On Friday, April 14, Secretary Becerra announced that in the coming weeks, he will issue an amendment to the declaration under the PREP Act for medical countermeasures against COVID-19. The PREP Act declaration has been a key tool for ensuring that Americans have broad access to critical COVID-19 countermeasures including vaccines, tests, and treatments. The PREP Act declaration has provided flexibilities and protections for those individuals and entities who have been involved in providing these critical tools that have helped the United States get to a better place with COVID-19. For the past three years, much of the health care landscape—including pharmacies—has relied on these flexibilities and liability protections. By issuing this amendment, the Secretary of HHS intends to allow pharmacies to continue their critical roles in our response, even after certain products transition to traditional health care pathways.
In the month remaining before the end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) declared under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act, HHS will continue to work closely with its partners, including Governors, state, local, Tribal, and territorial agencies, industry, and advocates to ensure an orderly transition.
Read the full statement from HHS online.