Axios Vitals: Hard lessons

Plus, new subvariants to watch | Monday, July 11, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By PhRMA   Axios Vitals By Tina Reed · Jul 11, 2022 Good morning, Vitals readers. Today's newsletter is 852 words or a 3-minute read. 🧂 Don't pass the salt: Adding salt to your food at the table is associated with a higher risk of premature death, according to a new study published in the European Heart Journal. A dash of good news? The researchers found those risks were reduced slightly in people who consumed the highest amounts of fruit and vegetables.     1 big thing: COVID missteps hang over monkeypox response Data: CDC; Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals The United States is applying some of the hard lessons it learned during the COVID pandemic to the monkeypox outbreak. But it's still playing catch-up, Axios' Arielle Dreher writes. Why it matters: Monkeypox won't bring the death and suffering COVID did, but public health experts say it could take hold in the population without robust testing, vaccinations and communication about the health risks. "We're just seeing the tip of the iceberg here," said Megan Ranney, academic dean of the School of Public Health at Brown University. "Many of us are concerned it could only be a matter of time before it spreads more generally," she said. State of play: At least 767 cases have been identified in 37 states and the District of Columbia, though it's likely the actual count is higher. Testing was first confined to public health laboratories and hard to access, similar to the beginning of the COVID pandemic. The CDC last month began pushing out tests to five commercial labs to increase capacity, including Labcorp, which last week said it will start processing samples. The U.S. also is vaccinating people with confirmed cases and their immediate contacts. But shots were slow to arrive and the FDA took nearly two months to approve the release of 1.1 million doses that were in storage in Denmark, New York magazine reported. HHS last week said it's making an additional 144,000 doses of Bavarian Nordic's JYNNEOS vaccine available to states and other jurisdictions, on top of the 20,000 doses that have already been sent to 15 states and cities. Yes, but: There is still a lot to learn about the variety of monkeypox circulating in the U.S. and how it is spreading. Go deeper.     2. Subvariants to watch Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios   Health officials in Shanghai announced on Sunday that they have discovered a new COVID-19 subvariant called Omicron BA.5.2.1, Axios' Ivana Saric writes. The big picture: The new subvariant, discovered in a COVID-19 case identified on July 8 in the financial district of Pudong, was linked to a case from overseas, Reuters reported. Yes, but: This is just the latest in a line of subvariants to watch. Most recently, virologists have said they're keeping an eye on a handful of COVID cases in the U.S. from yet another Omicron subvariant known as BA.2.75, or a so-called "stealth Omicron," Fortune reported. Also called "Centaurus," that subvariant first detected in India in early June has a high potential for immune escape, but it's unclear if it can out-compete other subvariants. State of play: The BA.5 subvariant of Omicron is the most transmissible lineage yet and has become the dominant version circulating in the U.S. and much of the world. BA.5 is so transmissible — and different enough from previous versions — that even those with immunity from prior Omicron infections may soon fall ill again. 🎙 Listen in: Axios Today's Niala Boodhoo and I discuss BA.5.     3. House to take up abortion measure House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House will bring up bills to write abortion rights protections into law, ABC News reports. Yes, but: The House passed this legislation last fall, but it failed the Senate in May. The big picture: It's the latest in what abortion rights advocates have described as a sluggish response to the overturn of Roe v. Wade, Axios' Oriana Gonzelez and Erin Doherty write. President Biden signed an executive order on Friday aimed at protecting abortion access, two weeks after the high court's decision. While the order will not restore access to abortion in the states that have already banned or restricted the procedure, it could enhance the administration's efforts to help people know what rights they do have, Biden is also directing HHS to take additional action to protect access to abortion medication, emergency medical care and contraception.     A message from PhRMA What's fueling inflation?     Not prescription drugs — and the presidential administration's economic data proves it. The proof: Overall inflation surged by 8.6% since May 2021 while prices for medicines grew less than 2%, even before factoring in the discounts insurers receive. Find out more.     4. Native American tribes sue Juul Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios   Native American tribes in Washington state have sued e-cigarette giant Juul Labs, alleging the company and its affiliates illegally targeted teenagers on sovereign lands north of Seattle with deceptive ads about the addictiveness of its product, Axios' Lewis Kamb writes. The latest: The tribes' 316-page complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle last week, alleges that Juul and its affiliates "adopted the cigarette industry's playbook" to hook a new generation of young tribal members on nicotine. What they're saying: "Three tactics were central to decades of cigarette industry market dominance: product design to maximize addiction; mass deception; and targeting of youth," the lawsuit says. "JLI and its co-conspirators adopted and mastered them all." Zoom out: The lawsuit follows a wave of other cases brought by tribal and state governments, school districts and others against the country's largest e-cigarette manufacturer. While some of those cases are pending, several already have resulted in multimillion-dollar settlements, including one with Washington state. The other side: Representatives for Juul did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.     5. While you were weekending Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios   🍼 Abbott Nutrition has resumed production of baby formula at its Michigan plant. (Axios) 🏛 Texas officials were again blocked from investigating families with trans children for child abuse if they seek gender-affirming care. (Axios) 💊 Biomarkers for long COVID are key to addressing the chronic, and often debilitating, post-viral symptoms, but have remained elusive to pharma. (WSJ)     A message from PhRMA The real root of inflation     Some policymakers are blaming the cost of prescription medicines for the rise of inflation to build support for harmful policies. What you need to know: Medication affordability is key, but the fact is that prescription drugs are not fueling inflation. Learn what drives up costs for patients.   Why stop here? Let's go Pro. Join the thousands of professionals reading Axios Pro: Health Tech Deals to better understand the forces shaping their industry.   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, 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: