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| Presented By Protect the Promise |
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| Axios Vitals |
| By Tina Reed · May 27, 2022 |
| Happy Friday, Vitals readers and a Happy Memorial Day to all of you. 🇺🇸 Programming note: We will not be publishing on Monday in observance of the holiday. We will be back in your inboxes on Tuesday. 👋 Before we leave for the long weekend, we'd like to introduce you to Arielle Dreher, who just joined the Vitals team. You can reach her at arielle.dreher@axios.com or find her on Twitter. Today's newsletter is 952 words or a 4-minute read. |
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| 1 big thing: Long COVID cures may need to go beyond vaccines |
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| Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios |
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| New research casting doubt on vaccines' ability to protect against "long COVID" suggests that as the virus itself becomes endemic, its lingering aftereffects aren't going anywhere without new treatments or vaccines, Axios' Adriel Bettelheim and Caitlin Owens write. Why it matters: Long COVID is emerging as the next phase of the global health care crisis. However, it's still unclear how many more people will come down with serious health aftershocks as the variants continue to evolve and the population develops more immunity. Driving the news: A Department of Veterans Affairs study of almost 34,000 vaccinated people who had breakthrough infections in 2021 found the shots only cut the likelihood of long COVID by about 15%. - Researchers examining patients for up to six months after testing positive didn't find a difference in the severity or range of symptoms between vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
- The study in Nature Medicine is believed to be the most comprehensive effort to get at how likely people with breakthrough infections will develop long COVID and comes after the U.S. logged 83.8 million cases.
- The research didn't cover the Omicron wave, and experts say it's still unclear if the high contagious variant is as likely to cause long COVID as earlier strains.
What they're saying: "We're literally solely reliant, now almost exclusively, on the vaccine to protect us and to protect the public," lead author Ziyad Al-Aly of the VA St. Louis Health Care System told Nature. "Now we're saying it's only going to protect you 15%. You remain vulnerable, and extraordinarily so." Yes, but: The study has limitations and relied on electronic records that may not get at the underlying cause of a doctors visit. What we're watching: The VA findings come as drugmakers like GlaxoSmithKline, Vir Biotechnology and Humanigen are beginning to train their sights on treatments that target long COVID, Reuters reports. Read the rest. |
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| 2. Patients face screening delays |
| Nearly half of the nation's hospitals have been impacted by a shortage of a vital imaging agent used for diagnostic screening for cancer and other conditions like blood clots, the New York Times reports. Why it matters: There are typically 50 million exams that use contrast agents every year in the U.S. and hospitals are rationing the use of diagnostic imaging without them, per the Times. The background: COVID lockdowns in Shanghai swept up a General Electric plant where the contrast dye is produced. - While a GE spokesperson said the plant is returning to full capacity and taking steps to speed delivery, health systems anticipate the shortage could last into the summer, NBC News reported.
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| 3. North Carolina GOP look to expand Medicaid |
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| Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios |
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| After years of blocking Medicaid expansion in the state legislature, top North Carolina Senate Republicans on Thursday unveiled a plan that would cover some 600,000 residents who make less than 138% of the federal poverty level, Axios' Lucille Sherman writes. Why it matters: It's rare for one of the 12 states that have not expanded Medicaid to try, and the legislation contains other provisions like allowing advanced practice registered nurses to practice without physician oversight. Yes, but: The effort still faces long odds in the state House, where Republicans last year said they don't believe they have the votes to pass such a measure. Go deeper: Proposing such legislation would be a remarkable pivot, as North Carolina's most powerful Republican, Senate leader Phil Berger, has long opposed expanding Medicaid. - Berger last year signaled he was open to negotiating with Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper as part of the state's budget package. But he still maintained it was a bad policy.
- More than 400,000 North Carolinians are currently on the state's Medicaid rolls.
Interested in more news from North Carolina? Sign up for the Axios Raleigh newsletter. |
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| A message from Protect the Promise |
| Take Medicare cuts off the table |
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| Seniors and people with disabilities depend on Medicare for access to high-quality, affordable health care. Congress must reject proposals that attempt to take money from Medicare to fund other programs. Protect these vital benefits for millions of Americans. Learn more. |
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| 4. Where teen cannabis use is likelier |
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| Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios |
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| States that legalized recreational marijuana use for adults were likelier to see teens partake as well, Axios' Arielle Dreher writes about a study published in Addiction. Why it matters: The findings add new evidence of a connection between legalizing adult use and a surge of use among kids. - Marijuana can have adverse health effects on adolescents and affect brain development, according to the CDC.
Details: The study looked at usage data from nearly 22,000 people in California, Nevada, Massachusetts and Maine. - Researchers also found evidence that adults were more likely to begin using marijuana compared to their counterparts in states where it is not legal, the study found.
What they're saying: "It's especially concerning that increased cannabis use occurs among young people because of the detrimental health effects associated with cannabis use at a young age," Yuyan Shi, study author with the University of California San Diego School of Public Health, said in a release. Yes, but: It's an area still ripe for research. Previous studies, such as a 2020 analysis of some state-level data, found that cannabis use trends remained steady or even dropped in states where it was legalized. |
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| 5. Catch up quick |
| 👉 "People continue to harden into these two extreme positions: Get rid of all guns, or give everybody a gun ... there is a third way, which is addressing this as a health problem, which it very much is," says Megan Ranney, academic dean at the Brown University School of Public Health, in this piece about America's gun crisis. (The Atlantic) 📈 The growing monkeypox outbreak may appear alarming to people — potentially triggering bad memories of the rapid spread of COVID over the globe — but it does not contain the same threat level as a pandemic, experts say. (Axios) |
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| 6. Dog of the week |
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| Lil Prince. Photo: Jeoff Gordon |
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| Meet Lil Prince, an 11-year-old boxer from Santa Cruz, California. Oh, those Boxer eyes... - "He is very mellow, especially with small grandchildren, and will never be a watchdog because he approaches all strangers with a wagging tail and love to share," writes his human, retired family doctor Jeoff Gordon.
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| A message from Protect the Promise |
| Take Medicare cuts off the table |
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| |
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| Seniors and people with disabilities depend on Medicare for access to high-quality, affordable health care. Congress must reject proposals that attempt to take money from Medicare to fund other programs. Protect these vital benefits for millions of Americans. Learn more. |
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 | It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 200 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications. | | |
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