On August 17, President Biden signed a Presidential Memorandum on “Maximizing Assistance to Respond to COVID-19,” directing FEMA to extend the 100% federal cost-share for all eligible Category B Emergency Protective Measures incurred by state, tribal, territorial, and local governments related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Memorandum extends the performance deadline from September 30 to December 31, 2021; the performance start date remains January 20, 2020.
Eligible Category B expenses are inclusive of the supplementary expenses President Biden asked FEMA to “make available” under Category B in his January 21, 2021, Presidential Memorandum. The memorandum directed FEMA to make available under Category B “such assistance as may be required by States (including territories and the District of Columbia), local governments, and Tribal governments to provide for the safe opening and operation of eligible schools, child-care facilities, healthcare facilities, non-congregate shelters, domestic violence shelters, transit systems, and other eligible applicants.” The memorandum also said, “Such assistance may include funding for the provision of personal protective equipment and disinfecting services and supplies.”
Starting September 20, people 18 years and older who received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines will be eligible for a booster dose eight months after their second dose. People who received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine will also likely need an additional vaccine. However, health officials are still conducting research and not yet releasing plans for booster shots for people who received that vaccine. The move by the Biden Administration to recommend booster shots comes as new CDC data shows that protection against the coronavirus in vaccinated individuals has declined over time.
The delta variant now accounts for more than 98.8 percent of U.S. COVID-19 cases, according to the CDC. Every state’s progress has been derailed by the delta variant, according to the New York Times, but the effects have been especially severe in the South. Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi have shattered past known case records. Hospitalizations nationwide now exceed every previous record except last winter’s peak.
Capitol Hill
On August 15, Business Insider reported that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is calling for federal law enforcement officials to crack down on fake COVID-19 vaccinations cards, which are being sold online. Sen. Schumer is demanding U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the FBI team up with HHS officials to launch a crackdown on the counterfeit cards and start a campaign to make clear that forging the cards could land people in federal prison. He also wants the Justice Department to immediately prioritize cases involving fake vaccine cards and is pushing for CBP to work harder to find counterfeit cards being sent from overseas.
On August 18, House Budget Committee Chair John Yarmuth (D-KY) released a report on “The 2022 Budget Resolution and Reconciliation: How We Will Build Back Better.” The report outlines the Senate-passed FY 2022 budget resolution’s reconciliation instructions “to support visionary and transformative investments in the health, well-being, and financial security of America’s workers and families.”
On August 18, Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) announced that he would soon be introducing the COVID Defense Act, which “would remove $9.6 billion in defense spending – 1.3% of the $740.5 billion authorized in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act – and authorize President Biden to direct the same amount of funding to COVID vaccine production and distribution efforts benefitting the low-income international community.”
On August 18, House Education and Labor Committee Ranking Member Virginia Foxx (R-NC) sent a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona demanding confirmation that states are not required to allow mask mandates in schools as a condition of receiving American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) funds.
Administration
HUD is making $2.66 billion in FY 2021 Continuum of Care Program (CoC) competitive funding available to homeless services organizations for supportive services and housing programs for people experiencing homelessness.
President Biden called on state and local elected officials and judges to issue local eviction moratoriums and move aggressively to distribute the $46.5 billion in emergency rental assistance funds.
USDA is making up to $500 million in grants available to help rural health care facilities, tribes and communities expand access to COVID-19 vaccines, health care services and nutrition assistance.
HHS announced more than $19 million in grants aimed at strengthening and expanding telehealth services in rural and underserved communities, which have continued to lack access to care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Treasury announced more than $15 billion were paid to families that include roughly 61 million eligible children in the second monthly payment of the Child Tax Credit. The number of payments this month increased and cover an additional 1.6 million children. Eligible families received a payment of up to $300 per month for each child under age 6 and up to $250 per month for each child aged 6 to 17.
Since the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Direct Borrower Forgiveness Portal opened on August 4, SBA has received more than 340,000 submissions from borrowers with PPP loans of $150,000 or less.
TSA will extend a federal requirement that travelers wear masks on commercial flights, buses, and trains through January 18, 2022. The current mask rules were extended this spring through September 13.
CDC announced a new center designed to advance the use of forecasting and outbreak analytics in public health decision making. Once established, the Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics will bring together next-generation public health data, expert disease modelers, public health emergency responders, and high-quality communications, to meet the needs of decision makers.
DOJ announced a Georgia woman pled guilty for perpetrating a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $7.9 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. Also, a licensed pharmacist was arrested in Chicago on charges related to his alleged sale of dozens of authentic Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 vaccination cards on eBay for $10 per card.
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The Independent Restaurant Owners Association Rescue, in addition to several restaurants, filed a lawsuit against New York City this week in an attempt to block the city from implementing its vaccine mandate. The lawsuit argues that an executive order issued by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio requiring people to show proof of at least one vaccine shot at facilities including restaurants, gyms, and indoor entertainment spaces would hinder their business, life savings, and livelihood.
The United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) urged President Biden to enact tougher mask rules on employers to protect workers from COVID-19 and the delta variant. The request comes after OSHA released guidance last week recommending that retail stores and meatpacking facilities in areas of high COVID-19 transmission require their workers to wear masks, even if they are vaccinated against the virus.
Disney World is loosening its outdoor mask requirements, leaving it up to customers whether they want to wear a mask in most outdoor areas of the park.
Hawaii Lt. Governor Josh Green said the state could see another lockdown due to the number of people not vaccinated against the coronavirus. Green said that 58 out of the 68 ICU beds at Honolulu’s Queen Hospital are filled with COVID-19 patients this week.
A Carnival Cruise Line ship that arrived in Belize this week after departing Texas recorded 27 positive COVID-19 cases, all among people who are fully vaccinated. The company announced new mask and testing requirements including that all guests will be asked to wear masks in certain indoor areas of Carnival’s ships through October 31.
Vaccine News
The Biden Administration will be requiring nursing home staff across the country to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and will withhold Medicare and Medicaid funding from those facilities that don’t comply. The new regulations would apply to over 15,000 nursing home facilities which employ approximately 1.3 million workers and serve approximately 1.6 million nursing home residents. Also, OSHA issued updated guidance to help employers protect workers from the coronavirus. The updated guidance expands information on appropriate measures for protecting workers in higher-risk workplaces with mixed-vaccination status workers, particularly for industries such as manufacturing; meat, seafood, and poultry processing; high volume retail and grocery; and agricultural processing, where there is often prolonged close contact with other workers and/or non-workers.
New York state will require health care workers to get at least their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine before September 27, becoming the latest jurisdiction to institute such a mandate. The policies will include “limited exceptions” for religious and medical reasons. Washington, D.C. will also require health care workers to get at least one dose of the vaccine by the end of September.
The United Kingdom’s health regulator extended its approval for the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to be given to 12-17 year-olds. The approval followed the safety data from a study in the U.S. involving more than 3,700 participants in the age range who received at least one dose of the Moderna vaccine or a placebo.
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