[Colorado-Talk] White House Fact Sheet on COVID-19

[Peggy Chong]

Hello:

 

I found this today and thought others would be interested.  There are phone
numbers and direct links to specific resources.

 

Peggy Chong

 




White House Fact Sheet: Administration Announces New Actions to Address the
Needs of People with Disabilities & Older Adults in Response to & Recovery
from COVID-19 

Source: The White House, Washington 

The Administration recognizes that the COVID-19 pandemic has had tremendous
impacts on disabled individuals and has resulted in new members of the
disability community.

Over the past year, the Administration has collaborated and consulted with
the disability community and taken several key actions to address the unique
needs of individuals with disabilities. Among other actions, the U.S.
government released key civil rights guidance to protect disabled
individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic or any public health emergency;
prioritized Long COVID services, supports, and research in the context of
disability; established a call line dedicated to ensuring individuals with
disabilities can equitably utilize the Administration's at-home test
distribution program; ensured disabled individuals and other high-risk
individuals have access to at-home testing; and invested American Rescue
Plan (ARP) resources to build COVID-19 vaccine confidence and access among
people with disabilities.

Moving forward, the Administration will take several key steps to further
our work to ensure that disabled individuals, regardless of where they live
or the level of community transmission of the virus, have equitable access
to COVID-19 testing, masks, and other critical mitigation strategies. The
Administration remains committed to implementing these policies and
developing additional policies in close collaboration with the disability
community - keeping equity and accessibility at the center of our COVID-19
response and beyond. The Administration will: 

Equip schools with guidance and support to keep vulnerable students safe and
learning in-person. 

The Department of Education (ED) will work with school administrators and
educators on strategies they can use to continue providing safe, in-person
instruction for all students in their classes. ED will engage the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to ensure that its guidance is
fully aligned with the latest public health guidance and that schools have
clear recommendations and strategies to help protect the safety of and
access to rigorous learning that all children deserve. ED will also provide
resources for parents who would like additional support in understanding how
to navigate their child's in-person learning experience through local
regional parent training and information centers.
<https://t.e2ma.net/click/big2on/fd3v88/nbviihe> Parents may find their
local center here and reach out for direct assistance and referrals to other
organizations, as well as to gain skills to effectively participate in the
education and development of their children. States and school districts
should use the unprecedented resources provided through the ARP to implement
these recommendations and ensure access to a high-quality education for all
students, including students with disabilities. Children learn best
in-person, and are better able to engage with rigorous instruction and
access services and supports tailored to their needs when they are learning
alongside their peers. The President has been clear since Day One that we
need students back to school for full-time, in-person learning, and thanks
to the unprecedented resources provided through the ARP, schools have what
they need to safely remain open, keep students and staff safe, and address
the impact of the pandemic on student learning and mental health. Some
students may need additional protections to ensure they can remain safe in
the classroom - including students who are immunocompromised, with complex
medical conditions, or with other disabilities that may put them at higher
risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19. For nearly two years, educators
across the country have provided services and supports to children with
disabilities in ways never anticipated prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and
the Administration is committed to ensuring that children with disabilities
continue to receive the services and supports they need so they can reach
their highest potential.

Expand the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration for
Community Living's Disability Information and Access Line to support people
with disabilities who face difficulty using or cannot use a self-test. 

The  <https://t.e2ma.net/click/big2on/fd3v88/33viihe> Disability Information
and Access Line (DIAL), available at 1-888-677-1199, is launching a new
initiative to support disabled individuals who need assistance using at-home
tests distributed by the Administration or support in finding alternatives
to at-home testing. For individuals who can use an at-home test, DIAL
operators are available to assist with ordering free tests; understanding
instructions for test administration and test results; or providing
alternative instructions for those unable to access, read, or understand the
manufacturer's version. For those who cannot use an at-home test, DIAL
operators can assist individuals with ordering tests to collect a specimen
that can be mailed back for results. For individuals who cannot use either
an at-home test or an alternative "swab and send" test, DIAL operators can
assist callers with locating their state or local health department and/or
aging and disability resources for additional assistance with other testing
options that may be available in their community, including identifying
potential in-home testing options or assistance with transportation or
companion support to visit a community-based testing site.

Launch new COVID-19 testing guidance in American Sign Language and review
all existing COVID-19 guidance to confirm accessibility for all disabled
individuals. 

CDC recently released " <https://t.e2ma.net/click/big2on/fd3v88/jwwiihe> How
to Interpret Positive Self-Test Results" guidance in American Sign Language
(ASL), a first step towards ensuring that deaf or hard of hearing
individuals can access key information about how to protect themselves and
their communities. CDC is also collaborating with the CDC Foundation,
Georgia Tech's Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation, and their
partners across HHS to pursue key improvements for all COVID-19 guidance
available on CDC's website that cannot be accessed elsewhere: information in
Braille, ASL translation, simplified text, and other alternative formats.

Execute a new effort to develop at-home COVID-19 tests that are accessible
to all. 

The National Institutes of Health (NIH)'s RADx program has launched a new
effort to seek both short- and long-term solutions to improve at-home test
accessibility. RADx will consult and work with national organizations who
represent communities in need of accessible tests, and test manufacturers to
inform the modification or development of more accessible at-home tests,
including device design, packaging, and modes of instruction, and
challenges. Though at-home COVID-19 tests were only invented last year, the
Administration's investment in this technology has rapidly scaled up
manufacturing to the millions per day. This effort strives to ensure that
all individuals have an option for at-home testing that can be used and
interpreted without assistance, and will set the course towards accessible
testing in the weeks and months to come.

Incentivize all at-home test manufacturers to prioritize accessibility of
at-home tests.

The Administration has published a formal Request for Information (RFI) to
ensure the preservation and expansion of current domestic manufacturing
capacities for at-home rapid tests and point-of-care tests. The RFI
specifically asks manufacturers to prioritize the accessibility of at-home
tests for people who are blind or visually-impaired; individuals with
physical, cognitive, or other disabilities; and individuals who need
non-English language or literacy support. The Administration will use the
information gathered in March 2022 to inform near-term investments - towards
ensuring that accessible at-home tests are available for federal purchase.

Request accessible instructions from manufacturers who have received a Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). 

The FDA has reached out to all test developers that have received an EUA to
request that they provide instructions that are accessible and compliant
with the Americans with Disabilities Act, including alternative text for all
images as well as html versions. FDA will use all authority available to
receive these accessible instructions as quickly as possible, while working
with RADx to identify other wraparound services that can be provided
immediately to make existing at-home tests more accessible.

Distribute masks to disabled individuals through community-based
organizations and jurisdictions. 

HHS will support health centers and aging and disability networks as they
collaborate on efforts to distribute N95 masks to individuals with
disabilities who cannot leave their homes. As the President announced in
January 2022, the Administration is making 400 million N95 masks from the
Strategic National Stockpile available to all individuals in the United
States for free. HHS is sending tens of millions of free, high-quality masks
to community health centers and rural health clinics - organizations that
play a critical role in serving communities across the country, including
individuals with disabilities.  

Call on states to directly distribute high-quality masks through
community-based organizations serving individuals with disabilities. 

Over the past year, the Administration has also sent millions of
high-quality masks to states and territories across the country. We
encourage all jurisdictions to work in partnership with community-based
organizations to expand access for the hardest-hit and highest-risk
individuals - including people with disabilities who may be unable to leave
their homes.

 





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