When Isimar Lopez tells her fellow Bronx residents she can get them a free, door-to-door ride with Uber to get a COVID-19 vaccine, they don’t always jump at the chance. “I have people ask me, ‘Is this a gimmick? What’s the catch?’” says Lopez, a nutrition counselor and coordinator with the Bronx-based health service organization NYREACH.

But because Lopez is a welcoming, relatable person who grew up in the Bronx herself, she’s able to reassure them that they truly won’t be charged a dime and—perhaps more important—their personal data won’t be shared. She can also share credible information about the COVID vaccines themselves, their safety records, and where to get a shot.

Via this informed, patient process of communication, NYREACH has facilitated some 600 free rides with Uber during the latter half of 2021, mostly from homes and other locations around the Bronx to one of the clinics or urgent-care centers of Essen Health Care, a key NYREACH partner and vaccine administrator.

One 57-year-old man, undocumented and uninsured, gratefully accepted a ride based on the assurance that his privacy would be secure and that after his shot the driver could return him directly to his place of work; the ride allowed him to dash out on a break to get the vaccine, without risking his livelihood. Another client phoned Lopez asking about a ride for her elderly mother; her mom was ready to get vaccinated, she explained, but couldn’t walk far enough to use public transit.

A common denominator among these riders, says Lopez: under ordinary circumstances, most had limited resources to pay for transportation.

The push to get each and every eligible person immunized against an infectious disease that so far has killed more than 826,000 U.S. residents has been a massive undertaking requiring a very intensive level of cooperation, from the grassroots on up. If Lopez and NYREACH are tightly connected to their neighbors in the Bronx, their work in turn is backed by LISC, along with three major U.S. corporations—Uber, PayPal, and Walgreens—that are eager to do their part.

Read the full article about vaccine access at LISC.