GSK Awards $1M in COiMMUNITY Initiative Grants to Support Adult Immunization and Health Equity

December 12, 2023 at 08:00 AM EST

Ten projects will receive funding to help address adult immunization gaps in communities across the country
GSK launched the COiMMUNITY Initiative in June to help increase adult immunization rates in the US through grant funding, increased data transparency and resource-sharing opportunities

GSK plc (LSE/NYSE: GSK) today announced the recipients of the inaugural grant program of the COiMMUNITY Initiative, a multipronged effort to support the design of a more systematic, collaborative and equitable approach to helping increase adult immunization rates in the US. Each grant-funded project is receiving between $50,000 and $175,000 out of a total $1 million in funding to help address long-standing barriers to adult immunization in the US.

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Rob Truckenmiller, Senior Vice President, Head of US Vaccines, GSK, said: “Getting ahead of vaccine-preventable disease starts by investing in organizations who know their communities best, and I can’t think of a more deserving group of recipients for our first-ever COiMMUNITY Initiative grants. With these grants, our goal is to support innovative ways to encourage adult vaccination and help mitigate health inequities at both the local and national levels.”

The organizations that received funding submitted proposals that demonstrated innovative, ambitious and actionable ideas for boosting adult vaccination, such as building vaccine confidence among underserved patient populations through trusted community partners, creating engaging multilingual educational materials, and developing resources to support pharmacists and local health departments.

Hear from some of the 2023 COiMMUNITY Initiative grant recipients:

Liz Helms, President and CEO, California Chronic Care Coalition, said: “A successful vaccination program can alleviate the devastation of contagious diseases. We must meet people where they are – both online and in real life – if we hope to end inequities and social biases surrounding vaccine uptake. That’s what we aim to do with this funding, and we’re grateful for GSK’s support.”

Lisa Robertson, MPH, Executive Director, Indiana Immunization Coalition, said: “For our vulnerable immigrant and refugee communities, vaccination may not be top priority, and language and financial barriers present extra hurdles. With this grant, we hope to make vaccination more accessible to these communities by engaging with people in their own language and sharing information about clinics offering no-cost immunization.”

Other grant recipients include the American Lung Association, American Pharmacists Association (APhA), APhA Foundation, Asian Health Coalition, Global Health Living Foundation, Immunize Kansas Coalition, Pharmacy Quality Alliance, and The Arizona Partnership for Immunization.

Through the COiMMUNITY Initiative, GSK will continue to build on its commitment to help support long- lasting solutions to address adult immunization challenges through ongoing investments to empower stakeholders with actionable data, and models and best practices in adult vaccine confidence and delivery. These resources can be found on VaccineTrack.com.

About GSK

GSK is a global biopharma company with a purpose to unite science, technology, and talent to get ahead of disease together. Find out more at gsk.com.

Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements

GSK cautions investors that any forward-looking statements or projections made by GSK, including those made in this announcement, are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Such factors include, but are not limited to, those described under Item 3.D 'Risk factors” in the company's Annual Report on Form 20-F for 2022, and Q2 Results for 2023.

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