Faith in the Vaccine: Partnership with DC Health
Since February 2021, Learning Undefeated’s Drop Anywhere Labs have been serving as mobile vaccination clinics for vulnerable populations in the District of Columbia as part of DC Health’s Faith in the Vaccine program.
Designed to bring COVID-19 vaccinations to medically underserved parts of the city (specifically Wards 5, 7, and 8), Faith in the Vaccine leverages houses of worship across the city and mobilizes Black faith leaders as credible messengers, to help spread the word about the vaccine’s safety and efficacy. In this high-touch pilot program, churches personally reach out to qualified parishioners and community members, assisting seniors 65 and over in making their appointments and addressing concerns prior to their vaccine appointment. By managing appointments in this way, the program supports equitable distribution of vaccines to populations most in need and those left out of open online scheduling mechanisms.
The program is a collaboration between Learning Undefeated and DC Health, Mary’s Center, the Leadership Council for Healthy Communities, FiveMedicine, and the Black Coalition Against COVID-19.
Partnering with a local medical provider, Learning Undefeated’s self-sufficient Drop Anywhere Lab provides professional, safe space for hundreds of vaccinations per day. The mobile laboratory – normally used to provide STEM education for K12 students – is housed in a compact shipping container features onboard power, heating and cooling, extra HEPA filtration, vaccine refrigeration units and advanced immersive technology, such as touch-screen walls and movie-theater quality projection, light and sound.
Education to Improve Health Outcomes
Learning Undefeated is a non-profit organization that provides life-changing STEM experiences for nearly 50,000 students per year. Our mobile laboratory fleet includes trailers, buses, and shipping containers. All of our labs are designed to immerse and engage people with science and health.
With more than 20 years of proven STEM education experience, Learning Undefeated and the Drop Anywhere Labs can provide culturally relevant, community-based public health programs to distribute information about vaccine safety and efficacy. Onboard immersive technology makes even a short interaction very impactful, using touch-screen walls and movie-theater quality projection, light, and sound. Projectors and television monitors controlled by an on-board computer also allow for interactive presentations to be brought outdoors.
With laboratory grade equipment and adaptable presentation technology, Drop Anywhere Labs are a scalable solution for vaccine delivery, testing, and community health education.