“Community health centers are an important part of our broader strategy to ensure we reach everyone with our response,” Zients said during an information session in the White House.
The announcement comes as the White House continues to highlight its efforts to distribute Covid-19 vaccines fairly, and to ensure that vulnerable populations excessively affected by the pandemic have access to the vaccines as well as medical care.
“Equity is our North Star here,” said Dr Marcella Nunez-Smith, who heads the Biden administration’s equity task force, in the briefing. “This effort, which focuses on direct allocation to community health centers, is actually about contacting the hard-to-reach populations across the country.”
The vaccination program for the Community Health Center will also work to increase the confidence of vaccines, Zients said. The centers will be equipped to do outreach necessary to help patients plan appointments. The program will work with local leaders to ensure fairness in the distribution of vaccines.
Zients also announced Tuesday that Biden’s administration will increase its total weekly vaccine supply from this week.
Last week, Biden’s administration said it would begin direct vaccination of coronavirus vaccines at retail pharmacies to expand access points to the vaccine.
Community health centers treat some of the most vulnerable Americans, many of whom are at risk for severe Covid-19. Homeless people, migrant workers, residents of public housing and people with limited proficiency in English are all among the patient population. There are more than 213,100 community health centers in every state and territory in the U.S. that serve more than 30 million people.
About two-thirds of the patients in the community health center live on or below the federal poverty line and 60% identify as racial or ethnic minorities.
In the first phase of the program, Nunez-Smith said doses would reach 250 health centers. The plan includes at least one community health center in each state and territory. The goal is to allocate 1 million doses in this first phase.
The federal program, Nunez-Smith added, is intended to help state and local leaders. The program for community health centers and others ‘is by no means a substitute for the important work they need to lead on the ground to address equity,’ Nunez-Smith said.
During the briefing, Zients rejected the idea that the emphasis on vaccine fairness sacrifices efficiency in the midst of the time-sensitive race to achieve herd immunity.
“I do not accept the premise at all,” Zients said when asked if the country would have to accept that speed was lost for the sake of fairness.
“I think we can do it in a fair, just and efficient way. And I think today’s announcement about the use of community health centers is part of a strategy to reach all Americans,” he said. “So both efficiency and fairness are central to what we do. And I see no compromise between the two – I think they go hand in hand.”