{"id":101430,"date":"2022-01-30T07:46:41","date_gmt":"2022-01-30T12:46:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/?p=101430"},"modified":"2022-01-30T07:46:41","modified_gmt":"2022-01-30T12:46:41","slug":"bidens-free-home-covid-tests-out-of-reach-for-many-native-americans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/2022\/01\/30\/bidens-free-home-covid-tests-out-of-reach-for-many-native-americans\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden’s Free Home COVID Tests Out of Reach for Many Native Americans"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"VOA \u2014 WASHINGTON \u2014 <\/span>A U.S. government initiative to ship half a billion free COVID-19 tests to Americans will struggle to reach one of the communities that has been hardest hit by the pandemic \u2014 Native Americans living on rural reservations.<\/p>\n

The administration launched a website \u2014 COVIDTests.gov \u2014 on January 19, which links to an online U.S. Postal Service order form where people can sign up for four free tests per household.<\/p>\n

But experts say it is unclear how the tests will reach families living in places like Vanderwagen, New Mexico, a rural community of about 2,000 citizens spread out across 440-square kilometers of the Navajo Nation.<\/p>\n

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\"Trading<\/div>\n<\/div>
Trading post and convenience store in Vanderwegen, N.M., on the Navajo Nation.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Most of the residents live on unpaved roads that have no names and in houses that are unnumbered. Residents who want to receive mail must rent a post office box, according to E.J. John, a research analyst at Arizona State University\u2019s\u00a0American Indian Policy Institute<\/a>\u00a0and a citizen of the Navajo Nation who grew up in Vanderwagen.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe post office closed down a couple of years ago,\u201d he said, explaining that USPS has since set up a pair of cluster mailboxes just outside the local trading post. But not everyone can afford to pay the required six months\u2019 rent at a time, John said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll see multiple names on one box,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of people just often end up sharing them.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Map<\/div>\n<\/div>
Map shows Vanderwagen, N.M., an unincorporated community on the Navajo Nation.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Folks in Vanderwagen, as in other rural tribal communities across the U.S., face other challenges in getting the tests.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything that requires you to log on to a website and put in an address, whether for shopping online or trying to sign up for auto insurance, it\u2019s a challenge,\u201d John said.<\/p>\n

Most Navajo homes are located far from the main road and lack basics such as electricity and running water. And while the White House has\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0a toll-free number that people can call to order kits, that doesn\u2019t help everyone.<\/p>\n

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\"FILE<\/div>\n<\/div>
FILE – This Navajo home stands isolated in a small canyon east of Tuba City, Ariz. Radio is often the only way to get news and information out to tribal members in rural reservations.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cEven where there is cellphone coverage, you’re lucky to have phones that just allow talk and text,\u201d said John. \u201cLandline coverage isn\u2019t as available as it used to be, due to issues with rights of way and providers just leaving the area.\u201d<\/p>\n

White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator\u00a0Jeff Zients said<\/a>\u00a0last week the administration is working to ensure that the test kits reach communities where need is greatest \u2014 areas plagued by poverty, poor housing, a lack of transportation and inadequate medical care \u2014 all factors which put populations at higher risk for COVID-19.<\/p>\n

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\"From<\/div>\n<\/div>
From left, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, President Joe Biden, White House COVID coordinator Jeff Zients and Dr. Anthony Fauci meet remotely with governors at the White House.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control\u2019s\u00a0Social Vulnerability Index,<\/a>\u00a0Vanderwagen is among the most vulnerable spots in America.<\/p>\n

VOA reached out to the Indian Health Service (IHS), a division of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department that provides health care to federally recognized Native American tribes and Alaska Native people in more than 160 facilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have at-home test kits that we distribute to tribal organizations and urban Indian organizations,\u201d IHS public affairs director Jennifer Buschick told VOA. \u201cWe anticipated the current surge, and our service supply center, actually, ordered plenty of at-home test kits…well ahead of time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also have community health nurses that go out to people\u2019s homes with test kits,\u201d she added. \u201cSometimes when we have community events, we will make sure we have test kits there to distribute. Our service units make the decision on how many they’re giving out per household.\u201d<\/p>\n

A citizen of the Navajo Nation who asked not to be identified told VOA via Facebook that test kits are not currently available at the Gallup Indian Medical Center, the largest facility serving Navajo people \u2014 including those in Vanderwagen. A VOA call to the center to corroborate her statement was referred to IHS headquarters in Washington.<\/p>\n

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\"Navajo<\/div>\n<\/div>
Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez arrives for an event with first lady Jill Biden, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, and Doug Emhoff, husband of VP Kamala Harris.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Navajo Nation president\u00a0Jonathan Nez said Friday<\/a>\u00a0he has been in talks with congressional leaders seeking help in getting test kits, masks and hand sanitizer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe appreciate the Biden-Harris administration\u2019s proactive approach by providing free at-home test kits, but we need more action to address the unique circumstances for tribal nations and families,\u201d Nez said.<\/p>\n

He also expressed thanks to\u00a0Arizona Congressman Tom O\u2019Halleran<\/a>, who Friday sent a letter to Zients requesting these vital supplies.<\/p>\n

By mid-2021, the Navajo Nation appeared to have\u00a0gained control<\/a>\u00a0of the epidemic.<\/p>\n

Today, however, the Navajo Nation Health Department\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that cases are on the rise: As of January 28, it confirmed a total of 48,977 COVID cases and 1,612 deaths.<\/p>\n

The toll-free number to order testing kits is 1-800-232-0233.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

VOA \u2014 WASHINGTON \u2014 A U.S. government initiative to ship half a billion free COVID-19 tests to Americans will struggle to reach one of the communities that has been hardest hit by the pandemic \u2014 Native Americans living on rural reservations. The administration launched a website \u2014 COVIDTests.gov \u2014 on January 19, which links to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":101431,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latests"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["fa","en"],"languages":{"fa":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101430"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101430\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101433,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101430\/revisions\/101433"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}