The EXCITE Newsletter: May 26th, 2022

A1 Project Closeout Checklist

For those teams wrapping up their EXCITE A1 projects, please see this checklist for the various procedures to finalize the project closeout. As a reminder, if you haven’t presented your project at Spotlight, we still want to hear from you on an upcoming first Thursday, 3-4:30pm ET. To schedule a time to present, please reach out to Katie Stofer, katiestofer@extension.org.

A New Focus for Spotlights

As we continue with Spotlights over the summer and into fall, we will be turning the first portion of our time to talking about work beyond our institutional borders. What does “system” mean to you? How can we help teams build on the EXCITE work and continue and expand their collaborations, both with healthcare partners and with other LGUs? Join our conversation next week, June 2th 3PM ET, to discuss how we can keep working together. This will likely be the first of a series of conversations in upcoming Spotlights. Even teams who have finished their Activity 1 projects can join us for these discussions and additional sharing. To re-register for Spotlight and add a calendar reminder, click this link.

Resources from National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO):

• CDC Resources
  • New interactive tool and guidance for COVID-19 booster vaccine eligibility and recommendations: COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters | CDC
  • COVID-19 Booster Shot Recommendations and Eligibility 

• New chatbot Chatbot for Health Departments:
  • There’s a new free tool to help share reliable, updated COVID information and empathetically address misinformation. The artificial intelligence based chatbot answers hundreds of questions about the COVID-19 vaccines, side effects, and more. VIRA is available in both Spanish and English—check it out here. From The Johns Hopkins’ International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC), public health departments and advocacy coalitions to field questions from the public use the VIRA chatbot to offer the public a safe and private space to ask any vaccine question. VIRA can be embedded/placed on any website for free and is accessible on WhatsApp at 1-410-401-0306.

Reminder for May A2 Quarterly Reports and Holiday

Please remember, until you receive notification from Extension Foundation Finance Office that your project is officially closed, you need to continue to submit A1 monthly reports. In fact, failing to submit these reports may delay closure of your project.

A1 Monthly reports and A2 Quarterly reports are due Tues., May 31st, immediately after the Monday Memorial Day Holiday. We wish you a great holiday, and look forward to hearing about your great work.