COVID Vaccine Resources & Research

Dear Allies,

This week, we are excited to share information about a new funding opportunity from the Urban Institute and an expected funding opportunity for the Affordable Care Act Navigator program. We are also sharing a new COVID-19 resource from NILC that answers common questions about access to COVID vaccines, and new research from the Urban Institute that looks into attitudes towards vaccines among immigrant communities. 

People in immigrant communities and advocates have expressed concern about barriers that many people face when attempting to access COVID-19 vaccines. These barriers frequently are related to the concerns immigrants generally have when trying to access health care — concerns about documentation requirements, data privacy, eligibility, cost, and whether resources are available in their native language. NILC has published a new resource to answer some of these questions, “Answers to Common Questions about Immigrants’ Access to the COVID-19 Vaccines.” Please feel free to share with your partners, networks, and local officials.

With funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Urban Institute is pleased to announce a new funding and technical assistance opportunity for up to 20 community-based organizations (CBOs) to increase vaccine confidence and uptake for adults in racial and ethnic communities currently experiencing disparities. To support this goal, selected awardees will 

(1) equip influential messengers by providing trainings and materials, 

(2) increase vaccination opportunities and enhance provider partnerships, and/or 

(3) establish partnerships with state and local health departments.

Applications must be submitted by 8:00pm ET on Monday, April 26, 2021, and there will be a webinar held on Monday, April 19 from 1-2pm ET to answer any questions. Additional details on this opportunity are available in the link to the RFP.

We wanted to pass on some information about an expected funding opportunity that some of you, or your direct service partners, may be interested in. The Federal Department of Health and Human Services’ Affordable Care Act Navigator program directly funds organizations, including community based organizations, to do outreach, education, enrollment and follow-up assistance in Affordable Care Act (including Medicaid) coverage. This is one of the few federal funding opportunities available directly to community based organizations.

In late spring or early summer, we expect the Biden administration’s Department of Health and Human Services to issue a new Navigator funding opportunity, increasing the program by tens of millions of dollars. They are very interested in seeing groups with connections to underserved populations, including immigrants communities, apply for the program.  

There are some steps and pieces of information that are important for groups that might be interested in this funding:

• If your organization has not received federal funding before, register now HERE on Grants.gov. It can take weeks for the process to run its course, and CMS wants to ensure that organizations are ready to apply when the opportunity comes out. 

• Get more information about the Navigator program. HERE is background on the Navigator program, though there may be some changes to reflect the priorities of the new administration.

• Review requirements for Navigators. The requirements for Navigators are in regulation and are instructional. See part (c)(1) HERE for requirements of a Navigator organization, (d) on prohibited conduct and (e) on required duties.

We know it will take a lot of work to undo the chilling effect on health care insurance use by immigrants and this program will play a role in that. 

In this new brief, “COVID-19 Vaccine Attitudes among Adults in Immigrant Families in California” the Urban Institute assess attitudes toward COVID-19 and vaccines among adults ages 18 to 64 in California as of December 2020. This research offers insights and opportunities for policymakers to promote equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.

• NPR – Portland, OR immigrant-serving nonprofit hosts a Zoom town hall to encourage COVID-19 vaccination among the community’s Black immigrants and tackle barriers.
• Wall Street Journal – NY legislature votes to create $2B undocumented worker pandemic relief fund.
• The Nation – On the Biden HUD’s withdrawal of the Trump-proposed “mixed-status families” regulation.
• NBC News – The public charge chilling effect may deter Latinx folks from seeking pandemic relief.

In Solidarity,

Eddie Carmona & Renato Rocha, on behalf of the PIF Team

Visit us at https://protectingimmigrantfamilies.org/