View this email in your browser [ [link removed] ] .
American Dental Education Association
Volume 1, No. 93, January 12, 2021
ADEA Advocacy in Action
This appears weekly in the ADEA Advocate to summarize and provide direct links to recent advocacy actions taken by ADEA. Please let us know what you think and how we might improve its usefulness.
Dental School COVID Related Capital Needs
Sep 25 – Joint letter [ [link removed] ] in Support of Supplemental COVID-19 Relief
Aug 5 – Joint letter [ [link removed] ] Regarding Institutional Aid
Other COVID Issues
Nov 30 – Sign-on letter [ [link removed] ] regarding Voices of the Pandemic
Nov 20 – ADEA letter [ [link removed] ] to Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
Nov 20 – Joint letter [ [link removed] ] in support of Borrower Relief extension
Additional Resources
ADEA webinar [ [link removed] ] on State Advocacy
NHSC Service Loan Repayment Program user guide [ [link removed] ] and application portal [ [link removed] ]
For a full list of ADEA Letters and Policy Memos, click here [ [link removed] ] .
CDC Issues Final Guidance for Phase 1
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued its final guidance [ [link removed] ] for Phase 1. Having previously issued guidance for Phase 1a, Phase 1b will prioritize adults ages 75 and older and frontline essential workers, including first responders, teachers and child care workers and transit and grocery store workers, among others. Phase 1c, the third and final Phase 1 group, includes adults ages 65 to 74, those ages 16 to 64 with a high-risk medical condition and frontline essential workers not covered under Phase 1b.
States Allow Oral Health Professionals to Provide Vaccines for COVID-19
As vaccines for COVID-19 are becoming available, some states have allowed or are considering allowing dentists to give the vaccines. At the time of writing, at least eight states have already granted dentists permission. Alabama [ [link removed] ] , Arkansas [ [link removed] ] , California [ [link removed] ] , Connecticut [ [link removed] ] , Illinois [ [link removed] 12 03 FINAL Dental Scope Proclamation.pdf ] , Maryland [ [link removed] 2020-12-08-01- Vaccination Matters.pdf ] and New York [ [link removed] ] all allow dentists to give vaccinations for COVID-19, and the orders in Connecticut and New York also apply to dental hygienists. Dentists in Oregon [ [link removed] Board of Dentistry Vaccine Information.pdf ] are also permitted to give the vaccinations under a 2019 law that gave them permission to give vaccines for a variety of conditions. Legislation that would allow dentists to give vaccines has also been introduced in Indiana [ [link removed] ] , New Jersey [ [link removed] ] and Missouri [ [link removed] ] .
Generally, the orders require oral health professionals who wish to give the vaccine to undergo additional training.
Georgia Senate Elections
The runoff election for both Georgia Senate seats was completed last week and the two Democratic candidates, Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock, defeated the two Republican incumbents in close races. The Senate make up for the 117th Congress stands at 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats.
Democrats will control the Senate after Jan. 20 when Vice President-elect Kamala Harris becomes President of the Senate. U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) will become the Majority Leader and Democrats will chair committees. However, the committees’ make up will also be split 50/50. This means that it will require at least one Republican vote to report out legislation and recommend nominations for any Presidential appointees.
2021 State Legislative Sessions Begin Across the Country
January marks the traditional convening of many state legislatures throughout the country. Most state legislatures, unlike Congress, only meet part-time and only for a portion of the year. With more than 40 state legislatures set to begin sessions in January [ [link removed] ] , and less than half expected to meet beyond May, ADEA is anticipating considerable state activity over the coming months.
One early highlight among legislative proposals is a bill in Maryland [ [link removed] ] that would create a task force to examine oral health and barriers that limit access to care. Early bill introductions in other states have also indicated trending topics this year are likely to include telehealth/teledentistry, COVID-19-related liability protection for health care providers, regulation of prescription opioids and laws governing the sale of vapor products and flavored tobacco.
The ADEA Advocate will continue to provide weekly updates on major legislative activity, and ADEA’s U.S. Interactive Legislative and Regulatory Tracking Map [ [link removed] ] will be updated daily to help you stay current on legislative and regulatory activities in your state.
Historic Firsts at OHSU When Dentist Gives COVID-19 Vaccine
"The first dose [ [link removed] ] of COVID-19 vaccine at [Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU)] will be given by Ryan Thrower. Remarkably, she is the first dental resident in the United States, and to our knowledge the world, to administer a COVID-19 vaccine,” OHSU Chief Medical Officer Renee Edwards said. “She is a woman. She is a person of color.”
Right now, the only dentists in Oregon giving COVID-19 vaccinations are OHSU dentists. Dr. Keith Mays [ [link removed] ] , Chair-elect of the ADEA Board of Directors, shared the story with the dental education community.
FDA Rejects Changes in COVID-19 Vaccine Protocols
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) issued a statement [ [link removed] ] making it clear that people must receive two full COVID-19 vaccine dosages using the same vaccine within the designated time period.
As the coronavirus continues to ravage the United States and in the face of the expected spread of the easily transmissible variant of coronavirus from the United Kingdom, Operation Warp Speed officials and some in the medical community have suggested extending the time between dosages, changing dose amounts or mixing vaccines—with the first dosage being from one vaccine maker and the second from the other. These suggested protocol changes were made in an effort to increase the number of people vaccinated. Concerns about the proposed changes were raised because these protocols are untested, and as the FDA notes there are no data to support them. However, the FDA’s statement effectively quashed the possibility of changes in the administering protocol for the COVID-19 vaccines, at least for the moment.
ADEA State Calendar [ [link removed] ]
ADEA Washington Calendar [ [link removed] ]
ADEA U.S. Interactive Legislative and Regulatory Tracking Map [ [link removed] ]
Key Federal Issues [ [link removed] ]
Key State Issues [ [link removed] ]
The ADEA Advocate [ [link removed] ] is published weekly. Its purpose is to keep ADEA members abreast of federal and state issues and events of interest to the academic dentistry and the dental and research communities.
©2021
American Dental Education Association
655 K Street, NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20001
202-289-7201, adea.org [ [link removed] ]
twitter
[link removed]
Unsubscribe
[link removed]
Subscribe
[link removed][0]&p_colname=p_last_nm&p_varname=p_val_arr[1]&p_colname=p_alias&p_varname=p_val_arr[2]&p_colname=p_login_id&p_varname=p_val_arr[3]&p_colname=p_passwd&p_context=NEWSLETTER&p_success_url=censsaindprofile.section_update%3Fp_profile_ty%3DINDIVIDUAL_PROFILE%26p_skip_confirm_fl%3DY%26p_section_nm%3DNewsletters%26p_format%3D110%26p_msg_txt%3D%26p_cust_id%3D%26p_referrer%3Dadeacenssalandingpage.display_page%3Fp_context%3DNEWSLETTER
B. Timothy Leeth, CPA
ADEA Chief Advocacy Officer
Bridgette DeHart, J.D.
ADEA Director of Federal Relations and Advocacy
Phillip Mauller, M.P.S.
ADEA Director of State Relations and Advocacy
Brian Robinson
ADEA Program Manager for Advocacy and Government Relations
[email protected] [ [link removed] ]
Powered by Higher Logic [link removed]
