Karen Johnson, an associate professor in the School of Nursing and Whole Communities–Whole Health researcher, remembers administering her first COVID-19 vaccine — and the rush of adrenaline that came over her.
A public health nurse, she’d been waiting for her chance to step up to the front line and make a difference amid the pandemic like her fellow critical care nurses.
“Professionally, as a public health nurse, I can’t imagine anything more important that I could be doing right now,” she says.
Today, Johnson says she’s probably given about 1,000 shots.
“This is one of the most meaningful things I’ve done in my career.”
Working at the UT Health Austin vaccine clinic, Johnson says she’s noticed many of the disparities that Whole Communities–Whole Health researchers are grappling with in studying the health of communities in eastern Travis County.
“We are looking at who is coming through our clinic now, and it is not representative of who lives in Austin and who is highest risk within these higher risk groups,” she says. “What you see on the ground are the folks with transportation who can afford to wait for an hour — not people with mobility issues or folks working shift jobs who can’t afford to take off work.”
Recently, Johnson began work with a new School of Nursing program called VAMOS (Vaccine Administration Mobile Operations), which is co-sponsored by Whole Communities–Whole Health. They aim to reach underserved communities, like those in Del Valle, that include people of color and others who may face personal and systemic barriers to get to the large vaccine hubs.
“It’s been a lesson in equity,” Johnson says.
Learn more about this new effort and why Johnson feels called to contribute.
Karen Johnson, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the School of Nursing and is on the steering committee for Whole Communities–Whole Health. Her research includes looking at the social determinants of health, focusing on the health and social disparities experienced by youth from historically marginalized groups and health in alternative high schools that serve students at-risk for school dropout.