After Delays, Virginia State University Poised to Launch EXCITE Initiative
Tiffany Freer, a public health extension associate.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture have provided funding to the Cooperative Extension system to address health disparities in underserved communities. Called the Extension Collaborative on Immunization Teaching & Engagement (EXCITE), the initiative offers two options for land-grant universities: an outreach and education campaign (activity 1) and adult immunization pilot projects (activity 2). Virginia State University (VSU) is leading an activity 1 project to reduce vaccine hesitancy through outreach, education, and communication programs.
VSU recently hired Tiffany Freer, a public health extension associate, to spearhead the outreach and education campaign. “Our end goal is to increase the scientific knowledge base, and uptake in vaccine acceptance or reduced levels of hesitancy in the community,” says Freer. She’ll accomplish this through multiple partnerships in the Richmond and Petersburg areas, and Henrico County.
The project was originally funded in May of 2021, with enough funding to cover one year of the initiative. However, due to staff changes and other complications caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, VSU’s project has an extension through April 2023.
VSU’s communication campaign is currently in the planning and partnership phase, and Freer expects to implement the program this spring. Their primary focus is on reaching low-income, high-minority areas. So far, Freer has established a partnership with the Virginia Department of Health, the Petersburg Association of Neighbors, and the Petersburg Department of Social Services, among others. She is currently establishing a partnership with the public health institute on VSU’s campus.
The university is hiring an assistant for Freer, who expects the position to be onboarded in February. “The idea is that once we have the assistant, we can do outreach in the community through tabling events and education programs for extension agents that they can present to their audiences in their counties.”
It’s Freer’s hope that these outreach efforts will pay off at vaccine clinics. She’s designing an exit survey for clinic participants to discover where they learned about the clinic, and hoping many will indicate VSU’s EXCITE initiative. Using extension agents’ existing networks will be key to widespread messaging.
Freer is optimistic about their growing number of partnerships and the impact they’ll have. “I’m most excited to have people in my community protected from the serious effects of COVID-19, and promoting VSU and Extension as a source for research-based information.”