CDC to grant Idaho $20.7 million to improve COVID-19 vaccine access, uptake
As part of the American Rescue Plan, Idaho will receive $20.7 million for statewide efforts to increase COVID-19 vaccine uptake and improve access among racial and ethnic minorities, the White House announced Tuesday morning.
The funding is part of President Joe Biden’s latest COVID-19 relief package, also known as the American Rescue Plan Act, and national efforts to improve access to vaccines among underserved populations.
“Millions of Americans are getting vaccinated every day, but we need to ensure that we are reaching those in the communities hit hardest by this pandemic,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a news release. “This investment will support state and local health departments and community-based organizations as they work on the frontlines to increase vaccine access, acceptance, and uptake.”
The funding will be sent directly to the state to distribute — and state legislators will ultimately need to approve the appropriations, said Alex Adams, head of Gov. Brad Little’s Division of Financial Management.
Three-fourths of the funding must be used for programs meant to increase vaccine access and uptake among racial and ethnic minorities. Most of the funding must go to local health departments, community-based organizations and community health centers.
Adams said Idaho Department of Health and Welfare officials are currently working with CDC to finalize ways the state could use the funding and meet federal equity requirements.
Idaho is missing ethnicity data from about 178,000 of people who have been vaccinated — more than one-third of the total number, according to IDHW’s vaccine dashboard. It’s missing race data from more than one-fourth of people who have been vaccinated.
State health officials initially incorrectly said state law bars them from collecting data on race and ethnicity. The state didn’t begin attempts to collect demographic data on vaccines until about two months after Idaho’s first shot was administered.
