Introduction: The COVID-19 vaccination service is a key component in the UK approach to reducing disease morbidity and mortality. Groups within the population at increased risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19 overlap with groups that are less likely to take up the offer of vaccination. This article outlines some learning from approaches within a large vaccination centre in the UK to reduce inequalities.
Solution: Continuous quality improvement processes were used to operationalise the mitigations to inequalities with vaccination uptake that were identified by a systematic equality impact assessment framework and continuous service feedback.
Outcome: Quality improvement processes and community engagement enabled tailored mitigations to vaccination uptake. Engagement with community ambassadors strengthened community relationships and the co-creation of bespoke sessions encouraged vaccination uptake within specific groups.
Conclusion: Recommendations for strengthening approaches to inequality reduction include having a systematic framework for assessment and mitigation of inequalities, embedding quality improvement, identifying resources, and taking a collaborative and co-design approach to services with underserved groups.
Keywords: COVID-19; inequalities; quality improvement; vaccination.
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