How Community Engagement Transformed Vaccine Equity in Nevada

by Jon Scaccia February 5, 2025

What does it take to ensure health equity during a public health emergency? The COVID-19 pandemic exposed deep-rooted disparities in healthcare access and outcomes, particularly among historically underserved and marginalized communities. Nevada faced its own set of challenges, with communities of color disproportionately affected by the virus yet receiving fewer vaccines in the initial rollout.

But a bold initiative—the Nevada Vaccine Equity Collaborative (NVEC)—turned this challenge into an opportunity, showcasing how community engagement (CE) can be a catalyst for meaningful change.

The Power of Listening and Collaborating

Imagine this: a pop-up vaccine clinic at a local church, staffed by bilingual volunteers, with no intimidating ID requirements. This scenario wasn’t just a convenient setup; it was a deliberate strategy crafted through conversations with Nevada’s undocumented communities. Concerns about identification at state-run sites were a major barrier, so NVEC partnered with local leaders to eliminate this hurdle. The result? Word spread rapidly, and the clinic vaccinated scores of individuals in a single day, each bringing a neighbor or family member along.

This is just one example of how NVEC leveraged community insights to address systemic challenges. The initiative was co-led by Immunize Nevada and the Nevada Minority Health and Equity Coalition, organizations with deep roots in community health. Together, they built a coalition of over 200 partners, ranging from faith-based leaders to public health researchers, united under a shared goal: equitable vaccine access.

Building the Framework: Five Phases of Community Engagement

NVEC’s success didn’t happen by chance. It was guided by an adapted CE framework that evolved through the pandemic’s shifting landscape. Here’s how it worked:

1. Creating an Environment for Engagement
   Within weeks of its inception, NVEC secured funding, recruited partners, and established a leadership team. This team created a space for open dialogue, transparency, and trust, essential elements for community collaboration.
2. Making the Work Relevant
   The pandemic brought urgency, but NVEC ensured its approach was grounded in the unique needs of Nevada’s communities. Data on COVID-19’s disproportionate impact combined with community partner insights to identify critical gaps in vaccine access.
3. Narrowing the Focus
   Using the CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index and local vaccination data, NVEC pinpointed areas with the highest need. For example, communities with low vaccine uptake and high social vulnerability became priority zones for targeted interventions.
4. Planning and Conducting the Work
   NVEC funded partners to lead on-the-ground efforts, such as hosting pop-up clinics, creating culturally tailored educational materials, and advocating for policy changes like the removal of ID requirements.
5. Evaluating the Effort
   The collaborative continuously monitored its impact, tracking metrics like clinic attendance and vaccine coverage rates. By December 2021, vaccination rates in high-vulnerability areas increased by an astounding 467%, compared to 227% in lower-vulnerability zones.

Lessons Learned: The Art and Science of Engagement

NVEC’s work reinforced several key principles for effective CE:

• Trust Takes Time: Building relationships required NVEC to extend beyond conventional hours and methods. Texts, late-night calls, and on-the-ground presence demonstrated genuine commitment.
• Flexibility Is Key: The pandemic’s unpredictability demanded constant adaptation. When separate workgroup meetings lost momentum, NVEC folded them into general sessions, maintaining efficiency and engagement.
• Empower Local Knowledge: Community partners brought vital insights, from cultural nuances to logistical barriers. Their contributions led to practical solutions, such as translating materials and identifying trusted vaccination sites.

Broader Implications for Public Health

NVEC’s story offers a blueprint for addressing health disparities beyond COVID-19. Vaccines may be a focal point today, but the principles of CE—trust, relevance, and adaptability—are universally applicable. Whether tackling maternal health inequities or access to mental health resources, public health professionals can learn from NVEC’s model.

This case also underscores the importance of tailoring interventions to the unique contexts of communities. A one-size-fits-all approach fails to account for the rich diversity of experiences, challenges, and needs across populations.

What’s Next?

As public health practitioners look to the future, several questions remain:

• How can CE efforts be sustained beyond the immediate crisis of a pandemic?
• What strategies can ensure equitable access to resources during future public health emergencies?
• How do we measure the long-term impact of initiatives like NVEC on systemic health inequities?

For NVEC, the next steps include expanding its CE framework to other public health challenges, fostering deeper collaborations, and refining evaluation methods to capture both process and outcome measures.

Join the Conversation

What lessons from NVEC’s story resonate with your work or community? Have you seen CE initiatives succeed—or struggle—in your area? Share your experiences and thoughts in the comments below or join the conversation on social media.

• How can we better support local leaders in advancing health equity?
• What role does storytelling play in mobilizing communities for public health action?
• In your opinion, what are the biggest barriers to equitable healthcare access today?

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