COVID-19 - American Academy of Pediatrics California Chapter 1

The status of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the U.S. continues to evolve; the CDC issued a Health Alert Network on February 28, 2020 with recommendations on identifying people at risk for COVID-19 and preventing transmission. Clinical features of COVID-19 are nonspecific, fever and respiratory illness (e.g., cough or shortness of breath), and easily overlap those of more common viral illnesses such as influenza. Current recommendations are for everyone to practice good hand washing; and for health care facilities to ask patients with symptoms about travel history and exposure to any person with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, and to collaborate on screening practices with local health departments.

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AAP-CA Statement in SUPPORT OF LOCAL HEALTH OFFICERS (6/17/2020)

AAP-CA Statement on REOPENING IN-PERSON EDUCATION IN CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS: 
COVID19 PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS (6/4/2020)

HEADLINE RESOURCES:

I. COVID-19 Vaccine Information for Children, Adolescents and Families

AAPCA1 implemented a project to ensure high confidence in the COVID-19 vaccine among high schoolers and families. View the resources developed as part of this initiative:

Learn More!

II. COVID-19 Planning Considerations: Guidance for School Re-entry

III. Project Firstline – Your Support for Infection, Prevention and Control

Learn More!

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Chapter Chats:

Chapter Chat on School Reopening in the Age of COVID – 3/23/21

Access Slides

Access Resources

Solution Share Chapter Member Chat

All of the recorded chats will be posted below and resources linked to the Resources Updates section below.

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RESOURCE UPDATES (as of 6.24.2021)

We encourage you to monitor the latest information and key messages being shared by the CDC, AAP and local health departments:

The AAP has joined the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and 14 other medical organizations to issue a statement in support of COVID-19 vaccines, in light of the data presented regarding myocarditis.

AAP statement: Statement Following CDC ACIP Meeting from Nation’s Leading Doctors, Nurses and Public Health Leaders on Benefits of Vaccination
AAP News: Health officials, AAP urge COVID-19 vaccination despite rare myocarditis cases
Visit National AAP’s Critical Updates for the latest clinical guidance, recommendations from CDC, coding information, information on PPE, telemedicine and telephone care resources and more.
For questions or comments related to the pandemic, email COVID-19@aap.org.
AAP.org: COVID-19 Vaccine Implementation in Pediatric Practices
AAP.org: COVID-19 Vaccine Administration: Getting Paid
AAP.org: About the COVID-19 Vaccine: Frequently Asked Questions
Pediatrics Journal: COVID-19 Vaccine in Children and Adolescents
AAP News: COVID-19 pandemic collection
HealthyChildren.org: The Science Behind the COVID-19 Vaccine: Parent FAQs
AAP Red Book Online: 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infections
CDC: COVID-19 Information for healthcare professionals
World Health Organization: Coronavirus
HealthyChildren.org: 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Healthdata.org: http://www.healthdata.org/covid
AMA: COVID-19 Health Equity Resources

Addressing Local Needs & Questions:

For Families:

- #AskThePediatrician Facebook Live on School Re-entry: To help parents stay up to date with news and recommendations for children’s health and parenting during COVID-19, Healthy Children hosts an #AskThePediatrician Facebook Live chat every Wednesday at 12:00 pm CT

- A Pandemic Coping Guide for Parents from Utah AAP
- Should Your Child Be Tested for COVID-19 ?
- Helping Children Stay Active, Eat Healthy During COVID-19
- Caring for Children with Asthma During COVID-19: Parent FAQs
- Stress and Violence in the Home During the Pandemic
- California Surgeon General’s Playbook: Stress Relief during COVID-19. (PDF). The guide is also available in Arabic, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Korean, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.
- Guidance for Teachers and Counselors during COVID-19 and other Crises. More information can be found HERE.
- While WIC agencies are conducting business differently during COVID-19, they are all still open and issuing benefits to all participants: https://www.myfamily.wic.ca.gov/
- Nutrition: Free School Meals from Northern California School Districts During School Closures
- Learning Resources: E-Learning, Activities & More Resources for School Aged Children
- Overview of Issue of Child Care for Essential Personnel: View Guidance from AAP
- Social Distancing Graphics: Graphic 1 (love), Graphic 2 (stay home), Graphic 3 (combined)
- HealthyChildren.org offers a collection of articles in response to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic in both English and Spanish. In addition to a main COVID-19 page, other topics include:
- Resources for San Francisco Families of Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs and Disabilities (many universal resources)

For Pediatricians (as of 4/29/21):

- Safely Open Schools Now: Resources for Pediatricians to Encourage Reopening Schools
- Safely Open Schools Now: Social Media Toolkit
- Interim Guidance: Obesity Management and Treatment During COVID-19
- News Release: American Academy of Pediatrics Raises Concern about Children’s Nutrition and Physical Activity During Pandemic
- AAP News article: AAP interim guidance addresses healthy lifestyles, obesity management during pandemic
- HealthyChildren.org Article: Body-Mass Index Formula (BMI) in Children
- COVID-19 Planning Considerations: Guidance for School Re-entry
- AAP Recommendations on Return to In-person Education in Schools
- Resources from COVID-19 & Equity Chapter Chat (4/23/20):
  - ACES in Pediatrics
  - PEARLS screen that includes ACES and SDOH
  - CDPH Race/Ethnicity data for morbidity and mortality
  - Trauma Transformed
  - National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP): Ten Equity Implications of the COVID-19 Outbreak in the US
  - NPR: Asian Americans Are Blamed By Some For COVID-19 Outbreak
  - Immigrants Rising: Tangible Support for Immigrant Communities During COVID-19
  - Harvard Center for Diversity: Mental Health and Wellness for Healthcare Providers
  - Ohio State University: Using a health equity and human rights lens to protect vulnerable populations during this pandemic and beyond
  - Ohio State University: Racial Equity & Social Justice Resources
  - Structural Competency: Medically Marginalized Populations (Recording of a Webinar)
  - Dr. Petra Steinbuchel’s Slides on Trauma Informed Care
  - A Framework to Approach Racial Health Inequities during the COVID 19 Pandemic webinar by AAP Section on Minority Health, Equity, and Inclusion
- UCSF’s Collaborative to Advise on Re-opening Education Safely (CARES) webinar series on COVID-19
- Assistance From Blue Shield: Blue Shield of California recently announced it would be providing $200 million in direct support to physician practices and other health care providers. Applications are being accepting applications, which will be offered in a number of categories.
- CDPH: Screening for Adverse Childhood Experiences Is a Medi-Cal Covered Benefit
- Telehealth Strategies & Child and Family Resources during COVID
- Decontamination of N95 – NIH announced that “researchers have confirmed that there are several effective methods for decontaminating the N95 masks worn by health professionals so that they can be used more than once.”
- Addressing Child Abuse and Neglect:
  - Pointers, Tools and Resources to Address and Mitigate the Underlying Health Inequities and Intensified Risk of Violence in Today’s Pandemic Landscape
  - Zero to Three Webinar Series
- From AAP: Initial Guidance for Management of Infants Born to Mothers with COVID-19 (released 4/2/2020)
- Telemedicine Physical Exam Resources:
  - Physical Exam via Visualization: What I Can “See” via Telemedicine Physical Exam
  - Observation Scale: Reliability of Telemedicine in the Assessment of Seriously Ill Children (Pediatrics Journal)
  - Telemedicine Assessment of Respiratory Distress in Children: Telemedicine: A Reliable Tool to Assess the Severity of Respiratory Distress in Children
  - Codes for Televisits/Telephone/Portal Visits
- Pediatric Practice Support:
  - AAP Practice Management Resources
  - Pediatric Management Institute Forum (Sign Up Required)
  - Business Impact on Pediatric Practices
  - SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans
  - Paycheck Protection Program
  - CMA Financial Assistance for Medical Practices Toolkit
- California Department of Health Care Services: Resource Page
- California Medical Association: COVID-19 Resources
- PPE: For PPE being allocated by the federal government, along with local directives and guidelines, we urge you to contact your local County Public Health Departments
- Maintaining Childhood Immunizations During COVID-19 Pandemic: See CDC Guidance
- Pediatric Key Clinical Strategies: Adopted from CDC and California Department of Public Health
- California Department of Public Health: Requirements and Procedures for Emergency Medi-Cal Provider Enrollment (PDF version can be found HERE)
- National Governors Association: An interactive map containing state-by-state public health resources
- National Conference of State Legislatures: A complete list of state actions and pending state bills related to COVID-19
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: Medicaid/CHIP fact sheet clarifying that children are eligible to receive all medically necessary testing and diagnostic services for the coronavirus (as well as any future recommended vaccine) in these programs

UPDATE: 03.16.2020

Things are changing every day. Please visit National AAP’s Critical Updates for the most up-to-date clinical guidance, coding information, information on PPE, telemedicine and telephone care resources and more. For further questions, please email COVID-19@aap.org.

UPDATE: 03.06.2020

What should I expect to see in my office/clinic if COVID-19 becomes widespread in my community? What do I need to do to prepare? What is the best PPE to have/use? Why aren’t kids getting sick? We have answers to these questions and more from our Chapter Immunization Champion Dr. Dean Blumberg and District IX Resident Represenative Dr. Lena van der List.

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Here is a list of resources for you from the CDC, AAP, CDPH, all 48 county public health departments of our chapter and resources for children, youth and families. Please see below links to useful websites and resources: