COVID-19

At CVL we continue to follow CDC guidelines regarding proper protocol around COVID-19 exposure and/or infection of staff.  This week there was a major revision in the recommendations for isolation and quarantine periods for those directly impacted by the virus.
Given what is currently known about COVID-19 and the Omicron variant, the CDC is shortening the recommended time for isolation from 10 days for people with COVID-19 to 5 days, if they are experiencing no symptoms, followed by 5 days of wearing a mask when around others. The change is motivated by science demonstrating that most SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally in the 1-2 days prior to onset of symptoms and the 2-3 days after. Therefore, people who test positive should isolate for 5 days and, if they are experiencing no symptoms at that time, they may leave isolation if they can continue to mask for 5 days to minimize the risk of infecting others.
Additionally, the CDC is updating the recommended quarantine period for those exposed to COVID-19. For people who are unvaccinated or are more than six months out from their second mRNA dose (or more than 2 months after the J&J vaccine) and not yet boosted, the CDC now recommends quarantine for 5 days followed by strict mask use for an additional 5 days. Alternatively, if a 5-day quarantine is not feasible, it is imperative that an exposed person wear a well-fitting mask at all times when around others for 10 days after exposure. Individuals who have received their booster shot do not need to quarantine following an exposure but should wear a mask for 10 days after the exposure.  For all those exposed, best practice would also include a test for SARS-CoV-2 at day 5 after exposure. If symptoms occur, individuals should immediately quarantine until a negative test confirms symptoms are not attributable to COVID-19.
Isolation relates to behavior after a confirmed infection. Isolation for 5 days followed by wearing a well-fitting mask will minimize the risk of spreading the virus to others. Quarantine refers to the time following exposure to the virus or close contact with someone known to have COVID-19. Both updates come as the Omicron variant continues to spread throughout the U.S. and reflects the current science on when and for how long a person is maximally infectious.
 

As you may know, the CDC revised its guidance on Tuesday, July 27, 2021, regarding the use of masks to reduce the spread of COVID-19.  In communities with growing caseloads, vaccinated and unvaccinated people are to return to masking in indoor public areas.  The concern is the Delta variant, which has become the dominant strain in the country, appears to be more highly transmissible.  In addition, it appears that those who are infected with this variant end up with a higher viral load.  In other words, when someone gets sick, they have more of the virus in their body.  And there is evidence that fully vaccinated people can have breakthrough infections of this variant.  When that happens, because there is more of the virus present, they may be able to transmit it to others.  This is different from the original strain of the coronavirus, which is not transmissible by people who are fully vaccinated.
 
So, what does this mean for CVL?  65 of the 92 counties in the state meet the definition of communities with growing caseloads.  Out of an abundance of caution and in response to the current CDC guidelines, we will be returning to a few of our previous safety protocols.  The main Lafayette office will return to restricted access to limit the number of people present at any one time, and so that we may screen all visitors for COVID symptoms.  Masks will again be required of everyone, vaccinated and unvaccinated, when social distancing cannot be maintained indoors in public settings.  This applies to the CVL offices and to our work in the community.
 
We realize this is a disappointing development.  Although we are all weary of this pandemic, we must continue to adapt and respond to the reality we face.  We urge everyone in the CVL family to do all they can to protect themselves, their families, and those we serve.  We will continue to monitor the situation and update you as appropriate.

We hope you are all doing well.  We are so proud of the hard work you have done over these past months to keep yourselves and those we serve safe and healthy.  As you know, we have been committed throughout the pandemic to following the science-based guidance of the CDC.  Yesterday, the CDC updated their recommendations on mask wearing for individuals who have been fully vaccinated.  This has prompted us to update our own protocols regarding COVID safety precautions.

As with everything we do, we must first respect the needs and wishes of those we serve and their families and do all we can to protect them.  Whether you are vaccinated or not, if an individual or family requests that you wear a mask, you will wear a mask.  If you work with people who have underlying health conditions that are not vaccinated, then a mask is required.  In addition, if you work with people who are vaccinated but they have recently been hospitalized or are receiving any treatment that compromises their immune system, then a mask is recommended.  

Staff who are unvaccinated must wear a mask when working with individuals they support.  It is recommended that they also wear a mask when they cannot maintain social distance in the office or when meeting with colleagues who are vaccinated.  In addition, unvaccinated staff are expected to continue to perform the daily health checks to protect the people they serve.  The health check protocol has now been modified to include loss of smell and/or taste rather than temperature checks as these have been shown to be better predictors of COVID infection.

Staff who are fully vaccinated are no longer required to wear a mask when in the office or when meeting with vaccinated or unvaccinated colleagues.  They are also no longer required to complete the daily health check.  However, it is expected that everyone will use good judgment and not come to work when they are feeling ill for any reason.

We will continue to monitor this situation and provide updates as warranted as we move forward together.  If you have questions about specific situations or individuals please contact the main office.

The Leadership Team

Now that most people at CVL who chose to receive a COVID-19 vaccination have done so, we want to provide further guidance about the policy of the agency moving forward.  Our approach has always been guided by the recommendations of medical and public health professionals.  We have remained committed to doing all in our power to protect the health and safety of those we serve.  Politics and economic considerations have not entered into our planning and response strategies.  With that said, being fully vaccinated does mean that the way we approach our work and interact with each other will be changing.  The following is a summary of the most recent recommendations from the CDC.  These are the guidelines we will follow as an agency.
 
COVID-19 vaccines are effective at protecting you from getting sick. Based on what we know about COVID-19 vaccines, people who have been fully vaccinated can start to do some things that they had stopped doing because of the pandemic.
 
We’re still learning how vaccines will affect the spread of COVID-19. After you’ve been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, you should keep taking precautions—like wearing a mask, staying 6 feet apart from others, and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces—in public places until we know more.  Remember, we are honoring our duty to protect others in addition to wanting protection for ourselves.
 
Have You Been Fully Vaccinated?
People are considered fully vaccinated:

• 2 weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or
• 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine

If you don’t meet these requirements, you are NOT fully vaccinated. Keep taking all precautions until you are fully vaccinated.
 
What You Can Start to Do if you’ve been fully vaccinated:

• You can gather indoors with fully vaccinated people without wearing a mask or staying 6 feet apart.
• You can gather indoors with unvaccinated people of any age from one other household (for example, visiting with relatives who all live together) without masks or staying 6 feet apart, unless any of those people or anyone they live with has an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
• If you travel in the United States, you do not need to get tested before or after travel or self-quarantine after travel.

·       If international travel is in your plans you will need to check the most recent CDC recommendations and follow them.

• If you’ve been around someone who has COVID-19, you do not need to stay away from others or get tested unless you have symptoms.
  • However, if you live in a group setting (like a correctional or detention facility or group home) and are around someone who has COVID-19, you should still stay away from others for 14 days and get tested, even if you don’t have symptoms.

 
What You Should Keep Doing for now, if you’ve been fully vaccinated:

• You should still take steps to protect yourself and others in many situations, like wearing a mask, staying at least 6 feet apart from others, and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces. Take these precautions whenever you are:
  • In public
  • Gathering with unvaccinated people from more than one other household
  • Visiting with an unvaccinated person who is at increased risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19 or who lives with a person at increased risk
• You should still avoid medium or large-sized gatherings.
• If you travel, you should still take steps to protect yourself and others. You will still be required to wear a mask on planes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation traveling into, within, or out of the United States, and in U.S. transportation hubs such as airports and stations. 
• You should still watch out for symptoms of COVID-19, especially if you’ve been around someone who is sick. If you have symptoms of COVID-19, you should get tested and stay home and away from others.
• You will still need to follow guidance at your workplace.  
• Those not yet fully vaccinated will need to continue to complete the daily health check and fill out the web form documenting this.
• Those who are fully vaccinated will no longer need to complete the daily health check, but should continue to monitor for any signs of illness.

 
What We Know and What We’re Still Learning

• We know that COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing COVID-19 disease, especially severe illness and death.
  • We’re still learning how effective the vaccines are against variants of the virus that causes COVID-19. Early data show the vaccines may work against some variants but could be less effective against others.
• We know that other prevention steps help stop the spread of COVID-19, and that these steps are still important, even as vaccines are being distributed.
• We’re still learning how well COVID-19 vaccines keep people from spreading the disease.
• Early data show that the vaccines may help keep people from spreading COVID-19, but we are learning more as more people get vaccinated.
• We’re still learning how long COVID-19 vaccines can protect people.
• As we know more, based on CDC update, CVL will continue to update our recommendations for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.

Until we know more about those questions, everyone—even people who’ve had their vaccines—should continue taking steps to protect themselves and others when recommended.
 

The Indiana Family & Social Services Administration has announced that individuals with disabilities between the ages of 16-49 who receive home- and community-based waiver services are now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.  All of the vaccines that are currently approved for use have been proven to be highly effective.  This is great news as we continue our ongoing efforts to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of those we support.  
The process will be facilitated by waiver case managers who will be getting in touch with each individual they serve.  They will gather the necessary information and submit it to the Division of Disability and Rehabilitative Services, who will then pass it along to the Indiana Department of Health.  IDOH will then send a unique link to each individual through which they can schedule their appointment time and location.
While we cannot coordinate this effort directly, all of us at CVL are ready to support those we serve in getting vaccinated if they so choose.  This is an important step in protecting ourselves and our communities. 
Please see the following FSSA announcement for more details regarding this initiative:
 

Vaccine eligibility for individuals with disabilities receiving home-and community-based waiver services
Late yesterday, the Indiana Department of Health announced that individuals with disabilities ages 16 – 49 who receive home-and community-based waiver services are now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. This includes individuals on the Aged & Disabled, Family Support, and Community Integration & Habilitation Waiver. This expanded eligibility includes nearly 19,000 individuals and is being made possible through our on-going partnership with the Indiana Department of Health.
Before an individual can make an appointment, their case/care manager will submit their information to the Indiana Department of Health. The individual, or their designated support person, will then receive a text message and/or email in the near future with a link unique to them that can only be used to sign up for a vaccine appointment. Specifically, the process includes the following steps:

• Eligible individuals will be contacted by their case/care manager to confirm their interest in receiving vaccine and to gather information needed to provide the individual with access to scheduling their vaccine appointment; the information will be shared with the Division of Disability and Rehabilitative Services or Division of Aging as it is gathered.
• Daily, DDRS/DA will compile the information received and upload it to IDOH.
• Based on that upload, the system will generate and send the individual, or their designated support person, a unique link that they can use to schedule their appointment at a time and location convenient to their schedule.

Case managers and care managers have already begun their outreach activities with over 4,000 individuals contacted to date. For eligible individuals and their families, if you have not yet heard from your case/care manager, please know they will be in touch very soon. For our provider network, we appreciate, in advance, your efforts to coordinate and collaborate with individuals and case/care managers to ensure individuals are supported in scheduling and accessing their vaccine appointments.
We hope this information is helpful. Should you have questions, please use the following:

• Questions for individuals served by DDRS, please send questions to: BQIS.Help@fssa.IN.gov
• Questions for individuals served by the Division of Aging, please send questions to: Fssa.Dawaiverunit@fssa.in.gov

Indiana Family and Social Services Administration
402 W. Washington Street
Indianapolis, IN 46204

As we have been relaying to you, the Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) developed Indiana’s COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation Plan.  As part of their phased approach, Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) were included in Phase 1A, which means that DSPs are eligible to receive the vaccine as part of health care workers. We have been waiting for the IDOH to determine that vaccine is available for DSPs as they have worked to distribute them to those with higher priority on the list.  We are pleased to announce the Indiana Department of Health has informed us that Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) are now able to schedule to receive the COVID-19 Vaccine!

Please follow the link below for instructions on how to register, schedule and receive the vaccine.  The page you will be directed to has restricted access, so you must be logged into the website in order for it to work properly.

We continue to wish you a healthy and safe New Year and hope that this early opportunity for vaccine access contributes to those outcomes for both you and those you support.

CLICK HERE FOR INSTRUCTIONS TO SCHEDULE A VACCINE

Navigating through life can be challenging, if not downright difficult for many of us.  Resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of stress.  It means "bouncing back" from difficult experiences.  A number of factors contribute to resilience. However, many studies show that the primary factor in resilience is having caring and supportive relationships within and outside the family. Relationships that create love and trust, provide role models and offer encouragement and reassurance help bolster a person's resilience.  Relationships like that are at the heart of CVL and the work that we do.
 
The Coronavirus has been a challenge, but it has also made us stronger.  Adversity can have that effect, depending on how you respond to it.  The CVL family has responded with compassion, grace, grit, love, creativity, unselfishness, hardiness, and resilience.  We have figured out how to keep in touch with one another and maintain the relationships that are central to what we do and how we do it.  We have persisted in our focus on individuals, stayed true to our values and philosophy, and adapted to new ways of providing the care and support that are the core of our mission.  
 
This has not been an easy time.  Even so, it has provided us with opportunities for growth and it also gives us a chance to further advocate for those we serve.   The many innovations that are being implemented to help people connect, communicate, and access the goods, services and relationships they need during the pandemic will be carried forward.  The needs of the many will end up benefiting the needs of the undervalued in our society by increasing access and inclusion for everyone.  We need to highlight these changes and harness the momentum of these creative and entrepreneurial solutions to the obstacles encountered by those we serve. 
 
The reality we still face is that the risks presented by the coronavirus are significant.  The number of people negatively affected by COVID-19 expands each day.  In spite of the fact that this has been going on for a long time, in spite of being weary of taking all the recommended precautions, regardless of how ready we are to get back to some kind of normal, the truth is that we must remain vigilant and take every step possible to keep ourselves healthy and free from infection so that we can help those we serve to do the same.  
 
The attached policy describes the approach CVL is taking and the specific practices and protocols necessary to successfully do our work and achieve our goals during a pandemic.  Each of the steps is pretty simple.  The difficulty comes from having to fight our own complacency and fatigue over incorporating them consistently. We remain committed to supporting one another in this ongoing battle.  We will remain strong through our connection to each other.  We will continue to put ourselves in the best possible position to be able to CARE HARD in the CVL tradition.