COVID-19 Collaboration: Taking Action to Address Communities’ Needs

Purpose

In 2020, communities around the world came together to reduce the effects of the pandemic. Using COVID-related supplemental funding, ATSDR collaborated with state, local, tribal, and community organizations to address new and ongoing needs in the face of this unexpected challenge.

People standing in a line with masks on, being greeted by medical professionals in masks and white coats.

Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic

A large portion of the funding supported safe cleaning and disinfection in schools and childcare facilities. From ensuring the safe use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers, to developing a continuously updating, state-of-the-art COVID-19 Data Tracker, to setting up a COVID-19 testing site on the Blackfoot Indian reservation in Montana, community health and well-being throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond has been at the forefront of ATSDR's work.

ATSDR's Office of Emergency Management coordinators collaborated with CDC's Emergency Operations Center to facilitate hundreds of ATSDR staff deployments to support the COVID-19 response at the local, state, tribal, and federal levels. Staff worked in vaccine and clinical support, infection control support, as members of CDC's Emergency Response Team, and more, including

  • Screening international visitors for COVID-19 before they entered the country in Seattle
  • Coordinating and facilitating inter-agency collaborations in Washington, D.C.
  • Building sustainable communication networks for health information distribution in Oklahoma
  • Conducting wellness checks on deployed CDC and ATSDR staff

See additional details about ATSDR's staff COVID-19 deployments, here.

COVID-19 Response Collaborations

ATSDR's Office of Emergency Management (OEM) provides lifesaving guidance for emergency responders, schools, and business during the pandemic.

ATSDR guides safe sanitation and disinfection practices in homes, schools, and daycares during the COVID-19 pandemic.

GRASP provides CDC with the expertise to develop, update, and power the COVID-19 Data Tracker, as well as a CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index to identify areas where people may be at higher risk of COVID-19 infection.

PEHSUs and APPLETREE grantees pivot to COVID-related community care and education.

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Content Source:
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.