II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4958 

To provide for a vaccine safety public awareness campaign. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 3, 2020 

Mr. PORTMAN (for himself, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. THUNE, and Mr. MENENDEZ) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To provide for a vaccine safety public awareness campaign. 

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 ‘‘COVID–19 Vaccine 

5 Awareness Support Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. VACCINE SAFETY PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

8 Human Services (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Sec9 retary’’), acting through the Director of the Centers for 

10 Disease Control and Prevention and in coordination with 

11 the Office of Minority Health and the Federal Office of 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 4958 IS

1 Rural Health Policy of the Department of Health and 

2 Human Services, and, as appropriate, with the relevant 

3 Offices of Minority Health of the Department of Health 

4 and Human Services, the National Institute on Minority 

5 Health and Health Disparities, and the Indian Health 

6 Service, shall establish grant funding opportunities for eli7 gible entities to carry out a national, evidence-based cam8 paign to disseminate COVID–19 vaccination information. 

9 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive a 

10 grant under this section, an entity shall— 

11 (1) be a State, local, Tribal, or territorial health 

12 department, an urban Indian organization (as de13 fined in section 4 of the Indian Health Care Im14 provement Act (25 U.S.C. 1603)), a nonprofit com15 munity-based organization, or a nonprofit faith16 based organization; and 

17 (2) agree to— 

18 (A) work in consultation with relevant 

19 State and local health officials, health care pro20 viders, health care facilities, and other appro21 priate stakeholders to carry the campaign under 

22 this section; and 

23 (B) submit to the Secretary, within 30 

24 days of receipt of a grant, a proposed plan for 

25 use of the grant funds. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 4958 IS

1 (c) USE OF FUNDS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Entities receiving a grant 

3 under this section shall use such grant funds to— 

4 (A) increase awareness and knowledge of 

5 the safety and effectiveness of vaccines ap6 proved or authorized by the Food and Drug Ad7 ministration for the prevention and control of 

8 COVID–19 and the benefit of receiving a 

9 COVID–19 vaccine; 

10 (B) provide information on where the vac11 cine can be obtained; and 

12 (C) create multilingual and culturally ap13 propriate messaging to disseminate scientific 

14 and evidence-based information related to vac15 cines. 

16 (2) DETAILS OF CAMPAIGNS.—Information dis17 seminated by an entity receiving a grant under this 

18 section shall— 

19 (A) be based on available scientific evi20 dence; 

21 (B) increase awareness and knowledge of 

22 COVID–19, including countering stigma associ23 ated with COVID–19; 

24 (C) improve information on the availability 

25 of COVID–19 vaccines, including countering 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 4958 IS

1 misinformation and disinformation with evi2 dence-based scientific rebuttals; and 

3 (D) improve awareness and knowledge of 

4 coverage of COVID–19 vaccines. 

5 (d) PRIORITIZATION.—In awarding grants under this 

6 section, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities 

7 in either urban or rural communities (or a combination 

8 of urban and rural communities) that serve vulnerable 

9 populations, including communities of color, which may in10 clude low-income, uninsured, and medically underserved 

11 individuals or populations with historically low rates of re12 ceiving vaccines. 

13 (e) TIMING.—The Secretary shall awards the grants 

14 under this section not later than 30 days after the earlier 

15 of— 

16 (1) the date on which the Food and Drug Ad17 ministration licenses a COVID–19 vaccine under 

18 section 351 of the Public Health Service Act (42 

19 U.S.C. 262); or 

20 (2) the date on which a manufacturer begins to 

21 distribute a COVID–19 vaccine to public or private 

22 entities pursuant to an emergency use authorization 

23 under section 564 of the Federal Food, Drug, and 

24 Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 360bbb–3). 

25 (f) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 4958 IS

1 (1) conduct qualitative assessments regarding 

2 the campaign under this section; and 

3 (2) not later than one year after the date of en4 actment of this Act, prepare and submit to the Com5 mittee on Appropriations and the Committee on 

6 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Sen7 ate and the Committee on Appropriations and the 

8 Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House 

9 of Representatives an evaluation of the campaign 

10 under this section. 

11 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

12 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

13 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2021. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS