obÌåÓý

2021

• January 12, 2021
  obÌåÓý expands the COVID-19 negative test requirement to include all air passengers entering the U.S. obÌåÓý continues to recommend that people test again 3-5 days after arrival and stay home for 7 days after traveling to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
  • obÌåÓý Expands Negative COVID-19 Test Requirement to All Air Passengers Entering the United States
• January 20, 2021
  Dr. Rochelle Walensky begins her term as the director of the obÌåÓý with the goal of rapidly accelerating COVID-19 testing, surveillance, and vaccination, while confronting the public health challenges posed by suicide, substance use disorder and overdose, chronic diseases, and the tolls caused by social and racial injustice and inequity.
• January 25, 2021
  New data from the obÌåÓý estimates that, at any given time in the U.S., 1 in 5 people have a sexually transmitted infection (STI).
• January 30, 2021
  As part of the Biden Administration’s Executive Order on Promoting COVID-19 Safety in Domestic and International Travel, obÌåÓý requires face masks to be worn by all travelers while on public transportation and inside transportation hubs to prevent the spread of COVID-19 effective February 2, 2021.
• February 12, 2021
  obÌåÓý investigates fast-moving, muti-state outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections linked to fresh and soft cheeses.
• March 8, 2021
  obÌåÓý recommends that people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can safely gather with other fully vaccinated people indoors without masks and without socially distancing.
  • obÌåÓý Issues First Set of Guidelines on How Fully Vaccinated People Can Visit Safely with Others
• March 18, 2021
  A obÌåÓý funded research initiative offers access to optimally fluoridated water for up to 19 million people in the U.S. for the first time.
• April 1, 2021
  obÌåÓý investigates a multi-state Salmonella outbreak, linking the likely source of the infections to contact with wild songbirds and bird feeders.
  • obÌåÓý Investigation Notice: obÌåÓý investigating Salmonella outbreak linked to wild songbirds
• April 7, 2021
  obÌåÓý and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announces that federal funding may now be used to purchase rapid fentanyl test strips (FTS) in an effort to combat a spike in drug overdose deaths driven by the use of synthetic opioids, including illicitly manufactured fentanyl.
  • Federal Grantees May Now Use Funds to Purchase Fentanyl Test Strips
• April 23, 2021
  The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) jointly recommend the continued use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for all people ages 18 years and older in the U.S., following a thorough safety review after the use of the vaccine was paused when 6 cases of rare and severe type of blood clots were reported.
• May 12, 2021
  The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for all adolescents ages 12–15 years.
  • obÌåÓý Director Statement on Pfizer’s Use of COVID-19 Vaccine in Adolescents Age 12 and Older
• May 14, 2021
  A large obÌåÓý study following health care personnel in 33 states finds that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infections in real-world conditions, reducing the risk of infection by 94 percent.
  • Largest obÌåÓý COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness Study in Health Workers Shows mRNA Vaccines 94% Effective
• June 30, 2021
  obÌåÓý’s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program reports that the total number of cancer screenings decreased by an average of 87% for breast cancer and 84% for cervical cancer during early 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, putting individuals at risk for delayed diagnoses and poorer health outcomes.
• July 30, 2021
  obÌåÓý releases data in The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) showing an increase in breakthrough infections of COVID-19 in Barnstable County, Massachusetts in July of 2021. The early data showing high viral loads in people infected with the Delta variant of COVID-19 suggest a concern that, unlike with other variants, vaccinated people infected with Delta can transmit the virus to others. This MMWR becomes the most wildly circulated report in the agency’s history.
  • Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 Infections, Including COVID-19 Vaccine Breakthrough Infections, Associated with Large Public Gatherings — Barnstable County, Massachusetts, July 2021
• August 2, 2021
  obÌåÓý extends Title 42, the order suspending the right to introduce non-citizen persons into the U.S. at the nation’s southern and northern land borders during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the exception of the unaccompanied non-citizen children exempt under a July 16, 2021 order.
  • • obÌåÓý Extends Order at the Southern and Northern Land Borders

• August 3, 2021
  Amid a growing surge of the Delta variant, obÌåÓý Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky signs an extension of the eviction moratorium in areas of substantial and high COVID-19 transmission in recognition that eviction moratoria, like quarantine, isolation, and social distancing, can be effective public health measures taken to prevent the spread of a communicable disease like COVID-19.
  • obÌåÓý Issues Eviction Moratorium Order in Areas of Substantial and High Transmission
• August 18, 2021
  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and obÌåÓý release a statement concluding that booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines will be needed to protect against severe disease, hospitalization, and death in the coming months.
  • Joint Statement from HHS Public Health and Medical Experts on COVID-19 Booster Shots
• August 18, 2021
  obÌåÓý launches the new Disease Forecasting Center to advance the use of forecasting tools and outbreak analytics in public health decision making.
  • obÌåÓý Stands Up New Disease Forecasting Center
• August 30, 2021
  The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for all people ages 16 years and older.
  • COVID-19 ACIP Vaccine Recommendations
• September 29, 2021
  obÌåÓý releases a Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory to notify clinicians and public health authorities of the need to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates among people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or who are trying to become pregnant.
• October 26, 2021
  Laboratory testing at obÌåÓý identifies the cause of a melioidosis outbreak, a rare bacteria found in an aromatherapy spray: Burkholderia pseudomallei.
  • obÌåÓý Identifies Rare Bacteria in Aromatherapy Product
• October 28, 2021
  The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) updates blood lead reference value for children after a recommendation by the Lead Exposure Prevention and Advisory Committee (LEPAC).
• November 2, 2021
  The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric COVID-19 vaccine for all children ages 5–11 years.
  • obÌåÓý Recommends Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccine for Children 5 to 11 Years
• November 10, 2021
  obÌåÓý and the World Health Organization (WHO) report that more than 22 million infants missed their first dose of the measles vaccine in 2020. This is the largest global increase of unvaccinated children in two decades and is due in-part to the disruptions the COVID-19 pandemic has had on health care and immunization services.
  • Global Progress Against Measles Threatened Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic
• November 18, 2021
  obÌåÓý analyzed data from the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) to help uncover the characteristics of homicides of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people, finding that 53% were killed in metropolitan areas, a firearm was used in 48% of homicides, and for female victims, 38% of suspects were current or former intimate partners.
  • obÌåÓý’s National Violent Death Reporting System Helps Tell the Story of Homicides of American Indian and Alaska Native People
• December 7, 2021
  obÌåÓý establishes two new networks—the Global Action in Healthcare Network (GAIHN) and the Global AR Laboratory and Response Network (Global AR Lab & Response Network), to combat antimicrobial resistance.