Middletown’s vaccine education program stops with federal health grant freeze

Stamford Advocate – Friday, March 28, 2025
By Cassandra Day

MIDDLETOWN — The city lost $62,000 earmarked for vaccine education after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services this week terminated over $150 million allocated to Connecticut for public health, mental health, addiction services, childhood immunizations and other uses.

The state Department of Public Health issued a stop work order on Middletown’s grant issued in 2023 to be used for anything to do with vaccines, said Health Director Kevin Elak.

The city intended to use the money in late summer on marketing promoting immunizations, Elak said. In fact, he added, this season’s flu outbreak was the worst in quite a few years, although COVID didn’t experience a spike.

“The community has a lot of questions,” he said. “There’s a lot of conflicting news out there. We’re at a point now, more than ever, where there are people who are confused as far as the safety of vaccines, are they effective, should I vaccinate my child, and this and that? People want real information at a down-to-earth level they can understand.

The city had hoped to “be that face of the community” and “trusted messengers” fielding questions and giving recommendations, he noted.

The money was never to be used for purchasing vaccines, Elak said.

Not being able to fund vaccine education could cause people to turn to “sources that may not have their best interest in mind, or not factual,” he added.

The grants for Connecticut would have been used for other measures, such as disease outbreak surveillance, newborn screenings, and testing for viruses and other pathogens, according to a press release from Gov. Ned Lamont.

The money was largely committed to the state departments of Public Health, and Mental Health and Addiction Services.

“This affects everyone,” Elak said.

Although $62,000 is not a lot compared to what the HHS is losing, the health director said, “for a small health department, it means a lot to us.”

The grant was to expire at the end of June, he added.

“It’s been very disappointing that this money is going away,” he said.

The loss won’t affect the city’s day-to-day operations or prevent staff from helping people with their concerns, Elak said.

“It takes away a tool that we could have used,” he said.

The city initially received a $154,000 grant for COVID response — all of which has been spent — and later, an additional $62,000, he said.

“Everything has been frozen,” he said. “That grant is now done.”

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