[NFBNJ] Fwd: [State-Affiliate-Leadership-List] FW: New Biden-Harris Administration action to support disabled individuals in the COVID-19 Response

Fri Feb 18 21:30:13 UTC 2022

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: President, National Federation of the Blind via
State-Affiliate-Leadership-List
Date: Fri, Feb 18, 2022 at 7:48 AM
Subject:  New Biden-Harris Administration action to support disabled
individuals in the COVID-19 ResponseDear Colleagues,

Read below for updates due to the work of the National Federation of the
Blind. Nicely done but don’t let up, keep pushing.

Sincerely.,

Mark

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

[image: The White House Logo]

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 (RADx®) Tech program announced a new effort
   to seek both short- and long-term solutions to improve at-home test
   accessibility. RADx® 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 here
   <https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fprotect-us.mimecast.com%2Fs%2FoSawCBBRzVh77R3XuzcRqB%3Fdomain%3Dnibib.nih.gov&data=04%7C01%7Cofficeofthepresident%40nfb.org%7C9e7dcf7baafd457c5f5308d9f26fb714%7C538f3d4b739545cf93fa8dfc2b4a7f62%7C1%7C0%7C637807383917986439%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=P3cX4PnRE6fCJc%2F%2Bl9b9skYZrkyn1bVQbwJeyyYWjrY%3D&reserved=0>
   .

·         *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
<https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fprotect-us.mimecast.com%2Fs%2F3sW9CDkJBXI55JQLI5xdKT%3Fdomain%3Dcdc.gov&data=04%7C01%7Cofficeofthepresident%40nfb.org%7C9e7dcf7baafd457c5f5308d9f26fb714%7C538f3d4b739545cf93fa8dfc2b4a7f62%7C1%7C0%7C637807383917986439%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=VRUyJrUz6yllWYOyJki%2FR65Hj741JPkS2UF6bajT1Io%3D&reserved=0>
and published an updated list
<https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fprotect-us.mimecast.com%2Fs%2FpryZCJ67L4IqqAPWhvblAj%3Fdomain%3Dcdc.gov&data=04%7C01%7Cofficeofthepresident%40nfb.org%7C9e7dcf7baafd457c5f5308d9f26fb714%7C538f3d4b739545cf93fa8dfc2b4a7f62%7C1%7C0%7C637807383917986439%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=%2B2rSQzNVIHyRRieYZ3eIrmnp5z4Md%2BKb5au9aTLHFJw%3D&reserved=0>
of 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
<https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fprotect-us.mimecast.com%2Fs%2FSehzCG6QG1I11OoNhQ5P12%3Fdomain%3Dyoutube.com&data=04%7C01%7Cofficeofthepresident%40nfb.org%7C9e7dcf7baafd457c5f5308d9f26fb714%7C538f3d4b739545cf93fa8dfc2b4a7f62%7C1%7C0%7C637807383917986439%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=GBOE%2FR4IOga3I5y29UMCui5%2BGfn82cV7A7eXS%2BJtZpc%3D&reserved=0>
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 Council
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-- 

Greetings,

Warmly,
Linda Melendez, President
National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey
732-421-7063
president at nfbnj.org
*www.nfbnj.org* <http://www.nfbnj.org/>
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*Live the life you want.*
*The National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey is a community of
members and friends who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation’s
blind. Everyday we work together to help blind people live the lives they
want.*
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