Moving the needle: Austin volunteers coach vulnerable populations through vaccine process

When it comes to ending the COVID-19 pandemic in Central Texas, one Bee Cave woman’s idea to help vulnerable populations access the vaccine is to help move the needle.

“We kind of say, let’s get you poke,” said Kendra Wright. “That’s our little unofficial slogan.”

Kendra Wright is the founder of Kendra’s COVID Coaches, an idea that initially spurred after Wright found success in helping elderly and vulnerable populations in her neighborhood struggling to find vaccine appointments.

“I put out a post on Facebook on February 20th that said, ‘I have a new passion and it’s getting vaccines for people’,” she said. “I kept having volunteers come on, many of who are moms [and] have full time jobs, or dadsand yet they were able to put in unbelievable hours to help out people.”

For nearly three weeks now, more than 65 volunteers in the Austin area have joined forces with Kendra as “coaches” to residents seeking information and access to a vaccine.

“We shouldn’t be called angels, everyone keeps calling us angels, and I feel like that’s a little strong and maybe a little too much pressure,” she said.

People who reach Kendra’s COVID Coaches will be given resources and guided through the process of how to register for a vaccine depending on the provider.

“We have a spreadsheet of resources that has all of the places to get vaccinated, as well as tips on getting vaccinated at each place. Every system right now is a little bit different and we’ve kind of figured out tips and tricks for each one,” she said.

In some cases, residents qualifying for the vaccine, may not be able to register on their own. This could be because of their lack of access to the internet, a computer, or if residents do not have the time in their workday to refresh different vaccine provider sites. That is when some of Kendra’s COVID Coaches may instead help residents’ book those appointments.

Using WhatsApp to communicate with people, coaches also provide real-time information on which providers have vaccines available.

“We really want to help vulnerable populations, Spanish speakers, people over 65 and teachers,” said Wright.

Daniel Jaramillo, one of the latest volunteers to join Kendra’s COVID coaches, is helping Wright reach her goal of helping Central Texas’ Spanish-speaking population.

“I started receiving weekly newsletters,” said Jaramillo, after looking up Kendra’s COVID Coaches for vaccine information for himself. “I don’t remember what exactly was in the newsletter that kind of triggered for me to reach out to Kendra, [but I offered] if she wanted to translate some of the information to Spanish, because I’m a native speaker.”

Now, the group has vaccine resources translated into both English and Spanish, which is something Jaramillo believes will help bridge a gap in vaccine access among minority populations.

“It’s been all over the news that the distribution of the vaccine hasn’t been able to reach some of the communities, like the Spanish speaking community, and the black community,” he said. “So, for me this is an opportunity to reach out to more people, people that do not speak English. And if they speak Spanish, this is going to make it a little easier for them.”

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Coaches are now starting to expand their reach to help teachers through the vaccine process as well, with the state’s latest move to put school staff and child care providers in the current phase of vaccine distribution.

“That changed everything for us,” said Amanda Boardman, the Teacher Imitative Lead for the coaches. “Being able to give back to our teachers just a small piece of what they’ve given to our families and to our kids in the last year.”

For Central Texans wishing to learn more about how Kendra’s COVID Coaches can help in the process of getting the vaccine, people can check out this link or email Wright at CovidCoaches21@gmail.com.