Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
DeSantis Pledges To Fight Biden's Redistribution Of Antibody Treatments
Politico: DeSantis Opens New War With Biden Over Covid Treatments
First came masks. Then a feud over vaccine mandates. Now a new front has opened in the Covid battle between President Joe Biden and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis: Covid-19 antibody treatments. On Thursday, DeSantis ripped into Biden’s plan to distribute doses of monoclonal antibody treatments to states across the nation. Florida and six other Southern states have relied on the therapies to treat patients infected with the virus but also took up 70 percent of the orders in early September. ... “We've been handed a major curveball here, with a really huge cut from HHS and the Biden administration,” DeSantis said at a press conference in Broward County. “We're going to make sure we leave no stone unturned. Whoever needs a treatment, we're going to work like hell to get them the treatment.” (Sarkissian, 9/16)
AP: Beshear: Kentucky May Run Low On Monoclonal Antibodies
Kentucky may not have enough monoclonal antibody courses to meet the rising demand in the state, Gov. Andy Beshear says. The federal government is rationing the treatments in response to a national shortage, which may limit Kentucky’s ability to give the medicine to anyone who would need it. (9/17)
WRDW: Monoclonal Antibody Supplies Limited In S.C. Due To Nationwide Shortage
A treatment intended to keep high-risk patients with COVID-19 out of the hospital is running low in South Carolina, according to the South Carolina Hospital Association. The association said some providers have even run out of that treatment, monoclonal antibodies, and the drug will not be restocked before next week. (Green, 9/16)
Charleston Gazette-Mail: "Last Ditch Effort": KCHD To Offer Antibody Treatments As State, Local Hospitalizations Stay High
The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department will now offer monoclonal antibody treatments at its office in downtown Charleston in an attempt to slow hospital overcrowding in the region. Monoclonal antibody treatments help people who are COVID-19 positive better fight the virus and its side effects, which are sending more people than ever to the state’s hospitals and intensive care units. “Receiving an antibody treatment does not mean the person does not have COVID-19 after the treatment. It means they are better equipped to deal with COVID-19,” said Dr. Sherri Young, interim health officer. “The goal here is to keep our hospitals, our ICUs, our clinics from being overcrowded.” (Coyne, 9/16)
And states are cheering or jeering Biden's vaccine mandates —
Stateline: States Embrace Vaccine Mandates Despite Potential Worker Exodus
President Joe Biden soon will require millions of workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested weekly. But before Biden’s announcement last week, 18 states and the District of Columbia already had told public sector workers to get their jabs or risk losing their jobs, and 21 states plus D.C. had such mandates for health care workers. Many of those state mandates will take effect in the coming weeks, offering a glimpse of the effects Biden’s plan could have on the workforce once the final federal rule is in place. Like the federal plan, most of those state requirements will allow for weekly testing as an alternative to vaccination. (Brown, 9/16)
USA Today: AGs From 24 States Threaten To Sue Over Joe Biden's Vaccine Requirement
Twenty-four Republican attorneys general signed a letter to President Joe Biden on Thursday threatening litigation against the president's requirement for employees of businesses with 100 or more workers to be either vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing. The prosecutors, led by South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, called the requirement "disastrous and counterproductive." The prosecutors said the requirement would "drive further skepticism" about vaccines and cause some Americans to leave the job market, including healthcare workers. The letter was also signed by the attorneys general in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. (Bacon, Hayes and Hauck, 9/16)
Bloomberg: Arizona AG Mark Brnovich Admits Suit Over Biden Vaccine Rules Is A ‘Long Shot’
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich acknowledged that his suit challenging the Biden Administration’s announced Covid-19 vaccine requirements for many U.S. workers is unlikely to succeed because the actual rules haven’t been finalized. “Is it a long shot? Yeah, I recognize that,” Brnovich, a Republican former federal prosecutor who is running for U.S. Senate in 2022, said in a phone interview. “But I also think these are very important principles to be fighting for.” (Larson, 9/16)
In other news about vaccine and mask mandates —
The Hill: Seattle Area To Require COVID-19 Vaccine To Enter Indoor Venues
Customers at Seattle-area restaurants, gyms and other indoor venues will soon be required to provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19 under a new county health order issued Thursday. The order, which goes into effect Oct. 25, mandates that indoor restaurants and bars with the capacity to seat at least 12 people require all customers 12 years of age and older to provide proof of vaccination prior to entry. (Castronuovo, 9/16)
The Wall Street Journal: Face Masks Don’t Obscure Parents’ Love
Parents worry, and Covid-19 has given them lots of things to worry about. Here’s one: How will babies be affected by being surrounded by people in masks? Will they have trouble connecting with their parents and other people? Fortunately, a new study and a number of earlier ones suggest that this worry, at least, is unfounded. Aside from providing much-needed relief to anxious parents, the research has some fascinating scientific implications. (Gopnik, 9/16)
