Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act

rdf:langString Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act

rdf:langString December 2005

rdf:langString Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act

rdf:langString PREPA

rdf:langString The Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREPA), passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by President of the United States George W. Bush in December 2005 (as part of Pub.L. 109–148 (text) (PDF)), is a controversial tort liability shield intended to protect vaccine manufacturers from financial risk in the event of a declared public health emergency. The part of PREPA that actually affords such protection is now codified at 42 U.S.C. § 247d-6d. The act specifically affords to drug makers immunity from actions related to the manufacture, testing, development, distribution, administration and use of medical countermeasures against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear agents of terrorism, epidemics, and pandemics. PREPA strengthens and consolidates the oversight of litigation against pharmaceutical companies under the purview of the secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). PREPA provides $3.8 billion for pandemic influenza preparedness to protect public health in the case of a pandemic disease outbreak. Vaccine manufacturers lobbied for the legislation, which would effectively preempt state vaccine safety laws in the case of an emergency declaration by HHS, by making clear they would not produce new vaccines unless the legislation was enacted. Wikisource has original text related to this article:Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act During and in the aftermath of the 2020–21 COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, PREPA is being invoked in a variety of lawsuits, many involving skilled nursing or assisted living facilities where COVID-19 countermeasures including the administration or non-administration of vaccines is said to have resulted in or contributed to resident deaths. Although PREPA was around for more than 15 years, prior to COVID-19, the act's defensive application in litigation was not widespread, but now the application of the act is being included more frequently in a variety of COVID-19 related lawsuits, including Shareholder Derivative Litigation.

rdf:langString PREPA

rdf:langString Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act