Finger Lakes Rural Immunization Initiative
Funding for this program has ended. Information is still available for community interest and education.
The Finger Lakes Rural Immunization Initiative (FLRII) was an initiative funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to address low vaccination rates in rural areas. The program focused on COVID-19 vaccine awareness, education, and increase in access for the Finger Lakes region, including Genesee, Livingston, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates counties.
The FLRII team worked closely with community partners, physicians, local health departments and other trusted messengers and collaborators to increase vaccine awareness, knowledge and acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine throughout the Finger Lakes.
A toolkit was created to help answer questions and engage trusted messengers to promote COVID-19 vaccination.
FLRII Toolkit
Changing the Conversation
The "Changing the Conversation” workshop used techniques borrowed from multiple disciplines to empower trusted messengers with conversational tools that will improve the outcomes of these sometimes-challenging interactions around COVID-19 vaccination. This workshop was done successfully in-person and over Zoom for a variety of groups (health care workers community-based organizations, teachers, students and anyone who is interested in being a Trusted Messenger).
Workshop Video Tutorial
Helpful Guides:
Publications:
- Reichelt M, Cullen JP, Mayer-Fried S, Russell HA, Bennett NM and Yousefi-Nooraie R (2023) Addressing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in rural communities: A case study in engaging trusted messengers to pivot and plan. Front. Public Health 11:1059067. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1059067
- Cullen JP, Russ S, Russell HA. Theater for Vaccine Hesitancy—Setting the Stage for Difficult Conversations. JAMA. Published online September 02, 2022. doi:10.1001/jama.2022.14864
- Mayo, N. Cullen, J. Dozier, A., Yousefi-Nooraie, R., Russell, H. (2022) How to overcome hesitancy for COVID-19 and other vaccines. J Fam Pract. 71(6):239-244 | doi: 10.12788/jfp.0443
Questions? Please send your inquiries to the FLRII email.
Learn more about Finger Lakes vaccination efforts at flvaccinehub.org/regional-data.