The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched the Partnering for Vaccine Equity (P4VE) program in 2021 to address racial and ethnic disparities in adult immunization rates, particularly for COVID-19 and influenza. The P4VE program allocated $156 million to over 500 national, state, and community-based organizations (CBOs) to improve equitable access to vaccination in underserved communities by promoting vaccine confidence and addressing barriers to vaccination opportunities.
The Urban Institute (Urban) was one of several national intermediary entities responsible for recruiting, overseeing, and providing technical assistance to CBOs participating in the P4VE program. This report describes the experiences of Urban’s 24 CBO awardees and the technical support the Urban team provided them to implement vaccine equity projects in the third year of the P4VE program.
Why This Matters
Although racial and ethnic disparities in uptake of the primary COVID-19 immunization series narrowed during the pandemic, there continue to be large racial and ethnic disparities in receipt of booster doses. By May 2023 (Year Three of the P4VE program), the US government declared the pandemic over, and nearly all federal funding allocated for vaccines went away. In the context of diminished public health resources and widespread disinterest in receiving booster doses, CBOs played a key role in communicating the importance of routine vaccination and facilitating access to free vaccines in underserved communities and among populations at high risk of serious illness from contracting flu and COVID-19.
What We Found
Our findings suggest that throughout the P4VE program, CBOs gained substantial expertise in vaccine education and health equity concepts, and their trusted reputation in local communities and expanded partnership networks enabled them to forge ahead on vaccine equity initiatives in a rapidly evolving vaccine landscape. The Urban team was pivotal in providing the supporting infrastructure to CBOs as both the grant manager and technical assistance provider, ensuring the program's integrity while delivering tailored guidance and capacity-building resources to on-the-ground vaccine equity efforts. The P4VE program has effectively enabled the federal government to support delivering culturally appropriate health education and facilitate vaccine uptake in underserved communities. Sustained progress on closing vaccine disparities will require continued and adequate investments in public health resources, including pairing access to affordable vaccines with culturally effective outreach in underserved communities.
