Emergency Request Letter

November 5, 2021
Sharon Block
Acting Administrator
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Office of Management and Budget
Washington, D.C. 20503
Dear Dr. Block,
Pursuant to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) procedures established at 5 CFR Part 1320, Controlling
Paperwork Burdens on the Public, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) requests that the proposed
information collection, the COVID-19 Vaccine Supplemental Medical Provider Statement, OMB Control Number
0651-NEW, be processed as an Emergency Clearance Request in accordance with 5 CFR § 1320.13, Emergency
Processing.
USPTO has determined that this information must be collected prior to the time periods established under Part
1320 of the regulations and that this information is essential to implement agencies’ health and safety
measures regarding the Federal employee medical and religious exemptions to the vaccination requirement
included within recent Safer Federal Workforce Task Force Guidance for COVID-19 Mandatory Vaccinations.
Government agencies have an urgent need to request medical exemption information with input from medical
providers for federal employees. Applying regular Paperwork Reduction Act clearance procedures is likely to
cause harm because of the threat of COVID-19 exposure and transmission (5 CFR § 1320.13(c)).
Therefore, the USPTO requests a 180-day emergency clearance to establish the COVID-19 Vaccine
Supplemental Medical Provider Statement, allowing individuals to request medical exemptions, with medical
provider input, from COVID-19 Mandatory Vaccinations. During the 180-day emergency approval, the USPTO
will work to establish a regular clearance submission of this information collection request under the
Paperwork Reduction Act procedures. As this request for approval concerns an urgent safety need, USPTO is
also seeking OMB’s approval to waive the need for the Federal Register Notices otherwise required by 5 CFR §
1320.5(a)(1)(iv) and 1320.8(d)(1) prior to publication and implementation of this disclosure.
USPTO would appreciate if OMB could provide an approval/disapproval determination of this request to collect
information under an emergency clearance by close of business on Friday, November 12, 2021.
Sincerely,
Digitally signed by Users,

Users, Steckler, Steckler, Frederick W.
Date: 2021.11.05
Frederick W.
17:49:38 -04'00'

Frederick W. Steckler
COVID-19 Lead
Chief Administrative Officer
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office