On September 17, the HHS Office of Minority Health (OMH) hosted a virtual symposium to highlight state, tribal, territorial and community-based efforts to address COVID-19 among racial and ethnic minority and American Indian and Alaska Native populations. The Advancing the Response to COVID-19: Sharing Promising Programs and Practices for Racial and Ethnic Minority Communities virtual symposium featured national, state, tribal and local experts leading efforts developed for public health leaders at all levels and community organizations confronting the pandemic.

Visit the OMH website for the recordings, objectives and presentation slides for all sessions, as well as tools and resources on data, testing, vaccines, clinical trials and more to support efforts to address COVID-19 among racial and ethnic minority and American Indian and Alaska Native populations.

Join OMH, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the FDA Office of Minority Health and Health Equity (OMHHE) for a bilingual Twitter chat in observance of Hispanic Heritage Month. The chat will focus on highlighting healthy behaviors for the Hispanic/Latino community in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, including getting recommended vaccinations, such as the flu vaccine. The chat will also highlight HHS's efforts to improving diversity in clinical trials as a way to improve the health of racial and ethnic minority populations like the Hispanic/Latino community. To participate, please use the hashtag #HealthyLatinos.
October 8, 2:00 pm ET. English | Spanish.

The CDC has published a COVID-19 Vaccination Program Interim Playbook for Jurisdiction Operations. This document offers interim guidance for state, territorial and local public health programs and their partners on how to plan and operationalize a vaccination response to COVID-19. 

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine have released a Discussion Draft of the Preliminary Framework for Equitable Allocation of COVID-19 Vaccine. It presents input from the public, especially communities disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, submitted to the CDC and NIH as part of a public comment period.  

The National Conference of State Legislatures has developed a database of legislation related to and responding to COVID-19 that have been introduced in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, including bills that address healthcare access and coverage: State Action on Coronavirus (COVID-19). 

HHS, through the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) and its Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy (OIDP), has been coordinating development by federal partners throughout HHS and other departments of the first-ever Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) National Strategic Plan to address the nation's STI epidemic. OIDP seeks input from a broad mix of stakeholders on whether the plan's goals, objectives and strategies appropriately address the STI epidemic and whether there are any critical gaps.
Deadline is October 1, 5:00 pm ET.

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Muévete a Tu Manera is the Spanish-language version of the HHS Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) Move Your Way campaign, which provides tips for adults and children on how to be physically active every day.  

The Seattle Indian Health Board (SIHB) has created a series of 10-minute wellness videos, Movement is Medicine. The full series can be accessed via the SIHB Facebook page.

The Safe Routes Partnership has developed State Report Cards which provide a snapshot of how supportive each state is of walking, bicycling and physical activity for children and adults as of 2020.

The House Committee on Ways and Means released the report, Left Out: Barriers to Health Equity for Rural and Underserved Communities. This report analyzes the barriers to health care in racial and ethnic minority and underserved communities. It discusses the challenges associated with scalable and sustainable solutions. The report also examines how racial bias, economic inequality, geographic coverage deficiencies and structural environmental factors adversely affect health. 

Learn More Download the Full Report (PDF)