[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 243 (Thursday, December 17, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81934-81935]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-27769]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES


Meeting of the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating 
Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Office of the 
Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: As stipulated by the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the 
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is hereby giving notice 
that a meeting is scheduled to be held for the Presidential Advisory 
Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (PACCARB). The 
meeting will be open to the public via webex and teleconference; a pre-
registered public comment session will be held during the meeting. Pre-
registration is required for members of the public who wish to attend 
the meeting via webex/teleconference. Individuals who wish to send in 
their pre-recorded or written public comments should send an email to 
[email protected]. Registration information is available on the website 
http://www.hhs.gov/paccarb and must be completed by February 8, 2021. 
Additional information about registering for the meeting and providing 
public comment can be obtained at http://www.hhs.gov/paccarb on the 
Meetings page.

DATES: The meeting is scheduled to be held on February 10, 2021, from 
10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and February 11, 2021, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 
p.m. ET (times are tentative and subject to change). The confirmed 
times and agenda items for the meeting will be posted on the website 
for the PACCARB at http://www.hhs.gov/paccarb when this information 
becomes available. Pre-registration for attending the meeting is 
required to be completed no later than February 8, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Instructions regarding attending this meeting virtually will 
be posted one week prior to the meeting at: http://www.hhs.gov/paccarb.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jomana Musmar, M.S., Ph.D., Designated 
Federal Officer, Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-
Resistant Bacteria, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, U.S. 
Department of Health and Human Services, Room L616, Switzer Building, 
330 C St. SW, Washington, DC 20201. Phone: 202-746-1512; Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Presidential Advisory Council on 
Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (PACCARB), established by 
Executive Order 13676, is continued by Section 505 of Public Law 116-
22, the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation 
Act of 2019 (PAHPAIA). Activities and duties of the Advisory Council 
are governed by the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act 
(FACA), Public Law 92-463, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), which sets forth 
standards for the formation and use of federal advisory committees.
    The PACCARB shall advise and provide information and 
recommendations to the Secretary regarding programs and policies 
intended to reduce or combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria that may 
present a public health threat and improve capabilities to prevent, 
diagnose, mitigate, or treat such resistance. The PACCARB shall 
function solely for advisory purposes.
    Such advice, information, and recommendations may be related to 
improving: The effectiveness of antibiotics; research and advanced 
research on, and the development of, improved and innovative methods 
for combating or reducing antibiotic resistance, including new 
treatments, rapid point-of-care diagnostics, alternatives to 
antibiotics, including alternatives to animal antibiotics, and 
antimicrobial stewardship activities; surveillance of antibiotic-
resistant bacterial infections, including publicly available and up-to-
date information on resistance to antibiotics; education for health 
care providers and the public with respect to up-to-date information on 
antibiotic resistance and ways to reduce or combat such resistance to 
antibiotics related to humans and animals; methods to prevent or reduce 
the transmission of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections; 
including stewardship programs; and coordination with respect to 
international efforts in order to inform and advance the United States 
capabilities to combat antibiotic resistance.
    The February 10-11, 2021, public meeting will be dedicated to 
presentations from two new working groups of the PACCARB, one on Inter-
Professional Education and another on Antibiotics Access and Use, which 
were formed in response to a task letter from the Assistant Secretary 
for Health. The two-day virtual public meeting will also include an 
update on the impact of COVID-19 on antimicrobial resistance. The 
meeting agenda will be posted on the PACCARB website at http://

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www.hhs.gov/paccarb when it has been finalized. All agenda items are 
tentative and subject to change.
    Instructions regarding attending this meeting virtually will be 
posted one week prior to the meeting at: http://www.hhs.gov/paccarb.
    Members of the public will have the opportunity to provide comments 
prior to the public meeting by emailing [email protected]. Public comments 
should be sent in by midnight February 7, 2021 and should be limited to 
no more than one page. All public comments received prior to February 
7, 2021, will be provided to Advisory Council members and will be 
acknowledged during the public teleconference.

    Dated: December 4, 2020.
Jomana F. Musmar,
Designated Federal Officer, Presidential Advisory Council on Combating 
Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria, Office of the Assistant Secretary for 
Health.
[FR Doc. 2020-27769 Filed 12-16-20; 8:45 am]
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