Local Health Departments in Colorado, Louisiana, and Minnesota Awarded $100,000 Each

WASHINGTON, DC, June 9, 2022 — The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), the voice of the country’s nearly 3,000 local health departments, with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has selected three local health departments to participate as host sites in Cohort II of the Equipping Local Health Departments to Address Vaccine Hesitancy Project. They are:

• Jefferson County Public Health, Colorado
• New Orleans Health Department, Louisiana
• Minneapolis Health Department, Minnesota

The Equipping Local Health Departments to Address Vaccine Hesitancy Project focuses on vaccine hesitancy in at-risk populations and under-vaccinated communities by providing local health departments with a additional staff member with particular training to improve vaccine confidence. This staff member, a vaccine hesitancy consultant, will be specifically trained to address issues related to vaccine hesitancy and misinformation, to establish partnerships with other local organizations, and to identify areas of improvement of vaccine confidence. NACCHO will work with the consultant staff members to conduct a Rapid Community Assessment to evaluate areas of vaccine hesitancy.

Rapid Community Assessment is a process developed by the CDC for quickly collecting community insights about a public health issue to inform program design. The assessment involves reviewing existing data and conducting community-based interviews, listening sessions, observations, social listening, and surveys. This resource helps local health departments identify communities at-risk for low vaccine uptake, better understand the local community’s vaccine needs, identify areas of intervention, and prioritize potential intervention strategies.

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About NACCHO
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) represents the nation’s nearly 3,000 local governmental health departments. These city, county, metropolitan, district, and tribal departments work every day to protect and promote health and well-being for all people in their communities. For more information about NACCHO, please visit www.naccho.org.