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Early Insights from the Equity-First Vaccination Initiative

Report highlights work of pioneering local organizations that serve as models to increase vaccine equity

In Baltimore, Chicago, Houston, Newark, and Oakland, The Rockefeller Foundation’s $20M Equity-First Vaccination Initiative (EVI), supported over 100 community-based organizations working to increase vaccine confidence and uptake in communities of color.

A new report from the RAND Corporation, commissioned by The Rockefeller Foundation, finds that community-driven efforts that build capacity among trusted community leaders have been critical to vaccinating hard-to-reach and hard-to-convince Americans. One year into the Covid-19 vaccination roll out, the United States has struggled to reach the most socially vulnerable communities with Black, brown, indigenous, and immigrant communities less likely to get a vaccine, but more likely to get seriously ill and die of Covid-19. Strategies outlined in the report serve as models to remove inequities in the nationwide strategy and accelerate vaccination efforts.

Collectively, these organizations have achieved:

  • 1,200

    vaccine-related events held

  • > 42,000

    instances of assistance to get people vaccinated (e.g., transportation, registration) provided

  • ~2million

    contacts made through online and offline communication campaigns

  • ~16,000

    doses of Covid-19 vaccines delivered

The CBOs identified the most effective ways for philanthropic funders and policymakers, both nationally and locally, to advance equity by developing strategies to ensure,

  • Delivery of accurate, timely, understandable information about where, when, and how to get vaccinated;
  • Access to vaccine sites which are often located in inconvenient places, open at inconvenient times, and unaccommodating of those with mobility limitations;
  • Trust in institutions administering vaccinations;
  • Internet connection and the technological literacy needed to access vaccinations; and
  • Access to funds for transportation to and from vaccination sites, and to cover missed work hours.
  • Report

    Early Insights from the Equity-First Vaccination Initiative

    In Baltimore, Chicago, Houston, Newark, and Oakland, The Rockefeller Foundation’s $20M Equity-First Vaccination Initiative (EVI), supported over 100 community-based organizations working to increase vaccine confidence and uptake in communities of color. A new report from the RAND Corporation, commissioned by The Rockefeller Foundation, finds that community-driven efforts that build capacity among trusted community leaders have […]
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