Petrova Elena, Farinholt Timothy, Joshi Tejas P, Moreno Hannah, Al Mohajer Mayar, Patel Shital M, Petrosino Joseph, Anandasabapathy Sharmila
Baylor Global Health, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Department of Medicine-Gastroenterology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Vaccines (Basel). 2021 Nov 19;9(11):1362. doi: 10.3390/vaccines9111362.
Vaccine uptake is a multifactor measure of successful immunization outcomes that includes access to healthcare and vaccine hesitancy for both healthcare workers and communities. The present coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted the need for novel strategies to expand vaccine coverage in underserved regions. Mobile clinics hold the promise of ameliorating such inequities, although there is a paucity of studies that validate environmental infection in such facilities. Here, we describe community-based management of COVID-19 through a Smart Pod mobile clinic deployed in an underserved community area in the United States (Aldine, Harris County, TX, USA). In particular, we validate infection control and biological decontamination of the Smart Pod by testing surfaces and the air-filtration system for the COVID-19 virus and bacterial pathogens. We show the Smart Pod to be efficacious in providing a safe clinical environment for vaccine delivery. Moreover, in the Smart Pod, up-to-date education of community healthcare workers was provided to reduce vaccine hesitancy and improve COVID-19 vaccine uptake. The proposed solution has the potential to augment existing hospital capacity and combat the COVID-19 pandemic locally and globally.
疫苗接种率是衡量免疫接种成功结果的多因素指标，包括医护人员和社区获得医疗保健的机会以及对疫苗的犹豫态度。当前的冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行凸显了在服务不足地区扩大疫苗接种覆盖范围的新策略的必要性。流动诊所有望改善此类不平等现象，尽管缺乏验证此类设施中环境感染情况的研究。在此，我们描述了通过部署在美国一个服务不足社区地区（美国得克萨斯州哈里斯县阿尔丁）的智能舱流动诊所对COVID-19进行社区管理的情况。特别是，我们通过检测智能舱的表面和空气过滤系统中的COVID-19病毒及细菌病原体，验证了智能舱的感染控制和生物去污情况。我们表明智能舱在提供安全的疫苗接种临床环境方面是有效的。此外，在智能舱内，为社区医护人员提供了最新的教育，以减少疫苗犹豫并提高COVID-19疫苗接种率。所提出的解决方案有可能增强现有医院的能力，并在本地和全球抗击COVID-19大流行。
