods already, and if we can get resources out to them, it’s an incredible opportunity to get that information out to people. [11/16]
Next up on our agenda is reaching out to @epldotCA—libraries reopen today, and we know they are an incredible source of information and access for a lot of people, and if we can get vaccine information to them, they can get it to a lot of people. (We ❤️ libraries.) [12/16]
What can you do? If you have any connections with community groups, places of worship, or other orgs, reach out to them and ask how you could help with vaccine outreach, or share their info with us so we can reach out. [13/16]
Share #yeg clinic info! There’s @BentArrowYEG (
https://twitter.com/BentArrowYEG/status/1404453781396410371), the Métis-led clinic this weekend (
https://twitter.com/ab_vax/status/1402365640640393218), the @AfricaCentreYEG clinics, or the C5 Hub on 140 Ave and Victoria Trail. (780-456-1484) [14/16]
If you know people whose primary language is not English, help connect them with resources in their language. @ThisIsOurShotCA has vaccine info in 35 additional languages. thisisourshot.ca
@AIMGA1 offers a vaccine hotline in 20 languages.
@AIMGA1 offers a vaccine hotline in 20 languages.
https://twitter.com/ab_vax/status/1395838027155447809[15/16]
Don’t write off people who haven’t been vaccinated yet as anti-vax or lazy or ignorant. Instead, ask yourself how you can reduce the barriers they’re facing that you were lucky enough not to have. Let’s help them find a vaccine, not shame them. [16/16]
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