Pressure Ratchets Up On Biden To Aid Global Vaccinations
Meanwhile, the White House coronavirus coordinator stands by the federal handling of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause. In other administration news: Nancy Messonnier's CDC departure, White House efforts to elevate science again at federal health agencies, and more.
The Washington Post:
‘Where Is The Plan?’: Biden Pressed On Global Vaccine Strategy
Global allies want more clarity on how the United States plans to share its resources, know-how — and especially, its growing vaccine stockpile. Advocates say there’s no time to waste, pointing to virus surges crippling India and other countries that collectively reported more than 5 million cases in the past week. (Diamond and Pager, 5/9)
Politico:
Covid Response Chief Has No Regrets On Johnson & Johnson Pause
White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients said it was "not at all" a mistake to place a hold on the Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine, rebuffing the idea that doing so made vaccinating the country any more difficult. Speaking with CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday, Zients said if anything, the Food and Drug Administration's hold on the vaccine helped build confidence that people know that the FDA and the CDC are monitoring. (Choi, 5/9)
In other news from the Biden administration —
CNBC:
Senior CDC Official Who Met Trump’s Wrath For Raising Alarm About Coronavirus To Resign
Nancy Messonnier, a senior health expert at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who was the first U.S. official to warn Americans last year that a new coronavirus would upend their lives, is resigning from the agency, she told colleagues in an email Friday morning. ... Messonnier, who has been director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases since 2016, did not respond to a request for comment. During a Friday briefing, CDC director Rochelle Walensky called Messonnier a “true hero” but offered no explanation for her exit amid the most ambitious immunization campaign in American history. (Breuninger, 5/7)
AP:
New White House Panel Aims To Separate Science, Politics
Eager to the turn the page on the Trump years, the Biden White House is launching an effort to unearth past problems with the politicization of science within government and to tighten scientific integrity rules for the future. A new 46-person federal scientific integrity task force with members from more than two dozen government agencies will meet for the first time on Friday. Its mission is to look back through 2009 for areas where partisanship interfered with what were supposed to be decisions based on evidence and research and to come up with ways to keep politics out of government science in the future. (Borenstein, 5/10)
Politico:
Lockdown Mentality Still Holding The Economy Back, Banking Official Says
It’s not one specific thing related to Covid-19 that is keeping the economy down, but everything related to the pandemic, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis said on Sunday. Speaking on CBS News' “Face the Nation,” Neel Kashkari said it was a complex series of factors that led to Friday’s disappointing jobs report, which showed that only 266,000 jobs were created in April, far below expectations. (Cohen, 5/9)
ABC News:
White House Acknowledges Mysterious Health Attacks Occurred In US, Reviewing Intel On Incidents
The mysterious health incidents that have affected dozens of U.S. personnel around the globe have also occurred within the United States, the White House confirmed for the first time on Friday. The source of the illnesses, known as "Havana syndrome" after the first cluster of cases at the U.S. Embassy in Cuba, is still unknown. But there is growing pressure from Congress to figure out what has affected so many U.S. diplomats, spies and other officials -- and who or what is behind it. (Finnegan and Gittleson, 5/7)
