President Joe Biden on May 4 unveiled the country's newest vaccination goal: 70 percent of adults receiving at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose and 160 million fully vaccinated adults by July 4.
The federal government's vaccine efforts will now focus on making COVID-19 shots as accessible as possible, with pharmacies participating in the federal pharmacy program starting to offer same-day and walk-in vaccinations. The U.S. will also redirect Federal Emergency Management Agency resources to facilitate more pop-up and mobile vaccination clinics.
To accomplish the new goal, the U.S. will allocate funds to community organizations, governments and healthcare providers.
How those funds are being allocated:
- Nearly $250 million will go to community-based organizations to hire and mobilize workers to increase vaccine access for underserved communities through on-the-ground outreach.
- More than $130 million will go to organizations working to improve vaccine education in underserved communities.
- Nearly $250 million will go to state, territorial and select large city governments so they can execute strategic outreach efforts to increase vaccine uptake.
- More than $100 million in American Rescue Plan funding will go to approximately 4,600 rural health clinics to support vaccine outreach in rural communities.
- The Health Resources and Services Administration is providing nearly $860 million in American Rescue Plan funding to help rural healthcare providers expand their COVID-19 testing and mitigation programs to slow the spread of the virus in their communities.