On February 1, Pfizer-BioNTech submitted a request for emergency use authorization (EUA) from FDA for their COVID-19 vaccine for use in children 6 months through 4 years of age. The FDA announced that its Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) will meet on February 15 to discuss and review data on two doses of the vaccine for this age group. If the VRBPAC approves the request, Pfizer believes the vaccine could be available by the end of February. This request follows the FDA and CDC’s authorization of the Pfizer vaccine for children 5 through 11 years of age in late October/early November of last year. In related news, Moderna received full approval for its vaccine Spikevax. It becomes the United States’ second fully licensed vaccine to protect against COVID-19.
The Supreme Court decided against the Occupation Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) authority to mandate vaccines for large businesses, leading the Administration to remove the mandate last week. In a similar challenge, a federal judge blocked a COVID vaccine mandate for federal employees nationwide on January 20. This prompted the Department of Justice to immediately file a notice of appeal on the decision with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. Many believe the Supreme Court will eventually hear the case, in pointing to the ruling from the Court’s 5-4 ruling in favor of upholding the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services vaccine mandate for health care workers at federally funded health care facilities.
After the Biden Administration announced 400 million free N95 masks would be available to all U.S. citizens, the masks began to arrive at pharmacies and grocery stores nationwide. The Department of Health and Human Services allows “up to 3 free masks” per person pending availability. White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients called the effort “the largest deployment of personal protective equipment in U.S. history,” as the Biden Administration drew from the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile. On January 25, Zients said “we’ve already shipped millions of these masks out,” as the government partners with grocery stores and pharmacies to distribute the masks.
The White House reports that 60 million U.S. households have requested their free COVID tests. On Friday, White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said “tens of millions of tests have gone out the door and households around the country are already receiving tests.” Those ordering the tests from the covidtests.gov website should have their tests shipped seven to 12 days after placing the order. There is a limit of 4 tests per household and the White House has vowed to obtain 1 billion kits to hand out to the public for free.
Capitol Hill
The House is completing consideration of the America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology, and Economic Strength (COMPETES) Act of 2022 (H.R. 4521) this week, with a final vote taking place on Friday. The legislation is aimed at boosting U.S. high tech research and manufacturing, with a heavy focus on the semiconductor industry. The package includes several COVID-related items, including: directing the President to submit a report that assesses the most likely source or origin of COVID, the level of confidence in the assessment, and challenges identified to the federal government’s ability to make such an assessment; and the COVID-19 Emergency Medical Supplies Enhancement Act of 2022, which streamlines engagement between the federal government, the private sector, and state, local, and tribal governments to ensure that all Americans have access to lifesaving personal protective equipment and other medical supplies.
On January 25, Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) and Ranking Member Richard Burr (R-NC) released a discussion draft of the Prepare for and Respond to Existing Viruses, Emerging New Threats, and Pandemics Act (PREVENT Pandemics Act), bipartisan legislation focused on strengthening the nation’s public health and medical preparedness and response systems in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The legislation includes provisions to improve state and local public health security and the recruitment and retention of the frontline public health workforce, among other areas. Feedback on the discussion draft may be submitted to [email protected] until February 4.
On February 1, Sens. Ed Markey (D-MA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland urging the Department of Justice “to investigate—and take all necessary to steps to deter—the proliferation of fraudulent and counterfeit masks sold by retailers in the United States during the COVID-19 public health emergency.”
On January 31, House Oversight Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis Ranking Member Steve Scalise (R-LA) and five other House Republicans sent a letter to CDC Director Rochelle Walensky calling on her “to provide the scientific evidence for the agency’s COVID-19 guidelines and policies that have caused harm to children’s social, emotional, and educational development.” House Oversight Committee Ranking Member James Comer (R-KY) also sent letters on January 25 to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and Acting OMB Director Shalanda Young “questioning how President Biden’s border crisis led to the Administration’s decision to divert billions of dollars from critical COVID relief programs.”
On January 28, Sens. Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Roger Wicker (R-MS), along with nine other Senate Republicans, sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to complain about the Department’s final rule for the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds established under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The senators said they “are profoundly disappointed that Treasury’s final rule lacks the proper guidance and constraints needed to ensure that federal funds are used efficiently and for their intended purpose.”
On January 27, House Oversight Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis Chair James Clyburn (D-SC) sent a letter to SpeakWithAnMD.com calling for immediate compliance with the Subcommittee’s October 29, 2021 requests for documents and information regarding the company’s “facilitation of paid consultations and prescriptions for unproven coronavirus treatments like hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin.”
On January 20, Senate HELP Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) sent a letter to Labor Secretary Marty Walsh urging OSHA to “move forward with a permanent standard to protect workers in health care and health care support settings as soon as possible [and for] OSHA to use its authority to ensure robust protections for health care workers and all workers who are at risk of COVID-19 infection in their workplace.”
On January 19, House Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee Ranking Member Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and E&C Subcommittee Ranking Members Brett Guthrie (R-KY) and Morgan Griffith (R-VA) sent letters to the heads of the CDC, FDA, and NIH requesting information about their research activities related to COVID-19 and other coronaviruses, including the sources of funding for such research. The trio also sent a letter on January 31 to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra requesting that he “provide information and documents to address concerns about your leadership as the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.”
Administration
Treasury announced the re-launch of ChildTaxCredit.gov website with several new features to help taxpayers file their taxes and access the remainder of the expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) or the full amount of the CTC as tax filing season begins. The IRS updated its FAQs for the CTC and Advance Child Tax Credit Payments. The updated FAQ modifies a question and adds a new question. IRS also announced all third-round Economic Impact Payments have been issued and notes how to claim any remaining stimulus payment on 2021 income tax returns as part of the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit.
Treasury announced states and territories all met the December application deadline and will now have access to $9.9 billion in funding from the Capital Projects Fund for capital projects that directly enable work, education, and health monitoring in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The FCC released a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking containing final rules for the new Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). As part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Congress allocated $14.2 billion to create the ACP, which builds on the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program and is intended to be a longer-term broadband affordability program.
The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau approved $47.89 million in COVID-19 Telehealth Program support to 100 health care providers in the sixth and final tranche of funding commitments under Round 2 of the program, bringing total funding for Round 2 to $256,378,567. All funding for the program has now been committed.
SBA announced $3 million in new funding under BIL for state governments to help emerging small businesses develop their cybersecurity infrastructure. As part of the Cybersecurity for Small Business Pilot Program, through the Office of Entrepreneurial Development, state governments are eligible to compete for grants that will help deliver cybersecurity assistance to nascent and start-up business owners. Applications will be accepted through March 3.
HHS is making more than $2 billion in Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Phase 4 General Distribution payments to more than 7,600 providers across the country this week. These payments come on the heels of the nearly $9 billion in funding that was already released by HHS in December 2021.
People in either Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage will be able to get 8 over-the-counter COVID-19 tests at no cost starting in early spring. Tests will be available through eligible pharmacies and other participating entities.
The US Army issued a directive, effective immediately, ordering commanders to initiate involuntary administrative separation proceedings for soldiers who have refused the lawful order to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and who do not have a pending or approved exemption request.
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A coalition of airlines and travel groups urged the Biden Administration to remove the testing requirement for vaccinated travelers, arguing that such a move would help the travel and aviation industry recover. The groups pointed to a recommendation from the World Health Organization that countries should consider lifting measures for travelers who are fully vaccinated.
A new study shows high levels of coronavirus antibodies that fight the omicron variant four months after a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine. The study from researchers at Pfizer, BioNTech, and the University of Texas Medical Branch shows virus-fighting antibodies enduring four months after the third dose, helping answer the key question of how long protection from the booster shot lasts.
Researchers from John Hopkins University School of Medicine found that an organ transplant from a donor who died of COVID-19 complications can be performed safely and successfully to a patient in need. Successful organ transplants from donors who died from COVID-19 have been completed since the onset of the pandemic; however, safety concerns remained because the kidneys can sometimes be a target of infection for COVID-19 based on postmortem studies that show high levels of receptors in the organ.
As reported in TFG Transportation Notes, the requirement that foreign nationals entering the U.S. and Canada be vaccinated against COVID-19 is exacerbating the supply chain logjam, according to freight industry groups who say they cannot find enough vaccinated drivers to bring goods across the U.S.-Canada border. The freight industry said the impact has been immediate, with fewer drivers able to cross the border and prices spiking as a result. The scarcity of drivers, they say, has translated into long waits for available trucks and a resulting ground backlog akin to the situation at ports for ocean freight.
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Webinars, Events and Resources |
ARPA Office Hour: Storytelling + Advocacy
NLC
February 9, 1:00 PM ET
Investing ARPA Funds in Behavioral Health Crisis Response
NACo
February 22, 3:00 PM ET
A Post-Pandemic Legacy: How Can We Build a Justice System That Works For Everyone?
NACo
February 23, 2:00 PM ET
CRS Reports
GAO Reports
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