The PREP Act: Asserting Immunity and Understanding Its Application For Health Care Providers

Healthcare Partner Nathan Adams will join a webinar hosted by the ACC Houston Healthcare Law Practice Group titled "The PREP Act: Asserting Immunity and Understanding Its Application For Health Care Providers." The PREP Act authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to immunize private actors (including healthcare providers) from legal liability related to administering "countermeasures" (including authorized vaccines, COVID tests and use of certain PPE) during the pandemic through 2024. But like all other laws promising immunity, a defendant seeking coverage of the Act must know how to apply the actual language of the Act to determine the scope of the immunity and how it might preempt other state and federal claims. This panel will analyze the Act’s language, recent HHS pronouncements and the state of the case law as well as address key controversies surrounding the law’s application.