MILWAUKEE COMMUNITY JOURNAL WEEKEND 355

1 WEEKENDWEEKEND EDITIONEDITIONMILWAUKEE COMMUNITY JOURNALVOL. XXXVIII JULY 16, 2022 50 CENTSBULK RATE POSTAGE MILWAUKEE , WISCONSIN PERMIT 4668 Dr. Martin Luther King said, Everybody can be great because anybody can serve. Observed on the third Monday of each year, MLK Day is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of serv-ice. On this day, MILWAUKEE joins Americans across the nation who are stepping up to make our communities more equitable and taking action to create the Beloved COMMUNITY of Dr. King s dream. On Monday, January 17, from 10AM - 3 PM, several MILWAUKEE groups will host an event featuring COVID-19 testing and vaccinations, flu shots, health education games, food giveaways and much more as part of the MLK Day National Day of Service.

2 The volunteer-led COMMUNITY event is being held at the Lovell Johnson Quality of Life Center, 1530 W. Atkinson Ave., in the 53206 neighborhood of MILWAUKEE . Organizers include Jump at the Sun Consultants, LLC., the Wisconsin African American tobacco Prevention Network (WAATPN), Wisconsin To-bacco Prevention and Poverty Network (WTPPN), WI Wins, Health Con-nections, Inc., and the Lovell Johnson Quality of Life Center. The event is being supported by the MILWAUKEE Health Department and funded by the Greater MILWAUKEE Foun-dation, Zilber Family Foundation, DHS COVID Vaccine Outreach, DHS tobacco Prevention and Control Program, and MILWAUKEE County. Gift cards of $50 will be provided to those who receive their first COVID vac-cination and $25 for second shots or boosters during the event, while supplies last.

3 free t-shirts, COVID safety supplies and other gifts and prizes will be pro-vided, while supplies lasts. The groups will also be hosting other MLK Day of Service activ-ities throughout the WEEKEND leading up to the Day of Service Monday. On Friday, teams of volunteers will be going door-to-door at various pub-lic housing buildings, administering the rapid COVID tests, providing COVID education and outreach and information on smoking cessation. On Saturday and Sunday, teams will head out to visit with retailers in the MILWAUKEE Suburbs and City of MILWAUKEE , distributing posters high-lighting the T-21 federal law, which raised the age to purchase tobacco to 21 years, and the WI-Wins program, a statewide program created to re-duce youth exposure to tobacco .

4 In addition to the in-person event on Monday, the Wisconsin tobacco Prevention and Poverty Network and Wisconsin African American To-MLK MLK Day ofDay of ServiceService Events toEvents to HonorHonor Dr. KingDr. KingWeekend of MLK Day of Service Events Culminates with Health Fair Monday!(conintued on page 2)The 355 Black Panther star Lupita Nyong o co-stars in generic but surprisingly engaging espionage action/thriller!The WEEKEND Edition January 14, 2022 Page 2bacco Prevention Network will also be hosting a virtual letter writing workshop where participants can learn about the difference between lobbying and advocacy and how to more effectively share their COMMUNITY concerns with local and state leaders.

5 The purpose of the events are to support MILWAUKEE residents and others who ve been hit hard during the pan-demic. Face masks and social distancing will be required at all events. Volunteers at the MLK Day event will distribute free food and help direct visitors to ensure a safe and socially dis-tanced event. The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Jan. 17, 2022, is the 27th anniversary of the day of service that celebrates the Civil Rights leader s life and legacy. (continued from cover page)MLK Day of ServiceMilwaukee Health Department Distributes free N95 Masks Masks will be available at MILWAUKEE Health Centers and MILWAUKEE Public Libraries After handing out 500,000 N95 masks in less than three days, the MILWAUKEE Health Department will dis-tribute another round of 500,000 N95 masks begin-ning Thursday, January 13, while supplies last.

6 In all, the MILWAUKEE Health Depart-ment will distribute over one million masks in a week. N95 masks will be pro-vided via drive-up only at the Northwest Health Center (7630 W. Mill Rd.), South-side Health Center (1639 S. 23rd St.), Menomonee Valley Site (2401 W. St. Paul Ave.), and MILWAUKEE Public Library branches during regular op-erating hours. Full list of lo-cations and hours is at Masking is critically im-portant to mitigating the spread of COVID-19, and the higher quality N95 masks are even more effec-tive in protecting against the Omicron variant, said Mil-waukee Health Commis-sioner Kirsten Johnson. The MILWAUKEE Health De-partment staff is doing their best to get these masks into the hands of our COMMUNITY , but we ask everyone to ex-ercise civility and patience.

7 During the first round of mask giveaways, staff re-ported some unfortunate hostile actions from those waiting for masks. The MILWAUKEE Health De-partment reiterates that all protocols are in place to safely and equitably distrib-ute the masks and asks ev-eryone to follow the rules. The staff is thankful to the vast majority of individuals who practiced kindness and look forward to continuing the important work of pro-tecting the MILWAUKEE com-munity. Each car will receive a pack of twenty N95 masks. These masks are reusable if properly sanitized between uses. To sanitize an N95 or KN95 mask, remove the res-pirator and place it in a breathable paper bag. Close the bag and allow it to sit at room temperature for at least 72 hours before reusing the mask.

8 This pro-cess can be repeated but should not exceed five times before discarding the mask. Individuals are encour-aged to follow the Milwau-kee Health Department s social media pages for up-dates on mask availability, as the supply is anticipated to be distributed WEEKEND Edition January 14, 2022 Page 3 Gov. Evers, OCI Announce Cost of COVID-19 At-Home Tests to be Covered by all Health PlansNew requirement comes from Biden Administration as Omicron Cases Surge MADISON Gov. Tony Evers and OCI announced today, beginning January 15, all health plans will be re-quired to cover the cost of over the counter, at-home diagnostic COVID-19 tests for their members. This requirement applies to both private health insur-ance companies and group health plans, like those pro-vided by an employer.

9 Testing continues to be a critical component of helping slow the spread of COVID-19 and keeping our com-munities healthy and safe, and thanks to this new re-quirement, COVID-19 tests are going to be even more accessible for Wisconsin-ites across our state, said Gov. Evers. Especially as cases con-tinue to surge and our healthcare providers are already stretched thin, we re encouraging Wis-consinites to take advan-tage of at-home testing and available local testing clinics so that our healthcare providers can continue doing their important work in our clinics and hospitals. Under these new guidelines, required by the Biden Ad-ministration, COVID-19 tests may either be free or reim-bursed by the insurer.

10 Health plans and insurance companies are incentivized to set up a network of pharmacies or retailers so their members can conveniently order or pick up these tests that will be covered upfront. Access to testing is critical as Omicron continues to spread through our communities, said Insurance Com-missioner Nathan Houdek. This new requirement will help stop the spread of COVID-19 by making it easier for everyone to test themselves at home. If a health plan or private insurer establishes a network of pharmacies or retailers, then they are permitted to limit the reimbursement for tests purchased outside of that net-work to $12 per test. For example, if a consumer chooses to purchase a two-pack of COVID-19 tests online through an out-of-network retailer for $34, then they may only be reimbursed $24 for the cost of two tests.