Tacoma‐Pierce County Board of Health

Study Session Agenda 3629 South D Street, Tacoma, WA 98418 December 16, 2020 Board of Health Clerk, (253) 798‐2899 3‐5 p.m. Board Members Catherine Ushka, Chair Remote Attendance Only Derek Young, Vice Chair Dial‐in: 1 253 215 8782 Keith Blocker Meeting ID: 992 6138 9468 Bruce Dammeier Passcode: 575390 William Hirota, MD Patricia Johnson Dave Morell I. CALL TO ORDER Doug Richardson

II. COVID‐19 Update: [Anthony L‐T Chen, Director of Health] [Stephanie Dunkel, Communicable Disease Control, Assistant Division Director]

III. Strategic Planning 2021‐ 2023 [Benjii Bittle, Business Development Manager] [Jahmad Canley of Potential Unleashed Consulting] [Karen Meyer, Community Health Improvement Plan Coordinator]

IV. Equitable Vaccine Distribution [Jax Hermer, Communicable Disease Control, Public Health Nurse Consultant]

V. Executive Session Discuss performance of a public employee pursuant to RCW 42.30.110(1)(g)

VI. Adjournment

Study Session – 12/16/2020 Page 1 of 1

COVID-19 Update

Anthony Chen Stephanie Dunkel Board of Health Study Session Dec. 16, 2020 Agenda

COVID-19 disease response. • Disease trends. • Schools update. • CARES Act update. Disease Trends in Pierce County

• See our Safe Start dashboard for testing information and other data we’re tracking: tpchd.org/covid19cases.

As of December 9, 2020 Safe Start Phase 2—Disease Trends Data as of Dec. 10

• Low rate of new positive cases. Target: < 25 new cases per 100,000 population for 14 days. • Current: 461.

• Hospitalizations for COVID-19. • Trend: Increasing.

• Healthcare system readiness. • At target level for overall bed occupancy.

• Outbreaks. Target: 2 or fewer. • Variable week to week.

• Low rate of positive tests. Target: < 2%. • Current: 12.3% and increasing. Schools Update—COVID-19 Testing Pilot

"Thanks for giving our community hope." • We fostered this unique partnership between public health, school districts and community to get kids back in school. • It's innovative—The first of its kind in state. • We were quick—Developed and implemented in 3 weeks in 3 districts. • It's successful—We've tested more than 3,000 people so far. • We're improving—Listening to feedback from staff and parents to inform future planning. Cares Act Update

CARES-funded projects underway: • Increased testing for schools. • "Get tested" marketing campaign. • Surge staffing. • COVID vaccine procurement. • Planning for 2021. Questions? Strategic Plan 2021-2023

Board of Health Study Session Dec. 16, 2020

Benjii Bittle, Business Development Manager Jahmad Canley, Potential Unleashed Karen Meyer, Community Health Improvement Plan Coordinator Bridge Plan

Expedited planning because of the pandemic.

Focus on high-level priorities.

Rely on existing input from community and partners.

Next plan is for 6 years and covers 3 biennial budgets. We heard from…

• Community Health Improvement Plan process. • COVID-19 listening sessions. • Participatory Policy Making sessions. Community input

• Workshops, online survey, CHA. interviews.

CHA • Vetted with elected officials, service findings. groups, community groups.

CHIP • Online survey, stakeholder priorities. listening.

CHIP • Community strategies. partners. Building on the essentials

Vision: Healthy People in Healthy Communities Mission: We protect and improve the health of all people and places in Pierce County. Priorities: • People are healthy and safe here. • People have equitable opportunities for health. • Children, families and communities thrive. • Our organization is high performing, innovative and quality focused. Strategic Initiatives 2021-2023

1. Health equity. 2. Racial justice. 3. Healthy resilient children and youth. 4. COVID-19 and other communicable diseases. 5. Community behavioral health and well-being. Questions for discussion

• What projects in the community connect to these initiatives? • What would you like to see more of in our COVID-19 response and recovery work? • What would you change? Next Steps

• Final approval in January 2021. • Operationalize the plan: • Goals. • Measures. • Values. Questions? COVID-19 Vaccine: Close the equity gap.

Jax Hermer, DNP, RN Dec. 16, 2020 Our plan for today

• COVID-19 vaccine is coming! • Ongoing community engagement. • Support State Department of Health’s prioritization for distribution, including equity focus. COVID-19 vaccine is coming!

• We will only promote and distribute a safe and effective vaccine. • First shipment this week. • At least 400,000 doses in Washington by end of December. • Limited vaccine available initially. • Department of Health is lead for distribution and allocation planning. • Goal is to protect the most at risk. • Phased distribution approach. • Broad community distribution not occurring until Phases 3 and 4. Considerations for vaccine promotion

• COVID-19 is placing a heavy burden on communities of color.

• Disease rates are 2-4x higher than among white communities.

• Not all community members trust vaccines and healthcare services.

• Some people have questions or concerns about the safety and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine.

• Trusted community leaders are the most influential messengers of important public health information. Community engagement strategy: Preparing people for vaccine readiness

• Prioritize communities with high COVID-19 disease burden.

• Share information at existing spaces through trusted relationships and partners. • Plan: 10-15 community presentations per month from December 2020 through 2021.

• Create accessible and culturally grounded communication tools.

• Promote creative, community-informed strategies to enhance vaccine uptake. Vaccine candidates

• Pfizer BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. • Both require 2 doses. • Both have shown over 94% efficacy across age, gender, race/ethnicity, and weight. • Side effects include tiredness, body aches, fever, and headaches. • Both are mRNA vaccines, which require very cold temperatures to maintain their stability. • Neither have evaluated efficacy on asymptomatic transmission. Distribution timeline

Pfizer Vaccine Moderna Vaccine Nov. 20: Submitted EUA request. Nov. 30: Submitted EUA request. Dec. 10-14: FDA and CDC decision. Dec. 17-22: FDA and CDC decision. Dec. 14-15: Western States Pact Dec 18-22: Western States Pact review. review. Dec. 15: 62K doses distributed to WA. Dec. 22: 127K doses distributed to WA. Dec. 22: 71 K doses distributed to WA. Dec. 29: 56K doses distributed to WA. Dec. 29: 86K doses distributed to WA. Vaccine allocation and equity

• Department of Health (DOH) conducted month-long community engagement strategy to understand concerns and priorities of most affected communities.

• DOH developing plans to equitably distribute vaccine. Aligned with: • NAM’s Framework for Equitable Allocation of COVID-19 Vaccine. • Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ recommendations.

• Plans prioritize certain groups to help close COVID-19's equity gaps. Those at highest exposure risk will get the vaccine first.

Phase 1a: • High risk workers in healthcare settings. • High risk first responders. • Long-term care residents and staff.

Next: • Critical workers at high risk of exposure at work. • People with multiple underlying health conditions. • People over 65 years. Questions?

Want more information? www.tpchd.org/covid19vaccine