- On August 16, 2022, CDC released the CDC Fall COVID-19 Vaccination Operational Planning Guide on the COVID-19 Vaccination Program Operational Guidance webpage. This operational planning guide includes details about the anticipated bivalent COVID-19 booster.
- On August 16, 2022, the Biden Administration released Back to School 2022: Giving Every School the Tools to Prevent COVID-19 Spread and Stay Safely Open All Year Long, which is a fact sheet that details key supports and guidance for protecting students, teachers, and school communities this upcoming school year, and managing and mitigating the risks of COVID-19 spread.
- On August 11, 2022, as part of the streamlined guidance release, CDC developed new tabs on the COVID-19 webpage that include “Understanding Your Risk,” “Factors That Affect Your Risk of Getting Very Sick,” “Understanding Exposure Risks,” and “What to Do If You Were Exposed.”
- On May, 27, 2022, CDC released updated Operational Guidance for K-12 School and Early Care and Education Programs to Support Safe In-Person Learning. Additionally, CDC released Frequently Asked Questions for K-12 and Early Care and Education (ECE) Settings: Information for School and ECE Administrators, Teachers, Staff, and Parents, Frequently Asked Questions for Directors of Overnight Camps, and the Interactive School Ventilation Tool.
- On May 17, 2022, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) launched ASTHO Learning: Essentials of Leadership & Management: A Training for COVID-19 Contact Tracing Program Supervisors. This new course prepares new and existing supervisors for their roles within public health agencies building on core management and leadership competencies. ASTHO also has two new briefs available on their website to enhance skills for case investigators and contact tracers:
- CDC Covid Data Tracker: SARS-CoV-2 RNA Levels in Wastewater in the United States
- Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health
- 2/3/22 Fact Sheet: Re-Think Your Mask: The Best Face Masks to Protect Against Omicron
- 1/29/22 Social media toolkit promoting vaccines for kids 5 and up: Protect the Ones You Love
- 1/26/22 Videos promoting vaccines for kids 5 and up: Protect the Ones You Love
- 1/13/22 Fact Sheet: COVID-19 Treatments: What Community Members Need to Know
- 1/12/22: Fact Sheet: DOs and DON’Ts When Talking to Others About COVID-19
- White House 11/8: American Rescue Plan resources for Native Americans
- UponArriving: Avoiding Coronavirus Financial Scams: Everything You Need to Know
- White House 9/27: American Rescue Plan resources for Native Americans
- Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development: recordings and resources from the “Navigating the American Rescue Plan Act” webinar series.
- CDC 8/27: As many students are returning to in-person learning this fall, CDC is recommending that schools take several steps to help stop the spread of COVID-19. These safety measures include consistent and correct mask use, physical distancing, and promoting vaccination. Another critical step to help keep schools open is regular COVID-19 testing at school for students, teachers, and staff members.
School-based COVID-19 testing programs help keep children in school. Additionally, these programs protect the health of students, families, educators, and the community—especially those who are not fully vaccinated or are otherwise at risk of severe illness from COVID-19—and most importantly, serve as an early warning system to help stop an outbreak before it starts.
To help support a regular testing program, CDC has developed a suite of free resources for you to use, including social media content, flyers, posters, customizable letters, and FAQs. - NIHB 8/19: The National Indian Health Board created a response plan template as a resource for Tribes, Pueblos, and Nations to use in developing COVID-19 or other outbreak response plans or in cross-walking with existing plans. In recognition of Tribal sovereignty and self-governance, the response template acknowledges that Tribes, Pueblos, and Nations may differ in respect to their approaches to COVID-19-related mitigation and response. Therefore, this document serves as a starting or reference point for Tribal nations to review and determine what content may be relevant to their unique circumstances.
- Administration for Community Living: Resources for Individuals with Long COVID
- HRSA 7/1: The Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Reporting Portal is now open. All recipients of PRF payments must comply with the reporting requirements described in the Terms and Conditions. Providers who are required to report during Reporting Period 1 have until September 30, 2021 to enter the Portal and submit their information.
- Register to attend the technical assistance webinar on July 8, 2021 at 3:00pm ET.
- Helpful resources can be found on PRF Reporting Webpage, PRF Reporting Portal User Guide, and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). For additional information, please call the Provider Support Line at (866) 569-3522; for TTY dial 711. Hours of operation are 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Central Time, Monday through Friday.
- FEMA 6/14: FEMA recently updated the COVID-19 Education Resource Roadmap to assist state, local, tribal and territorial (SLTT) partners with the unprecedented challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, in addition to the CARES Act, Version 2.0 includes resources that were identified in the Consolidated Appropriations Act and American Rescue Plan Act.
- Administration for Native Americans (ANA): Tribal Food Security Resources: A Guide for Tribal Leaders during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Recovery Period
- USDA COVID-19 Federal Rural Resource Guide Lists Federal Programs That Can Help Rural Communities, Organizations and Residents Impacted by COVID-19
- FEMA Region I: COVID-19 Long-Term Recovery Task Force Resource Guides:
COVID-19 Assistance Available to Individuals
While the various coronavirus relief aid packages enacted by Congress each contain relief and recovery funds and programs designed to be administered by Tribal Nations, there are also a variety of assistance programs administered by the federal and state governments available to our citizens on an individual basis. We know that many USET SPF Member Tribal Nations seek to assist their citizens in identifying and navigating all available benefits and relief. With this in mind, USET SPF provides a summary (updated 10/19/21) of currently available COVID-19 relief and recovery resources for individuals and families. We will offer periodic updates to this list as further information becomes available.
- 5/18/2022: Today, the White House released a Bipartisan Infrastructure Law technical assistance guide to help state, local, Tribal and territorial governments navigate, access, and deploy infrastructure resources that will build a better America. This guide, building on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Guidebook and Rural Playbook, highlights programs that help communities navigate programs and resources that can help them deliver infrastructure projects. While some of these programs offer hands-on and intensive planning and delivery support for communities, others are more self-directed resources and tools such as webinars and websites, or funding that can support project planning.
- 3/29/2022: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has finalized and issued a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document for COVID-19 relief payments by Tribal Governments made to individual Tribal citizens. These include COVID-19 relief payments authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020 (P.L. 116-136), the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (P.L. 116-260), and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (P.L. 117-2). This FAQ document provides general information on the tax treatment and required reporting for COVID-19 relief payments by Tribal governments to individual Tribal citizens and their dependents.
COVID-19 Resources
2023
- 5/1 Bivalent COVID-19 Booster Dose Vaccine Update
- 4/27 COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Ending
- 4/19 Biden Signs Resolution Ending the National Emergency
- 4/13 World Health Organization Updated COVID-19 Vaccination Guidance
- 4/6 USET COVID-19 Protocols Updated
- 3/22 COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Ending
2022
- 12/15 White House COVID-19 Winter Preparedness Plan
- 12/14 Bivalent COVID-19 Booster Dose Authorized for Children 6 Months and Up & Variant Updates
- 10/24 Novavax Monovalent COVID-19 Booster Dose
- 10/24 Bivalent COVID-19 Booster Dose Authorized for 5- to 11-Year-Old Children
- 9/6 Bivalent COVID-19 Booster Dose Authorized
- 8/29 COVIDTests.gov: September 2nd Last Day for Ordering Free At Home COVID-19 Tests
- 8/18 Protecting Tribal Communities from COVID-19: COVID-19 Protocols and Recommendations
- 7/25 FDA Approves Emergency Use Authorization of Novavax
- 7/15 SARS-CoV-2 BA.5 Variant
- 6/19 COVID-19 Vaccines for Young Children
- 5/27 COVID-19 Cases on the Rise Again
- 5/20 FDA Expands Eligibility for Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Dose to Children 5 through 11 Years
- 5/4 Screen Before You Convene & Community Risk Level Recommendations
- 4/18 US Food and Drug Administration Authorizes New COVID-19 “Breathalyzer” Diagnostic Test
- 3/30 New Recommendations on Second COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Dose
- 1/20 Home Test Kits and N-95 Masks NOW AVAILABLE
- 1/7 Cases and Hospitalizations Rapidly Increasing Due to Omicron Variant; Updates on Vaccine Boosters
- 1/14 Frequently Asked Questions about COVID-19 and the Omicron Variant
- 1/14 Guidance 2022-02: Isolation and Quarantine Recommendations
- 1/14/2022 Guidance 2022-01: Testing Strategies to Mitigate the Spread in Tribal Communities
2021
- 11/2 Guidance 2021-04: Vaccine Booster Doses
- 7/5 Guidance 2021-03: SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern
- 6/24 Guidance 2021-02: Recommendations for Re-Opening: Improving Indoor Air Quality to Prevent COVID-19
- 5/24/2021 Guidance 2021-01: Preventative Measures for Fully Vaccinated Individuals
2020
- 11/12 Guidance 2020-012: Prioritization of a COVID-19 Vaccine
- 10/8 Guidance 2020-011: Influenza Recommendations during COVID-19
- 10/2 Guidance 2020-010: BinaxNOW Antigen Test for COVID-19
- 9/3 UPDATED Guidance 2020-006: Testing and Implications for Public Health Decision Making
- 8/24 UPDATED Guidance 2020-007: Recommendations for Antibody Testing
- 8/13 Guidance 2020-009: School Reopening
- 7/23 Guidance 2020-008: The Community Use of Masks and Face Coverings in Response to COVID-19
- 7/23 UPDATED Guidance 2020-003: Abbott ID NOW COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing
- 6/11 UPDATED Antibody Tests for COVID-19
- 5/28 COVID Testing Guidance
- FDA COVID-19 testing
- A Brief Guide to Testing for COVID-19
- CLIA-Waived Tests for COVID-19
- Antibody Tests for COVID-19
- Educational Flyer for Tribal Leaders, Health Directors, and Providers: The Limitations of Testing and False Negatives
- Community Educational Flyer: A Negative COVID-19 Test is not always Accurate
- Talking Points: COVID-19 Testing and Implications for Public Health Decision Making
- 5/22 Guidance 2020-001: Case Definition for COVID-19 UPDATED
- 5/13 Guidance 2020-007: Recommendations for Antibody Testing
- 5/13 Guidance 2020-006: Testing and Implications for Public Health Decision Making
- 5/1 Guidance 2020-005: Appropriate Use of Disinfectants in Clinical and other Public Spaces
- 4/16 Guidance 2020-004: Contact Tracing During an Outbreak or Pandemic
- 4/14 Guidance 2020-003: Abbott ID NOW COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing
- 4/6 Guidance 2020-002: Social Distancing
- 4/2 Guidance 2020-001: Case Definition for COVID-19
2020
- 5/21 Tip of the Day 2020:12: Ensuring the Safety of Your Water before Reopening
- 5/1 Tip of the Day 2020:11: Pausing the Section 106 Review Process during the COVID-19 Emergency – ACHP Guidance
- 4/25 Tip of the Day 2020:10: Paycheck Protection Program: Apply Early!
- 4/24 Tip of Day Follow-up to 2020:01: Follow Up: Document
- 4/21 Tip of the Day 2020:09: Expanded Telehealth Services for Tribal Medicare and Medicaid Enrollees
- 4/17 Tip of the Day 2020:08: Numerous Covid-19 Funding Opportunities Available
- 4/15 Tip of the Day 2020:07: Federally-Backed-Mortgage Relief Available During COVID-19 Emergency
- 4/10 and 4/13 Tip of the Day 2020:06: CARES Act $8B Tribal Set-Aside: Prepare Now
- 4/9 Tip of the Day 2020:05: Accessing the Strategic National Stockpile
- 4/8 Tip of the Day 2020:04: Tribal Nations Access to FEMA Public Assistance for COVID-19 Emergency Response
- 4/7 Tip of the Day 2020:03: Case Definitions
- 4/6 Tip of the Day 2020:02: Don’t Fall Prey to Scammers
- 4/3 Tip of the Day 2020:01: Document
- Resource from SAMHSA’s National AI/AN Prevention Technology Transfer Center: Prevention in the Midst of Crisis (December 2020)
- Pathways RTC: Telehealth for Transition Age Youth and Young Adults (tip sheet); Supporting Youth Peer Support Specialists During COVID-19 (webinar recording)
- SAMHSA: Training and Technical Assistance Related to COVID-19 (updated 8/21)
- CDC’s How Right Now initiative is a communication initiative focused on mental health and emotional well-being amid the COVID-19 pandemic and reopening of the country
- Mountain Plains Addiction Technology Transfer Center Network – Tips for Using Videoconferencing to Deliver Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Services
- Pacific Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network – Virtual Learning Guide
- COVID-19 Mental Health Resource Hub
- CDC: Coping with Stress
- IHS: Resources for Mental Health Programs
- Online 12 Step Meetings
- Free App to Support People in Recovery During COVID-19 Outbreak
- Minority Business Development Agency 4/23/21: New Small Business And Non-Profit Tax Credit For Vaccination Support
- Law Office of Richard McGee: Can Employers Mandate Vaccines?
- Native Learning Center Hoporenkv Podcast: Responding To a Positive COVID-19 Diagnosis in the Workplace
- COVID-19 Emergency Sick and Family Leave: What Employers Need to Know
- Tips for Managers/HR While Working from Home
- Improving Your Work from Home Experience