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Washington, DC -- Today, Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) announced that Community Health Centers that serve Virginia-10 residents will receive a total of $8.6 million from the recently enacted American Rescue Plan. The funding will expand access to COVID-19 vaccines in underserved communities.

“Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, we are expanding access to vaccines for the hardest hit communities in Virginia. This new funding will enable us to tackle the disparities we are seeing in vaccine rollout and place an extra focus on underserved areas who have faced disproportionate impacts from the COVID pandemic,” said Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton. “I’m so pleased to see that the federal dollars we fought hard to deliver in our relief bill are already having a major impact here in our district, and grateful to the public health workers and volunteers who are working tirelessly to get shots into the arms of every eligible Virginian.”

The facilities receiving funding which serve residents of Virginia’s 10th District are the Loudoun Community Health Center, which will receive $3,976,500, and the Greater Prince William Area Community Health Center, Inc., which will receive $4,647,375. Virginia will receive a total of nearly $80 million for 26 Community Health Centers across the Commonwealth.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that the funding will be delivered to these Community Health Centers beginning April 1st. The money will help increase access to COVID vaccines, testing, and treatment for vulnerable populations. It also will go towards delivering preventive and primary health care services for individuals at a higher risk for COVID and expand health centers’ operational capacity, including improving or modifying physical infrastructure and adding mobile units.

The White House also announced that an additional $3 billion will be invested nationwide to support state and local efforts to address vaccine hesitancy in minority and rural communities and other hard-hit areas. Over half of the funding is being made available as a result of the American Rescue Plan.

There have been persisting racial disparities in vaccine rollout, despite many minority communities being among the hardest hit by the pandemic. Black Virginians account for 14.1% of those who have received at least one shot, and Latinos account for 6.6%, while these groups make up 20% and 9.8% of the Commonwealth’s population, respectively.

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