Kristina Nava is on the front lines of preventative health.
On the days Kristina Nava spends in one of our vaccine clinics, she helps parents get their children the immunizations kids need to start school, assists immigrants with the inoculations and health documentation necessary for citizenship applications, navigates the complexities of vaccine insurance coverage and much more. The vaccine clinic is actually just one part of her job as community outreach coordinator, but this time of year, protecting people from respiratory viruses is at the top of her list – which means making flu, COVID-19 and RSV vaccines as accessible as possible.
“Our patients face so many barriers and challenges, getting the vaccines they need to stay healthy shouldn’t be an area where they struggle,” Nava says. “That’s what ultimately gives me a lot of hope: that we can get them what they need and help them check one thing off their list.”
Helping patients make informed choices
Things are not always so cut and dry with Nava’s vaccine work, though. With vaccine recommendations that affect insurance coverage in flux at the federal level, who can get which vaccine at what cost is more complex than ever. Additionally, misinformation and socioeconomic forces that undermine trust in medical recommendations can cause some patients to express vaccine hesitancy. Amid these circumstances, Nava knows it’s her job to present patients with information so they can make informed choices.
That’s what happened with one recent patient who was considering putting off the latest COVID-19 vaccine until a later date. Nava reassured her that it was her choice but also informed the patient about potential upcoming changes that might affect her ability to get the COVID-19 vaccine in the future. “So if you’re on the fence,” Nava counseled, “you may want to take that into consideration.”
Free or affordable vaccine access may be changing for everyone. For people with insurance (including Medi-Cal), shifting philosophies at the CDC mean it’s still not clear for whom insurance will cover COVID-19 vaccines in 2026 and beyond. For people who are uninsured and underinsured, today Venice Family Clinic can offer no-cost vaccines thanks to several government grant programs. However, those grant programs may come under scrutiny or even face elimination soon.
After Nava explained these realities, the patient decided to get the vaccine now.
“That’s what this is all about,” Nava told her. “You having that choice to make that decision for yourself.”
Improved vaccine access for all
Venice Family Clinic has always offered all recommended pediatric and adult vaccines. But before the pandemic, many vaccines were available only at the two Venice Family Clinic site with onsite pharmacies. That meant patients who received care at one location had to travel to one of those locations to get the shots they needed.
Today, we’re able to leverage the infrastructure developed for standalone COVID-19 vaccine clinics to administer those other inoculations too. The traveling vaccine clinic rotates through five clinical locations and accepts both appointments and walk-ins, allowing us to offer patients a wider variety of vaccines to more patients across our entire service area. Nava’s team also engages patients proactively, collaborating with the Clinic’s Quality Improvement department to send reminders to patients who may be behind in their recommended vaccinations so they can get up to date.
Thanks to the expanded vaccine clinics and this targeted outreach, the Clinic continues to immunize more people each year. Licensed vocational nurse Estefania Cedeno – who has been with the vaccine clinic since its inception and who Nava considers the “heart and soul” of the clinic – has personally delivered more than 8,000 vaccines.
Always adapting to change
Nava is no stranger to national conversation and shifting CDC policy impacting her work. In fact, the vaccine clinic – and her job – was born during the pandemic, when guidance was changing almost every week.
Before there was clear guidance from CDC, Nava noticed an uptick of patients saying they had problems getting vaccinated at a retail pharmacy because Medi-Cal wouldn’t cover the cost of the shots. In those cases, Nava was proud that the Clinic could help patients navigate the evolving landscape to keep themselves and their families protected.
“We’re always going to do whatever it takes to try to ensure our patients have equal access to vaccines,” Nava says. “What I can’t stress enough is that we’re not going to give up.”