Vaccine Fairness Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 979 To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to submit to Congress a weekly report on COVID–19 vaccine distribution, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 11, 2021 Ms. CRAIG introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to submit to Congress a weekly report on COVID–19 vac- cine distribution, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Vaccine Fairness Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. COVID–19 VACCINE DISTRIBUTION REPORTS. 5 (a) WEEKLY REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 6 7 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 7 every 7 days thereafter, the Secretary of Health and 8 Human Services (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Sec- 9 retary’’) shall submit to Congress a report on the effective- 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Mar 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H979.IH H979 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 979 IH ness of efforts relating to the distribution of COVID–19 1 vaccines to the public. 2 (b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—Each report submitted 3 under subsection (a) shall include, with respect to the 7- 4 day period preceding the date on which such report is sub- 5 mitted, the following: 6 (1) The number of doses of COVID–19 vaccines 7 distributed for administration to the public. 8 (2) A description of any substantial purchase of 9 COVID–19 vaccines by a Federal Government agen- 10 cy or private organization. 11 (3) The number of doses of COVID–19 vaccines 12 that were distributed to State or local health depart- 13 ments. 14 (4) A description of the progress made in dis- 15 tributing COVID–19 vaccines to the following: 16 (A) High-risk and other priority groups, 17 including— 18 (i) racial and ethnic minorities; 19 (ii) individuals who are pregnant or 20 breastfeeding; 21 (iii) individuals with disabilities; 22 (iv) homeless individuals; 23 (v) newly resettled refugees; and 24 (vi) individuals in rural communities. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Mar 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H979.IH H979 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 979 IH (B) High-risk facilities, including— 1 (i) long-term care facilities; 2 (ii) group homes; and 3 (iii) jails and prisons. 4 (5) A description of any deviations from Fed- 5 eral distribution plans, including issues relating to 6 the following: 7 (A) Sites administering large numbers of 8 COVID–19 vaccines, such as pharmacy chain 9 stores, schools, and primary health care pro- 10 viders. 11 (B) Tracking procedures for COVID–19 12 vaccines, particularly in areas of greatest need. 13 (C) Outreach to health care providers and 14 the public about the availability, benefits, safe- 15 ty, contraindications, and costs of receiving 16 COVID–19 vaccines. 17 (D) Outreach to health care providers re- 18 garding the responsibilities of such providers to 19 track vaccine administration and monitor ad- 20 verse events. 21 (E) Recordkeeping and data collection re- 22 lating to the administration of COVID–19 vac- 23 cines (including Federal support for State and 24 local immunization information systems). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Mar 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H979.IH H979 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 979 IH (F) Overuse or gaps in treatment. 1 (c) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF CERTAIN DATA.—The 2 Secretary shall make publicly available on an appropriate 3 website of the Department of Health and Human Services, 4 and regularly update, data on the number of doses of 5 COVID–19 vaccines administered to the public, disaggre- 6 gated with respect to each of the following: 7 (1) Age. 8 (2) Race. 9 (3) Ethnicity. 10 (4) ZIP Code. 11 (d) TERMINATION.—This section shall cease to have 12 effect on the date that is 18 months after the date on 13 which the initial report is submitted to Congress under 14 subsection (a). 15 (e) STATE DEFINED.—In this section, the term 16 ‘‘State’’ means each of the several States, the District of 17 Columbia, each commonwealth, territory, or possession of 18 the United States, and each federally recognized Indian 19 Tribe. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Mar 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H979.IH H979 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS