Impact of Health Misinformation in the Digital Information Environment in the United States Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic Request for Information (RFI), 12712-12714 [2022-04777]
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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 44 / Monday, March 7, 2022 / Notices
for laboratories out of compliance, and
accreditation organization resources.
Therefore, we have determined that the
requirements of the accreditation
program submitted for approval are
equal to or more stringent than the
requirements of the CLIA regulations.
B. Subpart H—Participation in
Proficiency Testing for Laboratories
Performing Nonwaived Testing
We have determined that COLA’s
requirements are equal to or more
stringent than the CLIA requirements at
§§ 493.801 through 493.865.
C. Subpart J—Facility Administration
for Nonwaived Testing
We have determined that COLA’s
requirements for the specialty of
Pathology to include Histopathology,
Cytology and Oral Pathology are equal
to or more stringent than the CLIA
requirements at §§ 493.1100 through
493.1105.
D. Subpart K—Quality System for
Nonwaived Testing
We have determined that COLA’s
requirements for the specialty of
Pathology to include Histopathology,
Cytology and Oral Pathology are equal
to or more stringent than the CLIA
requirements at §§ 493.1200 through
493.1299.
E. Subpart M—Personnel for Nonwaived
Testing
We have determined that COLA’s
requirements for the specialty of
Pathology to include Histopathology,
Cytology and Oral Pathology are equal
to or more stringent than the CLIA
requirements at §§ 493.1403 through
493.1495 for laboratories that perform
moderate and high complexity testing.
F. Subpart Q—Inspection
We have determined that COLA’s
requirements for the specialty of
Pathology to include Histopathology,
Cytology and Oral Pathology are equal
to or more stringent than the CLIA
requirements at §§ 493.1771 through
493.1780.
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G. Subpart R—Enforcement Procedures
We have determined that COLA’s
requirements for the specialty of
Pathology to include Histopathology,
Cytology and Oral Pathology meet the
requirements of subpart R to the extent
that it applies to accreditation
organizations. COLA policy sets forth
the actions the organization takes when
laboratories it accredits do not comply
with its requirements and standards for
accreditation. When appropriate, COLA
will deny, suspend, or revoke
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accreditation in a laboratory accredited
by COLA and report that action to us
within 30 days. COLA also provides an
appeal process for laboratories that have
had accreditation denied, suspended, or
revoked.
We have determined that COLA’s
laboratory enforcement and appeal
policies are equal to or more stringent
than the requirements of part 493
subpart R as they apply to accreditation
organizations.
IV. Federal Validation Inspections and
Continuing Oversight
The Federal validation inspections of
laboratories accredited by COLA may be
conducted on a representative sample
basis or in response to substantial
allegations of noncompliance (that is,
complaint inspections). The outcome of
those validation inspections, performed
by CMS or our agents, or the State
survey agencies, will be our principal
means for verifying that the laboratories
accredited by COLA remain in
compliance with CLIA requirements.
This Federal monitoring is an ongoing
process.
V. Removal of Approval as an
Accrediting Organization
CLIA regulations at § 493.575 provide
that we may rescind the approval of an
accreditation organization, such as that
of COLA, before the end of the effective
date of approval in certain
circumstances. For example, If we
determine that COLA has failed to
adopt, maintain and enforce
requirements that are equal to, or more
stringent than, the CLIA requirements,
or that systemic problems exist in its
monitoring, inspection or enforcement
processes, we may impose a
probationary period, not to exceed 1
year, in which COLA would be allowed
to address any identified issues. Should
COLA be unable to address the
identified issues within that timeframe,
CMS may, in accordance with the
applicable regulations, revoke COLA’s
deeming authority under CLIA.
Should circumstances result in our
withdrawal of COLA’s approval, we will
publish a notice in the Federal Register
explaining the basis for removing its
approval.
VI. Collection of Information
Requirements
This document does not impose
information collection requirements,
that is, reporting, record keeping or
third-party disclosure requirements.
Consequently, there is no need for
review by the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) under the authority of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
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U.S.C. Chapter 35). The requirements
associated with the accreditation
process for clinical laboratories under
the CLIA program, codified in 42 CFR
part 493 subpart E, are currently
approved by OMB under OMB control
number 0938–0686.
VII. Executive Order 12866 Statement
In accordance with the provisions of
Executive Order 12866, this notice was
not reviewed by the Office of
Management and Budget.
The Administrator of the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS),
Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, having
reviewed and approved this document,
authorizes Lynette Wilson, who is the
Federal Register Liaison, to
electronically sign this document for
purposes of publication in the Federal
Register.
Lynette Wilson,
Federal Register Liaison, Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 2022–04770 Filed 3–4–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Impact of Health Misinformation in the
Digital Information Environment in the
United States Throughout the COVID–
19 Pandemic Request for Information
(RFI)
Office of the Surgeon General,
Department of Health and Human
Services.
ACTION: Request for information (RFI).
AGENCY:
The Office of the Surgeon
General requests input from interested
parties on the impact and prevalence of
health misinformation in the digital
information environment during the
COVID–19 pandemic. The purpose of
this RFI is to understand the impact of
COVID–19 misinformation on
healthcare infrastructure and public
health more broadly during the
pandemic including (but not limited to)
quality of care, health decisions and
outcomes, direct and indirect costs,
trust in the healthcare system and
providers, and healthcare worker morale
and safety, understand the unique role
the information environment played in
the societal response to the COVID–19
pandemic and implications for future
public health emergencies, understand
the impact of exposure to health
misinformation and how access to
trusted and credible health information,
particularly during a public health
emergency, impacts lifesaving health
decisions such as an individual’s
SUMMARY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 44 / Monday, March 7, 2022 / Notices
likelihood to vaccinate; and use the
information requested to prepare for and
respond to future public health crises.
HHS will consider the usability,
applicability, and rigor of submissions
in response to this RFI and share
learnings from these responses with the
public. Public comments and
submissions will also be made available
to the public and can be used for
research purposes.
DATES: To be assured consideration,
comments must be received via the
methods provided below, no later than
midnight Eastern Time (ET) on May 2,
2022. Submissions received after the
deadline will not be reviewed.
ADDRESSES: You may send comments,
identified by [Impact of Health
Misinformation in the Digital
Information Environment in the United
States Throughout the COVID–19
Pandemic Request for Information
(RFI)], by any of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for sending comments.
• Form: [https://forms.office.com/g/
kPPYHM15Uc].
• Email: [COVIDMisinfoRFI@
hhs.gov]. Include [Impact of Health
Misinformation in the Digital
Information Environment in the United
States Throughout the COVID–19
Pandemic Request for Information (RFI)]
in the subject line of the message.
You may respond to some or all of the
topic areas covered in the RFI. You may
also include links to online material or
interactive presentations.
For information on public comments,
see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
section.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Max
Lesko at COVIDMisinfoRFI@hhs.gov or
at (202) 893–5020.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Please feel
free to respond to as many topics as you
choose. Responses should include the
name of the person (s) or organization
(s) filing the comment, as well as the
respondent type (e.g., academic
institution, advocacy group,
professional society, community-based
organization, industry, member of the
public, government, and governmental
entities such as libraries and public
health departments. Respondent’s role
in the organization, as applicable, may
also be provided (e.g., researcher,
administrator, student, product
manager, journalist) on a voluntary
basis. Comments containing references,
studies, research, and other empirical
data that are not widely published
should include electronic links to the
referenced materials or be attached to
the email. No proprietary business
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17:50 Mar 04, 2022
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information, copyrighted information,
or personally identifiable information
should be submitted in response to this
RFI. Listening sessions will be hosted to
allow oral comments and submissions.
Please be aware that all submissions
will be reviewed and relevant comments
submitted in direct response to the
information requested in this RFI may
be posted or otherwise released
publicly.
I. Background
1. Health misinformation—health
information that is false, inaccurate, or
misleading according to the best
available evidence at the time—has been
a challenge during public health
emergencies before, including persistent
rumors about HIV/AIDS that have
undermined efforts to reduce infection
rates in the U.S. and during the Ebola
epidemic. But the speed, scale, and
sophistication with which
misinformation has been spread during
the COVID–19 pandemic has been
unprecedented. Recent research shows
that most Americans believe or are
unsure of at least one COVID–19
vaccine falsehood. The digital
information environment is a
phenomenon that requires further
research and study to better prepare for
future public health emergencies. This
RFI seeks to understand both the impact
of health misinformation during the
COVID–19 pandemic and the unique
role that technology and social media
platforms play in the dissemination of
critical health information during a
public health emergency. The inputs
from stakeholders will help inform
future pandemic response in the context
of an evolving digital information
environment.
II. Scope and Assumptions
• The definition of health
misinformation for the purposes of this
RFI is health information that is false,
inaccurate, or misleading according to
the best available evidence at the time.
• Exposure is defined as seeing
content in newsfeeds, in search results,
or algorithmically nominated content.
• Potential exposure is the exposure
users would have had if they could see
all the content that is eligible to appear
in their newsfeeds.
• Engagement includes the clicking or
viewing of content, as well as reacting.
• Sharing is the act of sharing a piece
of pre-existing content within social
media.
• Technology platforms include the
following: General search engines,
content sharing platforms, social media
platforms, e-commerce platforms, crowd
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12713
sourced platforms, and instant
messaging systems.
• Relevant dates for responses
include January 2020–Present.
• Research, case studies, data sets,
images, data visualizations, interviews,
and personal testimonies may be
submitted.
• All information should be provided
at a level of granularity that preserves
the privacy of users.
• If including data sets, please make
the data available in a downloadable,
machine-readable format with
accompanying metadata.
III. Information Requested/Key
Questions
Please respond to specific topics
where you have both expertise and
sufficient evidence to support your
comments. Respondents are requested
to share objective results of an
evaluation for each topic when possible.
A response to every item is not required.
Information About Impact on
Healthcare
1. Information about how COVID–19
misinformation has affected quality of
patient care during the pandemic.
a. Information about how important a
role COVID–19 misinformation played
in patient decisions not to vaccinate,
including the types of misinformation
that influenced decisions.
b. Information about the media
sources from which patients are
receiving misinformation and if such
information has negatively influenced
their healthcare decisions or resulted in
patient harm.
2. Information about how COVID–19
misinformation has impacted healthcare
systems and infrastructure.
a. Information about time and
resources spent addressing COVID–19
misinformation.
b. Information about how COVID–19
misinformation has impacted healthcare
worker morale and safety in the
workplace, including instances of
online harassment or harm.
2. Information About Technology
Platforms
3. Information about how widespread
COVID–19 misinformation is on
individual technology platforms
including: General search engines,
content sharing platforms, social media
platforms, e-commerce platforms, crowd
sourced platforms, and instant
messaging systems.
a. Starting with, but not limited to,
these common examples of COVID–19
vaccine misinformation documented by
the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), any aggregate data
E:\FR\FM\07MRN1.SGM
07MRN1
12714
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 44 / Monday, March 7, 2022 / Notices
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
and analysis on the prevalence of
COVID–19 misinformation on
individual platforms including exactly
how many users saw or may have been
exposed to instances of COVID–19
misinformation.
b. Any aggregate data and analysis on
how many users were exposed, were
potentially exposed, or otherwise
engaged with COVID–19
misinformation.
i. Exposure is defined as seeing
content in newsfeeds, in search results,
or algorithmically nominated content.
ii. Potential exposure is the exposure
users would have had if they could see
all the content that is eligible to appear
within their newsfeeds.
iii. Engagement includes the clicking
or viewing of content, as well as
reacting. Sharing is the act of sharing a
piece of pre-existing content within
social media.
c. Any aggregate data broken down by
demographics on groups or populations
who may have been differentially
exposed to or impacted by COVID–19
misinformation.
4. Information about COVID–19
misinformation policies on individual
technology platforms.
a. Any aggregate data and analysis of
technology platform COVID–19
misinformation policies including
implementation of those policies and
evaluations of their effectiveness.
5. Information about sources of
COVID–19 misinformation.
a. Information about the major sources
of COVID–19 misinformation associated
with exposure.
i. By source we mean both specific,
public actors that are providing
misinformation, as well as components
of specific platforms that are driving
exposure to information.
6. Information about COVID–19
misinformation from sources engaged in
the sale of unproven COVID–19
products or services (e.g., prescriptions
for unapproved or unauthorized drugs,
sales of alternative cures, or sales of
other unapproved or unauthorized
COVID–19 medical products), or other
money-making models.
Information About Impacted
Communities
7. Information about how COVID–19
misinformation has impacted
individuals and communities.
a. Information about how COVID–19
misinformation has impacted
organizations that serve communities
directly through service (e.g., libraries
and food banks), and community-based
organizations that are faith-based or
provide affinity to communities (e.g.,
clubs and sororities or fraternities).
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b. Information about how COVID–19
misinformation has impacted
community members: Individuals and
families.
IV. How To Submit Your Response
To facilitate review of your responses,
please reference the subject of the RFI
in your response. You may respond to
some or all of the topic areas covered in
the RFI, and you can suggest other
factors or relevant questions. You may
also include links to online material or
interactive presentations. If including
data sets, please make the data available
in a downloadable, machine-readable
format with accompanying metadata.
Please note that this is a request for
information (RFI) only. In accordance
with the implementing regulations of
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA), specifically 5 CFR 1320.3(h)(4),
this general solicitation is exempt from
the PRA. Facts or opinions submitted in
response to general solicitations of
comments from the public, published in
the Federal Register or other
publications, regardless of the form or
format thereof, provided that no person
is required to supply specific
information pertaining to the
commenter, other than that necessary
for self-identification, as a condition of
the agency’s full consideration, are not
generally considered information
collections and therefore not subject to
the PRA.
This RFI is issued solely for
information and planning purposes; it
does not constitute a Request for
Proposal (RFP), applications, proposal
abstracts, or quotations. This RFI does
not commit the U.S. Government to
contract for any supplies or services or
make a grant award. Further, we are not
seeking proposals through this RFI and
will not accept unsolicited proposals.
We note that not responding to this RFI
does not preclude participation in any
future procurement, if conducted. It is
the responsibility of the potential
responders to monitor this RFI
announcement for additional
information pertaining to this request.
HHS may or may not choose to
contact individual responders. Such
communications would be for the sole
purpose of clarifying statements in
written responses. Contractor support
personnel may be used to review
responses to this RFI. Responses to this
notice are not offers and cannot be
accepted by the Government to form a
binding contract or issue a grant.
Information obtained as a result of this
RFI may be used by the Government for
program planning on a non-attribution
basis. This RFI should not be construed
as a commitment or authorization to
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incur cost for which reimbursement
would be required or sought. All
submissions become U.S. Government
property; they will not be returned, and
we may publish some of their content.
Dated: March 2, 2022.
Max Lesko,
Chief of Staff, Office of the Surgeon General.
[FR Doc. 2022–04777 Filed 3–4–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150–28–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
National Institutes of Health
Center for Scientific Review; Notice of
Closed Meetings
Pursuant to section 10(d) of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act, as
amended, notice is hereby given of the
following meetings.
The meetings will be closed to the
public in accordance with the
provisions set forth in sections
552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6), Title 5 U.S.C.,
as amended. The grant applications and
the discussions could disclose
confidential trade secrets or commercial
property such as patentable material,
and personal information concerning
individuals associated with the grant
applications, the disclosure of which
would constitute a clearly unwarranted
invasion of personal privacy.
Name of Committee: Center for Scientific
Review Special Emphasis Panel; PAR Panel:
Understanding Alzheimer’s Disease-2.
Date: March 29, 2022.
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Agenda: To review and evaluate grant
applications.
Place: National Institutes of Health,
Rockledge II, 6701 Rockledge Drive,
Bethesda, MD 20892 (Virtual Meeting).
Contact Person: Samuel C. Edwards, Ph.D.,
Chief, BDCN IRG, Center for Scientific
Review, National Institutes of Health, 6701
Rockledge Drive, Room 5210, MSC 7846,
Bethesda, MD 20892, (301) 435–1246,
edwardss@csr.nih.gov.
Name of Committee: Center for Scientific
Review Special Emphasis Panel; Topics in
Child and Adolescent Biobehavioral
Development, Psychopathology, Sleep, and
Cognitive Function.
Date: March 30, 2022.
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Agenda: To review and evaluate grant
applications.
Place: National Institutes of Health,
Rockledge II, 6701 Rockledge Drive,
Bethesda, MD 20892 (Virtual Meeting).
Contact Person: Benjamin G. Shapero,
Ph.D., Scientific Review Officer, Center for
Scientific Review, National Institutes of
Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 3182,
Bethesda, MD 20892, (301) 402–4786,
shaperobg@mail.nih.gov.
E:\FR\FM\07MRN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 44 (Monday, March 7, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12712-12714]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-04777]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Impact of Health Misinformation in the Digital Information
Environment in the United States Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic
Request for Information (RFI)
AGENCY: Office of the Surgeon General, Department of Health and Human
Services.
ACTION: Request for information (RFI).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Office of the Surgeon General requests input from
interested parties on the impact and prevalence of health
misinformation in the digital information environment during the COVID-
19 pandemic. The purpose of this RFI is to understand the impact of
COVID-19 misinformation on healthcare infrastructure and public health
more broadly during the pandemic including (but not limited to) quality
of care, health decisions and outcomes, direct and indirect costs,
trust in the healthcare system and providers, and healthcare worker
morale and safety, understand the unique role the information
environment played in the societal response to the COVID-19 pandemic
and implications for future public health emergencies, understand the
impact of exposure to health misinformation and how access to trusted
and credible health information, particularly during a public health
emergency, impacts lifesaving health decisions such as an individual's
[[Page 12713]]
likelihood to vaccinate; and use the information requested to prepare
for and respond to future public health crises. HHS will consider the
usability, applicability, and rigor of submissions in response to this
RFI and share learnings from these responses with the public. Public
comments and submissions will also be made available to the public and
can be used for research purposes.
DATES: To be assured consideration, comments must be received via the
methods provided below, no later than midnight Eastern Time (ET) on May
2, 2022. Submissions received after the deadline will not be reviewed.
ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by [Impact of Health
Misinformation in the Digital Information Environment in the United
States Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic Request for Information (RFI)],
by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for sending comments.
Form: [https://forms.office.com/g/kPPYHM15Uc].
Email: [[email protected]]. Include [Impact of
Health Misinformation in the Digital Information Environment in the
United States Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic Request for Information
(RFI)] in the subject line of the message.
You may respond to some or all of the topic areas covered in the
RFI. You may also include links to online material or interactive
presentations.
For information on public comments, see the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Max Lesko at [email protected]
or at (202) 893-5020.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Please feel free to respond to as many
topics as you choose. Responses should include the name of the person
(s) or organization (s) filing the comment, as well as the respondent
type (e.g., academic institution, advocacy group, professional society,
community-based organization, industry, member of the public,
government, and governmental entities such as libraries and public
health departments. Respondent's role in the organization, as
applicable, may also be provided (e.g., researcher, administrator,
student, product manager, journalist) on a voluntary basis. Comments
containing references, studies, research, and other empirical data that
are not widely published should include electronic links to the
referenced materials or be attached to the email. No proprietary
business information, copyrighted information, or personally
identifiable information should be submitted in response to this RFI.
Listening sessions will be hosted to allow oral comments and
submissions. Please be aware that all submissions will be reviewed and
relevant comments submitted in direct response to the information
requested in this RFI may be posted or otherwise released publicly.
I. Background
1. Health misinformation--health information that is false,
inaccurate, or misleading according to the best available evidence at
the time--has been a challenge during public health emergencies before,
including persistent rumors about HIV/AIDS that have undermined efforts
to reduce infection rates in the U.S. and during the Ebola epidemic.
But the speed, scale, and sophistication with which misinformation has
been spread during the COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented. Recent
research shows that most Americans believe or are unsure of at least
one COVID-19 vaccine falsehood. The digital information environment is
a phenomenon that requires further research and study to better prepare
for future public health emergencies. This RFI seeks to understand both
the impact of health misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic and
the unique role that technology and social media platforms play in the
dissemination of critical health information during a public health
emergency. The inputs from stakeholders will help inform future
pandemic response in the context of an evolving digital information
environment.
II. Scope and Assumptions
The definition of health misinformation for the purposes
of this RFI is health information that is false, inaccurate, or
misleading according to the best available evidence at the time.
Exposure is defined as seeing content in newsfeeds, in
search results, or algorithmically nominated content.
Potential exposure is the exposure users would have had if
they could see all the content that is eligible to appear in their
newsfeeds.
Engagement includes the clicking or viewing of content, as
well as reacting.
Sharing is the act of sharing a piece of pre-existing
content within social media.
Technology platforms include the following: General search
engines, content sharing platforms, social media platforms, e-commerce
platforms, crowd sourced platforms, and instant messaging systems.
Relevant dates for responses include January 2020-Present.
Research, case studies, data sets, images, data
visualizations, interviews, and personal testimonies may be submitted.
All information should be provided at a level of
granularity that preserves the privacy of users.
If including data sets, please make the data available in
a downloadable, machine-readable format with accompanying metadata.
III. Information Requested/Key Questions
Please respond to specific topics where you have both expertise and
sufficient evidence to support your comments. Respondents are requested
to share objective results of an evaluation for each topic when
possible. A response to every item is not required.
Information About Impact on Healthcare
1. Information about how COVID-19 misinformation has affected
quality of patient care during the pandemic.
a. Information about how important a role COVID-19 misinformation
played in patient decisions not to vaccinate, including the types of
misinformation that influenced decisions.
b. Information about the media sources from which patients are
receiving misinformation and if such information has negatively
influenced their healthcare decisions or resulted in patient harm.
2. Information about how COVID-19 misinformation has impacted
healthcare systems and infrastructure.
a. Information about time and resources spent addressing COVID-19
misinformation.
b. Information about how COVID-19 misinformation has impacted
healthcare worker morale and safety in the workplace, including
instances of online harassment or harm.
2. Information About Technology Platforms
3. Information about how widespread COVID-19 misinformation is on
individual technology platforms including: General search engines,
content sharing platforms, social media platforms, e-commerce
platforms, crowd sourced platforms, and instant messaging systems.
a. Starting with, but not limited to, these common examples of
COVID-19 vaccine misinformation documented by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), any aggregate data
[[Page 12714]]
and analysis on the prevalence of COVID-19 misinformation on individual
platforms including exactly how many users saw or may have been exposed
to instances of COVID-19 misinformation.
b. Any aggregate data and analysis on how many users were exposed,
were potentially exposed, or otherwise engaged with COVID-19
misinformation.
i. Exposure is defined as seeing content in newsfeeds, in search
results, or algorithmically nominated content.
ii. Potential exposure is the exposure users would have had if they
could see all the content that is eligible to appear within their
newsfeeds.
iii. Engagement includes the clicking or viewing of content, as
well as reacting. Sharing is the act of sharing a piece of pre-existing
content within social media.
c. Any aggregate data broken down by demographics on groups or
populations who may have been differentially exposed to or impacted by
COVID-19 misinformation.
4. Information about COVID-19 misinformation policies on individual
technology platforms.
a. Any aggregate data and analysis of technology platform COVID-19
misinformation policies including implementation of those policies and
evaluations of their effectiveness.
5. Information about sources of COVID-19 misinformation.
a. Information about the major sources of COVID-19 misinformation
associated with exposure.
i. By source we mean both specific, public actors that are
providing misinformation, as well as components of specific platforms
that are driving exposure to information.
6. Information about COVID-19 misinformation from sources engaged
in the sale of unproven COVID-19 products or services (e.g.,
prescriptions for unapproved or unauthorized drugs, sales of
alternative cures, or sales of other unapproved or unauthorized COVID-
19 medical products), or other money-making models.
Information About Impacted Communities
7. Information about how COVID-19 misinformation has impacted
individuals and communities.
a. Information about how COVID-19 misinformation has impacted
organizations that serve communities directly through service (e.g.,
libraries and food banks), and community-based organizations that are
faith-based or provide affinity to communities (e.g., clubs and
sororities or fraternities).
b. Information about how COVID-19 misinformation has impacted
community members: Individuals and families.
IV. How To Submit Your Response
To facilitate review of your responses, please reference the
subject of the RFI in your response. You may respond to some or all of
the topic areas covered in the RFI, and you can suggest other factors
or relevant questions. You may also include links to online material or
interactive presentations. If including data sets, please make the data
available in a downloadable, machine-readable format with accompanying
metadata.
Please note that this is a request for information (RFI) only. In
accordance with the implementing regulations of the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 (PRA), specifically 5 CFR 1320.3(h)(4), this general
solicitation is exempt from the PRA. Facts or opinions submitted in
response to general solicitations of comments from the public,
published in the Federal Register or other publications, regardless of
the form or format thereof, provided that no person is required to
supply specific information pertaining to the commenter, other than
that necessary for self-identification, as a condition of the agency's
full consideration, are not generally considered information
collections and therefore not subject to the PRA.
This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes; it
does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP), applications,
proposal abstracts, or quotations. This RFI does not commit the U.S.
Government to contract for any supplies or services or make a grant
award. Further, we are not seeking proposals through this RFI and will
not accept unsolicited proposals. We note that not responding to this
RFI does not preclude participation in any future procurement, if
conducted. It is the responsibility of the potential responders to
monitor this RFI announcement for additional information pertaining to
this request.
HHS may or may not choose to contact individual responders. Such
communications would be for the sole purpose of clarifying statements
in written responses. Contractor support personnel may be used to
review responses to this RFI. Responses to this notice are not offers
and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract or
issue a grant. Information obtained as a result of this RFI may be used
by the Government for program planning on a non-attribution basis. This
RFI should not be construed as a commitment or authorization to incur
cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought. All
submissions become U.S. Government property; they will not be returned,
and we may publish some of their content.
Dated: March 2, 2022.
Max Lesko,
Chief of Staff, Office of the Surgeon General.
[FR Doc. 2022-04777 Filed 3-4-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150-28-P
