Brown Outlines Efforts to Get More Vaccines to Underserved Communities, Ensure Resources Support Equitable Vaccine Strategy

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) hosted a news conference call as he continues working with his colleagues to get more vaccines to underserved communities. The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated racial disparities that continue to pervade public health. With that in mind, Brown fought to secure a number of key investments in the American Rescue Plan to ensure equitable vaccine distribution and is urging the Administration to do more to prioritize relief to communities that have been hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic.

·       Brown helped secure more than $6 billion for community health centers nationwide, including more than $160 million for community health centers across Ohio to support COVID-19 vaccination and services for vulnerable populations, particularly in Black and brown communities. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) began awarding these funds this month and has invited more of Ohio’s community health centers to participate in its COVID-19 vaccine program.

·       Brown also fought to include more than $8.7 million from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for mass vaccination clinics like the community vaccination site at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland.

“We know communities of color have been hit the hardest by this pandemic,” said Brown. “Black and brown Ohioans have been more likely to get sick and more likely to die from COVID-19, and they’ve taken the biggest financial hit. That’s why we cannot be complacent in our vaccination efforts – we need to get more vaccines to the people and places that are most at risk. We also need sustained, effective outreach from leaders who are trusted in the community,” said Brown. “People need to hear about how safe and effective the vaccines are from people they know and trust – their pastor, their doctor, leaders at their schools and in their neighborhoods.”

Brown was joined on the call by Dr. Gary LeRoy, a Dayton family physician and Board Chair of the American Academy of Family Physicians, who has been leading efforts to help Ohio’s Black and brown communities get vaccinated.

“For all of us to be safe from COVID-19, everyone has to recognize their responsibility to keep themselves and others safe by continuing to properly wear your mask, washing your hands, keeping your distance, and getting your vaccine,” said Dr. Gary LeRoy. “As a nation, we can ill afford to be a society that accepts illness as an acceptable status quo for those individuals who exist on the margins of society.  The shared enemy (COVID-19) we battle recognizes no ethnic or cultural barriers, but it strikes with more deadly precision in the communities who have been granted the least defenses. We must and can do better."

Brown is set to reintroduce a Senate resolution declaring racism a public health crisis in the coming days. The resolution will acknowledge the history of racism and discrimination within health care and the systemic barriers that people of color continue to face when seeking care. The resolution will also highlight the effects of systemic racism on the health and wellness of communities of color, resulting in shorter life expectancy, worsened health outcomes, and enhanced exposure to harmful or dangerous environments. And, the resolution will encourage concrete action to address health disparities and inequity across all sectors in society.

This comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) declared racism a serious public health threat this week, highlighting several new efforts the agency is leading to accelerate its work to address racism as a fundamental driver of racial and ethnic health inequities in the United States.

Additional Background on Brown’s Efforts to Get Vaccines to Underserved Communities

In March 2021, Brown urged the Biden-Harris COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force to provide guidance and recommendations to States, localities, territories and Tribes on best practices to address disparities and eliminate inequities in COVID-19 vaccinations. In the letter, Brown requested that the Task Force engage communities of color, people with disabilities and other disproportionately impacted groups and provide guidance and recommendations.

Brown also wrote to Biden Administration officials in March, urging them to ensure accommodations for individuals with disabilities are included as part of any federal website and mobile application used to schedule COVID-19 vaccinations, and meet standard accessibility requirements. Since each state has the option to develop its own vaccine registration system and distribution process, Brown asked that the Biden Administration ensure that these processes meet or exceed the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794d). The senator also asked that the administration work with states to ensure that vaccination sites are physically accessible and easy to navigate for those with a physical disability who use wheelchairs, walkers or other mobility aids, and called for vaccination sites to provide places to sit in a way that allows for safe social distancing for those who cannot stand for long periods of time.

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