[NFBMI-Talk] text of Announcement from White House

[mpowell7583 at yahoo.com]

Hello All.

Below is an email sent to me by our national office.  We have been told not
to let up but keep pushing.

Michael Powell, President, NFBM

Subject: New Biden-Harris Administration action to support disabled
individuals in the COVID-19 Response

 

 
<https://mcusercontent.com/c97630621baff8c44fe607661/images/cfe8cd5c-1643-41
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All,

 

We wanted to share a series of new actions the Biden-Harris Administration
is taking to continue our commitment to developing policies that improve the
lives of disabled individuals-with equity and accessibility at the center of
our COVID-19 Response and beyond. 

 

*	New effort to develop at-home COVID-19 tests that are accessible to
all. Today, the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) Rapid Acceleration of
Diagnostics (RADxR) Tech program announced a new effort to seek both short-
and long-term solutions to improve at-home test accessibility. RADxR will
consult and work with experts from NIH, 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, modes of instruction, and other 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. NIH's press release is available
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here.

 

*	Calling on all rapid test manufacturers to prioritize accessibility.
Yesterday, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a formal
request for information (RFI) to ensure the preservation and expansion of
current domestic manufacturing capacities for over-the-counter rapid antigen
and point-of-care COVID-19 tests. The RFI specifically asks manufacturers to
include an assessment of the accessibility of their tests-including
self-administration and result interpretation-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 RFI states, "If your company's product is largely inaccessible
for these individuals, please provide a clear and definitive description of
how you can improve accessibility." The Administration will use the RFI
submissions to inform near-term investments. 

 

*	Updated COVID-19 guidance. In an effort to raise awareness around
the importance of protecting people at high-risk for COVID-19, including
people with disabilities, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) has reviewed the latest science
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published an updated list
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certain medical conditions that put people at higher risk of severe illness
from COVID-19 to include people with disabilities. Yesterday, CDC also
released the agency's "How to Interpret Positive Self-Test Results" guidance
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in American Sign Language (ASL), a first step towards ensuring that
individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing can access key information about
how to protect themselves and their communities by using rapid self-tests. 

 

The Administration will continue to build on today's announcements.  

 

Thank you for your continued work and partnership on these critical issues.
Feel free to share this information with your networks.

 

Osaremen Okolo and Kim Knackstedt 

White House Office of the COVID-19 Response and Domestic Policy Counc