Coronavirus Roundup: Questions on Vaccine and Testing Programs for Feds; COVID Oversight Committee Boosts Use of Analytics and AI  

The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the Biden administration's latest coronavirus eviction moratorium, following a challenge from real estate groups and landlords. The moratorium was set to expire on October 3.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement on Thursday night the administration is “disappointed” in the court’s ruling. “President Biden is once again calling on all entities that can prevent evictions—from cities and states to local courts, landlords, Cabinet agencies—to urgently act to prevent evictions,” she said. Here are some of the other recent headlines you might have missed. 

Professional organizations that represent federal managers are worried that there are still some unresolved issues with the vaccination attestation and testing process for federal employees, Federal News Network reported on Wednesday. “Guidance has been ‘minimal’ and the planning to date has been ‘stressful’ for managers and supervisors, said Craig Carter, national president of the Federal Managers Association,” according to the report. Also, “paying for a testing program for federal employees — regardless of its size and scope — has raised many questions among managers.”

Moderna completed its submission to the Food and Drug Administration for full approval for its vaccine on Wednesday. “This [biologics license application] submission for our COVID-19 vaccine, which we began in June, is an important milestone in our battle against COVID-19 and for Moderna, as this is the first [biologics license application] submission in our company’s history,” said Stéphane Bancel, Moderna CEO.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s advisory committee on immunization practices will have a meeting on August 30 to vote on recommending the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for individuals 16 years of age and older, according to a notice in the Federal Register. The FDA gave that vaccine full approval on Monday. 

The Health and Human Services Department is using billions of dollars in coronavirus relief funds to pay for the care of unaccompanied immigrant minors at the Southern border, Politico reported on Thursday. “An HHS spokesperson downplayed the moves, noting they account for only a fraction of the COVID funds allocated to HHS — and that they wouldn’t disrupt any department activities,” said the report. “But the reshuffling offers a window into the growing financial toll that caring for thousands of unaccompanied kids is taking on HHS — and a reminder that the administration is still grappling with an unprecedented influx of migrants at its Southern border.”

HHS hired four outside firms to audit coronavirus grants given to hospitals and health care providers, Stat News reported on Friday.

Merle DeLancey Jr., partner at the law firm Blank Rome LLP, summarized in a post this week the Veterans Health Administration’s vaccine mandate guidance as it impacts contractors. “Presumably, for contractor employees and visitors, noncompliance, at a minimum, will preclude entry into or removal from a VHA facility,” he wrote. “If the noncompliance by contractor personnel prohibits the contractor’s performance of contractual obligations, it may result in a contract breach or early termination.” He advised contractors to seek help from their contracting officers or the VA office in order to resolve potential issues. 

The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee is awarding a two-year contract to a technology firm to use artificial intelligence and data analytics to help oversee the more than $5 trillion in coronavirus relief. “This contract is important to the PRAC’s strategic approach in auditing the loans distributed across the federal government by agencies such as the Small Business Administration, Health and Human Services and Department of Treasury, among others,” said a press release. 

Related, earlier this week the committee announced it established a Pandemic Analytics Center of Excellence to “provide risk models to both assist oversight professionals with prioritizing program recipients for audit and investigation, including triaging fraud complaints received from the public,” among other things.

The Washington Post published an investigation on Thursday about how in 2017 top officials at the National Institutes of Health loosened controls on “gain of function” research that is controversial because “experiments that increase the transmissibility or virulence of certain strains of flu and coronaviruses create high risk. If such a pathogen infected a scientist or otherwise escaped, a pandemic could result.” However, Drs. Francis Collins, NIH director, and Anthony Fauci, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director, disputed that this change weakened oversight and said there are still safeguards in place. 

Upcoming: White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki will give a briefing at 1 p.m.

Help us understand the situation better. Are you a federal employee, contractor or military member with information, concerns, etc. about how your agency is handling the coronavirus? Email us at newstips@govexec.com.