Department of Health and Human Services August 26, 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) was established in 1987 to comply with Title XXI of the Public Health Service Act (Pub. L. 99-660) (Sec. 2105) (42 U.S. Code Section 300aa-5). Its purpose is to advise and make recommendations to the Director of the National Vaccine Program on matters related to the program's responsibilities. The Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH) has been designated by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) as the Director of the National Vaccine Program. The National Vaccine Program Office (NVPO) is located within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH), Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The NVPO provides leadership and fosters collaboration among the various federal agencies involved in vaccine and immunization activities. The NVPO also provides management and support services for the National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC). The NVAC advises and makes recommendations to the ASH in his/her capacity as the Director of the National Vaccine Program on matters related to the program's responsibilities. Recognizing the importance and impact of maternal immunizations on public health, the ASH charged the NVAC in June 2012 with reviewing the state of maternal immunizations and existing best practices to identify programmatic gaps and/or barriers to the implementation of current recommendations regarding maternal immunization. The NVAC established the Maternal Immunization Working Group (MIWG) in August 2012 to conduct these assessments and provide recommendations for overcoming any identified barriers. Through a series of teleconferences, electronic communications, and public discussions during the NVAC meetings, the working group identified a number of draft recommendations for consideration by the NVAC. These recommendations represent opportunities for developing and licensing new vaccines for pregnant women. The draft report and draft recommendations from the working group will inform NVAC deliberations as the NVAC finalizes their recommendations for transmittal to the ASH. On behalf of NVAC, NVPO is soliciting public comment on the draft report and draft recommendations from a variety of stakeholders, including the general public, for consideration by the NVAC as they develop their final recommendations to the ASH. It is anticipated that the draft report and draft recommendations, as revised with consideration given to public comment and stakeholder input, will be presented to the NVAC for adoption in September 2016 at the quarterly NVAC meeting.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is publishing this notice of petitions received under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (the Program), as required by Section 2112(b)(2) of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act, as amended. While the Secretary of Health and Human Services is named as the respondent in all proceedings brought by the filing of petitions for compensation under the Program, the United States Court of Federal Claims is charged by statute with responsibility for considering and acting upon the petitions.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing the availability of a guidance for industry entitled ``Microbiology Data for Systemic Antibacterial DrugsDevelopment, Analysis, and Presentation.'' The purpose of this guidance is to assist sponsors in the development, analysis, and presentation of microbiology data during antibacterial drug development. This guidance finalizes the draft guidance of the same name issued on September 17, 2009.