On Thursday, the Presidential COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force presented two deliverables during their final public meeting. The first deliverable is the Final Report, which includes four overarching suggested outcomes as the Task Force vision for change, five proposed priority actions to spur this change and of course, 55 final recommendations intended to disrupt the predictability of who is harmed first and harmed worst in times of national crisis. This work was unanimously approved in the September 2021 Task Force meeting. While this is the final public meeting for the Task Force, the work is not done. To effect change and monitor progress to advance health equity for all, the Task Force presented a second deliverable which includes a proposed implementation plan and suggested accountability framework. This proposed plan and framework was discussed and voted upon as well.
As part of the release of the Final Report and proposed implementation plan, the Task Force will be hosting stakeholder briefings with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs and with the White House Office of Public Engagement.
Please note that each attendee must register to access these briefings. Please feel free to send this invitation to your members and network. These briefings are only for stakeholders and are not open to the press. If any other accommodations would make this meeting more accessible to you, please indicate that in the registration form. We will provide ASL and Closed Captioning. Please note that this briefing will be recorded.
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The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) is hosting the first event in the COVID-19 Ask Me Anything (AMA) Series. American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) across the country are getting a COVID vaccine for various reasons -- going back to school, playing sports, and protecting their family and communities. Native youth and parents, young people, and Tribal community members are invited to join the AMA to ask any questions they might have about COVID-19 vaccines or booster shots to an expert from the Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC). This AMA is focused on knowledge sharing and helping Tribal communities dispel any myths about COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots. Submit questions ahead of time with this form so presenter(s) have time to review them. Please come prepared to ask questions or share your own insights and experiences. The presenter will be Dr. Kimberley Fox, the director of the Division of Bacterial Diseases (DBD) within CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD). For any question, please contact Darby Galligher at dgalligher@nihb.org
This AMA will be free and streamed live on Zoom and NIHB Facebook.
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Dear Tribal Leaders,
On November 4, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced a new emergency temporary standard to protect more than 84 million workers from the spread of the coronavirus on the job. The nation’s unvaccinated workers face grave danger from workplace exposure to coronavirus, and immediate action is necessary to protect them. Under this standard, covered employers must develop, implement and enforce a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, unless they adopt a policy requiring employees to choose to either be vaccinated or undergo regular COVID-19 testing and wear a face covering at work.
OSHA is offering robust compliance assistance to help businesses implement the standard, which can be found at this landing page.
Department officials will hold a briefing with Tribal leaders via Zoom
Date: November 5, 2021
Time: 3:00 PM – 3:45 PM ET (US and Canada)
Call-in number: +1 669 254 5252
Meeting ID: 161 045 0061
Here is a link to the White House fact sheet on these two vaccination policies: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/11/04/fact-sheet-biden-administration-announces-details-of-two-major-vaccination-policies/ [whitehouse.gov]
Please RSVP to Lujan.Theresa@dol.gov if you plan to attend at 3pm ET. This briefing is intended for tribal leaders and staff. You will have the opportunity to ask policy questions by stating in the zoom chat function that you would like to ask a question, but please do not raise casework or specific business or individual questions in the briefing, in the interest of time. Attendees are encouraged to review the guidance found in links ahead of the briefing.