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• Caring for Seniors Amid the COVID-19 Crisis, Hearing Before the Special Committee on Aging, United States Senate, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, Second Session, May 21, 2020

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  This is the May 21, 2020 hearing on "Caring for Seniors Amid the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] Crisis," held before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging. From the opening statement of Susan Collins: "COVID-19 has brought tremendous hardship and tragedy, placing a heavy burden on the frontline workers, straining our healthcare and distribution systems, and imposing a deadly toll on seniors in particular. [...] Senator Sinema and I wrote to the Administrator for the Centers on Medicare and Medicaid outlining a series of recommendations to better protect older adults in nursing homes. Among the issues that we urged be considered is how long-term care facilities and in-home care settings can access adequate testing as well as personal protective equipment and how the higher health risks of older adults living in nursing homes can be taken into account in the distribution plans for any future COVID-19 treatments and vaccines. New diagnostic tests, therapeutics, and vaccines are moving forward at remarkable speeds. I look forward to learning more about this research today as well as promising treatments and strategies that can speed recovery for the most vulnerable populations. [...] Today we will hear from a panel of experts who are leading the charge in supporting seniors across a variety of settings of care, including in hospitals, in nursing homes, and in the community." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Mark J. Mulligan, R. Tamara Konetzka, and Steven H. Landers.

  United States. Government Publishing Office

  2022
• COVID-19: Potential Implications for International Security Environment -- Overview of Issues and Further Reading for Congress [Updated May 28, 2020]

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  From the Introduction: "Some observers argue the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic could be a world-changing event with potentially profound and long-lasting implications for the international security environment and the U.S. role in the world. Other observers are more skeptical that the COVID-19 pandemic will have such effects. This report provides a brief overview of some potential implications the COVID-19 pandemic might have for the international security environment and the U.S. role in the world, and a bibliography of CRS [Congressional Research Service] reports and other writings for further reading. Issues for Congress may include whether and how the COVID-19 pandemic could change the international security environment, whether the Trump Administration's actions for responding to such change are appropriate and sufficient, and what implications such change could have for the role of Congress in setting and overseeing the execution of U.S. foreign and defense policy. Congress's decisions regarding these issues could have significant and even profound implications for U.S. foreign and defense policy, and for the status of Congress as a co-equal branch relative to the executive branch in setting and overseeing the implementation of U.S. foreign and defense policy."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  O'Rourke, Ronald; McInnis, Kathleen J.; Moodie, Michael, 1948-

  2020-05-28
• COVID-19: Potential Implications for International Security Environment-- Overview of Issues and Further Reading for Congress [Updated May 8, 2020]

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  From the Summary: "Some observers argue the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic could be a world-changing event with potentially profound and long-lasting implications for the international security environment and the U.S. role in the world. Other observers are more skeptical that the COVID-19 pandemic will have such effects. Observers who argue the COVID-19 pandemic could be world-changing for the international security environment and the U.S. role in the world have focused on several areas of potential change. [...] Issues for Congress may include whether and how the COVID-19 pandemic could change the international security environment, whether the Trump Administration's actions for responding to such change are appropriate and sufficient, and what implications such change could have for the role of Congress in setting and overseeing the execution of U.S. foreign and defense policy. Congress's decisions regarding these issues could have significant and even profound implications for U.S. foreign and defense policy, and for the status of Congress as a co-equal branch relative to the executive branch in setting and overseeing the implementation of U.S. foreign and defense policy."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  O'Rourke, Ronald; McInnis, Kathleen J.; Moodie, Michael, 1948-

  2020-05-08
• Overview: The Department of Defense and COVID-19 [March 31, 2020]

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  From the Document: "The Department of Defense (DOD) is one of many U.S. government agencies participating in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)-led COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] national response framework. As developments unfold, interest has grown regarding what DOD might be able to contribute to the U.S. government's COVID-19 response. On March 24, 2020, Secretary of Defense Esper stated that DOD's top COVID-19 priorities are protecting the Defense Department's people, maintaining military readiness, and supporting the whole-of-government interagency response. With respect to whole-of-government response, below is a non-exhaustive survey of some DOD capabilities that might be applied to the current situation if directed to do so."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  McInnis, Kathleen J.

  2020-03-31
• COVID-19: National Security and Defense Strategy [April 30, 2020]

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  From the Document: "The outbreak of the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic has prompted questions about U.S. national security and crisis preparedness. Inherent to those discussions are broader, foundational questions about how the United States government conceptualizes national security, and the currently held view by many of the relative prioritization of the Department of Defense (DOD) over other instruments of national power."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  McInnis, Kathleen J.

  2020-04-30
• COVID-19: Potential Implications for International Security Environment-- Overview of Issues and Further Reading for Congress [Updated November 3, 2020]

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  From the Introduction: "Some observers argue the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic could be a world-changing event with potentially profound and long-lasting implications for the international security environment and the U.S. role in the world. Other observers are more skeptical that the COVID-19 pandemic will have such effects. This report provides a brief overview of some potential implications the COVID-19 pandemic might have for the international security environment and the U.S. role in the world, and a bibliography of CRS [Congressional Research Service] reports and other writings for further reading. [...] Appendix A presents a list of CRS reports that provide more in-depth discussions of issues presented in this report. Appendix B presents a list of additional writings reflecting various perspectives on these issues. A separate CRS report discusses the question of whether the U.S. role in the world is changing as a result of factors other than the COVID-19 pandemic."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  O'Rourke, Ronald; Moodie, Michael, 1948-; McInnis, Kathleen J.

  2020-11-03
• COVID-19: Potential Implications for International Security Environment-- Overview of Issues and Further Reading for Congress [Updated August 31, 2020]

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  From the Introduction: "Some observers argue the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic could be a world-changing event with potentially profound and long-lasting implications for the international security environment and the U.S. role in the world. Other observers are more skeptical that the COVID-19 pandemic will have such effects. This report provides a brief overview of some potential implications the COVID-19 pandemic might have for the international security environment and the U.S. role in the world, and a bibliography of CRS [Congressional Research Service] reports and other writings for further reading. Issues for Congress may include whether and how the COVID-19 pandemic could change the international security environment, whether the Trump Administration's actions for responding to such change are appropriate and sufficient, and what implications such change could have for the role of Congress in setting and overseeing the execution of U.S. foreign and defense policy. Congress's decisions regarding these issues could have significant and even profound implications for U.S. foreign and defense policy, and for the status of Congress as a co-equal branch relative to the executive branch in setting and overseeing the implementation of U.S. foreign and defense policy."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  O'Rourke, Ronald; Moodie, Michael, 1948-; McInnis, Kathleen J.

  2020-08-31
• COVID-19 Pandemic and Seniors: A Look at Racial Health Disparities, Hearing Before the Special Committee on Aging, United States Senate, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, Second Session, July 21, 2020

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  This is the July 21, 2020 hearing on "COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] Pandemic and Seniors: A Look at Racial Health Disparities," held before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging. From the Opening Statement of Susan M. Collins: "Our focus today is on COVID-19's disproportionate health impact on black and Latino seniors, as well as seniors from other racial and ethnic minority communities. According to the New York Times analysis, black and Latino residents are infected with the virus at three times the rate of their white neighbors, and they are nearly twice as likely to die from COVID-19. [...] There is still a great deal that we do not yet know about COVID- 19, but we do know that individuals with chronic kidney disease, serious heart conditions, obesity, sickle cell disease, and type 2 diabetes are at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19, and that black Americans experience these conditions at disproportionate rates. [...] [One] factor in the disproportionate impact of the virus on black Americans appears to be a distrust of the health care system. A study from a California health system observed that black patients were more likely to have been tested at a hospital than in and ambulatory environment and that patients' prior negative experiences with the health care system can lead to distrust and a decision to seek care only in the most extreme circumstances. Historical injustices with medical experimentation have also left a legacy of mistrust and skepticism among many African Americans that we need to work to resolve. Part of the solution may be found through community partnerships and greater health care workforce diversity." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Dominic H. Mack, Mercedes R. Carnethon, Eugene A. Woods, and Rodney B. Jones.

  United States. Government Publishing Office

  2022
• European Commission Guidance on Strengthening the Code of Practice on Disinformation

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  From the Introduction: "The COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] crisis has starkly illustrated the threats and challenges disinformation poses to our societies. The 'infodemic' - the rapid spread of false, inaccurate or misleading information about the pandemic - has posed substantial risks to personal health, public health systems, effective crisis management, the economy and social cohesion. The pandemic has also elevated the role digital technology plays in our lives, making it increasingly central to how we work, learn, socialise, provide for material needs, and participate in the civic discourse. It has raised the stakes to ensure that the online ecosystem is a safe space, and it has shown that, despite considerable efforts made to date, there is an urgent need to step-up efforts to fight disinformation . From its inception, the EU approach to countering disinformation has been grounded in the protection of freedom of expression and other rights and freedoms guaranteed under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. In line with those rights and freedoms, rather than criminalising or prohibiting disinformation as such, the EU strategy aims to make the online environment and its actors more transparent and accountable, making content moderation practices more transparent, empowering citizens and fostering an open democratic debate. To this end, the EU has sought to mobilise all relevant."

  European Commission

  2021-05-26
• Evaluation of Department of Defense Military Medical Treatment Facility Challenges During the Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic in Fiscal Year 2021 [Redacted]

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  From the Document: "The objective of this evaluation was to determine the challenges and concerns encountered by medical personnel working at DoD Military Medical Treatment Facilities (MTF) during the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. [...] On March 13, 2020, the President of the United States declared the COVID-19 outbreak an emergency. Since March 2020, the DoD's COVID-19 response operations supported the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services as part of the whole-of-government response to the COVID-19 pandemic. On November 9, 2020, the Secretary of Defense issued guidance stating that the Military Departments are responsible for readiness, giving the Military Departments the 'unilateral authority to deploy military medical personnel from the MTFs to support wartime and related operational missions with feasible notice to the DHA [Defense Health Agency].' In 2021, the DoD also supported Operation Allies Refuge and Operation Allies Welcome."

  United States. Department of Defense. Office of the Inspector General

  2022-04-05
• Data Brief: Telehealth Was Critical for Providing Services to Medicare Beneficiaries During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic

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  From the Document: "The COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic created unprecedented challenges for how Medicare beneficiaries accessed health care. In response, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) took a number of actions to temporarily expand access to telehealth for Medicare beneficiaries. CMS allowed beneficiaries to use telehealth for a wide range of services; it also allowed beneficiaries to use telehealth in different locations, including in urban areas and from the beneficiary's home. Understanding the use of telehealth during the first year of the pandemic can shed light on how the temporary expansion of telehealth affected where and how beneficiaries accessed their health care. This information can help CMS, Congress, and other stakeholders make decisions about how telehealth can be best used to meet the needs of beneficiaries in the future. This data brief provides insight into the use of telehealth in both Medicare fee-for-service and Medicare Advantage during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a companion to a report that examines the characteristics of beneficiaries who used telehealth during the pandemic. Another report in this series identifies program integrity concerns related to telehealth during the pandemic."

  United States. Department of Health and Human Services. Office of Inspector General

  2022-03
• Oversight of Multifamily Borrowers' Compliance with Cares Act and Freddie Mac Tenant Protections and Freddie Mac's Response to the Potential Financial Impact of COVID-19

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  From the Executive Summary: "In March 2020, the onset of the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic prompted Congress, FHFA [Federal Housing Finance Agency], and Freddie Mac to act to protect the interests of tenants in multifamily properties financed by federally backed multifamily mortgage loans. Congress enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act or the Act), which imposed a 120-day moratorium that prohibited all borrowers with federally backed multifamily loans (referred to in this report as 'borrowers,' 'lessors,' or 'landlords') from filing legal actions to recover possession of a covered dwelling unit from a tenant solely due to the nonpayment of rent or other fees or charges. The Act also prohibited multifamily borrowers whose loans were in forbearance from evicting tenants, or initiating eviction actions against tenants, during the forbearance period solely for the nonpayment of rent. Freddie Mac's forbearance program provides the same tenant protections and also requires borrowers in forbearance to notify eligible tenants in writing and inform them of the available protections. In June 2020, at FHFA's direction, Freddie Mac expanded its tenant protections requirement for borrowers entering into a forbearance to allow tenants to pay back missed rent payments over a 'reasonable time,' rather than in one lump-sum payment at the end of the forbearance period. [...] We undertook this special project, in part, to determine how Freddie Mac monitored multifamily servicers' and borrowers' compliance with the CARES Act's and Freddie Mac's forbearance program tenant protections."

  United States. Federal Housing Finance Agency. Office of Inspector General

  2022-03-24
• Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection of Facilities' COVID-19 Pandemic Readiness and Response in Veterans Integrated Service Networks 2, 5, and 6

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  From the Report Overview: "This Office of Inspector General (OIG) Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection Program (CHIP) report examines key clinical and administrative processes that are associated with promoting quality care. Comprehensive healthcare inspections are one element of the OIG's overall efforts to ensure that the nation's veterans receive high-quality and timely VA [Veterans Affairs] healthcare services. The inspections are performed approximately every three years for each medical facility. The OIG selects and evaluates specific areas of focus each year. Starting in July 2020, the OIG added pandemic readiness and response as an issue for examination. CHIP staff have aggregated findings that relate to COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] readiness and response from these routine inspections to ensure that the information is provided in a comprehensive manner, given the constantly changing landscape as infection rates and demands on facilities continually shift. To promote this objective, CHIP staff have combined the findings of inspected medical facilities by Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs), which are regional systems that provide oversight of medical centers in their area.1 This report is the fourth in a series. It provides a descriptive evaluation of VISN 2, 5, and 6 facility responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. This examination is based on findings from healthcare inspections performed during the third and fourth quarters of fiscal year 2021 (April 1 through September 30, 2021). The report also provides a more recent snapshot of the pandemic's demands on facility operations based on data compiled as of September 2021. Additionally, it includes information on COVID-19 vaccination efforts, based on a review of VA's vaccination statistics as of September 29, 2021."

  United States. Department of Veterans Affairs. Office of Inspector General

  2022-04-07
• Consular Affairs: State May Be Unable to Cover Projected Costs If Revenues Do Not Quickly Rebound to Pre-Pandemic Levels, Report to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives

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  From the Highlights: "From fiscal years 2013 through 2019, consular fees fully funded consular operations, according to State documentation. However, the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic caused State's revenues from passport and visa fees to drop. GAO [Government Accountability Office] was asked to review consular fees. This report examines, among other things, how State managed the decline in consular fee revenues, projections regarding State's ability to meet the targeted threshold in the future, and the extent to which State's processes for estimating key data meet the key elements of economic analysis. [...] GAO recommends that State (1) assess what actions would allow it to cover future consular costs; (2) measure the statistical variability of unit costs; and (3) document its cost, demand, and revenue estimates."

  United States. Government Accountability Office

  2022-04
• Pandemic Patterns: California is Seeing Fewer Entrances and More Exits

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  From the Executive Summary: "Since the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic began, fewer people have been moving into California from other states and more have been leaving. At the end of September 2021, entrances to California were 8% lower than at the end of March 2020. Exits, following a dip in the first half of 2020, stood 12% higher at the end of September 2021 than at the end of March 2020 -- representing a return to a steady pre-pandemic rate of increase of approximately 4% per year since 2016. Net domestic migration, defined as the difference between entrances and exits, went from 40,000 net exits per quarter prior to the pandemic to 80,000 afterward. This brief uses data through the end of September 2021. These trends are present throughout the state. Since the end of March 2020, new entrances to the state have dropped in 40 of 58 California counties, and when Californians move, they are slightly more likely to leave the state than they were before the pandemic began (true for nearly every county). But the Bay Area stands out, for several reasons. Since the end of March 2020, new entrances to Bay Area counties have dropped more quickly than in other parts of the state. Before the pandemic, San Francisco County was the only net receiver of population from other US states. Today, all California counties lose population to domestic migration. In addition, whereas in every other economic region the move rate fell since the pandemic began, Bay Area residents moved (to any destination) at higher levels (up 0.3 percentage points, to 4.2%), driving a 21% increase in Bay Area exits."

  California Policy Lab

  Holmes, Natalie; White, Evan

  2022-04
• MMWR Early Release: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, April 19, 2022: Hospitalizations of Children Aged 5-11 Years with Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19 -- COVID-NET, 14 States, March 2020-February 2022

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  The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Series is prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). [It] is the agency's primary vehicle for scientific publication of timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations. This Early Release issue of MMWR contains the following article: "Hospitalizations of Children Aged 5-11 Years with Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] -- COVID-NET [COVID-19-Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network], 14 States, March 2020-February 2022." Notifiable Diseases and Mortality Tables from MMWR can be accessed at the following link [http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/index2022.html].

  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)

  2022-04-19
• From Recession to Recovery: Examining the Impact of the American Rescue Plan's State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, Hearing Before the Committee on Oversight and Reform, House of Representatives, One Hundred Seventeenth Congress, Second Session, March 1, 2022

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  This is the March 1, 2022 hearing on "From Recession to Recovery: Examining the Impact of the American Rescue Plan's State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds" held before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. From the opening statement of Carolyn B. Maloney: "Two years ago, global attention was seized by a different crisis as the Coronavirus pandemic disrupted life across the world. Under the last Administration, the American economy experienced its worst contraction since 1946, and in April 2020, the unemployment rate skyrocketed to almost 15 percent, the highest rate since the Labor Department began collecting this data more than 70 years ago. In the months that followed, hundreds of thousands of Americans died, and millions more suffered the loss of their family members, jobs, and income. The country had a decision to make. Faced with a destructive recession and public health crisis, would we show the courage necessary to save lives, support communities in need, and revive our stalled economy? President Biden's answer was 'yes.' He proposed the American Rescue Plan on his very first day in office along with the National Vaccination Program and direct support for families and small businesses. The plan included $350 billion in Recovery Funds to States, tribes, territories, and local governments. I am proud to say that this committee in a bipartisan way played a key role in designating and passing these crucial Recovery Funds. We received input from hundreds of bipartisan stakeholders, including Governors, tribal leaders, mayors, union, industry leaders, and public health officials, and we listened to what they had to say." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: J.B. Pritzker, Fawn Sharp, Victoria Woodards, Gary Moore, Michael Leachman, and Marc Joffe.

  United States. Government Publishing Office

  2022
• Pandemic Response and the Small Business Economy: An Update from the U.S. Small Business Administration, Hearing Before the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the United States Senate, One Hundred Seventeenth Congress, First Session, May 26, 2021

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  This is the May 26, 2021 hearing on "Pandemic Response and the Small Business Economy: An Update from the U.S. Small Business Administration," held before the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. From the opening statement of Benjamin L. Cardin: "It has been 14 months since Congress passed the CARES [Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security] Act, and the SBA [U.S. Small Business Administration] had really stood up to the challenge. Over $1 trillion in aid has been provided to American small businesses. In the Paycheck Protection Program alone, over 11 million forgivable loans have been issued, and the latest number was to the tune of about $791 billion. There is now optimism among small businesses with the rollout of the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] vaccine that businesses may be returning to a more normal volume. [...] The key has been Congress and the administration, open lines of communication, working together to implement these tools for small business. Transparency is absolutely essential and sharing information timely." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Isabella Casillas Guzman.

  United States. Government Publishing Office

  2022
• Divergent and Inequitable Teaching and Learning Pathways During (And Perhaps Beyond) the Pandemic: Key Findings from the American Educator Panels Spring 2021 COVID-19 Surveys

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  From the Webpage Description: "The 2020-2021 school year has been like no other. Because of the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic, most kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) schools across the United States have reduced in-person learning for students to a few days per week or have been physically closed for most of the school year. In this Data Note, researchers use surveys of teachers and principals to provide a picture of students' learning experiences in K-12 schools that have adopted a variety of operational models (e.g., fully in-person, hybrid, fully remote) during the 2020-2021 school year. The findings consistently indicate that remote schooling was associated with fewer instructional opportunities and potentially poorer student outcomes compared with in-person schooling. These outcomes include less teacher-reported curriculum coverage, more teacher-reported student absenteeism, and lower principal-reported achievement in mathematics and English language arts (ELA). Nevertheless, teachers and principals who have been in remote settings this school year appear to be far more comfortable with the idea of providing remote instruction in some form, even after the pandemic recedes. Taken together, these findings suggest that the pandemic has set schools on diverging pathways depending on whether they were mostly remote or in person over the course of this school year. Using these findings, the authors make several recommendations to policymakers, school and district leaders, and researchers to support K-12 teaching and learning over the next several years."

  RAND Corporation

  Kaufman, Julia H.; Diliberti, Melissa

  2021
• Examination of the SBA's COVID-19 Programs, Hearing Before the Committee on Small Business, United States House of Representatives, One Hundred Seventeenth Congress, First Session, May 26, 2021

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  This is the May 26, 2021 hearing on "Examination of SBA's [U.S. Small Business Administration's] COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] Programs," held before the U.S. House Committee on Small Business. From the opening statement of Nydia Velazquez: "In 2020, COVID-19 closed more businesses than any other year on record and left countless other entrepreneurs clinging for their survival. [...] Congress has passed eight small business relief bills, allocating more than $1 trillion to small firms during their darkest hour. The federal government's efforts to save small business were extraordinary, but distributing this aid was a monumental task for SBA. The $1 trillion-plus in federal funding represented more than 10 times SBA's annual budget. As a result, the agency administered more aid during the COVID crisis than it had for all other disasters combined during its 67-year history. [...] For over a year, small businesses have persevered through a once-in-a-lifetime crisis. Today, thanks to our collective efforts, small firms have hope. Across the country, customers are returning and business conditions are normalizing thanks to vaccines and public health measures. Though the pandemic may be receding, we must continue to work as a Committee to see small businesses to the end of the crisis and help facilitate a strong recovery." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Isabella Casillas Guzman.

  United States. Government Publishing Office

  2022
• COVID-19: An Update on the Federal Response, Hearing of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, United States Senate, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, Second Session on Examining COVID-19, Focusing on an Update on the Federal Response, September 23, 2020

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  This is the September 23, 2020 hearing on "COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019]: An Update on the Federal Response," held before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. From the opening statement of Lamar Alexander: "The Trump administration's program to develop and deploy a vaccine against COVID-19 is on track to be an unprecedented sprint to success. The program called Operation Warp Speed will save lives without cutting corners on safety and efficiency. The COVID-19 vaccine development process is likely to produce its first tens of millions of doses within 1 year. The United States has never produced a vaccine that rapidly. [...] The Administration had set a stretch goal that once seemed impossible but now seems likely. The Administration hopes to have as many as 300 million doses of vaccines available to be deployed by mid-2021, according to an August 26 article by Operation Warp Speed program's principal adviser, Dr. Monsef Slowey, and vaccine expert, Dr. Matthew Hepburn, that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Anthony Fauci, Robert Redfield, Brett Giroir, and Stephen Hahn.

  United States. Government Publishing Office

  2022
• Changes in the Distribution of Economic Well-Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from Nationally Representative Consumption Data

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  From the Abstract: "We examine the distribution of household consumption, income and savings from 2019 through the end of 2020 using the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) and other data. This is the first work to study the impact of the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic on economic well-being using nationally representative consumption data. We find that low percentiles of the consumption distribution see pre-pandemic growth and little change with the onset of the pandemic. On the other hand, higher percentiles of the consumption distribution do not increase before the pandemic and fall in 2020. Leveraging the rich demographics of our microdata, we find the most pronounced decline for high-educated families near the top of the consumption distribution and seniors in the top half of the distribution. The decrease in the top half is less evident for non-Whites. These patterns for consumption are different than those for income, particularly in the upper part of the distribution. Liquid assets increase in the upper half of the distribution, consistent with the divergence between the upper half of the income and consumption distributions. Our results suggest that the policy response to the pandemic averted a decrease in consumption for the most materially disadvantaged families, while changes in aggregate consumption accord with the observed patterns in the top of the consumption distribution. The changes for various types of consumption, and the distribution of those changes across the material resource distribution, are consistent with reductions in travel to work--which were large for those with greater material advantage--and restrictions on outlets for consumption."

  Becker Friedman Institute for Research in Economics

  Meyer, Bruce D.; Sullivan, James; Murphy, Connacher

  2022-03
• K-12 Education: An Estimated 1.1 Million Teachers Nationwide Had at Least One Student Who Never Showed Up for Class in the 2020-21 School Year [Reissued with Revisions on Apr. 19, 2022]

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  From the Document: "As the COVID-19 [Coronavirus Disease 2019] pandemic continues to reverberate across the nation, for millions of students, educators, and families, the current school year is rife with challenges. The long-term impact of the disruptions of the last 2 years on student enrollment and attendance remains to be seen, particularly for students with whom schools have lost contact. As we previously reported, even though many schools provided students with computers and internet access to participate in virtual instruction, many students faced difficulties staying engaged in school or disappeared from school altogether. While the issue of students not showing up at all during the pandemic is of grave significance, little is known about the obstacles these students face or the types of schools they come from. The CARES [Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security] Act includes a provision for GAO [Government Accountability Office] to report on its ongoing monitoring and oversight efforts related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this report, we provide information on (1) how widespread was the issue of K-12 public school students not showing up for class all year in school year 2020-21, (2) obstacles these students faced in showing up, and (3) the characteristics of the schools these students were registered to attend."

  United States. Government Accountability Office

  2022-04-19
• MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, April 22, 2022

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  The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Series is prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). [It] is the agency's primary vehicle for scientific publication of timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations. This issue of MMWR contains the following: "Vaccination Coverage with Selected Vaccines and Exemption Rates Among Children in Kindergarten -- United States, 2020-21 School Year"; "Poisoning Associated with Consumption of a Homemade Medicinal Liquor -- Chongqing, China, 2018"; "Hospitalizations of Children Aged 5-11 Years with Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] -- COVID-NET, [Coronavirus Disease 2019-Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network] 14 States, March 2020-February 2022"; and "QuickStats: Percentage of Adults Aged 18-64 Years Who Had a Dental Visit in the Past 12 Months, by Dental Insurance and Year -- National Health Interview Survey, United States, 2019-2020." Notifiable Diseases and Mortality Tables from this issue can be accessed at the following link [https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/index2022.html].

  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)

  2022-04-22
• Public Safety on NYC Subways: No Safety in Small Numbers

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  From the Executive Summary: "Where there was safety in numbers before Covid [coronavirus disease 2019] and grave peril in desolation beginning in March 2020, there now exists an unhappy medium. Modest-size crowds--though larger than those in 2020--are not by themselves helping to deter violent crime. This stagnation of both crowd size and public safety is unlikely to fix itself: as people fear taking trains because of violent crime, they keep crowd levels low, thus enabling violent crime to persist at elevated levels. At the same time, the NYPD [New York Police Department] and prosecutors have not stepped in to fill the vacuum. Preventive policing, in terms of arrests and civil summonses for alleged low-level law violations, remains far below pre-Covid levels."

  Manhattan Institute for Policy Research

  Gelinas, Nicole, 1975-

  2022-03
• On the Frontlines in Turbulent Times: Workforce Perspectives on the State of Transportation Security, Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security of the Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives, One Hundred Seventeenth Congress, First Session, November 16, 2021

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  This is the November 16, 2021 hearing on "On the Frontlines in Turbulent Times: Workforce Perspectives on the State of Transportation Security," held before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security of the Committee on Homeland Security. From the Opening Statement of Watson Coleman: "The safety of front-line workers and passengers is paramount, particularly as we continue to battle a pandemic that has turned many of our usual travel customs and norms on their head. While this is not the first year that our country will celebrate the holidays with COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] in our midst, it is heartening that almost 60 percent of the population is fully vaccinated against this virus. While we still have a ways to go, strong protection from the worst effects of the virus means more families can safely reunite during this special time of the year. Last Monday was the deadline for Federal employees, including Transportation Security Officers, to receive their last shot of a two-dose vaccine regimen, or a single dose in the case of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, to meet the November 22 deadline to be fully vaccinated, per President Biden's recent Executive Order. In addition, many major airlines have required their employees to receive their shots ahead of the January 4 deadline for Federal contractors. I look forward to hearing from our witnesses about how vaccination efforts are progressing among their memberships and the partnerships between employees and employers that these efforts have borne." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Everett B. Kelley, Sara Nelson, John Samuelsen, and John A. Casaretti.

  United States. Government Publishing Office

  2022
• Learning from Experience: The Public Health Response to West Nile Virus, SARS, Monkeypox, and Hepatitis A Outbreaks in the United States

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  "State and local public health systems play a critical role in responding to emergencies and are central to the nation's efforts to improve its preparedness for bioterrorism. But public health departments have faced some significant challenges over the years. During the last half of the 20th century, the capacity of state and local public health systems in the United States seriously declined. Problems in the systems-such as weaknesses in laboratory capacity and poor communications with the public and health care professionals-were vividly displayed during the anthrax attack in 2001. In the aftermath of these events, Congress and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) accelerated efforts to strengthen the public health infrastructure. In the spring of 2002, approximately $1.1 billion was distributed through the Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as part of cooperative agreements to strengthen state and local public health as well as hospital preparedness, with an additional $2.9 billion provided to the states in 2003 and 2004 (Schuler, 2004). After three years of major federal investment, it is appropriate to take stock of the current state of preparedness in local and state public health departments. Four recent disease outbreaks from 1999 to 2003 provide a rare opportunity to assess the quality of the public health response and to gain insights into overall preparedness for a bioterrorist attack."

  RAND Corporation

  Davis, Lois M.; Stoto, Michael A.; Dausey, David J.

  2005
• Freedom of Information Act: Selected Agencies Adapted to COVID-19 Challenges but Actions Needed to Reduce Backlogs, Statement of James R. Mctigue, Jr., Director, Strategic Issues, Testimony Before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate

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  From the Highlights: "FOIA [Freedom of Information Act] seeks to improve the public's access to government information and promote openness and accountability in government. However, the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic presented challenges for FOIA administration by significantly affecting how federal employees performed their work as agencies adopted a maximum telework posture and limited on-site work. GAO [Government Accountability Office] was asked to testify on FOIA government-wide performance and the associated impact of the pandemic. Specifically, this statement summarizes the results from GAO's previously issued reports on (1) government-wide FOIA performance for fiscal year 2020 compared to fiscal year 2019 and long-term trends from fiscal years 2012 through 2020; (2) selected agencies' initial pandemic-related challenges and their use of leading practices to maintain FOIA operations; (3) selected agencies' continuing challenges with FOIA request backlogs; and (4) selected agencies' use of proactive information disclosures--making records publicly available without waiting for specific requests."

  United States. Government Accountability Office

  McTigue, James R., Jr.

  2022-03-29
• Infectious Disease and National Security: Strategic Information Needs

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  "The global community has suffered recently from newly emerged infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and from reemerging diseases once thought to be in decline. Additionally, it is increasingly recognized that infectious disease can pose a significant threat to U.S. and world security. To best understand and mitigate this threat, U.S. policymakers require adequate and timely information about the occurrence of infectious disease worldwide. The Advanced Systems and Concepts Office of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency asked the RAND Corporation to examine infectious diseases within the context of national security and assess the need for and the adequacy of such information among U.S. policymakers. The primary objectives of this study were to assess the availability of information concerning global infectious disease threats and to determine the suitability and use of such information to support U.S. policymaking in preventing or otherwise responding to such threats. During the study, we conducted literature and document reviews, surveyed the current state of available information systems related to infectious disease, and interviewed 53 senior policymakers and staff from agencies across the federal government and from selected outside organizations. Our findings are summarized below. Approximately a quarter of all deaths in the world today are due to infectious diseases. In decades and centuries past, an outbreak of infectious disease was often limited to the locale in which it occurred. However, the pace of global travel, migration, and commerce has increased dramatically in recent decades, and that increase poses an increased global risk of disease."

  RAND Corporation

  Cecchine, Gary; Moore, Melinda

  2006
• Facilitated Look Backs: A New Quality Improvement Tool for Management of Routine Annual and Pandemic Influenza

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  "Since influenza pandemics are relatively infrequent, public health agencies have limited opportunities to learn from direct experience with them. In contrast, routine annual influenza occurs each year with some predictability, and this routine occurrence offers important opportunities for public health and pandemic preparedness. Each routine annual influenza season presents unique challenges and lessons that may be applicable to pandemic influenza and other public health preparedness activities. For example, unanticipated events in the past decade, such as influenza vaccine shortages, high numbers of influenza-associated deaths among U.S. children, and unexpected surges in demands for patient care, have underscored the need for better preparation-specifically, the importance of early planning and responsiveness to different contingencies that may arise. With the specter of pandemic influenza before the American populace, the RAND team sought to harness opportunities arising from the annual occurrence of influenza to help public health agencies improve their response to routine annual influenza and to incorporate lessons into pandemic and emergency public health preparedness planning. Specifically, we set out to develop and test a 'Look-Back' methodology to assist state public health agencies (SPHAs) in systematically assessing their experiences from each routine annual influenza season and translating those experiences into future public health practice. A Look-Back is a quality improvement tool that seeks to identify relevant and applicable lessons for routine annual and pandemic influenza preparedness by asking a broad and diverse group of participants who have been involved in routine annual influenza activities to critically evaluate their management of the past routine annual influenza season."

  RAND Corporation

  Ricci, Karen; Lurie, Nicole; Aledort, Julia Elizabeth

  2006