Although Nebraska’s governor never ordered a statewide shutdown, shuns mandates, and the state’s vaccination rate is not high, the state has had an efficient and effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nebraska has fared among the best in the country when it comes to health, economic, social, and educational factors. The success is due to a combination of solid pre-existing medical infrastructure, particularly in infectious disease, and efficient state government that allowed the state to function logistically without relying on the federal government.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention uses a nationwide wastewater monitoring system to detect rising and falling levels of COVID-19 in the population. Infected people shed virus when they use the toilet, even if they don’t have symptoms, alerting officials 4-6 days before people start testing positive. The anonymous and inexpensive monitoring system has been relied on by local and state health officials to run targeted awareness campaigns and shift policies, like mask guidance, to effectively contain outbreaks.

One rural hospital in Indiana vaccinated hundreds of immigrants from Central America by working with trusted community leaders and setting up a Hispanic Health Task Force. Health officials held vaccine clinics alongside trusted community members at locations that were familiar to residents, like a local Catholic church that offers Spanish-language services. The hospital and task force initially established community connections to distribute information about COVID-19, so they were able to utilize the connections to increase vaccination rates once the vaccine rolled out.

Throughout the pandemic, testing for COVID-19 in wastewater has been used to monitor the transmission of the virus. Wastewater testing is a reliable tool that often complements clinical COVID-19 testing and can be used for the early detection of outbreaks and surges. In Ontario, each of the province’s 34 public-health units joined Ontario’s Wastewater Surveillance Initiative, allowing researchers and public-health units to work together on testing water samples.

After becoming a COVID-19 hotspot, Guadalupe built partnerships and built trust among community members to effectively track cases, dispel misinformation, and increase vaccinations. The Town Council partnered with Pascua Yaqui tribal leaders, the broader Maricopa County, Native Health, and a COVID-19 response team composed of faculty, staff, and students at Arizona State University to lower infection rates. A combination of at-home testing, contact tracing and, eventually, vaccination events helped, as did the use of promotoras – community health workers who talk with residents to help ease anxiety.

E25Bio created a rapid COVID-19 test soon after the pandemic began and had an existing factory that could be repurposed to quickly manufacture tests. The prototypes, priced under $10 each, attracted major donors and would have made at-home antigen tests that identified around 80% of contagious cases available from the pandemic’s early days. Instead, an unclear FDA review process that prioritized higher detection rates over inexpensive ways people could test often, as well as resistance from medical device regulators, prevented the company from producing the tests for the public early in the pandemic.

Political cooperation and an infrastructure of existing relationships and trust built by NGOs and community leaders during Hurricane Maria and a devastating 2019 earthquake allowed for a quick public health response to COVID-19 focused on prevention and vaccination. All trusted public figures, across political backgrounds, advocated wearing masks and getting vaccinated. As a result, Puerto Rico achieved the highest COVID-19 vaccination rate among all other U.S. state or territory. It also had among the lowest Covid-19 death rates since the start of the pandemic.

The island of Malta fully vaccinated 90% of the population over the age of 12 against COVID-19 relatively quickly. They quickly vaccinated the most vulnerable in the population, including the elderly and healthcare workers and sent mobile clinics to where the population was. This, along with an effective media campaign that answered questions and dispelled misinformation, was particularly important in getting people, especially young people, vaccinated. A nationwide culture of trust in doctors was very important in the vaccination success.

Hispanic residents in North Carolina went from having one of the lowest vaccination rates to one of the highest. The health department ran bilingual ads on a variety of media types, including social media and held virtual town halls and Facebook Live events. They also paid community health workers in each county to use their existing relationships with Latino residents and improve access to information about the vaccine and to the vaccine itself. Outreach from trusted ambassadors has proven more effective among communities that have deep mistrust of institutionalized structures.

According to the 2021 Global Climate Risk Index Mozambique was the fifth country most affected by extreme weather over the past two decades. This article takes an in-depth analysis into four aspects of the country's climate crisis response; early warning systems, flood defense, resettlement sites, and rebuilding houses. The article evaluates both its failures and successes.

The German government opened an office, known as Zebra (“not everything is black and white”) to help people dispel misinformation and conspiracy theories. Most clients are seeking help with loved ones who believe in conspiracy theories, misinformation, or are becoming radicalized. Clients receive in-person phone or video appointments with a neutral staff person, who helps them defuse conflicts, find commonalities, and address mental health issues. After the COVID-19 pandemic began much of the program’s work has been aimed at dispelling misinformation about the government’s response and the vaccine.

Spain achieved one of the highest vaccination rates among Western countries in part because of longstanding trust and confidence in the public health system and data-informed strategies. The public generally trusted the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine because of a history of cooperation and positive public health outcomes. The norm of inter-generational living also gave young people more incentive to get vaccinated to protect their elderly residents and officials used this as part of the public health messaging. Officials also personally called and set up vaccine appointments for everyone they could reach.

A pre-existing resource directory formed by a consortium of local groups addressing community health allowed St. Landry Parish to react quickly to the COVID-19 pandemic and deploy resources more effectively. The network was quickly mobilized and representatives from government agencies, the police, hospitals, and business owners met daily to coordinate care, answer questions and dispel misinformation, and eventually, ensure access to vaccines.

The key to United Airlines successful vaccine mandate, even in areas that have low vaccination rates, was gradually phasing in the mandate after a year-long effort laying the groundwork. The airline worked with the union to set up vaccine clinics at its major hubs and offered incentives to employees who got vaccinated. Incentives, like extra pay or vacation days that declined over time until they expired, led the majority of employees to get vaccinated, and the mandate proved to be the final push that was needed.

Over 120 hotels and motels have been converted into affordable housing developments in California, housing 8,260 people who were previously experiencing homelessness. Known as Homekey, the state-funded program was initially meant to quickly house vulnerable populations in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Funding for the next two years has already been approved for what advocates are calling “Homekey 2.0.”

A team of sign language interpreters across Nigeria translated into indigenous Nigerian sign language, the internationally acclaimed book “My Hero is You” which helps children, their parents and caregivers understand and answer questions about the coronavirus. With the signing of this book into an indigenous Nigerian sign language, deaf signers can now reach out to their communities. They teach them in the sign language they understand, using local words to explain how the virus came to be and how to prevent its spread and protect their communities.

Youth volunteers in Rwanda are keeping their communities safe by reminding people to follow coronavirus safety guidelines. Volunteers enforce social distancing, masks, and hygiene, in addition to fighting misinformation about the virus.

To limit the spread of COVID-19, the Everyone In initiative offers housing to people experiencing homelessness. In the first few months of the program, the government paid for hotel rooms – which were empty due to the pandemic – for about 15,000 people. Additional services provided include helping people with substance abuse issues, accessing welfare benefits, and finding permanent housing. Some hotel residents expressed a renewed sense of purpose from having stable housing. A new set of workers, like hotel staff, addressing homelessness for the first time also led to innovation.

Community health workers from One World have gained community trust over the years and now go door-to-door to talk with residents about the COVID-19 vaccine and dispel misinformation. They provide resources in Spanish and carry vaccines in a refrigerated bag so residents can get vaccinated on the spot. The group has invested a lot of money, time, and personnel having intensely personal conversations with people. They also host pop-up clinics in the community and allow at-home vaccination appointments. The areas served by One World has seen more vaccinations than almost anywhere else in Nebraska.

Compassion International Organization trained over 100 women so that they have the skills and equipment to produce masks for the coronavirus pandemic. The first contract was for 900,000 masks, and women were provided with all materials, including sewing machines, and a workshop where they can work. The women, most of whom struggled to make a living because of COVID-19, earned money for each mask they produced. Their enterprises have improved the economies of local communities.

Community-based organizations have been key to reaching historically marginalized populations with COVID-19 information. Grassroots leaders and community workers are effective because they have built trust among communities over many years and they have first-hand knowledge of community needs and barriers. The pandemic shifted the priorities of many organizations. For example, the Self Employed Women’s Association now supplies members with PPE kits, food, and handmade masks to address the pandemic’s health and economic impacts. Proper mask usage increased significantly in the villages where they are based.

Multigenerational homes allowed indigenous families to pass down culture and language for thousands of years but living in crowded homes left them more vulnerable to COVID-19. Navajo teams have built 300 8-by-15-foot “tiny homes” to provide extra space for the most vulnerable or most exposed family member to isolate. Government-sponsored hotel rooms also provide spaces for those with the virus to quarantine safely. An aggressive vaccination campaign also got nearly half of those living within the Navajo Indian Health Service Area fully vaccinated, further reducing risk in crowded households.

Thanks to a trusting and open relationship between school officials and parents, Andrews, Texas, schools kept COVID-19 infections under control when classes resumed in August 2020, even though virtual learning was hardly used and some CDC guidelines on quarantines and masks were disregarded. School officials navigated local politics over pandemic controls by emphasizing personal responsibility while taking precautions like improving classroom ventilation, intensive cleaning regimens, and keeping kids outdoors more often.

Community groups in under-vaccinated areas helped tens of thousands of people get vaccinated, made slightly easier since the FDA approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and more employers requiring it. Nonprofits like the Bronx Rising Initiative, Vision Urbana, and Union Settlement are trusted messengers that have a long-standing presence in their communities. They understand their communities' needs and speak their language - both literally and figuratively. The groups conducted door-to-door educational outreach, signed people up for appointments and held community events where people could get the vaccine.

Vaccine Talk is a Facebook group for evidence-based discussion to help both pro- and anti-vaccine people wade through all of the conflicting, and oftentimes wrong, information about the COVID-19 vaccine. The group has a tough reputation because of its strict moderation system and rules of discourse. Each of the group’s 70,000 members was approved by an administrator to join and committed to a code of conduct. Users must be ready to provide citations within 24 hours of posting and the moderators don’t hesitate to kick out members who lack civility, misrepresent themselves, or make unsubstantiated claims.