Axios Vitals: A "weird" time

Plus, how much doctors get paid | Friday, April 15, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By PhRMA   Axios Vitals By Tina Reed · Apr 15, 2022 😎 It's almost the weekend, Vitals readers. Today's newsletter is 869 words or a 3-minute read. Situational awareness: The FDA has given emergency use authorization the world's first COVID breath test, Axios' Ivana Saric writes.     1 big thing: Stuck in the great COVID in-between Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios   Life in a COVID world is getting awkward again as Americans rush headlong back to their old ways of life even as case counts rise and new variants threaten to dash their hopes. Why it matters: We can't say we're in a post-pandemic period yet. But large segments of the public are embracing pre-COVID norms, a fact that's maddening for those who are — or must — continue taking precautions. "It's definitely weird," said Bob Wachter, chairman of the University of California, San Francisco Department of Medicine. "We're going back to work, which is a little odd. We're not sure whether to do handshakes or fistbumps," he said. "Every encounter is this little negotiation with the people 'Do you want to? Do I want to?' It's all very odd." Driving the news: Case rates and hospitalizations have plummeted after the Omicron surge. The latest Axios-Ipsos poll found less than one in 10 Americans now describe COVID-19 as a crisis. Most called it a manageable problem and one in six say it's no problem at all. But, but, but: Kids under 5 still haven't had a chance to get their first COVID vaccinations, while the immunocompromised have low, if any, levels of protection against the virus from them. Our boosters have shown limited durability. Access to COVID drugs has been spotty and surveillance has become even spottier as mass testing has been phased out. Case rates are on the rise again — and now we have subvariants of the Omicron subvariant to contend with. What they're saying: "It depends on what you mean by a crisis," NIAID director Anthony Fauci told CNN in response to a question about the Axios-Ipsos poll. Go deeper.     2. Community health pipeline gets $226M boost A person displays a sticker after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine at a medical clinic in Ruleville, Miss. Photo: Rory Doyle/Bloomberg via Getty Images   The Biden administration is giving a $226.5 million boost to efforts to build up the community health worker pipeline, HHS announced first to Axios. Why it matters: Community health workers took on a new level of importance as trusted messengers during the pandemic amid efforts to overcome vaccine hesitancy and expand access to care. The National Center for Health Workforce Analysis projects the national demand for community health workers will grow 11% to 67,560 by 2030.  What they're saying: "As the pandemic made crystal clear, we need to be thinking about not only what happens inside the clinic walls, but what happens in the community and the gathering spaces in the community where people get their health information," HRSA administrator Carole Johnson told Axios. The details: The funding will be allocated from the American Rescue Plan workforce dollars for the Community Health Worker Training Program, which will provide education and on-the-job training for workers. HRSA plans to train 13,000 new and current community health workers to support essential public services.     3. Doctors got a raise last year Data: Medscape; Table: Thomas Oide/Axios After compensation stagnated in the first year of the pandemic, doctors saw their salaries rebound by 7% by the end of last year, according to Medscape's Physician Compensation Report released today. Driving the news: The report includes financial details from about 13,000 physicians across 29 specialties and found primary care doctors earned $260,000 on average while specialists average $368,000. Of those specialties surveyed, plastic surgery averaged the highest compensation at $576,000 while public health and preventative medicine ranked lowest at $243,000.     A message from PhRMA Insured Americans face barriers to care     Nearly half of insured Americans who take prescription medicines encounter barriers that delay or limit their access to medicines. Learn more about the abusive insurance practices that can stand between patients and the care they need in PhRMA's new report.     4. Pandemic polls poorly for politicians Public unhappiness with the pandemic response is nearly universal and is taking a toll on approval ratings of every state's governor as well as the president, according to a new report from the COVID States Project, writes Axios' Adriel Bettelheim. Why it matters: It's a startling fall from grace for governors compared to early in the pandemic, when 38 of them registered approval ratings higher than 60%. By the numbers: Republican voter approval is at an all-time low, at 44% for Republican governors and 19% for Democratic governors. Florida's Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is a notable exception at 64%, and has maintained steady GOP support throughout the pandemic. Five Republican governors — Massachusetts' Charlie Baker, Maryland's Larry Hogan, Ohio's Mike DeWine, Vermont's Phil Scott and New Hampshire's Chris Sununu — are now considerably more popular with Democrats than their own party. Other findings: Democratic voters' approval of Democratic governors fell throughout the spring of 2020, bounced back, and reached a peak in June 2021. It has gradually declined since, according to the report. Biden's burden: President Biden had approval levels above those of former President Trump, peaking in the spring of 2021 and declining steadily since then. The drop-off has been faster than for the governors, reaching its lowest point this month, one point below the average governor at 38%. This was the latest in a series of COVID States Project surveys since April 2020 and queried 22,234 people between March 2 and April 4.     5. Catch up quick Pfizer and BioNTech say they plan to ask the FDA to authorize booster for kids as young as 5. (New York Times) The FTC and DOJ held a hearing yesterday on how health care mergers affect the industry. (Federal Trade Commission) Health officials in at least three states are investigating a travel nurse suspected of tampering with and potentially contaminating vials and syringes of opioid painkillers. (KHN)     6. Cat of the week Nina. Photo: Adriel Bettelheim/Axios   Meet Nina, who is Adriel's little fur baby. See that intense look? "She's seen here demanding treats while holding the mail hostage," he says.     A message from PhRMA Voters want Congress to address health insurance     A decisive majority of Americans (86%) agree Congress should crack down on abusive health insurance practices impacting patients' access to care. Why it's important: Greater transparency and accountability within the current health insurance system. Read more in new poll.   Like this email style and format? 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. 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