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The Latest COVID-19 News, Delivered to You!
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Welcome to the National Health Care for the Homeless Council’s COVID-19 Flash Blast. This brief synopsis of key issues specific to the HCH community, policy developments, resources, and reading lists on the topic of COVID-19 will be delivered every two weeks. You are receiving this email because you subscribe to NHCHC communications. If you do not wish to receive this bi-weekly alert, you may unsubscribe below. (Note: These e-blasts will be archived here.)
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New Council Resources
- Join the Council for a two-part series focused on trustworthiness. This series will provide insight into the principles of trustworthiness as well as the historical background of how trust has been broken among marginalized populations, including people experiencing homelessness. Register Here
- Listen to the recordings of our webinars featuring collaborations in Washington, DC, and Minnesota that strengthened service provision to people experiencing homelessness and led to early access to COVID-19 vaccines. Join us on April 29 for the third part of this series featuring Chicago, IL. Register Here
- New Resource and Webinar: Alternative care sites continue to be essential resources in preventing and mitigating the spread of COVID-19 among people experiencing homelessness. The Veterans Administration, in partnership with the Council, published A Clinical Resource Guide for Community Care Centers During the COVID-19 Pandemic. This guide serves as a reference and resource to help implement quality care in these sites. Please join us on April 21 at 1 p.m. ET for a roundtable discussion exploring practical ways to implement this guide.
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CURRENT/EMERGING ISSUES & STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS
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With new developments every day in the nation's effort to control the COVID-19 pandemic, there are a number of emerging issues for HCHs that we are following:
Current/Emerging Issues
- Evolving information about the halted Johnson & Johnson vaccine is fostering client and staff mistrust.
- Needing federal guidance to shelters to accommodate people who are vaccinated and to guide community responses as Isolation and Quarantine facilities are closing.
- Bringing vaccines to community sites may continue to be necessary to increase vaccine acceptance.
- Requiring vaccine for entrance into shelters.
- Decreasing demand for testing despite rising cases in some areas.
- Ongoing challenges with staff vaccine uptake require continued education and allocation of resources.
- Prioritizing transition to permanent housing from alternate care sites is impeded by lack of affordable housing options.
- Offering multiple types of vaccine simultaneously, especially outside of clinic settings, creates significant administrative burden and can lead to medical errors.
- Vaccinating clients rather than offering additional alternate care sites (as an either-or option).
- Rising temperatures make it difficult to keep vaccines at required temperatures when vaccinating outdoors, which limits ability to vaccinate on outreach at certain times.
Strategies for Success
- Provide waterproof document storage for vaccine card and vital documents.
- Maximize your EHR by creating standardized templates to make reporting vaccinations easier.
- Leverage partnerships with local organizations (i.e., soup kitchens/meal programs) to offer snacks during vaccine events to get people to stay for the post-vaccination waiting period.
- Combine vaccines with health, wellness, or behavioral health groups (i.e., diabetes group).
- Invite trusted providers to conduct town hall information sessions for staff to increase vaccine uptake.
- For small numbers of clients, provide transportation to partner clinics to avoid wasting vaccine doses.
- Collaborate with pharmacy programs to secure appointments when vaccines are not otherwise available.
- Offer extended hours at vaccine clinics for clients who work or otherwise are not able to make traditional hours.
- When offering more than one type of vaccine at the same event, use color-coded signs, stickers, and paperwork to prevent errors.
- Advocate to use newly available federal funding to create more affordable housing opportunities for people who are homeless.
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There will be many policy changes related to C19 in the next several months as the Biden Administration moves forward with its agenda. Below are the most recent developments:
- On April 13, the CDC and FDA recommended a pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine. The ACIP has requested further study and will reconvene on Friday, April 23, before giving further direction. The National Health Care for the Homeless Council issued a statement regarding this action and the CDC is providing information as it is available.
- Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH, declared racism a serious public health threat. With this announcement came several new initiatives that the CDC will lead to accelerate its work to address racism, as well as a new “Racism and Health” website.
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Federal guidance, local tools, and new research are being published every day. Below are the newest items we've selected that will be helpful to the HCH community.
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Publications from the HCH Community:
(Have something you've published related to COVID-19? Let us know!)
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Have a resource or issue you want to add to a future COVID-19 Flash Blast? Let us know! Email Katie League.
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Katie League, LCSW-C
COVID-19 Project Manager
National Health Care for the Homeless Council
kleague@nhchc.org
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National Health Care for the Homeless Council
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National Institute for Medical Respite Care
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| Grounded in human rights and social justice, the National Health Care for the Homeless Council's mission is to build an equitable, high-quality health care system through training, research, and advocacy in the movement to end homelessness.
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