Axios Vitals: Campus fight

Plus, hurricane threat rising for hospitals | Friday, September 30, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By PhRMA   Axios Vitals By Tina Reed · Sep 30, 2022 😎 Happy Friday, Vitals readers. Today's newsletter is 851 words or a 3-minute read. Situational awareness: The FDA approved Amylyx Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s drug for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. The first drug approval for the disease in five years came after some FDA staff questioned its effectiveness, the Wall Street Journal reports. And, fun fact: The drug was reportedly partially funded by the Ice Bucket Challenge, per Buzzfeed.     1 big thing: Post-Dobbs birth control fight heads to college campuses Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios   The fallout from the demise of Roe v. Wade is forcing college administrators to weigh how reproductive health services offered on campus may conflict with state abortion bans and if their employees could face prosecution, Axios' Oriana Gonzalez writes. Why it matters: The University of Idaho this week issued guidance that it could stop offering birth control, citing a section of the Idaho penal code dating back to the 1970s. The potential for other colleges to consider cutbacks is something "we are very concerned about," said Rachel Mack, director of marketing and communications for the American College Health Association. The big picture: Abortion rights advocates say that state bans are designed to prevent people from not only getting an abortion, but from accessing other reproductive health care services. The language of the laws varies in matters like when life begins, creating a host of legal ambiguities, according to experts. "We're seeing a rush to hunker down and unfortunately cut people off from the information and care they need, likely at the behest of overly cautious legal counsel," said Andrea Miller, president of the National Institute for Reproductive Health, which advocates for access to abortion care. Driving the news: The University of Idaho said that due to an "unclear and untested" 1972 anti-abortion law, the university will stop providing access to nearly all types of birth control. The memo sent to university employees cites language that a health provider who "publishes any notice or advertisement of any medicine or means ... for the prevention of conception" is guilty of a felony. What they're saying: "While abortion can be discussed as a policy issue in the classroom, we highly recommend employees in charge of the classroom remain neutral or risk violating this law," said Jodi Walker, a spokesperson for the University of Idaho. The other side: Abortion foes say that it is not their goal to restrict access to contraceptives. "No organization I'm aware of ... has called for such a policy change," said Kristi Hamrick, chief media and policy strategist for Students for Life for America, one of the largest anti-abortion organizations in the U.S. Go deeper     2. Hurricane risk to U.S. hospitals growing Data: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Chart: Tory Lysik/Axios The evacuations of thousands of patients from hurricane-stricken Florida health facilities this week served as an ominous warning to hospitals along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts that researchers say could be swamped by surges from much weaker storms. Driving the news: Rising sea levels and storms that are more violent and track farther north are posing new kinds of threats that health systems have to confront, according to a study published Thursday in GeoHealth. What they're saying: "While the likelihood of a hurricane making landfall in the New York region or Boston is much less than places on the Gulf Coast, the consequences for access to hospital beds is, in fact, very high," Aaron Bernstein, a study co-author from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told Axios. By the numbers: Researchers identified 682 acute care hospitals in 78 metropolitan statistical areas located within 10 miles of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. The study found almost a third of those metro areas have half or more of their hospitals at risk of flooding from a Category 2 hurricane. A sea level rise of .82 meters, which is estimated to occur this century, would increase the odds of hospitals flooding by 22%, they said. Read the rest     3. How major journals could boost trial diversity Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios   Requiring that a threshold for racial and ethnic diversity in medical trials be met as a condition for researchers to publish in major journals could be key to improving research into cancer and other diseases, writes Marina E. Franco of Noticias Telemundo for Axios. Why it matters: Clinical trials are supposed to represent a cross section of who will be impacted by a medical product because people of different races, ethnicities, ages and genders may react differently, per the FDA. But too often, non-white groups are underrepresented in science. Details: Two oncologists developed a strategy they call DRIVE, published in Blood Advances, that called for trials to receive points based on representation. Researchers would need a score of three before they can present their work at major medical conferences or be published in major journals. The bottom line: While the FDA published recommendations in April for companies to increase trial diversity, they're nonbinding. The researchers argue there need to be mechanisms that require a follow-through.     A message from PhRMA Americans want policy reforms that improve their insurance     Did you know 39% of insured Americans say they don't understand what's covered by their insurance? Health insurance coverage should be predictable and transparent, and insured Americans agree. Learn more from PhRMA's latest Patient Experience Survey report.     4. Quote du jour: Gene sequencing on the cheap Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios   "For a lot of science, [the cost of sequencing] is like the price of gas." — Jay Shendure, a professor of genome sciences at the University of Washington, telling Axios' Alison Snyder about the significance of a burst of competition to develop newer, cheaper gene sequencing tech, including a new offering announced Thursday by Illumina.     5. Dog of the week Manzur. Photo: Angelena Ledford   Meet Manzur, a miracle pup who was set for euthanasia three times due to overcrowding at an Atlanta shelter before he found his humans. "He has been the most perfect dog, ever, for our family," writes his human Angelena Ledford. "He now works as a therapy dog and travels all over the country with us." Manzur is also a "pupfluencer" on social media. You can find him under his handle @ManzurLB.     A message from PhRMA How insured Americans navigate unclear insurance coverage     According to new findings, insured Americans favor policy solutions that improve their ability to navigate and access their care while lowering their out-of-pocket costs. An example: Tackling the barriers introduced by insurers and middlemen like pharmacy benefit managers. Read more.   👋 Thanks for reading, and extra thanks to senior editor Adriel Bettelheim and copy editor Azi Najafi for all the edits. 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. 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