Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Drugs That Do Work Against Omicron Are Scarce And Tricky To Access
Axios: New Coronavirus Treatments Are In Short Supply, But That's Not Their Only Problem
Antiviral COVID treatments are hailed as a pandemic game-changer, but they're currently in very short supply — and that's only one of several barriers to access for high-risk patients. Even when supply ramps up, it will still be tricky to connect some of the most vulnerable patients to the pills without changes to the process. Recently approved antivirals reduce the risk of hospitalization and death by up to 89%. But patients have a relatively short window of time to begin the treatment regimen once they're diagnosed, meaning that access to timely testing, a provider who can write a prescription, and the pills themselves are all critical. (Owens, 1/26)
NPR: Evusheld, COVID Drug For The Immunocompromised, Is In Short Supply
Dr. Vivian Cheung takes steroids to manage a rare genetic disease. The drugs suppress her immune system, which puts her at high risk of getting very sick from COVID-19. It also means that her body didn't really make antibodies in response to two shots she got of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Cheung is a pediatrician and research scientist. Before the coronavirus pandemic, she flew weekly from her clinic at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland to her lab at the University of Michigan. Now she hasn't been to her lab in two years. "Except for work, I don't go out at all," she says. "I haven't been inside of a grocery store for over a year." (Huang, 1/25)
CBS Los Angeles: Highly Touted COVID-19 Antiviral Treatments In Short Supply
New drugs to treat COVID-19 symptoms have been touted as much needed weapons to help control the pandemic, but some doctors and medical centers are wondering why they haven’t yet received them. “I have better luck asking my patients to go out there and find Cryptonite than finding these medications at this point,” said. Dr. Thomas Yadegar, a pulmonary critical care physician in Tarzana. (1/25)
WBUR: Got COVID? Here's What To Know About Drug Treatments, And Who Is Getting Them
Several treatments are available that promise to help keep patients out of the hospital, but they are in short supply. We talked to doctors about the COVID treatment options, who is getting them and when supply will improve. (Emanuel, 1/26)
More on the Florida governor's demand for access to antibody treatments —
AP: DeSantis Blasts FDA For Halting Drugs Ineffective On Omicron
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed Tuesday for coronavirus patients to continue receiving antibody treatments deemed ineffective against the omicron variant, vowing to fight White House health regulators in his latest feud with President Joe Biden. The Republican governor’s comments came a day after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration pulled its emergency authorization for the antibody drugs from Regeneron and Eli Lilly. (Izaguirre and Perrone, 1/25)
Bloomberg: Florida Gov Ron DeSantis Touts Covid Monoclonal Antibody Treatments FDA Stopped
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said he would consider suing the federal government to allow use of two monoclonal antibody therapies for Covid-19, after the Food and Drug Administration halted their use and said they don’t work against the omicron variant. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said DeSantis’s position was “crazy” when the government was still supplying the potentially life-saving treatment -- just not the specific brands found to be ineffective. (Levin and Wingrove, 1/25)
The Hill: White House Dismisses DeSantis Calls To Reverse Decision On Antibody Therapies That Don't Work
White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday dismissed criticism from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and other Republicans who are demanding the Biden administration continue to allow states to use a COVID-19 treatment that doesn't work against the omicron variant. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday said it is limiting the use of two monoclonal antibody therapies from Eli Lilly and Regeneron because they are ineffective at treating the omicron variant. As a result, Florida health officials closed the state's antibody treatment centers. (Weixel, 1/25)
Also —
Des Moines Register: Iowa Republicans Seek Expanded Access To Experimental COVID Treatments
Iowans on ventilators could receive experimental medical treatments — including off-label uses for drugs like ivermectin — under a proposal Republicans advanced Tuesday. Republican supporters said they want the law change after hearing stories of some Iowa patients who were on ventilators for COVID-19 and were unable to try medications not authorized to treat the virus. (Richardson, 1/26)
Politico: Republicans See Political Gold In Democrats' Race-Sensitive Covid Drug Guidance
Republicans are accusing the Biden administration of racism — against white people. The administration’s recommendation that race and ethnicity be considered when deciding who gets the limited supply of new Covid drugs is the latest political talking points with which Republicans are hammering Democrats, looking to energize their base ahead of the midterm elections. (Ollstein and Messerly, 1/25)
