Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Democrats Might Use Special Process To Bypass GOP, Pass Biden's Covid Bill
Politico: Biden, Democrats, Plot 'Aggressive' Pandemic Response — Without The GOP
President-elect Joe Biden has spent months pledging to work with Republicans to advance his agenda. But Senate Democrats are now gearing up to pass Biden’s first major legislative package without them. Key Senate offices are coalescing around a plan to pass another round of coronavirus legislation soon after Biden takes office using a process called reconciliation, which would allow them to move forward without any Republican support, five Senate aides tell POLITICO. (Ollstein, Cassella and Emma, 1/12)
The New York Times: Ahead Of Biden’s Stimulus Rollout, Schumer Promises Quick Action On Expanding Payments To $2,000.
Senate Democrats plan to prioritize a bill containing more Covid relief, including additional $1,400 payments to many Americans and money to accelerate vaccine deployment, as their “first order of legislative business” when they assume control of the chamber. The priorities, which Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the incoming majority leader, outlined in a letter to colleagues on Tuesday, echo many of the policies that President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. has signaled he will officially unveil on Thursday. (Tankersley, 1/12)
Cheddar: Biden's First 100 Days: Four Crises, Three Branches, Two Parties, One Guy
Every president enters the Oval Office with a full plate of issues to tackle. But some have had more urgent crises to deal with than others. Abraham Lincoln inherited a country on the brink of civil war, and his very election drove the South to secede. Franklin D. Roosevelt had to confront the Great Depression, still the greatest economic crisis in the nation's history. Barack Obama's first order of business was confronting the second-biggest economic crisis in the nation's history. President-elect Joe Biden will join that class of presidents coming into office amid a crisis on Jan. 20. (Deeter, 1/12)
In news about President-elect Joe Biden's health —
Nurse.org: Nurse Who Vaccinated President-Elect Joe Biden Says, "It Was An Honor"
So just how did they decide on who would be the one to vaccinate the President-Elect? Tabe Mase explained that as the Director of Employee Health with ChristianaCare, she was part of the crucial planning team that decided how to coordinate and organize the vaccination efforts. Being chosen to vaccinate President Biden, Mase said, was both an honor for herself personally as well as a “nod to nurses.” ... Mase added that she also always asks her patients if they are ready and if they want her to count to three before sticking them (Biden declined.) (Brusie, 1/12)
The Washington Post: Joe Biden, 78, Will Lead An American Gerontocracy
We’ve scrutinized every skin blotch, every frog in the throat, every momentary lapse in speech (as if such lapses aren’t common at any age). The incoming 46th president has had two aneurysms, deep-vein thrombosis and a pulmonary embolism. He has had surgery on his prostate; his gallbladder was removed in 2003. In 2008 he had mild diverticulosis and a noncancerous tubular adenoma removed. The 46th president’s medicine cabinet has recently included Eliquis (an anticoagulant), Crestor (for cholesterol), Nexium (for gastroesophageal reflux) and Dymista (for allergies). None of this is concerning, according to doctors who assessed [Joe] Biden’s health for the Journal on Active Aging. This is just what it means to be a man of 78.2 in the last quarter of a well-heeled life. (Zak, 1/12)
Also —
The Hill: Incoming CDC Director Vows To Tell The Truth, Restore Trust
The incoming director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vowed in a New York Times op-ed published Monday to tell the public the truth, “even when the news is bleak.” Rochelle Walensky, President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to lead the embattled agency, acknowledged the CDC will have to work “very hard to restore public trust.” (Hellmann, 1/12)
Reuters: Public Trust Crumbles Amid COVID, Fake News - Survey
Trust in governments, business chiefs and media is crumbling amid a perceived mishandling by leaders of the coronavirus pandemic and a widespread feeling among ordinary citizens that they are being misled, a global survey has found. The Edelman Trust Barometer, which for two decades has polled thousands of people on their trust in core institutions, found 57% of people believe government leaders, business chiefs and journalists are spreading falsehoods or exaggerations. (John, 1/13)
