On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 was signed into law, including the appropriation of more than $130 billion to the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund, for making payments to metropolitan cities, counties, and other units of local government to mitigate the fiscal effects stemming from the public health emergency. Hennepin County expects to receive direct payments from the U.S. Treasury totaling more than $220 million, and received the first-half payment of $122.9 million in May of 2021.

The American Rescue Plan Act provides that money from the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund may only be used to cover certain costs incurred between March 3, 2021, and December 31, 2024, including costs to respond to the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) or its negative economic impacts. Under the available Treasury guidance, these Federal Pandemic Funds may be used to pay for vaccine incentive programs, such as cash or in-kind transfers, lottery programs, or other incentives for individuals who get vaccinated. Such programs must be reasonably expected to increase the number of people who get vaccinated, or to motivate people to get vaccinated sooner than they otherwise would have, and the program costs must be reasonably proportional to the expected health benefit.

Hennepin County’s public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic currently includes significant efforts to provide vaccines to our community, and this action will provide federal funding for vaccine incentives to support those efforts. The research is mixed on the overall effectiveness of vaccine incentive programs, but a widely accepted strategy to increase vaccination uptake involves a focus on rebuilding trust in communities: partnering with communities that have historically experienced medical exploitation, unconsented experimentation, and marginalization is most effective at decreasing vaccine hesitancy. Thus, the vaccine incentive programs proposed will be designed to build trust between Hennepin County and its residents with the goal of increasing vaccination rates. While time is of the essence with respect to curbing COVID-19 transmission in communities via vaccination, designing a vaccine incentive program requires thoughtful engagement with trusted partners in order to tailor incentives to the needs of the communities served.

Current Request: The current request is to authorize use of federal funding in the amount of up to $100,000 for eligible costs to pay for vaccine incentive programs, such as:

• Partnering with trusted community groups to host vaccine events and support the provision of free meals, groceries, and/or entertainment.
• Distributing “Thank You” packs to residents who receive vaccinations, the contents of which will be tailored to the targeted population and event location:

o   Community-based businesses may be prioritized for the contents of the “Thank You” packs, e.g., gift cards to local businesses and youth specific contents such as sports-related items and technology-focused gifts.

This BAR is presented for immediate approval because Hennepin County is looking to establish a thoughtful vaccine incentive program beginning July 1, 2021.

Impact/Outcome: Approval of this resolution will contribute to the effort to reduce vaccine disparities while leveraging existing trusted community leader influence.