Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Nirav Shah Appointed To CDC Post As Walensky's Deputy
Reuters: U.S. CDC Appoints Maine's Nirav Shah As Second-In-Command
Shah joined Maine CDC in June 2019 and led its efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. He will replace Debra Houry, who joined in 2021, and will report to U.S. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky. His appointment, which comes a day after the United States extended COVID-19's status as a public health emergency, is part of a broader ongoing revamp of the agency's structure. (1/12)
AP: Maine CDC Head Who Led COVID-19 Response Leaves For Fed Post
Dr. Nirav Shah, the director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention who became the face of the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, is leaving for a high-ranking post in federal disease control, officials said Thursday. Shah, who has been with the state since 2019, has been appointed principal deputy director at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and will take over that role in March, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills said. Shah will be second in the CDC’s hierarchy under Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky. (Whittle, 1/12)
On other political, legal news relating to health —
The Hill: Massachusetts Democrats Ask J&J For Answers On Children’s Medicine Shortage
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), along with Democratic Reps. Ayanna Pressley, Katherine Clark and Lori Trahan, issued their letter to Joaquin Duato, CEO and chairman of the board for Johnson & Johnson. “Our constituents across Massachusetts are experiencing a shortage of infant and children’s Tylenol and Motrin products as this challenging cold and flu season rages on, compounded by a surge of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and COVID-19,” they wrote. (Choi, 1/12)
AP: DeSantis Announces Prescription Drug Legislation
Florida will seek to provide consumers more flexibility in buying prescription drugs and more information about their costs under a legislative proposal that Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday he will ask lawmakers to approve. (1/12)
Stat: Loan Repayment Program Seeks To Bolster Infectious Disease Field
As part of the $1.7 trillion government spending bill that President Biden signed late last year, Congress authorized a pilot loan repayment program for people who work in infectious diseases and health emergency response — an incentive that advocates say could attract more people to the lagging fields. (Joseph, 1/13)
Politico: Suit Alleges EPA Foot-Dragging On Soot Compliance
In a federal lawsuit filed Thursday, the two groups said that the agency has yet to act on a California cleanup plan for the Los Angeles area some six years after it was submitted; they allege that a decision is also unlawfully past due on whether Allegheny County, Pa., now meets the annual standard of 12 micrograms per cubic meter of air. In the suit, they ask a federal judge to set deadlines for final action on both. (Reilly, 1/12)
Politico: EPA Eyes Siding With Industry On Controversial Plastic
The proposal is in response to a petition from the Center for Biological Diversity, which has repeatedly pushed EPA to crack down on PVC, which has been linked to a range of health risks. But in its response, the agency said the group's petition "does not provide sufficient evidence" that regulating PVC as hazardous waste would have a meaningful impact on reducing exposure to phthalates. (Crunden, 1/12)
