NACCHO has sent a letter to the House Energy and Commerce Committee thanking them for their efforts to support the public health response to the coronavirus pandemic in the latest coronavirus relief package released Tuesday. The bill is being marked up today (Thursday).
The package contains $7.6 billion in awards to state, local and territorial public health departments for staff to serve as case investigators, contact tracers, social support specialists, community health workers, public health nurses, and any other positions as may be required to prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19. The package includes $46 billion for activities to detect diagnose, trace and monitor COVID-19 infections and related strategies to mitigate the spread of the virus.
In a huge win for NACCHO advocacy the bill contains $100 million for the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC). This is a very exciting development because NACCHO government affairs has advocated for several years to boost funding for the MRC program that has remained flat-funded at $6 million per year. An increase to $100 million for the program would allow for each unit to increase its budget by $100,000 and other units to be organized, exponentially increasing the benefits to local communities and the health and safety of the public. The infusion of support will help support volunteer vaccine efforts at the local level.
