COVID-19 Federal Responses: Monday, May 23, 2022

White House and Federal Agencies

• HHS Secretary Xavier Becerrais expected to extendthe COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) past mid-July, keeping in place pandemic-era policies until mid-October. HHS said it would give the public 60 days advance notice before allowing the PHE to expire. Sixty days was last week, and HHS did not provide any notice about ending the PHE, thus implying it will be extended once again.
• Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator, said that “time is running out” for the Administration to buy COVID-19 therapeutics ahead of a possible fall surge of the virus. Congress is mulling over a $22.5 billion proposal from the Administration that would enable them to purchase “next-generation vaccines and therapeutics.”

Economy, Vaccines, Testing and Treatment

• 所有美国家庭s areeligibleto order a third round of at-home COVID-19 tests via the U.S. Postal Service website. Each household can request 8 at-home antigen rapid tests.
• 疾病预防控制中心nowrecommendsthat children between the ages of 5 and 11 receive a COVID-19 booster shot. This recommendation comes after the FDA授权a booster dose for this age group.
• Pfizer isseekingan EUA for their COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 6 months to 5 years old.Accordingto Pfizer, a third dose of the vaccine made it more than 80% effective in children younger than 5 years old.
• According to CDC guidelines, one-third of the U.S. shouldconsiderwearing a mask indoors based on levels of COVID-19 community spread.
• Studiesshow that immunity from Omicron infection is stronger against variants than a booster.
• The FDA授权its first non-prescriptive test for COVID-19, Flu, and RSV.
• Studiessuggestthat you can be infected with COVID-19 ‘at least’ a few times a year.
• There isgrowing evidencethat flu shots may help reduce the risk of being infected with COVID-19. A preprint study published in medRxiv found that a flu shot decreased the risk of COVID-19 infection by 30% in the first two weeks and reduced the risk of severe or fatal COVID-19 by 90%.
• Studiesshowthat mRNA vaccines initiate a stronger immune response to the variants of concern, and the original virus, compared to the viral vector vaccines such as the one produced by Johnson & Johnson.
• 疾病预防控制中心saysthat COVID-related myocarditis is more prominent in adolescent boys and young men compared to children between the ages of 5 and 11.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Updates

疾病预防控制中心published the following reports and website updates:

• Cases in the U.S.
• Overall U.S. COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution and Administration Update as of Sun, 22 May 2022 06:00:00 EST
• Vaccines for COVID-19
• COVID-19 Travel Recommendations by Country
• Selected Adverse Events Reported after COVID-19 Vaccination
• COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations for Children and Teens
• Archive of COVID-19 Vaccination Data Updates
• Stay Up to Date with Your Vaccines
• What to Do if a Child Becomes Sick Or Receives A New COVID-19 Diagnosis At Your Child Care Program
• Information About Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine
• Frequently Asked Questions about COVID-19 Vaccination in Children
• COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shot
• COVID-19 Vaccines for Moderately to Severely Immunocompromised People
• Information about the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine
• Information about the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine
• Frequently Asked Questions about COVID-19 Vaccination
• COVID Data Tracker Weekly Review
• COVID Data Tracker Recent Updates – 2022-05-19 – The Cases and Deaths by Vaccination Status tab is now updated with case data through April 23, 2022 and death data through April 2, 2022
• 疾病预防控制中心加强的建议and Expands Eligibility for COVID-19 Booster Shots
• Recommendations for People with COVID-19 and COVID-19 Close Contacts
• COVID-19 Response Health Equity Strategy: Accelerating Progress Towards Reducing COVID-19 Disparities and Achieving Health Equity
• Protect Yourself and Others from COVID-19 while Traveling or Using Public Transportation