Plus, watchdog flags political interference at CDC, FDA | Thursday, April 21, 2022
| | | | | | | | | | | Axios Vitals | | By Tina Reed · Apr 21, 2022 | | Good morning, Vitals readers. Today's newsletter is 1,043 words or a 4-minute read. 🪡 1 fun thing: Among the myriad pandemic lessons: PPE is seriously due for a makeover. - So the CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is teaming up with crowdsourcing platform HeroX to host their own PPE improvement competition. Think it'll make it to Bravo?
| | | | | | 1 big thing: Patients report racial discrimination in health care |  Roughly one in four Black and Latino adults ages 60 and older say health care professionals treated them unfairly or ignored their health concerns because of race or ethnicity, according to a survey out today from the Commonwealth Fund. - More than a quarter of those who reported experiencing discrimination said it prevented them from getting the care they felt they needed as a result.
Why it matters: The COVID-19 pandemic has surfaced disparities in health care and outcomes along racial lines in America. - But this survey zeroed in on individuals' interactions with the health care system — a factor that has a major bearing on outcomes, the report's authors say.
"This study shows the health care system is not working for people of color, especially older adults," Michelle Doty, one of the authors of the paper, told Axios. - "When you have over a quarter of Black and Latino/Hispanic older adults reporting that they have been treated unfairly or felt their health concerns weren't taken seriously because of their race and ethnicity, that's a problem," she said.
Between the lines: The findings add to a growing body of research documenting systemic racial bias that cuts across age groups in U.S. health care delivery. - The problem of bias and systemic racism also gained increasing recognition by major health associations.
Yes, but: The public may be tuning out accounts of disparities and bias in the medical system. - A study published in Social Science & Medicine in March suggested that white Americans were less likely to support health policies like masking after reading about the disparate impacts of COVID-19 on other races.
- Healthcare may be getting drawn into culture wars over race, gender and identity that are playing out in other arenas, such as public schools. On Monday, Stanley Goldfarb, a former associate dean of curriculum at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine, wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal touting a new nonprofit he helped form to fight the "radical ideology" infecting health care.
- The group is offering legal help to fight "critical race theory-inspired policies" that are affecting providers.
Read the rest. |     | | | | | | 2. COVID cases on the rise in the Mid Atlantic, Pacific Northwest |  Data: N.Y. Times; Cartogram: Kavya Beheraj/Axios A new line of Omicron could be putting most of the U.S. in the path of a sustained bump in COVID-19 cases, Axios' Kavya Beheraj and I report. Driving the news: New COVID cases rose nationwide by about 35% over the last two weeks. The big picture: This rise is largely attributed to the Omicron subvariant BA.2, which still accounts for about 75% of all new cases. By the numbers: At roughly 39,000 new cases, they are still a fraction of what was seen back in January when the U.S. was averaging almost 760,000 new cases per day. - The data shows Vermont has the highest case rate at 41.7 new cases per 100,000 people, while the reported case rate is lowest in South Dakota at two new cases per 100,000 people.
- Overall, deaths dropped to roughly 400 a day, down 32% from nearly 600 a day two weeks ago.
Share this story. | | | | | | | | 3. Watchdog: Political interference underreported at CDC, FDA |  | | | Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios | | | | CDC, FDA and NIH employees didn't report what they viewed as political interference in their work during and before the pandemic because they feared retaliation, Axios' Adriel Bettelheim reports from a new federal audit. The big picture: Allegations of political interference affecting mask-wearing guidelines and other scientific decisions during the Trump administration raised concern about scientific integrity policies. - That led the Government Accountability Office to review oversight within HHS.
What they're saying: Employees at the agencies reviewed said they observed incidents they perceived as political meddling but didn't report them, in part out of fear and in part because they didn't know how, GAO found. - Some of the interference was believed to have led to the alteration of public health guidance and delayed publication of COVID-19 scientific findings.
- No formal reports of potential political interference were logged at the federal health agencies in question from 2010 through 2021, GAO said, likely due to a lack of guidance.
Only NIH includes information on political interference in scientific decision-making in its scientific integrity training. Next steps: GAO made seven recommendations, mostly surrounding enhanced training and reporting. - HHS said it's formed a working group with representatives of the relevant agencies to update scientific integrity policies.
| | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Get their attention | | |  | | | | Professionals are busy — so we ensure our partners get their messages across quickly and effectively. How it's done: Smart Brevity Studio creates concise articles and visuals that get up to 5X more engagement than they do on other platforms. Find out more. | | | | | | 4. Americans split on airport mask mandates |  Data: Axios/Ipsos poll; Chart: Thomas Oide/Axios Three in four Americans still support mask requirements in airports, according to an Axios-Ipsos poll conducted after the mandate for travelers was abruptly ended this week. - Fewer than half, however, said they're very likely to wear a mask in airports moving forward.
| | | | | | | | 5. DOJ brings $150M worth of COVID fraud charges | | Federal prosecutors are stepping up action against pandemic-related fraud ranging from the distribution of fake vaccination cards to bilking Medicare out of hundreds of millions of dollars for unnecessary tests, Adriel writes. What's happening: At least 21 people have been charged this month in alleged fraud schemes involving nearly $150 million in COVID-related claims, the Justice Department said. The cases included: - The owners of a clinical lab from Glendale, California, who allegedly submitted $144 million in false and fraudulent claims during the public health emergency for COVID-19 and respiratory tests without regard to medical necessity.
- A home health operator from Los Angeles who was charged with wire fraud, theft of government property and money laundering for allegedly filing fraudulent loan applications for federal relief funds he then used for personal gain.
- The office manager for a Texas naturopathic doctor who allegedly conspired to offer and sell products known as "homeoprophylaxis immunizations" that were billed as providing a complete cure for COVID-19.
The fallout: Around $20 million of the improper claims were paid, the Wall Street Journal reported. | | | | | | | | 6. Catch up quick | | 👉 The White House is set to unveil President Joe Biden's first National Drug Control Strategy on Thursday. (CNN) ⚖️ The DOJ appealed the travel mask mandate ruling after the CDC says it "remains necessary" (Axios) 🗣️ Speaking of the CDC: A key advisory board met yesterday to mull second boosters and were unsure themselves about how to proceed. (NBC News) 💊 Louisiana sued UnitedHealthcare and subsidiary OptumRx for alleged Medicaid drug overcharging. (Modern Healthcare) | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Get their attention | | | | | | | | Professionals are busy — so we ensure our partners get their messages across quickly and effectively. How it's done: Smart Brevity Studio creates concise articles and visuals that get up to 5X more engagement than they do on other platforms. Find out more. | | |  | It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 200 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications. | | | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here.
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