The U.S. is averaging more than 100,000 new COVID-19 cases a day, the highest number since February. Infections have been rising sharply since just after July 4, a spike attributable to the Delta variant. In late June, the CDC reported the seven-day moving average of reported cases was around 12,000. On July 17, the seven-day moving average of cases reached more than 60,000. According to an analysis reported by The Washington Post today, two-thirds of Americans in highly vaccinated counties (with more than 54% of the population fully vaccinated) now live in coronavirus hot spots (defined as areas with high and rising caseloads, as compared to areas with moderate or low COVID-19 outbreaks).
The CDC has officially recommended that people who are pregnant be vaccinated against COVID-19, updating and strengthening previous guidance due to new evidence. According to the CDC, evidence about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy has been growing, and the benefits of receiving the vaccine outweigh any known or potential risks of vaccination during pregnancy.
The FDA is expected to authorize a third coronavirus vaccine dose for immunocompromised individuals as soon as today. The authorization will specifically expand the emergency use of both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.
On August 10, the Senate passed the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684, as amended) by a vote of 69-30. This massive infrastructure bill includes a complete five-year surface transportation reauthorization bill (covering Fiscal Years 2022—2026), in addition to $550 billion in new funding for roads and bridges, road safety, railways, airports, public transit, electric vehicle infrastructure, ports and waterways, the electric grid, broadband, water infrastructure, resiliency and western water storage, and environmental remediation.
After the Senate passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the chamber immediately began consideration of the Fiscal Year 2022 budget resolution (S. Con. Res. 14), which unlocks the 50-member Senate Democratic Caucus’s ability to pass an expansive $3.5 trillion economic package to enact the “Build Back Better agenda,” including large swaths of President Biden’s proposed American Jobs and Families Plans unveiled earlier this year. For more information on the infrastructure package and budget resolution, please refer to the August 11 edition of TFG’s Transportation Notes. TFG is also producing a Special Report on the infrastructure package, which will be circulated to TFG clients on Friday, August 13.
Capitol Hill
On August 10, twenty House and Senate Democrats sent a letter to Congressional leaders calling on them to fully fund preparedness efforts for potential future pandemics at a minimum of $30 billion in the upcoming $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package, amid concerns about cutbacks.
On August 10, Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee Ranking Member Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) each introduced Congressional Review Act (CRA) disapproval resolutions (S.J. Res. 23 and S.J. Res. 24) to repeal the CDC’s updated eviction moratorium order, which is now set to expire on October 3, 2021. Sen. Toomey (R-PA) also sent a letter on August 10 to Comptroller General Gene Dodaro requesting the Government Accountability Office (GAO) make a determination, by August 16, on whether the CDC’s latest eviction moratorium constitutes a rule for purposes of the CRA. Sen. Marshall sent a similar letter to the GAO on August 8.
On August 5, the GAO published a report on “COVID-19: HHS’s Collection of Hospital Capacity Data.” The report centers on the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) decision in 2020 to sideline the CDC and launch a new portal—HHS Protect—to capture hospital coronavirus data.
Administration
SBA announced a plan to open supplemental grants for Shuttered Venue Operators grant applicants. New applications will be accepted until Friday, August 20, 2021. The SVOG program has so far awarded $8.4 billion in grants to more than 10,800 businesses to assist in getting the nation’s cultural institutions, which are critical to the economy and were among the first to shutter, back on track.
On August 6, the CDC issued an Agency Order on a temporary halt residential evictions in communities with substantial or high transmission of COVID-19 to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. The Order is effective through October 3, 2021.
The Biden Administration announced a fourth and final pause on student debt repayment. Payments were originally scheduled to resume October 1, 2021, but have now been extended until January 31, 2022.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published a report detailing 16 large mortgage servicers’ COVID-19 pandemic response. The report’s data metrics include call handling and loan delinquency rates, and they highlight the industry’s widely varied response to the pandemic.
The Rural Housing Service, a Rural Development agency of the Department of Agriculture, announced the availability of up to $500 million in grant funding, appropriated under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, for the establishment of the Emergency Rural Health Care Grant Program. Track One-Recovery applications, which offer support for rural health care services in the form of immediate relief, are due October 12 and are open to municipalities, counties, districts, authorities, or other political subdivisions.
The application window for the Federal Communications Commission’s Emergency Connectivity Fund, which provides support to schools and libraries for the purchase of devices and connections for off-campus use, closes tomorrow, Friday, August 13.
More than 2.5 million Americans have enrolled in health coverage on HealthCare.gov and state marketplaces during the current Special Enrollment Period, which began on February 15 and closes on August 15, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
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Yelp announced last week it is adding COVID-19 guidelines to its business listings, allowing users to filter companies based on vaccination requirements. Users will be allowed to filter businesses based on whether they require proof of vaccination and whether staff are fully vaccinated.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in the Southern District of Florida ruled that Norwegian Cruise Line is permitted to ask customers to show proof of vaccination before boarding a ship, countering Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s law that prevented “vaccine passports” from being utilized in the state. The ruling gives Norwegian the approval to carry out its safety measurements starting August 15, when the company plans to resume passenger cruises from Florida.
President of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Randi Weingarten, stated that the organization is revisiting the issue of vaccine mandates for teachers as parts of the nation see a surge in coronavirus cases due to the Delta variant. AFT has not supported mask mandates previously, however, Weingarten said the union is willing to work with employers to try to find solutions. “As a matter of personal conscious, I think that we need to be working with our employers, not opposing them on vaccine mandates,” said President Weingarten.
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is encouraging education union leaders to commit to bringing students back in the classroom this fall. “Getting kids back in the classroom must be a society-wide priority,” Bloomberg wrote in an op-ed published by his news organization. In his op-ed, Bloomberg cited a study from McKinsey & Company which found that 1.6 million elementary-school students in the U.S. were on average behind five months in math and four months in reading, with the hardest-hit communities being low-income districts. Bloomberg called on union leaders, the White House, the Department of Education and other entities to open up schools for five days a week, “no exceptions.”
Vaccine News
President Biden virtually met with four business, university and health care leaders who have adopted COVID-19 vaccination requirements for their workforces. The President expressed his appreciation for these leaders stepping up to protect the lives of their employees and communities.
The Pentagon will require all military personnel to get the COVID-19 vaccine by September 15, according to a new memo from Defense Secretary Llyod Austin released this week. Secretary Austin stated he will seek the President’s approval to make the vaccines mandatory no later than mid-September, or immediately upon final approval by the Food and Drug Administration, “whichever comes first.”
The Health and Human Services Department announced that it will require its employees who provide care or services for patients to get their COVID-19 shots. HHS joins the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, which have also mandated the shot for their employees. The Department of Education has not taken a formal position yet, but Secretary Miguel Cardona said he supports a vaccination mandate for educators.
A preliminary study conducted in Israel found that the Pfizer-BioNTech booster shot causes similar side effects to the second dose, such as soreness at the injection site. Israel began administering booster shots to fully vaccinated individuals over the age of 60 last month as part of its effort to stop the spread of COVID-19.
BioNTech believes a booster dose of its coronavirus vaccine produced with Pfizer will be necessary, but it will not need to be altered to target the Delta variant, the company said. Özlem Türeci, chief medical officer at BioNTech, said a third dose should likely be given six to 12 months after an initial round of vaccination.
The National Institutes of Health have launched a pilot study to assess the antibody response to a third dose of an authorized COVID-19 mRNA vaccine in kidney transplant recipients who did not respond to two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The study aims to identify characteristics that could help distinguish those kidney transplant recipients who would benefit from a third dose of an mRNA vaccine from those who will require a different approach to achieve protection.
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Webinars, Events and Resources |
EDA is hosting a series of webinars in August about newly announced funding opportunities through the American Rescue Plan. The application process is now open; deadlines vary based on program. Click here for more information and registration for the following webinars:
Good Jobs Challenge Webinar
Thursday, August 12 – 2 p.m. EDT
CRS Reports of Interest:
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