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This Scientist Created a Rapid Test Just Weeks Into the Pandemic. Here's Why You Still Can't Get It.

Lydia DePillis

December 21, 2021 |

ProPublica |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States

E25Bio created a rapid COVID-19 test soon after the pandemic began and had an existing factory that could be repurposed to quickly manufacture tests. The prototypes, priced under $10 each, attracted major donors and would have made at-home antigen tests that identified around 80% of contagious cases available from the pandemic’s early days. Instead, an unclear FDA review process that prioritized higher detection rates over inexpensive ways people could test often, as well as resistance from medical device regulators, prevented the company from producing the tests for the public early in the pandemic.

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How Puerto Rico became the most vaccinated place in America

Nicole Narea

November 26, 2021 |

Vox |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Puerto Rico

Political cooperation and an infrastructure of existing relationships and trust built by NGOs and community leaders during Hurricane Maria and a devastating 2019 earthquake allowed for a quick public health response to COVID-19 focused on prevention and vaccination. All trusted public figures, across political backgrounds, advocated wearing masks and getting vaccinated. As a result, Puerto Rico achieved the highest COVID-19 vaccination rate among all other U.S. state or territory. It also had among the lowest Covid-19 death rates since the start of the pandemic.

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Masking opportunities amid ravaging COVID-19

Njeri Murigi

September 01, 2021 |

Sayansi Magazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Kenya

Compassion International Organization trained over 100 women so that they have the skills and equipment to produce masks for the coronavirus pandemic. The first contract was for 900,000 masks, and women were provided with all materials, including sewing machines, and a workshop where they can work. The women, most of whom struggled to make a living because of COVID-19, earned money for each mask they produced. Their enterprises have improved the economies of local communities.

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How to integrate community leaders into pandemic preparedness

Catherine Cheney

September 01, 2021 |

Devex |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: India

Community-based organizations have been key to reaching historically marginalized populations with COVID-19 information. Grassroots leaders and community workers are effective because they have built trust among communities over many years and they have first-hand knowledge of community needs and barriers. The pandemic shifted the priorities of many organizations. For example, the Self Employed Women’s Association now supplies members with PPE kits, food, and handmade masks to address the pandemic’s health and economic impacts. Proper mask usage increased significantly in the villages where they are based.

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‘Better' podcast shines light on solutions

Allison Frost

July 29, 2021 |

Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: Taiwan

Taiwan responded to COVID-19 quickly, which helped keep cases low and avoid widespread shutdowns. The country had closely tracked its PPE stockpiles since the 2003 SARS outbreak, has a national health command center to coordinate responses, and uses a well-defined set of procedures to track and manage people under infectious risk or quarantine. Masks are required and provided to every citizen, inbound travelers were quickly regulated, and contact tracing and testing is widely used to prevent outbreaks. Citizens generally listen to authorities, though fines and other sanctions also encourage compliance.

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The forgotten worker

Jaisal Noor

June 01, 2021 |

The Real News Network |

Video |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

Homecare aides traditionally receive low wages in an industry with high turnover and great stress during the pandemic. Women of color typically care for their companies' elderly or disabled clients. Cooperative Homecare Associates started in 1985 as a worker-owned cooperative, to be run democratically. It is now the nation's largest co-op, with 2,000 employees, half of them owners. During the pandemic, it partnered with other co-op homecare companies to line up personal protective equipment supplies, one example of how it prioritizes worker safety and satisfaction over profit.

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The Cherokee Nation to Produce Its Own PPE

Kristi Eaton

May 13, 2021 |

The Daily Yonder |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Stilwell, Oklahoma

The Cherokee Nation had a hard time sourcing personal protective equipment for health workers, citizens, and others during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tribal leaders decided to use a portion of the CARES Act funding to create their own manufacturing facilities to produce PPE for both Cherokee Nation citizens and non-citizens. Though still in the testing phase, the facilities are already training 10 people and plan to employ a minimum of 25 people. They will make about 200,000 surgical masks a day and will also produce N95 and N99 masks that they will distribute to healthcare workers and other organizations.

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How Sedgwick County teamed with the Black community to fight the pandemic

Audrey Korte

May 04, 2021 |

The Kansas Leadership Center Journal (KLC Journal) |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Sedgwick County, Kansas

To help protect the predominantly Black community in Sedgwick County, Kansas, the county collaborated with local leaders and residents to create an information and messaging campaign that specifically addressed community concerns. Although the funding allocated to these efforts wasn't as plentiful as community leaders were asking for, the targeted outreach has helped to increase communication and trust around public health messaging.

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Indians are crowdsourcing aid as covid surges

Varsha Bansal

April 28, 2021 |

MIT Technology Review |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: India

In India, citizen-led small-scale digital efforts are helping to connect Covid-19 patients with the resources, supplies, and medical equipment they need to survive. The citizen groups are largely using online platforms to crowdsource what they need, with some matching buyers and sellers and others "debunking inaccurate leads."

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Using drones to save lives

Garrett Wymer Sam Dick

March 25, 2021 |

WKYT-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Knott County, Kentucky

A drone company and Kentucky Homeplace, a University of Kentucky initiative to address rural health, have used drones to deliver personal protective equipment packages to isolated, rural homes that can become inaccessible by road flooding or other bad weather. The flights, called the Jericho Project, so far have served as tests that the sponsors hope will lead to deliveries of medicine and other necessities during natural disasters or simply to speed delivery in remote areas.

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