A Year Later

Advancing racial equity in adult immunization through 

CDC’s Partnering for Vaccine Equity program 

Partnering for 

Vaccine Equity

UnidosUS

Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance

Public Health Institute California 

PIMA County Health Department

Photos courtesy of El Buen Samaritano
Visit our program website for more information.

Launching Partnering for Vaccine Equity

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) set out to better 

understand the factors that drive longstanding racial and ethnic disparities in adult immunization. They 

engaged experts from local government, health care providers, faith and community-based organizations, 

historically black colleges and universities (HCBUs), and other higher education and research institutions to 

hear input on what could meaningfully improve equity in vaccine access and uptake in racial and ethnic 

minority communities. In parallel, the emerging COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented global 

attention to a future COVID-19 vaccine. It also raised urgent questions around how the U.S. would ensure 

equity in vaccine access and address deeply rooted distrust in the healthcare system among some 

communities after centuries of racism and discrimination.

Reaching people directly in their communities through vaccination sites, town 

halls, educational materials, campaigns, and more to advance vaccine awareness, 

access, availability, and confidence

Engaging people online and through social media, including campaigns that 

mitigate vaccine misinformation

Equipping ambassadors and influential messengers nation-widewho represent 

racial and ethnic minority groups to implement tailored community-based 

vaccination activities and deploy culturally and linguistically appropriate 

educational campaigns

In 2020, CDC launched the Partnering for Vaccine Equity 

(P4VE) program to advance equity in adult immunization for 

racial and ethnic minority groups through partnerships that 

drive community-level action. While the program initially 

focused on urgent disparities in COVID-19 and influenza 

vaccination rates, it has built a far-reaching network of national, 

state, and local partners that are improving equity by:

Spring 2020

Began a plan for rollout of a 

potential future COVID-19 

vaccine as COVID-19 became 

a global emergency

Summer 2020

Engaged cross-sector experts 

to hear perspectives on drivers 

of and interventions to address 

racial and ethnic disparities in 

adult vaccination rates

Fall 2019

Set out to better 

understand factors that 

drive racial and ethnic 

disparities in adult 

immunization

Spring 2021

Launched P4VE and 

allocated $156M+ to 

over 500 national, 

state, and community 

organizations

2022 and Beyond

Supporting the development 

of a robust adult immunization 

infrastructure to scale vaccine 

equity work to other vaccines 

and populations

Summer 2021

Launched Learning 

Community, public 

Vaccine Equity Resource 

Hub, and Guide for 

Community Partners 

Fall 2020

Funded 31 organizations as a 

part of Racial and Ethnic 

Approaches to Community 

Health (REACH) program to 

deliver vaccination activities

The Journey 
Visit our program website for more information.

3

Since its launch, the program has provided over $156 million in funding for FY21 to 500+ 

partners at the national, state, and local levels working in 225+ cities and all 50 states. As of 

March 2022, partner efforts have led to: 

Fostering Impact in Communities Across the U.S.

Community-based organizations meet people where they are, directly in their communities. 

They build partnerships with churches, clinics, pharmacies, schools, restaurants, and more to conduct 

outreach and host vaccination events – this has bridged a longstanding gap between community members 

and vaccination providers and opportunities. Highlights of partner work include:

• Hosting a virtual town hall event to discuss vaccine health equity, 

distribution, and promotion for minorities/vulnerable populations

• Engaging in a door-to door campaign across census tracts with the 

lowest levels of vaccination, answering questions about the COVID19 vaccine to help residents make informed decisions, and even

renting an ice cream truck to bring vaccines directly to residents

• Developing partnerships with correctional facilities, processing 

plants, and other local sites to provide COVID-19 and influenza 

vaccinations in consistent locations throughout the district 

• Offering education and opportunities to receive COVID-19 and flu 

vaccines to growing numbers of people who were not vaccinated

and were seeking out COVID-19 and influenza vaccinations

185,000+

Community-level 

spokespersons educated, 

empowered, or trained

1.8 Million

People who attended 

promotional events from 

populations of focus 

1.74 Million

COVID-19 [any dose or booster] 

or flu vaccines administered at 

any partner vaccination site

State, Local, and Community-Based Organizations

Nationwide educational 

campaigns launched

143 501,000+

Clinicians reached through 

new strategies and resources 

43

Educational campaign languages 

and dialects, such as Cantonese, 

Farsi, Hindi, Japanese, Lao, Spanish, 

Swahili, Thai, and Vietnamese

395 Million* 1,950+ 1,400+

National Organizations & Associations

Social Media Partners

People reached by social 

media campaigns sharing 

vaccine information 

Trainings on responding to 

mis-and disinformation on 

social media 

Communication products 

developed to build vaccine 

confidence 

National Kidney Foundation of Michigan

Korean Community Services 

* Includes non-unique individuals, as the same individuals may have engaged with social media campaigns across multiple reporting 

periods.
Visit our program website for more information.

4

National organizations and foundations led efforts to engage people in new ways online, 

digitally, and through social media. These partners developed content and campaigns to promote 

accurate information and address misinformation and created an online forum and resource 

repository for partners to learn from experts and one another. As of March 2022, highlights of the 

work include: 

• Developing a media literacy training for local partner 

organizations to increase individuals’ ability to decipher credible 

information about COVID-19 and make confident, science-based 

vaccination decisions

• Holding social media boot camps to help local organizations 

develop more effective posts and build on national campaigns

• Releasing a bilingual radio commercial in Spanish & English 

across four radio stations with a combined audience of 69,000+ 

• Engaging youth through an afterschool program to create 

TikTok videos to showcase 3 murals with vaccine messaging, and 

working with influencers to reach a younger demographic 

resulting in a 140% increase in Truth Check Trainings 

• Convening partners in 36 webinars, office hours, and other 

group learning events with over 2,600 attendees on 

communication strategies, influential messengers, vaccine data 

and science, and health equity 

• Sharing 790+ resources on the Vaccine Resource Hub with over 

41,000 views and downloads of messages and images 

• Organizing a communications training for community leaders 

with testimonials from community members and insight on 

communication methods to increase vaccine confidence

• Collaborating with Sesame Street in Communities to teach 

families how to stay safe during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic 

• Releasing an animated video dispelling myths and encouraging 

community members to seek medical care from providers for 

guidance about COVID-19 and their general health & well-being

• Working with community-based organizations in their network 

to reach Spanish-speaking communities through op-eds, 

webinars, and in-person events 

• Using Twitter to share campaign materials and assess changes in 

public sentiment toward the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination

National partners launched educational campaigns and engaged and empowered 

community-based organizations to train influential messengers in their networks.

Campaigns focused on topics such as vaccine confidence, booster shots, content for those with 

different levels of health literacy, and partnerships with community leaders, all with culturally and 

linguistically appropriate vaccine information. Highlights of national partner work include: 

UnidosUS

National Hispanic Medical Association 

NAACP Atlanta on TikTok

Community Catalyst
Visit our program website for more information.

5

Paving the Path Forward

Sustaining Partnerships

Partnerships strengthened during the COVID-19 pandemic must be sustained —

particularly those with community-based organizations and trusted leaders in racial 

and ethnic minority communities. These partnerships conduct lifesaving, on-theground work by connecting community members with provider services, engaging in 

conversations about vaccines, and addressing misinformation and mistrust. 

Engaging People in the Community 

Building Infrastructure for Adult Immunization 

It is critical for the health of the nation that we have a robust and 

agile adult immunization infrastructure at the national, state, and 

local levels. The progress made in decreasing disparities in adult 

COVID-19 vaccination rates will only continue and extend to other 

vaccines recommended for adultsif paired with continued adult 

immunization work at the community, local, state, and national levels. 

Building an adult immunization infrastructure leads to readiness for 

future outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases for adults. 

Sharing data about a community with that community is a 

powerful way to make progress towards equitable decision 

making and action. Data illuminates on-the-ground 

opportunities, such as subject matter expertise, resources, 

promising practices, and more. By continuing to share this data 

and embrace a two-way data sharing practice, CDC equips 

program partners with more insight to inform their program 

strategy and tailor their approaches based on what they know of 

their communities.

Since its launch in summer 2021, Partnering for Vaccine Equity partnerships have led to an 

estimated 1.7+ million COVID-19 and flu vaccine doses and boosters administered and have 

contributed to documented decreases in racial/ethnic disparities in COVID-19 vaccination rates.

To make equitable progress in vaccine uptake, we need to meet 

communities and community members where they are. This often 

means sharing information and offering services in the unique places 

where community members are most likely to congregate, as well as 

embracing the power of social media to reach large audiences of people 

with different levels of vaccine confidence and health literacy.

Sharing Actionable Data With Communities

The path forward for equity in adult immunization will require continued work beyond the 

COVID-19 pandemic. It will require sustained efforts to build trust within communities, 

increase vaccine uptake, advance vaccine equity, and improve health outcomes for all.