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WELCOME TO MONDAY PULSE — From the Department of One Bad Thing Leads to Another: People infected with mosquito-borne viruses are more likely to attract more mosquitoes. Send your news and tips to [email protected] and [email protected].
SLOW PHLOW — A pharmaceutical startup awarded a $354-million contract from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority early in the pandemic has yet to fulfill its promise of bringing low-cost, generic drug manufacturing to the U.S., POLITICO’s Katherine Ellen Foley reports.
Just a few months after Phlow Corp. launched, the Richmond, Va.-based company received one of the largest federal pandemic preparedness grants ever awarded. Phlow agreed to produce generic drugs from start to finish efficiently and cheaply, using a novel production process.
In May 2020, BARDA gave the firm two years to begin making the active ingredients for drugs frequently in shortage in the U.S. or used for Covid-19 treatment and four years to make generic drugs.
Though Phlow has fulfilled some parts of its contract, it’s failed to deliver on the two-year deadline, casting doubt on its four-year targets and highlighting how the federal government continues to pay for deals made with companies that had little experience during the early chaos of the pandemic.
Now experts fear the U.S. government may have missed an opportunity to fund more established companies that could have brought pharmaceutical manufacturing back to U.S. soil sooner.
THE RUSH ON TELEHEALTH ABORTION WEB SITES — Telehealth abortion websites in the U.S. and overseas have seen a 25-fold increase in traffic since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last month, as patients and practitioners scramble to adjust to the new terrain, write POLITICO’s Ruth Reader and Ben Leonard.
Tele-abortion, in which a patient meets with a doctor online who can then write a prescription for abortion pills intended to end a pregnancy up to 10 weeks, gained popularity during the pandemic and has now become a lifeline to individuals in states where new restrictions and bans have gone into effect since the SCOTUS ruling.
However, domestic telehealth abortion providers are subject to state laws and can only prescribe and dispense medication from states where abortion is legal. That means patients still might have to travel long distances to get a virtual appointment for a medication abortion.
Some telehealth providers are also now offering mobile surgical clinics in states where abortion is likely to stay legal and bordering a state where abortion restrictions apply.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden said on Sunday that he’s thinking about declaring a public health emergency to free up federal resources to ensure better access to abortion across the country.
BIDEN FALLING BEHIND ON ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AGENDA — The Biden administration’s much-touted commitment to environmental justice has yet to materialize into serious action, POLITICO’s Annie Snider and Sean Reilly report.
For instance, the administration pledged early on that 40 percent of the benefits from climate and clean energy spending would go to overburdened and neglected communities, but congressional Democrats failed to pass the massive social and climate spending bill that would have delivered a jolt of new money to that effort.
The EPA only released a list of programs covered by the 40 percent pledge last month, and the mechanics of tracking how the agency will apportion the money are still being ironed out.
Other efforts to tackle the disproportionate impact of pollution on communities of color across the nation have also been patchy. While activists are willing to give the government time, they say the so-far incremental steps aren’t being felt on the ground.
In places like the heavy industry heartland of Northwest Indiana, where three of the nation’s largest steel mills are, health care workers see unusually high numbers of patients with breathing problems and heart conditions. Though no studies have conclusively linked the mills’ toxins to the general poor health of the community, in some families, it’s uncommon to find a relative who’s lived past 60. The average life expectancy lags behind those of Indiana and the U.S. as a whole.
SURVEY: VOTERS WANT ACTION ON HEALTH CARE — As lawmakers negotiate what health care provisions will make it into a possible reconciliation package, a survey released today shows that half of the voters polled feel they’re under pressure because of health care costs and are either putting off medical care or making sacrifices to avoid medical costs They also report they have current or past medical debt.
The survey, sponsored by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, also shows that most Democratic, Republican and independent voters want the government to prioritize making health care more affordable and protecting individuals from losing their health insurance during periods of high inflation.
Nearly three-quarters approve of the federal government doing that by increasing tax credits through the marketplace that enabled people to keep their existing coverage or buy new insurance during the pandemic.
About the same proportion also support Congress passing a law allowing people living in the 12 states that didn’t expand Medicaid to qualify for affordable health coverage.
NYC’S ELUSIVE STASH OF MONKEYPOX VACCINES — Technical glitches in an online system meant that only 2,500 people could book appointments for 6,000 available monkeypox vaccines in New York City last week, writes POLITICO’s Amanda Eisenberg.
New York City has been one of the hardest-hit areas in the U.S. The city reported that 160 people tested positive for the monkeypox virus as of Friday, up from 111 on July 4.
The virus has been primarily spreading among men who have sex with other men and the city’s decision to make the vaccine available first in its tony Chelsea neighborhood raised questions from activists over the equity of the city’s vaccine distribution plan.
Appointments are expected to open back up early this week.
MINNESOTA NEARLY LEGALIZES WEED, MAYBE ON PURPOSE — A Minnesota law took effect earlier this month, allowing anyone at least 21 years old to purchase edibles or beverages with up to 5 milligrams of hemp-derived THC per serving, POLITICO’s Paul Demko reports.
But some lawmakers who approved the change in drug policy seemed confused about what they’d done. Marijuana legalization has been a divisive issue in the state legislature for years, yet the legalization provision was adopted during a marathon conference committee meeting in May without debate or objection.
Democrats say they were fully aware of what the hemp legislation would do. But Senate Republicans are far less willing to discuss the bill and whether they realized it would permit intoxicating cannabis products.
Regardless of who knew what and when, reversing the law would prove unpopular with consumers, given the strong support for marijuana legalization in the state.
FLORIDIANS DEBATE TRANSITION-RELATED CARE RULE — The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration is set to decide today whether to move forward with a proposed rule that would block Florida’s Medicaid program from covering transition-related medical care, POLITICO’s Arek Sarkissian reports.
More than 150 people testified about the rule on Friday as part of its public comment period, including dozens who oppose the treatment for children.
In June, American Health Care Association officials recommended that the state’s Medicaid program shouldn’t cover transition-related medical care, such as hormone therapy and surgeries.
Other medical associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association, support gender-affirming care for adults and adolescents. Medical experts say gender-affirming care for children rarely, if ever, includes surgery. Doctors are more likely to recommend counseling, social transitioning and hormone replacement therapy.
FDA GIVES FULL APPROVAL TO COVID-19 TEEN VAX — The Food and Drug Administration said Friday it granted full approval to Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine primary series for those ages 12 through 15, POLITICO’s David Lim and Lauren Gardner report.
The full authorization may boost uptake in the age group. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that 41.5 percent of 12- to 15-year-olds in the U.S. remain unvaccinated.
Forbes Tate Partners is adding Tyler Roberts as an SVP. Roberts most recently was VP of the health care and critical infrastructure practices at Venn Strategies and is a Dan Sullivan alum.
California could become the fifth state to legalize human composting as an alternative to burial and cremation, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Kaiser Health News reports that veteran therapists say more data is needed to know whether the spate of new mental telehealth firms is working.
As many as 10 million people might die every year from the effects of air pollution, The New York Times writes. So, why are we OK with that?
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