First Edition: March 19, 2021

KHN:
The Case For Donating US Covid Vaccines Overseas

A Senate committee grilled federal officials about the shortage of vaccines to protect Americans against a pandemic virus. Two months later, the U.S. public had lost interest in the virus, and millions of vaccines were sitting in warehouses — although poor countries still needed them. This happened during the 2009-10 swine flu pandemic. One official on the hot seat was Dr. Nicole Lurie, who was in charge of preparedness and response at the Department of Health and Human Services. Today, she’s a senior adviser at the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, which is helping to vaccinate the world against covid. And she’s worried about history repeating itself. (Allen, 3/19)

KHN:
Doctors Found Jet Fuel In Veteran’s Lungs. He Can’t Get Full Benefits

The lungs Bill Thompson was born with told a gruesome, harrowing and unmistakable tale to Dr. Anthony Szema when he analyzed them and found the black spots, scarring, partially combusted jet fuel and metal inside. The retired Army staff sergeant had suffered catastrophic lung damage from breathing incinerated waste burned in massive open-air pits and probably other irritants during his tour of duty in Iraq. (McAuliff, 3/19)

KHN:
Covid-Inspired Montana Health Insurance Proposal Wouldn’t Kick In For 2 Years

For employees of small businesses in Montana suddenly laid off during the covid-19 pandemic, maintaining health insurance coverage could be a struggle. Employers with 20 or more workers offer a bridge insurance program made possible by a federal law known as the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, or COBRA. The law allows people who have left a job voluntarily or involuntarily to keep their former employer’s health insurance plan for 18 months by paying the premium that the employer used to cover. (Reardon, 3/19)

KHN:
Listen: Crooked Media And KHN Deliver Diagnosis On Pandemic Relief And ACA

On this week’s episode of “America Dissected,” podcast host Dr. Abdul El-Sayed spoke with KHN correspondent Emmarie Huetteman about the pandemic aid package designed to give millions of people relief from expensive health care premiums. Huetteman, who wrote about the plan, explained it could throw a lifeline to lower- and middle-income Americans who have fallen through the cracks of the government’s eligibility requirements for Affordable Care Act assistance. (3/19)

KHN:
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: ACA Packs More Benefits — And More Confusion

The covid relief bill signed by President Joe Biden a week ago includes billions of dollars in new health benefits for consumers. But those benefits may be hard for people to take advantage of because of the interaction with the income tax system and the lack of experts to help them navigate the system. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is shedding some health-related cases, as the Biden administration begins to reverse some of the Trump administration’s actions. The justices have already canceled planned oral arguments on a case challenging the prior approval of work requirements for some adult Medicaid recipients and soon are expected to drop a case on rules that effectively bar Planned Parenthood from participation in the federal family planning program. (3/18)

The New York Times:
Senate Confirms Xavier Becerra As The Secretary Of Health And Human Services

The Senate on Thursday confirmed Xavier Becerra, a son of Mexican immigrants who became a member of Congress and California’s attorney general, as President Biden’s secretary of health and human services after a bitter partisan fight that centered on his qualifications and support for abortion rights. The vote was 50 to 49. Senator Susan Collins of Maine was the only Republican to support his confirmation. Mr. Becerra will become the first Latino to oversee the sprawling agency. (Stolberg, 3/18)

The Washington Post:
Becerra Squeaks Through Confirmation Vote To Become HHS Secretary 

Xavier Becerra narrowly won confirmation Thursday to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, the agency pivotal to President Biden’s urgent goal of defeating the coronavirus pandemic and expanding access to health care. Becerra, a congressman from Los Angeles for two dozen years and then California attorney general, squeaked by on a vote of 50 to 49, the closest margin for any of the Biden Cabinet members the Senate has confirmed so far. (Goldstein, 3/18)

The Wall Street Journal:
Senate Confirms Xavier Becerra As Secretary Of Health And Human Services

The secretary has said he would work on a bipartisan basis to safeguard insurance-coverage protections for people with pre-existing conditions, reduce healthcare costs and sustain the ACA markets. He has also said he would work to fight the coronavirus pandemic and meet weekly with President Biden on vaccine distribution, availability of personal protective equipment and advocating that people wear masks. “He’s got to make sure he has the right career people on staff because a lot of people have left,” said Frederick Isasi, executive director of Families USA, a healthcare advocacy group. He said Mr. Becerra, who repeatedly litigated Trump-era policies, may go after consolidation in the health industry and other factors that are behind rising healthcare costs. (Armour, 3/18)

AP:
Becerra Confirmed To Shepherd Biden’s Ambitious Health Plans

The Senate on Thursday confirmed California Attorney General Xavier Becerra as President Joe Biden’s health secretary, filling a key position in the administration’s coronavirus response and its ambitious push to lower drug costs, expand insurance coverage, and eliminate racial disparities in medical care. … The $1.4 trillion agency encompasses health insurance programs, drug safety and approvals, advanced medical research, substance abuse treatment, and the welfare of children, including hundreds of Central American migrants arriving daily at the U.S.-Mexico border. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 3/18)

Roll Call:
Senate Confirms Becerra As Biden’s Health Secretary

The Senate voted, 50-49, on Thursday to confirm Xavier Becerra as the first Latino secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Becerra will take charge of a health department a year into a global pandemic that has reshaped how doctors provide care, highlighted racial and ethnic disparities in the health care system and threatened employer-sponsored health insurance for people who lost their jobs. (McIntire, 3/18)

NBC News:
Biden Expected To Hit Goal Of 100 Million Vaccination Shots Friday

President Joe Biden said he was poised to meet his goal of administering 100 million Covid-19 vaccination shots in his first 100 days on Friday, more than 40 days ahead of schedule. “I am proud to announce that tomorrow, 58 days into my administration, we will have met our goal,” Biden said Thursday afternoon in a speech at the White House. “That’s weeks ahead of schedule, even with the setbacks we faced during the winter storms.” Biden said that 100 million vaccines was “just the floor” and he would announce a new goal next week. (Egan, 3/18)

AP:
Biden Says US To Hit 100 Million Virus Goal On Friday

The 100 million-dose goal was first announced on Dec. 8, days before the U.S. had even one authorized vaccine for COVID-19, let alone the three that have now received emergency authorization. Still, it was generally seen within reach, if optimistic. By the time Biden was inaugurated on Jan. 20, the U.S. had already administered 20 million shots at a rate of about 1 million per day, bringing complaints at the time that Biden’s goal was not ambitious enough. He quickly revised it upward to 150 million doses in his first 100 days. (Miller, 3/19)

Fox News:
US To Hit 100M COVID-19 Vaccines Administered Friday, Biden Says

Biden said current data reflects that 65% of people ages 65 and older in the U.S. have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while 36% of this population are fully vaccinated. He said reaching this level is key as “this is the population that represents 80% of the well over 500,000 COVID-19 deaths in America.” (Hein, 3/18)

The Hill:
Biden To Send Surplus AstraZeneca Vaccine Doses To Mexico, Canada

President Biden’s administration plans to send millions of doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Mexico and Canada, the White House confirmed Thursday, a development that comes as the U.S. faces a surge of migrants at the southern border with Mexico. Press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed the plans, which were first reported by Reuters and The Washington Post, but said that they were not yet finalized. (Chalfant and Coleman, 3/18)

Politico:
Biden Administration Finalizing Plans To Share Covid Vaccine Doses With Mexico And Canada 

During a March 1 bilateral meeting, President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador discussed the possibility that the U.S. would send Mexico surplus doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The topic of Mexico ramping up its law enforcement presence at the U.S. southern border also came up, according to an individual close to the Mexican president and a senior U.S. administration official. (Forgey, 3/18)

CNN:
Masks Are Not Theater, Fauci Tells Sen. Rand Paul In Hearing Exchange 

Dr. Anthony Fauci got into a contentious exchange with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) Thursday over whether people should wear masks if they have recovered from Covid-19 or been vaccinated against it. Paul, who says he has been infected with coronavirus and who pointedly refuses to wear a mask, attacked Fauci during a hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. (Fox, 3/18)

The Washington Post:
Anthony Fauci Rebukes Rand Paul For ‘Theater’ Claim

Fauci said that, despite the lack of reinfections thus far, we don’t have significant data in two very relevant areas: Whether people who get the vaccine or who have contracted the virus can still spread it, and whether variants of the coronavirus might override any existing immunity. He bristled at the idea that his personal use of masks was “theater.” “No it’s not,” Fauci said before suggesting, as he has previously, that the true theater was being promulgated by Paul. “Here we go again with the theater.” (Blake, 3/18)

CNBC:
Covid: ‘I Totally Disagree With You,’ Fauci Tells GOP Senator In Fiery Exchange Over Masks

“Isn’t it just theater?” the Kentucky junior senator, an ophthalmologist, asked during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing.

“You’ve been vaccinated and you parade around in two masks for show. You can’t get it again,” Paul said. “There’s virtually 0% chance you’re going to get it and you’re telling people that have had the vaccine who have immunity — you’re defying everything we know about immunity by telling people to wear masks who have been vaccinated.” In response, Fauci said, “Here we go again with the theater.” ″Can I just state for the record that masks are not theater,” Fauci said. “I totally disagree with you.” (Lovelace Jr. and Feuer, 3/18)

The Wall Street Journal:
Remote Schooling Strains Parents And Their Children, CDC Survey Suggests

Parents whose children received virtual instruction were more likely to report poorer well-being for themselves and their kids, a federal government survey found. The parents were more likely to report that they were emotionally distressed, concerned about job stability and struggling to balance work and child care if their children were learning virtually, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey released Thursday. Some of the parents also reported the mental and emotional health of their children had worsened, while their physical activity had decreased. (Abbott, 3/18)

Fox News:
CDC’s Walensky Pressed On School Distancing Guidance: ‘You Need To Do It Now’

The director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Dr. Rochelle Walensky was pressed again on the agency’s potential plans to update school distancing guidance during a Senate committee hearing on Thursday as Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, cited increases in mental health emergencies among the nation’s youth. Walensky, whose agency currently recommends 6 feet of distancing to safely reopen, faced similar questioning in a House subcommittee hearing on Wednesday. (Hein, 3/18)

Fox News:
AstraZeneca, Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccines Effective Against Variants, Oxford University Study Shows

A coronavirus variant first detected in Brazil poses less of a threat to vaccines developed by AstraZeneca and Pfizer than researchers first worried, according to new findings announced Thursday by Oxford University. “The results suggest that P1 [the Brazil variant] might be less resistant to vaccine and convalescent immune responses than B1351, and similar to B117,”  Professor Gavin Screaton, lead scientist on the study, said in part in a release posted Thursday by Oxford University. (Rivas, 3/18)

CNN:
US Coronavirus: Here’s What Experts Say Is Needed For US To Return To Normal. But These Barriers Stand In The Way 

States are pushing ahead with expanding Covid-19 vaccine access and rolling back restrictions on businesses and large gatherings as America seeks a return to normalcy. But experts say two barriers stand in the way of reaching herd immunity and getting back to life as we knew it — Covid-19 variants and vaccine hesitancy. (Caldwell, 3/19)

Bloomberg:
Vaccine Rollout Leaves Behind The Blind, Paralyzed, Autistic

“One year into the pandemic, we’re just getting around to wonder how to make vaccine sign-up universal and accessible,” Bryan Bashin, chief executive officer of San Francisco-based LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired. About 1 in 4 adult Americans, or 61 million people, have a disability that can affect mobility, cognitive function, hearing and sight, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Thirty years after the Americans With Disabilities Act fundamentally changed how public and private entities must treat them, the pandemic is demonstrating once again how the disabled can be forgotten, advocates say. (Young, 3/18)

The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Side Effects Mean Your COVID-19 Vaccine Is Working. But What If You Don’t Have A Reaction?

As millions now know from personal experience, the COVID-19 vaccines can cause temporary side effects. It’s a good sign, as it suggests your immune system is paying attention, preparing you in case of infection with the coronavirus. But if you don’t experience side effects, does that mean the vaccine did not work? Good news: The short answer is no, infectious-disease experts say. There is no evidence that a lack of side effects means the vaccinated person is unprotected against COVID-19. (Avril, 3/19)

The Atlantic:
Another Coronavirus Outbreak Is Unfolding

Throughout the fall and winter, we saw a clear pattern—cases would rise, then hospitalizations about a week later, and finally, two weeks after that, deaths would follow. Nursing homes and other long-term-care facilities reported particularly heavy death tolls. If Michigan were to continue that pattern, we would expect hospitalizations to keep rising, and then more deaths. But as a spring surge takes hold in Michigan, two new factors—variants of concern and rising vaccination levels—mean that we don’t yet know how this new rise in cases and hospitalizations will play out. (3/18)

New York Post:
15 States See COVID Cases Rise As Experts Warn Of Potential Resurgence

Soaring numbers of COVID-19 cases have been recorded in more than a dozen states — as experts warn that the U.S. could see a resurgence if Americans let their guard down with more lax public health rules. Though the national case tally has fallen by 32.5% over the last month, there are 15 states that have seen their numbers increase by at least 10%, ABC News reported. Those states are:  Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon and West Virginia. (Salo, 3/18)

CNN:
Coronavirus Spread On Flight, In Hotel Corridor, New Zealand Study Finds 

The coronavirus spread on an international flight, in a hotel corridor and then to household contacts despite efforts to isolate and quarantine patients, New Zealand researchers reported Thursday. Careful genomic tracing confirmed the spread of the virus among nine patients and shows how people can infect one another despite careful efforts, the researchers reported in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases. (Sealy and Fox, 3/18)

Stat:
Does A Drug’s Name Affect Its Perception? The FDA Wants To Know

Drug makers may spend untold sums of money giving medicines zippy names. Now, regulators want to know the effect these nomenclatures have on perceptions held by consumers and doctors. So the Food and Drug Administration is launching what it says is the first such study to learn how names may affect perceptions of how effective a drug is or the given conditions it is approved to treat. The plan is to query 500 consumers and 500 health care providers about fictional “extreme and neutral” names for high cholesterol and acid reflux drugs: CuresFlux and Zerpexin. (Silverman, 3/18)

Modern Healthcare:
Two-Thirds Of Insurers In 32 States Now Have Copay Accumulators, Study Says

Most health plans across the country now include an opaque policy that prevents drug manufacturer coupons and copay assistance from counting against a plan’s deductible or out-of-pocket limit, a trend patient advocates say is alarming and limits access to treatment.
“The money that is covered by copay assistance is still money that is being paid out and kept by the insurer for the plan,” said Stephanie Hengst, manager of policy and research at The AIDS Institute. (Tepper, 3/18)

Modern Healthcare:
Competition Heats Up For Advanced Practice Practitioners

Competition for clinical staff is heating up as healthcare companies bolster their primary-care offerings, but industry observers expect the growing supply of nurse practitioners and physician assistants to meet the ballooning demand for advanced practice clinicians. Payers, providers, tech companies and private-equity backed ventures are building out primary-care oriented services, which rely on a steady supply of advanced practice practitioners. (Kacik, 3/18)

Modern Healthcare:
Hospital Antibiotic Stewardship Programs Falling Short On Quality Goals

Hospitals are falling short of meeting national targets to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing despite efforts in recent years to bolster stewardship, according to new research. An evaluation of antibiotic use in hospitals conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found 56% of antibiotic prescriptions were inappropriate in terms of the type of drug used, the duration they were prescribed, or the medical conditions for which they were given. (Ross Johnson, 3/18)

CIDRAP:
Aspirin Linked To Less Serious COVID-19 Outcomes

A low-dose aspirin treatment is associated with a lower likelihood of mechanical ventilation, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and in-hospital mortality in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, according to a study published yesterday in Anesthesia & Analgesia. The retrospective observational study looked at 412 hospitalized COVID-19 patients across the United States from March to July 2020, 98 of whom (23.7%) received aspirin. Of those who received aspirin, 75.5% were taking it before admission and 86.7% received it within 24 hours of hospital admission. (3/18)

USA Today:
Low-Dose Aspirin May Help Avoid COVID’s Worst Outcomes

A new study is adding to the growing body of evidence that low-dose aspirin helps lessen the harsher effects of contracting the coronavirus. The study, conducted by George Washington University researchers and published in the journal Anesthesia and Analgesia, examined the records of 412 patients admitted to U.S. hospitals with COVID-19 from March to July of last year. Of those, nearly 24% had taken aspirin seven days or less before of hospital admission or within 24 hours after admission. More than 40% of those patients had improved results in key areas compared to patients who did not take the cheap, widely available drug. (Bacon, Ortiz and Iyer, 3/18)

Stat:
Monkey Model Of Alzheimer’s May Accelerate Search For Treatments 

Researchers reported Thursday that they have created a new model for studying treatments of Alzheimer’s disease — in rhesus macaque monkeys — that may speed the search for therapies that make an appreciable difference in the course of an illness that affects nearly 6 million Americans. Despite three decades of intensive research on Alzheimer’s, and billions of dollars in funding, researchers have yet to find a way to prevent or cure, or even to slow, the disease as it rampages through aging brains. Some blame the mice. (McFarling, 3/18)

USA Today:
Germs Spread 10 Times Faster With High-Speed Hand Dryers, Study Finds

Hand-washing always has been important, and the pandemic further magnified its crucial role in helping stop the spread of germs. But a new study also suggests the method used for drying hands can be just as important to public health. The use of high-speed hand dryers can transfer germs to a person’s clothing and lead to an increase in spreading those contaminants to other surfaces, according to the pilot study published Wednesday in “Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.” (Barnes, 3/17)

CBS News:
Popular Flea Collar May Be Linked To Nearly 1,700 Pet Deaths 

Members of Congress are demanding one of the largest single product recalls in U.S. history after a top-selling flea and tick collar was linked to the deaths of nearly 1,700 pets and hundreds of injuries to humans. “When we put the collar on, everything changed and was like a switch just flipped,” Alex Jaeger said. Alex Jaeger and his mother, Eleanor, say two months after they put a Seresto collar on their golden retriever Blake, he developed seizures. They say their veterinarian gave Blake epilepsy medication, but the dog has never been the same. (3/18)

The Washington Post:
Which Fruits And Vegetables Don’t Count Toward Your ‘5 A Day’? New Study Has Answers.

A new study backs up the long-standing nutritional guideline that consuming five daily servings of a variety of fruits and vegetables, from apples to zucchini, can help you live longer. But if you consider fruit juice or french fries among those servings, you may have to rethink your diet. “People who eat five servings of vegetables and fruit daily have 13 percent lower risk of all-cause death compared to people who eat two servings of fruit and vegetables per day,” says Dong Wang, a faculty member at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and one of the study’s researchers.  (Rosenbloom, 3/18)

Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Real Water Pulled From Stores As More Nevadans Report Illnesses  

In the wake of a recent civil lawsuit against the Las Vegas-based company and an announcement of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigation into Real Water after reported liver illness in children, more Nevadans have stepped forward with concerns about the product. Attorney Will Kemp, who filed suit Tuesday on behalf of one family, said Thursday that he was fielding dozens of calls and interviewing potential clients, including one who underwent a liver transplant. Late Thursday, his firm Kemp Jones, LLP filed a second lawsuit on behalf of a Nevada father of two who drank Real Water and suffered “acute liver failure and was informed that he was a candidate for an immediate liver transplant.” (Ferrara, 3/18)

AP:
Zoos, Scientists Aim To Curb People Giving Virus To Animals

The coughing among the western lowland gorillas at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in January was the first warning sign. Soon the fears were confirmed: A troop of gorillas became the first apes known to test positive for the coronavirus. Around the world, many scientists and veterinarians are now racing to protect animals from the coronavirus, often using the same playbook for minimizing disease spread among people: That includes social distancing, health checks and, for some zoo animals, a vaccine. Karen, a 28-year-old orangutan, became the first ape in the world to get a coronavirus vaccine on Jan. 26 at the San Diego Zoo. (Larson and Watson, 3/19)

AP:
Colorado Lawmakers Unveil Public-Run Health Insurance Bill

Setting up one of the most contentious issues of Colorado’s 2021 legislative session, Democratic state lawmakers announced they are introducing a public health care option bill on Thursday that’s intended to drive down insurance costs for individuals and small businesses hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Long one of Democratic Gov. Jared Polis’ top priorities, and abandoned last year because of the pandemic, the legislation would ask private insurance companies to reduce their premium rates for individual plans by 20% of what they are now by the end of 2024. If they don’t meet that target, a nonprofit state-administered plan that sets price limits would kick in. (Anderson, 3/18)

Los Angeles Times:
California Has Record-Breaking Week Of COVID Vaccinations

In a sign that the state’s uneven COVID-19 vaccine rollout is significantly ramping up, nearly 1 million Californians have gotten a shot in the past two days, data show. The last four days have seen the four highest single-day totals of vaccines administered to date, according to data compiled by The Times. That record-setting run includes 464,249 doses reported Tuesday — an all-time high — and 400,360 on Wednesday, the second-largest daily total. (Money and Shalby, 3/18)

AP:
Missouri To Open Vaccines To Everyone Beginning April 9

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Thursday said the homeless, minorities, restaurant workers and other vulnerable communities will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccines beginning March 29, and the vaccine will be opened up to everyone soon after. Any adult in Missouri who wants a COVID-19 vaccine will be eligible to get one beginning April 9, Parson said. (Ballentine, 3/18)

AP:
Arkansas Activates 20 Guard Members To Assist With Vaccines

Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Thursday activated 20 members of the Arkansas Air and Army National Guard to assist with coronavirus vaccinations. Hutchinson said the Guard members would administer vaccinations in four public health regions. Each of the four teams will include two medics and two personnel to handle logistics and documentation. “This deployment will accelerate our efforts to contain COVID-19 in Arkansas,” Hutchinson said in a statement. (3/18)

AP:
Michigan Ex-Governor Loses Challenge To Flint Water Charges 

A judge on Thursday rejected a request to dismiss misdemeanor charges against a former Michigan governor in the Flint water scandal. Lawyers for Rick Snyder said he worked in Ingham County, not Genesee County, so the indictment from a one-person grand jury was returned in the wrong place. But Judge William Crawford II said prosecutors have flexibility about where to pursue a case. (White, 3/18)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Wisconsin Mom Gave Birth While In COVID Coma, Then Fought For Her Life

Kelsey Townsend delivered her fourth child while deep in a coma, her lungs scarred and inflamed from COVID-19, her body starved of oxygen. She’d been minutes from death, her obstetrician said. Seven weeks later on Christmas Eve, the 32-year-old office manager still clung to life at University Hospital in Madison, two machines delivering the oxygen her lungs no longer could. On that night, of all nights, the doctor had more bad news to deliver, and it appeared Kelsey would have to face it alone. Pandemic restrictions had put an end to regular hospital visits. (Johnson, 3/18)

AP:
Mexico Seizes Fake Sputnik Vaccine Bound For Honduras

Mexican customs officials have seized purported vials of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine en route to Honduras that the Russian entity that bankrolled the vaccine’s development said Thursday were fake. The seizure came aboard a private plane in the Gulf coast state of Campeche, according to a statement from Mexico’s tax agency late Wednesday. Customs agents and soldiers found 1,155 vials containing more than 5,700 doses inside two coolers packed with ice and sodas. The crew and Honduran passengers were turned over to the Attorney General’s Office. (3/18)