FDA advises vaccine manufacturers to incorporate an omicron variant component into booster doses; Pfizer requests FDA approval of antiviral pill Paxlovid.

CDC recommends the Moderna vaccine for kids ages 6 to 17; an FDA committee will consider modifying COVID-19 vaccine composition to reflect virus mutations.

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act seeks to close gaps in current gun safety laws and bolster mental health care, including through new support for hospitals and other providers.

The committee released a discussion draft of policies to improve youth mental health, the second of an expected five discussion drafts from the committee in advance of their full mental health legislative proposal.

CDC recommends that children ages 6 months to 5 years receive a COVID-19 vaccine; Pfizer study data shows Paxlovid failed to alleviate COVID-19 symptoms.

CDC no longer requires a negative COVID-19 test or proof of COVID-19 recovery from travelers to the United States; an FDA advisory committee recommends the Novavax vaccine.

Amid gun control negotiations and the Jan. 6 hearings, House appropriators will unveil their initial plans for fiscal 2023 spending with a goal of marking up all 12 appropriations bills before the July Fourth recess.

An FDA advisory committee deliberates the safety of Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine and will consider amendments to Pfizer's and Moderna's authorization requests later this month.

Both chambers of Congress return from the Memorial Day recess to a packed legislative agenda, including possible action on curbing gun violence following the Uvalde, Texas, shootings. Democratic leaders continue to negotiate possible paths to infrastructure legislation.

FDA extended the shelf life of select lots of bebtelovimab and updated the authorization for Evusheld to include information about hypersensitivity risks.

Congress last week passed aid for the Ukraine war effort but remains stalled on a $10 billion COVID-19 funding bill. A group of three House caucuses of Black, Hispanic, and Asian Pacific American lawmakers have introduced health equity legislation.

Pfizer and BioNTech release promising data on a three-dose COVID-19 vaccine for children six months to younger than 5; CDC expands booster shot eligibility to include everyone 5 years old and older.

HHS urges governors to start planning for the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency; FDA authorizes a Pfizer booster vaccine for children ages 5 to 11.

House and Senate lawmakers work to finalize a roughly $40 billion aid package for Ukraine but remain stalled on consideration of a COVID-19 aid package; a House panel considers two bills to reauthorize various federal health programs.

FDA limits authorized use of the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine after reports of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome following vaccination; a new analysis estimates vaccines are associated with $2.6 million in savings due to a reduction in Medicare hospitalizations.

The bipartisan legislation would reauthorize programs under the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and Health Resources and Services Administration and is timed to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Month.

A new omicron subvariant, BA.2.12.1, constitutes more than 30 percent of U.S. genomic sequences; Moderna files for emergency use authorization for a vaccine for children younger than 6.

Despite receiving bipartisan support in the Senate, a $10 billion COVID-19 relief bill remains stalled. The outlook for congressional action is uncertain, given a lack of clarity on legislative packages that might emerge in the coming weeks and months.

House and Senate lawmakers returned this week to Washington, D.C., and a full agenda, which could include renewed consideration of a $10 billion COVID-19 funding bill and work on a budget reconciliation measure.

Moderna releases promising preliminary data on its variant-specific COVID-19 booster shot; CDC launches a Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics.

A federal judge in Florida ruled against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) travel mask requirement, ending the Transportation Security Administration's enforcement of the mandate. But the CDC continues to recommend masking during traveling.

President Joe Biden announces a national research plan on prolonged illness developed after COVID-19; FDA limits authorization of sotrovimab to treat COVID-19.

Congress began a two-week recess without passing a bipartisan, $10 billion COVID-19 relief bill. Negotiations on the bill were derailed by immigration policy changes recently announced by the White House.

Recommendations for Medicare and Medicaid equity measures under development focus on standardized data collection and opportunities for testing and feedback.

Party leaders in the Senate announced a compromise package that would fund $10 billion in COVID-19 relief for therapeutics, vaccines, and pandemic prevention. Meanwhile, a House panel continues work on legislation to aid small businesses.

CDC recommends an additional COVID-19 booster for older and immunocompromised adults; COVID.gov aggregates COVID-19 prevention and treatment tools; CDC data show threats to youth mental health during the pandemic.

Congressional panels will review President Joe Biden's fiscal year 2023 budget request. Sens. Robert Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) have asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate low vaccination rates among Medicaid beneficiaries.

Hopes are slim for additional COVID-19 relief this week, with the House out of session and the Senate focused on a Supreme Court confirmation. Meanwhile, bipartisan legislation would extend the Acute Hospital Care at Home waiver program for two years past the end of the public health emergency. 

President Joe Biden signed a $1.5 trillion fiscal year 2022 spending package; he already signed a four-day continuing resolution to provide time for the omnibus spending measure to move forward. 

The association seeks hospital feedback on unintended cuts to disproportionate share hospital payments that resulted from Section 203 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. President Joe Biden nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the 116th associate justice of the Supreme Court.