Here's What You Missed from HHS: December 20, 2020

[American Flag] An official email from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services [HHS 360 Logo]( Latest U.S. Department of Health & Human Services News Releases [Guidance for National Guard Personnel Regarding COVID-19 Vaccines and Immunity under the PREP Act]( December 18, 2020 Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Assistant Secretary for Health, extended coverage under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) to qualified National Guardsmen administering COVID-19 vaccinations that have been authorized or licensed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). [Read full news release]( [HHS and DoD Statements on FDA Authorization of Moderna Vaccine]( December 18, 2020 On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it had issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, the second COVID-19 vaccine to receive an EUA. [Read full news release]( [OCR Issues Guidance on HIPAA, Health Information Exchanges, and Disclosures of Protected Health Information for Public Health Purposes]( December 18, 2020 Today, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued guidance on how the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) permits covered entities and their business associates to use health information exchanges (HIEs) to disclose protected health information (PHI) for the public health activities of a public health authority (PHA). [Read full news release]( [HHS Releases First National Strategic Plan to Address Sexually Transmitted Infections]( December 17, 2020 The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is releasing the first-ever national plan to address the public health crisis caused by alarming increases in rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the United States over the past six years. [Read full news release]( [HHS Continues COVID-19 Testing Support to States, Territories, and High-Risk Groups]( December 17, 2020 Today, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced three ways the federal government will continue supporting SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) testing efforts by states and territories, especially for nursing homes, into the first quarter of 2021. [Read full news release]( [OCR Issues Audit Report on Health Care Industry Compliance with the HIPAA Rules]( December 17, 2020 Today, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released its 2016-2017 HIPAA Audits Industry Report that reviewed selected health care entities and business associates for compliance with certain provisions of the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules. [Read full news release]( [OWS Weekly Briefings]( [Operation Warp Speed Briefing]( Tune in to HHS’s Operation Warp Speed briefings every week to get the latest news on COVID-19 vaccines. Visit the Operation Warp Speed (OWS) Briefings playlist on YouTube to catch the latest briefing and previous briefings. [Visit the YouTube page »]( [HHS to Disallow $200M in California Medicaid Funds Due to Unlawful Abortion Insurance Mandate; Refers Vermont Medical Center to DOJ for Lawsuit Over Conscience Violations]( December 16, 2020 Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) makes two announcements regarding enforcement of federal conscience laws. [Read full news release]( [HHS Secretary Azar Statement on EUA for At-Home Use of BinaxNOW Card Test]( December 16, 2020 On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration issued a new emergency use authorization (EUA) for Abbott’s BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card Home Test, allowing individuals to perform the test at home with a prescription. [Read full news release]( [Winners of HHS Design-a-thon to Develop Innovative Digital Health Tools for COVID-19 At-Anywhere Diagnostic Tests Announced]( December 16, 2020 Sixteen winning designs (listed below) selected from the HHS [COVID-19 At-Anywhere Diagnostics Design-a-thon]( aim to increase speed, quality, comprehensiveness, and utility of SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic test data. [Read full news release]( [HHS Increases and Begins Distributing Over $24 Billion in Phase 3 COVID-19 Provider Relief Funding]( December 16, 2020 Today, the Trump Administration, through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is announcing it has completed review of Phase 3 applications from the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) program and will distribute $24.5 billion to over 70,000 providers. [Read full news release]( [See More News Releases]( [Coronavirus (COVID-19)]( As Americans receive COVID-19 vaccines over the next few months, it is important to continue to follow public health safety measures to protect yourself, your loved ones, and your community. Learn more about COVID-19 vaccines and how to stay safe from COVID-19 this holiday season. [Visit CDC.gov/coronavirus »]( U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. 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