The Minneapolis Health Department is doubling down on its efforts to boost vaccine outreach and combat vaccine hesitancy, particularly among the city's marginalized communities where access to healthcare often falls behind, according to an official statement released by the department. Sebastian Cervantes, a Senior Public Health Specialist at the Health Department, with nine years under her belt, has been at the forefront of this initiative; her connection to the Hispanic community she grew up in fuels her determination to uplift those who've historically been left on the sidelines of the healthcare spectrum.
"I do this work because of my own personal history. I feel like it is my responsibility to uplift my community and other communities who have been disenfranchised. With privilege comes responsibility," Cervantes explained, as she talked about the strategies employed to ensure vaccines reach the targeted communities, this includes a mix of social media, radio on cultural stations, and the distribution of multilingual flyers throughout Minneapolis; an approach rooted in creating trust through honest dialogue.
Following the pandemic, the Minneapolis Health Department reshaped its strategy to meet community members literally where they are, significant results have followed with an increase in free vaccination clinics available, especially in diverse neighborhoods, vaccination counts from the past two years, and the current ongoing year tell a story of these efforts with numbers from 2022 showing 41 clinics and 1,217 COVID-19 vaccinations, while in 2023, the number rose to 52 clinics delivering 1,049 COVID-19 vaccinations, in addition to 239 flu vaccinations and 673 Mpox vaccinations and 2024 already tallying up to 21 clinics, 210 COVID-19 shots, 59 flu vaccinations, and 451 Mpox vaccinations by July 5 according to the department's provided data.
The Health Department emphasizes the accessibility of these vaccine clinics, which are walk-in and hostable any time Monday-Saturday, inclusive of evenings, they are not just free but come with staff and vaccines at no expense to the host community, offering a roster that includes COVID-19, Flu, Mpox, MMR, and Tdap vaccines. Communities interested in hosting a clinic are encouraged to integrate these events with existing gatherings or to set them up as standalone events—a move intended to bridge the distance between those in need and essential health services.
