COVID Vaccine Toolkit

Episcopal Church Toolkit for COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution

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Table Of Contents

Background
Building Vaccine Confidence
Actions to Help Everyone Get Vaccinated
Government COVID-19 and Vaccine Rollout Plan
Additional Resources
Sample Message to Your Congregation or Ministry
Sample Actions by Episcopalians
State-by-state COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Information
Contact:The Office of Government Relations
About Us:

This toolkit is designed as a compilation of ideas and educational resources to help your local Episcopal Church work with the government to help end this pandemic. Churches and church leaders (lay and ordained) can serve as important trusted bridges between public health officials and congregations.

Background

The Office of Government Relations serves as a link between the federal government and the Church. While we help Episcopalians advocate on legislation and connect their faith to public policy through the EPPN, we also seek to educate Episcopalians about relevant government initiatives through official and unofficial partnerships. We have promoted open enrollment periods for Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplaces and encouraged Episcopalians to serve on their local boards of election to facilitate safe and secure elections, The Episcopal Church was again an official partner of the Census Bureau for the 2020 Census count. Episcopalians around the U.S. have worked with state and local government officials in numerous problem-solving initiatives including serving as implementors for domestic food assistance programs.

Combatting COVID-19 is no exception. Yes, we continue to advocate for a robust response to the public health and economic crisis, but we also must work together with the government for effective vaccine distribution and other response needs.

Tell us how you’re messaging to your church about the vaccine! Email us your stories and ideas to eppn@episcopalchurch.org.

First stop: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Toolkit for Community and Faith-Based Organizations

Second stop: State/territory specific information under the “How do I get a vaccine” box

VaccineFinder: COVID-19 Information for Jurisdictions and Healthcare Providers: Though early in development, the VaccineFinder website helps people find information about providers who offer select COVID-19 vaccines. VaccineFinder also allows healthcare providers to list their vaccination locations in a centralized, searchable database and to track vaccine availability.

Building Vaccine Confidence

Because of the nature of vaccines and herd immunity, it is critical churches also help address vaccine hesitancy.

While there is an overwhelming body of evidence supporting the efficacy and safety of vaccines, some are still skeptical of vaccine use. This is problematic as vaccines reach their full potential in combatting diseases when a large percentage of the population is inoculated, creating herd immunity. Those who are skeptical of taking the COVID-19 vaccine may have different reasons for their skepticism.

In a strong endorsement for stricter government vaccine mandates, the Executive Council of The Episcopal Church reiterated in a pre-COVID-19 2019 resolution, “That The Episcopal Church has long maintained that we are guided by faith and reason, and that scientific evidence helps us to better understand God’s creation, our place in it, and ways to alleviate suffering and pain.”

Additional language from that resolution offers excellent guidance for taking vaccines.

“The proper and responsible use of vaccines is a duty not only to our own selves and families but to our communities. Choosing to not vaccinate, when it is medically safe, threatens the lives of others.”

“The Executive Council expresses its grave concern and sorrow for the recent rise in easily preventable diseases due to anti-vaccination movements which have harmed thousands of children and adults.”

“The Executive Council condemns the continued and intentional spreading of fraudulent research that suggested vaccines might cause harm. The spread of this misinformation has resulted in significant harm to children and families.”

“The Executive Council recognizes no claim of theological or religious exemption from vaccination for our members and reiterates the spirit of General Convention policies that Episcopalians should seek the counsel of experienced medical professionals, scientific research, and epidemiological evidence.”

Finally, Executive Council also urges, “all religious leaders to support evidence-based measures that ensure the strongest protections for our communities.” And they instruct all of our congregations and dioceses, “to partner with medical professionals to counter false information, and to become educated about programs in their communities that can provide vaccinations and immunizations at reduced or no cost to those in need.”

On misinformation: Some may be bought into misinformation around the vaccine or vaccines in general. Since the beginning of the pandemic, misinformation has been a problem. As the World Health Organization says, misinformation costs lives. Explore their resource on managing the “COVID-19 Infodemic” here. Go a step beyond, and explore our own Episcopal Church resource on misinformation, being updated regularly.

On trust: It is also true that at various points in history the government has violated public trust, especially in communities of color, through abuse of new and sometimes experimental medicine. Acknowledging that history is important, as is emphasizing that the COVID-19 vaccine roll out, aimed at the entire global population, is not such an instance, and does have widespread backing of private and public entities ensuring its safety. Building and leveraging trust, especially through close relationships with your community, is one of the best approaches.

Lead by example: One way to combat vaccine hesitancy is to showcase church leaders receiving their vaccine. Create media (photos, a quick social media post, local news stories, etc.) when a church or community leader receives their vaccine and encourage others to do the same. Do avoid, however, posting any private information about individuals, including any images of a vaccination card itself.

Father Martini Shaw, rector of the historic African Episcopal Church of Saint Thomas in Philadelphia, was on local Philadelphia news when receiving his vaccine to show people that getting the vaccine is safe. Watch here. The parish has also become a vaccination site.

Best practices for countering vaccine skepticism among vulnerable communities: Fighting Vaccine Hesitancy in Groups Hardest Hit by COVID –19

Transparency and culturally appropriate communication are key: ‘Trusted Messengers, Trusted Messages’: How To Overcome Vaccine Hesitancy

Check-out COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Your Community

To get the Covid –19 vaccine right, we must close the confidence gap and stop pathologizing communities of color

In Fighting Vaccine Hesitancy Among Blacks, Churches May Be Key

The Episcopal Church strongly encourages everyone to get vaccinated against COVID-19 using any approved vaccine.

Grant Opportunity: In partnership with Uber, PayPal and Walgreens, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) has created the Vaccine Access Fund to support free Uber rides to and from #COVID19 vaccine sites for people in communities hard hit by the pandemic.
Recognizing that transportation is a significant barrier to vaccine access for some, LISC is working with organizations in cities all over the country to connect people in need with rides, with a particular focus on supporting vaccine access for Black and Latino adults and low-income individuals. If you or a partner is interested in participating in this initiative, click through this link for the intake questionnaire for prospective grantees. Upon receipt, a LISC staff person will contact you.

Actions to Help Everyone Get Vaccinated

Ask local public health officials how your congregation can best help, as they will know what is most needed. Find the websites for COVID-19 resources in every state and territory here or in the list at the bottom of this document. Churches might be used as distribution centers, space for storage, or for other direct and indirect needs. Consider reaching out to other houses of worship in your community, especially in more underserved neighborhoods, to see if you can work with health officials together.
Canvas your community. Meet at a walk-in vaccination clinic and canvas the surrounding neighborhood/area. Knock on doors and share information.
Recognize trusted messengers. Focus on having open conversations with people. Listen to their concerns and questions and provide them with the appropriate information. Guide them to medical professionals like their family doctor to get their questions answered and get vaccinated.
Send vaccination updates (who can get vaccinated, where to register to get a vaccine, etc.) in official church communications, including newsletters, social media and announcements during service broadcasts. A SAMPLE message can be found at the end of this resource. Consult your local health department for details.
Offer direct help to people so they can sign up to get a vaccine! Do not overlook the obvious—for many, confusion about the process to register for or obtain a vaccine may discourage or actively stop people from seeking vaccination. Consult your local health officials for details—the links for every state and territory are at the end of this resource—and offer one-on-one support to help individuals sign up. That said, vaccine rollout in many areas is more about crowdsourcing and word-of-mouth due to lack of coordination among hospitals, pharmacies and government officials. Aim to keep yourself informed on where people can get vaccinated by tracking local news and checking with local healthcare providers. Even consider organizing rides to vaccination sites for people in your community. Use this sign up form to get drivers.
Be ready to answer people’s basic questions about the vaccine. Use or share the information from this CDC webpage for basic questions.
Promote vaccine updates at places like food pantries and homeless shelters that your church runs or supports. Leverage children and youth (and even adults!) in creating artwork for fliers and notices.
Look for ways to connect individuals with poor internet access and/or limited transportation to vaccines. Be sure to follow health official guidance on in-person engagement.
Offer to host a forum with public health officials for members of your congregation who have questions or want more information about the vaccine process. You can reach out to local health departments and ask for guest speakers to speak to your community.
Partner with other faith congregations—each partner, including you, may only be able to contribute a certain element to the cause.
Include announcements in multiple languages to increase access to information. There is a Spanish version of this toolkit available, but there may be other local languages to target in your area. If you have multilingual people in your congregation, ask them if they can be a reference for people who do not speak English to help them navigate the system to register for or get the vaccine.
Pay particular attention to outreach and messaging to immigrants and immigrant communities. The effort to vaccinate all members of our communities should be a non-partisan issue, given that our public health depends on the vaccination access for everyone living in our communities. Additionally, immigrants are important bedrocks of our communities and many have served as critical essential workers during the pandemic. Explore these key issues to consider about immigrant access to COVID-19 vaccines from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Also know that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security publicly states its support for equal access to vaccines for undocumented immigrants.

Government COVID-19 and Vaccine Rollout Plan

The National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness can be found here . The Executive Summary can be found here .

Understanding the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program for COVID-19 Vaccination: this resource explains the collaboration between the federal government, states and territories, and 21 national pharmacy partners and independent pharmacy networks to increase access to COVID-19 vaccination across the U.S.

Fact Sheet for the Community Health Centers Vaccination Program

8 Things to Know about the U.S. COVID-19 Vaccination Program

The safety of COVID-19 vaccines is a top priority.

COVID-19 vaccination will help protect you from getting COVID-19. Two doses are needed for the vaccines available at this time, though in the future certain vaccines may only require one.

CDC is making recommendations for who should be offered COVID-19 vaccines first when supplies are limited.

There is currently a limited supply of COVID-19 vaccine in the United States, but supply will increase in the weeks and months to come.

After receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, you may have some side effects. This is a normal sign that your body is building protection. **The COVID-19 vaccine cannot make you sick with COVID-19.

Cost is not an obstacle to getting vaccinated against COVID-19.

The first COVID-19 vaccines are being used under Emergency Use Authorizations (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Many other vaccines are still being developed and tested.

COVID-19 vaccines are one of many important tools to help us stop this pandemic.

We will continue to add and update government resources as they become available.

Additional Resources

CDC COVID –19 Vaccine Information homepage

Information about mRNA vaccines: Understanding mRNA COVID –19 Vaccines and How Vaccines Work Against COVID –19 (video)

Vaccine safety information: Ensuring the Safety of COVID –19 Vaccines in the United States and COVID –19 Vaccines & Allergic Reactions

Information on the federal Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program, which provides compensation if a rare and serious side effect occurs from the COVID-19 vaccine (most other vaccines are covered under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program). Also see the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program factsheet.

Sample Message to Your Congregation or Ministry

Below is a sample message containing the type of information that could be useful to share regularly with your Church and wider community audience. Be sure to adjust the specific details to match your state/locale. This message is modified from correspondence shared with Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Clemson, SC, and St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Greenville, SC, by the Rev. Suz Cate and the Rev. Gary Eichelberger.

Dear Siblings in Christ,
I have also been getting the very obvious question: When will we be able to get back together? My answer to that question right now is that I really don’t know when it will be safe for us to worship together in the Nave again. For now we continue to build our community and seek fellowship through our virtual worship services and online engagement.

The Centers for Disease Control recommends that everyone, including those who have been vaccinated, continue to follow the recommended guidelines for preventing the spread of the virus until the rates of infection decrease substantially. These guidelines, of course, are to wear a mask, avoid gathering indoors with persons outside of your household, and wash your hands frequently. The numbers are coming down in Pickens County, but remain in the 28-29% range, with even higher transmission rates in nearby Oconee, Anderson, and Greenville Counties.

Many members of our parish now have the opportunity to get vaccinated — and, in the weeks ahead, more and more parishioners will be eligible to schedule their vaccinations. The goal of gathering is attainable, if we get as many parishioners vaccinated as quickly as we can.

Here are the specific steps that each of you can take in that regard:

Get Vaccinated as Soon as Possible!
If you are [Insert state/territory specific age] or over, you can now begin the process of scheduling an appointment to get vaccinated by going to the following sites: [Insert local information on where and how to get vaccinated]
People who are age 16 – 64 with particular health conditions may also be eligible for a vaccine. Check that information on our state’s health department page.
For those of us who are not yet eligible, we will have to wait longer to get our vaccines. We will continue to send messages about when additional opportunities are available. And I plan to get vaccinated as soon as I qualify under any relevant category.
Ask for help (if you need it)! If you need help navigating a website to get signed up for a vaccination (or any other related help), let someone in our community know – and I will call to help you – or get someone else in the parish to call to help you. If you know someone else that needs help, please let us know as well! Many of the vaccine registration sites require computer literacy and/or lots of time, and we are here to help!
If you know other people who need help, please let us know as well! We are eager to support people outside our worshipping community in this effort.
Note that there is no financial cost to the individual getting vaccinated – so, though other issues may arise, ability to pay is not a barrier.
Let us know once you are vaccinated! Share the good news with us, and if you give us permission, we can pass along your words of encouragement to others still seeking to get the vaccine too.
By letting us know once you are vaccinated, you help us to be able to evaluate when we have enough parishioners vaccinated that we can return to more regular worship. (This will be months away, I expect – but we can all do our part to help us get there as soon as possible.)
If you are not planning to get vaccinated for any reason, I would welcome the opportunity to talk with you about any concerns that you might have-and possibly direct you to helpful resources that might allay any concerns.

I look forward to staying in touch as we move forward into more hopeful times addressing this pandemic one vaccine and one mask at a time.

Sample Actions by Episcopalians

This is a non-exhaustive list of coverage about Episcopalians helping with vaccine distribution. There is no one way to get involved, so be creative with your engagement! (Questions, or have coverage on this from your area? Write us.)

Orlando, Florida: Church leaders use supermarkets as gateway to COVID-19 vaccines for Hispanic community (and here)

From the Church of England: Bishops and church leaders target Covid vaccination misinformation

Philadelphia, PA: Historic Philadelphia church becomes COVID-19 vaccination site