The Senate HELP Committee released a discussion draft of the Prepare for and Respond to Existing Viruses, Emerging New Threats, and Pandemics Act (PREVENT Pandemics Act). This legislation focuses on strengthening the nation’s public health and medical preparedness and response systems in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the bill includes language that removes the current statutory expiration date for the Health Center Volunteer Health Professionals Program. Currently, more than 100 health centers utilize more than 500 volunteer providers through the program. NACHC has pushed for an extension given the ongoing workforce shortages that many health centers are facing. A section-by-section summary and full text are available. The Senate HELP Committee is accepting comments on the draft through February 4, 2022, and could move to mark up the legislation after reviewing stakeholder feedback.

President Biden expressed support last week for breaking up the Build Back Better Act into smaller pieces of legislation. However, this strategy is problematic since the bill was designed to be passed using reconciliation, which can only be used a limited number of times per year and avoids a filibuster in the Senate by requiring only 51 votes. Republicans have resisted negotiating an omnibus FY22 with the BBB Act unresolved, and House and Senate appropriators have struggled to overcome issues in determining top-level funding numbers and including policy riders, like the Hyde Amendment. Another continuing resolution (CR) after the current one ends on February 18, 2022, is possible as House and Senate appropriators work to strike a deal. Congress is also considering including additional supplemental COVID-19 relief funding as well as telehealth flexibility extensions in an omnibus appropriations bill.

The state Senate passed SB 1019 this week by a 49-0 vote. Introduced by Senator Michelle Brooks, the legislation would further provide for COVID-19 regulatory flexibility authority, essentially extending some of the waivers and require the Departments to submit reports to the legislature by May 31, 2022, of any waived rules or regulations that should be made permanent.

Pediatrician Ilan Shapiro, MD returns to THE CONVERSATION / LA CONVERSACIÓN with a new series of FAQ videos, en español, about the COVID-19 vaccine for children, including more newly eligible 5-11 year-olds. Presented with the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. Shapiro answers some of the most common questions parents and caregivers are asking about the COVID-19 vaccine, including: How do we know the COVID-19 vaccine is safe for kids? Do kids need the COVID-19 vaccine? What is in the vaccine given to kids? And more!

While PCR tests for COVID-19 have become the “gold standard” in detecting the virus, a new study says rapid tests are highly accurate when it comes to children and teens. The study, led by researchers from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in collaboration with other institutions and published in MedRxiv, shows that rapid tests given to adolescents at school or at home have a similar accuracy to PCR tests.

The U.S. Postal Service has begun taking orders for free at-home coronavirus test kits via the website COVIDtests.gov or COVID-19 Home Tests | USPS. Each household order will contain four rapid tests, which the Postal Service says will be shipped for free “in late January.” The White House says it will prioritize shipments to Americans from ZIP codes that have experienced high rates of COVID-19 cases and deaths, with the first 20% of each day’s orders going to those areas.