(NAFB) – The Centers for Disease Control is expressing gratitude to the nation’s Cooperative Extension Service for helping address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in rural America. Extension educators have worked to raise awareness about the importance of getting vaccinated against COVID-19.

“Rural America continues to get hit hard by COVID, and the lives of families and communities continue to feel the impacts,” says Dr. Carrie Castille, director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. “Because our communities are faced with making important decisions about vaccinations, having a trusted, independent community agent to aid in decision making is essential.” Cooperative Extension agents and educators are well placed to have that discussion and provide objective educational information.

Through an interagency agreement with the CDC and NIFA, Cooperative Extension units at land-grant universities across the nation received funding to launch the Cooperative Extension Immunization Teaching and Engagement initiative to address health disparities among rural and underserved communities.