It has been great this summer having more freedom to move around without masks and spend time with family and friends, especially for those who have been vaccinated. Unfortunately, the pandemic is not over. The Delta variant is something we have to pay attention to as COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths are starting to rise again.

As people of faith, let us be leaders in encouraging people to get vaccinated. Vaccinations are safe and effective. They help keep us and others safe, especially our children who don’t have the option to be vaccinated. Increasing vaccination rates in our communities will allow us to come back together in our houses of worship to share in our sacred rituals, learn together, and enjoy community life.

We hope these resources will be helpful to you as you navigate this journey with your members and neighbors. Let us know if there are other ways that we can support you.

Hosted by the Trauma-Informed Congregations Network, this August Community of Practice conversation will center on tools and support to strengthen resilience as we reopen.

Getting vaccinated is safe, effective and will help us beat COVID-19. We're currently vaccinating anyone 12 and older in Illinois and Wisconsin.

Our greatest priority is delivering the COVID-19 vaccine safely and fairly. The vaccines are safe and effective, and the benefits of getting vaccinated far outweigh the risk.

The vaccine is how we get back to what matters – friends, family and a brighter tomorrow.

By: Adam Mesirow

The highly infectious Delta variant of COVID-19 is leading to surges of cases in the United Kingdom, Africa, and now, parts of the United States. Responsible for about one in every five U.S. cases and rising, the new strain has many public health officials worried as vaccination rates have slowed. Dr. Robert Citronberg, executive medical director of infectious disease and prevention for Advocate Aurora Health, answers questions about the variant’s potential impact.

 

Advocate Children’s Hospital and Aurora Children’s Health pediatricians Dr. Frank Belmonte and Dr. Kevin Dahlman answer questions to help you make informed decisions about your family’s health and wellness:

Will you, as pediatricians, be doing any special preparation with your kids for school this fall (post-COVID-19)? As parents, the best thing we can do is to make sure our children understand the importance of the mitigation efforts we have been using over the last year, including masking, social distancing and hand hygiene. Most schools are expected to follow them in the fall.

As a parent, should I be asking my child’s school how many teachers and staff have been vaccinated? Should that make a difference in whether I sent them back? Parents should certainly ask about the school’s plans for keeping children safe, but schools may not know exactly how many of their staff members have been vaccinated. This is a more important question as your schools begin to relax the mitigation efforts.

It’s possible that our little ones will not be approved for vaccines by school in August. Is it safe to send them anyway? Many schools successfully held in-person learning this past year without vaccines. If they are diligent about masking, social distancing and hand hygiene, the risk for young unvaccinated children is low.

My child hates going to the doctor. Is it okay to skip an annual visit if they have been healthy all year? No. The annual check-up is when your pediatrician screens your child for weight, blood pressure, physical, mental and social development. Many children missed their annual check last year and are now behind on vaccines or may have undiagnosed medical problems. It is safe to bring your child in for their physical and we recommend it!

Thanks to a partnership between Advocate Aurora Health and the City of Chicago, residents of the far south region of Chicago have convenient access to the COVID-19 vaccine.

The collaboration offers several vaccination options:

Protect Chicago at Home offers up to 10 people at a residence – even if they are not Chicago residents - in-home vaccination. Each household that participates receives a $50 Grubhub gift card.

Mobile pop-up vaccination sites offer vaccination at community events, churches, block parties and other gatherings.

Residents also can receive the vaccine on city buses that are parked in neighborhoods for a duration, providing a hub for area residents to receive the vaccine just blocks from their home.

“At the end of the day, no one is left behind on vaccinations, especially those in vulnerable communities,” said Jackie Rouse, Vice President of Community Health-Illinois, Advocate Aurora Health. “Everything is opening up and there are still some who are getting sick. We want to make sure we are reaching the most vulnerable populations and offering them ease of access to get the vaccine.”

The City of Chicago has partnered with other healthcare organizations to offer the same vaccine outreach initiatives in other regions of the city.

Have questions or want to get involved? Reach us at ASC-vaccinechampion@aah.org.

Advocate Aurora Health and The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) researchers are looking for participants to join a study of COVID 19’s impact using a smartphone app.

Their goal is to help stem transmission of the virus and its new variants, monitor vaccination efforts, and ultimately improve health outcomes for people living in the U.S. and around the world. The COVID 19 Citizen Science Study is open to all people with or without COVID 19 infections, who are over 18 years of age, own a smartphone and download the “UCSF Eureka Research” mobile app. Participants’ daily 5 minute app updates will help researchers identify new symptoms, prevent infection and track regional impact.

For more info click here.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought overwhelming grief to many families. FEMA's mission is to help people before, during and after disasters. FEMA is dedicated to helping ease some of the financial stress and burden caused by the virus.

FEMA is providing financial assistance for COVID-19 related funeral expenses incurred after January 20, 2020.

The Ad Council Vaccine Education Initiative offers toolkits for Black faith communities and Hispanic faith communities. Toolkits include Bible study and sermon guide, FAQs, graphics and more.

The CDC offers a Community-Based Organizations COVID-19 Vaccine Toolkit.

Faith and COVID-19 vaccine toolkit provides updates, stories, resources from Religion News Service and Interfaith Youth Core 

THE CONVERSATION: Between Us, About Us is produced by KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation), a nonprofit organization focusing on national health issues (no affiliation with Kaiser Permanente), and presented by KFF’s Greater Than COVID public information initiative and the Black Coalition Against COVID. Learn more.

The Ad Council's COVID-19 vaccine campaign, “It’s Up to You,” includes FAQs in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Haitian Creole and Vietnamese. The campaign also offers COVID-19 Vaccine Education resources in English and Spanish, including some that are intended for faith community audiences:

The Partnership Center for Faith-based & Neighborhood Partnerships offers a FAQ and guide to support vaccine confidence for faith and community leaders. 'All in' Against COVID-19 offers step-by-step recommendations, such as:

We hope you find this update helpful as you promote the health of your members and community. Please contact Cindy Novak if you have questions or topics you'd like us to address. Thank you

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