Partnering with National Organizations to Increase Vaccination Coverage Across Different Racial and Ethnic Adult Populations Currently Experiencing Disparities | CDC RFA IP21 2106

Opportunity Information: Apply for CDC RFA IP21 2106

The CDC funding opportunity titled "Partnering with National Organizations to Increase Vaccination Coverage Across Different Racial and Ethnic Adult Populations Currently Experiencing Disparities" (CDC-RFA-IP21-2106) is a cooperative agreement designed to boost adult vaccination rates and directly address persistent racial and ethnic disparities in vaccine coverage. Managed by the Department of Health and Human Services through the CDCs National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), the program is framed around two connected layers of work: strengthening national organizations so they can lead and coordinate effectively, and resourcing those organizations local branches, chapters, or formally affiliated partners to carry out on-the-ground vaccination outreach and access activities in communities. The overall intent is not only to increase influenza vaccination immediately and COVID-19 vaccination as it becomes available, but also to build practical evidence about what interventions work best for improving uptake among adult populations experiencing disparities, and then to spread those lessons within and across organizational networks.

A central feature of the opportunity is its emphasis on infrastructure and capacity building at the national level, paired with community implementation at the local level. The CDCs approach assumes that national organizations often have reach, credibility, communications capacity, and established networks, but may need targeted investment to coordinate vaccination efforts consistently across many locations. Under this model, national organizations are expected to create or strengthen the internal structure needed to plan, manage, and support vaccination activities related to seasonal flu and COVID-19. At the same time, they are expected to identify and fund local entities within their network to execute the work directly with communities, tailoring approaches to local barriers, local trusted messengers, and local access points.

For national organizations (often described as Component A in the notice), the CDC outlines several focus areas that funded applicants are expected to cover during the project period. One major focus is coordination: the national organization should designate staff or leads who can coordinate local branches, chapters, or affiliates, provide guidance, and ensure local efforts align with the overall strategy and with CDC priorities. Another major focus is communications and education, where the organization is expected to develop and deploy an educational campaign aimed at adults in racial and ethnic populations experiencing disparities, integrating that campaign into the organizations broader communications strategies. A third national-level focus is improving the shared resource and evidence base. This includes collaboration with CDC-supported resources such as a Learning Hub, Data Hub, and Media Center to review, adapt, improve, and help disseminate materials and tools that can be used more broadly across the organization and potentially beyond it. In practical terms, the national organization is positioned as both a coordinator and a multiplier: building internal capability, supporting local delivery, and contributing to shared learning about what drives vaccine confidence and uptake.

For local branches, chapters, and affiliates (often described as Component B), the expectation is direct community-level implementation, with every funded local entity carrying out activities across specific focus areas. One required area is providing data and insights back to the CDC about barriers to vaccine uptake, which signals that the program is meant to generate actionable information about why disparities persist and what obstacles are most pressing in different settings. Another required area is community engagement to identify and address the drivers of vaccine hesitancy and under-vaccination. That includes working with communities to understand concerns, identify influential messengers and partners, and shape approaches that are acceptable and credible locally, with attention to improving vaccination availability, accessibility, and acceptability. Local entities must also equip influential messengers, meaning they should educate and empower trusted community voices who can support vaccine education and, where appropriate, help connect people to vaccination services. Finally, local entities are expected to increase vaccination opportunities and strengthen provider partnerships by building relationships between vaccination providers such as pharmacies and community organizations, with the aim of expanding the number, variety, and cultural fit of vaccination opportunities available to adults in the prioritized populations.

The implementation priorities reflect a phased reality of vaccine availability at the time the notice was released. The CDC emphasized improving flu vaccination coverage during the immediate season, while preparing to implement COVID-19 vaccination activities when those vaccines became available. Recipients are expected to execute work within the defined focus areas, using or adapting suggested activities listed in the opportunity materials, while also having flexibility to enhance or add relevant actions that fit their communities and organizational strengths. An important operational detail is that the national organization is not only expected to run its own capacity-building and communications work, but also to sub-award or otherwise fund local branches, chapters, or affiliates to ensure community implementation happens at scale and with local authenticity.

Administratively, this opportunity is a discretionary cooperative agreement, meaning the CDC expects substantial involvement beyond simply issuing funds, often through collaboration, shared learning structures, and alignment with CDC guidance. The opportunity was posted with a creation date of December 8, 2020, and an original application closing date of January 4, 2021 (with submissions due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time). The listing indicates an expectation of around 10 awards. Eligibility is noted broadly as "Others" with additional clarification referenced in the full eligibility text, which is typical for opportunities aimed at national organizations with established local networks. The award ceiling is listed as 0, which commonly indicates that the ceiling was not specified in that particular summary field rather than implying no funds are available.

In plain terms, the grant is about using the reach of national organizations and the trust of local community networks to close vaccination gaps for adults who have historically had lower coverage due to structural barriers, access challenges, and distrust shaped by lived experience. The CDC is asking applicants to do two things at once: deliver vaccinations and vaccine education now (starting with flu and then COVID-19), and build a stronger playbook of proven strategies that can be shared and reused across many communities to reduce disparities over time.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control - NCIRD in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Partnering with National Organizations to Increase Vaccination Coverage Across Different Racial and Ethnic Adult Populations Currently Experiencing Disparities" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.185.
• This funding opportunity was created on Dec 08, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 04, 2021 Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 1159 p.m., ET, on the listed application due date.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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