Pitt County is ranked 48th out of the 100 counties in North Carolina for COVID-19 vaccination rates, with only 53.8% of the population fully vaccinated. West Greenville, located in Pitt County, is historically of lower economic status, leading to poorer social determinants of health. The goal of the VAXXED & BOOSTED campaign is to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates in West Greenville by bringing the vaccine to locations that socioeconomically disadvantaged residents of West Greenville frequently visit.

The VAXXED & BOOSTED vaccination events were hosted at the Community Crossroads Center and the JOY Soup Kitchen. The Community Crossroads Center is the homeless shelter that serves Pitt County. The JOY Soup Kitchen provides free meals to residents of West Greenville and is conveniently located on the Greenville bus line. Prior to these events, community ambassadors were utilized in order to educate and encourage community members to get vaccinated. At five events hosted to date, 52 people have received their COVID-19 vaccine: 13 people received their first vaccine, 4 received their second, and 35 received their booster. Out of 29 people surveyed, 24 found the use of the community ambassadors helpful (82.8%) and 15 interacted with a community ambassador before the event they attended (51.7%). The education provided at the event influenced the decision of 22 people (75.9%), 24 learned something new at the event (82.8%), and 27 plan to encourage others to get vaccinated (93.1%).

Moving forward, we plan to also offer the flu vaccine. There has been initial interest with many people stating they have been unable to get the flu vaccine due to lack of transportation, and we hope that by alleviating transportation barriers to getting vaccinated, we can increase vaccination rates. Our next event will be a vaccination block party hosted at the Andrew A. Best Freedom Park using the Servire mobile unit, and both the COVID-19 and flu vaccines will be offered.