Another Spending Showdown Looms Over Covid Funding
Republicans are positioned to oppose President Joe Biden's request for billions in emergency relief funding for Ukraine, natural disasters, covid and monkeypox, and could rock stopgap spending bill negotiations.
AP:
GOP Gives Thumbs Down To Biden's $47B Emergency Request
President Joe Biden’s request for more than $47 billion in emergency funding to help Ukraine and tackle COVID-19, monkeypox and natural disasters is encountering deep skepticism from Senate Republicans, signaling a showdown ahead. The early resistance on the size and scope of the spending request points to the fraught negotiations to come as Congress labors to pass a stopgap spending bill that would keep the federal government running past Oct. 1 or risk a federal shutdown. (Freking and Mascaro, 9/7)
Fox News:
Biden’s Request For $22B In COVID-19 Relief Sticking Point For Republicans In Government Funding Bill
President Biden's push for Congress to approve more than $22 billion in new COVID-19 spending is a nonstarter for Republicans in this month’s must-pass government funding bill. GOP lawmakers say that additional coronavirus funding is a sticking point for them in any deal to keep the government open past Sept. 30 — the deadline by which Congress must pass a budget bill or risk a shutdown. (Alic, 9/7)
Modern Healthcare:
End Of Federal Support Means Big COVID-19 Costs For Insurers
Once the federal supply of coronavirus vaccines and treatments runs out, health insurers, employers and pharmacy benefit managers must strike deals with pharmaceutical companies on the prices for the Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, Johnson & Johnson and Novavax vaccines and treatments such as Pfizer’s Paxlovid and AstraZeneca’s Evusheld. The federal government anticipates that vaccine and drug procurement and distribution will shift to the private sector as soon as January. (Goldman and Tepper, 9/7)
In updates on the spread of covid —
Politico:
New York Lifts Mask Mandate For Public Transit, Correctional Facilities, Shelters
New Yorkers are no longer required, but still encouraged, to wear masks on subway trains, correctional facilities, detention centers and homeless shelters, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday. (Young, 9/7)
AP:
WHO: COVID Cases Drop Everywhere, But Pandemic Not Over
The number of new coronavirus cases fell everywhere in the world last week by about 12%, according to the World Health Organization’s latest weekly review of the pandemic issued Wednesday. The U.N. health agency reported that there were just under 4.2 million new infections last week and about 13,700 deaths - a 5% drop. (9/7)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Doctors Who Give False COVID Information Could Face Discipline With New Bill
AB2098 by Assemblymember Evan Low, D-San Jose, specifically calls out COVID-19 and would amend the definition of unprofessional conduct to prohibit doctors from giving patients “false or misleading information” about the coronavirus — including its risks, prevention and treatment — and about the “development, safety and effectiveness” of COVID vaccines. (Asimov, 9/7)
The Boston Globe:
Baker Administration To Distribute 5 Million Rapid COVID-19 Tests For Mass. Municipalities And Food Banks
Five million free COVID-19 tests will soon be available to Massachusetts residents, including 1.5 million earmarked for food banks in the state, Governor Charlie Baker’s administration announced Wednesday. The Executive Office of Health and Human Services said municipalities can request free tests — as well as essential personal protective equipment such as KN95, surgical, and children’s masks — through Sept. 16. The tests and equipment are expected to arrive by the middle of October, the agency said in a statement. (Stoico, 9/7)
