Category: ADMINISTRATION

What Happened, What You Missed: May 30-June 3

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White House: Kids under 5 Could Get Vaccinated as Soon as June 21 COVID-19 vaccinations for children under age five could start as soon as June 21, said White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Ashish Jha on Thursday.  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is likely to approve Moderna and Pfizer’s vaccines for young kids after the […]

People Injured by the COVID-19 Vaccine Need More Help from the Federal Government

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No vaccine is perfect, and unfortunately, COVID-19 vaccines have caused serious adverse side effects in a tiny percentage of people.   For those whose side effects are severe enough to put them out of work or generate high medical bills, the federal government can provide benefits via the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP).  This program is not to […]

Inside the New Suicide Hotline Set to Launch This Summer

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Everyone knows to dial 911 in case of emergency.  Soon, people experiencing a mental health crisis and are at risk of suicide will be able to dial 988 and get connected to a behavioral health counselor.  With the number of Americans reporting signs of anxiety and depression at an all-time high, a new pathway for mental health […]

What Happened, What You Missed: April 18-22

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DOJ Appeals Ruling on Transportation Mask Mandate On Wednesday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an appeal to the US District Court ruling that overturned a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requirement for masks to be worn on transit, airplanes, and other transportation-related settings.  After Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle ruled on Monday that […]

What Happened, What You Missed: April 11-15

Administration Extends PHE, Transportation Mask Mandate On Tuesday, Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Xavier Becerra issued a 90-day renewal of the public health emergency that was initially set to expire on April 16. The renewal ensures that Medicaid coverage protections, telehealth services, and other waivers tied to the PHE will continue through at least July 15, 2022. While the administration has declined to say how long the PHE will continue, Secretary Becerra has repeatedly stated that HHS would give 60 days’ notice before ending the PHE. On Wednesday, the administration also announced a 15-day extension of the transportation mask mandate through May 3, 2022. According to a press release, the administration is keeping the mandate in place as it assesses the impact for rising COVID-19 case numbers on severe disease and hospitalization. In recent weeks, the airline industry has been lobbying the administration to wind down the transportation mask mandate, citing advanced air filtration systems on board aircrafts. Pfizer to Seek FDA Authorization for Booster in Kids Ages 5-11 Pfizer announced on Thursday that it will soon ask the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for a third “booster” dose of its COVID-19 vaccine for kids five through 11. The announcement comes after data from the phase 2/3 clinical trial, which revealed that a third dose administered six months after the initial two-dose regimen yielded enough antibodies to neutralize both the original COVID-19 strain and the Omicron variant. While the results are welcoming news, scientists are concerned that Pfizer’s booster dose may only provide a few months of protection against infection. For instance, antibodies generated from a booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine in adults wane after about four months. However, Pfizer has yet to make the data available to outside scientists for review. CMS Proposes Pay Cut for Nursing Homes On Monday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a proposed rule that plans to decrease Medicare Part A payments to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) by around $320 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023. The payment cut is partially in response to a new payment system implemented in FY 2020 that ended up paying SNFs 5% more than initially anticipated. The proposed rule also asked for feedback on how to code for residents in isolation, the quality reporting program, and how CMS should create minimum staffing requirements. The deadline for stakeholders to submit feedback is June 10, 2022. House Appropriators to Begin Marking Up FY23 Spending Bills in June The House Appropriations Committee is reportedly planning to begin marking up its FY 2023 spending bills in June, which means the bills could be up for consideration on the House floor by July. Tentatively, subcommittees are planning to mark up their 12 spending bills from June 13-22, while the full committee would hold its markups June 22-30. Appropriations committee leaders have voiced a desire to reach agreements on spending bills much quicker than they did for FY 2022, which wasn’t finalized until an omnibus was signed into law last month. During a March 31 subcommittee hearing, Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro expressed a desire to pass all appropriations bills “on time” so they can be signed into law by September 30, 2022. ICYMI: Rabid Fox Bites 9 around US Capitol Complex Last week, a rabid fox bit nine people around the US Capitol Grounds, including Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA). While foxes are common in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, last Wednesday’s incident marks the first time a fox has been spotted in the US Capitol Complex since 2014. Out of an abundance of caution, Rep. Bera and the other individuals bitten went on to get rabies and tetanus shots. The Humane Rescue Alliance eventually captured and euthanized the fox after it tested positive for the rabies virus.

Administration Extends PHE, Transportation Mask Mandate On Tuesday, Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Xavier Becerra issued a 90-day renewal of the public health emergency that was initially set to expire on April 16.  The renewal ensures that Medicaid coverage protections, telehealth services, and other waivers tied to the PHE will continue through at least July […]

What Happened, What You Missed: March 14-18

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Ashish Jha to Replace Jeff Zients as White House COVID-19 Task Force Chair On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced that White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeff Zients will step down from his post next month.  President Biden also announced that Zients’ replacement will be Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health and a […]

What Happened, What You Missed: February 28-March 4

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White House Unveils New COVID-19 Strategy On Wednesday, the White House unveiled a new pandemic road map that’s centered around four main goals: (1) protecting and treating against COVID-19; (2) preparing for new variants; (3) preventing business and school shutdowns; and (4) helping to vaccinate the rest of the world.  A key feature of the new plan […]

What Happened, What You Missed: February 21-25

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Future of ARPA-H In Doubt The Biden administration’s plans to set up a new biomedical research agency called the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) have become more uncertain since Eric Lander, the president’s chief science advisor, stepped down two weeks ago.  Former National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins has temporarily stepped […]

What Happened, What You Missed: February 7-11

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CDC Stands By Indoor Masking Guidelines…for Now As blue states announce plans to roll back requirements on indoor masking, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky said it’s still too soon to change the federal government’s current guidelines on masks due to high hospitalizations and deaths in some states.  However, Walensky did say her agency is […]

What Happened, What You Missed: January 31-February 4

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Biden Reboots Cancer Moonshot with Ambitious New Goal President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that his administration is relaunching the Cancer Moonshot with the ambitious goal of halving the nation’s death rate from cancer over the next 25 years.  To accomplish this, the White House is forming a “Cancer Cabinet” consisting of representatives from several cabinet-level agencies and urging […]

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