The COVID Project
The record
- Jurisdiction
- United States
- Level
- Federal
- Authority
- Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act, PHS Act § 319F-3 (42 U.S.C. § 247d-6d)
- Issued
- 2020-03-10 Mar. 10, 2020
- Effective
- 2020-02-04 ('The Declaration was effective as of February 4, 2020') (read as 2020-02-04)
- End
- effective period through October 1, 2024 (§ XII, as amended) (read as 2024-10-01)
- In force
- Feb. 4, 2020 to Oct. 1, 2024
- Quarters
- 2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
- Limitation types
- Emergency declarationHealth care orders
- Addressees
- manufacturers, distributors, program planners and qualified persons administering covered countermeasures (tests, PPE, vaccines, treatments)
- Functions reached
- context: the federal legal framework under which pharmacies, employers' clinics, and later dental and other practitioners administered tests and vaccines
- Collection
- Federal health, safety and transport layer FED-A
Operative words
The Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to issue a Declaration to provide liability immunity to certain individuals and entities (Covered Persons) against any claim of loss caused by, arising out of, relating to, or resulting from the manufacture, distribution, administration, or use of medical countermeasures (Covered Countermeasures), except for claims involving 'willful misconduct' as defined in the PREP Act.... DATES: The Declaration was effective as of February 4, 2020.
Enforcement
Liability immunity; amended nine times through 2021 (85 Fed. Reg. 21012; 35100; 52136; 79190; 86 Fed. Reg. 7872; 9516; 14462; 41977; 51160)
Notes
CONTEXT ONLY (framework, not an order limiting commerce). Its amendments authorized pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to administer COVID-19 tests and vaccines nationwide, preempting State scope-of-practice limits (Third and Fourth Amendments).
Retrieval noteAmendment citations from the Federal Register API listing read Sept. 26, 2026 (verified_secondary as to content).