This week, Moderna announced it plans over the coming weeks to submit an emergency use authorization (EUA) request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a two-dose COVID-19 mRNA vaccine for children six months to six years old. The vaccine for children is a quarter of the dose of Moderna’s adult COVID-19 vaccine…
Read More »On Monday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recognized the one-year anniversary of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program which has provided COVID-19 vaccines directly to thousands of HRSA-supported health center sites nationwide. To date, health centers have administered more than 20 million vaccines in underserved…
Read More »The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), this week announced more than $413 million in Provider Relief Fund (PRF) payments to more than 3,600 providers throughout the country. The latest round of funding is the fourth round, totaling nearly $12 billion that has been distributed…
Read More »On Monday, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra visited Butte County to host a roundtable session focused on pediatric vaccinations against COVID-19. Secretary Becerra, during his visit, met with Butte County Public Health, Enloe Medical Center, and local pediatricians to discuss strategies for promoting sound data and facts on vaccines, vaccinating children and…
Read More »This week, the White House sent a letter to Congress reiterating the need for additional emergency COVID-19 response funds and outlining consequences of a lack of funding. According to the White House, if funds are not appropriated by Congress soon, the U.S. will be unequipped to handle a future pandemic surge. Specifically, if immediate funding…
Read More »This week, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. announced a leadership change in his Administration’s COVID-19 response team. White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients will be stepping down from his role after serving the Administration for the past 14 months. President Biden applauded the work and expertise of Zients, coordinating strategies and infrastructure to deliver…
Read More »This week, both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna each announced they have formally requested authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for booster doses of their COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. On Tuesday, Pfizer-BioNTech submitted a request to the FDA for an emergency use authorization (EUA) for an additional booster dose for adults 65 and older who…
Read More »The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) recently issued a fact sheet on the federal government’s COVID-19 Test-to-Treat initiative. Recall, the U.S. Government unveiled the initiative to promote rapid access to free treatment for COVID-19. Beginning March 7, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) began distributing oral antivirals Paxlovid and Molnupiravir directly…
Read More »Today, the California Department of Public Health announced a change to its COVID-19 guidance for mega events. Effective April 1, 2022, requirements for vaccine verification or proof of a negative test for indoor mega events will be lifted and move to a strong recommendation. Additional information is available here.
Read More »A study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health was released this week, identifying 1,499 unique reports of harassment across local health departments in the U.S. during the first 11 months of the pandemic from March 2020 to January 2021. The study additionally found that more than half of surveyed…
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