Axios Vitals: Health workers' burnout battle

Plus: A case for better messaging around vaccine authorization | Friday, August 13, 2021

Open in app View in browser   Presented By PhRMA   Axios Vitals By Tina Reed ·Aug 13, 2021 Happy Friday the 13th, Vitals readers! 🤚Today is International Left-Handers Day. As a southpaw myself, I'd like to celebrate all my fellow lefties out there with a (left-handed) virtual high-five. Situational awareness: The FDA amended the EUAs for both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to allow for an additional dose in certain immunocompromised individuals. That includes solid organ transplant recipients or those diagnosed with conditions that are considered to have an equivalent level of immunocompromise, the agency said. Today's newsletter is 773 words, or a 3-minute read.     1 big thing: Health care's burnout crisis Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios   Health care workers on the front lines in the fight against COVID are suffering from unprecedented levels of burnout amid the latest surge. What's going on: Workers were already exhausted. But with this latest surge, they know most of the desperately ill COVID patients flooding hospitals chose not to get a vaccine. "There's a lot of rage and frustration in the workforce where it's like, 'God, we could be done with this,'" Meredith Duke, a bariatric surgeon at Vanderbilt told Axios. In Arkansas, health care workers harbor similar frustrations. "It's too late for them to get the vaccine," an ICU nurse in Arkansas told the Wall Street Journal. "It's been pretty demoralizing." The workforce is also running into a problem that plagues other industries like airlines and restaurants in recent months: rage. Once seen as health care "heroes," many health care workers have been worn down by constantly battling misinformation. Others have faced increasing verbal abuse when discussing health measures regarding COVID, Gregg Miller, chief medical officer at Vituity, a firm that staffs hospital emergency departments, told Axios. During one of Miller's recent shifts in an emergency room, a coworker offered a patient a vaccine dose to a patient. "The patient just unleashed on him." What we're watching: In some cases, it may be leading workers to leave their jobs. As ICUs have filled in recent weeks, hospitals have reported serious staffing shortages. "In this fourth wave, it's become a lot harder to recruit nurses," Tracey Moffat, chief nursing officer at Ochsner Health System in New Orleans, told the Washington Post.     2. The importance of messaging Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios   FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine can provide a big boost to vaccination efforts or a more modest one — depending on how it is handled when the approval comes down, writes KFF CEO Drew Altman. Between the lines: If FDA approval is left to be interpreted by the public through the countless channels of communication and misinformation people use to digest vaccine information, the effect of the decision will be much more modest or even muddled. If, on the other hand, the president and federal health officials, state and local officials, and public health experts use it as an opportunity to refresh the vaccine message, it could provide a big boost to vaccination efforts. By the numbers: Three in ten of the unvaccinated (31%) report in KFF Vaccine Monitor surveys that they would be more likely to get vaccinated if the FDA moved vaccines from emergency use to full authorization. Approval could embolden more local governments and employers to move ahead with passports and mandates. The bottom line: It's the next — and probably the last — big opportunity to sharpen and drive home a clear message that the COVID vaccines are safe and effective. Go deeper.     3. MA auditing rule stuck in limbo Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios   Two years ago, the federal government created a plan to audit Medicare Advantage insurers more aggressively. But that plan is sitting in regulatory limbo, Axios' Bob Herman writes. Why it matters: The plan could claw back billions of taxpayer dollars. The delay is music to the ears of health insurers, which despise any form of enhanced audits. What they're saying: A spokesperson for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services confirmed to Axios that the proposed rule from 2019, which was already delayed twice to give the industry more time to analyze it, "has not yet been finalized." The federal agency did not say why action hasn't been taken yet, but it is "committed to ensuring that Medicare Advantage plans submit accurate information to CMS so that payments to plans are appropriate," the spokesperson said. The state of play: CMS is still conducting audits, known as "risk adjustment data validation," saying the audits are still "our main tool for conducting this oversight and ensuring appropriate payments." Yes, but: Those audits were falling short at catching the biggest instances of fraud — which is what inspired the plan for enhanced audits in the first place.     A message from PhRMA People want choice and access to medicines in Medicare – not barriers     In Washington, what politicians say and what they mean can be very different. To save money, some politicians are willing to sacrifice access to medicines in Medicare. This could make it harder for seniors and those with a disability to get the medicines they need. There's a better way.     4. Catch up quick Two days into the school year, 440 students in a Florida district are quarantined. (Axios) HHS will require COVID-19 vaccines for 25,000 of its health care workers. (Axios) The FDA just approved GHB, often called a "date rape" drug, for a rare sleeping disorder. (New York Times)     5. Dog of the week Diego. Photo: Patrick Zagar   Meet Diego, a "snuggly" seven-year-old Chihuahua mutt with a little Jack Russell Terrier and Yorkie. This little rescue was found in a box in Ft. Worth, Texas, along with several other pups and now lives with Patrick Zagar, an associate director for S&P Global Ratings, in Dallas. "He has been a huge boost of our pandemic mental health and quality of life, and we are thankful for him every single day," Zagar said. Photo: Patrick Zagar     A message from PhRMA People want choice and access to medicines in Medicare – not barriers     In Washington, what politicians say and what they mean can be very different. To save money, some politicians are willing to sacrifice access to medicines in Medicare. This could make it harder for seniors and those with a disability to get the medicines they need. There's a better way.   Like this email style and format? Learn more about Axios HQ. It'll help you deliver employee communications more effectively.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Suite 1300, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. Change your preferences or unsubscribe here.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: