The Department of Health and Human Services will offer $600 million in funding through the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response for the production of new at-home COVID-19 tests. The agency also announced the reopening of COVIDTests.gov, effective Sept. 25, which provides up to four tests per household at no cost.
The move comes as the nation saw a steady two-month increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations between July and September.
HHS also announced Sept. 20 that, through the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, it will offer $45 million in grants to support existing multidisciplinary long COVID clinics across the country, particularly those offering care to underserved, rural, vulnerable, and minority populations disproportionately affected by long COVID, a prolonged illness that develops after COVID-19.
Data reported Sept. 26 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics 2022 National Health Interview Survey indicate that about 18 million Americans have had long COVID-19.
FDA Grants EUA to Updated Novavax Vaccine
The Food and Drug Administration on Oct. 3 amended the emergency use authorization of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine, Adjuvanted, to include its updated 2023–2024 formula, which targets XBB.1.5, an omicron subvariant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
The updated vaccine is authorized for use in individuals 12 years of age and older.
Visit the America’s Essential Hospitals coronavirus resource page for more information about the pandemic.
Contact Director of Policy Rob Nelb, MPH, at rnelb@essentialhospitals.org or 202.585.0127 with questions.