The NGO, co-founded by actor Sean Penn and Ms. Lee, has helped operate mass and mobile vaccination sites in the United States to fight COVID-19 since December 2020, with a focus on serving marginalized and vulnerable populations. CORE has been providing critical frontline relief in the United States since March 2020 and in Haiti, and this marks the organization's first initiative combatting COVID-19 in Latin America. The idea is for Rio to be the gateway and serve as a model for the NGO to help other Brazilian cities, in support of SUS (Sistema Único de Saúde, or Unified Health System). There are also plans for  CORE to operate testing centers in the future to expand the detection of infected patients and assist in combating the disease.

 

"We need to prepare the city for the next stages of vaccination against Covid-19, as we reach younger age groups. When we receive doses from the Ministry of Health, it is essential that we have more logistics to vaccinate the population and expand testing. In this sense, the partnership with an NGO expert in this theme, willing to invest in Rio de Janeiro, strengthening the SUS, is a great achievement," said  secretary Marcelo Calero.

 

"Brazil is ground zero in the southern hemisphere for COVID-19. Supporting the incredible work of the Mayor's office is a privilege, and CORE is proud to stand alongside its brothers and sisters in Rio during a time of great need," said CORE's CEO and co-founder Ann Lee. "We are eager to launch our operations in Rio in unison with our partners at the City of Rio, the Ministry of Health, Direct Relief, and Viva Rio to help protect the local community and stop the damaging spread of COVID-19."

 

Four vaccination clusters are expected to be created and strengthened with the NGO's resources, in addition to hiring staff to work in these sites, including health professionals. In the coming days, Lee is expected to visit these locations to ensure operations are properly set up and will run smoothly to serve the Rio community. The places initially chosen by the Municipal Secretary of Health include:

 

How the partnership was established

Invited by the International Relations and Cooperation Department, CORE conducted technical visits throughout the city from April 13-20 to assess the scope of the partnership in combating Covid-19 in Rio. The organization has shown interest in expanding the vaccination campaign and supporting mass testing in the city to protect the Rio community.

The Municipal Secretary of Health, Daniel Soranz and the team of the Emergency Operations Center (COE Covid-19) presented the data of the pandemic in the city, the life protection measures established by the City of Rio and the municipal vaccination plan.

CORE representatives experienced the process of storing and distributing immunizers by the municipality to the vaccination sites in the city, as well as to collecting and updating data on the pandemic into the Rio COVID-19 Panel, maintained by the municipality.

Members of the organization also met with the Special Secretary for Youth, Salvino Oliveira, who presented the "Rio contra Fome" ("Rio Against Hunger") food donation campaign. The initiative encourages those who will receive the vaccine to donate 1 kg of non-perishable food to be distributed to families in food insecurity situations. By April 20, more than 20 tons of food had been collected.

CORE's support operations are expected to start in May, accelerating the fight against Covid-19 in the municipality and coinciding with the increase in the number of people who are eligible for immunization.

 

About CORE
CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort) is a crisis relief nonprofit organization co-founded by Sean Penn and Ann Lee that is dedicated to saving lives and strengthening communities affected by or vulnerable to crisis. Within hours of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Penn mobilized a powerful network to take immediate action. More than 11 years later, CORE continues to lead sustainable programs focused on four pillars: emergency relief, disaster preparedness, environmental resiliency, and community building. The organization has expanded beyond Haiti to support communities in The Bahamas, Puerto Rico, the United States, and Latin America. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, CORE has been operating free testing sites across the U.S. alongside local partners, providing essential resources and contact tracing services as well as part of its integrated approach to combat the pandemic. In 2021, CORE is working with its partners in the U.S. and internationally to ensure equitable distribution of vaccines, and has published a manual to encourage equity-focused community-based vaccination operations. More information: www.coreresponse.org/covid-19 and follow CORE on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.