The White House

The White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health has released a toolkit allowing partners to provide input into the development and implementation of a national strategy on hunger, nutrition, and health that will be announced in September 2022. The toolkit is designed to faciliate conversations with members about ending hunger, improving nutrition, and increasing physical activity.

Long COVID is characterized by a combination of long lasting symptoms including fatigue, pain, and brain fog that range from mild to debilitating. Symptoms of long COVID can last up to months and are a potential cause of disability. The disability network can serve as a key source of information for those recovering from long COVID. The Administration has directed the Secretary of Health and Human Services to coordinate an interagency action plan to address the impacts of long COVID and improve access to services for individuals experiences symptoms and in recovery. The research action plan must specifically include plans to advance the understanding of the health and socioeconomic burdens on individuals affected by long COVID.

President Biden has announced a set of reforms, developed and implemented through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to improve the safety and quality of nursing home care. The reforms are intended to ensure the following: Every nursing home provides a sufficient number of staff who are adequately trained to provide high-quality care; Poorly performing nursing homes are held accountable for improper and unsafe care and immediately improve their services or are cut off from taxpayer dollars; and The public has better information about nursing home conditions so that they can find the best available options.

The White House has released a fact sheet outlining how the Administration has collaborated with the disability community and taken action to address the needs of individuals with disabilities while considering the impacts of the pandemic. The Administration has communicated eight key steps they will take to further ensure that individuals with disabilities, regardless of where they live or the level of community transmission of the virus, have equitable access to COVID-19 testing, masks, and other critical mitigation strategies.

On Friday, January 14, 2022 the White House announced that free at-home, rapid COVID-19 tests are now available for order online. Those who do not have internet access or who need additional assistance with ordering can call 1-800-232-0233 (TTY 1-888-720-7489) to place their orders. The Eldercare Locator and the Disability Information and Assistance Line (DIAL) also can assist older adults and people with disabilities with placing orders, and connect people to accessible instructions.