The Learning Center for the Deaf (TLC) has received another grant from Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) to support COVID-19 vaccine education outreach. Funding will support initiatives through June 30, 2023.
The grant marks the third cycle of funding distributed by DPH to support organizations and agencies across the Commonwealth to provide accessible resources related to COVID-19 and the COVID-19 vaccine. TLC has partnered with DPH for this outreach initiative since May 2021, and has received more than $130,000 in total grant funding.
TLC has focused its outreach efforts on ensuring accessible vaccine information is readily available for the broader deaf and hard of hearing community in Massachusetts. The organization has provided videos, fact sheets and news briefs in ASL, and has hosted vaccine clinics which offered interpreting services. Additional personal protective equipment has been provided to its staff, as well as its program clients and students.
In addition, TLC has hosted and shared a number of interviews with Deaf medical providers to discuss the COVID-19 vaccine, and considerations surrounding the public health emergency over the past three years.
A dedicated webpage has been set up to centralize all COVID-19 vaccine information and videos.
TLC looks forward to continuing its vaccine equity work through the spring by partnering with other Deaf agencies and the State to ensure an accessible ASL library is available for all current and upcoming COVID-19 information.
The Vaccine Equity Initiative was created by DPH to work with the populations and communities hardest hit by COVID-19 to increase awareness and acceptance of the vaccine, access to vaccination locations, and vaccine administration rates. This approach is driven by community needs and is centered on equity, a core pillar of the state’s vaccine distribution plan, and is informed by the state’s COVID-19 Health Equity Advisory Group and the Vaccine Advisory Group.