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Need help getting vaccinated?

Trained staff are standing by to help you find vaccine locations, make appointments, and connect to  local services and supports if you need them to access vaccines. They also can connect you to information to answer questions or concerns you may have about the vaccine. 

  • For people with disabilities: The Disability Information and Assistance Line (DIAL) can be reached by calling 888-677-1199 or by emailing DIAL@usaginganddisability.org at any time.

  • For older adults:  Call the Eldercare Locator at 800-677-1116 or visit the website to chat live or browse resources. 

Both phone lines are staffed Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Eastern). Use this new infographic to help spread the word about DIAL.

Resources for people with COVID-related disabilities

On July 26, the White House published this comprehensive package of resources for people with disabilities, including people with COVID-related disabilities. The package includes information about HHS's work to:

  • Help people with long COVID and other COVID-related conditions. This guidance from the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Department of Justice explains when long COVID can be a disability under various civil rights laws, and how those laws protect people with disabilities due to COVID-19. ACL’s guide to the community-based resources that can help people if they need assistance to live in their own home, go to work or school, or participate in the community.
    • On Monday, Aug. 2, the White House Office of Public Engagement, in conjunction with the Departments of Health and Human Services, Education, and Labor, hosted A Conversation about Long COVID, to review the guidance, share information on how to access supports, and answer questions.  If you missed it, you can watch the video here. 
  • We've created a page for these and other resources for people with COVID-related disabilities -- we'll add to it as more resources are available (and we'd love to add resources from across the aging and disability networks -- please share yours!)

What's New (September 2 - September 16)

Here are the latest additions to this page. Sign up for ACL Updates to receive these and other updates via e-mail.

  • ACL's National Center on Law and Elder Rights is hosting a webinar, Pandemic-Related Disaster Assistance for SSI Recipients, onTuesday, September 21 at 2:00pm ET. (Posted September 16)

  • The Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued a statement affirming its commitment to use every tool at their disposal to help safeguard the millions of the nation’s individuals and families in danger of losing their homes In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision invalidating CDC's eviction moratorium. (Posted September 14)

  • To address COVID-19's dangerous health risks for people with IDD and the direct support workforce, the Institute on Community Integration is partnering with ARRM and the Association of University Centers on Disabilities on a series of public services announcements that encourage direct support workers and personal care attendants to get vaccinated. Watch the PSAs and spread the word. (Posted September 14).

  • A webinar hosted by the Office of Head Start Resource Center on Tuesday, Sept. 21, at 2pm ET will provide the latest information on COVID-19 for programs providing in-person comprehensive services in center-based, home-based, and family child care setting. (Posted September 8)

  • A recent ACL guest blog describes research on Training Volunteers to Support At-Risk Older Adults. This quote from the blog explains the importance of the work: "Older adults are at risk for social isolation and loneliness, which can lead to poor physical and mental health outcomes, including elevated risk of dementia, hopelessness, anxiety, and increased morbidity. These factors have only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the recent work of one ACL grantee shows one of the ways ACL’s networks can help combat the feelings of social isolation, loneliness, and elevated suicidality often experienced by older adults."  (Posted September 2)

Additional recent additions

  • The Social Security Administration (SSA) recently changed their rules about how pandemic-related financial assistance (including economic impact payments) can affect an individual’s eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or their monthly SSI benefit amount. View a full list of COVID-19 financial assistance that no longer counts against SSI eligibility or SSI payment amount. ACL’s National Center on Law and Elder Rights (NCLER) has developed a “Practice Tip” with additional information on this change and its legal implications. (Posted April 25)

  • The NIDILRR-funded Collaborative on Health Reform and Independent Living has published a study, "Responding to the Needs of People with Disabilities in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Community Perspectives from Centers for Independent Living," in the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved. (Posted August 25)

  • The American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPM&R) has launched a dashboard that shows how many millions of Americans are estimated to be experiencing "long COVID" symptoms. The dashboard includes breakdowns by state and county. (Posted August 25)

  • To ensure Medicare beneficiaries who have difficulty leaving their homes or are otherwise hard-to-reach can receive COVID-19 vaccinations, CMS announced that health care providers can receive additional payments for administering vaccines to multiple residents in one home setting or communal setting of a home. This includes smaller group homes, assisted living facilities, and other group living situations. (Posted August 25)

  • CDC has released a toolkit to help you spread the word about their suite of COVID-19 materials—including posters, social stories, videos, and interactive activities—for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). (Posted August 24)

  • The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is developing an emergency regulation requiring staff vaccinations within the nation’s more than 15,000 Medicare and Medicaid-participating nursing homes. (Posted August 24)

  • The Food and Drug Administration changed the status of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine from Emergency Use Authorization to Approved. In addition to first and second doses, the Approved status also applies to administration of a third dose in certain immunocompromised individuals. To read the FDA announcement, click HERE. (Posted August 23)

  • ACL has created a list of FAQs for Administration on Disabilities grantees that answers questions related to the use of incentives. The purpose of the FAQ document is to provide AoD grantees that received funding to address the COVID-19 pandemic  with a basic understanding of the most common types of incentives and how to use them effectively. To access the Administration on Disabilities document, click HERE. (Posted August 18)

Vaccination Information

Vaccinations will help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and are helping bring the COVID-19 pandemic to an end. Find the latest vaccine-related information, guidance, and resources from ACL and our partners.

 

For Older Adults, People with Disabilities, Families, and Caregivers

  • Vaccine info
  • Staying safe
  • Your rights

Click here to learn more
Find resources on "Long COVID"

For the Aging and Disability Networks

  • ACL Program Guidance
  • Promising Practices: Innovative approaches that may work in your community
  • Guidance from other federal programs
Find more resources hereFind a listing of upcoming and archived webinars

Ensuring Equity and Inclusion

Resources for

  • State and local COVID-19 response planners
  • Healthcare professionals
  • Educators
  • Businesses
  • others who need to understand the needs and issues of older adults and people with disabilities

Click here to find more helpful tips

National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness

The National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness provides detailed information about the seven goals of Biden Administration's coordinated pandemic response. The 198-page strategy document begins with an overview of the goals, followed by details on a variety of topics, many of which intersect the core missions of the aging and disability networks. Among the topics covered are home and community based services, vaccination communication, impact on at-risk groups, equitable access to PPE, and community-based, multi-sector efforts to align health and social interventions. The strategy reflects the White House's priorities for addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Follow your state's guidance

Decisions about community measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, as well as vaccine prioritization and distribution, will be made by local and state officials, The links in this section will connect you to some state resources.

Links to state resources
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HUD Evictions Statement (002).pdf114.18 KB

Last modified on 09/15/2021


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