NACCHO has been releasing bi-weekly blogs consisting of an up-to-date collection of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) resources for our members working at the intersection of environmental health and COVID-19. See past resource roundups here.

Across NACCHO

Webinars

• Hygiene-related behaviors during the COVID-19 Pandemic Among U.S. Populations: A Review
  
  Description: A range of hygiene-related behaviors have been promoted as part of the COVID-19 pandemic response. This includes frequent handwashing, frequent use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer, and frequent cleaning and disinfection of surfaces. To help understand who is engaging in these behaviors and what influences their decisions to engage in these behaviors, researchers in the Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch of the Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have engaged in a range of quantitative and qualitative studies. This webinar on Thursday, February 18 from 3 to 4 pm EST will describe some of these findings. As a result of the presentation, participants will learn about potential strategies to increase engagement in hygiene-related behaviors.
  
• Disability Inclusion and Emergency Preparedness: AUCD, ASTHO and NACCHO Partnership and Collaboration
  
  Description: The webinar on February 25 at 3 pm ET will feature updates from the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD)’s Prepared4ALL initiative of the National Center on Disability Inclusion and Emergency Preparedness, along with strategies for connecting with state and local public health officials in the COVID-19 response and beyond. Partners from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and NACCHO will share updates on disability inclusion efforts, including regional and local approaches.

• 2021 Preparedness Summit: Early bird registration has been extended to Wednesday, February 24.
  
• NACCHO and UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health Launch Pandemic Ethics Dashboard: NACCHO has partnered with the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina to develop a Pandemic Ethics Dashboard, a powerful tool that makes it easy to find established ethical guidance from WHO, CDC, and the APHA Code of Ethics. The new dashboard will help you find your way through the maze of COVID-19 ethics issues, such as face mask laws, what is an essential worker, and who should get vaccinated first. Check out the dashboard here: https://pandemicethics.org/

From Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

• CDC Reports Decreases in Young Children Who Received Blood Lead Level Testing During COVID-19
  Testing for elevated blood lead levels in children decreased 34% between January and May 2020, and by more than 50% between March and May 2020, when compared to the same period in 2019. The sharpest decrease (66%) occurred in April 2020, after the declaration of the COVID-19 national emergency in March 2020. With millions of children at risk for elevated blood lead levels, children who missed their screenings should be tested promptly to help prevent health problems and learning difficulties as a result of exposure to the toxic metal.
• Requirement for Face Masks on Public Transportation Conveyances and at Transportation Hubs
• Upcoming CDC partner update call:
  • Topic: Operational Strategy for K-12 Schools through Phased Mitigation (Register for the call)
  • Date: Monday, February 22, 2021
  • Time: 3:30—4:30 p.m. ET
  • CDC Speakers
    • Dr. Clifford McDonald, Medical Officer in Support of the Chief Medical Officer, CDC COVID-19 Emergency Response
    • Dr. Greta Massetti, Co-Lead of the Community Interventions and Critical Populations (CICP) Task Force, CDC COVID-19 Emergency Response
    • Kathryn Sisler, Strategy lead for Partnerships and Risk Management, CDC COVID-19 Emergency Response (Moderator)
      Dr. McDonald will share updates on CDC’s COVID-19 response, including the latest scientific information and what everyone should know about protecting themselves and others. Dr. Massetti will provide an overview of the new operational strategy for K-12 schools through phased mitigation. Please submit your questions by 2/18 so that we can group similar questions and answer as many as possible. Please email [email protected] with “Partner Call 2/22” in the subject line. The call will be recorded and posted with previous Partner Update webinars here.

From the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• Ventilation and Virus Mitigation in Schools: Creating a Game Plan to Reduce COVID-19 Risk and Make Lasting Improvements to IAQ
  Date: Thursday, February 25, 2021
  Time: 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. EST
  Description: Learn how to create a game plan for mitigating risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in the near term and prioritizing the top 5 IAQ improvements to ensure healthy air in schools in the long term.

From Informed Green Solutions

• This factsheet from Informed Green Solutions provides more information on choosing safer disinfectants active against the COVID-19 virus.

From North Carolina State University

• Webinar: FoodCoVNET Presents: Vaccine uptake in the food sector and communicating around vaccine hesitancy (February 24 at 12 PM ET)
  Description: Food sector community members are invited to public health and communication experts discuss challenges and strategies to address concerns for vaccinations.

See any EH and COVID-19 categories missing on this bi-weekly blog? Let us know by emailing [email protected]. Continue to check back with NACCHO’s Essential Elements for COVID-19 and local health resources.