Not all medical heroes wear… stethoscopes.
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, under-served communities of color in New York City had DOUBLE the risk of dying from the virus. What – or who – saved lives there?
Enter Maureen Miller and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. They evaluated community health worker outreach and its impact on vaccination rates.
And? At-risk neighborhoods with HIGH outreach resulted in higher vaccine uptake within ONE YEAR. These local outreach efforts ALSO improved vaccination rates in seventy-five predominantly Black and Latino communities!
It was the less-celebrated, backbone workers of the health system that made the difference!
COVID doesn’t stand a chance against these unsung heroes!
Reference: Miller, M. Weiss, BG. Salad, ZM. Parrella KE. Islam, F. Watkins, J and the COVID-19 Equity Program Team. (June 1, 2025). “Community Health Worker Influence on COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake in New York City, 2021‒2022”, American Journal of Public Health 115, no. 6: pp. 910-919.va