Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Defense Bill That Scraps Military Covid Vaccine Mandate Heads To Biden
The New York Times: Congress Clears Military Bill Repealing Vaccine Mandate For Troops
The Senate on Thursday gave final approval to an $858 billion military policy bill that would rescind the Pentagon’s mandate that troops receive the coronavirus vaccine, defying President Biden’s objections and sending to his desk a bill that paved the way for a massive increase in spending on the military. The vote was 83 to 11, an overwhelmingly bipartisan margin that reflected support in both parties for boosting the Pentagon’s budget by $45 billion over Mr. Biden’s request, as lawmakers in both parties argued that the protracted war in Ukraine and an emboldened China had changed the nation’s security posture. (Edmondson, 12/15)
AP: Senate Passes Defense Bill Rescinding COVID Vaccine Mandate
To win GOP support for the 4,408-page bill, Democrats agreed to Republican demands to scrap the requirement for service members to get a COVID-19 vaccination. The bill directs Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to rescind his August 2021 memorandum imposing the mandate. (Freking, 12/16)
More on the vaccine rollout —
NBC News: CDC Director Warns Vaccine Misinformation Is A Public Health Threat
Doctors' appointments missed during the first years of Covid contributed to a dip in childhood vaccination rates, but it's the onslaught of vaccine disinformation that continues to put young kids at risk for preventable death and disease, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, told NBC News. "As I think about the challenges that we have to public health vaccine, misinformation is among the biggest threats," she said. (Edwards, 12/16)
CNBC: Covid News: Most Nursing Home Residents Have Not Received Omicron Booster
Less than 50% of nursing home residents, one of the country’s most vulnerable populations to severe illness from Covid-19, have received an omicron booster ahead of an expected wave of infection this winter. (Kimball, 12/15)
ABC News: New Poll Shows Why Some Adults Aren't Getting The COVID Booster
About four in 10 adults say they've gotten the new bivalent booster or will get it as soon as they can, according to the latest Kaiser Family Foundation COVD-19 Vaccine Monitor. In the survey, 22% of adults said they have gotten the shot, while around 16% said they will soon. (Haslett, 12/16)
In other legislative news —
KHN: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Health Spending? Only Congress Knows
Congress has a tentative framework for government spending through this fiscal year. Now, lawmakers must fill in the blanks, including on key health care provisions, and get it passed. The Biden administration will send more free covid-19 home tests to Americans after initial fears the program was running out of money. And there’s plenty of news coming in from the states, where this week a Texas judge tossed out a lawsuit based on the state’s so-called vigilante abortion law, and the governor of Florida is asking for a grand jury investigation into harm caused by covid vaccines. (12/15)
KHN: Is Legislation To Safeguard Americans Against Superbugs A Boondoggle Or Breakthrough?
With time running out in the 2022 congressional session, a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers and infectious disease specialists is scrambling to pass a bill aimed at spurring the development of antibiotics to combat the deadly spread of drug-resistant pathogens. The PASTEUR Act, as amended, would provide $6 billion in federal funding over several years to give drugmakers incentive to develop and manufacture lifesaving medications for the small but growing number of infections highly resistant to antibiotics. (Szabo and Allen, 12/16)
