C|M|LAW Library Blog

AmeriCorps and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently launched the Public Health AmeriCorps partnership “to support the recruitment, training, and development of a new generation of public health leaders who will be ready to respond to the nation’s public health needs.”  Public Health AmeriCorps will be supported by $400 million from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Pub. L. No. 117-2), and will fund up to 5,000 AmeriCorps positions over the next five years.  Funding “is open to nonprofit, faith-based and community-based organizations; higher-education institutions; state, local and territorial government entities …; and Indian Tribes.”  AmeriCorps is hosting several technical assistance calls, webinars and workshops on the new Public Health AmeriCorps funding opportunity, and the application deadline is 5pm Monday 11/8/2021.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently granted an application by the Alabama Association of Realtors, et al. to vacate stay of the judgment by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that vacated the Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC) Eviction Moratorium order.  The CDC originally issued an order “under Section 361 of the Public Health Service Act” (codified at 42 U.S.C. § 264) “to temporarily halt residential evictions to prevent the further spread of COVID-19,” effective 9/4/2020 through 12/31/2020. [See 85 Fed. Reg. 55,292.]  On 12/27/2020, the U.S. Congress extended the CDC order through 1/31/2021. [See Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, Pub. L. No. 116-260, Title V, Subtitle A, §502 (1/3/2020).]  The CDC continued to extend the Eviction Moratorium order through 3/31/2021, 6/30/2021, and 7/31/2021, then issued a new temporary order on 8/3/2021 to be effective through 10/3/2021. [See 86 Fed. Reg. 8,020, 86 Fed. Reg. 16,731, 86 Fed. Reg. 34,010, and 86 Fed. Reg. 43,244.]  The 8/26/2021 U.S. Supreme Court per curiam opinion states “our system does not permit agencies to act unlawfully even in pursuit of desirable ends,” and “if a federally imposed eviction moratorium is to continue, Congress must specifically authorize it.”  Information for affected tenants is available on the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Ohio Legal Help websites.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine “for the prevention of COVID-19 disease in individuals 16 years of age and older.”  The vaccine will be marketed as Comirnaty, and will continue to be available under emergency use authorization (EUA) “for individuals 12 through 15 years of age and for the administration of a third dose in certain immunocompromised individuals.”  The FDA analyzed effectiveness data from approximately 20,000 vaccine and 20,000 placebo recipients, which showed Comirnaty was 91% effective in preventing COVID-19 disease.  The FDA evaluated safety data from 22,000 vaccine and 22,000 placebo recipients, as well as post-authorization safety surveillance data pertaining to myocarditis and pericarditis.  Vaccine safety will continue to be monitored by the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the FDA is requiring BioNTech “to conduct postmarketing studies to further assess the risks of myocarditis and pericarditis following vaccination.”

Many readers know that C|M|LAW has a Center for Health Law and Policy. When starting your research in health law, refer to the law library’s Center for Health Law and Policy Guide, which contains resources such as statute and regulation information, top books, databases, websites, blogs,  journals, and other periodicals.

The law library subscribes to Health Affairs, which can be accessed through the Law Databases link on the library homepage. CSU’s Michael Schwartz (main) Library also has a number of other helpful databases related to health including MEDLINE, PubMed, and others.

As always, you can contact a reference librarian with any questions; the best way to reach us is via email at research.services@csuohio.edu.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently updated its Guidance for COVID-19 Prevention.  The CDC acted in response to the increased spread of the highly transmissible Delta (B.1.617.2) variant, which has become a variant of concern.  “Local decision-makers” who are considering prevention strategies should now assess the “level of SARS-CoV-2 community transmission, health system capacity, vaccination coverage, capacity for early detection of increases in COVID-19 cases, and populations at risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19.”  CDC also updated its guidance for fully vaccinated people, including wearing masks in particular settings.  For additional information, see the CDC COVID-19 Guidance portal.