{
	"type": "rich",
	"version": "1.0",
	"provider_name": "Action Network",
	"provider_url": "https://actionnetwork.org",
	
	"html": "<link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/letter/save-free-pcr-ma?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-letter-area-save-free-pcr-ma' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div>",
	"author_name": "Massachusetts Coalition for Health Equity",
	"author_url": "https://actionnetwork.org/groups/massachusetts-coalition-for-health-equity",
	"title": "SAVE FREE PCR TESTING FOR UNINSURED AND ALL MA RESIDENTS",
	"thumbnail_url": "https://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/letters/photos/000/262/926/normal/Save_Free__Fast_PCR_Tests_For_All_In_Massachusetts.png",
	"description": "Save Free PCR Testing for Uninsured and All MA Residents: Keep Stop the Spread Open Governor Maura Healey announcement that they will close the state’s “Stop the Spread” COVID PCR testing program on March 31, 2023 will remove access to testing for undocumented, uninsured residents of the state. Stop the Spread Sites are an essential service for uninsured MA residents, and others needing free, fast accessible PCR tests. This rolling back of healthcare access is a dangerous precedent for Massachusetts, which has one of the best public health infrastructures in the country. It will particularly impact Black, Indigenous, Latinx, elderly, low income and disabled people, who have suffered disproportionately in the pandemic. Free, fast PCR tests are an essential layer of protection to keep the most vulnerable among us safe. PCR tests are the “gold standard” of COVID testing, detecting infection both earlier than rapid antigen tests, and producing significantly less false negatives. I write asking you to Keep the 11 Stop the Spread sites open and further expand access to free, fast accessible PCR COVID tests through walk-in, drive-through and stand-alone testing sites affiliated with state’s community health centers. COVID, an airborne virus, is a persistent threat to all our well-being. It continues to be deadly especially for elderly, disabled and immunocompromised people, leading to more than 32,266 deaths in the US alone since the start of 2023. It is a race and class issue, disproportionately impacting Black, Indigenous and Latinx including from death, caregiver loss, and severe disease, and pediatric deaths. Because of the lack of layered public health mitigations like ventilation, masks, tests and contact tracing, and accessible vaccine and booster programs, the virus causing COVID continues to mutate, evading our existing vaccines and treatments. In the US, as many as 30% of COVID patients go on to develop Long COVID, a varying array of chronic and often disabling conditions many people get after COVID infection, even if the COVID initially seemed &quot;mild.” Long COVID encompasses over 200 symptoms ranging from debilitating fatigue to blood clots, kidney failure, and heart disease. Vaccination slightly reduces but does not eliminate the risk of Long COVID. Public policy can and must protect us. Save Public Health in the Commonwealth. Keep the Stop the Spread Sites Open. Thanks, Massachusetts Coalition for Health Equity.",
	"url": "https://actionnetwork.org/letters/save-free-pcr-ma"
}