NORTHAMPTON — The public health nurse leading the area’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution effort is the only person in Massachusetts — and one of just 28 in the country — recognized for her work with a prestigious award from the Association of Immunization Managers (AIM) this week.
Katherine Kelly is the recipient of the Immunization Champion Award for Massachusetts 2022, the city said Monday, an honor reserved for a maximum of one person in each state and U.S. territory who has “made a significant impact and contribution toward improving public health in their community, through their work in adult and childhood immunizations,” according to AIM.
The honor was formerly called the CDC Childhood Immunization Champion Award and was presented jointly by AIM and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nominations are submitted by states’ immunization programs.
“I found myself running toward the pandemic, trying to find a way to be helpful,” Kelly, a Florence resident, said Tuesday. “This pandemic is going on and on. To me, it is not over.”
The recognition is a “really special moment in my career,” she said. “It feels like a huge honor. It also feels like I can’t accept the award without mentioning the entire team that has made this happen.”
Kelly was a nurse practitioner in pediatric private practice until she was laid off in March 2020, the first month of major social disruptions casued by COVID-19. City health commissioner Merridith O’Leary scooped up Kelly for the Department of Health and Human Services that November, just a few months after she had taken a job as the nurse for Leeds Elementary School.
“I got a chance to see from the inside what was happening at the school during the pandemic, and what it was like trying to get students to wear masks every single day, and the level of fear among the staff” and caregivers, Kelly said, providing her with a useful perspective as she shifted to a role as a public health nurse.
O’Leary said Kelly is now the medical lead for Northampton’s vaccine drive, which extends far beyond city limits and has provided shots in Chester, Deerfield, Holyoke, Huntington and Westhampton, to name just a few communities.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health considers 70% of Hampshire County’s population to be fully vaccinated.
“Kate takes pride in establishing creative clinic locations and collaborations that reach disenfranchised and marginalized populations. Her goal has been to reach people from all walks of life, races, ethnicities, gender identities, and ages with the COVID vaccine,” O’Leary said in a statement.
“We are very proud that one of our own was selected by the state to receive this honor and know that this award is well deserved. It has been my personal privilege to work with such a tremendous and considerate leader as Kate Kelly.”
Kelly said the city health department continues to plan and run free vaccine clinics that are open to the public, and that some people are still receiving their first doses — which she believes is worth celebrating. Another point of pride is that Hampshire County has the state’s highest rate of boosted individuals at 67% of the population, according to the state health department, compared to 58% across Massachusetts.
“We have given around 50,000 shots to people ages 6 months to over 100,” Kelly said, “everywhere from street corners, to schools, Manna meals, public housing, Pulaski Park, congregate living sites, parking lots, inside Thornes marketplace,” and at many more sites throughout Northampton, Easthampton and Hampshire County more broadly. “I’ve given shots to (unhoused) people on the City Hall steps just because I saw them and I happened to have vaccine,” she said.
Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra said Kelly is “a force of nature. I hope everyone in Northampton will join me in profound gratitude for her tireless work to make our community safer for everyone. We are fortunate to have Kate on our team.”
Earlier in her career, Kelly started one of the first medical reserve corps units in the state at the Amherst Health Department and served as the state’s assistant director for the Strategic National Stockpile program, a national repository of antibiotics, vaccines and medical gear available to states in emergencies. That work that was funded by a grant from the CDC.
“Who had heard of social distancing 20 years ago? I had, because I had that experience,” Kelly said, as she also described strategizing the distribution of emergency medical supplies, medications and vaccines from the national level to individuals.
“I didn’t know I would ever use the knowledge and skills outside of drills and practice exercises. I am thrilled I could make a difference in an actual public health emergency and am very honored to work with many community partners.”
The city health department said Kelly has “created new and strengthened existing relationships and resource-sharing with a variety of local partners,” including major medical and pediatric practices, Cooley Dickinson Hospital, colleges and universities, local Boards of Health, businesses, public school systems and others. Those efforts were also noted by AIM when selecting Kelly for its Champion award.