[Opds-contracts] Vaccine update: What OPDS is doing to advocate for your health + provider survey

[Bridget Budbill]

Dear Oregon public defense providers,

We know the past nine months have been extremely challenging. You have remained committed to advocating for fair and just outcomes for our community's indigent clients, while at the same time navigating changing COVID-19 protocols, court delays, and personal risks to your health and the health of your loved ones. We are grateful for your dedication.

At the Office of Public Defense Services (OPDS), our job is to help you do your job by removing barriers and advocating for resources and support. This includes access to COVID-19 vaccines. We believe that public defense providers - including attorneys, support staff, mitigators, investigators, interpreters, and additional personnel who support public defense work for indigent clients - are essential workers. Our community assumes similar exposure risks as jail, court, and law enforcement personnel while performing their duties. Additionally, the clients you serve are frequently among the most vulnerable members of our communities, for whom stable access to healthcare and other supports is not a given. As such, we believe public defense providers should be given access to the vaccine during the same phase as other non-healthcare essential workers. We began outreach to our state government partners last month when we sent a letter<https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.oregon.gov%2Fopds%2FDocuments%2FOPDS%2520Ltr%2520-%2520Oregon%2527s%2520Vaccine%2520Prioritization%2520Plan%2520-%252011132020.pdf&data=04%7C01%7CBridget.Budbill%40opds.state.or.us%7C04a4c01929a74b968b2608d8a6d65e86%7C9b3a1822c6e047c7a089fb98da7887be%7C0%7C0%7C637442786927117022%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=lrl2qyarcwflQcCIVzEVhLGkqC8vrEIA9CltM5JY%2BCk%3D&reserved=0> to the Governor's office and the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) framing why public defense providers are essential workers. This month, we reached out to the OHA for additional information and engagement in statewide vaccination planning on behalf of the public defense community.  We will keep you updated on our progress.

In the meantime, we need to hear from you about how you are managing COVID-19 risks within the scope of your public defense work. Please fill out this 3-minute online survey<https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.surveymonkey.com%2Fr%2FZFQN3SY&data=04%7C01%7CBridget.Budbill%40opds.state.or.us%7C04a4c01929a74b968b2608d8a6d65e86%7C9b3a1822c6e047c7a089fb98da7887be%7C0%7C0%7C637442786927117022%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=NzVvz5Z%2F1KufAoBcuPTZgw7F8ujwHHJ%2BwJtdDKb%2BSmY%3D&reserved=0> by 5 p.m., on January 4th, to let us know, among other things, the frequency of your in-person interaction while performing your duties. This information will help us spell out why our state should prioritize our community for vaccination.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. If you have any questions, please reach out to me via email at Bridget.Budbill at opds.state.or.us<mailto:Bridget.Budbill at opds.state.or.us> or by phone at 503-779-7329.

Sincerely,

Bridget

Bridget Budbill
Legislative Director
Oregon Office of Public Defense Services<https://www.oregon.gov/opds/pages/default.aspx>
Desk: 971-332-1124
Cell: 503-779-7329
Email: bridget.budbill at opds.state.or.us

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://omls.oregon.gov/pipermail/opds-contracts/attachments/20201223/42d13386/attachment.html>