HARTFORD, Conn. (WTIC Radio)—Community health workers and canvassers across the state are getting help in their work to spread awareness about the COVID-19 vaccine from college students.
The State Department of Public Health and Quinnipiac University's School of Health Sciences (QU) have partnered to recruit undergraduate and graduate students for the Public Health College Corps.
According to Dr. Janelle Chiasera, Dean of QU, the students are trained and then deployed to municipalities across the state to expand door-to-door outreach efforts for the COVID-19 vaccine.
Zechariah Stephens, a Hartford native and a recent graduate of Lincoln University, is one of fourteen College Corps members that are canvassing neighborhoods in Hartford this summer.
His team hopes to reach community members who are hesitant about getting the vaccine, particularly young people.
"Right now, I know that [young people] will probably listen to us more since we're their peers other than people who are older," Stephens said.
Data about COVID-19 transmission and vaccinations rates in Hartford is critical in helping people change their minds about the vaccines, he said.
Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin joined the group of College Corps members in the city's North End Thursday in encouraging residents to get vaccinated.
Getting vaccinated is a choice, Bronin said, "but I also think that it's pretty clear that the smart choice, the right choice for you, for your family, for your loved ones, for your community is to protect yourself against this virus and to protect others as well."
With Hartford County now categorized as having a "substantial" level of COVID-19 transmission, Bronin is urging residents to do what they can to protect themselves, including wearing masks indoors regardless of vaccination status, per the latest CDC guidance.
"Wearing a mask is not an awfully high price to pay to protect those around us," Bronin said.
The College Corps group will be working alongside about 20 community health workers and canvassers for the rest of the summer.
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