FEMA Awards Vermont Nearly $1.4 Million For COVID Protective Gear Costs

BOSTON – The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending almost $1.4 million to the State of Vermont to reimburse the costs of providing personal protective equipment for public safety personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The $1,378,197 Public Assistance grant to the Vermont Department of Public Safety will reimburse it for purchasing and distributing personal protective equipment (PPE) to its staff around the state between March 2020 and June 2022.

The department provided personal protective equipment such as masks, gowns, face shields, N95 ventilators, fit test solution, cleaning/sanitizing supplies and refrigerators, and contracted to provide food for the state’s emergency operations center (EOC).

“FEMA is pleased to be able to assist the State of Vermont 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 over $481 million in grants to Vermont to reimburse the state for pandemic-related expenses.