NIAGARA COUNTY, N.Y. — Catholic Health received American Rescue Plan funding to increase vaccine outreach in Niagara County to address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.
Congressman Brian Higgins and Catholic Health announced $880,000 in funding being awarded to focus vaccine efforts on the county, with a focus on Niagara Falls. The funding is targeted on areas that lack access to vaccine information and have a high rate of vaccine hesitancy that are preventing the county from reaching an optimal vaccination rate.
“Vaccine hesitancy is a very real challenge in Western New York. With this American Rescue Plan funding, Catholic Health and project partners can build relationships within hard-to-reach communities to calm fears or answer questions associated with the COVID-19 vaccine and then follow up with access to resources,” Higgins said. “The vaccine is our best defense against this horrible disease.”
Catholic Health's Mount St. Mary's Hospital will work with Niagara University, Northpointe Council Inc., and Pinnacle Community Services to identify "hotspots" where there is a greater need for COVID-19 vaccine education.
Community outreach workers will be hired and trained to increase the understanding of COVID-19 prevention in targeted communities to hopefully increase the number of community members willing to receive the vaccine. Additionally they will link residents to community resources, including transportation to get to vaccine appointments.
Recent New York State Immunization Information System reports that 58% of the state's population is fully vaccinated. In Niagara Falls, several zip codes including 14301, 14303, and 14305 have had less than 50% of the population receive at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
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