NH23IP922653

Community Catalyst Vaccine Equity and Access Program (VEAP) - Vaccination is a highly effective public health intervention that, where accessible, prevents infection and the spread of illness, saving millions of lives every year. However, permeating racial inequities in health care, living and working conditions, and economic mobility across the country, combined with an inherent distrust of the very systems that create and reinforce these inequities, have resulted in a number of health disparities - including in adult vaccination rates - between white people and people of color in the United States.

Community Catalyst's Vaccine Equity and Access Program (VEAP) will select and equip 75 community-based organizations serving a diverse range of American Indian/Alaska Native, African American/Black, Asian American, Hispanic/Latinx American, and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities. The aim is to build vaccine confidence among community members and support relationship building between community members and local providers that enable both short-term boosts in COVID-19 vaccination and longer-term increases in adult influenza vaccinations.

The program will achieve these goals by:

1. Training trusted community leaders to act as ambassadors for vaccine confidence.
2. Identifying opportunities for collaboration and partnership among community members, community service organizations, and providers.
3. Providing messaging to support vaccination and combat harmful myths.
4. Developing broad vaccine confidence networks that sustain support for vaccine education and access in the long-term.

By implementing these strategies, the VEAP program aims to address the disparities in vaccination rates and promote equitable access to vaccines for all communities, regardless of race or ethnicity.

Community Catalyst

NOT APPLICABLE

93.323 - Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases (ELC)

CDC Office of Financial Resources (OFR) [HHS - CDC]

Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support (CSTLTS) [HHS - CDC]

Massachusetts United States

State-Wide

Partnering with National Organizations to Support Community-Based Organizations to Increase Vaccination Coverage Across Different Racial and Ethnic Adult Populations Currently Experiencing Disparities (CDC-RFA-IP21-2108)

COVID-19 $22,658,932 (55%) percent of this Cooperative Agreement was funded by COVID-19 emergency acts including the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
Amendment Since initial award the End Date has been shortened from 04/29/26 to 04/29/25 and the total obligations have increased 312% from $10,000,000 to $41,180,932.