COVID-19 vaccination rapid community assessment: teen investigators report: July 14-24, 2021

Submitted by Dr. Theresa Senft for Mid-Peninsula Boys and Girls Club, San Mateo County Health, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In July 2021, sixteen teens from the Mid-Peninsula Boys and Girls Club (MPBGC) COVID Vaccine Education Program served as co-investigators of a rapid community assessment (RCA) focused on vaccine confidence among adolescents in San Mateo County (SMC).

This was part of a pioneering effort by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Vaccine Confidence and Demand Team to directly involve teens in participatory research affecting their communities and encourage their voices in developing recommendations for outreach and messaging efforts.

In coordination with SMC Health, SMC Office of Education, and the CDC, the MPBGC helped conduct an RCA to assess local perspectives and needs regarding adolescent COVID-19 vaccination; identify strategies to increase vaccine uptake (especially in areas and among groups experiencing lower vaccination rates); and provide early insight into parental or guardian intent for vaccinating children under age 12.

Working in conjunction with the CDC, teens from the MPBGC were able to:

● Develop and disseminate a survey for adolescents, which received 60 responses;
● Conduct 39 key informant interviews (KIIs) and listening sessions with adolescents and adults within and outside their families;
● Complete 15 online interaction analyses in teen-heavy environments;
● Assist CDC members with multiple observations and intercept interviews at 11
sites throughout the county, including vaccination clinics, food distribution sites,
and libraries; and
● Pilot and assess new tools and approaches developed by the CDC for
conducting adolescent participatory research.