COVID Supplemental Funding Under Immunization and Vaccines for Children Program

July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2024.

Yes, the funds may be used back to activities conducted since July 1, 2020. The project period on the NOA will show as starting 7/1/2020.

These funds will appear on an NOA that reflects all the funding that has been dispersed in YR2 – core award, components, previous supplements; however, it will have a separate document number ending in C5.

January 25, 2021. As dictated by the guidance, within five business days of receipt of the guidance, the Authorized Official is required to acknowledge receipt of this guidance as a grant note. The acknowledgement must be submitted on official letterhead and utilize the “Acknowledgement Letter for IP19-1901 – COVID-19 Supplemental Funds” template.

March 1, 2021. As dictated by the guidance, within 45 days of receipt of the Notice of Award (NOA) the application documents must be submitted in GrantSolutions, as a Budget Revision Amendment as part of the applicant’s current award (IP19-1901) Budget Period 02.

By itself, the awardee COVID plan will not be a suitable workplan for this funding. There are specific required activities and performance measures associated with this funding. A new workplan will need to be developed. Please see the separate workplan guidance and template.

Please speak with your IISSB consultant for needed changes to your IIS contract.

Supplies, equipment, or other costs associated with enhancing vaccine security are allowed.

Awardees may begin using these COVID-19 supplemental funds as soon as they receive the Notice of Award. A workplan and budget are required, and restrictions to the funding will take effect as noted within the Programmatic Guidance if the workplan and budget are not received. However, the use of the funds may begin immediately.

Yes, all COVID supplements issued under IP19-1901 have a budget period through June 30, 2024. This includes COVID/Flu funding awarded in June 2020, and COVID funding awarded in September 2020, December 2020, January 2021, March 2021, and May 2021. To be clear, this language pertains to all document numbers ending in C3, C5, and C6. Therefore, it pertains to 19NH23IP922XXXC3, 20NH23IP922XXXC3, 20NH23IP922XXXC5, 20NH23IP922XXXUDSPC5, 20NH23IP922XXXC6, and 20NH23IP922XXXVWCC6. The document numbers listed will be available for use through June 30, 2024. As with standard funds, the 90-day liquidation period will also apply.

As dictated by legislative language included in Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021, P.L. 116-260, the funding allotted to each awardee is population-based.

Per federal guidelines, all prior approval requests must be made at least 120 days before the end of the budget period.

The Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR)/Authorizing Official (AO) must sign-off on all amendments (prior approval) actions in Grant Solutions. This may occur via 424 electronic signature or a cover letter. To identify your AO, view the project assignments in Grant Solutions or line number 8 on your Notice of Award.

Yes, the PI may sign the acknowledgement letter if the AO is no longer available. To designate a new AO, submit ‘change in key personnel’ amendment.

Yes.

Award recipients may re-budget, or informally redirect, up 25%, of award funding. Informal redirection requests must be submitted to the POB project officer, for review and concurrence, and subsequently uploaded into GrantSolutions as a grant note.

Significant re-budgeting (greater than 25%) of direct cost budget categories requires prior approval. This formal redirection must be submitted into Grant Solutions as a budget revision amendment.

Note, informal redirection requests are cumulative. Please ensure you are tracking re-budgeting shifts. If your program submits multiple informal requests and the total cumulative funding exceeds 25%, then a formal redirection that includes all budget changes must be submitted as a budget revision amendment in Grant Solutions.

Yes. There are several actions which require prior approval. For a complete listing, including the information that must be submitted with each action please review the guidance for CDC Prior Approvals for Non-research Awardspdf icon.

Yes, Tribal Health and Urban Indian organizations are eligible for funding under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 (P.L. 116-260), so long as it is not directed to an IHS federally run facility. While, it is true that IHS received COVID vaccine funding it is unlikely that the funding was adequate to meet the great needs in the American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities. CDC has emphasized the importance of reaching vulnerable populations, including AI/AN; as such, states are encouraged to partner with and fund activities that support Tribal Health and Urban Indian organizations in their jurisdiction.

IP19-1901 COVID -19 Supplement funding should be the primary source of funding for vaccination activities. Other sources of funding that may support gaps not covered by this supplement include ELC and FEMA Public Assistance. For support in determining if an activity is appropriate for IP19-1901 COVID Supplement funding, please contact your POB Project Officer.

Additional information about the other available funding:

CDC – Resources – ELC – DPEI

FEMA COVID-19 Vaccination Planning FAQpdf iconexternal icon

No, there is no minimum number of awardee activities required. However, awardee created activities must address all of the required activities and support collecting and reporting performance measure data.

While this funding is available through June 30, 2024 and while the workplan and budget should reflect that time period, it is anticipated that most expenditures will happen in the earlier part of the budget period as vaccination activities are being established and expanded. Additional rounds, or supplements, are subject to the availability of funds. Information on future funding will be shared as it becomes available.

Yes

Any person living in the US, regardless of duration, is eligible to be vaccinated. There is no prohibition on vaccinating non-US citizens or non-residents. Everyone, regardless of citizenship, should have access to vaccine and is eligible to be vaccinated.

CDC cooperative agreements were recently modified to state that recipients “must distribute or administer vaccine without discriminating on non-public-health grounds within a prioritized group.”

Most foreign diplomats have health care plans here in the US and they will be vaccinated where they normally get health care and that location [will] can bill the administration fee [costs] to their insurance plan.

The COVID supplement 3 budget that you submit must allocate the entire amount of funding that you have received, but that funding need not take you through 6/30/2024 if you will be able to liquidate those funds earlier.

We want to strongly encourage you to use the funding as quickly as you can in order to accelerate your vaccination activities. Budget formulation and the timeframe of forecasted expenditures should be based on the immediate needs of your organization although the funding is available through 6/30/2024. You are encouraged to forecast your budget as accurately as you can into the future while at the same time making every effort to accelerate your vaccination activities.

There are many ways you may plan to allocate funding through 6/30/2024, as long as funding use is aligned with the goals and purpose of the supplemental funding. Examples of budget categories which might need long-term allocation of funds through 6/30/2024 include (but are not limited to) personnel and contracts.

Please follow the guidance provided within the budget template, which describes the level of detailed needed.

Personnel that are direct employees of the awardee immunization program, whether at the local or state level, should be reflected in the budget according to the level of detail described in the personnel section of the budget template. Funding of local health departments (and their staff) through contracts should be reflected in the budget with the level of detailed described in the contractual category.

The activities within section 6 (Support high vaccination uptake in tribal nations) of the Programmatic Guidance document state that those activities are required “as applicable.” These activities are required of any awardee that has federally or state recognized tribes.

For advice on your budget or workplan activities, please reach out to your POB Project Officer who can also connect you with key SMEs on various topic areas.

A site visit tool for COVID-19 providers is being developed and will be provided as soon as we are able. Currently, site visits to COVID-19 providers are required (section 2 of the Programmatic Guidance), and additional guidance will be communicated later. Please describe your site visit plans through the writing of SMART activities as described in the workplan template.

While Grant Solution does include a ‘project abstract summary’ as part of the amendment application control checklists, this is not required or reviewed by CDC. You may disregard this item. Recipients wishing to include a ‘project abstract summary’ to complete the amendment application control checklist may submit the same document as included in the core award for IP19-1901 or create a new document that states “This project work plan and budget are for the COVID Cycle 3 supplemental funding.”

Recipients should wait until June 30, 2024 to close out any of the COVID funds. Additional information will be provided as we approach the end of the project period.

No. COVID funds will remain available thru June 30, 2024 without the need to request carryover. For additional information, please review common carryover questions and answers.

The subject matter experts on the Essential Workers team can be reached by contacting your POB Project Officer.

The reference to a Vaccine Equity Committee is a reference to any committee that includes a focus on ensuring equity, transparency, and engagement with local communities.

Budgets will be reviewed and commented on by your POB Project Officer, and that process will allow for follow up on questionable or non-allowable costs. However, in general, most costs related to the various logistics and functions of vaccination activities, potentially including biomedical waste costs, will be allowable.

The purchase of vehicles is not allowable, but this would be allowable as a lease/rental.

Yes, PPE purchased for staff that will be conducting site visits to provider offices is allowable.

No, COVID-19 supplement funds cannot be used to incentivize providers. Vaccine providers are encouraged to use established mechanisms to receive compensation for administering vaccinations. Administration fees are reimbursed by the patient’s public or private insurance company or, for underinsured and uninsured patients, by the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Provider Relief Fund. Please let your project officer know about challenges or barriers not providing additional incentives to providers may pose to maintaining adequate vaccinator capacity.

For the workplan, where required activities will be funded with funds other than these COVID supplement 3 funds, provide a brief statement regarding the funding mechanism for the activity and write a short activity describing how the performance measure will be monitored and reported to CDC (quarterly).

Performance measure 1.5 measures the number of FTEs or contractors hired by the awardee immunization program.

A crosswalk of allowable expenses for the ELC Enhancing Detection expansion and Immunization cooperative agreement COVID-19 supplements is available online under the “Funding Resources” section of: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/covid19-vaccination-guidance.html.

The crosswalk is extensive but is not exhaustive. In addition to referencing the ELC and 317/VFC Cooperative Agreement COVID Funding Allowable Expensespdf icon document, awardees are also encouraged to consult with their POB Project Officer.

The “written plan” referenced in PM 3.4 does not need to be a plan that is any more detailed than what is included in the workplan template, which includes activities and performance measures. This section will likely contain more activities and performance measures than other sections due to the need to address each specific population, but the needed plan is simply one that includes enough activities and performance measures to adequately describe the work that will occur with each named population.

The page limit of 25 pages for the workplan is not a requirement, and workplans may be longer as needed. The page limit is intended to describe that workplans should be succinct and need not be lengthy. However, the workplan should sufficiently describe your activities, and it will not be rejected if longer than 25 pages.

Yes. To fund transportation (public transportation or ride share services) for the public to receive COVID vaccine, submit a plan to your POB Project Officer that covers the following elements: (a) justification, (b) cost savings [e.g., how it will defray costs or have a positive return on investment], (c) defined amount, (d) qualifications for issuance, & (e) method of tracking.

Depending on the transportation company, awardees may also be able to establish interagency agreements with their Department of Transportation or create contracts/MOUs with other appropriate partners and have an established documented reimbursement rate. In this instance travel would be covered on the front end and the awardee would reimburse the company.

Immunization and Vaccines for Children Program COVID Cycle 3 and Cycle 4 Supplemental Funding

Frequently Asked Questions