Mobilizing community engagement for crisis response: lessons learned from a COVID-19 mass vaccination clinic in Cobourg, Ontario, Canada.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Communities have an important role to play in disaster and emergency planning and response. Yet community members are not typically engaged in official planning activities, including plans for mass immunization clinics during infectious disease emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This qualitative study explores one case of a community driven effort to implement a COVID-19 mass vaccination clinic in Cobourg, Ontario, Canada. Operational between mid-March 2021 and late February 2022, the Cobourg Community Centre (CCC) clinic involved 600 community volunteers, and at its peak completed approximately 700 vaccinations a day. The development and operation of the clinic was largely grassroots, spearheaded by local non-profits and volunteers. Drawing on insights from the

SUBMITTER: Gaudet C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11660807 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature