This week, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. announced a National Month of Action to mobilize the country in reaching its goal of ensuring 70 percent of U.S. adults receive at least one COVID-19 vaccine by July 4. The National Month of Action will engage national organizations, local government leaders, community-based and faith-based organizations, businesses, employers,…
Read More »This week, the Biden-Harris Administration announced a series of strategies to address the COVID-19 pandemic in countries throughout the world, including by donating U.S. vaccine supply, working with U.S. manufacturers to increase vaccine production for the rest of the world, and assisting more countries expand capacity to produce vaccines. Specifically, the Biden-Harris Administration announced its…
Read More »This week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a new type of public-private partnership that enables investments using venture capital practices. Through the BARDA Ventures program, the Biomedical Advance Research and Development Authority (BARDA) will partner with the nonprofit organization Global Health Investment Corporation (GHIC) to accelerate the development and commercialization…
Read More »On Wednesday, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. directed the U.S. Intelligence Community to “redouble” their efforts to collect and analyze information on the origins of the COVID-19 virus. President Biden indicated the Intelligence Community earlier this month provided him with a preliminary report in which the Intelligence Community coalesced around two likely scenarios of how…
Read More »This week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), announced the issuance of $4.8 billion from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to support the HRSA COVID-19 Uninsured Program. The funding will allow the program to continue reimbursing health providers for testing uninsured individuals for…
Read More »Earlier this week, the U.S. Senate confirmed Chiquita Brooks-LaSure as Administrator of the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on a bipartisan 55-44 vote. Ms. Brooks-LaSure was then sworn into her new role by U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra on Thursday. Brooks-LaSure becomes the first Black woman to lead the…
Read More »The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday expanded the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to include adolescents ages 12 through 15. The FDA amended the EUA originally issued for the vaccine on December 11, 2020, for administration of the vaccine in individuals 16 years of age and older. Based…
Read More »This week, the Biden-Harris Administration identified a number of additional strategies to inoculate Americans against COVID-19 in an attempt to reach the country’s goal of vaccinating 70 percent of the U.S. adult population with one vaccine dose by July 4. The Administration announced the following: Free Rides to Get Vaccinated: President Biden announced a new…
Read More »On Thursday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that fully vaccinated adults against COVID-19 can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance. The move by the CDC represents a…
Read More »On Thursday, the Biden-Harris Administration announced it will invest $7.4 billion from the recently enacted American Rescue Plan to recruit and hire public health workers to respond to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and prepare for future public health threats. Of the total amount, the Biden-Harris Administration will invest: $4.4 Billion to Surge Public Health Staffing…
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