NPR Article: Confused by CDCs Latest Mask Guidance? Here's What We Learned Updated 6/8/21

Relevant points:

 CDC doesn't run or oversee and can't overrule your local or state health department. You'll still need to check the local rules where you live to see how they've changed (if they have) in response to this week's shift in the CDC's guidance.

• Whether you need to wear a mask indoors in public venues will depend on local mandates and guidelines, as well as businesses, which make their own operating decisions.
• Most legal experts agree employers can require vaccination of their employees

Responding to Questions and Concerns about the COVID-19 Vaccine, Including During Ramadan
NRC-RIM

This blog post features tips and resources to help refugee service providers address questions and concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine. It includes customizable communications templates and campaigns, responses to common client questions, videos addressing concerns about vaccines and Ramadan, and more!

Our friends at the New American Neighbors video outreach project have just produced and posted a set of nine videos concerning COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy. The videos are in Amharic, Arabic, Dari, French, Nepali, Pashtu, Somali, Spanish, and Tigrinya. Videos in Burmese and Karen will be added soon.

Each video addresses the facts that the COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective, and has been scientifically tested.

Using data from 245 health centers that completed the voluntary weekly Health Center COVID-19 Survey, a new CDC article reviews trends in telehealth use, including by U.S. Census region and urban/rural classification, during a 20-week period. Study results underscore the need to sustain expanded telehealth use among health centers and to continue to address barriers to telehealth adoption, particularly in the south and rural areas.

For more information about survey results—including links to dashboards—visit our Health Center COVID-19 Survey page.

Our CDC partners would like you to know that the National Resource Center for Refugees, Immigrants and Migrants (NRC-RIM) has officially launched its website!

The National Resource Center for Refugees, Immigrants, and Migrants (NRC-RIM) is funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide assistance and resources to state and local health departments working with refugee, immigrant, and migrant communities that have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. More than just a library, NRC-RIM empowers organizations to replicate best practices from across the country, increase their knowledge of key concepts for serving RIM communities, and ultimately serve more people than ever before. Whether you need COVID-19 translated materials (roughly 3,000 translated COVID-19 materials and resources in around 100 languages), COVID-19 vaccine toolkits or on-demand training, NRC-RIM has the resources you need right now. 

• New translations:
  • KAREN COVID-19 Vaccine Plain Language Factsheet
  • KINYARWANDA COVID-19 Vaccine Plain Language Factsheet
  • SWAHILI (Congolese) COVID-19 Vaccine Plain Language Factsheet
  • TIGRINYA COVID-19 Vaccine Plain Language Factsheet
• Last week, NRC-RIM released the second video in their Reflections series, which highlights the ways that COVID-19 has affected the lives of refugees, immigrants and migrants. 

CDC hosted the National Forum on COVID-19 Vaccine last week and provided links to forum toolkits and video resources. 

Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) factsheets for the Pfizer and Modern COVID-19 Vaccine. Please note that the languages bolded are *new* updates.

Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine | FDA

• Translated factsheets for recipients and caregivers.
• When you enter the site, make sure to scroll down to the bottom of the webpage for hyperlinks to the translated languages below.
• Available in Arabic, Burmese, Cherokee, Chuukese, Chinese, French, German, Haitian Creole, Hindi, Hmong, lu Mien,