Letter Writing Campaign: Urge US Government Officials to Prioritize the Immunocompromised/Immunosuppressed

While there have been many challenges for everyone throughout the pandemic, those challenges for the immunocompromised/immunosuppressed (IC/IS) community were only amplified by the realization that the COVID-19 vaccines did not elicit an adequate immune response for many. Additionally, as time has gone by there has been mounting data that show when someone who is IC/IS becomes infected with COVID-19, the outcomes are worse than those with healthy immune systems.

We were all extremely excited to hear about the authorization of Evusheld in December 2021. As a long-acting COVID-19 monoclonal antibody (CmAb) that is to be used only in those who are IC/IS who did not mount an adequate antibody response to COVID-19 vaccines, Evusheld provides some much-needed hope to those who do not respond to the COVID-19 vaccines. However, to date, the government has only purchased around 10% of the inventory that would be needed in order for every IC/IS American to receive one dose of Evusheld. And for that small amount that has been purchased, the distribution of those available doses to each state has been slow at best. Nearly seven weeks after its authorization, only a handful of individuals so far have been able to find an available dose.

We are now in the midst of Omicron, and many of those who are IC/IS remain locked down and are increasingly feeling forgotten. Obtaining dosages of medications that could potentially save our lives at this point in the pandemic should not still be so difficult!

When there is a crisis, time matters, and we as a country have historically protected the most vulnerable first. At this moment in the pandemic, the most vulnerable are us, and we need to be better prioritized and taken into more consideration when decisions are being made that affect us. So we are asking all of you to participate in this letter writing campaign urging government officials to take the IC/IS community into greater consideration with making decisions regarding COVID-19 testing, prophylaxis, treatments, and research.

Let us all join together to make our voices known!

Who Will My Email Be Sent To?

• The COVID-19 Therapeutics General Inbox for the US Department of Health and Human Services
• Jeffrey Zients, the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator
• Dawn O’Connell, the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the US Department of Health and Human Services
• Tiffany Guarascio, the US House of Representatives Legislative Director and Health Policy Advisor
• Xavier Becerra, the US Secretary of Health and Human Services
• Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response General Inbox
• Matthew Berman, Government Health Contracts Supervisor at US Department of Health and Human Services

Can I Edit My Letter Before It is Sent?

YES! Personalizing letters like this when they are being sent to government officials is highly encouraged.

After you put in your contact information, a box should pop up asking you to click on a link to start your email. Then an email window should automatically open with the auto-generated email language that you can then edit.

Some suggestions for personalizing your email would be adding a short paragraph (preferably after the first paragraph) that includes:

• What your diagnosis is
• How long you have been living with the disease
• If you received COVID-19 vaccinations (and whether or not they resulted in the development of any antibodies)
• How the pandemic has affected you/your family
• Anything else that you feel might be important for them to know about you

Begin filling in the contact information fields below to start your letter now!

Stay strong. We are all this together.