Over the past two years, RADx-UP community partners have helped to collect important data regarding COVID-19 and testing outcomes across the US. These data are now ready to be analyzed and written for publication, a process that often excludes community partner contributors. Since community engagement is integral to RADx-UP, we have prioritized community partner contributions to our consortial publications process, Partnering for Impact.

The CDCC interviewed a sample of RADx-UP community partners to learn how we can support their integration into the Partnering for Impact writing teams. Your ideas inspired us to organize a series of virtual writing workshops starting in August and running through October. Workshops will be recorded and posted for those who can't attend live.

RADx-UP project team members will receive the quarterly Scholarly & Non-scholarly Product Survey via email from Tara Carr (tara_carr@med.unc.edu) on Mon., Aug. 1. Responses are due Aug. 22.

Your information helps us see the big-picture of RADx-UP findings, and we highlight your work on the RADx-UP Publications Dashboard and the Resources library. Thanks in advance!

The RADx-UP Image Bank is a collection of photos that reflect the impact of COVID-19 across diverse RADx-UP project sites throughout the US. We invite projects, community partners, and CDCC to share original photographs of the people, places, and things that tell their community’s COVID-19 story. Scan the QR code with your phone to download consent forms and upload photos!

The Partnering for Impact initiative continues to roll along – the first three analysis proposals are in and under review with the RADx-UP Publications & Dissemination Committee. See them here.  

Please continue to submit your analysis concepts and join a writing team – concepts 9, 10, 12, and 13 need collaborators to join their teams. 

Starting Aug. 8, CDCC will hold a series of workshops to help consortium members (especially community partners without publishing experience) learn how to participate in Partnering for Impact. Sessions include Journal Selection Strategies, Journal Submission Process, and Utilizing Reference Management Software. Find details on the myRADx-UPhome Calendar of Events.

Find more links, resources, and news on Partnering for Impact on the new myRADx-UPhome landing page.

Thank you 

Thank you to the LITE CONNECT project team, represented by Sari Reisner and Carter Brown, and to Edward Ellerbeck of the University of Kansas Medical Center project team for their presentations at the July Project-Wide Meeting.

Find their contact information in the CDCC directory on myRADx-UPhome and find a link to watch a recording of the meeting on this page. 

Project milestones 

New SEBI Working Group 

We’ve created a sixth Working Group to bring together RADx-UP project teams and community partners interested in empirical research on the social, ethical and behavioral implications (SEBI) related to COVID-19 testing and vaccination in underserved populations. The group will explore distrust of medical research, privacy, consent, transparency, bias, and stigma, among others, as well as the design of interventions to address them in COVID-19 response efforts. Working group members commit to creating a diverse and inclusive space for open dialogue between researchers and community members on these SEBI concerns.

Use this Asana form to join. 

ASU Testing Commons provides Mid-Year Testing Review 

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, easy access to clear and accurate information has been essential—this includes information about COVID-19 tests. The Arizona State University Testing Commons provides facts on COVID-19 testing options to date. See the 2022 Mid-Year Testing Review for a recap of the information found on the site.

To receive additional updates about COVID-19 testing, subscribe to COVID-19 Response Advisors’ Tracking US Coronavirus Testing Capacity Newsletter. 

RADx-UP Research Brief: COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Delaware’s Underserved Communities 

The RADx-UP project by Delaware State University in collaboration with Sussex County Health Coalition and the Hope Coalition studied the prevalence of COVID-19 vaccination and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Delaware’s underserved communities. They also evaluated factors, such as demographic, socioeconomic characteristics, & COVID-19 related behaviors, associated with vaccine hesitancy. View the Research Brief in English and Spanish. 

RP2 and C2G call for applications 

A reminder that the next deadline for applications to the RADx-UP Rapid Research Pilot Program and Community Collaboration Grant Program is Sept. 16, 2022. Learn more.

The first photos from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have been released by NASA. These high-quality images show galaxies far, far beyond our own in ways we haven’t seen before. The telescope began construction in 2007 and launched in 2021. It’s now about 930,000 miles outside of Earth’s orbit! The JWST will help scientists understand how galaxies and stars form, interact, and more. Keep an eye out for more images to come from this amazing technology!