|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Stanford Health Care will receive $16.8 million to distribute and administer COVID-19 vaccines at six sites throughout the Bay Area, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced in a statement on Friday.
The FEMA grant will cover Stanford’s expenses for personal protective equipment, facility costs and miscellaneous supplies required to store, handle, transport and administer the vaccines.
Stanford could receive more money from FEMA after it submits documentation showing any additional costs, FEMA officials said.
Under FEMA’s Public Assistance Program, government organizations and certain private nonprofits can receive grants to aid their disaster response after a presidential disaster declaration is issued, such as the March 13, 2020, declaration concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.
“FEMA continues working with our partners — including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other federal agencies — along with state, tribal and territorial authorities, private sector partners and others to assist, augment and expedite vaccinations in the United States.
We remain committed to helping Americans in their time of need and will continue to work with our partners to stop the spread of this disease,” FEMA said.
Stanford Health Care said in a statement on Friday that it has applied for, but not yet received, grant money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency designated to assist, augment and expedite vaccinations across the United States.
Stanford expects to add an additional site in addition to the six mentioned by FEMA on Feb. 17.
“This grant will support our efforts to stand up seven vaccination sites across three counties in which we operate to increase access to vaccinations for as many people and as quickly as possible, in our effort to help end the pandemic. Stanford Health Care does not buy vaccines. The state is in charge of vaccine allocation,” Stanford said.
Also on Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom thanked President Joe Biden for extending the federal cost share to grant 100% reimbursement to California and other states and to local governments for emergency relief for FEMA-eligible services, including the cost of National Guard personnel mobilization, the purchase of personal protective equipment, emergency feeding programs and sheltering at-risk populations. The reimbursement dates back to January 2020.
“Through the leadership of President Biden and his Administration, this change will allow our state to deliver lifesaving services during the ongoing pandemic. These actions also provide direct relief to local government partners working on the front lines of this pandemic,” Newsom said in a statement.
Programs eligible for full reimbursement include those that provide shelter for unhoused persons, meals for seniors, purchase of personal protective equipment; National Guard deployments to support vaccination efforts and food banks; the California Healthcare Workers Program, which provides hotel rooms to doctors, nurses and other critical front-line health care workers for free or at a discount; safe, temporary isolation spaces for agricultural and farm workers who test positive or were exposed to the virus; and hotel accommodations for people released from state prison who must quarantine or isolate due to COVID-19 exposure or testing positive.
Find comprehensive coverage on the Midpeninsula’s response to the new coronavirus by Palo Alto Online, the Mountain View Voice and the Almanac here.
