State Office of Rural Health

CDC Virginia Rural Response & Relief (CDC-VR3) Program

(CDC-RFA-OT21-2103)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support (CSTLTS) has awarded funding to 108 recipients of a two-year, non-research grant — CDC-RFA-OT21-2103: National Initiative to Address COVID-19 Health Disparities Among Populations at High-Risk and Underserved, Including Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations and Rural Communities. This grant is funded through the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021. This funding represents CDC’s largest investment to date focusing specifically on reducing health disparities related to COVID-19 and will provide much needed support to directly address these issues in communities that need it most.

The allocation of Virginia’s rural carveout amount is facilitated by the VA-SORH and is distributed equally to 18 Local Health Districts with an eligible rural footprint according to the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy’s FY21 definition of rural. The CDC Virginia Rural Response & Relief (CDC-VR3) Program, will address COVID-19-related health disparities and advance health equity by expanding state, local, US territorial and freely associated state health department capacity and services to prevent and control COVID-19 infection or transmission among populations at higher risk and that are underserved, including racial and ethnic minority groups and people living in rural communities. 

Four overarching program strategies aim to build infrastructures that both address disparities in the current COVID-19 pandemic and set the foundation to address future responses.

  • Strategy 1: Expand existing and/or develop new mitigation and prevention resources and services to reduce COVID-19 related disparities among populations at higher risk and that are underserved
  • Strategy 2: Increase/improve data collection and reporting for populations experiencing a disproportionate burden of COVID-19 infection, severe illness, and death to guide the response to the COVID-19 pandemic 
  • Strategy 3: Build, leverage, and expand infrastructure support for COVID-19 prevention and control among populations that are at higher risk and underserved 
  • Strategy 4: Mobilize partners and collaborators to advance health equity and address social determinants of health as they relate to COVID-19 health disparities among populations at higher risk and that are underserved

 

Project start date: June 1, 2021

Project end date:  May 31, 2023

  • A No Cost Extension for up to 12 additional months, where needed, was approved for jurisdictions to accomplish proposed activities through May 31, 2024.

 

VA-SORH Resources for Recipient LHDs:

 

CDC Resources: