Building COVID–19 Vaccine Confidence Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1268 To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award targeted grants to State, Tribal, Territorial, and local health departments or nonprofit organizations in geographic locations with racial and ethnic minorities and other vulnerable populations disproportionately impacted by COVID–19 to disseminate information regarding the safety and effi- cacy of COVID–19 vaccines, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 23, 2021 Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ (for herself, Ms. MENG, Mr. COHEN, Mr. SAN NICOLAS, Mr. SIRES, Mr. EVANS, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. HASTINGS, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. JONES, Mr. NADLER, Mr. TORRES of New York, Mrs. WATSON COLE- MAN, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. STRICKLAND, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. BOURDEAUX, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, and Mr. CARBAJAL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award targeted grants to State, Tribal, Territorial, and local health departments or nonprofit organizations in geographic locations with racial and ethnic minorities and other vulnerable populations disproportionately im- pacted by COVID–19 to disseminate information regard- ing the safety and efficacy of COVID–19 vaccines, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H1268.IH H1268 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1268 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 ‘‘Building COVID–19 4 Vaccine Confidence Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. HEALTH DISPARITY-INFORMED COVID–19 VACCINE 6 SAFETY AND EFFICACY PUBLIC AWARENESS 7 CAMPAIGN GRANTS. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 9 Human Services (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Sec- 10 retary’’), acting through the Director of the Centers for 11 Disease Control and Prevention and in coordination with 12 the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health and, 13 as appropriate, with the directors of the relevant Offices 14 of Minority health of the Department of Health and 15 Human Services, the Director of the National Institute on 16 Minority Health and Health Disparities, and the Director 17 of the Indian Health Service, shall award grants to eligible 18 entities to carry out evidence-based campaigns to dissemi- 19 nate COVID–19 vaccination information. 20 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive a 21 grant under this section, an entity shall— 22 (1) be a State, Tribal, Territorial, or local 23 health department, an Urban Indian organization 24 (as defined in section 4 of the Indian Health Care 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1268.IH H1268 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1268 IH Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1603)), a nonprofit 1 community-based organization, or a nonprofit faith- 2 based organization; and 3 (2) submit an application to the Secretary at 4 such time, in such manner, and containing such in- 5 formation as the Secretary may require, including 6 demographic data on the entity’s COVID–19 vaccine 7 campaign target. 8 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Entities receiving a grant 9 under this section shall use such grant funds to— 10 (1) create multilingual and culturally appro- 11 priate messaging to disseminate scientific and evi- 12 dence-based information related to COVID–19 vac- 13 cines; 14 (2) provide information on where the COVID– 15 19 vaccine can be obtained; 16 (3) target racial and ethnic minority commu- 17 nities; 18 (4) target communities with a COVID–19 Com- 19 munity Vulnerability Index higher than the national 20 average; 21 (5) increase awareness and knowledge of the 22 safety and effectiveness of vaccines approved or au- 23 thorized by the Food and Drug Administration for 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1268.IH H1268 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1268 IH the prevention and control of COVID–19 and the 1 benefit of receiving a COVID–19 vaccine; 2 (6) increase awareness and knowledge of 3 COVID–19, including countering stigma associated 4 with COVID–19; 5 (7) address vaccine skepticism in communities 6 of color; 7 (8) address COVID–19 vaccine misinformation; 8 (9) address side effects after COVID–19 vac- 9 cination; 10 (10) share information on the processes and 11 policies that lead to vaccine development, licensure, 12 manufacturing, and recommendations for use; and 13 (11) other matters the Secretary determines 14 necessary. 15 (d) PROHIBITION ON DISCRIMINATION.—Programs 16 funded under this section shall not discriminate on the 17 basis of actual or perceived sex, race, color, ethnicity, na- 18 tional origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, 19 or religion. Nothing in this section shall be construed to 20 invalidate or limit rights, remedies, procedures, or legal 21 standards available under any other Federal law or any 22 law of a State or a political subdivision of a State, includ- 23 ing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000a et 24 seq.), title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1268.IH H1268 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1268 IH U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act 1 of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), the Americans with Disabilities 2 Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), and section 1557 3 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 4 U.S.C. 18116). 5 (e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 45 days 6 after the date on which appropriated funds are made avail- 7 able to the Secretary under this section, the Secretary 8 shall submit to Congress a report on how such funds have 9 been used during such 45-day period and a plan for using 10 any remaining funds within the next 45 days. 11 (f) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall— 12 (1) conduct qualitative assessments regarding 13 the campaign under this section; and 14 (2) not later than one year after the date of en- 15 actment of this Act, prepare and submit to the Com- 16 mittee on Appropriations and the Committee on 17 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Sen- 18 ate and the Committee on Appropriations and the 19 Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House 20 of Representatives an evaluation of the campaign 21 under this section. 22 (g) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 23 shall be construed to limit an eligible entity from receiving 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1268.IH H1268 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1268 IH a grant under this section for a population otherwise 1 served by such organization with other Federal funds. 2 (h) PRIORITIZATION.—In awarding grants under 3 subsection (a), the Secretary shall give special consider- 4 ation to eligible entities that have demonstrated a commit- 5 ment to a targeted campaign to reach communities where 6 the greatest health disparities have been identified with 7 respect to testing access and rates of infections, hos- 8 pitalizations, and deaths related to COVID–19. 9 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 10 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 11 $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2022. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1268.IH H1268 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS