♪♪ Michael: There's dozens and dozens of people across UC Davis Health who have really been concerned about access to the vaccine, education, outreach, making sure that we reach all the vulnerable populations who may have more fear and hesitancy about getting the vaccine so that they can make a well-informed choice about whether or not to get the vaccine.

Narr: Since early 2021, the UC Davis Health system has partnered with community organizations in an effort to vaccinate the medically underserved, administering over 10,000 vaccines so far.

Dr. Brashear: The communities of color have been disproportionately impacted both from the, you know, the effects of COVID, but also brought a real focus on social and racial injustices and the health inequities...

Whether it's making sure that you have transportation to get to a vaccination site, if you have the appropriate things to be able to make an appointment... We've been working hard to get to those communities and make sure that they have the vaccinations and all the other support.

Rachel: It was very difficult for people to get appointments early on, to understand how they went to go get testing.

There was a lot of fear.

And so, UC Davis, you know, helped by providing those testing sites in communities.

Rachel: They have access to the health information, to the vaccines.

We have access to the community.

Together, we need to work together to meet both of our goals.

Mao: On March 30, I think in honor of Cesar Chavez, we went out to the Walnut Grove area, I think the city was specifically Isleton.

We were there to vaccinate about 200 of our agriculture workers.

Um, it was great to be out there because we actually took the vaccine to them out of their busy schedule and their day.

And the best thing was we worked with the employers in Isleton, to allow them to come get vaccinated on their time.

Mao: Eliminating all these barriers as much as possible for them; tech savvy, illiterate issues, you name it.

It's really just, how can we eliminate barriers for our community so that they can just get the vaccine because our community doesn't have the same luxury as a lot of the other community.

Narr: UC Davis Health'’s role varies from site to site, but the goal remains the same: to encourage and provide access to vaccinations in our most vulnerable populations.

Dr. Brashear: For example, we're the lead at Shifa student-run clinic, and in Oak Park, and La Familia counseling center.

The students have been volunteering and have vaccinated thousands of people at the mosque downtown near the student-run Shifa Clinic.

And we're really proud that our faculty have really come out to help vaccinate the homeless in cooperation with our students.

Narr: Aiming to bridge barriers to vaccine access, doctors, volunteers, and multiple Sacramento organizations joined together to vaccinate the population living outside, giving over 700 doses to those in unsheltered areas.

Dr. Orsulak: We know there's a lot of distrust around this vaccine but by partnering with the community organizations like Sac Heart and Sac CLAP and the Homeless Union and the Organizing Committee we've been able to go out and talk to folks and spread the word.

And people who have been getting the vaccine in the camps have been going out and talking to other folks.

And so, when people are ready, we're there and we're able to come to them.

Dr. Brashear: The teamwork has been incredible.

And it spanned from the students, the staff, the administration, the faculty, everybody working to really say that we're going to beat this.

And, um, it's so rewarding to see that we're coming out the other side and we just have this next hurdle to get over, to get more people to be vaccinated.

And, um, it has been a true community effort as well as a true collaboration amongst all of us at UC Davis.

♪♪ Annc: This Digital Short is supported by UC Davis Health home to the number one ranked medical center in Sacramento by US News & World Report.

Learn more about their doctors and their passion for advancing health at health.ucdavis.edu.