Article by Kim M. Simpson, Connect to End COVID-19 Communications Lead.
A COVID-19 summer wave and new 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccines this fall—the virus is still a part of our day-to-day lives, but not the dominant force that it once was. Vigilance continues to be a wise practice to stay healthy and safe, yet we live, today, with a far less intense focus on COVID-19 compared with the early months and years of the pandemic.
During the pandemic, social workers, like most helping professionals, were called to action. They helped individuals and families to make informed decisions about COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. As part of a national response to the pandemic, Connect to End COVID-19 is a $3.3 million Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-funded initiative to help social workers and their clients to make informed decisions about life-saving vaccines.
Since July of 2021, NASW and the NASW Foundation have partnered in this initiative with the Health Behavior Research and Training Institute at The University of Texas at Austin Steve Hicks School of Social Work to provide national and state chapter-level training, tools, and information that promote COVID-19 vaccine confidence and uptake.
Highlights of Connect to End COVID-19’s achievements include:
- A three-year national communications campaign in which NASW and its Chapters administered fact-based information, tools, and training to promote COVID-19 vaccine confidence.
- A collaboration between HBRT and NASW Chapters that provided 27 free six-hour MI-SBIRT Trainings with five complimentary CEUs for social workers. More than 1,000 social workers were trained and an app was created and launched.
- Seven live 90-minute complimentary webinars hosted by NASW that offered free CEUS (also available for self-study through August 31, 2024). Approximately 19,000 people registered and earned more than 14,000 CEUs.
- Close to 40 Ambassadors, recruited from NASW Specialty Practice Section (SPS) member ranks, amplified the initiative’s messaging to their audiences; and three Sister Social Work Organizations engaged in communications campaigns that augmented messaging.
While the grant concludes September 29, 2024, work around COVID-19 continues for social workers and other helping professionals. Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, more than 1.2 million people in the U.S. have died and new COVID-19 strains continue to circulate causing illness and death. Approximately 112 million COVID-19 cases have been recorded, though current illness and death tallies are far below levels experienced during the height of the pandemic, according to CDC data. COVID-19 surges and waves come and go, now often causing milder illness. The COVID-19 vaccine helps protect individuals from severe disease, hospitalization, and death, according to the CDC.
A Look Back, A Look Ahead: Part Three of a Three-Part Series
In a three-part series, the Connect to End COVID-19 team examines the impact of this initiative, lessons learned, the important role social workers played in the pandemic, as well as lingering questions around the long-term impacts of COVID-19 and the pandemic.
In Part Three, closing thoughts about the about the initiative’s successes and achievements from Connect to End COVID-19 partners from the Health Behavior Research and Training Institute (HBRT) at The University of Texas at Austin Steve Hicks School of Social Work and NASW Chapter Executive Directors.
I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved through this grant, including training over 1,000 social workers from 27 NASW state chapters in how to use 
motivational interviewing (MI) and screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) to help clients make informed vaccine decisions. Our NASW National Webinar on MI and SBIRT also reached thousands of social workers, with over 3,500 complimentary CEs issued. We are thrilled to have empowered social workers nationwide with tools to help them serve clients making important health decisions.
—Mary M. Velasquez, PhD, Director of the Health Behavior Research and Training Institute (HBRT) at The University of Texas at Austin Steve Hicks School of Social Work. NASW and the NASW Foundation partnered with HBRT in the $3.3 million CDC COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence Grant, Engaging Social Workers in Boosting COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake.
We are also proud to have created SBIRT/MI for Vaccines, a set of two web-based apps that equip social workers with tools for navigating vaccine
conversations with clients in real time. Our SBIRT app gives social workers scripts for our SBIRT model, including a video demonstration of each step. And our MI app shares core MI skills social workers can use to help clients explore concerns about vaccination and make informed choices. Our apps are there to help support social workers, wherever they may be, in client conversations about vaccines.
—Kirk von Sternberg, PhD, Associate Director of the Health Behavior Research and Training Institute (HBRT) at The University of Texas at Austin Steve Hicks School of Social Work. HBRT partnered with NASW and the NASW Foundation in the $3.3 million CDC COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence Grant, Engaging Social Workers in Boosting COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake.
‘Kentucky Proud’ is how we speak when something is a good reflection on our bluegrass state. NASW-KY is Kentucky Proud of the work we have done 
with the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and NASW across the pandemic and beyond. Here in Kentucky, free programs for social workers continuing education for licensure are greatly appreciated because social workers are often working more than one job just to make ends meet due to the lower salary standards in such a poor state. [Excerpt from Connect to End COVID-19 Section, NASW Website.]
—Brenda Rosen, MSW, CSW, Executive Director, NASW Kentucky Chapter. Brenda implemented NASW Chapter communications and outreach in Kentucky on behalf of the Connect to End COVID-19 Campaign and hosted a MI-SBIRT Training (2022) in collaboration with the UT Austin HBRT team.
The Connect to End COVID-19 campaign enabled the Virginia Chapter and its nearly 2,800 members to engage directly in the COVID-19 pandemic emergency response. Vaccination is a personal decision, but the COVID-19 courses were truly lifesaving and had plenty of evidence-based data that simply needed trusted messengers such as social workers to deliver it to even the most hesitant and often the most vulnerable of clients. We found special
success in educating social workers about the campaign during our in-person and virtual conferences throughout the pandemic. Using a multi-channel strategy to promote the conference and NASW membership, we could piggyback news of the Connect to End COVID-19 campaign with this outreach. [Excerpt from Connect to End COVID-19 Section, NASW Website.]
—Debra Riggs, CAE, Executive Director, NASW Metro DC Chapter and NASW Virginia Chapter. Debra and her team implemented NASW Chapter communications and outreach in Virginia and Metro DC on behalf of the Connect to End COVID-19 Campaign and hosted a MI-SBIRT Training (2023) in collaboration with the UT Austin HBRT team.
Wisconsin social workers had one central place from a trusted source to go for the most up to date accurate information on vaccines and vaccine hesitancy. Wisconsin social workers benefitted from having a place to go for any resources they would need, particularly with special populations, to help them understand the problems that exist and ways to address them. Our webinar on MI-SBIRT was a huge success. It filled up almost immediately and 
the evaluations were outstanding. Our intern, Oliver Wink, did an exceptional job gathering information, especially on at-risk communities, for our webpage on vaccine hesitancy and special populations. Slightly higher open rates on social media posts over time. [Excerpt from Connect to End COVID-19 Section, NASW Website.]
—Marc Herstad, MSW, CISW, Executive Director, NASW Wisconsin Chapter. Marc and his team implemented NASW Chapter communications and outreach in Wisconsin on behalf of the Connect to End COVID-19 Campaign and hosted a MI-SBIRT Training (2023) in collaboration with the UT Austin HBRT team.
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A Look Back, A Look Ahead: Part One and Part Two Excerpts
In Part One of this series, an interview with Gwen Bouie-Haynes, PhD, LMSW—Executive Director, NASW MS Chapter and NASW Alabama Chapter; and, Project Coordinator, Connect to End COVID-19 Special Populations. Dr. Bouie-Haynes implemented NASW Chapter communications and outreach in 
Mississippi on behalf of Connect to End COVID-19 and hosted a MI-SBIRT Training (2022) in collaboration with the UT Austin HBRT team.
Excerpt Part One—on the importance of social workers at the table during the pandemic: I think social workers being ‘at the table’ is important and should be included in crisis planning during any pandemic. Social workers bring a plethora of skills to navigate working with systems quickly, and they are trained to identify services and impact policies and decision-making. The fact that social workers are employed everywhere in all sectors of society working with individuals, families, groups, communities, and organizations makes individuals in the social work profession unique.
This uniqueness can help to address access to resources and educate communities when working with Special Populations. Social workers are considered the trusted professionals working directly with people. During the past three (3) years of the vaccine confidence grant, Special Populations of people have been reached across many communities in the different states where vaccine confidence was low. The importance of social workers in this vaccine confidence grant cannot be underestimated as it completes the “menu” of services that can be available to special groups of people and the essential deliverables for the grant.
To read Part One, follow this link.
In Part Two of this series, an interview with Barbara Bedney, PhD, MSW—NASW Chief of Programs and Principal Investigator (PI) on this CDC-funded grant, Engaging Social Workers in Boosting COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake. 
Excerpt Part Two—on lessons learned: I agree with Gwen and would only add, again, the importance of ongoing communication, relationship-building, and networking before, during, and after disasters such as pandemics. I had a colleague in New York who ran an agency that provided critical support services to those affected by the attacks on 9/11 who used to say “we were there on 9/11 because we were there on 9/10.” That phrase has always stuck with me. Crisis prevention and amelioration starts before a crisis ever occurs, with strong, pre-existing, trusting relationships that can be rapidly mobilized in times of crisis. I think that is a key lesson from this pandemic, and that it is up to social workers to make sure that lesson isn’t lost.
To read Part Two, follow this link.
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The Connect to End COVID-19 initiative is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as part of a financial assistance award totaling $3.3 million with 100 percent funded by CDC/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government.
Visit Connect to End COVID-19 on the NASW Website to learn more about the initiative.
