CDC to provide $200M for critical infrastructure support of COVID-19 vaccine preparations

All 64 jurisdictions under the Immunizations and Vaccines for Children cooperative agreement will receive $200 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the coming days, as a means of supporting COVID-19 vaccination services.

The money will aid both planning and implementation to assist overall preparedness. This critical infrastructure support will vary, jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but all jurisdictions will receive something, depending upon a population-based formula.

“By building on close partnerships with the states and other jurisdictions we have worked with for years on vaccination programs, we have the ability to begin distributing and administering safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines as soon as they are authorized and available,” HHS Secretary Alex Azar said. “With these $200 million in new funds, jurisdictions can develop and update plans for the eventual distribution and administration of the safe and effective vaccines that will help bring this pandemic to an end.”

CDC Director Robert Redfield added that the awards are an extension of work already underway annually to assist vaccination programs. The funds will help to refine and update these programs to address COVID-19 specifically.