As part of the Biden administrations plans to facilitate more equitable access to vaccinations, the administration has formed a partnership with community health centers, known for providing health care to some of the hardest-to-reach populations. This partnership, called the Health Center COVID-19 Vaccination Program, directly supplies health centers with a limited number of doses to increase vaccinations among people of color, low-income communities, and other underserved populations that make up a large share of health center patients. The first phase of the program kicked off February 15, 2021 and invited 250 health centers to participate, aiming to provide them with 1 million vaccine doses over the course of 4 weeks. Currently, the program is in the process of adding 700 more health centers, phasing in participation over a period of six weeks, and, by May, the administration expects to open the program to all 1,400 health center organizations across the U.S.
As of March 22, 2021, there were 325 health centers participating in the Health Center COVID-19 Vaccination Program and they had received over 1 million vaccine doses. Based on 2019 data, 75% of all patients visiting these health centers were people of color and 92% had incomes at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. Prior KFF research has shown that health centers are vaccinating people of color at higher rates than vaccine efforts nationally, and that is especially true for health centers participating in the federal program where, according to federal officials, over 65% of the allocated doses have been administered to people of color.
The first 325 health centers to participate in the program have the capacity to reach very specific, high-need populations that may require more resource-intensive vaccination efforts. Many of the health centers participating in the early phase of the program receive designated funding to treat agricultural workers, patients experiencing homeless, and/or patients living in or near public housing. They are also larger, on average, than other health centers. Our analysis shows that these health centers served just under half of all health center patients in 2019, as well as 80% of all health center patients who are agricultural workers, 69% of all patients living in or near public housing, 62% of patients with limited English proficiency, and just over half (54%) of patients experiencing homelessness (Figure 1). Although health centers provide services to only a subset of these individuals, reaching high-need populations as well as others facing barriers to vaccinations in the greatest numbers possible will be helpful in achieving population-level immunity.
Although the Health Center COVID-19 Vaccination Program represents a small portion of vaccinations nationally to date, increased federal funding for the program will enable participating health centers to reach many more people. On March 25, 2021, the Biden administration announced $6 billion in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan would be directed to health centers to expand vaccine access. This investment, coupled with new flexibility allowing health centers to vaccinate people in ACIPs Phase 1c priority group along with other state priority populations, will enable health centers to reach more of their patients and other higher-risk individuals in their communities. Currently, the program is onboarding 700 more health centers as part of the second phase of the program, including those serving large shares of people with low incomes and people of color, those located in rural and frontier areas, those serving tribal communities, and health centers operating mobile vans with the ability to take vaccinations out into the community. Ensuring more equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine will be a meaningful step in mitigating the disparate impacts of the pandemic and limiting health disparities in the future.
More here:
- Spatiotemporal pattern of COVID-19 spread in Brazil - Science - April 16th, 2021
- Reliable COVID-19 Short-Term Forecasting - Texas A&M Today - Texas A&M University Today - April 16th, 2021
- Coronavirus tally: Global cases of COVID-19 top 139 million and U.S. death toll is above 565,000 - MarketWatch - April 16th, 2021
- funded COVID-19 testing initiative aims to safely return children to in-person school - National Institutes of Health - April 16th, 2021
- Cuyahoga, Summit counties among highest COVID-19 rates in the state - Crain's Cleveland Business - April 16th, 2021
- NHL COVID-19 protocol list tracker: More than 150 players have missed time this season in the protocol - CBS Sports - April 16th, 2021
- FDA Provides Guidance on Remote Interactive Evaluations for Oversight of Drug Facilities During COVID-19 - FDA.gov - April 16th, 2021
- COVID-19 hospital admissions on the rise in Southwest Florida - Wink News - April 16th, 2021
- Thailand to close schools, bars after surge in COVID-19 cases - Reuters - April 16th, 2021
- COVID-19 reflection & healing at the San Antonio VA - VAntage Point - VAntage Point Blog - April 16th, 2021
- Pine Rest opens adult foster care COVID-19 unit - MLive.com - April 16th, 2021
- COVID-19 Daily Update 4-14-2021 - West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources - April 16th, 2021
- Tracking COVID-19 in Alaska: 194 cases and 20 deaths reported Thursday after death certificate review - Anchorage Daily News - April 16th, 2021
- Twins' Andrelton Simmons tests positive for COVID-19 after declining vaccine offered to team - Yahoo Sports - April 16th, 2021
- Can your workplace make the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory? - Wink News - Wink News - April 16th, 2021
- COVID-19 prevalence in England drops sharply in latest week - ONS - Reuters - April 16th, 2021
- WHO says Covid pandemic is growing 'exponentially' at more than 4.4 million new cases a week - CNBC - April 16th, 2021
- April 14: Iowa reports zero new COVID-19 deaths and over 17,000 more completed vaccinations - kwwl.com - April 14th, 2021
- Suicide trends in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic: an interrupted time-series analysis of preliminary data from 21 countries - The Lancet - April 14th, 2021
- Mental Health Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Update - Kaiser Family Foundation - April 14th, 2021
- One year after COVID-19 outbreak, JBS donating land, $500,000 to Green Bay - Fox11online.com - April 14th, 2021
- No, the COVID-19 vaccine will not change your DNA - MLive.com - April 14th, 2021
- Las Vegas is set to come out of Covid-19 better than ever - CNN - April 14th, 2021
- Reflecting On COVID-19 And A Growing Public Health Threat - Texas A&M Today - Texas A&M University Today - April 14th, 2021
- How Hollywood is reopening amid the COVID-19 pandemic - Los Angeles Times - April 14th, 2021
- PGA Tour will no longer require COVID-19 testing for vaccinated golfers at tournaments, per reports - CBS Sports - April 14th, 2021
- Twins SS Andrelton Simmons, who declined vaccine, out after positive COVID-19 test - ESPN - April 14th, 2021
- More breakthrough COVID-19 cases reported among vaccinated people in Washington - KING5.com - April 14th, 2021
- Mall department store, high school among workplaces fined for COVID-19 violations - MLive.com - April 14th, 2021
- Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum still dealing with COVID-19 effects but 'close' to 100 percent as performance picks up - ESPN - April 14th, 2021
- 15 new cases of COVID-19 reported among students at Canisius High School - WIVB.com - News 4 - April 14th, 2021
- Band Practice in the Age of Covid-19 - The Wall Street Journal - April 14th, 2021
- Twins Covid-19 update: SS Andrelton Simmons tests positive for Covid-19 - DraftKings Nation - April 14th, 2021
- Alpharetta, GA Coronavirus Information - Safety Updates ... - April 12th, 2021
- COVID Vaccine | Georgia Department of Public Health - April 12th, 2021
- The European digital health revolution in the wake of COVID-19 - Healthcare IT News - April 12th, 2021
- Department of Health Announces Free COVID-19 Testing Site in Monroe County - Pennsylvania Pressroom - April 12th, 2021
- More Colleges Say They'll Require Students To Have COVID-19 Vaccines For Fall | 90.1 FM WABE - WABE 90.1 FM - April 12th, 2021
- Local Governments Will Get Billions In COVID-19 Relief. Now, They're Figuring Out How To Spend It - Wisconsin Public Radio News - April 12th, 2021
- Gas prices of $3 per gallon delayed by surge in COVID-19 - WWLP.com - April 12th, 2021
- Routt County records 20th COVID-19 death as officials warn of fourth wave of virus - Steamboat Pilot and Today - April 12th, 2021
- Latino areas devastated by COVID-19 are reopening slowly, with caution and fear about future - Los Angeles Times - April 12th, 2021
- Interim statement of the COVID-19 subcommittee of the WHO Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety on AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine - World Health... - April 12th, 2021
- How I Got My Covid-19 Vaccine: Tales of Getting the Shot - The Wall Street Journal - April 12th, 2021
- What to know as L.A. opens COVID-19 vaccine to 16 and up - Los Angeles Times - April 12th, 2021
- Preview: Finding traces of COVID-19 in wastewater - KELOLAND.com - April 12th, 2021
- April 12: Almost 775,000 individuals have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in Iowa - kwwl.com - April 12th, 2021
- I took 5 COVID-19 tests to go to Hawaii, and it was worth it - The Points Guy - April 12th, 2021
- If you travel far for first COVID-19 vaccination shot, is it OK to get second shot closer to home? - Chicago Tribune - April 12th, 2021
- Baker says two million people will be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in Mass. by end of week - The Boston Globe - April 12th, 2021
- Four new deaths from COVID-19 in Wisconsin; 23.8% fully vaccinated - WKOW - April 11th, 2021
- Taking this step after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine makes a difference, CDC says - WANE - April 11th, 2021
- COVID-19 Daily Update 4-10-2021 - West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources - April 11th, 2021
- COVID-19: Study finds link with brain, mental health conditions - Medical News Today - April 11th, 2021
- Antibody Persistence through 6 Months after the Second Dose of mRNA-1273 Vaccine for Covid-19 - nejm.org - April 11th, 2021
- COVID-19 in South Dakota: 238 total new cases; Death toll remains at 1,946; Active cases at 2,413 - KELOLAND.com - April 11th, 2021
- Many of Michigans Thumb residents are done with COVID-19 pandemic, even as virus rages like wildfire - MLive.com - April 11th, 2021
- Inhaled budesonide in the treatment of early COVID-19 (STOIC): a phase 2, open-label, randomised controlled trial - The Lancet - April 11th, 2021
- COVID-19's Fourth Wave: What You Need to Know Now - AARP - April 11th, 2021
- EEOC Clarity on Incentives for COVID-19 Vaccinations - The National Law Review - April 11th, 2021
- Several COVID-19 vaccination sites close early ahead of storms coming toward Tampa Bay - WFLA - April 11th, 2021
- Lost COVID-19 vaccine card: What to do (and other advice) - Los Angeles Times - April 11th, 2021
- Dear Doctor: Just how immune are we after a COVID-19 vaccination? - OregonLive - April 11th, 2021
- Some Syracuse University students with Covid-19 refusing to identify who they exposed - syracuse.com - April 11th, 2021
- A guide to reopening in the COVID-19 orange tier: what San Diegans need to know - The San Diego Union-Tribune - April 9th, 2021
- COVID-19 origins: What to know about the search for the start of the virus - ABC News - April 9th, 2021
- Thumbs up, thumbs down, three stars: UMass does what COVID-19 could not by denying the Bulldogs a three-peat - Duluth News Tribune - April 9th, 2021
- Less than 2% of world's COVID-19 vaccines administered in Africa - World - ReliefWeb - April 9th, 2021
- New COVID-19 restrictions in effect in Ga., eliminating many gathering bans - WTOC - April 9th, 2021
- COVID-19 killed their loved ones. Now, a dreaded question lingers: Was it their fault? - Houston Chronicle - April 9th, 2021
- Japan to add Tokyo, other areas to COVID-19 'quasi-emergency' state - Reuters - April 9th, 2021
- Rise in COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths in Muskegon County very concerning - mlive.com - April 9th, 2021
- Oregon Health Authority reports five new deaths related to COVID-19, 678 new cases - KPTV.com - April 9th, 2021
- Jeff Gordon reveals he tested positive for COVID-19 - NASCAR on NBC Sports - April 9th, 2021
- COVID-19 variants confirmed in Baja California; Third wave will be much worse, health officials say - WGHP FOX 8 Greensboro - April 9th, 2021
- 77 Mass. communities have the highest risk for COVID-19 infection - Boston.com - April 9th, 2021
- North Carolina mother passes COVID-19 antibodies to baby through breast milk - WSFA - April 9th, 2021
- 'Georgia is open for business' | Gov. Kemp lifts many COVID-19 restrictions - 11Alive.com WXIA - April 9th, 2021
- Vancouver Canucks -- 21 players positive for COVID-19, source of outbreak identified - ESPN - April 9th, 2021
- COVID-19 increase triggers new round of restrictions in Portland, Bend - OPB News - April 9th, 2021