COVID–19 Vaccine Awareness Support Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8966 To provide for a vaccine safety public awareness campaign. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECEMBER 14, 2020 Mr. WENSTRUP (for himself, Mr. KIND, Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. PETERS, Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania, Mr. KIM, Mr. DUNN, and Mr. SIRES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To provide for a vaccine safety public awareness campaign. 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 ‘‘COVID–19 Vaccine 4 Awareness Support Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. VACCINE SAFETY PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 7 Human Services (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Sec- 8 retary’’), acting through the Director of the Centers for 9 Disease Control and Prevention and in coordination with 10 the Office of Minority Health and the Federal Office of 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:08 Dec 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8966.IH H8966 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8966 IH Rural Health Policy of the Department of Health and 1 Human Services, and, as appropriate, with the relevant 2 Offices of Minority Health of the Department of Health 3 and Human Services, the National Institute on Minority 4 Health and Health Disparities, and the Indian Health 5 Service, shall establish grant funding opportunities for eli- 6 gible entities to carry out a national, evidence-based cam- 7 paign to disseminate COVID–19 vaccination information. 8 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive a 9 grant under this section, an entity shall— 10 (1) be a State, local, Tribal, or territorial health 11 department, an urban Indian organization (as de- 12 fined in section 4 of the Indian Health Care Im- 13 provement Act (25 U.S.C. 1603)), a nonprofit com- 14 munity-based organization, or a nonprofit faith- 15 based organization; and 16 (2) agree to— 17 (A) work in consultation with relevant 18 State and local health officials, health care pro- 19 viders, health care facilities, and other appro- 20 priate stakeholders to carry the campaign under 21 this section; and 22 (B) submit to the Secretary, within 30 23 days of receipt of a grant, a proposed plan for 24 use of the grant funds. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:08 Dec 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8966.IH H8966 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8966 IH (c) USE OF FUNDS.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Entities receiving a grant 2 under this section shall use such grant funds to— 3 (A) increase awareness and knowledge of 4 the safety and effectiveness of vaccines ap- 5 proved or authorized by the Food and Drug Ad- 6 ministration for the prevention and control of 7 COVID–19 and the benefit of receiving a 8 COVID–19 vaccine; 9 (B) provide information on where the vac- 10 cine can be obtained; and 11 (C) create multilingual and culturally ap- 12 propriate messaging to disseminate scientific 13 and evidence-based information related to vac- 14 cines. 15 (2) DETAILS OF CAMPAIGNS.—Information dis- 16 seminated by an entity receiving a grant under this 17 section shall— 18 (A) be based on available scientific evi- 19 dence; 20 (B) increase awareness and knowledge of 21 COVID–19, including countering stigma associ- 22 ated with COVID–19; 23 (C) improve information on the availability 24 of COVID–19 vaccines, including countering 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:08 Dec 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8966.IH H8966 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8966 IH misinformation and disinformation with evi- 1 dence-based scientific rebuttals; and 2 (D) improve awareness and knowledge of 3 coverage of COVID–19 vaccines. 4 (d) PRIORITIZATION.—In awarding grants under this 5 section, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities 6 in either urban or rural communities (or a combination 7 of urban and rural communities) that serve vulnerable 8 populations, including communities of color, which may in- 9 clude low-income, uninsured, and medically underserved 10 individuals or populations with historically low rates of re- 11 ceiving vaccines. 12 (e) TIMING.—The Secretary shall awards the grants 13 under this section not later than 30 days after the earlier 14 of— 15 (1) the date on which the Food and Drug Ad- 16 ministration licenses a COVID–19 vaccine under 17 section 351 of the Public Health Service Act (42 18 U.S.C. 262); or 19 (2) the date on which a manufacturer begins to 20 distribute a COVID–19 vaccine to public or private 21 entities pursuant to an emergency use authorization 22 under section 564 of the Federal Food, Drug, and 23 Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 360bbb–3). 24 (f) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:08 Dec 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8966.IH H8966 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8966 IH (1) conduct qualitative assessments regarding 1 the campaign under this section; and 2 (2) not later than one year after the date of en- 3 actment of this Act, prepare and submit to the Com- 4 mittee on Appropriations and the Committee on 5 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Sen- 6 ate and the Committee on Appropriations and the 7 Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House 8 of Representatives an evaluation of the campaign 9 under this section. 10 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 11 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 12 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2021. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:08 Dec 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8966.IH H8966 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS