28166 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 99 / Tuesday, May 22, 2001 / Notices

of patient satisfaction and service

utilization to assess the National Centers

of Excellence in Women’s Health

program. This proposed collection of

information would survey women in

three communities with a Center of

Excellence in Women’s Health (CoE), to

compare the data with CoE patient data

and national benchmark data. The

information will be used to inform the

analysis conducted for the CoE study.

Respondents: Individuals; Number of

Respondents: 600; Frequency of

Response: one time; Burden per

Response: 15 minutes; Total Burden:

150 hours.

Send comments to Cynthia Agens

Bauer, OS Reports Clearance Officer,

Room 503H, Humphrey Building, 200

Independence Avenue SW.,

Washington, DC 20201. Written

comments should be received within 60

days of this notice.

Dated: May 9, 2001.

Kerry Weems,

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary, Budget.

[FR Doc. 01–12776 Filed 5–21–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4150–33–M

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services

Administration

National Vaccine Injury Compensation

Program: Addition of Pneumococcal

Conjugate Vaccines to the Vaccine

Injury Table

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services

Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: Through this notice, the

Secretary announces that pneumococcal

conjugate vaccines are now covered

vaccines under the National Vaccine

Injury Compensation Program (VICP),

which provides a system of no-fault

compensation for certain individuals

who have been injured by covered

childhood vaccines. This notice serves

to include pneumococcal conjugate

vaccines under Category XIII (new

vaccines) of the Vaccine Injury Table

(Table), which lists the vaccines covered

under the VICP. This notice ensures that

petitioners may file petitions relating to

pneumococcal conjugate vaccines with

the VICP even before such vaccines are

added as a separate and distinct

category to the Table through

rulemaking.

DATES: This Notice is effective on May

22, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Geoffrey Evans, Medical Director,

Division of Vaccine Injury

Compensation, BHPr, HRSA, Parklawn

Building, Room 8A–46, 5600 Fishers

Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857;

telephone number (301) 443–4198.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

statute authorizing the VICP provides

for the inclusion of additional vaccines

in the VICP when they are

recommended by the CDC to the

Secretary for routine administration to

children. (See section 2114(e)(2) of the

Public Health Service (PHS) Act, 42

U.S.C. 300aa–14(e)(2).) Consistent with

section 13632(a)(3) of Pub. L. 103–66,

the regulations governing the VICP

provide that such vaccines will be

included in the Table as of the effective

date of an excise tax to provide funds

for the payment of compensation with

respect to such vaccines. (42 CFR

100.3(c)(4)).

The two prerequisites for adding

pneumococcal conjugate vaccines to the

VICP as covered vaccines as well as to

the Table have been satisfied. First, on

December 17, 1999, the excise tax for

pneumococcal conjugate vaccines was

enacted by Pub. L. 106–170, the Ticket

to Work and Work Incentives

Improvement Act of 1999, with an

effective date of December 18, 1999.

Section 523 of this Act provides that all

conjugate vaccines against streptococcus

pneumoniae (pneumococcus) are added

to section 4132(a)(1) of the Internal

Revenue Code of 1986, which defines

all taxable vaccines. Second, the CDC

published its recommendation that

pneumococcal conjugate vaccines be

routinely administered to children up to

23 months of age in the October 6, 2000,

issue of the Morbidity and Mortality

Weekly Report.

Under the regulations governing the

VICP, Item XIII of the Table specifies

that ‘‘[a]ny new vaccine recommended

by the [CDC] for routine administration

to children, after publication by the

Secretary of a notice of coverage’’ is a

covered vaccine under the Table. (42

CFR 100.3(a), Item XIII.) As explained

above, CDC’s recommendation has been

made. This Notice serves to satisfy the

regulation’s publication requirement.

Through this notice, pneumococcal

conjugate vaccines are now included as

covered vaccines under Category XIII of

the Table. Because the CDC only

recommended pneumococcal conjugate

vaccines to the Secretary for routine

administration to children,

polysaccharide-type pneumococcal

vaccines are not covered under the VICP

or included on the Table.

Under section 2114(e) of the PHS Act,

as amended by section 13632(a) of the

Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of

1993, a revision to the Table adding a

vaccine recommended by the CDC for

routine administration to children shall

take effect upon the effective date of the

tax enacted to provide funds for

compensation with respect to the

vaccine added to the Table. Thus,

pneumococcal conjugate vaccines are

included in the Table under Category

XIII with an effective date of December

18, 1999. Petitioners may file petitions

related to pneumococcal conjugate

vaccines as of May 22, 2001.

The Secretary plans to amend the

Table through the rulemaking process

by including pneumococcal conjugate

vaccines as a separate category of

vaccines in the Table. December 18,

1999, will remain the applicable

effective date when the Secretary makes

a corresponding amendment to add

pneumococcal conjugate vaccines as a

separate category on the Table through

rulemaking.

Dated: May 15, 2001.

Elizabeth James Duke,

Acting Administrator.

[FR Doc. 01–12808 Filed 5–21–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160–15–M

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention

[30 DAY–31–01]

Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork

Reduction Act Review

The Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC) publishes a list of

information collection requests under

review by the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) in compliance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.

chapter 35). To request a copy of these

requests, call the CDC Reports Clearance

Officer at (404) 639–7090. Send written

comments to CDC, Desk Officer; Human

Resources and Housing Branch, New

Executive Office Building, Room 10235;

Washington, DC 20503. Written

comments should be received within 30

days of this notice.

Proposed Project

Alaska Air Carrier Operator and Pilot

Survey—NEW—National Institute for

Occupational Safety and Health

(NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention (CDC). The mission of

the National Institute for Occupational

Safety and Health is to promote safety

and health at work for all people

through research and prevention.

There is evidence that a

disproportionate number of all U.S.

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 99 / Tuesday, May 22, 2001 / Notices 28167

aircraft crashes occur in Alaska.

Between 1990–1998 there were 823

commuter and air taxi crashes in the

U.S., of which 229 (28 percent) were

fatal, resulting in 653 deaths. Alaska

accounted for 304 (37 percent) of the

total crashes, 49 of which were fatal (21

percent of the U.S. fatal crashes),

resulting in 131 deaths (20 percent of all

U.S. deaths) (NTSB Aviation Accident

Database, 1999). Aviation crashes are

now the leading cause of occupational

fatalities in Alaska.

To address this compelling

occupational issue in Alaska, Congress

supported implementation of a federal

initiative to reduce aviation-related

injuries and fatalities. The initiative is a

three-year commitment led by a

partnership of four federal agencies who

share an interest in promoting aviation

safety and preventing aircraft crashes—

the Federal Aviation Administration

(FAA), the National Transportation

Safety Board (NTSB), National Weather

Service (NWS), and the National

Institute for Occupational Safety and

Health (NIOSH). The purpose of this

joint initiative is to reduce the number

of aircraft crashes and deaths, and

promote aviation safety within the air

transportation industry in Alaska.

This initiative complements another

federal/industry initiative to reduce

aviation fatalities—the Capstone

Program. The Capstone Program,

currently implemented in the Bethel,

Alaska area includes installation of

improved avionics in aircraft used in

FAR part 135 operations, an improved

ground infrastructure for weather

information, data link communications

and Flight Information Services, and the

development of new GIS-based nonprecision instruction approaches at

remote airports.

As part of these initiatives, air carrier

operators and pilots will be surveyed to

obtain information on what they

perceive are the risks and hazards

contributing to aircraft accidents in

Alaska, their opinion about current

safety programs, and what they think

could be done to improve aviation

safety. This information will be

analyzed to identify common risk

factors, compare them to risk factors

identified from analysis of accident

reports and published literature, and

assess the effectiveness of current and

new potential safety interventions.

These findings will be useful to Alaska’s

air transportation industry for trend

information to evaluate interventions.

To reduce the total respondent burden

and increase efficiency in data

collection, we are coordinating and

combining the information gathering

process for both the joint initiative and

a safety study of the Capstone initiative

into one effort. The joint initiative will

conduct two statewide surveys:

Approximately 400 participants in the

air carrier operator survey and 500

participants in the pilot survey. The

Capstone safety study will add

questions to both surveys for

respondents in the implementation area,

and in addition will continue to survey

pilots using Capstone equipment for the

duration of that program (through fall

2002). Follow up surveys to assess the

effectiveness of the implementation

measures would re-survey

approximately half of the original

statewide sample: about 200 air carrier

operators and 250 pilots.

We will use the results of the initial

statewide surveys to (1) recommend

ways to improve air transportation

safety; (2) identify measures to put the

recommendations into effect; and (3)

guide the ongoing research. Follow up

surveys will assess the effectiveness of

the program and identify potential

improvements. We will use the results

of the Capstone study surveys to assess

the effectiveness of that program and to

recommend improvements. The

information can be obtained only from

the respondents, as it requests

information on skills, knowledge,

attitudes, and business practices for

which no other source is available. The

total annual burden for this collection is

670 hours.

Respondents Number of respondents

Number of

responses

per respondent

Avg. burden

per response

(in hrs.)

Operators Survey ............................................................................................ 200 ..................................................... 1 30/60

Capstone Questions for Capstone area Operators ........................................ 30 (subset of 200) .............................. 1 15/60

Pilot Survey ..................................................................................................... 400 ..................................................... 1 30/60

Capstone Questions for Capstone area Pilots ............................................... 50 (subset of 400) .............................. 1 15/60

Capstone Pilots not in AIASI Survey .............................................................. 100 ..................................................... 1 30/60

Follow-up survey of Operators ........................................................................ 200 ..................................................... 1 30/60

Follow-up survey of Pilots ............................................................................... 400 ..................................................... 1 60

Dated: May 10, 2001.

Nancy E. Cheal,

Acting Associate Direct for Policy Planning,

and Evaluation, Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention (CDC).

[FR Doc. 01–12773 Filed 5–21–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4163–18–P

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention

[30 DAY–35–01]

Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork

Reduction Act Review

The Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC) publishes a list of

information collection requests under

review by the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) in compliance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.

chapter 35). To request a copy of these

requests, call the CDC Reports Clearance

Officer at (404) 639–7090. Send written

comments to CDC, Desk Officer; Human

Resources and Housing Branch, New

Executive Office Building, Room 10235;

Washington, DC 20503. Written

comments should be received within 30

days of this notice.

Proposed Project

National Disease Surveillance

Program—I. Case Reports (0920–0009)—

Extension—National Center for

Infectious Diseases (NCID), Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Formal surveillance of 22 separate

reportable diseases has been ongoing to

meet the public demand and scientific

interest for accurate, consistent,

epidemiologic data. These ongoing

diseases include: Bacterial meningitis,