The White House on Thursday will unveil a nearly $10 billion effort to persuade people in areas hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic they should get vaccinated.
COUNTIES WITH HEAVY MINORITY POPULATIONS WERE HIT HARDER AS THE PANDEMIC WENT ON, CDC FINDS
Starting in April, funding will go out to nearly 1,400 centers, serving one-fifth of people living in rural communities. Ninety-one percent of center patients live at or below the federal poverty line, and 60% are racial or ethnic minorities.
With the COVID-19 pandemic seemingly on the wane, there's rising concern that broad swaths of the public won't get vaccinated, either out of skepticism or lack of access in rural and other underserved communities.
President Biden's administration is pushing hard to boost vaccinations among these groups. It's permitting federally funded community health centers to expand eligibility to new groups, reaching about 83% of their patients.
The administration will also send states, territories, and some cities money to support local health departments to persuade COVID-19 vaccine skeptics to get shots. Of the $3 billion allocated, half will come from Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus spending package.
Eligible programs might include a "rural, faith-based organization" conducting door-to-door outreach to set up vaccination appointments in partnership with a community health center. Or it could be a food aid and housing nonprofit group in a high-poverty area that conducts vaccine outreach and education.
Dialysis patients will also be able to access the vaccine in clinics. Kidney disease affects a high percentage of people from racial and ethnic minorities.
Another $330 million will go to funding community health workers in areas with increased prevalence of the coronavirus and affected by health disparities.
Federally funded community vaccination sites have so far administered 60% of their doses to people of color, while community health centers have provided 65% of doses allocated by the government to these minorities. Of the retail pharmacy locations providing COVID-19 shots, 45% are located in areas identified as in need of support, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention metrics based on census data.
"These actions are garnering initial results," the White House said in a statement.
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Biden has said he aims to have all people eligible for the shot by May 1 and vaccinated soon after. However, recent surveys have shown hesitancy among large numbers of the public.
