[Ohio-Talk] New Biden-Harris Administration action to support disabled individuals in the COVID-19 Response

[Richard Payne]

Dear 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.


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

 
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 here
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*	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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0&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
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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 Council


Richard Payne,  President
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
937/829/3368
Rchpay7 at gmail.com <mailto:Rchpay7 at gmail.com> 
The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.