CURRENT & EMERGING ISSUES

1. Rigidly prioritizing age eligibility over other categories makes it difficult for health centers to vaccinate their most at-risk clients.
2. Ongoing uncertainty about plans to vaccinate those in encampments and other unsheltered locations.
3. Organizing vaccine efforts while also continuing health center services is leading to an overstretched and exhausted workforce.
4. Receiving either too few or too many doses (“feast or famine”) creates delays in vaccinations followed by sudden rushes to quickly distribute vaccines.
5. Ongoing racial and geographic disparities in vaccine distribution.
6. Growing community focus on mass vaccination events presents scheduling and access barriers to people experiencing homelessness.
7. Identifying trusted locations within communities to hold vaccine clinics once supplies are available.
8. Needing fewer doses per vial, rather than more, in order to better accommodate smaller groups of patients.
9. Needing greater reimbursement for testing and vaccination activities.
10. Ensuring post-vaccination care is available (e.g., Tylenol, soup, and rest) to address side effects.
    

POLICY DEVELOPMENTS

• Vaccines head directly to health centers: The White House announced the first phase of the Federally Qualified Health Center Program for COVID-19 Vaccination, which will allow health centers to begin ordering vaccines directly starting as early as next week. HRSA has announced that the program will begin incrementally “at select HRSA-funded health centers that specialize in caring for particularly hard-to-reach and disproportionality affected populations.” We are in the process of getting more information about this initiative.
• President Biden’s new COVID-19 plan: The 200-page National Strategy the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness outlines the Administration’s plan to respond to the pandemic.  As indicated above, we summarized it in three pages and added an action agenda!
• FEMA now pays 100 percent of non-congregate care: A new Executive Order directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to reimburse state/local governments for ALL costs related to hotel/motel placements, retroactive to the beginning of the pandemic. More information is available from FEMA’s statement and this White House fact sheet.
• More COVID-19 aid in the American Rescue Plan: The President’s $1.9 trillion plan includes many provisions that will help low-income people. Congress is currently debating how they will move forward on this proposal.
• Protecting health coverage: President Biden’s Executive Order on Strengthening Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act includes a special enrollment period and orders a review of all policies related to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act coverage.
• Single-dose vaccine is submitted for federal approval: Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine that does not need ultra-cold storage is pending federal approval for distribution.
  

NEW RESOURCES

• NHCHC/Framework for an Equitable COVID-19 Homelessness Response: Strengthening Partnerships for Better Health Outcomes During COVID-19
• CDC: Interim Guidance for Health Departments: COVID-19 Vaccination Implementation for People Experiencing Homelessness
• Johns Hopkins & University of Maryland Research Team: COVID-19 Risk Tool Calculator
• HUD: Preparing Staff for the COVID-19 Vaccination: Communication and Confidence Checklist
• HUD: Preparing Staff for the COVID-19 Vaccine: Meeting Template
• HUD: COVID-19 Vaccination Conversation Tips for Homeless Service Providers
• HUD: Three Reasons Why PEH Were Prioritized for Vaccines (flyer)
• Homebase: Homebase Curated COVID-19 Resource Guide
• Minnesota Department of Health: COVID-19 Vaccine Key Messages
• Minnesota Department of Health: COVID-19 Vaccine Basics
• Minnesota Department of Health: Getting Vaccinated for COVID-19
• Hesperian: COVID-19 Fact Sheets (available in multiple languages)
• Hennepin County – Health Care for the Homeless: Get the Facts on the COVID-19 Vaccination
• Colorado Coalition for the Homeless: mRNA Vaccine Facts – Four-Sided Wallet Card
• Houston Healthcare for the Homeless: Facts About COVID-19 Vaccines
• State of California - Vaccinate All 58: Vaccine Preparation Checklist
  

WHAT WE'RE READING

• Pew Charitable Trust: These States Found the Secret to COVID-19 Vaccination Success
• KFF: Latest Data on COVID-19 Vaccinations Race/Ethnicity
• STAT: Community Health Centers Can Help Stamp Out COVID-19
• Kaiser Family Foundation: COVID-19 Now Leading Cause of Death in the United States
• Community Foundation of Greater Flint: Addressing the COVID-19 Pandemic and Building Long-Term Solutions to Promote Equity in Communities: Why Philanthropy Matters