SILVER SPRING, MD—The Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) is excited to join the You’ve Got This campaign to vaccinate older adults and people with disabilities. Launched by the USAging-led Aging and Disability Vaccination Collaborative during cold and flu season, AUCD is part of a push to connect older adults and people with disabilities to COVID-19 and flu vaccines.
Led by USAging and funded by the U.S. Administration for Community Living, the Aging and Disability Vaccination Collaborative grants are helping communities stay healthy by focusing on those who need it most—older adults and people with disabilities, particularly those from historically marginalized and underserved communities in which vaccination rates are low.
“As part of this campaign, seven selected AUCD LEND and UCEDD centers are putting life-saving shots in arms over the next several months,” said John Tschida, AUCD Executive Director.
“These selected AUCD Member centers represent six states with diverse urban and rural populations. They provide healthcare and other services to children and adults with disabilities and are trusted sources of information and resources. Currently, they are offering vaccinations, conducting outreach and education activities, and providing supportive services to the individuals and families they serve. Thanks to this important project, by the end of February, we aim to administer thousands of vaccinations to people with disabilities and older adults.”
“Our grantees have hit the ground running, holding all sorts of events and activities to make sure the most vulnerable in their communities understand how important it is to get vaccinated—and they have found unique ways to do it, too,” said Sandy Markwood, USAging CEO. “Whether it is a cultural event, a local play, a boxing match or other fitness activity, our grantees are using an array of creative strategies to help older adults and people with disabilities stay healthy by getting vaccinated.”
Through the Aging and Disability Vaccination Collaborative, USAging has funded Area Agencies on Aging, Centers for Independent Living, Aging and Disability Resource Centers and a range of other community-based organizations to hold events and to provide education—all with the goal of helping the most vulnerable in their communities get vaccinated. To achieve this, ADVC grantees are prioritizing historically marginalized and underserved populations, including African Americans, Latinos, LGBTQ+ communities and individuals for whom English is not their primary language.
For more information or questions, please email [email protected].
About the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD)
The Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD), located in Silver Spring, MD, promotes and supports a national network of interdisciplinary centers on disabilities. The members of AUCD represent every U.S. state and territory. AUCD and its members work to advance policy and practice through research, education, leadership, and services for and with individuals with developmental and other disabilities, their families, and communities. For more information, visit AUCD's website, www.aucd.org.
Contact: Michele Lunsford, Director of Marketing and Communications
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 814-386-3853
About the Aging and Disability Vaccination Collaborative
Led by USAging and funded by the U.S. Administration for Community Living, the Aging and Disability Vaccination Collaborative will distribute funding to enable organizations across the aging and disability networks to perform an array of vaccination promotion activities. Organizations selected for funding will host community vaccine clinics, provide in-home vaccinations, provide transportation to vaccination sites, and will conduct outreach and education to older adults and people with disabilities among other activities. Learn more at www.usaging.org/advc.
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