[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 203 (Friday, October 21, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64047-64049]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-22932]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-23-1375; Docket No. CDC-2022-0124]


Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of 
Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice with comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part 
of its continuing effort to reduce public burden and maximize the 
utility of government information, invites the general public and other 
federal agencies the opportunity to comment on a proposed information 
collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This 
notice invites comment on a proposed information collection project 
titled 2022 Ebola Airport Entry Questionnaires. The purpose of this 
information collection is to determine the public health risk posed by 
travelers from areas affected by the 2022 outbreak of Ebola originating 
in Uganda.

DATES: CDC must receive written comments on or before December 20, 
2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2022-
0124 by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information Collection Review 
Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road 
NE, MS H21-8, Atlanta, Georgia 30329.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and Docket Number. CDC will post, without change, all relevant comments 
to www.regulations.gov.

    Please note: Submit all comments through the Federal eRulemaking 
portal (www.regulations.gov) or by U.S. mail to the address listed 
above.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the 
proposed project or to obtain a copy of the information collection plan 
and instruments, contact Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information Collection 
Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton 
Road NE, MS H21-8, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; Telephone: 404-639-7570; 
Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), federal agencies must obtain approval from 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of 
information they conduct or sponsor. In addition, the PRA also requires 
federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register 
concerning each proposed collection of information, including each new 
proposed collection, each proposed extension of existing collection of 
information, and each reinstatement of previously approved information 
collection before submitting the collection to the OMB for approval. To 
comply with this requirement, we are publishing this notice of a 
proposed data collection as described below.
    The OMB is particularly interested in comments that will help:
    1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
    2. Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of 
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected;
    4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submissions of responses; and
    5. Assess information collection costs.

Proposed Project

    2022 Ebola Airport Entry Questionnaires--New--National Center for 
Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National 
Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Division of 
Global Migration and Quarantine (DGMQ) recently had a New Emergency 
Information Collection Request (ICR) approved for 2022 Ebola Airport 
Entry Questionnaires (OMB Control No. 0920-1375).
    Section 361 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act (42 U.S.C. 264) 
(Attachment A1) authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
to make and enforce regulations necessary to prevent the introduction, 
transmission or spread of communicable diseases from foreign countries 
into the United States. Under its delegated

[[Page 64048]]

authority, DGMQ works to fulfill this responsibility through a variety 
of activities, including the operation of Quarantine Stations at ports 
of entry and administration of foreign quarantine regulations; 42 Code 
of Federal Regulation part 71 (Attachment A2), specifically 42 CFR 
71.20 Public health prevention measures to detect communicable disease. 
This ICR concerns CDC's statutory and regulatory authority related to 
conducting public health screening of travelers upon arrival to the 
United States and assessing individual travelers for public health risk 
following a report of illness from a conveyance.
    The purpose of this information collection is to determine the 
public health risk that travelers from areas affected by the 2022 
outbreak of Ebola originating in Uganda may pose. This information will 
be used to: (1) determine if travelers have symptoms consistent with 
Ebola and should be isolated and medically evaluated upon arrival in 
the US; and (2) assist state and local health departments with 
understanding which travelers from the region may be at higher risk of 
becoming ill with Ebola and should be prioritized for taking certain 
public health protection measures, such as quarantine.
    CDC collects international travelers' contact information under 
authorities in the Interim Final Rule: Control of Communicable 
Diseases: Foreign Quarantine and CDC's Order Requirement for Airlines 
and Operators to Collect and Transmit Designated Information for 
Passengers and Crew Arriving Into the United States; Requirement for 
Passengers to Provide Designated Information. Traveler contact 
information is sent to CDC though an existing data-sharing 
infrastructure in place between the United States Department of 
Homeland Security (DHS) and HHS/CDC and approved in OMB Control 0920-
1354. Contact information for travelers who have been to an area 
affected by the outbreak during the 21 days prior to arrival will be 
confirmed at the port of entry. CDC will share contact information for 
these travelers with state and local health departments so that they 
can do possible public health follow up, including public health 
assessment of exposure risk and monitoring for Ebola symptoms, and 
education to travelers. These public health interventions will help 
state and local health departments determine the appropriate level of 
follow-up needed based on the traveler's level of risk, and rapidly 
identify any travelers with symptoms that may need to be prioritized 
for more targeted public health measures, such as quarantine, due to a 
higher risk of exposure to Ebola.
    To implement the 2022 Ebola Entry Questionnaire information 
collection, CDC will first require all travelers from designated areas 
affected by the 2022 outbreak of Ebola originating in Uganda, to 
undergo an initial Ebola screening to determine if CDC needs to do 
further public health risk assessment or illness response at the 
airport. DHS will refer travelers that have been to designated areas to 
another location of the airport where CDC will ask initial Ebola 
screening questions. DHS will also provide the contact information they 
have received to CDC electronically as part of the information 
collection under OMB Control No. 0920-1354. CDC will escort travelers 
to the area of the initial Ebola screening and confirm with the 
traveler that the contact information on file is correct. CDC will 
inform DHS if there are any necessary corrections needed to the contact 
information.
    In this initial Ebola screening setting, CDC will ask basic 
questions about signs or symptoms of illness (e.g., fever, or vomiting, 
or diarrhea, etc.) or possible exposure (e.g., contact with a person 
sick with Ebola, attendance at a funeral, etc.) as well as observe 
travelers to determine if the traveler is experiencing any overt signs 
and symptoms of disease and measure their temperature with a noncontact 
thermometer. If a traveler answers ``Yes'' to any of these initial 
screening questions, is visibly ill, or has a fever, the traveler will 
then be referred to another area of the airport for a public health 
risk assessment by CDC. The public health risk assessment will help CDC 
investigate further to determine if the traveler could be sick with 
Ebola or to get more information about a possible exposure to the Ebola 
virus to determine if the traveler is high-risk.
    The CDC staff member doing the initial Ebola screening will escort 
the traveler to the new area of the airport for further public health 
risk assessment questions by other staff members of CDC. They will 
indicate the reason the traveler is being referred for further public 
health risk assessment to the new CDC staff member. Any person who is 
visibly ill or reports signs or symptoms, or has an elevated 
temperature measurement, will undergo an illness investigation using 
the Air Travel Illness or Death Investigation or Traveler Follow up 
Form that is currently approved under OMB Control No. 0920-1318. Staff 
will take necessary precautions to prevent possible exposures by any 
ill travelers, such as wearing appropriate personal protective 
equipment during any illness investigation.
    During the CDC public health risk assessment, CDC will ask more 
detailed questions about possible exposures, such as symptoms, whether 
they were exposed to a person with Ebola, and the nature of contact 
(e.g., provided direct healthcare). Depending on their symptoms and how 
they answer, CDC may refer the person for medical care. If CDC staff 
identify any travelers with high-risk exposures, management will be 
coordinated directly with the health departments of jurisdiction for 
both the airport where traveler is located and their final destination. 
Issuance of public health orders under federal or state authorities may 
also be considered. Any information from these public health risk 
assessments, as well as information related to an illness investigation 
will be recorded in CDC's Quarantine Activity Reporting System, which 
is covered by the System of Records Notice 09-20-0171, Quarantine-and 
Traveler-Related Activities.
    CDC anticipates certain time and cost burdens to respondents and 
record keepers due to the requirements and requests OMB approval for an 
estimated 6,260 burden hours. There is no cost to respondents other 
than their time.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                                      Average
                                   Information       Number of       Number of      burden per     Total burden
          Respondent             collection form    respondents    responses per   response (in      hours (in
                                                                    respondent        hours)          hours)
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Traveler......................  Initial                   53,655               1            5/60            4,47
                                 Screening
                                 Questions.

[[Page 64049]]

 
Traveler......................  Public Health              5,635               1           20/60           1,789
                                 Assessment for
                                 Travelers From
                                 Ebola Outbreak-
                                 Affected
                                 Countries.
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.....................  ................  ..............  ..............  ..............           6,260
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Jeffrey M. Zirger,
Lead, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Scientific 
Integrity, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2022-22932 Filed 10-20-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P