White House investing more than $1.6 billion in COVID-19 testing in vulnerable communities

Photo: Marko Geber/Getty Images

As part of the Biden Administration's ongoing COVID-19 response efforts, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said this week it will invest more than $1.6 billion from the American Rescue Plan to support testing and mitigation measures in "high-risk congregate settings." This is intended to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and detect and stem potential outbreaks.

The move comes as COVID-19 cases are surging primarily among unvaccinated individuals, with the more transmissible Delta variant posing a high risk of infection.

The funding will target activities to detect, diagnose, trace and monitor infections in homeless shelters, treatment and recovery facilities, domestic violence shelters and federal, state and local correctional facilities -- some of the hardest-hit and highest-risk communities in the U.S.

WHAT'S THE IMPACT

The funding breaks down in a number of different ways.

Through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), HHS will invest $100 million to expand dedicated testing and mitigation resources for people with mental health and substance use disorders. This will provide supplemental funding to both the substance abuse prevention and treatment and community mental health services block grant state grantees for rapid onsite COVID-19 testing, and for facilitating access to testing services.  

Funds are available to provide behavioral health services and staff working as contact tracers with training and technical assistance on implementing rapid onsite COVID-19 testing. It is intended to facilitate access to behavioral health services, including the development of onsite testing, confidentiality policies, personal protective equipment, and expanding local and tribal programs to implement response services for those connected to the behavioral health system.

In partnership with the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HHS will invest $80 million to support state and local COVID-19 testing and mitigation measures among people experiencing homelessness, residents of congregate settings including group homes, and encampments. 

State health departments will be encouraged to use this funding to hire workers to coordinate resources, develop strategies and support existing community partners to prevent infectious disease transmission in those settings. State health departments will also use the funding to get ahold of COVID-19 tests and other mitigation supplies, such as handwashing stations, hand sanitizer and masks.

In yet another partnership, this time with the Department of Justice's Federal Bureau of Prisons, HHS will invest $169 million to advance testing and mitigation efforts in federal congregate settings. That includes funding to support routine testing and surveillance for outbreak and non-outbreak situations in accord with public health recommendations. 

That funding will also be earmarked for supporting ongoing vaccination efforts and the necessary hospital costs associated with the pandemic. 

HHS also announced that CDC, in partnership with DOJ's Office of Justice Programs, is distributing $700 million to 64 state and local jurisdictions to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in confinement facilities, including prisons, jails and juvenile detention facilities. These funds will ostensibly allow the facilities to implement diagnostic and screening programs for people who are incarcerated, as well as staff and visitors. 

Funds also may be used to support other activities, including contact tracing, isolation and quarantine strategies, infection control practices, and education and training on ways to minimize the spread of the coronavirus for facility, staff and people who are incarcerated or detained.

Finally, through the Administration for Children and Families, HHS will put $550 toward the Family Violence Prevention and Services Program to support state and tribal programs for detecting, diagnosing and mitigating infections for adults, children and youth experiencing domestic violence and dating violence. 

That particular funding will also go to support cultural competency training and technical assistance for implementing rapid onsite testing, and facilitating access to mobile health unit services for adult and youth victims of family violence, domestic violence or dating violence, and their dependents.

THE LARGER TREND

As of Friday morning, there were 192,735,392 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across the world, including more than 34.2 million in the U.S., which leads the world. The U.S. also leads the world in virus-related deaths, with 610,192, according to the Johns Hopkins coronavirus tracker. 

India is second in the world in terms of cases, with more than 31 million, while Brazil comes in third at roughly 19.5 million. Brazil has recorded the second-highest number of deaths, at more than 547,000, while India has the third-highest death rate, with more than 419,000.
 

Twitter: @JELagasse
Email the writer: jeff.lagasse@himssmedia.com