FLC | With end of public health order, new anti-pandemic strategies at border may involve vaccines

With end of public health order, new anti-pandemic strategies at border may involve vaccines

April 2, 2022

On April 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the termination on May 23 of its public health order requiring the expulsion of migrants at U.S. borders to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The CDC will work with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on other strategies to safeguard Americans from any potential COVID-19 risks associated with termination of the order - strategies that might involve expanding the provision of COVID-19 vaccinations to migrants.

The order, known as Title 42, was implemented in March 2020.

In a media statement, the CDC said:

Following a thorough reassessment, the CDC Director is issuing a Public Health Determination and terminating an Order under 42 U.S.C. §§ 265, 268 and 42 C.F.R. § 71.40 (i.e., “Title 42”), suspending the right to introduce migrants into the United States. In consultation with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), this termination will be implemented on May 23, 2022, to enable DHS time to implement appropriate COVID-19 mitigation protocols, such as scaling up a program to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to migrants and prepare for resumption of regular migration under Title 8.

After considering current public health conditions and an increased availability of tools to fight COVID-19 (such as highly effective vaccines and therapeutics), the CDC Director has determined that an Order suspending the right to introduce migrants into the United States is no longer necessary.

With CDC’s assistance and guidance, DHS has and will implement additional COVID-19 mitigation procedures. These measures, along with the current public health landscape where 97.1% of the U.S. population lives in a county identified as having “low” COVID-19 Community Level, will sufficiently mitigate the COVID-19 risk for U.S. communities.