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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a sixth amendment to the Declaration under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) to add additional categories of Qualified Persons authorized to prescribe, dispense, and administer covered countermeasures under section VI of this Declaration.
The Acting Secretary amended section V of the Declaration to add a new subsection: (h) to add an additional category of qualified persons covered under the PREP Act, and thus authorizes:
(h) "Any Federal government employee, contractor, or volunteer who prescribes, administers, delivers, distributes or dispenses a Covered Countermeasure. Such Federal government employees, contractors, or volunteers are qualified persons if the following requirement is met: the executive department or agency by or for which the Federal employee, contractor, or volunteer is employed, contracts, or volunteers has authorized or could authorize that employee, contractor, or volunteer to prescribe, administer, deliver, distribute, or dispense the Covered Countermeasure as any part of the duties or responsibilities of that employee, contractor, or volunteer, even if those authorized duties or responsibilities ordinarily would not extend to members of the public or otherwise would be more limited in scope than the activities such employees, contractors, or volunteers are authorized to carry out under this declaration."
By this amendment to the Declaration, the Acting Secretary identifies an additional category of persons who are qualified persons under section 247d–6d(i)(8)(B): federal employees, contractors and volunteers authorized by their Department or agency to prescribe, administer, deliver, distribute, or dispense the Covered Countermeasure as any part of their duties or responsibilities.
The Acting Secretary has determined that there is an urgent need to expand the pool of available COVID-19 vaccinators in order to respond effectively to the pandemic. As vaccine supply is made more widely available over the coming months, health care system capacity and the vaccination workforce are likely to become increasingly strained throughout the Nation. The United States is deploying federal personnel, contractors and volunteers to assist in the national COVID-19 vaccination program.
Learn more about the sixth amendment to the PREP Act at PHE.gov.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Office of Equal Rights has developed a checklist of civil rights considerations as a tool to assist State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial partners understand and fulfill their civil rights obligations. The checklist is not required to be completed and submitted to FEMA, rather it is a comprehensive list of considerations for use to ensure vaccine distribution is equitable and accessible to all.
Do you know a teen who has a passion for preparedness? FEMA is accepting applications for its 2021 Youth Preparedness Council (YPC). Since 2012, FEMA has brought youth from across the Nation together. Each year, teens apply to the YPC for an opportunity to join FEMA in encouraging emergency preparedness. Teens serve on the YPC for two years.
As part of the YPC, members can build leadership skills and represent their schools and communities. They also share their perspectives, feedback, and opinions with FEMA. The YPC gives youth the chance to meet peers from across the country and work on projects, such as preparedness fairs for their communities. A virtual summit in July gives members a chance to meet each other and hear from FEMA experts.
The application period is open to teens in grades 8-11 until March 7, 2021. Learn more on Ready Kids and apply here!
DEPR is including a promotional toolkit and a flyer for your use.
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