Government of Canada funds four new projects to encourage COVID-19 vaccination in Canada

From: Public Health Agency of Canada

News release

June 30, 2021 | Ottawa, Ontario | Public Health Agency of Canada

As more and more Canadians get vaccinated against COVID-19, the Government of Canada is taking action to make sure every Canadian who wants a vaccine can get one, closing the gap among populations with lower vaccine uptake.

Today, the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Health, announced four new projects receiving funding through the Immunization Partnership Fund (IPF) to support vaccination efforts across Canada. These community-based projects will support COVID-19 vaccine uptake among communities disproportionately impacted by the pandemic through targeted outreach and culturally relevant interventions.

The Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) will receive funding to work with primary care providers across Canada to support vaccine uptake among their patients. This project will develop evidence-based messaging primary care providers can use to reach their patient populations who are less likely to have received the vaccine based on factors such as reason for vaccine hesitancy, age, language, education level, rurality, gender, and ethnicity.

Nova Scotia's Department of Health and Wellness will receive funding to implement a culturally relevant education and outreach campaign to promote the benefits of COVID-19 vaccines to African Nova Scotians. Rooted in community-level and grassroots engagement, this project will support equitable vaccine access for all People of African Descent in Nova Scotia.

The University of British Columbia will receive funding to develop an interprovincial network of workshops across the four Western provinces to enhance vaccine uptake. Based on a patient-centred approach, these workshops will engage communities to adapt their local vaccination programs to better address structural barriers faced by the local populations and reduce vaccine hesitancy.

Women's Health in Women's Hands will receive funding for its project to develop and implement culturally tailored and responsive tools, resources and webinars to improve vaccine uptake among women from the African, Caribbean, Black, Latin American and South Asian communities living in Toronto and surrounding areas.

The Government of Canada is working closely with experts, provinces and territories, and other partners to encourage vaccine confidence and better understand the barriers people may face to getting vaccinated. The IPF is one tool to help people in Canada make informed vaccine choices through community mobilization and public outreach.

Quotes

"Vaccines are an important tool to protect Canadians against COVID-19. Getting vaccinated is a small action that makes a big difference – which is why we're helping everyone in Canada get vaccinated against COVID-19. These projects are using tailored strategies to address why some people have not yet received the COVID-19 vaccine. Supporting community-based solutions helps remove systemic barriers to vaccination and will protect more people―and communities—from COVID-19."

The Honourable Patty Hajdu

Minister of Health

Quick Facts

All project activities started in June 2021.
The Immunization Partnership Fund (IPF) supports projects that improve access to vaccines and encourage vaccine acceptance and uptake.
In 2020, as a response to Canada's COVID-19 vaccination efforts and building on the early momentum of the IPF, the Government of Canada invested an additional $64 million for projects to support COVID-19 vaccine uptake in Canada. This funding includes:
- $30.25 million for community-led projects to develop tailored, targeted tools and educational resources to raise awareness of, and confidence in, COVID-19 vaccines.
- $32.5 million to support provincial and territorial governments in enhancing their electronic vaccination registries to help monitor vaccine uptake.
- $1.3 million to amend existing funded projects to incorporate measures and activities to address COVID-19.
The IPF is one of several programs by the Government of Canada to work with communities to increase vaccine confidence and address barriers to getting vaccinated. This also includes the Vaccine Community Innovation Challenge which will provide up to 140 grants for community-driven information campaigns to empower community leaders to spread the work on COVID-19 vaccines and public health measures.
The Ask the Experts campaign will run from June 15, 2021, to July 31, 2021. The ads will appear on TV, web sites, social media and in search engine marketing. Through a series of videos, the campaign answers a variety of questions such as the importance of getting the second dose of the vaccine, why people who are young and healthy need to get vaccinated, and how the vaccines work.
The Ask the Experts campaign complements the Ripple Effect campaign, which runs until July 4, 2021, and is intended to remind Canadians about the collective vaccination effort required to see a reduction in restrictions and public health measures. Since its launch, the Ripple Effect campaign has had more than 150 million impressions.
Through the IPF:
- Eastern Ontario Health Unit will receive up to $450,000 for its project, A tailored automated COVID vaccine communication strategy to build primary care providers' capacity to address vaccine hesitancy among their patients.
- Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness will receive up to $430,000 for its project, Improving COVID-19 Vaccination Service for African Nova Scotians.
- University of British Columbia will receive up to $419,000 for its project, Community Engagement Matters: Empowering Local Solutions for COVID-19 Immunization Uptake in Western Canada.
- Women's Health in Women's Hands will receive up to $450,000 for its project, Optimizing COVID-19 Uptake among racialized women in the Greater Toronto Area.