“Use what you have: ” Health promotion and economic vitality in a COVID-19 worksite vaccination initiative

Abstract

In mid-2021, the CommuniVax Alabama team broadened their community engagement by partnering with the Chamber of Commerce, the Alabama Department of Public Health, and others to bring vaccines to the workplace. Through this collaboration, the team hoped to fortify the state's persistently anemic rate of vaccination. The goals of increasing access to, and convenience of COVID-19 vaccination were only partially achieved due to human resource and policy challenges and incongruent priorities that resulted from those challenges. The accomplishments, challenges, and suggestions for improvement are outlined to aid future efforts at health promotion and community outreach, especially in jurisdictions with limited extant public health infrastructure.