National Initiative to Address COVID-19 Health Disparities Among Populations at High-Risk and Underserved, Including Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations and Rural Communities | CDC RFA OT21 2103

Opportunity Information: Apply for CDC RFA OT21 2103

The National Initiative to Address COVID-19 Health Disparities Among Populations at High-Risk and Underserved, Including Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations and Rural Communities is a CDC grant opportunity (CDC-RFA-OT21-2103) designed to strengthen public health efforts aimed specifically at reducing unequal COVID-19 impacts. It was funded through the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (P.L. 116-260), including the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act provisions, which set aside funding to improve COVID-19 testing capacity and related response activities for communities that have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. The core intent is to help public health agencies directly address COVID-19-related health disparities and make measurable progress toward health equity by expanding capacity, services, and operational reach in underserved settings.

The opportunity is administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, specifically under CDC OSTLTS, and is categorized as a discretionary grant in the health activity area (CFDA 93.391). The grant is described as non-competitive, meaning the funds are intended for eligible public health departments or their bona fide agents rather than being structured as an open competition among all types of organizations. Eligible applicants include state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, and other entities as clarified in the announcement, with a clear emphasis on state, local, U.S. territorial, and freely associated state health departments (or their authorized agents) as the primary recipients.

Programmatically, the grant focuses on improving the ability of public health departments to prevent and control COVID-19 infection and transmission in high-risk and underserved populations. A major element is strengthening testing strategies and related infrastructure so that communities with barriers to care, limited resources, or historically poorer access to services can receive more timely and effective COVID-19 response support. In addition to testing, the grant explicitly supports broader response purposes tied to equitable public health practice, including efforts that help jurisdictions develop, identify, and share best practices that public health officials can use for contact tracing. The inclusion of best-practice development signals an interest not only in delivering services but also in improving methods and consistency across jurisdictions, especially in ways that work well for rural areas and for racial and ethnic minority populations.

In terms of scale and reach, the CDC anticipated a large number of awards (108 expected), reflecting an intent to distribute funding broadly across many jurisdictions rather than concentrating resources in a small set of recipients. The listed award ceiling is up to $50,000,000, indicating that some recipients could receive substantial funding depending on their jurisdictional needs, population size, and planned scope of work. The opportunity timeline shows it was created on March 17, 2021, with an original application closing date of May 3, 2021, and applications required electronic submission by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on the due date.

Overall, this grant opportunity is best understood as a large-scale public health capacity-building initiative meant to help health departments close gaps in COVID-19 outcomes. It targets the structural and practical barriers that made certain communities more vulnerable during the pandemic, supporting improvements in testing access and effectiveness, enhancing public health response capabilities, and promoting stronger contact tracing approaches tailored to populations experiencing disproportionate risk and reduced access to services.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control - OSTLTS in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "National Initiative to Address COVID-19 Health Disparities Among Populations at High-Risk and Underserved, Including Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations and Rural Communities" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.391.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 17, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 03, 2021 Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 1159 pm ET on the listed application due date.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $50,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 108 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for CDC RFA OT21 2103

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