Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Biden Widens Vaccination Push With Governors Summit, McDonald's Partnership, Global Sharing
USA Today: Biden To Talk With Six Governors About Ways To Get More People Vaccinated Against COVID-19
President Joe Biden will talk with three Democratic and three Republican governors Tuesday about innovative ways to get more people vaccinated, USA TODAY has learned. Biden will meet virtually with the leaders of Ohio, Utah, Massachusetts, Maine, Minnesota and New Mexico to share best practices as the administration moves toward its goal of getting 70% of adults at least partially vaccinated by July 4. More than half of all residents in Massachusetts, Maine and New Mexico have gotten at least one shot, ranking those states in the top 10. Ohio and Utah are in the bottom half of states for vaccination rates. (Groppe, 5/10)
The Boston Globe: Baker To Meet With President Biden, Other Governors On Vaccination Effort
Governor Charlie Baker and some of his fellow governors will meet Tuesday with President Biden to discuss the ongoing drive to vaccinate as many Americans as possible against COVID-19. “It’s basically to talk about how to reach and deliver vaccines to either folks that are part of what we would call the hesitant community or folks who are part of communities that are just hard to reach and need more help to get vaccinated,” Baker said at a media briefing Monday at Manet Community Health Center’s Quincy vaccination site. He said he believed the virtual event would include a total of six governors. (Andersen, 5/10)
The New York Times: The U.S. Confronts A Virus ‘That Doesn’t Understand Borders’
Given the leadership role that Mr. Biden has said he is committed to reasserting on the world stage, the administration now confronts a daunting reality: that no person anywhere is safe until the virus is controlled everywhere. And with vaccine access heavily concentrated in the richest countries, a global solution still appears far off. ... The stakes are high, and not just for the billions of people around the globe who remain unvaccinated. Epidemiologists agree that until the virus is contained everywhere, dangerous variants will continue to develop in infected areas. This will threaten people in all nations, including those that have been widely vaccinated. (Russonello, 5/10)
CNN: Biden Administration Is Open To Sharing Coronavirus Vaccines With North Korea
The Biden administration is open to sharing coronavirus vaccines and other humanitarian assistance to help North Korea combat the deadly pandemic, according to two sources familiar with internal discussions. Administration officials believe that the North Koreans won't be ready to engage with the US until the threat from the pandemic has passed, which is one reason why sharing vaccines could grease the wheels for initial diplomatic engagement, current and former officials said. (Atwood, 5/11)
USA Today: McDonald's Working With Biden Administration To Raise COVID Vaccine Awareness Through Billboard, New Coffee Cups
McDonald’s is teaming up with the Biden administration to raise COVID-19 vaccine awareness and help customers find vaccine appointments near them. The fast-food giant announced Tuesday it will promote the White House and Department of Health and Human Services’ “We Can Do This” campaign on its Time Square billboard later this month and on McCafe coffee cups and delivery orders at all U.S. restaurants starting in July. (Tyko, 5/11)
The Washington Post: Long-Haul Covid-19 Renews Push To Expand Palliative Care
The pandemic, which has left an estimated tens of thousands of Americans with long-term debilitating symptoms, has prompted a renewed push to provide full palliative care services to seriously ill patients in their homes. Palliative and hospice organizations are in talks with the Biden administration to create such a benefit as a demonstration project in Medicare, the health plan for older Americans. If successful, they hope it would become a permanent benefit in Medicare and then be offered under Medicaid, the federal-state program that covers lower-income Americans, and commercial insurance plans, as well. (Ollove, 5/10)
In other news from the White House —
Politico: Becerra’s Cautious Border Play Rankles White House
Xavier Becerra spent decades urging congressional leaders to support liberalized legal immigration. But he's sounding a different note as Health secretary, responsible for caring for upwards of 21,000 migrant children. Becerra has argued for maintaining the historically low Trump-era cap on refugee admissions to the U.S., according to two people with knowledge of the matter, for fear of stretching the already-thin resources of his department’s refugee office. (Cancryn, 5/10)
Vox: The Supreme Court Faces An Important Showdown Over Abortion This Week
The Supreme Court has been sitting on a potentially very significant abortion case for the last two months, one that the Court’s rules say it should dismiss. We’re likely to find out this week whether the Court will dismiss this case, however, and that decision could tell us a great deal about how fast the Court plans to move in rolling back abortion rights. In February, about a month after President Joe Biden took office, the Supreme Court announced that it would hear three consolidated cases challenging a Trump administration policy targeting abortion clinics. (Millhiser, 5/11)
