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Last but not least: COVID Vaccines for Kids Under 5 Funders Discussion

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This event was held on June 21, 2022 @ 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm EDT

With the welcome news that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommendation that all children 6 months through 5 years of age should receive a COVID-19 vaccine, roughly 20 million children in the United States under 5 years are newly eligible for vaccination.  In this ECFC hosted a discussion, moderated by Alexandra Quinn, CEO, Health Leads, an organizing partner in the Vaccine Equity Cooperative and lead for a subgroup focused on vaccines for young children, we explored examples of how funders are currently supporting/working on vaccination outreach, and ways philanthropy can support this next phase of vaccine roll-out.  Discussants included: Katie Beckmann, Program Officer, The David & Lucille Packard Foundation; Caroline Brunton, Program Officer, W.K. Kellogg Foundation;  Lauren A. Smith, MD, MPH Chief Health Equity and Strategy Officer; and Cameron Webb, MD, JD, Senior Policy Advisor for COVID-19 Equity on the White House COVID-19 Response Team.

Event Takeaways

On our call, we discussed roles that philanthropy can play in vaccine outreach for young kids, which harness philanthropy’s superpowers of pivoting quickly, elevating innovation, and convening and connecting key partners, including:

  • Philanthropy can help center equity in vaccine outreach, by supporting innovative collaborations and lifting up equitable strategies;
  • Philanthropy can use it’s power of convening and connecting to support trusted messengers, including: pediatricians and other community based and family serving providers;
  • Shifting power to communities including asking them what they need, trusting them to direct their outreach in local context and providing opportunities for learning and convening for community based organizations (CBO’s) to shift to this next phase of vaccine rollout;
  • Supporting CBOs, including grassroots organizations, that are already deeply engaged in their communities COVID-19 response;
  • Building local public health capacity;
  • Being a cultural broker to help your communities navigate language and culture needs;
  • Being flexible with grant funding and being open to different levels of collaboration.

Read more about these roles philanthropy can play in ECFC's blog, including examples from philanthropy and links to key guidance and outreach materials: COVID-19 Vaccines for Kids Under 5: Philanthropy’s Role.

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