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Supervisors urge broader COVID 'vulnerable' definition for unhoused people; health officials warn of cost and FEMA limits
Summary
Supervisor Preston urged the city to expand COVID-era 'vulnerable population' eligibility for shelter-in-place hotel rooms to people who are 45 and older and homeless; DPH said available data and mortality patterns support retaining 60 as the cutoff for COVID vulnerability, and HSA/Controller staff warned that lowering the age could exclude many people from FEMA reimbursement and sharply increase city costs.
A heated policy debate over who qualifies as "vulnerable" for COVID-era shelter-in-place (SIP) hotel eligibility occupied the committee on Sept. 17. Supervisor Dean Preston, the item sponsor, argued that people living on the street age more rapidly and urged the city to treat unhoused residents as eligible at age 45 and older for SIP hotel placement and related COVID services.
"The idea is that those on the street age more rapidly than folks who are housed," Preston said, outlining academic research and local observations that motivated the proposed expansion of the definition.
Dr. Deb Bourne, who oversees health policy for people experiencing homelessness, cautioned that COVID vulnerability…
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