| | | | | | | Presented By CVS Health | | | | Axios Vitals | | By Tina Reed · Dec 21, 2022 | | ❄️ Welcome to the first (official) day of winter and our last edition of the year, Vitals readers. We'll be back in your inboxes on Jan. 3. Situational awareness: Republicans blocked a move Tuesday by Democrats to set federal protections for IVF and other fertility treatments whose future remains uncertain in the post-Roe era, Axios' Oriana Gonzalez writes. Today's newsletter is 998 words or a 3½-minute read. | | | | | | 1 big thing: Congress' pandemic prep effort receives mixed reviews |  | | | Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios | | | | The $1.7 trillion omnibus Congress is poised to pass this week has provisions addressing the ability to respond to future pandemics, but some experts say its lack of new spending, including on COVID-19, will leave Americans vulnerable, Axios' Peter Sullivan and Caitlin Owens report. Why it matters: The virus has evolved significantly since the beginning of the pandemic, rendering vaccines less effective and some treatments useless. And new health threats could hit at any time. The big picture: The bipartisan PREVENT Pandemics Act, included in the year-end package, would fortify public health data collection, establish a "mission control" pandemic office in the government, and create a loan repayment pilot program to help recruit infectious disease doctors. - What the bill does not do, though, is provide major new funding for pandemic preparedness, or fulfill a $10 billion Biden administration request to fight the current pandemic.
- The underlying spending bill would deliver funding bumps for needs such as public health infrastructure and data surveillance upgrades and a hospital preparedness program.
What they're saying: "I'm delighted that there's a bipartisan action, but there's a whole lot more that needs to get done," said Tom Frieden, a former CDC director who's now president of the group Resolve to Save Lives. - Others were more critical: "This is just preparing the country to have a really bad response the next time something breaks out," said Zeke Emanuel, vice provost of global initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania, who co-authored a pandemic roadmap.
Zoom out: Experts have been calling for some kind of Operation Warp Speed 2.0 for a year, to no avail. - "When there's not a market for a vaccine, it doesn't get made, unless the government pushes it," Frieden said. "So there's no market for a vaccine for a disease that is not yet causing illness."
Go deeper. |     | | | | | | 2. Parents brace for the next virus |  Data: CDC; Note: All data subject to reporting delays and likely undercounted; RSV cases are a five-week moving average; Chart: Kavya Beheraj/Axios Flu appears to be peaking and RSV is on the decline. But instead of exhaling, parents are bracing for another wave of illness with an ominous rise in COVID cases. Why it matters: It's just the latest stanza in a season of back-to-back-to-back sucker punches from respiratory viruses that are hitting young children earlier — and harder — than usual. State of play: COVID cases are up 16% since mid-October after a largely quiet summer, fulfilling predictions of a wintertime surge just as an early flu season that's already caused more than 7,300 deaths is showing signs of abating. While much has been made of the so-called tripledemic of flu, RSV and COVID, there's actually more of a "septo-demic," said Peter Hotez, dean at the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, in an interview posted last week with the American Medical Association. - That also includes para influenza, rhinovirus, metapneumovirus and pneumococcus in the mix, he said.
- "They're working in different combinations and causing a lot of kids to be admitted to the hospital, as well as seniors. This is accounting for a big surge in hospitalizations," Hotez said.
- It's a marked contrast to early in the pandemic, when lockdowns and school closings spared kids from the worst of the crisis. Those who did get sick often experienced milder symptoms.
What we're watching: A rise in COVID infections is being driven by newer subvariants XBB and BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 which have been spreading elsewhere around the world. - Hotez's advice for parents: Make sure everyone is up to date on their vaccines, pointing the new bivalent COVID boosters for kids as well as shots for flu and pneumococcus. "Take as many of those pathogens off the table as you can," he said.
Share this story. | | | | | | | | 3. Women don't receive needed mental health care |  | | | Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios | | | | Women were more likely than men to report needing mental health services in the past two years, but 40% did not seek treatment and 10% were unable to get help despite trying, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation brief released Tuesday, Axios' Sabrina Moreno writes. Why it matters: The nation continues to grapple with skyrocketing demand for mental health services, but there's limited insight into how it breaks down by gender, or how women are coping. What they found: The pandemic, the opioid crisis and racism compounded mental health challenges for women, wrote KFF researchers, while cost and limited provider availability were significant barriers to accessing services. - Nearly 40% of women who sought any type of care had to wait more than a month for an appointment.
- 1 in 5 that did see a professional reported that the provider did not accept their insurance, an access challenge also noted in a March report from the Government Accountability Office.
- 20% of those who didn't get an appointment cited reasons such as not finding a nearby provider, inability to get off work, fear or embarrassment or a personal decision to work through the problem alone.
| | | | | | | | A message from CVS Health | | Healthier happens together | | |  | | | | No matter who you are, where you are or what you need to take care of your health, CVS Health is there for you. What you need to know: CVS Health connects you to high-quality, convenient and affordable care — whether it's in your community, on your phone or in your home. Learn more. | | | | | | 4. Data du jour: Rising rates |  Data: ValuePenguin; Map: Kavya Beheraj/Axios The cost of health care has been rising for years, but where you live heavily influences how much you pay, data compiled by consumer research company ValuePenguin shows. The big picture: Private health insurance premiums are increasing in 36 states next year, with the cost of an individual health insurance plan for a 40-year-old on a silver plan increasing 4% to an average cost of $560 a month. By the numbers: In Georgia, health insurance costs will jump more than 20%, but will cost a 40-year-old buying a silver plan $474 a month. - Those in Wyoming will see the highest costs, with the same level plan going up 15% to a cost of $882 a month.
- Meanwhile, in New Hampshire, costs for that same plan will increase 3% next year but will be the lowest in the nation at $372 a month.
| | | | | | | | 5. Catch up quick | | 📈 Moderna saw its shares surge Tuesday following a Jefferies upgrade that cited optimism around an experimental cancer vaccine. (CNBC) 👉 The Joint Commission is making major revisions to hospital quality and safety standards. (Modern Healthcare) 👀 The DEA seized enough fentanyl in 2022 to kill everyone in the U.S. (Axios) 🌍 Police seize on COVID-19 tech to expand global surveillance. (Associated Press) | | | | | | | | A message from CVS Health | | From the simplest of health needs to more complex care | | | | | | | | Whether your health needs are simple or more complex, CVS Health is here to connect you to high-quality, convenient and affordable care. In your community, on your phone or in your home, CVS Health delivers care however you need it. Learn more about how we're making healthier happen together. | | | | 👉 Hey there, Hill staffers: Axios Pro: Policy is our radical new approach to policy reporting. Sign up to secure heavily discounted pricing for your office. Thanks for reading, and thanks to senior editor Adriel Bettelheim and senior copy editor Bryan McBournie for the edits. Did someone forward this email to you? Here's how to sign up. |  | | Your personal policy analyst is here. | | | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters.
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.
To stop receiving this newsletter, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences. | | | Was this email forwarded to you?
Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox. | | | | Follow Axios on social media:    | | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment