‘Good News Stories’ telling the personal experiences of people from Liverpool who overcame barriers to getting the Covid vaccine, are being showcased at the Museum of Liverpool’s atrium screens until 31 January.
Part of the Liverpool Vaccine Equity project – the ‘Good News Stories’ exhibition evolved from the work of innovative teams in the heart of the community, supporting people to get vaccinated.
The Liverpool Vaccine Equity project was set up to increase uptake of the Covid vaccine in Liverpool and funding for phase two has recently been agreed by Liverpool City Council.
Professor Mathew Ashton, Director of Public Health at Liverpool City Council said “For the broader community it can sometimes feel like the threat of Covid has gone away, thanks to the availability of the vaccines. However, it seems clear from the data that Covid will never entirely go away, and we are highly likely to experience ongoing ripples of infection. It is therefore important that we all do all we can to protect ourselves and others from this nasty virus, and from other infections and illnesses present in our city.”
By funding phase two of this project, Liverpool City Council is helping to support these important community teams to continue encouraging people to get vaccinated, whilst also addressing health and wellbeing issues like childhood immunisation, mental health, and cancer screening.”
Kay Jones, Lead Curator of Urban and Community History at the Museum of Liverpool, said: “The Covid 19 pandemic has left an indelible mark on Liverpool. It is important to us, as the city’s museum, to represent this. We collected objects and experiences from local people from across our communities, exploring how they responded to and were affected by the pandemic, and continue to be impacted. Good News Stories reflects how people pulled together to support one another during this difficult and historic moment in the city’s history. We are proud to share it with our visitors.”
Director of Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Professor David Lalloo said “LSTM is proud to have been part of Liverpool’s Vaccine Equity project. As partners in the project, we have brought learnings and experience from our work with communities around the world, which highlighted the importance of enabling trusted health champions to convey health messages to the heart of local communities. By doing this, the project was able to identify and allay genuine anxieties, gaps in information or language, and highlight areas where vaccine accessibility could be improved for all.”
Mo Elmi, is one of the community champions involved in the project: “The key element of this project is the people at the heart of it. I have loved being involved because it’s a great example of a community leading activity and change, by making sure there is protection for people with health conditions.”
The second phase of the Liverpool Vaccine Equity project will bring together organisations including iiCON, NHS Liverpool Place ICB, Liverpool City Council, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Central Liverpool Primary Care Network (CLPCN), and Capacity Development.
