| | | | |  | | By Krista Mahr and Daniel Payne | | | | | 
The Supreme Court Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade is proving to be a powerful force in driving voters to the ballot box. | LM Otero/AP Photo | THE DOBBS EFFECT — The Supreme Court Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade is proving to be a powerful force in driving voters to the ballot box — and a boon for Democratic attorneys general, POLITICO's Alice Miranda Ollstein writes. Even before Roe fell, several Democratic candidates for attorney general were already running as the last line of defense for abortion rights — especially in states that had so-called trigger laws criminalizing the procedure on the books. But as abortion access now crumbles across the country, with a new set of near-total bans taking effect in multiple states last month, a flood of campaign cash is helping those candidates highlight the influence their office has in a post-Roe world. Democrats running for state attorneys general in Arizona, Georgia, Kansas and Texas are seeing a surge in donations and a polling upswing, making several races formerly considered longshots newly competitive. Incumbents in tight races in Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada and Wisconsin are also increasingly confident about winning reelection, buoyed by a wave of voter and donor attention on abortion rights. The Democratic Attorneys General Association usually trails its GOP counterpart in fundraising. But in the second quarter of this year, when Roe fell, it outraised the Republican group, $6.47 million to $6.3 million. WELCOME TO WEDNESDAY PULSE — Scientists are trying to decipher what effectively makes a lentil-sized jellyfish that lives in the Mediterranean immortal. We're not convinced humans can be trusted with what they find out. Are you? Send your news and tips to kmahr@politico.com and dpayne@politico.com.
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Anthony Fauci mused during a White House briefing on Tuesday that a once-a-year shot might become the new normal. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images | YOUR 'ONCE-A-YEAR' FALL COVID SHOT — President Joe Biden said in a statement on Tuesday that the new Covid-19 booster campaign heralded "a new approach" for Covid-19 vaccinations: "For most Americans, that means one COVID-19 shot, once a year, each fall." "This once-a-year shot can reduce your risk of getting COVID-19, reduce your chance of spreading it to others, and dramatically reduce your risk of severe COVID-19," the president said. Earlier in the day, Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, mused during a White House briefing that a once-a-year shot might become the new norm. He based that prediction on data from vaccine manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna supporting their booster shot candidates, which the FDA and the CDC endorsed last week, POLITICO's Lauren Gardner reported. Independent advisers to those agencies said the data suggests those vaccines — updated to target the original coronavirus and Omicron's subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 — could broaden individuals' immune response to other variants.
| | | HHS TO SPEED UP STOCKPILE DISTRIBUTION — HHS' Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response said on Tuesday it had awarded a $19.8 million contract to AmerisourceBergen to help speed up and expand the distribution of monkeypox vaccine and treatment from the Strategic National Stockpile. The contract will allow "up to 2,500 shipments per week of frozen Jynneos vaccine and up to 2,500 ambient temperature shipments per week, which can be used for TPOXX distribution," according to an agency statement. As of Sept. 2, the SNS has shipped more than 800,000 vials of Jynneos and more than 37,000 courses of TPOXX nationwide.
| | | 'NOTHING IS OFF THE TABLE' — Brian King, the FDA's new chief tobacco regulator, won't say whether the agency will remove unauthorized electronic cigarettes from store shelves — despite a 2016 FDA rule that made vape products without marketing orders illegal, reports POLITICO's Katherine Ellen Foley. "I'm committing to explore all viable pathways that are legally and scientifically defensible," King, director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, told POLITICO. "Nothing is off the table." On Sept. 9, that office will be a year past a deadline set by the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland that required it to decide whether e-cigarettes would be allowed to remain on shelves. Public health, legal and industry experts note that fear of litigation from e-cigarette manufacturers or the tens of thousands of convenience store owners who rely on vapes for key revenue is likely what's stopping the FDA from taking a firmer stance on unauthorized products and broader nicotine regulation altogether. MEANWHILE … On Tuesday, Juul Labs reached a tentative agreement with 34 states and territories to pay $438.5 million to settle an investigation into how the electronic cigarette maker marketed vaping products to underage people, POLITICO's David Lim reports. What's in the deal: The company agreed to stop marketing to youth marketing, selling flavors not approved by the FDA, using paid influencers and distributing free samples, among other measures. Restrictions on sales and distribution — such as where products can be displayed in stores and age verification — are also part of the landmark agreement. What's next: States expect to finalize and execute settlement paperwork in three to four weeks. If Juul pays the settlement over 10 years, the settlement amount would rise to more than $476 million.
| | | FLORIDA MEDICAL BOARDS LOOK AT TRANSGENDER CARE — The two governing boards for Florida's doctors have officially begun a rulemaking process that could drastically cut the standard of care for children seeking gender-affirming care, POLITICO's Arek Sarkissian reports. The moves follow letters to both boards from Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, who wrote that gender-affirming treatments, such as hormone therapy, puberty blockers and surgery, had a high risk of doing harm. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association support gender-affirming care for adults and adolescents. Medical experts say gender-affirming care for children rarely, if ever, includes surgery. ABORTION BAN ADVANCES IN SOUTH CAROLINA — South Carolina Republicans have advanced a proposed abortion ban after voting to remove exceptions for incest and rape, POLITICO's Myah Ward writes. Legislative observers say the bill is unlikely to pass without the exemptions, which were adopted in a last-minute amendment last week. Multiple Republican South Carolina senators have said they won't support a bill without those exceptions, The Associated Press reported. The Senate's makeup is 30 Republicans and 16 Democrats.
| | | Chris Natkanski is joining Hogan Lovells' Boston office as a partner in the practice's Global Regulatory & Intellectual Property, Media, and Technology group.
| | | Kaiser Health News profiles Mary Wakefield, the administrator tapped by Rochelle Walensky to lead the CDC's revamp. The Washington Post investigates why parents don't know about the risk of Cronobacter infection in baby formula. The New York Times goes inside NASA's effort to make sure samples from Mars don't create Earth's next pandemic.
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