School of Public Health and partner USAging awarded 2024 Immunization Neighborhood Champion Award

The Texas A&M University School of Public Health and USAging have been awarded the 2024 Immunization Neighborhood Champion Award by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s National Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit. Matthew Lee Smith, PhD, professor at the School of Public Health, leads the school’s involvement as a founding member of USAging’s Aging and Disability Vaccination Collaborative (ADVC).

Announced as respiratory illness season is ramping up in the United States, this honor recognizes Smith’s work in support of ADVC’s efforts to increase the number of older adults and individuals with disabilities who receive vaccines against influenza (flu), COVID-19, pneumococcal disease, shingles and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

“Vaccinations are one of the leading breakthroughs in public health that have extended life expectancy and overall wellness across all ages,” Smith said. “However, we know there are many underserved communities and population subgroups that are not being vaccinated. That puts them at increased risk for contracting harmful viruses and diseases, which can lead to severe health consequences, hospitalization and premature death. Because older adults are at an elevated risk for these consequences, they need to be protected.”

Smith is the principal investigator of the $1.1 million grant from USAging, which is part of a larger grant of $75 million from the Administration for Community Living (ACL) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to support USAging’s ADVC. This funding cannot be used to purchase vaccinations. Instead, the School of Public Health uses the funds to support educational outreach and community vaccination events in underserved, under-vaccinated areas, with an emphasis on reaching Hispanic/Latino and rural communities.

“Dedicated efforts are needed to ensure that older adults—especially those with fewer financial resources—are aware of the vaccines that they need, their eligibility, and where they can get vaccinated for free or at low cost,” Smith said.

The 18-month state initiative, which began Sept. 1, 2023, uses a community navigation approach that involves strategic partners with networks of community health workers and promotoras, which are trusted frontline public health workers striving to improve the health of communities through education, social support and advocacy.

“It takes a community, working together, to effectively address public health issues,” Smith said. “This is particularly important when we aim to serve traditionally under-vaccinated communities, which unfortunately don’t always attend clinical visits or seek out preventive care.”

The Texas project’s strategic partners are the Brazos County Health District, South Texas Promotores Association, and the Intercultural Center for Health, Research and Wellness. Additionally, the School of Public Health’s Center for Community Health and Aging and Center for Health Equity and Evaluation Research and Texas A&M University’s student group Aggies Serving the Aging Population are involved with the project. These groups host events where vaccinations are available and facilitate support services that remove barriers to vaccination—including transportation, appointment assistance and general community navigation.

As a result of these ongoing efforts, the Texas initiative has administered 6,604 total vaccinations, and the project’s partners have interacted with almost 78,000 individuals during 99 community events and 43 outreach and education activities.

Smith has also served as a subject matter expert for the ADVC, which includes about 300 grantees that work with area agencies on aging, centers for independent living and other community-based organizations nationwide with a network of over 1,400 partner organizations. In this role, the Texas A&M professor has provided trainings to the grantee network about relevant vaccination topics such as communication strategies, conflict de-escalation, multi-cultural marketing and community navigation strategies.

Since May 2023, ADVC partners have administered more than 378,000 COVID-19 and flu vaccines. Additionally, ADVC partners have administered 112,000 RSV, shingles, pneumococcal and other vaccines. They also provided 441,000 individuals with supportive services such as transportation to vaccine clinics, assistance with appointments, and referral to aging and disability resources.