Immunize Colorado has been awarded a grant in the amount of $15,000 from DaVita Kidney care to help expand the critical capacity of the Colorado Vaccine Equity Taskforce and its work to ensure everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, ability or any other factor, has the information they need to make an informed decision about the COVID-19 vaccine for themselves and their family. This funding will allow Immunize Colorado to dedicate staff capacity, media and communications support, asset development, training and expert-led education opportunities to this important project—all with the goal to help build community trust in the COVID-19 vaccine for communities of color, people living with disabilities, LGBTQ+ individuals and people living on low incomes, as well as to reduce barriers to receiving the COVID-19 vaccine for these populations.

Many vaccines are currently being tested as a tool to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. A new fact sheet developed by Immunize Colorado explains the key differences and similarities between the three vaccines approved for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S. as of March 15, 2021: the Pfizer vaccine, the Moderna vaccine, and the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine. The fact sheet describes how each kind of vaccine (mRNA and viral vector) works in the body to build immunity, explains the differences in dosing, and highlights all three vaccines’ ability to prevent nearly 100% of COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths. 

Eight Colorado foundations have created a unique partnership focused on funding on- the-ground efforts to connect Coloradans who live daily without access to critical services and opportunities due to race and/or their socioeconomic status with access to COVID-19 vaccines and information.

Together We Protect, Colorado’s COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Fund, is focused specifically on supporting organizations working in communities disproportionally impacted by COVID-19 to ensure that people of color and those who face systemic barriers have the most appropriate and accessible information about the COVID-19 vaccine and can access the vaccine through opportunities that consider barriers such as technology, language, transportation and lack of health insurance.

Together We Protect will provide grants ranging from $10,000 – $100,000 to support Colorado community-based organizations, working in partnership with state-contracted vaccine providers, to provide culturally relevant and localized outreach, information and support to ensure communities who face systemic barriers have access to the COVID-19 vaccine.

“We know that our communities have been the hardest hit by the pandemic both in hospitalizations and deaths,” said Dr. Oswaldo Grenardo, a family physician and tri-chair of the Colorado Vaccine Equity Taskforce. “But we also know that by deploying strategic resources to help our communities get the information and access they need, we can focus on equity, not just expediency, in the distribution of vaccines across our state.”

Together We Protect is a partnership of Immunize Colorado and the Colorado Vaccine Equity Taskforce, which will provide on-the-ground technical assistance and support to community-based organization grantees, and these Colorado foundations:

• Caring for Colorado Foundation
• Colorado Health Foundation
• Community First Foundation
• Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation
• Denver Foundation
• Latino Community Foundation of Colorado
• Next50 Initiative
• Rose Community Foundation

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every community in Colorado, but some populations have been impacted significantly more than others. Black, Latino, and Native Americans have all experienced rates of infection, hospitalization, and death that far exceed their proportion of the population. Access to COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination rates for both COVID-19 and other vaccines in these communities lag well behind those for White Coloradans.

“As people begin to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, we know that people and communities of color are being left behind. It is absolutely essential that we make equity a central part of our state’s vaccine response,” said Linda Reiner, President and CEO, Caring for Colorado Foundation, which is coordinating the fund. “Together We Protect makes it possible for foundations in our state to work in partnership with community organizations to address persistent barriers to immunization including people’s mistrust in the vaccine due to historic mistreatment of people of color in the health care system, and systemic barriers including language, transportation, and digital access.”

“It is clear that we need a more robust and strategic approach to ensuring that every Coloradan, no matter where they live or who they are, has the opportunity to get vaccinated,” said Stephanie Wasserman, executive director of Immunize Colorado. “This funding will help create those opportunities by connecting trusted, local community organizations with the resources needed to directly remove barriers and improve access to COVID-19 vaccine information and services for those they serve.”

For media inquiries, please contact:

• Michele Ames, 303.817.5510, michele@micheleamesconsulting.com 
• Christie McElhinney, 303.881.0124, christie@tscstrategies.com