Provide $50 Vaccine Incentive to 80 people

DJ Dap, a Panama City native doing big things in the Tallahassee radio market, led a team in Leon County that provided support and answers for hundreds of people with COVID-19 questions and resources. 

Even before becoming a LEAD Media Trusted Messenger DJ Dap was sounding the alarm about getting the COVID vaccine:

If I did it, you can do it too. Got my #johnsonandjohnson vaccine shot today. One & done!!!! Do like I did & go get vaccinated!!!! Publix

DJ Dap and his team travelled throughout Leon County getting people vaccinated and taking surveys to better inform our work in health disparities.

The LEAD Coalition of Bay County and its collaborative partners have played a key role in helping people in underserved communities get te COVID Vaccine! Through partnerships with the Area Health Education Center of the Big Bend and local pharmacies, LEAD has been instrumental in getting over 300 people vaccinated since August 2022. 

Thanks to DJ Dap and his team for helping us to help other lead better lives!

With the attention to COVID-19 waning, many people are not getting the recommended booster as we head into the cold and flu season. Fortunately, the LEAD Coalition has been able to partner with the Area Health Education Center (AHEC) and Coopers Drugs to offer $50 gift card incentives for adults to get vaccinated.  The AHEC Grant that provided the $50 gift card incentives has come to an end, so LEAD is raising funds to continue offering the successful COVID vaccine incentives.

Mary, Cooper's Drugs' pharacist, said she's "trying to help people to help themselves. Some people are not sure whether they should do things or not...and I want to assure people that this is the right thing to do to get us past COVID."

During the last month of the AHEC program in October 2022, 178 adults got their vaccine and the $50 gift card incentive. The incentive program was offered every Wednesday in October. Starting with a just 21 people getting vaccinated on October 5, more people were vaccinated each week.

10/5=  21

10/12=28

10/19=56 

10/26=73

On January 3, 2022, DJ Big Boi, a 99.3 the beat radio personality, posted on facebook that he had COVID-19. "Mild symptoms! Very mild. Thank God for the shots!!!! I’ll be broadcast from home this week," he wrote. LEAD reached out to Big Boi about putting his testimony on a billboard in the city. He agreed. Later that month, his post about being on a billboard, drew many comments and reactions, including several from Panama City native Dj Dap, a Tallahassee radio program director and Panama City native.

The LEAD Coalition of Bay County teamed up with local celebrity, DJ Big Boi to combat the misinformation being spread about the Covid-19 vaccines. LEAD ran several campaigns featuring DJ Big Boi’s testimony on the impact that the vaccine had on his own life. After completing his vaccine set, Big Boi claimed that it would have been a lot worse had he not gotten the doses before testing positive. He encourages everyone he runs into to get their shots so that they can have a stronger chance at coming out on top of the illness. The LEAD Coalition also started a new program in order to spread the message about the importance of the vaccine, appropriately named Trusted Messengers. Friends, family, neighbors; several members of our own community work with the coalition to continue raising awareness about Covid-19 and the one shot (sometimes four) at ending this pandemic.

One of LEAD’s most successful campaigns, #DropTheBeatOnCovid was an initiative designed to include a specific audience of teens and young adults. They focused their efforts towards promoting their message on a popular social media platform, TikTok. The team held two TikTok live events in which DJ Big Boi, alongside Panama City native, DJ Dap on WWLD Blazin 102.3 in Tallahassee came together to talk about the facts on the vaccines and drop some beats for the live audience. Together, these two dynamic personalities have broadcast their personal mission to get more people vaccinated in their hometown where the numbers are lagging behind the state. The discussion included common myths and misconceptions while educating the community on the effectiveness of the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. Our viewer count reached over hundreds of viewers and the live video surpassed seven thousand likes. LEAD and the dynamic duo of DJ’s also partnered with our the Florida State University Panama City Student Council to throw a spring break party for the students. They offered food, drinks, games, and prizes for the students to enjoy. The DJ’s welcomed the engagement with the students and encouraged them to keep the campus Covid free. Their personalities drew everyone’s attention to the stage and the music kept the party going. Several students signed up for the free vaccine clinic that was being offered the next week.

Links:

• http://www.leadabetterlife.org

Carrie is a retired collegiate educator on a mission to get counter misinformation and convince people to get vaccinated against COVID-19. As a Trusted Messenger, she engages her family, friends, church members and youth in conversations about getting vaccinated. Since December 2020, she has regularly participated in the weekly Resiliant American Communities (RAC) Bay County weekly briefings to stay informed abut COVID-19 iin Bay County.  

"I just believe that the vaccine is the best defense against COVID-19, and I want everyone to be safe," said Carrie. Her famiily does not allow unvaccnated family members to participate in te few family gatherings that they have had. Together, they are making the effort to keep themselves and others safe.

In December 2020, Carrie was among the group of 20-30 particiants who met weekly to learn from Dr. Albert Mapp and Dr. Ahmad Rifai, local physicians who not only have professional but also personal experience with COVID-19. Dr. Mapp's COVID-19 experience landed him in the intesive care unit at a local hospital. Carrie was able to get her questions answerd and then decided to get the shot when her turn came. As one who had early reservations about the vaccine, she is now a champion willing to help others get what they need to make informed decisions.

When stories emerged that conversations with people they trust was the key difference maker in people deciding to get vaccinated, the LEAD Coalition recruited Carrie and others to become Trusted Messegers. In a training session led by consultant Eula T. Bacon, people are trained to listen and meet people where they are instead of being directive, stern or fussy.  Bacon reported that she was successful in convincing a relative to get vaccinated once she stopped being fussy and, instead, listened to his concerns. Then she asked if he would like her to go with him to get vaccinated, and he said yes. The difference was listening to understand the hesitancy rather than being directive and stern. 

Working with the local helath department, municipalities, businesses and other community-based organizations, the LEAD Coalition continues to offer vaccine clinics monthly. Like sailing into a headwind, the task of reaching the hesitant is hard. The benefits, owever, outweigh the obstacles in a community that has seen nearly 400 die from COVID-19.

Trusted Messengers are equipped with communication approaches and backed by a multimedia comunications campaign including billboards, radio ads, news media and social media. With less than 50 percent of Bay Couunty fully vaccinated, there are many people to reach...family and friends are the best messengers, trusted messengers.

The Delta Variant of COVID-19 coupled with vaccine hesitancy has resulted in a surge of COVID cases that exceeds the last peak in Bay County, FL. Hospital administrators are reporting capacity in the ICUs and need for more equipment and staff. Thus far, the most effective means of convincing people hesitant to get the vaccine is experience--getting COVID or having someone close to them get the virus. Equally as effective is a trusted messenger. The LEAD Coalition seeks to employ and train additional Community Health Connectors to be those trusted messengers. 

Each Saturday, we host a Zoom Forum simulcast on Facebook Live and feature local people telling their stories. Recently, a sister and brother who lost their father to COVID-19 shared their experience of him refusing to get vaccinated and wear masks until it was too late for him. His daugher pleads, "Take the shot; give yourself a 50-50 chance." 

Utilizing Trust Networks established last Fall and other volunteers, the Community Health Coordinators have coordinated the vaccine events and have distributed Covid-19 monitoring kits. Having more trained Community Health Connectors, we can increase the dissemination of factual, objective information by trusted individuals. The numbers of people taking the vaccine is rising each week, along with the numbers of people needing to take a test.

Since the recent surge caught the community off guard, the demand for testing has outpaced availablity. The LEAD Coalition is partnering with the Bay County Health Department and Frost Medical Supply to offer testing in the Glenwood Community, the historic African American neighborhood in Panama City, FL. More than 300 have scheduled testing through LEAD and our partners in Reslient American Communities Bay Cunty. Unfortunately, Tropical Storm Fred has caused cancellations, resulting in more people unable to ascertain whether they have COVID-19.  

Community Health Connectors are making a difference. Please, Help us to Help Others!!