The Pennsylvania Department of Health (PA DOH) has revised its prioritization criteria for Monkeypox (MPX) vaccinations and has issued guidance on PEP/PrEP. The guidance documents—Best Practices (Intradermal Injection), Vaccine Provider Sheet, and MPX Vaccination Framework—have been updated and the revised criteria have also been shared with local health departments.

Section 317 funding, which refers to Section 317 of the Public Health Service Act, which authorizes the federal purchase of vaccines to vaccinate children, adolescents, and adults, has been extremely tight, thus limiting many orders. Per the PA Dept. of Health, the following outlines the status of 317.

• We are currently out of all remaining 317 funds through the end of the current vaccine budget year ending September 30. We have no 317 vaccines available to distribute. Our vaccines budget follows the federal fiscal year which is from October 1 through September 30^th. Although 317 funds are extremely limited, we are not experiencing any limitations with our VFC funds nor do we anticipate any issues.
• We will continue to offer all vaccines in the new budget year from October 1 – September 30 but vaccines will continue to be limited. Our 317 funding has been static the last few years, and like everything else, vaccine costs have gone up. With the same overall budget, unfortunately, that means that we have to offer fewer vaccines overall to account for the increased cost. This also means that most likely, funds will run out within the first two weeks of each month.
• We ask that when ordering 317 vaccines, please order the minimum amount needed to get through each month as quantities of everything will be limited. Most 317 vaccines are orderable in 10 doses minimum quantities aside from the following below:

Orderable in 5 dose quantities:

• Heplisav-B (Hep B)
• MenQuadfi (MCV4)
• Menveo (MCV4)
• Adacel (Tdap) – syringes only

Orderable in single dose quantities:

• Td (all brands)
• PPV23 – Pneumovax 23
• Bexsero
• Shingrix (NDC: 58160-0819-12)
  • Shingrix will be extremely limited as availability for next year was cut in half due to costs. We will only have 50 doses per month available to distribute amongst all providers. Order limits will continue to be limited to no more than 5 doses. Providers will not be guaranteed to get this vaccine each month. Ordering for this vaccine will be tracked as demand is higher than availability. If an order is filled for one particular provider one month, it may be 2-3 months before another order gets approved again for the same provider.

• Currently, there are no imposed limits on the other vaccines but that could change if warranted.

DOH has been told that extra funds to help with their 317 programs will become available, however, a date has not been determined. Questions regarding 317 can be directed to RA-pavfc@pa.gov

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) released a Draft Scope of Project and Telehealth Policy Information Notice (PIN). The agency welcomes feedback by the public comment deadline of Nov. 14. PACHC also welcomes your feedback on the proposal.

Nationally, the number of children under age 19 without health insurance fell to 3.9 million in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual report on health insurance coverage. This is 475,000 fewer children without coverage than in 2020. During the pandemic, Congress introduced measures to increase access to care by reducing the cost of Health Insurance Marketplace coverage and expanding Medicaid in some states. In Pennsylvania, the number of children on CHIP is 134,569 and Medicaid is 1,428,818. The number of children on Medicaid has increased 7.7% over the 20 – 21 reporting period.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) introduced legislation to install a nationwide ban on abortion after 15 weeks. The message from some other GOP legislators on the issue is that they prefer it to be a state decision. Because of the Supreme Court’s recent decision on Roe, abortion currently is a state decision, leading to conflicting state laws which have led to both great variability as well as confusion, both on the part of physicians and other healthcare providers as well as consumers.

The Homeless and Housing Resource Center (HHRC) released a free Whole-Person Opioid Use Disorder Training Course for all interested individuals. This introductory course provides foundational information about the neurobiology and prevalence of opioid use disorder (OUD), the whole-person care framework and best practices, treatment, recovery support necessary for OUD, and maintaining housing stability for individuals with OUD. To learn more about the course and to register, click here.