This week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a nationwide health advisory recommending “urgent action” to increase COVID-19 vaccination among people who are pregnant, recently pregnant (including those who are lactating), who are trying to become pregnant, or who might become pregnant in the future. CDC strongly recommends COVID-19 vaccination either…
Read More »This week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded nearly $1 billion in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to nearly 1,300 Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Health Center Program-funded health centers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories to support major health care construction and renovation…
Read More »Following last week’s recommendation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) to recommend COVID-19 vaccine boosters for older adults and high-risk groups, the FDA and the CDC took similar steps this week to authorize and recommend the boosters for certain populations. On Wednesday, the FDA amended…
Read More »On Wednesday, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. convened heads of state and leaders from international organizations, the private sector, philanthropic organizations, non-governmental entities, and others for the “Global COVID-19 Summit: Ending the Pandemic and Building Back Better.” As part of the summit, President Biden called on leaders to elevate global efforts to end the COVID-19…
Read More »The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) this week awarded $73 million in cooperative agreements as part of its Public Health Informatics & Technology Workforce Development Program (PHIT Workforce Program). The program, announced earlier this year and funded through the American Rescue Plan…
Read More »This week, the Biden-Harris Administration launched House America: An All-Hands-On-Deck Effort to Address the Nation’s Homelessness Crisis. The initiative, to be led by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia Fudge, is a national partnership in which HUD and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) invite state and local government officials…
Read More »Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) voted to recommend authorizing a booster shot for recipients of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine who are 65 years of age and older or are at high risk of severe COVID-19. The recommendation for COVID-19 booster shots for older adults…
Read More »California State Auditor Elaine Howle issued a report this week warning the state may be at risk of losing millions of unobligated federal funds intended for rent and utility assistance amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The report comes as part of the state’s high-risk audit program. Recall, in August 2020, the auditor designated the state’s management…
Read More »President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. this week visited California to survey damage from the smoldering Caldor Fire in Northern California, now the 15th largest and 16th most destructive wildfire in the state’s history. President Biden recently approved a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration in El Dorado County to assist state, tribal, and local governments with wildfire…
Read More »Today, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced a $2.1 billion investment to improve infection prevention and control activities across the U.S. public health and health care sectors. The investment, made possible through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), seeks to strengthen and equip state, local, and territorial public health departments and…
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