Baltimore among five cities tapped for Rockefeller Foundation's $20M vaccine equity pilot

The Rockefeller Foundation is investing $20 million in a new initiative focused on improving Covid-19 vaccine access and equity that is set to roll out in Baltimore and four other pilot cities.

The foundation's new Equity-First Vaccination Initiative is aimed at closing vaccination gaps among communities of color, which have been disproportionately impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The initiative will be piloted in Baltimore, Chicago, Houston, Newark, New Jersey, and Oakland, California. The foundation will provide grant funding to anchor organizations in each of these cities, which will work with community-based partners to increase access and confidence in the coronavirus vaccines.

A spokesperson for the Rockefeller Foundation said Baltimore will receive about $1.14 million initially, and may get more in the coming weeks depending on need.

In Baltimore, the grant funding will be distributed through Open Society Institute (OSI)-Baltimore. The organization will deliver sub-grants to various nonprofits, health care advocacy groups, neighborhood associations and religious institutions in some of Baltimore's hardest hit neighborhoods to support efforts to address vaccine questions and concerns, and to increase access through new mobile and community vaccination sites. The Rockefeller funding will also help to connect the grantees with public health communications experts who can provide evidence-based information to combat vaccine misinformation and hesitancy.

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Source: The Baltimore Business Journal