Federal Update: Senate Democrats Work to Reverse Trump’s Payroll Tax Suspension, Doctors Warn Against Rushing a COVID-19 Vaccine, Fauci has ‘Confidence’ the Vaccine Approval Won’t be Political,

September 3, 2020

  • Senate Democrats are working to reverse President Donald Trump’s payroll tax deferral. Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, asked the Government Accountability Office to determine whether the payroll tax suspension is considered a “rule.” If it’s deemed a rule, Congress has the ability to overturn it under the Congressional Review Act. Undoing the regulation would require a joint resolution that is unlikely to pass, according to policy experts. 
  • Just because states have been asked to have a vaccine distribution plan doesn't mean the public should expect to get shots this fall, doctors say. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told state and local public health officials to prepare to distribute a possible COVID-19 vaccine as soon as late October. Many health experts say a safe and effective vaccine might not be publicly available until early 2021. But it's possible the Food and Drug Administration could give an emergency use authorization for a vaccine to be distributed before its Phase 3 clinical trial is over, if the data is very promising.
  • White House coronavirus advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said he is confident an approval for a coronavirus vaccine won’t be motivated by politics. The Food and Drug Administration has been “very explicit” that it is going to make a decision based on data from clinical trials, Fauci said. The trial results will also be reviewed by the Data and Safety Monitoring Board, an independent group of experts who monitor patient safety and treatment data, he said. 


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