CDC Grant Program Spends $5,000 Per Shot To Convince Minorities To Get COVID-19 Vaccine

GAINESVILLE, Fla.—Fleets of specially equipped, federally funded buses are rolling into targeted areas with the mission of convincing people to get the COVID-19 vaccine and giving the jabs on the spot to the newly persuaded. Under a $6 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), teams in six states have worked since July to persuade visitors to the buses to take the COVID-19 vaccines. Their efforts have put 1,200 COVID-19 shots in arms, according to Catherine Striley of the University of Florida, who helps oversee the project. For the $6 million investment, each taxpayer-funded vaccination has cost about $5,000. Led by the University of Florida, eight universities share the goal of increasing adult vaccination rates in rural and minority communities as part of the program, Striley said. Targeted are areas identified as places “where health care skepticism is common and vaccination rates are low,” according to …  » Read full article