CDC sends Missouri $55 million to increase vaccine access in underserved communities
Missouri will receive $55 million in new federal funding to expand its vaccination program, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Tuesday.
The money, which comes from the COVID-19 relief package Congress passed last month, is meant to support local health departments’ efforts to increase vaccine distribution, particularly among underserved communities.
“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 statement. “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.”
All adult Missourians will be eligible for the vaccine on April 9.
As of Monday, Missouri ranked 42 among all states in terms of the percentage of the population that had been fully vaccinated with 17.2 %, according to CDC data. Neighboring Kansas ranked 28 with 19 %.
Approved uses of the funding for increasing vaccination in underserved communities includes partnering with community leaders to conduct door-to-door outreach and hiring bilingual community health workers.
The Kansas City Health Department said last month that vaccinations for Hispanic Kansas Citians have lagged other populations.
The new federal money comes after some Missouri lawmakers, particularly Democrats representing urban areas, have expressed frustration with the state’s vaccine distribution plan and the hesitancy to spend already appropriated federal aid.
They balked when the state health officials last month told the House Budget Committee that out of $55 million the state received for vaccination through a December federal aid package, officials only expected to spend $10 million by July. Health officials planned to spend the rest on vaccinations in future years— not necessarily for COVID-19.
“I’m frustrated when I see this money sitting here and it’s not getting allocated to the people who could use it to save lives,” said Rep. Maggie Nurrenbern, a Kansas City Democrat, on March 11.
The budget bill the Missouri House passed last week ultimately gave the state authority to spend $20 million.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency held a mass vaccination event in St. Louis Monday and this week will be launching an eight-week program geared at ensuring equitable distribution of vaccines in the city. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas has requested similar assistance from FEMA in Kansas City, but so far his request has not moved forward.
Jackson County’s rate of people receiving their first dose 25.9%, continuing to lag behind the state’s 28.4% average. In its weekly analysis of Missouri’s distribution efforts released Monday, the state’s consultant Deloitte recommended making mass vaccination events “more widely used and permanent” to serve vulnerable populations.
In Jackson County, none of the high-capacity hospitals or mass vaccination events, which are responsible for the bulk of vaccine distribution, have been located in the county’s 10 most vulnerable Census tracts, according to Deloitte. The consultants identified those tracts based on poverty levels, proportion of minority populations and the presence of health conditions that lead to greater risk of death upon COVID-19 infection.
This story was originally published April 6, 2021 at 8:00 AM.
