Heres What The End Of The COVID19 Public Health Emergency Could Mean For Federal Agencies

Top federal health officials told lawmakers Wednesday of their plan to end the public health emergency caused by Covid-19. In particular, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made several questions to Congress regarding data and staffing priorities during a major overhaul.

On Tuesday night, President Biden said in a speech to the US Congress: "Covid will not control our lives." Health until May 11. Both laws take effect in 2020 and leave the federal government free to respond.

"I want to make it clear that we are working around the clock to address this emergency and protect all Americans, even if it is a public health emergency," the doctor said. CDC Director Rochelle Walnsky during a joint hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Surveillance, Investigation, and Health. “After the public health emergency subsided, we lost our ability to see the data. We'll lose test data...we'll lose other data, too, and we're actively working to develop data use agreements so that we have the data we need.

One of his requests to Congress was to give him more authority to prevent agencies from signing dozens of data-sharing agreements that took months. He said this is important for Covid-19 and other public health emergencies.

National Institutes of Health Acting Director Lawrence Tabak said the impact of ending the NIH public health emergency would be "modest" and that small changes would be needed to work with the aid community.

Dr. FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said the impact on the FDA will be modest. “FDA is working on recommendations to assist interested developers in obtaining [emergency approval] to modify or provide a clear and predictable path to market for devices subject to guidelines issued during [a public health emergency] due to COVID-19. ” he said in a prepared statement. "FDA is committed to making devices readily available to patients and healthcare providers during this transition, and to continuing as we consider regulatory requirements."

The White House announced the end of the state of emergency following the Republican legislation that would soon end the state of emergency. "The sudden end of the emergency will cause widespread disruption and uncertainty in the health care system — for states, hospitals and health care providers, and most importantly for tens of millions of Americans," the administration said in a policy statement.

As the state of emergency ends, Biden reiterated his call for more government funding to support the monitoring of COVID-19 outbreaks and new vaccines and treatments in a speech Tuesday night. During the year, the administration repeatedly asked for more funds, but to no avail.

While the CDC has made internal improvements to the previously mentioned issues during the outbreak, Welensky said the agency may use additional hiring agencies to increase the capacity of its workforce, such as emergency pay, overtime pay and tax-exempt benefits. A report released last month by a bipartisan task force at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, which the CDC shared with agencies like the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, outlines other recommendations for workplace reforms. to reconcile. Agency. His own.

During the hearing, legal experts urged health officials to believe recent Government Accountability Office reports and scientific and operational research (which Republicans are studying) on ​​vaccines. On Thursday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee will vote on the 118th Congress's oversight plan, which includes much of the oversight of the Covid-19 response.