COVID–19 Delivery Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 936 To direct the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist States and local governments with the distribution and tracking of vaccines for COVID–19, to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out a national program to oversee the collection and maintenance of all Federal and State data on vaccinations of individuals in the United States for COVID–19 to achieve mass vaccination saturation immunity, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 8, 2021 Ms. JACKSON LEE (for herself, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. BROWN, and Mr. JONES) in- troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on En- ergy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To direct the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist States and local governments with the distribution and tracking of vaccines for COVID–19, to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out a national program to oversee the collection and mainte- nance of all Federal and State data on vaccinations of individuals in the United States for COVID–19 to achieve mass vaccination saturation immunity, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H936.IH H936 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 936 IH Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Delivering COVID– 4 19 Vaccinations to All Regions and Vulnerable Commu- 5 nities Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘COVID–19 Delivery Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. FEMA ASSISTANCE FOR COVID–19 VACCINATIONS. 7 In the assistance to State and local governments, the 8 Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management 9 Agency shall— 10 (1) coordinate efforts for vaccine delivery, in- 11 cluding from manufacturing sites to inoculation 12 sites; 13 (2) monitor shipments of vaccines through a 14 24-hour tracking system, including readings on the 15 temperature, real-time location, origin, destination 16 data, anticipated time of arrival, and report to re- 17 cipients on changes and updates on the progress of 18 their delivery shipments and any changes that may 19 impact expected delivery or the viability of the vac- 20 cine while in transit; 21 (3) develop an advanced communication system 22 to allow the Department of Health and Human 23 Services and public health departments to commu- 24 nicate and share information about vaccine readi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H936.IH H936 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 936 IH ness, capability of receiving vaccines, delivery loca- 1 tions, details of facility capability of storing and se- 2 curing vaccines, personnel authorized to receive de- 3 liveries, logistics for delivering vaccines to patients, 4 report on vaccine receipts, condition of vaccines, pa- 5 tient reactions, and feedback on how to improve the 6 process; 7 (4) secure transportation for delivery or use of 8 vaccines, and if requested, security for the vaccine 9 delivery sites or inoculation locations to ensure the 10 life and safety of personnel and patients who seek to 11 provide or receive vaccinations free of interference or 12 threat; 13 (5) design custom software applications (Apps) 14 with the Department of Health and Human Services 15 for use by public health agencies and any company 16 or person administering vaccines to provide informa- 17 tion to patients on the vaccine being received, the 18 date of a second dose and the location of the dose 19 if required, including generating a token that cor- 20 responds to an individual’s vaccination record to en- 21 sure that the right vaccine is administered and if a 22 second inoculation is required and to ensure that an 23 individual is not vaccinated with different vaccines, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H936.IH H936 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 936 IH and any additional information that may be perti- 1 nent in the future; 2 (6) develop a public education and patient en- 3 gagement program about the safety and availability 4 of vaccines that also ensures that individuals in 5 areas and locations where vulnerable populations 6 often do not have easy access to health care or vac- 7 cinations are informed about vaccine availability; 8 and 9 (7) acting through the Department of Health 10 and Human Services, provide additional vaccination 11 centers, in addition to State and local government 12 sites, to augment vaccinations occurring within such 13 States and local governments to address access to 14 at-risk communities when vaccination rates are 15 below 80 percent for a population residing with in 16 a census block or track that is experiencing a great- 17 er incidence of serious complications, such as hos- 18 pitalizations and deaths that are above the propor- 19 tional representation of the at-risk group when com- 20 pared to the general population, establishing the 21 need for a targeted vaccination effort to reduce the 22 incidence of infections for those individuals at great- 23 est risk for hospitalizations and death from COVID– 24 19. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H936.IH H936 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 936 IH SEC. 3. CDC REQUIREMENTS. 1 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shall 2 track the dissemination of inoculations and report on effi- 3 ciencies, effectiveness, or deficiencies of local and state 4 COVID–19 vaccination programs, including the avail- 5 ability of certified individuals under Federal, State or ter- 6 ritorial authority to administer a vaccination under State 7 law, and report to Congressional oversight committees in 8 the House of Representatives and the Senate on findings 9 and recommendations. 10 SEC. 4. HHS MANAGEMENT OF COVID–19 VACCINATION 11 DATA TO ACHIEVE MASS VACCINATION SATU- 12 RATION IMMUNITY. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 14 Human Services (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Sec- 15 retary’’) shall carry out a national program to oversee the 16 collection and maintenance of all Federal and State data 17 on vaccinations of individuals in the United States for 18 COVID–19, including tracking booster vaccinations, to 19 achieve mass vaccination saturation immunity. 20 (b) APPLICABLE PRIVACY LAW; PENALTIES.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall main- 22 tain data on vaccinations for COVID–19 in accord- 23 ance with all applicable privacy and security law, in- 24 cluding HIPAA privacy and security law (as defined 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H936.IH H936 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 936 IH in section 3009(a)(2) of the Public Health Service 1 Act (42 U.S.C. 300jj–19(a)(2)). 2 (2) PENALTIES.—Any person who discloses or 3 uses data on vaccinations for COVID–19 in violation 4 of any provision of law referred to in paragraph 5 (1)— 6 (A) shall be imprisoned for not more than 7 5 years, or fined in accordance with title 18, or 8 both; and 9 (B) shall be subject, in addition to any 10 other penalties that may be prescribed by law, 11 to a civil money penalty of not more than 12 $10,000 for each such violation. 13 (c) DATA RETENTION LIMITATION.—The Secretary 14 shall destroy any data maintained pursuant to subsection 15 (a) by the end of the 5-year period beginning on the date 16 of receipt or collection of the data, whichever is later. 17 (d) TRANSIMISSION OF STATE DATA.—The Secretary 18 shall take such steps as may be necessary to encourage 19 and assist each State in transmitting to the Secretary on 20 an ongoing basis the State’s data with respect to vaccina- 21 tion of individuals in such State for COVID–19. 22 (e) OMBUDSMAN.—The Secretary shall appoint an 23 ombudsman to— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H936.IH H936 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 936 IH (1) support public and stakeholder input on the 1 activities carried out pursuant to this section; 2 (2) provide advocacy and advice for those who 3 elect not to be vaccinated for COVID–19; and 4 (3) champion the privacy and civil liberty rights 5 of individuals in the United States in connection 6 with vaccination for COVID–19. 7 (f) COLLABORATION.—In carrying out this section, 8 the Secretary shall collaborate with stakeholders in estab- 9 lishing vaccine inoculation centers in locations including— 10 (1) stadiums, arenas, elementary and secondary 11 schools, colleges and universities, and places of wor- 12 ship; and 13 (2) other locations determined by the Secretary 14 to be condcive to reaching the greatest number of 15 people in need of inoculations for COVID–19. 16 (g) ADVISORY BOARD.—For the purpose achieving 17 mass vaccination saturation immunity to COVID–19 in 18 the United States, the Secretary shall establish a stake- 19 holder advisory board to support the collaboration and co- 20 operation of entities including Federal, State, and local 21 governments, businesses, colleges, universities, elementary 22 and secondary schools, hospitals, clinics, professional med- 23 ical associations, and such other entities as the Secretary 24 determines to be essential to such purpose. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H936.IH H936 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 936 IH (h) REPORTS.—On a daily or weekly basis, subject 1 to subsection (b), the Secretary shall submit to the Con- 2 gress and make public reports on the activities carried out 3 under this section, including such data as the Director of 4 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention deter- 5 mines to be relevant to analyzing inoculation statistics and 6 progress toward achieving mass vaccination saturation im- 7 munity. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H936.IH H936 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS