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December 2023
14 | Monthly PHEP Partners Meeting on Teams
22 | Christmas Eve holiday – State offices closed
26 | Christmas – State offices closed
28 | Q2 Deliverables due: WCI Update, COVID Action Planning Update, Updated IPP
29 |New Year’s Eve holiday – State offices closedt
January 2024
01 | New Year’s Day – State offices closed
15 | Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday – State offices closed
18 | Capability Assessment Tool completed and submitted
31 | Quarterly contact information updates due
31 | Mid-Year progress report due.
31 | Quarterly new EPC orientation at DEPR
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CDC and the American Medical Association (AMA) are hosting a special “Fireside Chat” on Tuesday, December 12, 1:45-2:30 p.m. EST with CDC Director, Dr. Cohen on how to protect yourself and your patients during the fall and winter respiratory virus season.
Anthrax continues to pose a significant public health concern due to its potential use as a bioterrorism agent and its ability to cause severe illness in humans. However, this summer a new anthrax vaccine was added to the U.S. arsenal of defense against bioterrorism. On July 20, 2023, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Cyfendus for use in adults aged 18 to 65 years exposed to anthrax. Learn more and view resources from NETEC about anthrax preparedness.
ASPR is refreshing ordering on COVIDTests.gov for every U.S. household to order additional tests at no charge. Households that ordered this fall can order four more tests, and those that have not ordered this fall can submit two orders for a total of eight tests. More information on these efforts and a digital toolkit to share through your social media avenues is available at covidtests.gov.
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On November 29, the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and the US Department of Education (DOE) announced a partnership to distribute free COVID-19 tests to school districts across the country. The announcement builds on previous Biden-Harris Administration efforts to increase COVID-19 testing in schools to keep students safe and schools open.
“Harsh winters are not only a concern for states in the far north - blizzards, extreme cold and the damage to our critical infrastructure that these conditions can cause today threaten every community, everywhere across our nation,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “An ounce of prevention today is worth a pound of cure tomorrow. The #WinterReady Campaign, thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will make resources available to help our entire country stand more resilient, more secure, and more prepared in the face of the cold months ahead. I strongly urge every community to take advantage of these resources - including and especially those who have not faced these weather-related challenges before.” Read the full press release from FEMA.
CDC recently released the following webpages on the CDC website regarding respiratory viruses.
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NACCHO preparedness brief survey gathers information about preparedness trends and emerging issues at Local Health Departments to inform local, state, and national priorities. The 2022 Preparedness Profile was released on September 29, 2023. Download the report and communications toolkit below. The report identifies the needs of the local health department's worforce and provides useful information to inform groups working to improve pediatric capability.
About half of the people in the U.S. have access and/or functional needs - and they are at heightened risk during emergencies. ASPR has developed a web-based training course that is targeted to public health officials, emergency managers, and social/human service providers. They need to be aware of and comply with legal requirements designed to protect individuals with Access and Functional Needs (AFN) from discrimination. The training highlights information from federal guidance, laws and executive orders that require non-discrimination for addressing AFN—both specific and nonspecific to a disaster context. It will help to ensure individuals and organizations can better meet the needs of AFN during emergencies.
The Risk Identification and Site Criticality (RISC) Toolkit is an objective, data-driven all-hazards risk assessment that can be used by public and private organizations within the Healthcare and Public Health (HPH) Sector to inform emergency preparedness planning, risk management activities, and resource investments. The RISC Toolkit provides owners/operators in the HPH Sector with nationally recognized standards-based evaluation criteria in an easy-to-follow, guided format.
The RISC Toolkit contains three self-assessment modules. These allow users to identify external threats and internal hazards specific to their site by using objective national-level data; assess the vulnerability of their site based on industry standards and guidance; and evaluate the criticality of and consequences to their site in the event of an incident. The RISC Toolkit compares multiple facilities across systems, coalitions, and regions to identify dependencies and interdependencies in a consistent and repeatable method to help create a more resilient healthcare system.
The December PHEP Partners Call will be held on Thursday, December 14 at 1:30 pm (ET). A draft agenda is available for review.
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Region 1: Denise Fleming
Region 2N & 2S: Jeannie Byrne
Region 3: Jim Koval
Region 5: April Walton
Region 6: Terra Riddle
Region 7: Jeannie Byrne
Region 8: Kerry Chamberlain
Tribes: Janis Tipton
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This message is being sent to the Division of Emergency Preparedness & Response, Tribal Health Care Coordinator, Local Health Department Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, and Local Health Department Health Officer mailing lists. |
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