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There’s excellent news and bad news on covid-19 this week. And the Biden administration has actually brokered a deal with rival manufacturer Merck to produce even more dosages of the J&J vaccine, which can be transported and administered more easily than the covid vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.
But at the exact same time, the covid-19 caseload is beginning to rise again, and public health experts stress that increase might be accelerated by the spread of more transmissible infection variations that might not be covered by the offered vaccines. Nevertheless, Republican governors in a number of states, including Texas, are rolling back some public health precautions, including mask mandates, over the objections of federal health authorities.
Today’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KHN, Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet.
Among the takeaways from this week’s podcast:
- The Fda’s permission recently of a covid vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson might be a game changer for public health outreach efforts in some areas. In addition to being easier to store and transport, the J&J vaccine requires just one shot, rather of the two dosages required by the 2 older varieties.
- Some customers have been put off by the efficacy numbers for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine due to the fact that they are not as high as the ones made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. those numbers may be deceiving The J&J version was evaluated later on, when more covid variants were being transmitted, which might have affected the efficacy in the trials. Still, the J&J shot prevented 100%of hospitalizations and deaths, which are the significant markers researchers are trying to find.
- President Joe Biden guaranteed this week that by the end of May there would be enough vaccine for each grownup in the United States. He didn’t say each of those grownups would be immunized. Public health officials will still likely be dealing with some hesitancy in particular groups of individuals already. A major publicity project about the benefits of getting immunized is prepared by the federal government when supply is sufficient.
- Federal efforts against the coronavirus might be hampered by choices in some states to begin resuming without preserving safety procedures such as compulsory masking and limits on indoor capacities. One way to encourage states to keep such public health preventative measures in place may be to economically reward those that satisfy the suggestions from federal health officials.
- California Attorney General Of The United States Xavier Becerra, Biden’s nominee to be the secretary of Health and Person Services, got a tied, party-line vote in the Finance Committee today. But that doesn’t always suggest he will not get some Republican support when the election goes to the Senate flooring for confirmation.
- The Senate is poised to try to press out the president’s covid relief strategy with a strenuous procedure that would allow passage with just 51 votes. Currently Democrats have actually been forced to give up provisions that would raise the minimum wage and have scaled back the stimulus checks to higher-income workers. Up until now, no Democrats have deserted the bill, but it is still an operate in development.
- As the covid pandemic took hold in the country, one problem that has actually gotten brief shrift is psychological health. There was a 20%increase in overdose deaths in 2020 and numerous health specialists are fretted that kids have actually suffered mental health effects from being house so long. The concern is likely to produce brand-new concerns and methods as the instant risk from covid reduces.
Also today, Rovner interviews KHN’s Jordan Rau, who composed the most recent KHN-NPR “ Costs of the Month” feature– about a global university student whose mental health crisis was not helped by an unexpected health center bill. If you have an outrageous medical costs you ‘d like to share with us, you can do that here
Plus, for additional credit, the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you need to read too:
Julie Rovner: Reveal/KHN’s “ Into the COVID ICU,” by Jenny Gold
Joanne Kenen: Politico’s “ A Complicating Factor in Combating Covid Hot Spots: Heat,” by Victoria Colliver and Nolan D. McCaskill
Mary Ellen McIntire: Stat’s “ The Trump Administration Quietly Invested Billions in Medical Facility Funds on Operation Lightning Speed,” by Rachel Cohrs
Sarah Karlin-Smith: The Atlantic’s “ 5 Pandemic Errors We Keep Duplicating,” by Zeynep Tufekci
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