I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5729 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants for increasing 

seasonal influenza vaccination rates, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 30, 2020 

Mr. LARSEN of Washington (for himself, Mr. LANGEVIN, and Mr. CARSON of 

Indiana) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants 

for increasing seasonal influenza vaccination rates, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Americans 

5 from Seasonal Influenza Act of 2020’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR INCREASING SEASONAL INFLUENZA 

2 VACCINATION RATES. 

3 The Public Health Service Act is amended by insert4 ing after section 317T of such Act (42 U.S.C. 247b–22) 

5 the following new section: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 317U. GRANTS FOR INCREASING SEASONAL INFLU7 ENZA VACCINATION RATES. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 

9 the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Pre10 vention, shall award grants to State health agencies to im11 plement programs to increase seasonal influenza vaccina12 tion rates. 

13 ‘‘(b) NUMBER OF GRANTS.—Subject to the avail14 ability of appropriations, the Secretary shall award no 

15 fewer than five and not more than 20 grants under this 

16 section. 

17 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY.—A State health agency is eligible 

18 to receive a grant under this section only if the average 

19 seasonal influenza vaccination rates in the State involved 

20 for the last three influenza seasons— 

21 ‘‘(1) are below the rates recommended by the 

22 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part 

23 of the Healthy People 2020 initiative; or 

24 ‘‘(2) otherwise fail to meet any subsequent goal 

25 for influenza vaccination established by the Director 

26 of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 


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1 ‘‘(d) ELEMENTS.—As a condition on receipt of a 

2 grant under this section to implement programs intended 

3 to increase seasonal influenza vaccination rates, a State 

4 health agency shall agree to include in the program at 

5 least one of the following elements: 

6 ‘‘(1) Increasing outreach to vulnerable popu7 lations, including pregnant and nursing mothers, the 

8 elderly, immunocompromised individuals, and young 

9 children. 

10 ‘‘(2) Increasing outreach to populations most 

11 likely to be exposed to influenza, including health 

12 professionals and college students. 

13 ‘‘(3) Encouraging employer-based vaccination 

14 programs. 

15 ‘‘(4) Coordinating between health care providers 

16 and insurers to reduce the out-of-pocket costs of 

17 vaccinations. 

18 ‘‘(5) Conducting a public awareness campaign 

19 on the burden of seasonal influenza. 

20 ‘‘(6) Any other element determined by the Di21 rector of the Centers for Disease Control and Pre22 vention to reduce infections, hospitalizations, or fa23 talities associated with, or the economic burden of, 

24 seasonal influenza. 


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1 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To 

2 carry out this section, there is authorized to be appro3 priated $10,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2021 

4 through 2023.’’. 

Æ 


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