Health Law Scan

Members of our healthcare and life sciences teams recently published an analysis of key insurance, liability, and enforcement considerations for organizations providing vaccine access. Highlights include the state and federal laws providing protection to organizations during an outbreak of an infectious disease, what is important for private employers contemplating the administration of closed point-of-delivery vaccination programs to know, and current enforcement trends.

Given the significant push to vaccinate the public since the start of 2021, the increasing availability of vaccines, and the need to recruit additional personnel to administer vaccinations, the secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has again amended its declaration under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) to accommodate some workforce barriers that had not been previously contemplated.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has made the development and use of drug and device products to diagnose, treat, or prevent COVID-19 essential. Companies and healthcare providers that develop, manufacture, distribute, or use COVID-19 countermeasures, such as diagnostic tests, ventilators, and personal protective equipment, have had the benefit of potential broad liability protection under the federal Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act. Early on in the pandemic, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a declaration to provide liability protection for COVID-19 countermeasures.