COVID-19 VACCINE CONFIDENCE NETWORK
COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence Project
The GSU PRC received a one-year, $500,000 supplemental award to identify behaviors and solutions to increase vaccine confidence in the refugee, immigrant and migrant (RIM) communities and the African American community of Clarkston, Georgia. We will utilize direct person contact through the hiring, training and deployment of Clarkston COVID-19 Community Ambassadors, all of whom are members of the target Clarkston community; collaborating with existing organizations to improve logistics and reduce barriers for residents; developing culturally and linguistically appropriate communication strategies and social media interventions; and fostering collaboration across the CDC’s Vaccine Confidence Network. The Vaccine Confidence Network is comprised of twenty-six Prevention Research Centers that leverage CDC’s Vaccinate with Confidence strategy to build and evaluate COVID-19 vaccine confidence and demand in diverse communities.
Vaccine Expert Advice
Dr. Andrew Kim encourages vaccines
Dr. Andrew Kim shares a COVID-19 patient’s story.
Dr. Scott Keller answers the question "Why Should Our Community Be Vaccinated Against COVID-19?"
Dr. Scott Keller answers the question "How are we going to end this?"
Dr. Esther Kim COVID Vaccine on Nursing Mothers & Fertility.
The Covid and Kids Webinar is facilitated by Dr. Ashli Owen-Smith, Co-investigator and Director of Training at PRC, and Roberta Malavenda, Executive Director at CDF Action. They facilitated a panel of 2 pediatricians, Dr. Susan Reinas and Dr. Veda Johnson. The first half of the session focuses on covid-19 vaccinations for kids. The second half focuses on the way Covid-19 has affected kids in various ways including mentally, socially, and emotionally. The panel concluded with questions from the attending public regarding Covid-19 vaccinations for kids.
Ambassadors
Ahmad Habibzai
Ahmad is an employment coordinator at Inspiritus (formerly known as Lutheran Services of Georgia), where he has placed more than 1,200 clients into the job market. He trained as a medical doctor in Afghanistan, where he established three medical clinics and trained around 50 community health workers. He has managed USAID and World Bank-funded programs in Afghanistan and Bangladesh. He speaks Dari, Pashto, Urdu and English.
I also help people with government benefits applications including; food stamp and renewal, of medicaid application.
Mohamed Mohamed
Mohamed came to the United States over 25 years ago and has lived in Ga since then. I got a job at Harry’s farmers market as a department supervisor, where 70% of the associates were non-English speakers from around the world. I assisted Somalis and Swahili speaking fellow immigrants from Clarkston in interpreting, translating and filling out various forms. I worked with RRISA, Refugee Resettlement and Immigration Services of Atlanta for seven years assisting newly arrived refugees, including picking them up from the airport. Several years ago, I organized the Global Mall tenants in Clarkston to unite. It allowed me to represent them on their behalf and renegotiate their lease due to economic hardship. They not only achieved that but also received three months of free rent. Currently, I am involved in different community activities, from assisting Clarkston residents in acquiring jobs to voter registration.
Thomas Roger
I'm a Congolese refugee who came from a refugee camp. Since 2016 I have been a leader in our community groups because we all need someone to be beside us to either direct or help.
I'm willing to assist my Clarkston community with any kind of physical and spiritual need including interpretation of Swahili to English French to English and even Kibembe to English. I also help people with transportation to doctor or to hospital appointments. I also help call to ask to schedule doctor appointments.
I also help people with government benefits applications including; food stamps and renewal, of Medicaid applications.
Selar Shwani
"I am passionate about working in my community! I am from Kurdistan and have experience in medical and immigration interpretation between Kurdish and English. I also have experience working with multiple refugee resettlement agencies, including African Community and IRC."
Kaeden Tun
"I joined the GSU PRC covid19 vaccine ambassador team because I am committed to serve and help individuals from underserved and refugee communities and addressing barriers to healthcare faced by the refugee community when COVID19. Through this team, I will connect with individuals from different cultures and backgrounds, create meaningful relationships and positively impact the community. I have a deep interest in refugee and migrant health and have worked with the refugee community in Clarkston for several years. Working with different communities throughout Clarkston has been very rewarding and I hope to continue to find ways to uplift the community. Fun facts about me are that I love traveling and backpacking trips and I would like to work with Doctors without borders one day!"
For more information or to request COVID-19 Community Ambassadors at your event, contact us here.
Contact Us
E-mail the Prevention Research Center at Georgia State.
E-mail the Prevention Research Center at Georgia State.
Connect with the Prevention Research Center on social media to get the latest news and updates.
