13 minute read
Working Together
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the country’s private sector has played a key role in helping communities fight the virus, in developing innovative technologies to assist state leaders and in promoting science and collaboration. The following articles were submitted by CSG private sector partners.
Working Together Toward One Goal Can Help Communities Fight COVID-19
by Melissa Schulman | Senior Vice President, Government and Public Affairs at CVS Health
As we hit the one-year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic, I had the opportunity to reflect on our efforts at CVS Health to immediately and continuously respond to the needs of the communities we serve across the country. As a diverse health care services company with nearly 10,000 locations nationwide, we have utilized our local presence to help meet those needs during COVID-19. In the early days of the pandemic, meeting the needs of consumers and patients meant helping them safely stay home as much as possible as we were restocking our shelves, filling 90-day scripts, offering free prescription delivery, waiving copays and securing personal protective equipment, among other things. Shortly thereafter, it quickly evolved to providing greater access to COVID-19 tests and that meant opening and operating large-scale and retail drive up testing sites. In addition to drive up COVID-19 testing sites, CVS Health stood up community-based testing sites focused on meeting the needs of under-served neighborhoods. These community testing sites located across the country, from Baltimore to Los Angeles, have helped to ensure greater access and convenience to testing services. To date, CVS Health has administered more than 15 million tests at more than 4,800 sites across the country, which represents 70% of the testing in a retail setting in the United States.
As the promise of the vaccine became increasingly real in late 2020, CVS Health was more than ready, having begun our preparations months ago. In October 2020, we were selected by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to provide COVID-19 vaccines in long-term care and assisted living facilities nationwide. More than 40,000 long-term care facilities across 49 states and Puerto Rico selected CVS Pharmacy to provide COVID-19 vaccines to residents and staff. We were also selected, along with other pharmacy chains, to administer vaccinations in our retail pharmacies as they became available to the general public as part of the Federal Pharmacy Partnership program. To date, CVS Health has administered well over four million COVID-19 vaccine doses to residents and staff in over 40,000 long-term care facilities across the country. COVID-19 cases have declined in nursing homes which indicates that the vaccine is working, and we are delivering on the company’s commitment to help protect a population disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. Additionally, CVS Health is administering COVID-19 vaccines in over 20 states as part of the federal pharmacy partnership program and has built out a community-based strategy to address COVID-19 vaccine education and equity with a particular focus on Black and Hispanic populations. The strategy includes proactive patient outreach, community-based partnerships and vaccine clinics, and robust, education-focused marketing, all aimed at increasing COVID-19 vaccination rates. As our new President and CEO Karen Lynch said so well recently, “We are committed to reaching people of color and under-served communities to ensure health equity as we work to vaccinate all Americans. Our presence in communities across the country uniquely positions CVS Health to educate vulnerable populations and connect them with vaccine administration services.”
As more supply becomes available through the federal program, we plan to expand to additional states while increasing the number of stores offering vaccinations. CVS Pharmacy has the capacity to administer 20 to 25 million shots per month. The last 12 months have brought incredible challenges and for many of us, me included, it has brought personal loss. I have learned a lot personally and professionally. Through my work at CVS Health, one of the greatest lessons I have learned during the pandemic is that working together towards one goal in public-private partnerships can make an incredible difference in the lives of millions of people. What we’ve been able to accomplish so far through the pandemic is a direct reflection of the tireless efforts of our 300,000 CVS Health employees across the United States, and I am extremely grateful.
How Collaboration and Science Are Helping Us Restore America’s Health
by Lori M. Reilly | Chief Operating Officer, PhRMA
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every area of American life. Public health policies have changed how we work and learn. Grocery shopping, sports competitions and even legislative hearings look different today than they did prior to the pandemic. And financial strains have affected budgets in households and for your state operations. As of this writing, there is hope that we are turning the corner on this crisis, as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved one COVID-19 treatment and issued emergency use authorizations (EUAs) for three vaccines and multiple treatments. Additional candidates under investigation have also been making incredible progress. America’s biopharmaceutical researchers have been working tirelessly, relying on science to help us get back to normal. Concurrently, companies have maintained close collaboration with federal and state governments to assist with COVID-19 testing, support and, more recently, treatment and vaccine distribution. We’re thankful for your dedication and leadership in getting many vaccines and treatments to residents of your states. Biopharmaceutical research companies built on their decades of experience with similar viruses and billions of dollars in investments to advance our understanding of infectious diseases. Throughout the process to develop COVID-19 treatments and vaccines, extensive safety and effectiveness data have been collected from rigorous, large clinical trials and then reviewed by FDA. To further help instill confidence in vaccines, the leading companies working on vaccines for COVID-19 issued a pledge “to make the safety and well-being of vaccinated individuals the top priority in development of the first COVID-19 vaccines.” This commitment to safety isn’t new — it’s what the industry does every day. To help reduce delays in getting these medicines to Americans who need them, manufacturers are completing some development steps simultaneously, such as preparing for Phase 2 clinical trials during Phase 1 and preparing for manufacturing during Phase 3. Many companies began manufacturing vaccines and treatments before they were authorized to ensure sufficient capacity to meet demand once authorized.
As a result of these efforts, Americans have access to multiple treatments, like monoclonal antibodies, antivirals, anticoagulants and anti-inflammatories. With viral variants surging in the U.S. and around the world, the need for treatments to keep COVID-19 patients out of the hospital is critical. Because viruses are constantly changing, which can lead to genetic variations (commonly referred to as variants or mutations), public health officials and biopharmaceutical companies closely monitor them to learn more about how they might affect public health, whether they impact the efficacy of vaccines and how treatments may respond. Armed with this knowledge, vaccine makers are developing modifications to their vaccines to fight back. Companies are also investigating booster vaccines, which could be given following original vaccines, and developing new vaccines that target the common viral strain and new variants.
Meanwhile, companies are working to address capacity challenges by entering into agreements and partnerships with other manufacturers to expand manufacturing facility capabilities and to relieve pinch points such as fill/finish. They’re also working to bring more vaccine and treatment manufacturing facilities into play through internal expansions and by partnering with other companies who have capacity to help produce these vaccines and treatments.
We remain committed to supporting our health care system at the state and federal level as we work to treat and vaccinate as many people as possible. Through these efforts and partnerships, we can help restore America’s public health and economy.
Because viruses are constantly changing, which can lead to genetic variations (commonly referred to as variants or mutations), public health officials and biopharmaceutical companies closely monitor them to learn more about how they might affect public health, whether they impact the efficacy of vaccines and how treatments may respond.
Technology Such As Broadband is Key to Closing the Digital Divide
by Brad Hall | Vice President, External Affairs, Appalachian Power
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed daily routines for millions of Americans. The sudden transition to working and learning from home not only has reinforced the value of electricity, but also highlighted the importance of access to affordable, reliable broadband. By leveraging their existing infrastructure, electric companies can provide middle mile broadband and are positioned to help close the digital divide. One such company is Appalachian Power. Prior to the pandemic, Appalachian had already identified improved broadband access as a key to economic growth in its mostly rural service territory in southern West Virginia and southwestern Virginia. The pandemic exposed just how critical that need was. A quickly applied Band-Aid helped students trying to learn from home last spring. The AEP Foundation donated $73,000 to create about 50 free WiFi hotspots at schools and community centers across Appalachian Power’s service area. The hotspots allowed students to easily access education materials and classroom assignments from their laptops, iPads or phones if they didn’t have internet access at home. Meanwhile, pilot broadband projects in both states gained momentum. In Grayson County, Virginia, the project achieved a milestone when crews installed the first fiber optic cable on Appalachian Power’s poles in December 2020. To date, about 40 miles of cable have been installed. After the lines are up, internet service provider GigaBeam Networks of Bluefield, Virginia, will offer “last-mile” connectivity to customers. Appalachian Power gained approval for the pilot project from the Virginia State Corporation Commission about a year ago, which authorized the company to invest $25 million to install up to 238 miles of 96-strand fiber optic cable on its utility poles in the rural county. It is expected to take 18 to 24 months to reach all 6,000 county residents identified in the project area. In Logan and Mingo counties in West Virginia, the company plans to invest $61 million to install 430 miles of middle-mile fiber optic cable. As with the Grayson project, the plan calls for GigaBeam Networks to own, install and operate the last-mile infrastructure needed to deliver broadband services to customers in the project area. Appalachian Power submitted its project plan and cost recovery application to the Public Service Commission of West Virginia in January, and a ruling is expected later this year. Project construction is expected to begin within 180 days after Commission approval and be complete approximately 24 months after the start of construction.
With both projects, GigaBeam will have access to the middle-mile facilities in phases as construction progresses. The phased-in approach will allow GigaBeam to coordinate its equipment installations with middle-mile construction and connect new broadband service customers on a rolling basis throughout the construction process. Appalachian Power has significant experience building and maintaining fiber optic cable, with more than 2,000 miles already in place for system operations. Chris Beam, the company’s president and chief operating officer, says the company’s fiber experience and extensive reach into rural areas make middle-mile fiber deployment a good fit for the company. “With utility poles already in place near homes and businesses, even in the most rugged and mountainous areas, we are well-positioned to help expand broadband access in rural parts of our service area,” Beam said.
The sudden transition to working and learning from home not only has reinforced the value of electricity, but also highlighted the importance of access to affordable, reliable broadband. By leveraging their existing infrastructure, electric companies can provide middle mile broadband and are positioned to help close the digital divide.
Digital Skilling and the Post-COVID Economy
by Allyson Knox | Senior Director, Education Policy, Microsoft Philanthropies
The COVID-19 pandemic and global economic recession has underscored inequities in our society. One of the keys to a genuinely inclusive economic recovery is expanded access to digital skills to ensure job seekers, employees and students have the skills they need to fill the new jobs available. As the senior director, Education Policy at Microsoft Philanthropies, I have spent the last year working with colleagues to develop a deeper understanding of how our existing programs can help meet the needs of local communities and what more we can do to help. Microsoft’s TechSpark initiative has played a key role in this work and has provided us with a lens to look at the importance of skilling for postCOVID economic recovery. TechSpark fosters economic opportunity and job creation in partnership with communities through funding, technology, expertise and partnerships. TechSpark operates in six regions: Wyoming, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Virginia, Washington and two border cities in Texas and Mexico. Over the last year, we’ve continued to work towards achieving TechSpark’s mission to help everyone succeed in the digital economy. I’d like to shine a spotlight on important work going on in one of TechSpark regions, Northeast Wisconsin, led by my colleague Michelle Schuler, and how the lessons learned can inform work elsewhere in the United States.
Our data shows that two years’ worth of digital transformation was concentrated into two months in 2020. The pandemic has shined a harsh light on what was already a widening skills gap – a gap that will need to be closed with even greater urgency to accelerate economic recovery. Closing the skills gap will require a renewed partnership between stakeholders across the public, private and nonprofit sectors. In Wisconsin, the TechSpark program worked to address this issue through a new partnership with the regional economic development nonprofit, The New North, and a social entrepreneurial platform, gener8tor. Together, we launched gener8tor Upskilling to provide training to unemployed and underemployed individuals and help them to secure new jobs. So far, the program has 107 graduates who have earned more than 450 LinkedIn Learning certificates. Thirty-six percent of graduates found full-time work upon graduating. We learned that wrap-around services, which help job seekers gain skills and place into jobs, are essential and require coordinated investment.
Through our work with the University of Wisconsin Green Bay, we recognized that people in higher education are struggling in the digital economy. In the fall of 2020, we launched an initiative with the Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin Green Bay to ensure its faculty and students took advantage of LinkedIn Learning—a resource they had already had access to use. As a result, the entire campus is now aware of this resource and staff, faculty and students are using LinkedIn to help digitally transform the campus by expanding technology knowledge beyond the IT Department. By helping leaders across departments better utilize technology platforms and services, we can help drive social impact in the broader community. Digital skilling needs to start before individuals enter the workforce, which is why we have been working with leaders in Wisconsin’s Cooperative Education Service Agency 7 (CESA 7) to help ensure all students gain access to at least one rigorous computer science course before graduating from high school. CESA 7, which represents 37 local school districts, now leads the Computer Science Talent Ecosystem for Youth Framework and leverages resources from national non-profits such as CSforAll, Code. org, Computer Science Teachers Association and Microsoft resources including Imagine Academy and TEALS. They incorporated the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development’s IT Youth Apprenticeship program and secured funding from American Family Insurance, New North, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation and Community Foundation of the Fox Valley. Collaboration can help inspire educational organizations to champion efforts that increase access to computer science education. As a result, we can help K-12 students better prepare to enter the digital economy. We recognize that this important work is going on in communities across the country, and we look forward to continued collaboration to help everyone succeed in the fast-growing digital economy.
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