Biden Administration announces Community Health Centers vaccination program launch
President Joseph Biden announced in a fact sheet next week’s launch of the Federally Qualified Health Center program that will provide more vaccines for Community Health Centers that are reaching our underserved and most vulnerable communities.
The administration will increase the vaccine supply to states, Tribes, and territories by five percent over last week, for a total of a 28 percent increase from three weeks ago. These new steps will help meet the President’s goal of administering 100 million shots in 100 days and ensure that vaccines are administered equitably.
The President is taking the following actions:
· Launching First Phase of the Federally Qualified Health Center Program for COVID-19 Vaccination: As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to ensure that the nation’s hardest hit populations are receiving the vaccine, starting the week of February 15, Federally Qualified Community Health Centers (FQHCs) will begin directly receiving vaccine supply. Many people know these as Community Health Centers. Community Health Centers provide primary care services in underserved communities across the country. There are more than 1,300 Community Health Centers serving almost 30 million people across the country. Two-thirds of the population that these centers serve are living at or below the federal poverty line and 60 percent are racial and/or ethnic minorities. The program will be phased in, with the first centers able to start ordering vaccines as early as the week of February 15. The initial phase will include at least one Community Health Center in each state, expanding to 250 centers in the coming weeks. More information on this program is available at www.hrsa.gov/coronavirus/health-center-program.
· Expanding Vaccine Supply: Building on last week’s announcement, the Biden-Harris Administration will increase overall, weekly vaccine supply to states, Tribes, and territories to 11 million doses nationwide beginning this week. The Administration is committing to maintaining this as the minimum supply level for the next three weeks, and we will continue to work with manufacturers in their efforts to ramp up supply.
