BOSTON – The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending more than $2.9 million to the State of Connecticut to reimburse the City of New Haven for the cost of providing testing and vaccinations to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The $2,908,343 FEMA Public Assistance grant will reimburse the city for the cost of paying city employees and contracting for professional staff to administer COVID tests and vaccinations between February 2021 and June 2022.
New Haven paid some 121 employees a total of 6,562 overtime hours to provide 40,872 antigen rapid test and contracted for 36 nurses working a total of 15,952 hours to administer 26,102 vaccines. The city also contracted to provide security for vaccination and COVID-19 testing sites, dissemination of information to the public, and transportation services for senior citizens.
“FEMA is pleased to be able to assist the City of New Haven with these costs,” said FEMA Region 1 Regional Administrator Lori Ehrlich. “Providing resources for our partners on the front lines of the pandemic fight is critical to their success, and our success as a nation.”
FEMA’s Public Assistance program is an essential source of funding for states and communities recovering from a federally declared disaster or emergency.
So far, FEMA has provided more than $630 million in Public Assistance grants to Connecticut to reimburse the state for pandemic-related expenses.