U.S. President Joe Biden will announce additional efforts to get America vaccinated and meet his goal for 70% of the U.S. adult population to have one vaccine shot by July 4th so that life can start to look closer to normal.
The President will join a bipartisan group of the nation’s governors to discuss creative and innovative ways they are working to get people in their states vaccinated and announce additional private and federal resources to help their efforts.
Building on last week’s announcements to increase access, and vaccine education and outreach efforts, today, the President will highlight a new effort by the ride-sharing companies Lyft and Uber to provide free rides to anyone going to a vaccination site to get vaccinated.
He will also announce that some of the nation’s largest community colleges will host vaccination sites for students, staff and local communities throughout May and June.
Additionally, he will announce funding immediately available through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for states to fund more on-the-ground efforts to promote vaccinations in their communities, including phone banking, door-to-door canvassing, and pop-up vaccination sites in workplaces and churches.
The President will highlight a new program from the ride-sharing companies Lyft and Uber, which will offer free rides to anyone going to a vaccination site to get vaccinated. As part of this historic commitment, Lyft and Uber will promote rides to and from tens of thousands of vaccination sites through their apps.
People will be able to simply select a vaccination site near them, follow simple directions to redeem their ride, and then get a ride to take them to and from a nearby vaccination site free of charge.
The feature will launch in the next two weeks and run until July 4. By helping Americans get a free ride to a vaccination site, Lyft and Uber are eliminating a potential barrier and driving America closer to the President’s goal of getting 70% of the U.S. adult population with at least one shot by July 4th.
The President will announce that as part of ongoing efforts to reach students to get vaccinated, the Administration will launch partnerships between federal retail pharmacy partners and high-enrollment community colleges to provide on-site clinics for students, staff, and local communities.
These community colleges will work to get word out to students, staff, and local communities to make use of these clinics, especially for students who are on or nearby campus this summer.
The program builds on the strong success of the federal pharmacy program in reaching local communities, including through over 6,000 mobile vaccination clinics across the program to date.
Community colleges are key anchors in our communities, with significant reach into the geographies they serve and a great diversity of students enrolled.
The President will announce that funding is immediately available to state territorial, Tribal, and local governments for community outreach and engagement to connect people to vaccinations, including through engagement of community-based organizations and faith-based organizations.
State, local and community leaders can use FEMA assistance to fund the cost of in-person, phone, and online community engagement – including personnel and other costs.
Community outreach workers supported by this funding can conduct a variety of critical missions, including: educating community members in-person, by text, and by phone about the availability, safety, and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccinations; filling vaccination appointments in partnership with community vaccination centers, community health centers, pharmacies, and other vaccine providers; working with employers to facilitate vaccination of their employees, either by arranging for employees to get vaccinated off-site or to help set up a pop-up vaccination clinic at a work site; conducting outreach to doctors and other health care providers to encourage and facilitate them vaccinating their patients; participating in – and growing participation in – the COVID-19 Community Corps; and developing partnerships with faith-based and community organizations. ■