Health departments are working quickly to implement plans for COVID-19 vaccine roll-out. As news and messaging around COVID-19 vaccines unfolds rapidly, some communities may have questions and concerns about what to expect.
Hear Directly from the Community
A listening session is a facilitated discussion with a group of individuals aimed at collecting information about a specific topic. Listening sessions are an effective way to hear directly from communities about topics related to COVID-19, including vaccines. Insights collected during listening sessions can support a future vaccine campaign. Partnering with a community-based organization (CBO) is a great strategy to reach community members. Community leaders are often best positioned to facilitate the discussion. If appropriate, medical experts can be available to answer questions requiring additional expertise. Listening sessions can be held either remotely through a web or phone conference or in-person while socially distanced. Depending on the preferences of the culture, it may be best to consider multiple listening sessions for community members of different age groups and genders.
Vaccine Listening Sessions
The Afghan Health Initiative partnered with a health department to host community listening sessions to receive input from the Afghan community about the COVID-19 vaccine. The listening sessions were held via Zoom. Farsi, Dari and Pashto interpretations were made available. Registration was limited to the first 15 people to keep the group size small. View example promotional materials from the event.
