On March 17, 2020, the Secretary of the Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) issued a Declaration energizing the PREP Act, which
provides legal immunity for manufacturers, distributors, suppliers
and administrators of qualified products and processes used to
fight COVID-19. As discussed below, this Declaration provides
certain important protections to encourage innovation and
expedience, but it also includes qualifying criteria and exceptions
that must be considered and evaluated on a case-by-case basis to
determine whether protection is likely to exist. Like many such
protections, its applicability in any given situation may be
subject to litigation for many years to come.
