The FDA announced that it is set to resume conducting domestic surveillance inspections after a brief postponement.
In December, the agency confirmed temporary changes to inspectional activities due to COVID-19 as the omicron variant of the virus led to surges across the world. The FDA implemented the changes in the U.S. on Dec. 29, 2021, to ensure the safety of its employees and the firms it regulates, highlighting plans to continue mission-critical work while postponing certain inspectional activities.
According to a news release out last week, the FDA determined on Feb. 2 that it would resume the domestic surveillance inspections across all commodities following a decline in COVID-19 cases. The resumption went into effect today, Feb. 7.
The FDA said that, in addition to resuming the surveillance inspections, it continues to conduct both foreign and domestic mission-critical inspections and provide oversight of foods, drugs, medical products and tobacco in a number of ways, including remote assessments.
Additionally, the FDA plans to move forward with previously planned foreign surveillance inspections that have received country clearance and are within the CDC’s Level 1 or Level 2 COVID-19 travel recommendation. Planning for further foreign inspections is ongoing as the FDA aims to conduct prioritized inspections abroad beginning in April.
“Throughout all these activities, the agency remains committed to the health and safety of its investigators and will provide the protection needed to safely inspect facilities and conduct investigations at the ports and in agency laboratories,” the FDA said.