Celebrating EXCITE Vaccine in Education Projects Reaching Over 11 Million People!
We are celebrating EXCITE Vaccine Education Projects reaching over 11 million people through their 1st year. After calculating the data from the June program reports, EXCITE total reach came to 11,201,951 people! Bringing crucial Vaccine Education to this number of people during a challenging year is a significant accomplishment for the EXCITE project. This figure demonstrates Extension’s ability to reach hard-to-reach populations and the value of the system’s boots-on-the-ground efforts. The EXCITE projects have done an excellent job of elevating Extension as a trusted partner in health education in their communities.
Seventy-two Land Grant Universities representing all six regions of Cooperative Extension participated in Activity 1, Vaccinate with Confidence Campaign, to provide immunization education to diverse populations and reduce their vaccination hesitancy. The CDC chose Extension as a partner in COVID-19 Immunization Education because Extension is one the only partners who specifically target rural and medically underserved communities, Extension agents are trusted messengers represented in almost every county across the US, and agents experience on the ground- Extension is on the front lines, experienced pushback, and persevered.
11 Million Reached:
- Priority populations that were reached include communities of color, Tribal communities, rural communities, faith-based communities, college students, low-resourced individuals and families, healthcare professionals, and agricultural workers.
- EXCITE project teams partnered with over 91 city and county health departments, 104 Healthcare Providers, 45 Faith-Based Partners, 104 Community partners, and 53 departments or professional schools within their intuitions to reduce vaccine hesitancy in their local Extension community. These health partnerships and vaccination education are evidence of a statewide focused effort contributing to a system-wide impact.
- EXCITE teams developed educational assets that were culturally appropriate and relevant to their audiences. Assets were translated into Spanish, English, Hattian, and Somalian. EXCITE teams distributed educational assets through channels such as print, radio, Pandora, social media, billboards, TikTok, YouTube, and virtual and in-person events.
In addition to reaching 11 million people with vaccine education, EXCITE has accomplished the following through Activity 1 projects:
- 730 Vaccination Clinics
- 25,492 Immunizations
- Improved trust in vaccinations
- Improved perceived vaccine safety
- Improved perceived importance of vaccines for preventive health and disease prevention
- Improved social norms emphasizing the importance of vaccinations
- Increased number of individuals vaccinated
- Decreased barriers to vaccinations
We are also excited to provide more information about another EXCITE programming opportunity, made possible by the Extension’s outstanding work promoting immunization awareness in their local communities. Anyone interested in participating or learning more about this opportunity is welcome to the project introduction session on September 22nd at 3 PM ET. Register Here.
See more about the EXCITE project:
- View the breakdown of reach by an institution and priority population on the project Dashboard here.
- See EXCITE website for project videos from teams.
