September 27, 2021
The Center for Black Health & Equity (The Center) has been awarded a $2.5 million grant from the CDC Foundation in partnership with their Partnering for Vaccine Equity Program. The Center is being funded to support effective community outreach, centering around communities of Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC), in order to share accurate, culturally appropriate information about the COVID-19 and flu vaccines and link adults to vaccine services.
The Center’s initiative will focus on media literacy education as a means to equip heavy social media users with essential fact-checking skills. The program will increase individuals’ ability to decipher credible information about COVID-19 and support them in making confident, science-based vaccine decisions. It also aims to promote critical thinking and careful consideration before sharing potentially inaccurate information on social media platforms.
These efforts will be achieved through the development of an e-learning center to provide training and resources to key social media influencers, general African American audiences and through a national social media campaign that will be launched in partnership with eight community-based organizations from Ohio, North Carolina, Louisiana, Alabama, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia and Mississippi.
“The truth is Black people have valid reasons for their vaccine hesitancy, but it is also true that we continue to see a disproportionate number of COVID-19 related deaths within the Black community. Through this grant and The Center’s campaign, we want to help people identify the best and most credible information for them to make informed decisions about vaccination,” said Delmonte Jefferson, Executive Director at The Center for Black Health & Equity.
Funding for this effort is made possible through a subaward from the CDC Foundation and is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) financial assistance award totaling 20,000,000 with 100 percent of funding from CDC/HHS. The contents are those of The Center for Black Health and Equity and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, CDC/HHS or the U.S. Government.
About The Center for Black Health & Equity
The Center for Black Health & Equity (formerly NAATPN, Inc.) is a national nonprofit organization that facilitates public health programs and services that benefit communities and people of African descent. The Center is committed to addressing social, political and economic injustices that have marginalized communities and contributed to current health disparities. The Center provides a level of expert comment, research, and education that has resulted in cities and institutions adopting smoke-free policies and flavor restrictions. Currently, the organization applies its proven framework for policy and environmental change to work in HIV/AIDS, cancer, heart, diabetes, COVID-19 and other health disparities.
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