The White House Approved on Monday a list of resources and guidance from the Health and Human Resources, Justice, Education and Labor departments for people with “long-term COVD” such as: B. How it can be considered a disability under various civil rights laws and how it provides protection against discrimination for these individuals. This publication was made in connection with the White House commemoration of the 31st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Here are some of the other recent headlines that you may have overlooked.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to reverse the decision made two months ago and recommend vaccinated people in some parts of the country wear masks indoors. The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

When asked about updated guidelines during Monday’s briefing, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said, “For any of these recommendations, we will always be guided by our North Star – and they are the CDC and our health and medical experts.” Also, “It would actually be surprising and strange if our health and medical experts weren’t actively discussing how best to protect the American people.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases, told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday that the return of masks for people who have been vaccinated is “actively being considered.” politics reported on Monday on the administration’s discussions on new guidelines.

During Monday’s briefing, Psaki provided the following answers to a variety of other questions about how federal agencies are responding to the pandemic as the Delta variant spreads:

  • Has it been determined whether it would be illegal or inappropriate for the president to require vaccination from military and civilian federal employees? “It wasn’t found to be illegal, no. But we haven’t made up our minds yet, ”said Psaki. Shortly after the briefing, the Veterans Affairs Department announced that it was required to be vaccinated.
  • The Federal Aviation Administration’s mask requirement on domestic flights expires in September. Do you expect it to stay that way? Psaki didn’t have any updates.
  • Why has President Biden not yet nominated a candidate for the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration? “He’s definitely eager to nominate someone, ”said Psaki. “He wants to make sure we have the right person for the nomination and he won’t do this any faster than presenting the right person.”
  • Regarding travel restrictions for foreigners: “With the Delta variant, we will retain existing travel restrictions at this point for a number of reasons,” said Psaki. “The more easily transferable delta variant is spreading here and around the world. Driven by the Delta variant, cases here at home are on the rise, especially among those who are not vaccinated, and are likely to continue in the coming weeks. ”Reuters first reported this happened.
  • Should US citizens overseas who have been waiting for a vaccination fly back to the US or wait in the countries they live in? Will the embassies do more to help them? Will some of the vaccines the United States donated overseas go to these Americans? “That’s a really good question. I know that, as far as I know, we have not yet worked through embassies on programs with American citizens, ”said Psaki. “Let me check with the State Department and our COVID team and see if there is more to it.”

After the news of the VA requiring vaccines for medical personnel, Government executive asked the Department of Defense if it plans to make a similar requirement and a Department of Defense spokesman said Monday night, “There has been no change in DoD policy for the vaccine.”

The Department of Homeland Security announced on Monday evening that it would resume the expedited deportation procedure for certain families exempt from the pandemic border policy. This is an expedited process that allows some non-citizens to be deported without hearing from an immigration judge, e.g. accordingly the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

Dr. Anthony Fauci is sponsoring a billion-dollar-a-year plan to make drugs ahead of the next pandemic. The New York Times reported. “The idea is to produce ‘prototype’ vaccines to protect against viruses from around 20 families that could trigger a new pandemic,” the report said. Dr. Barney Graham, associate director of the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, first presented this plan at a private meeting in February 2017.

In a report released Monday, the Government Accountability Office said there was limited transparency and oversight over the use of. by some authorities alternative contract methods during the pandemic. Defense, Health, and Human Services, and Homeland Security “committed at least $ 12.5 billion in relation to COVID-19” [other transaction authority] from March 2020 to March 2021, primarily to accelerate the development and manufacture of vaccines, ”said the report. “Of that $ 12.5 billion, however, at least $ 1.6 billion was underreported because HHS received its [other transaction authority] as procurement contracts, while DoD and DHS did not precisely identify certain ones [other transaction authorities] as COVID-19 related. ”

Upcoming:

  • White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki will be briefing at 12:30 p.m.
  • The CDC will conduct a telebriefing with a coronavirus update at 3 p.m.

Help us understand the situation better. Are you a federal employee, contractor, or military member with information, concerns, etc. about your agency’s handling of the coronavirus? Send us an email at newstips@goveexec.com.