COVID-19 HRSA Updates

By Kirstie White posted 01-25-2023 01:52 PM

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Updates on COVID-19 Vaccine Availability

CDC advises health centers of the following changes to COVID-19 vaccine availability. These changes will take effect on Tuesday, January 31, for health centers ordering through states/jurisdiction, and on Wednesday, January 25, for those ordering through the Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program.

The Emergency Use Authorization (EUA)-labeled Pfizer BioNTech adult (12+) monovalent vaccine (NDC 59267-1025-04) will no longer be available to order. The Biologics License Application (BLA)-labeled (COMIRNATY) product (NDC 00069-2025-10) will replace it. These are identical products, except for the labeling and the process they went through to be approved by FDA.
Novavax will no longer be available. This product is set to expire on Tuesday, February 28, and will not receive a shelf-life extension.

Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program Participants: If you need more Novavax, include it in your order today or tomorrow.

Expanding COVID-19 Vaccination Funding: Resources to Inform Your Work

These resources may be useful in informing your work, especially for health centers considering how best to use Expanding COVID-19 Vaccination (ECV) funding.

White House and HRSA Webinar: Building Partnerships to Promote COVID-19 Vaccination: If you missed last Tuesday’s webinar, watch the recording to hear how experts foster key partnerships, including with community-based outreach providers and faith-based organizations.
Community Health Center ECV Funding Collaboration: If you missed last Friday’s webinar, hosted by HRSA’s Health Systems Bureau, watch the recording to learn about partnering with community-based outreach providers and faith-based organizations.
Reasons for Receiving or Not Receiving Bivalent COVID-19 Booster Vaccinations Among Adults: CDC’s recent report includes this summary: An online opt-in survey of 1,200 previously vaccinated U.S. residents found that the most common reasons for not getting a bivalent booster dose were lack of awareness about eligibility or availability and overconfidence in immunity; reasons varied by age group.

COVID-19 Vaccine Community Features: CDC’s website offers examples of how health departments partner to get people vaccinated.

Has your health center increased access to, confidence in, and demand for updated COVID-19 vaccines using ECV funding? Send your success stories to HRSA Health Center Stories for possible promotion in HRSA communications.

Contact Pharmacies for N95 Masks for Your Community

If you missed it, see our bulletin from last week about how health centers can get N95 masks for distribution to their communities.

Happy Anniversary to the Testing Supply and Therapeutics Programs!

Happy one-year anniversary to two COVID-19 Response Programs that launched in December 2021.

The HRSA COVID-19 Testing Supply Program initially provided health centers with a direct supply of at-home testing supplies. In February 2022, it expanded to offer point-of-care testing supplies.
The HRSA Health Center COVID-19 Therapeutics Program began incrementally to directly allocate a limited supply of oral antiviral treatments for the outpatient treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 to select HRSA-supported health centers. It opened to all HRSA-supported health centers in March 2022.

Through these programs, health centers made significant and impressive strides in 2022:

1,126 health centers ordered more than 20 million testing supplies, including point-of-care testing supplies. 956 health centers distributed over 12 million test kits in their communities.
365 health centers ordered over 125,000 courses of therapeutics – 59% were administered to racial and ethnic minorities.

Health centers continue to play a critical role to keep communities healthy throughout the pandemic. As a reminder, any HRSA-supported health center is welcome to join these programs. Submit a ticket via the BPHC Contact Form if you’re interested.

Special and Vulnerable Populations COVID-19 Forum

Join HRSA-funded National Training and Technical Assistance Partners (NTTAPs) and their featured speaker from CDC’s Post-COVID Conditions Team – Dr. Jennifer Cope – for a session focusing on long COVID and its status, challenges, and promising practices. You’ll have the chance to provide feedback and identify health center needs relative to COVID-19 and preparedness for future outbreaks and other emergencies.

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