Background

 On Wednesday, April 8, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health released guidance authorizing pharmacists to “order and administer COVID-19 tests, including serology tests, that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized.”  In its guidance, HHS granted licensed pharmacists immunity when administering or ordering FDA-authorized COVID-19 tests and stated that they will be considered a “covered person” under the Public Readiness and  Preparedness Act (PREP Act) when taking such actions. The PREP Act confers immunity for covered persons, from claims arising out of state law. For more background information about the April 8, 2020 HHS guidance, see our previous post available here.