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Public Health Emergency Response (PHER) Additional Phase IV Questions and Answers

March 1, 2010, 12:00 PM ET

What services and activities can PHER Phase IV funds be used for?

These funds are to be used exclusively to continue the 2009 H1N1 vaccination campaign. Allowable activities include:

• Logistical and administrative costs associated with vaccine administration sites (e.g., space rental, refrigeration, and transportation) related to distribution of vaccine from central receiving sites to vaccine administration sites;
• Maintaining cold-chain capacity where needed;
• Vaccine safety monitoring and reporting;
• Tracking vaccine and vaccine ancillary supplies;
• Reimbursement to providers providing vaccination to patients unable to pay administration fees;
• Assuring adequate security at central receiving sites and/or vaccine administration sites;
• Establishing or maintaining IT systems to enable tracking of 2009 H1N1 mass vaccination campaign information regarding personnel, contractors, contracts, inventory, and funding;
• Activities supporting vaccination efforts (e.g. communication campaigns, vaccination dose tracking/monitoring, vaccine disposition); and
• 2009 H1N1 programmatic assessments, evaluations, and response after-action reports.

Have there been any changes in the requirements for applying for Phase IV funds?

Yes. There are four changes in the requirements.

• Obligation of PHER Phase I and Phase II funding will no longer be considered in determining eligibility for Phase IV funding. To be considered for Phase IV funding jurisdictions must demonstrate that 100% of PHER Phase III funds will be expended or obligated by July 30, 2010.
• Phase IV applicants no longer must commit to ordering their weekly vaccine allocations.
• Phase IV applicants are no longer required to submit letters of support for additional funds from local, county, or tribal public health agencies that received PHER I, II, or III funding.

Awardees now may submit a single AAR/IP encompassing their 2009 H1N1 response activities, including but not limited to mass vaccination activities. Awardees have until July 31, 2010, to submit that AAR to DSLR via the DSLR channel on LLIS.gov.

Is there a certain format and process we should follow in developing AARs?

Yes. AAR submissions must follow the format of the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP).

In the revised spend plan template in the PHER Phase IV application, Section 3, Activity Outcomes, there is a list of 16 different target populations with instructions to report the number of persons vaccinated or to be vaccinated during Phase III and Phase IV.  Do awardees need to report a number for each group, even if they are not planning to target all the groups?

No. Awardees only need to report numbers for those groups they are targeting with PHER Phase IV funds.

If PHER Phase IV funds are awarded, when do they become available to spend?  Is there a waiting period to obligate the PHER Phase IV funds once they are awarded?

Funds are available to obligate and spend (or expend) as soon as they are awarded. There is not a waiting period to obligate the PHER Phase IV funds as long as the funds are being used for allowable PHER Phase IV activities.

Can PHER Phase IV funds be used to dispose of needles, syringes (used or unused), vaccine vials, and other medical waste associated with the 2009 H1N1 vaccination program?

Yes. Phase IV funds are intended to support all allowable expenses related to a vaccine campaign. PHER Phase III funds also can be used for this purpose. Once all PHER funds are expended, awardees may use available Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) funds to cover any remaining 2009 H1N1 expenses.

Can PHER Phase IV funds be used to pay for the disposal of sharps associated with 2009 H1N1 response activities conducted in nonclinical settings (i.e., school-located vaccine clinics)?

Yes. Phase IV funds are intended to support all allowable expenses related to a vaccine campaign. PHER Phase III funds also can be used for this purpose. Once all PHER funds are expended, awardees may use available PHEP funds to cover any remaining 2009 H1N1 expenses.

How long do awardees have to complete PHER IV activities and to expend PHER Phase IV funds?

PHER Phase IV activities must be completed by July 30, 2010, which is the end of the current PHER budget period. This means obligations for all activities, including contracts and personnel, must be completed by July 30. However, the processing of expense vouchers and payments can continue beyond July 30.

Can an agency use PHER funds on an activity (such as vaccine disposal) if they sign the contract prior to July 30, 2010, but initiate the activity after July 30, 2010?

No. PHER Phase IV activities must be completed by July 30, 2010, which is the end of the current PHER budget period. This means obligations for all activities, including contracts and personnel, must be completed by July 30. However, the processing of expense vouchers and payments can continue beyond July 30.

What options do awardees have if they do not apply for PHER Phase IV funds and realize they need additional 2009 H1N1-related funding later?

If all other PHER funds have been expended, awardees may use available PHEP funds to cover allowable expenses.

What options do awardees have if additional funds are needed as a result of a third wave of 2009 H1N1 influenza?

If all other PHER funds have been expended, awardees may use available PHEP funds to cover allowable expenses.

Can PHER funds be carried over beyond the end of the PHER budget period (July 30, 2010)?

At this time, CDC is not authorized to approve carry-over of unused or unobligated PHER funds. However, we are currently seeking authority to authorize awardees to carry forward PHER Phase I and Phase II funds. This requires OMB approval and may not be authorized.

Are awardees still allowed to redirect PHER funds across the various phases of funding?

Yes, in some cases. Awardees may continue to request redirections of Phase I and Phase II funds. That process will continue uninterrupted according to the usual procedures. Funds from Phase I and Phase II may be redirected and used for Phase I, Phase II, AND Phase III activities. However, any funds redirected to Phase III activities may NOT be moved out of Phase III at a later date.

With the exception of redirections already in process, awardees no longer will be allowed to redirect funds out of Phase III. This provision applies to all awardees, not just those applying for Phase IV funds.

Awardees planning to apply for PHER Phase IV funding who already have initiated redirection requests must complete the redirection process prior to submission of PHER Phase IV applications so CDC can ensure funds are accurately accounted for. DSLR has provided revised redirection spreadsheets to these awardees to use to complete the redirection process.

The submission deadline for these re-direction requests was 5 p.m. EST on Friday, February 5, 2010.

Can awardees use supplies that came with the 2009 H1N1 vaccine and other related vaccination supplies purchased with PHER funds for other uses, such as seasonal flu vaccinations this fall?

If the vaccine has expired and is being disposed of, the supplies associated with the disposed vaccine can be used for other purposes.

Can awardees use PHER funds beyond July 30, 2010, to pay for contracts to store personal protective equipment purchased for the 2009 H1N1 response?

Not at this time. If carry-over funds are authorized, this would be allowable.

Can PHER Phase IV funds be used to store 2009 H1N1 vaccine and supplies past July 30, 2010, if necessary?

No. PHER Phase IV vaccination activities must be completed by July 30, 2010, which is the end of the current PHER budget period. This means obligations for all activities, including contracts and personnel, must be completed by July 30. However, the processing of expense vouchers and payments can continue beyond July 30.

Can awardees use PHEP funds to support the 2009 H1N1 vaccine initiative, including vaccine storage?

Yes, as long as they are allowable expenses under the PHEP cooperative agreement.

Can PHER Phase IV funds be used to purchase vehicles, such as mobile health vans?

No. Phase IV recipients may not use these funds for:

• Research,
• Construction,
• Clinical care,
• Interest on loans for the acquisition and/or modernization of an existing building, or
• Purchasing vehicles