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Workplace Safety and Health: Data and Enforcement Challenges Limit OSHA's Ability to Protect Workers During a Crisis, Statement of Thomas M. Costa, Director Education, Workforce, and Income Security, Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, Committee on Education and Labor, House of Representatives
From the Government Accountability Office (GAO) Highlights: "The COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic raised concerns about OSHA's preparedness for a future crisis. OSHA [Occupational Safety and Health Administration], within the Department of Labor, helps ensure safe and healthful worker conditions by setting mandatory standards, conducting inspections, and investigating incoming complaints and referrals, among other efforts. This testimony is based on work in GAO's October 2021 CARES [Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security] Act report (GAO-22-105051) and January 2021 report on OSHA's injury and illness reporting requirement (GAO-21- 122). It examines OSHA's efforts regarding (1) COVID-19-related enforcement actions, (2) developing and using standards related to COVID19, and (3) obtaining injury and illness data to support its enforcement efforts. For the prior reports, GAO reviewed OSHA policies and federal laws and regulations, analyzed OSHA enforcement and employer-reported injury and illness data, and interviewed OSHA officials. For this testimony, GAO obtained updated data covering OSHA enforcement activity from February 2020 through December 2021, reviewed documentation, and interviewed OSHA officials."
United States. Government Accountability Office
Costa, Thomas
2022-05-25
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Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on HIV Testing Utilization Among Men Who Have Sex with Men in China: Cross-Sectional Online Survey
From the Abstract: "The COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic has created disruptions in HIV prevention and sexual health services for men who have sex with men (MSM). [...] This study compared HIV testing utilization in 3 different reference periods (period 1: before the COVID-19 outbreak, November 2019-January 2020; period 2: after the outbreak, February-April 2020; and period 3: after the pandemic was under initial control, May-July 2020). Factors associated with HIV testing utilization after the COVID-19 outbreak (combined periods 2 and 3) were also investigated. [...] Participants were MSM aged ≥18 years living in Shenzhen, China. Those self-reporting as HIV positive were excluded. A total of 595 participants recruited through multiple sources completed a self-administered online survey during August-September 2020. HIV testing utilization after the COVID-19 outbreak was the dependent variable, and multivariate logistic regression models were fitted. [...] HIV testing utilization among Chinese MSM declined after the COVID-19 outbreak and did not increase after the pandemic was under initial control. Removing structural barriers to accessing HIV testing caused by COVID-19, modifying perceptions related to HIV testing, and making use of HIV self-testing (HIVST) might be useful strategies to improve HIV testing among MSM during the pandemic." This article was originally published on the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) Public Health and Surveillance website: [https://publichealth.jmir.org/2022/5/e30070].
JMIR Publications
Zhang, Ke Chun; Fang, Yuan; Cao, He . . .
2022-05-25
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MMWR Early Release: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, May 24, 2022: Post-COVID Conditions Among Adult COVID-19 Survivors Aged 18-64 and ≥65 Years -- United States, March 2020-November 2021
The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Series is prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). [It] is the agency's primary vehicle for scientific publication of timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations. This Early Release issue of MMWR contains the following article: "Post-COVID [coronavirus disease] Conditions Among Adult COVID-19 Survivors Aged 18-64 and ≥65 Years -- United States, March 2020-November 2021." Notifiable Diseases and Mortality Tables from MMWR can be accessed at the following link [http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/index2022.html].
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)
2022-05-24
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Risk Factors Associated with SARS-CoV-2 Breakthrough Infections in Fully mRNA-Vaccinated Individuals: Retrospective Analysis
From the Abstract: "COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] messenger RNA [ribonucleic acid] (mRNA) vaccines have demonstrated efficacy and effectiveness in preventing symptomatic COVID-19, while being relatively safe in trial studies. However, vaccine breakthrough infections have been reported. [...] This study aims to identify risk factors associated with COVID-19 breakthrough infections among fully mRNA-vaccinated individuals. [...] We conducted a series of observational retrospective analyses using the electronic health records (EHRs) of the Columbia University Irving Medical Center/New York Presbyterian (CUIMC/NYP) up to September 21, 2021. New York City (NYC) adult residences with at least 1 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) record were included in this analysis. Poisson regression was performed to assess the association between the breakthrough infection rate in vaccinated individuals and multiple risk factors--including vaccine brand, demographics, and underlying conditions--while adjusting for calendar month, prior number of visits, and observational days in the EHR. [...] Although we found both mRNA vaccines were effective, Moderna/mRNA-1273 had a lower incidence rate of breakthrough infections. Immunocompromised and male individuals were among the highest risk groups experiencing breakthrough infections. Given the rapidly changing nature of the SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2] pandemic, continued monitoring and a generalizable analysis pipeline are warranted to inform quick updates on vaccine effectiveness in real time." This article was originally published on the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) Public Health and Surveillance website: [https://publichealth.jmir.org/2022/5/e35311].
JMIR Publications
Liu, Cong; Lee, Junghwan; Ta, Casey . . .
2022-05-24
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Assessing North Korean Media Coverage of a Domestic COVID-19 Outbreak
From the Document: "North Korea's official acknowledgment of a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, though not shocking, was an unusually bold step. State-run media for more than two years have been saturated with reports sounding the alarm about the virus and highlighting the country's quarantine efforts, all clear indicators that the leadership harbored strong concern about the possibility of an outbreak. However, both the level of detail disclosed and the targeting of the domestic audience are remarkable, given the regime's general reluctance to explicitly acknowledge any disease outbreak. That said, we are left with the question of why North Korea decided to now disclose this damning information after more than two years of denying any cases (contrary to many outside reports [hyperlink]). Moreover, why is the North reporting on the status of suspected COVID [coronavirus disease] cases in such detail, providing daily tallies--down to city and provincial levels--of new cases and even deaths?"
38 North
Lee, Rachel Minyoung
2022-05-24
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Korea's Response to COVID-19 According to Set Time Frames, With a Focus on the Network Between the Government and Responding Agencies: Social Network Analysis
From the Abstract: "In December 2019, COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] was first confirmed in Wuhan, China, and as the respiratory disease spread around the globe, there was a spike in interest worldwide in combating such contagious diseases. When such disasters occur, the central government of South Korea and its affiliated local governments--together with nongovernmental organizations--play a crucial role in crisis management systems. [...] The purpose of this paper is to corroborate the characteristics government ministries and domestic and foreign institutions exhibit through their interconnection when the parties are undergoing a disease-related catastrophe such as the COVID-19 pandemic. [...] Using the social network analysis technique, the span of the COVID-19 pandemic was segmented into 3 time frames, and the relational characteristics of the COVID-19 contagious disease response department and related agencies at home and abroad were analyzed based on 3 centralities." This article was originally published on the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) Public Health and Surveillance website: [https://publichealth.jmir.org/2022/5/e35958].
JMIR Publications
Cho, Jungyun; Kang, Wook; Lee, Julak
2022-05-23
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U.S. Border Patrol Encounters at the Southwest Border: Titles 8 & 42 [Updated May 20, 2022] [infographic]
From the Document: "The U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) is part of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS's) Customs and Border Protection (CBP). When the U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) encounters a migrant entering illegally between ports of entry, they are processed for removal under Title 8 (immigration law) and asked whether they fear persecution or intend to seek asylum. However, at the start of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in March 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an order requiring USBP to use an additional procedure at the border under Title 42 (public health code). The policy prohibits the entry of certain migrants to prevent the introduction of COVID-19 into border facilities and the United States. Individuals subject to the order are not held in congregate areas for processing and not given a credible fear interview to pursue the asylum process. Instead they are swiftly expelled to Mexico or their counties of origin. The focus of this infographic is on the Southwest border; migrants arriving at the Northern border between ports of entry are subject to the same processes but make up a small share of total USBP encounters."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Singer, Audrey
2022-05-20
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Effectiveness of Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca Vaccines to Prevent Severe COVID-19 in Costa Rica: Nationwide, Ecological Study of Hospitalization Prevalence
From the Abstract: "The Costa Rican COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] vaccination program has used Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines. Real-world estimates of the effectiveness of these vaccines to prevent hospitalizations range from 90%-98% for two doses and from 70%-91% for a single dose. Almost all of these estimates predate the Delta variant. [...] The aim of this study is to estimate the dose-dependent effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines to prevent severe illness in real-world conditions in Costa Rica, after the Delta variant became dominant. [...] This observational study is a secondary analysis of hospitalization prevalence. The sample is all 3.67 million adult residents living in Costa Rica by mid-2021. The study is based on public aggregated data of 5978 COVID-19-related hospital records from September 14, 2021, to October 20, 2021, and 6.1 million vaccination doses administered to determine hospitalization prevalence by dose-specific vaccination status. The intervention retrospectively evaluated is vaccination with Pfizer-BioNTech (78%) and Oxford-AstraZeneca (22%). The main outcome studied is being hospitalized." This article was originally published on the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) Public Health and Surveillance website: [https://publichealth.jmir.org/2022/5/e35054/].
JMIR Publications
Rosero Bixby, Luis
2022-05-20
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Individual-Level Evaluation of the Exposure Notification Cascade in the SwissCovid Digital Proximity Tracing App: Observational Study
From the Abstract: "Digital proximity tracing (DPT) aims to complement manual contact tracing (MCT) in identifying exposed contacts and preventing further transmission of SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2] in the population. Although several DPT apps, including SwissCovid, have shown to have promising effects on mitigating the pandemic, several challenges have impeded them from fully achieving the desired results. A key question now relates to how the effectiveness of DPT can be improved, which requires a better understanding of factors influencing its processes. [...] In this study, we aim to provide a detailed examination of the exposure notification (EN) cascade and to evaluate potential contextual influences for successful receipt of an EN and subsequent actions taken by cases and contacts in different exposure settings.[...] We used data from 285 pairs of SARS-CoV-2-infected cases and their contacts within an observational cohort study of cases and contacts identified by MCT and enrolled between August 6, 2020, and January 17, 2021, in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland. We surveyed participants with electronic questionnaires. Data were summarized descriptively and stratified by exposure setting. [...] Our descriptive evaluation of the DPT notification cascade provides further evidence that DPT is an important complementary tool in pandemic mitigation, especially in nonhousehold exposure settings. However, the effect of DPT apps can only be exerted if code generation processes are efficient and exposed contacts are willing to undertake preventive actions. This highlights the need to focus efforts on keeping barriers to efficient code generation as low as possible and promoting not only app adoption but also compliance with the recommended measures upon an EN." This article was originally published on the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) Public Health and Surveillance website: [https://publichealth.jmir.org/2022/5/e35653].
JMIR Publications
Ballouz, Tala; Menges, Dominik; Aschmann, Hélène E. . . .
2022-05-19
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S. Rept. 117-111: COVID-19 Home Safety Act of 2021, Report to Accompany S. 116, Including Cost Estimate of the Congressional Budget Office, May 18, 2022
From the Document: "The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to which was referred the bill (S. 116) to require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to study the effect of the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic on injuries and deaths associated with consumer products, and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the bill (as amended) do pass.[...] The purpose of the bill is to require the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to submit to Congress and make publicly available, within 3 months of the bill's enactment and every 3 months thereafter while the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) public health emergency continues, a report on the effect of the COVID-19 public health emergency on injuries and deaths from consumer products. The CPSC must also collaborate with public media outlets to distribute resource information for increasing home safety during the COVID-19 public health emergency, based on the contents of the report."
United States. Government Publishing Office
2022-05-18
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H. Rept. 117-327: COVID-19 EIDL Fraud Statute of Limitations Act of 2022, Report to Accompany H.R. 7334, May 17, 2022
From the Document: "The Committee on Small Business, to whom was referred the bill (H.R. 7334) to extend the statute of limitations for fraud by borrowers under certain COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] economic injury disaster loan programs of the Small Business Administration, and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass. [...] The purpose of H.R. 7334, the 'COVID-19 EIDL Fraud Statute of Limitations Act of 2022', is to establish a statute of limitations of ten years for COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) fraud cases."
United States. Government Publishing Office
2022-05-17
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State and Federal Authority to Mandate COVID-19 Vaccination [Updated May 17, 2022]
From the Summary: "This report provides an overview of state and federal authority to mandate vaccination. The first part of the report provides background on state and local authority to mandate vaccination under the states' general police power. It discusses the Supreme Court's long-standing recognition of state and local authority to mandate vaccination as an exercise of their police power, and modern courts' analyses of more recent challenges to state vaccination mandates based on the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause. The report then analyzes the Supreme Court's evolving free exercise jurisprudence and the questions it raises regarding whether and when governments must provide for or grant religious exemptions to vaccination requirements. It then looks at how courts have addressed challenges to COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] vaccination requirements imposed by states and state entities. The second part of the report provides an overview of federal authority to mandate vaccination. It discusses several sources of existing federal statutory authority that could serve, or have been invoked, as the basis for federal COVID-19 vaccination mandates. [...] This part also reviews the extent of Congress's constitutional authority under the Constitution's Spending and Commerce Clauses to mandate vaccination. The report concludes with a brief discussion of a legal issue specific to COVID-19 vaccination mandates, particularly before FDA's licensure of Comirnaty. Namely, it reviews how courts have addressed some litigants' argument that the Emergency Use Authorization status of COVID-19 vaccines preclude entities from mandating COVID-19 vaccination."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Shen, Wen W.
2022-05-17
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(U) Audit of North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command Use of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act Funding [redacted]
From the Document: "(U) The objective of this audit was to determine whether North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) officials used Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. (U) We conducted this audit in response to an allegation made to the DoD Hotline regarding the improper use of CARES Act funds. Specifically, the allegation was that NORAD and USNORTHCOM officials used CARES Act funds for information technology projects that were unrelated to the COVID-19 pandemic response. [...] (U) CARES Act guidance--issued by the Office of Management and Budget, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), and Department of the Air Force--requires that Air Force, and NORAD and USNORTHCOM officials use CARES Act funds to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Office of Management and Budget, and Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) guidance, NORAD and USNORTHCOM officials must maintain evidence for goods and services acquired in response to COVID-19. The guidance further states that adequate evidence must include clear and accurate data of sufficient quality that articulates the need for the transaction. According to the Air Force guidance, Air Force officials will validate NORAD and USNORTHCOM expenses prior to reimbursement. (U) We selected and reviewed a nonstatistical sample of 25 COVID-19 transactions, totaling $61.0 million, from a population of 497 transactions, valued at $66.4 million. For the selected transactions, NORAD and USNORTHCOM officials used CARES Act funds to increase information technology equipment and support, and DoD operations."
United States. Department of Defense. Office of the Inspector General
2022-05-17
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey, Report #87: Parent Information Sources and Children COVID Vaccination
From the Document: "The path to FDA authorization for vaccines in young children has been complex. On February 1, 2022 Pfizer and BioNTech [hyperlink] responded to requests from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to seek emergency authorization of their COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] vaccine for children ages 6 months through 4 years on a rolling basis. This authorization would have allowed children to begin receiving the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine while data comparing two or three course vaccine regimens for children were still being collected. However, on February 11, 2022 [hyperlink] the FDA reversed course and announced it would wait for data on the effectiveness of the third dose before granting emergency authorization. Most recently, Moderna [hyperlink] announced it was seeking authorization for its vaccine for children under 6 and the FDA [hyperlink] has laid out a timeline for examining the authorization requests and data in June. [...] In light of this confusion, it is important to understand where parents are getting information about vaccinating their children against COVID-19. In this report we examine where parents are seeking information about their children's health and vaccination decision-making, as well as who they discuss these important decisions with. We gathered this information by asking parents to select which sources they use from a list, as well as from an open-ended response question. We find that there is quite a bit of overlap in sources between these two methods."
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Pippert, Caroline; Trujillo, Kristin Lunz; Safarpour, Alauna . . .
2022-05-17
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Taxing Unemployment Insurance (UI) Benefits: Federal- and State-Level Tax Treatment During the COVID-19 Pandemic [May 16, 2022]
From the Introduction: "Congress enacted several temporary, now-expired Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits for workers unemployed due to the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic and the resulting disruption of the economy and labor market. [...] The COVID-19 UI benefits authorized from March 2020 through September 2021 provided higher levels of income replacement than UI benefits paid during 2019. Benefits often exceeded previous weekly wages. For some individuals, higher UI benefit payments raised concerns about higher-than-anticipated federal income tax liabilities. Some states did not provide federal income tax withholding opportunities for certain types of COVID-19 UI benefits, further contributing to this concern. This report provides information on the federal taxation of UI benefits, including federal income tax withholding requirements related to the now-expired COVID-19 UI benefits. The report also discusses the federal income tax exclusion authorized for UI payments in 2020, which allowed taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (AGI) of less than $150,000 to exclude up to $10,200 in UI benefits from 2020 taxable income. It also provides information from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on the amounts of UI benefits that were taxed in 2019 as well as program data on the percentage of all UI benefits that was withheld for the payment of federal income taxes in 2019 through 2021. Finally, the report summarizes state income tax treatment of UI benefits, including whether a state offers to withhold state income taxes from UI benefits, the state's withholding rate, and whether the state matched the temporary federal tax exclusion on up to $10,200 of UI benefits in 2020."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Whittaker, Julie M.; Isaacs, Katelin P., 1980-
2022-05-16
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Changes in Parental Attitudes Toward COVID-19 Vaccination and Routine Childhood Vaccination During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Repeated Cross-Sectional Survey Study
From the Abstract: "It was reported that one in four parents were hesitant about vaccinating their children in China. Previous studies have revealed a declining trend in the vaccine willingness rate in China. There is a need to monitor the level of parental vaccine hesitancy toward routine childhood vaccination and hesitancy toward the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] vaccine during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. [...] This study aims to assess changes in trends of parental attitudes toward routine childhood vaccines and COVID-19 vaccinations across different time periods in China. [...] Three waves of cross-sectional surveys were conducted on parents residing in Wuxi City in Jiangsu Province, China from September to October 2020, February to March 2021, and May to June 2021. Participants were recruited from immunization clinics." This article was originally published on the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) Public Health and Surveillance website: [https://publichealth.jmir.org/2022/5/e33235].
JMIR Publications
Wang, Qiang; Xiu, Shixin; Yang, Liuqing . . .
2022-05-13
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Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate: S. 312, COVID-19 Safer Detention Act of 2021
From the Document: "'The bill would'[:] [1] Allow federal prisoners sentenced before November 1, 1987, to apply for compassionate release[;] [and 2] Shorten certain elderly prisoners' sentences by applying credits for good conduct time to eligibility for early release[.] 'Estimated budgetary effects would mainly stem from'[:] [1] Reductions in discretionary spending by the federal Bureau of Prisons because some prisoners would be released earlier than under current law[;] [and 2] Increases in direct spending for health care, Social Security, and other federal benefits[.] 'Areas of significant uncertainty include'[:] [1] Projecting the number of elderly incarcerated prisoners and the number who would be eligible for release from prison[;] [2] Projecting whether prisoners would be confined in residential reentry centers or at home, and the difference in costs between those options compared with confinement in federal prisons[;] [and 3] Estimating the number of offenders released under the act who would receive federal benefits[.]"
United States. Congressional Budget Office
2022-05-12
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COVID-19 State of Vaccine Confidence Insights Report 25 (February 22 - March 14, 2022)
From the Document: "By rapidly reviewing and analyzing numerous sources and inputs [...], the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] State of Vaccine Confidence Insights Report emphasizes major themes influencing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and uptake. These are characterized by the level and type of threat to vaccine confidence, degree of spread, and directionality. In addition, by examining how consumers think and feel, social processes, and the practical issues around vaccination, the Insights Report seeks to identify emerging issues of misinformation, disinformation, and places where intervention efforts can improve vaccine confidence across the United States. The information in this report is only a snapshot, and certain populations may be underrepresented. Images and quotes are illustrative examples and are not meant to comprehensively cover all content related to the highlighted themes." A major theme from this Insights Report involves "Consumers and news outlets expressed their frustration and lack of trust in CDC." Some "Continuing and Evolving Themes" include: "Consumers expressed pandemic fatigue and stated they would no longer practice prevention and mitigation strategies"; "The public continues to have questions and concerns about pediatric COVID-19 vaccines while others eagerly await Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for children under 5 years old"; "Consumers continue to have questions and concerns about the safety of COVID-19 vaccine"; and "Consumers continue to discuss their support or opposition to COVID-19 boosters."
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)
2022-05-12
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Factors Associated With COVID-19 Death in the United States: Cohort Study
From the Abstract: "Since the initial COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] cases were identified in the United States in February 2020, the United States has experienced a high incidence of the disease. Understanding the risk factors for severe outcomes identifies the most vulnerable populations and helps in decision-making. [...] This study aims to assess the factors associated with COVID-19-related deaths from a large, national, individual-level data set. [...] This is one of the largest national cohort studies in the United States; we identified several patient characteristics associated with COVID-19-related deaths, and the results can serve as the basis for policy making. The study also offered directions for future studies, including the effect of other socioeconomic factors on the increased risk for minority groups." This article was originally published on the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) Public Health and Surveillance website: [https://publichealth.jmir.org/2022/5/e29343].
JMIR Publications
Chen, Uan-I; Xu, Hua; Krause, Trudy Millard . . .
2022-05-12
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Veterans Health Administration Needs to Do More to Promote Emotional Well-Being Supports Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic
From the Executive Summary: "The VA [Department of Veterans Affairs] Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted a review to assess how the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) addressed the emotional well-being of employees during the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The OIG also conducted an overview of VHA programs, including what specialized programs, if any, were developed and deployed in response to the unique psychological challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic for VHA's staff. Mental health needs generally surge during and after disasters, including pandemics. In March 2020, after declaring COVID-19 a pandemic, the World Health Organization highlighted the importance of maintaining the mental health and emotional well-being of healthcare workers caring for COVID-19 patients. On March 23, 2020, the VHA Office of Emergency Management issued the initial COVID-19 Response Plan with its four-phase approach and a second, updated version on August 7, 2020. The August 2020 response plan update included language allowing VHA to delegate responsibility to program offices to develop resources for response plan strategies. With that delegated authority, the National Center for Organization Development created and maintained resources for leaders and the VHA Organizational Health Council created and maintained across multiple program offices. The OIG initiated the review on November 30, 2020, and conducted virtual interviews with VA and VHA leaders in multiple offices. The OIG developed a series of survey questions about VHA guidance regarding employees' emotional well-being during the pandemic, available resources, monitoring of available support programs, and employee engagement with available support programs."
United States. Department of Veterans Affairs. Office of Inspector General
2022-05-10
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Lessons Learned from DHS' Employee COVID-19 Vaccination Initiative
From the Document: "In advance of Federal approval for emergency use of the Coronavirus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine, DHS prepared to coordinate employee vaccinations by tasking its components to identify eligible personnel in health care and frontline occupations in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. DHS acted swiftly to identify employees in vaccination priority groups, but provided minimal guidance to components, resulting in inconsistent responses across the Department as to which types of employees were deemed eligible. DHS only partially committed staff resources and delayed establishing a comprehensive, full-time task force to manage the effort. Also, at times, DHS' communications to its employees were inconsistent or unclear, causing confusion among some employees. DHS successfully vaccinated some employees, but missing and erroneous personnel data in DHS systems used to facilitate vaccinations contributed to DHS falling short of reaching its vaccination goals. This report identifies areas of consideration for DHS to better prepare for future emergencies and pandemics. We make one recommendation to improve DHS' ability to identify essential employees, when necessary, in future emergency situations. Also, DHS should consider improving its preparedness by developing incident response protocols that include a plan for establishing and staffing an incident response team. To foster trust among its workforce, DHS should strive to communicate directly and consistently with personnel during future initiatives. Finally, DHS should consider devising and implementing a methodology for conducting oversight of employee data."
United States. Department of Homeland Security. Office of Inspector General
2022-05-10
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MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, May 06, 2022
The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Series is prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). [It] is the agency's primary vehicle for scientific publication of timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations. This issue of MMWR contains the following: "Geographic Differences in Sex-Specific Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Mortality Rate Trends Among Adults Aged ≥25 Years -- United States, 1999-2019"; "Use of a Modified Preexposure Prophylaxis Vaccination Schedule to Prevent
Human Rabies: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices -- United States, 2022"; "West Nile Virus and Other Domestic Nationally Notifiable Arboviral Diseases -- United States, 2020"; "Effectiveness of a COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] Additional Primary or Booster Vaccine Dose in Preventing SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2] Infection Among Nursing Home Residents During Widespread Circulation of the Omicron Variant -- United States, February 14-March 27, 2022"; and "Acute Hepatitis and Adenovirus Infection Among Children -- Alabama, October 2021-February 2022." Notifiable Diseases and Mortality Tables from this issue can be accessed at the following link [https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/index2022.html]
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)
2022-05-06
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Pandemic Learning: Technical Materials for Teacher Survey and Discussion Groups with Public K-12 School Principals, Teachers, and Parents
From the Background: "This electronic supplement serves as a companion to GAO-22-104487 [hyperlink], 'Pandemic Learning: As Students Struggled to Learn, Teachers Reported Few Strategies as Particularly Helpful to Mitigate Learning Loss', as well as two forthcoming reports on pandemic learning. This supplement presents technical information about our two methodologies--a nationwide survey of K-12 public school teachers and discussion groups with educators and parents--as well as a reproduction of the survey instrument and survey results in aggregate form." GAO-22-104487, "Pandemic Learning: As Students Struggled to Learn, Teachers Reported Few Strategies as Particularly Helpful to Mitigate Learning Loss," can be accessed at the following link: [https://www.hsdl.org/?abstract&did=867219].
United States. Government Accountability Office
2022-05-06?
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Latin America and the Caribbean: Impact of COVID-19 [Updated May 4, 2022]
From the Document: "The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is having widespread economic, social, and political effects on Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). As of May 3, 2022, the region had nearly 1.7 million deaths (over 27% of deaths worldwide). Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Colombia, and Argentina had the region's highest numbers of deaths. Looking at deaths per 100,000 people, Peru had the highest recorded COVID-19 mortality rate in the region, followed by Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, and Trinidad and Tobago[.]" This document discusses economic impact, political impact, and U.S. policy considerations.
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Meyer, Peter J.; Sullivan, Mark P.
2022-05-04
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Qualitative Study of COVID-19 Vaccine Intentions and Mistrust in Black Americans: Recommendations for Vaccine Dissemination and Uptake
From the Document: "COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] vaccination rates among Black Americans have been lower than White Americans and are disproportionate to their population size and COVID-19 impact. This study examined reasons for low vaccination intentions and preferred strategies to promote COVID-19 vaccination. [...] Between November 2020 and March 2021, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 24 participants who expressed low vaccination intentions in a RAND American Life Panel survey; we also interviewed five stakeholders who represent organizations or subgroups in Black communities that have been highly affected by COVID-19. [...] Many interviewees discussed the 'wait-and-see' approach, citing that more time and evidence for vaccine side effects and efficacy are needed. Perceived barriers to COVID-19 vaccination included structural barriers to access (e.g., transportation, technology) and medical mistrust (e.g., towards the vaccines themselves, the government, healthcare providers and healthcare systems, and pharmaceutical companies) stemming from historical and contemporary systematic racism against Black communities. Interviewees also discussed strategies to promote COVID-19 vaccines, including acknowledging systemic racism as the root cause for mistrust, preferred messaging content (e.g., transparent messages about side effects), modes, and access points (e.g., a variety of medical and non-medical sites), and trusted information sources (e.g., trusted leaders, Black doctors and researchers)."
PLoS ONE
Dong, Lu; Bogart, Laura M.; Gandhi, Priya . . .
2022-05-03
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Resources for Tracking Federal COVID-19 Spending [Updated May 3, 2022]
From the Summary: "This report provides selected sources for tracking COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] relief and assistance spending. It contains links to and information on government sources detailing spending amounts at various levels, including consolidated spending by multiple government agencies, spending by individual government agencies, and spending for specific recipients and geographies. The sources themselves are large government databases, individual agencies, oversight entities, and selected nongovernmental entities that attempt to repackage information on spending amounts obtained from available government sources."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Teefy, Jennifer; Kreiser, Maria
2022-05-03
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Tailoring Messages for Cross-Cultural Communication: Recommendations for COVID-19 Case Investigators and Contact Tracers
From the Introduction: "Case investigators and contact tracers must understand and adapt to the culture of people with COVID 19 [coronavirus disease 2019] and their close contacts to conduct effective interviews and follow-up. 'Culture' refers to the learned and shared behavior of a community of people who interact with one another. A person's culture may be influenced by a several factors, including those listed in the image below. Culture helps shape a person's values, relationships, and understanding of the world around them. For example, some cultures may have different attitudes or beliefs about COVID-19 transmission, vaccination or treatment Culturp may affect a person's willingness to identify close contacts or provide a description of those contacts. It may also affect how person understands and communicates their symptoms, or influence their beliefs about authority figures, healthcare professionals, and public health."
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (U.S.)
2022-05
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Fund for Global Health Security and Pandemic Preparedness
From the Background: "The COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] crisis has served as a painful demonstration that no country is fully prepared for a pandemic and that the existing global health architecture remains ill-equipped to finance pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response (PPR). The rationale for preventing and containing pandemics is self-evident: the price of preparedness is a fraction of the cost of responding to catastrophic outbreaks, both in terms of human and economic well-being. In the aftermath of the 2003 SARS [Severe acute respiratory syndrome] outbreak, 2009 H1N1 [influenza A virus subtype] pandemic, and the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak, experts called for scaling up sustainable financing to ensure the world was better prepared to face that next global health threat. But even amid efforts to better understand and measure preparedness gaps, little action was taken to mobilize financing and incentivize investments in strengthening detection, prevention, and response capabilities. As global health threats evolve, countries' capacity to prepare for and respond to disease outbreaks is increasingly a global imperative. Now is the time to take concrete steps toward establishing sustained financing for pandemic PPR to help bring an end to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, combat future health security threats, and break the costly cycle of neglect."
Center for Global Development
Glassman, Amanda, 1970-; Smitham, Eleni; Collinson, Erin
2022-05
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Hiding the Elephant: The Tragedy of COVID Policy and Its Economist Apologists
From the Abstract: "In 2020 and 2021, the world witnessed policies that caused enormous net damage to nearly every country. We demonstrate the usefulness of the new WELLBY [Well-Being-Year] currency in gauging the costs and benefits of COVID [coronavirus disease] policies and review the contributions of Australian economists to the scholarly and public debates about these policies. Our analysis documents the value of what was destroyed, the weak resistance mounted by the Australian economics profession during this period, and the role played by many Australian economists as apologists for Australia's most catastrophic peacetime economic policy failure. We close with ideas for working towards a better future."
IZA Institute of Labor Economics
Foster, Gigi; Frijters, Paul
2022-05
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Pandemic Learning: As Students Struggled to Learn, Teachers Reported Few Strategies as Particularly Helpful to Mitigate Learning Loss, Report to Congressional Committees
From the Highlights: "The COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic disrupted learning for millions of students, educators, and families who had to navigate modified in-person and virtual schooling, often in difficult circumstances. The pandemic's effects continue to reverberate across the nation and produce challenges for schools that will likely be felt for years to come. In many respects, the 2020-21 school year offered useful insights that may help schools, educators, and parents in the future. The CARES [Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security] Act includes a provision for GAO [Government Accountability Office] to report on its ongoing COVID-19 monitoring and oversight efforts. GAO also conducted this work in response to a provision in the conference report accompanying the National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2021. This report, which is the first in a series of reports, examines (1) obstacles to learning during school year 2020- 21, and (2) strategies to mitigate learning loss. GAO examines these topics overall, by grade level, and by instructional model (in-person, virtual, or hybrid)."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2022-05
