Modification to Contract 75D30120C07986

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention intends to award a sole source cost reimbursable modification to Westat.  Westat was awarded (4 May 2020) a contract (75D30120C07986; “Virtual Network COVID-19”) to establish a virtual network of health care and public health research systems with integrated medical, laboratory, and vaccination records for the purpose of assessing the epidemiology of mild to severe COVID-19 and evaluating the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in preventing COVID-19 and associated medical burden among children and adults recommended to be vaccinated.  Tasks include extracting and validating data elements, managing complex data sets, conducting descriptive and statistical analysis, reporting of results, and conducting focused investigations on specific research questions to address critical knowledge gaps relevant to public health policy decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

This effort was modified on 30 August 2020 (see Notice ID 07986) to expand information gathering to include vaccine records and to adapt protocols and procedures in order to assess effectiveness of licensed COVID-19 vaccines once they became available.  CDC also required in this modification to expand the source population for the electronic cohorts from 2.5 million to 3.5 million members through expanded coverage within existing and new health care sites.  CDC also required the period of performance to be extended to 30 September 2022 in order to conduct evaluations during the expected roll-out of COVID-19 vaccine products in the US and to evaluate the preventative benefits of vaccination over at least one year. 

This effort was further modified on 17 March 2021 (see Notice ID 52217) for Westat to engage additional hospitals to contribute more hospitalization events in order to evaluate COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness (VE) in preventing lab-confirmed COVID-19 admissions and provide CDC with interim estimates of VE within 8 weeks of 2-dose vaccine coverage reaching >5% of the target population.

CDC requires an additional modification to expand the number of evaluated patients and special topics of investigation in order to: (1) assess VE among new populations, including children, who are now recommended to be vaccinated; (2) compare the preventative benefits of 3rd or booster vaccinations to the original 2-dose vaccination regimens; and (3) assess the extent to which VE may decline due to reduced immunity with time since vaccination and/or changes in the virus variants circulation.  This modification requires an extension of the study period of performance through 30 September 2023.

Because Westat has completed all of the implementation tasks and study activities described above, they are the only contractor able to complete this work to add a larger source population and to add information relevant to vaccine evaluations which can be integrated with the existing and established data protocols.  It is essential that this information be added to these existing cohorts rather than by initiating new studies in order for data to be comparable and collapsible; provide continuity in data sharing, analysis, and collaboration with study partners; and support rapid evidence-based policy decisions.

This contract action (modification) is for supplies or services for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under the authority of FAR 6.302-1 and 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1).  Interested persons may identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirement or submit proposals. 

This notice of intent is not a request for competitive quotations; however, all quotations/responses received within fifteen (15) days of the issuance of this notice will be considered by the Government.  A determination by the Government to compete this proposed contract action (modification) based upon the responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.  Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.  Any quotation/response should be emailed to Mark Draluck at syq1@cdc.gov by 9:00 A.M. EST., 17 December 2021.