The U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) selected the Morehouse School of Medicine as the recipients of a $40 million initiative to combat the coronavirus outbreak in vulnerable communities.

“This new partnership between the Morehouse School of Medicine and our Office of Minority Health will work with trusted community organizations to bring information on COVID-19 testing, vaccinations, and other services to the Americans who need it.”

The award is a part of the National Infrastructure for Mitigating the Impact of COVID-19 within Racial and Ethnic Minority Communities (NIMIC), a three-year project designed to work alongside community organizations around the country to spread information and valuable resources related to COVID-19 ranging from testing to social services to help those hardest hit.

Through the initiative, titled the National Infrastructure for Mitigating the Impact of COVID-19 within Racial and Ethnic Minority Communities (NIMIC), the Atlanta-based HBCU will work with community organizations across the nation to deliver education and information on resources to help fight the pandemic over the next three years.

“Underlying social determinants of health and disparate burdens of chronic medical conditions are contributing to worse COVID-19-related outcomes in minority and socially vulnerable communities, and this partnership with Morehouse School of Medicine is essential to improving our overall response,” said Assistant Secretary for Health ADM Brett P. Giroir, M.D in a press statement.