My first week began with warm introductions from the staff at NHSA, who are continuing to work remotely due to COVID. I met most often with my supervisor to discuss her multi-faceted role working with countless departments and leading working groups, including the COVID-19 Vaccination and Mitigation Working Group. In light of NHSA's ability to secure a partnership with Uber that would offer 500,000 free rides for the Head Start community to get to and from vaccinations sites, participants expressed their programs’ and families' concerns regarding the variety of approved COVID vaccines. Depending on the location of the programs, most often divided on a rural vs. urban continuum, members of the group indicated various reasons for which families and employees are experiencing hesitancy towards the vaccines. Participants located in more rural areas shared vaccination concerns on behalf of their constituencies that were being expressed primarily by older staff, who are nervous about how their underlying health conditions will interact with the vaccines. In urban programs, it is a much younger age group consisting of individuals in their child-bearing years, expressing their doubts about whether the vaccine could affect their pregnancies, or their ability to become pregnant.
Although these concerns vary significantly, the ability of programs to share best practices and successful tactics in engaging people who are not yet vaccinated has been likened to the Get Out the Vote Efforts. These campaigns are most effective when a personal connection is made, and there is a lack of judgment or patronizing attitude towards others that are in unique situations and might think differently to those engaging with them. I look forward to seeing how this group can continue to collaborate on what has been successful for them, and whether or not their centers will require staff to be vaccinated for in-person services to resume. As states’ restrictions continue to ease, and as the vaccines will presumably be approved for use on younger children, conflicting requirements in parents’ workplaces and Head Start programs could prove to be challenging to manage.
