NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams, the Mayor’s Office for Persons with Disabilities (MOPD), the New York City Department of Administrative Services (DCAS), and NYC Health + Hospitals / Test & Treat Corps (H + H / T2)) announced Tuesday that the city will distribute 10,000 home COVID-19 testing kits more accessible to blind or visually impaired New Yorkers.
Home test kits, manufactured by Ellume and shipped to New York City by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), use test components that are easier for people who are blind or visually impaired to use, which communicate with the user’s smartphone to give an electronic text reading of their result.
According to the mayor’s office, more affordable test kits will be rolling out in the coming weeks and will be available through MOPD and a number of other partner organizations.
“All New Yorkers deserve access to free tests to ensure they and their loved ones are protected from COVID-19,” Mayor Adams said. “Having home test kits available and accessible to the blind and visually impaired community will ensure that their health remains a priority and that they can test in the privacy of their home before making contact with others. We thank the CDC for awarding these 10,000 most affordable test kits and our partners for helping them distribute them. It is important to remember that we are all together in this ”.
According to an analysis by the New York City Planning Department, there are about 1 million people across the city who have reported some kind of disability, of which about 200,000 have reported having vision problems.
Initially, the federal government made Ellume’s home test kits available to people through a White House initiative where people could order 12 home tests online. Through the patronage of the mayor’s office, the CDC shipped these home test kits directly to New York City.
“Home test kits have been and will continue to be an important part of our strategy to keep New York moving and thriving. We need to make sure the test kits are available and truly accessible to everyone in the city, and today’s announcement is a step in that direction, “said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom.” According to statistics In recent years, there are about 200,000 New Yorkers who have revealed that they are blind or partially sighted. Those New Yorkers are our partners, our parents, our grandparents, our children, our friends and our colleagues. They need and deserve access to COVID-19 test kits that allow them to protect their health, the health of their loved ones and the health of their community. Thanks to the inter-agency group that led this effort, thanks to our federal partners and thanks to all service providers who will distribute these kits in the community “.
In an effort to make COVID-19 home testing available to all people and communities in New York City, the Adams administration will continue to explore avenues for additional test kits to serve the blind or visually impaired community and all New Yorkers.
“New Yorkers have adopted home testing as a cost-effective way to guide their behavior and protect those around them from COVID,” said Dr. Ashwin Vasan, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. “As a city and nation, we have a responsibility to match that acceptance with accessibility. This is an important initiative to achieve this goal “.
Together with the MOPD, the organizations that will receive the COVID-19 test kits will be:
- Alfapunta
- Brooklyn Center for the Independence of the Disabled
- Bronx Independent Living Services
- Center for the Independence of the Disabled in New York
- Filomen M. D’Agostino Greenberg Music School
- Helen Keller Services for the Blind
- Independence care system
- Lighthouse Guild
- New York Public Library – Andrew Heiskell Braille Library and Talking Book
- Commission on the Blind of the New York State Office of Childhood and Family Services
- State University of New York College of Optometry
- VISIONS / Services for the blind and visually impaired
To request an accessible home testing kit, New Yorkers should contact one of the receiving organizations or the MOPD at 212-788-2830.
Deaf or hard of hearing New Yorkers who use American Sign Language should contact MOPD via ASL Direct at 646-396-5830. MOPD will host a community call via Zoom where representatives from H + H / T2 will demonstrate the use of test kits and answer questions related to COVID-19. To register for this call, New Yorkers can register online.
