CDC Opening Applications for Monkeypox Vaccine Equity Pilot Program

ATLANTA — State, local and tribal governments, as well as local nongovernmental organizations, can now partner and begin submitting requests to access monkeypox vaccines through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Monkeypox Vaccine Equity Pilot Program. 

The new pilot program is intended to reach populations that may face barriers to monkeypox vaccination, which may include differences in language, location of vaccination sites, vaccine hesitancy, mistrust of government, lack of access to online scheduling technology, accessibility/disability issues, immigration status and stigma.

“We have a responsibility to address inequities that have been highlighted by this outbreak, and this program will help make a difference,” said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, in a written statement last week. 

“This outbreak is affecting members of the gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men community at an unequal rate, and it has disproportionately affected the Black and Hispanic communities,” she continued.

“Distributing monkeypox vaccines in a way that addresses and reduces these disparities is the goal of this program and is a high priority for CDC and our public health partners.”

Up to 50,000 doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine have been allocated for the Monkeypox Vaccine Equity Pilot Program. Successful proposals will demonstrate new, innovative ways to reach populations that are most affected by monkeypox based on local or national data.

 Projects should prioritize groups:

• With risk factors that increase their chances of getting or spreading monkeypox.
• Who are overrepresented among monkeypox cases and less likely to be vaccinated.
• Whose barriers to vaccination may be addressed by the activities proposed.

Special consideration will be given to projects addressing disparities among Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men and transgender people who face barriers in accessing vaccines. 

Additional information, including details on the application, can be found here.

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