Cd'A part of nationwide COVID study

COEUR d'ALENE — The city of Coeur d'Alene is one of six communities nationwide chosen for a study on the effectiveness of federal pandemic response funds.

The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee is seeking to "identify the federal pandemic response funds provided to these locations, the purpose of those funds, and if program spending aligned with the programs’ intended goals and objectives," according to the PRAC.

Along with Coeur d'Alene, communities selected for the impact study are Springfield, Mass.; Sheridan County, Neb.; Marion County, Ga.; White Earth Nation, Minn., and Jicarilla Apache Nation, N.M.

The state of Idaho received a $1.25 billion allocation through the Coronavirus Relief Fund to help fight the coronavirus.

Katherine Hoyer, spokeswoman for the Panhandle Health District, said the federal funds "allowed us to reach several goals that we would otherwise not have been able to achieve for the community."

She said the funding had the largest impact on their ability to provide testing for the community and to distribute and administer the COVID-19 vaccine.

"Those were essential needs that we were able to meet for our community," she wrote.

PRAC representatives were in Coeur d'Alene this week for three days and spoke to several city staff members and members of organizations in the city.

They also met with the PHD to discuss the impact of the pandemic on the community from a public health perspective including the overall number of cases, deaths, overall testing and public outreach/education efforts.

"The focus of the PRAC’s review is the federal government’s administration of pandemic programs and the impact of those programs and emergency funds," according to a PRAC impact project statement. "Understanding the experiences of residents, businesses, local government officials, and other stakeholders in these communities in connection with these federal pandemic programs will enable the PRAC to better evaluate how these programs performed in relation to the programs’ goals."

The PRAC plans to issue six individual reports, released two at a time in the order of cities, counties, and tribal areas, once site visits and further analysis of the programs are completed.