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Local health departments and tribal partners were asked to complete a survey via Survey Monkey letting DEPR know what dates during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons their agencies would be closed. At publication, 30 LHDs and 1 tribal partner have completed the survey. It is very important that all LHDs and tribal partners complete this survey no later than December 6, 2022, so that the information can be available in the CHECC and sent to other MDHHS program areas and partners.
The US Department of Health and Human Services provided an update for a 20-year extension of expired Tamiflu that was received during the 2009 distribution for H1N1. Of note, this extension is not associated with any specific lot numbers.
Reminder: the Tamiflu and Relenza purchased through the HHS subsidy program contracts and/or received through the Strategic National Stockpile during the 2009-2010 H1N1 influenza pandemic, are for a declared pandemic or public health emergency and are not authorized to be distributed for seasonal flu outbreaks.
Should any additional information or guidelines about Tamiflu and Relenza be received, it will be provided for you.
The MDHHS Division of Communicable Diseases has released the enhanced analysis section and supplemental guidance of the Epi Work Plan. Note: the enhanced analysis section cannot be started/completed until after June 30, 2023, and it is due with the rest of the Epi Work Plan on August 4, 2023.
If anyone has any questions, they can reach out to Bethany Reimink or their regional epidemiologist.
One of the after-action items for the Lenawee County Health Department from COVID-19 was to better serve the Spanish speaking residents by having more documents translated into Spanish. Although the health department has employees who are bilingual and more than willing to help, they also have many other responsibilities. The health department wanted to find a vendor who could do translation work in a timely manner. Susie Dice, EPC at Lenawee County Health Department, wanted to share her experience so other EPCs could benefit.
To find the most appropriate vendor she:
1. Compiled a list of recommended translation companies.
2. Contacted six companies and asked them for quotes using a two-page Mpox factsheet as a standard. The companies were asked to translate the document from English into Spanish.
3. Picked the top three quotes and proceeded with having them translate the document into Spanish.
4. Asked three bilingual speakers to comment on the three resulting translated documents. (Two of the evaluators were health department employees and one was from a different agency.)
5. She then compiled all the relevant information into one spreadsheet so that it would be easy to compare vendors. The spreadsheet included costs, turnaround time for quotes, time for document translation, websites, how to request a quote, notes about their services, and notes about the translation from the three evaluators.
6. Susie also compiled information on interpreter services.
Key takeaways:
• Translating documents into Spanish is not straightforward. There is never 100% agreement on which is the best translation.
• Translation is for written documents. Interpretation is for spoken language.
Contact Susie Dice for the detailed documentation
Together with the 2022 Preparedness Summit Planning Committee, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security journal, Health Security, will publish a new supplement in 2023.
The aim of this supplement is to extend conversations begun at the 2022 Preparedness Summit to contribute to a growing body of knowledge about the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on public health preparedness. Potential authors are encouraged to submit manuscripts that consider how the COVID-19 pandemic is transforming public health preparedness policy and practice and discuss the future of the field. The deadline for submissions is January 17, 2023. More information is available at https://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/our-work/journal/call-for-papers/index.html
The Rural Health Information Hub (RHIhub), in collaboration with the NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis, has released the Rural Emergency Preparedness and Response Toolkit. This new toolkit was developed to help rural and tribal communities, healthcare facilities, and other organizations serving rural populations access evidence-based and promising models and resources to support emergency planning, response, and recovery efforts.
The December PHEP Partners call will be held on December 8, 2022. Here is a draft agenda.
The next quarterly tribal health partners call will be on December 15 at 1:30 pm (ET) via Microsoft Teams. Contact Mary Macqueen if you have any questions.
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