130 Ky. rural health clinics, more than any state but Texas, will get $6.38 million to increase confidence in coronavirus vaccines

The federal government is sending $198 million to more than 1,980 rural health clinics for outreach efforts to increase confidence in the safety of coronavirus vaccines, and Kentucky is getting more money than all but one other state.

The state-by-state list of grants says $6,379,712 will go to 130 clinics in Kentucky, an average of $49,075. The only state with more is Texas, which has 142 clinic that will share $7,033,118, an average of $49,529.

David Bolt

Under the Rural Health Clinic Vaccine Confidence Program, clinics can publicize vaccination sites and partner with other public-health entities to create strategies to increase vaccine confidence. Clinics can also use the funding to improve health literacy on vaccines in general. "Compliance is governed by Health Resources and Services Administration rules and regulations, just like any other HRSA grant,” Kentucky Primary Care Association CEO David Bolt told Kentucky Health News.

"This funding is vitally important to Covid-19 vaccination efforts in local communities," Bolt said. "Trusted medical providers at our rural health clinics talk to their patients every day about the safety and effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccines. Having additional resources will help them reach even more people and further address vaccine hesitancy issues at the community and neighborhood levels."

The funding, announced in May, is part of nearly $1 billion the American Rescue Plan Act authorized for three major programs strengthening pandemic response efforts in rural areas. In addition to the Rural Health Clinic Vaccine Confidence Program, HRSA is providing $460 million to more than 4,600 rural health clinics for coronavirus testing. Another $398 million will go to small rural hospitals for testing and mitigation.

A list of clinics and all their recent HRSA grants is here.