HHS Doles Out Additional $227M for COVID-19 Vaccine Preparedness

HHS recently announced that the CDC will award an additional $227 million for COVID-19 vaccine preparedness and response activities.

Specifically, $140 million will be used for vaccine preparedness and nearly $87 million will be used for tracking and testing in 64 jurisdictions across all 50 states and US territories. 

CDC will award the funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to the grantees through the Immunizations and Vaccines for Children cooperative agreement. 

“States and other public health jurisdictions are vital partners in the COVID-19 response and especially in the plans for distributing safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines,” HHS Secretary Alex Azar, said in the announcement. 

“This new round of funding will help these awardees continue to plan for and implement their COVID-19 vaccine programs, in collaboration with CDC, Operation Warp Speed, and the private-sector distribution and administration partners that we have enlisted,” Azar continued. 

For COVID-19 response activities, the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act funding will provide support to CDC grantees through the agency’s Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases (ELC) Cooperative Agreement. 

These initiatives will complement vaccine implementation activities and advance three targeted areas, including genome sequencing of COVID-19, public health laboratory preparedness, and safe travel through optimized data sharing and communication with international travelers, HHS said. 

The $227 million, along with HHS’ previous support of $200 million in September, will help awardees continue to prepare to distribute COVID-19 vaccines.

The September HHS funding was doled out to each jurisdiction based on the size of the population there.

For example, CDC awarded $6.2 million to the Illinois Department of Public Health and $1.9 million to the Chicago Department of Public Health to help prepare for distribution of a safe and effective vaccine once approved.

“These are critical investments at a critical time in the COVID-19 pandemic,” said CDC Director Robert R. Redfield, MD.

“Vaccine is being distributed now, and this additional funding is an important step along the road to restoring some normalcy to our lives and to our country. These investments will also have lasting effects on our Nation’s public health infrastructure, including strengthened capabilities for public health labs across the country,” Redfield continued. 

Throughout the pandemic, HHS has worked to boost COVID-19 vaccine response efforts and expand access to treatments for all states and communities. 

So far, the agency has made agreements to manufacture and allocate Regeneron’s COVID-19 antibody, Pfizer’s and Moderna’s individual mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, Eli Lilly & Company’s COVID-19 antibody drug, and Gilead’s COVID-19 antiviral, remdesivir. 

In mid-September September, HHS issued guidance under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act to expand access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines when they become available. 

The guidance authorizes state-licensed pharmacists to order and administer COVID-19 vaccinations to individuals three years of age and older, subject to specific requirements.

And just two months later, HHS announced a partnership with large chain pharmacies and networks to boost access to COVID-19 vaccines across the US.

The partnership program will cover nearly 60 percent of pharmacies across the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. The program will also focus specifically on underserved areas. 

As of November 6th, 2020, nearly 20 pharmacies signed up to participate in the program, including Costco Wholesale, CPESN USA, CVS Pharmacy, Publix, Rite Aid, Walgreens, Walmart, Kroger, and Albertsons Companies, which includes Safeway, Shaws, and Star Market. 

HHS stated that it established the pharmacy partnership in anticipation that at least one vaccine in clinical trials will be authorized in the US before the end of the year.