• At 11:59 p.m. ET on Tuesday, March 22, the Uninsured Program stopped accepting claims for testing and treatment due to a lack of sufficient funds.
• At 11:59 p.m. ET on Tuesday, April 5, the Uninsured Program will also stop accepting vaccination claims due to a lack of sufficient funds.
• At 11:59 p.m. ET on Tuesday, April 5, the Coverage Assistance Fund will stop accepting vaccination claims due to a lack of sufficient funds.
  

CURRENT/EMERGING ISSUES & STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

1. Anticipating decreases in testing capacity, especially surveillance testing in shelters, as federal COVID-19 funding ends and public health entities are not able to provide staffing support.
2. Increasing difficulty identifying hotels that will accept contracts with shelters, even when the money is guaranteed.
3. Helping people access isolation and quarantine resources as many facilities close and the limited available resources may be farther away.
4. Closing of protective action hotels and returning to 100% capacity in congregate shelters with no plans for testing, requirements for masking, or protocols for addressing future surges.
5. Ensuring equity in shelter access if some programs remain in non-congregate hotels and others return to congregate facilities.
6. Decreasing demand for vaccination (or vaccine education) as most people who want vaccines received them and others feel it is unnecessary after the Omicron surge.
7. Offering monoclonal antibody treatments is currently logistically too difficult and the demand on staff is too high.
8. Ongoing staffing shortages -- especially among medical assistants, nurses, and chronic care managers -- limit the ability to deliver services.
9. Increasing wages to offset staff shortages is difficult when big-box stores and other businesses are offering $20/hour (or more).
10. Building trust in new communities can be slow, but is needed in order to establish new service locations.
    

1. Train shelter staff to conduct point-of-care testing to maintain surveillance testing and to be able to respond quickly to surges.
2. Convert I&Q beds to respite/protective action when case counts are low, and I&Q is not in high demand.
3. Advocate for extension of protective action and decompression facilities since FEMA cost sharing has been extended to July 1 and will only drop to 90% after that.
4. Invite supportive assisted living providers into hotels to assess patients where these types of providers may be more willing to come and less likely to stigmatize the patient based on their housing situation.
5. Purchase telehealth system that integrates with EHR to provide care in the field and decrease the administrative burden.
6. Where possible, consider having team meetings in person or designate staff-only areas without masks so staff can reconnect and improve communication.
   

POLICY DEVELOPMENTS

• FEMA cost share extended: FEMA announced that it is extending the 100% COVID-19 federal cost sharing through July 1, 2022. After July 1, the federal cost sharing will shift to 90%.
• New vaccine seeking approval: A new, two-dose COVID vaccine created by Sanofi and GSK shows 100% efficacy against severe disease. The companies announced they will seek authorization for their vaccine.
• Change in COVID vaccine schedule for some individuals: The CDC recommends that it may be advisable to wait eight weeks between first and second doses of a mRNA vaccine. This can boost immunity and decrease the likelihood of severe side effects.
• Second or annual boosters?: The FDA is carefully analyzing the science to determine if a second booster dose of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines will be necessary this fall. Pfizer has applied to the FDA for authorization of a second booster for individuals who are 65 and older, while Moderna has applied for authorization of a second booster dose for all adults.
  

NEW RESOURCES

• HUD: Leveraging ESG-CV Landlord Financial Incentives to Expedite Engagement
• CDC MMWR: The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ Recommendation for Use of Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine in Adults Aged ≥ 18 Years and Considerations for Extended Intervals for Administration of Primary Series Doses of mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines – United States, February 2022
• CDC MMWR: Antigen Test Positivity After COVID-19 Isolation – Yukon – Kuskokwim Delta Region, Alaska, January-February 2022
• Los Angeles County Department of Health Services: Housing for Health: CRT Peer Ambassador Program
• City of Detroit Health Department: COVID-19 Guidance for Homeless Shelters
  

RESEARCH

• JAMA Network: Efficacy of Ivermectin Treatment on Disease Progression Among Adults With Mild to Moderate COVID-19 and Comorbidities
• Annals of Internal Medicine: Contribution of Individual- and Neighborhood- Level Social, Demographic, and Health Factors to COVID-19 Hospitalization Outcome
• The Lancet: Estimating Excess Mortality Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Analysis of COVID-19-Related Mortality, 2020-21
• CIDRAP: Twice as Many Black COVID Patients Deemed Lowest Priority in ICU Triage System
• KFF: Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility and Enrollment Policies as of January 2022: Findings from a 50-State Survey
  

WHAT WE'RE READING

• KFF: Telehealth Has Played an Outsized Role Meeting Mental Health Needs During the COVID-19 Pandemic
• KHN: Charts Paint a Grim Picture Two Years Into the Coronavirus Pandemic
• STAT: Florida’s Decision on COVID Vaccines for Healthy Kids Adds to Confusion and Distrust
• STAT: Prisons Skimp on COVID Treatments Like Paxlovid, Even as Biden Plans to Flood Pharmacies with It
• STAT: Public Health Experts Sketch a Roadmap to Get from the COVID Pandemic to the ‘Next Normal’
  
• STAT: ‘Haven’t We Learned Anything?’: Experts Warn of Disastrous Consequences If Pandemic Funding Dries Up
• NBC News: Even Mild COVID Is Linked to Brain Damage, Scans Show
• CNN: Global Pandemic Death Toll Is Three Times Higher than Reported COVID-19 Deaths Suggest, Study Finds
• Drug and Alcohol Review: Finding Stability Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Impact of Emergency Temporary Housing for People Who Use Drugs
• NPR: The Goal: Vaccinate 70% of the World Against COVID. Scientists Are Proposing a Reboot