Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
White House Pushes To Make Covid Drug Paxlovid More Accessible
The Hill: White House Unveils New Push To Increase Availability Of COVID-19 Treatment Pills
The White House on Tuesday unveiled new steps aimed at making highly effective COVID-19 treatment pills from Pfizer more widely available, saying more lives could be saved if use of the pills increases. ... To boost availability, the administration announced Tuesday morning that the number of sites where the pills are available would soon increase from 20,000 to 30,000, and that it will work with pharmacies to increase that number to 40,000 “over the coming weeks.” (Sullivan, 4/26)
NPR: Biden Will Make Paxlovid, A Highly Effective COVID Drug, Available To More Pharmacies
The rollout of the medication has been slow since it was authorized for use in December, failing to reach many Americans eligible for treatment. "It's pretty clear from the uptake of Paxlovid, and the rate of hospitalizations and deaths over the months that Paxlovid has been available, that there are still some folks who could have benefitted from these medications," a senior administration official acknowledged on a call with reporters on Monday ahead of today's announcement. (Keith and McDaniel, 4/26)
AP: White House: Without Funding US Will Lose COVID Treatments
For much of the past two years, America has been first in line for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. Now, as drugmakers develop the next generation of therapies, the White House is warning that if Congress doesn’t act urgently the U.S. will have to take a number. Already the congressional stalemate over virus funding has forced the federal government to curtail free treatment for the uninsured and to ration monoclonal antibody supplies. And Biden administration officials are expressing increasing alarm that the U.S. is also losing out on critical opportunities to secure booster doses and new antiviral pills that could help the country maintain its reemerging sense of normalcy, even in the face of potential new variants and case spikes. (Miller, 4/25)
In related news about remdesivir —
The Hill: FDA Grants Full Approval For COVID-19 Treatment Remdesivir In Young Kids
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday gave its first full approval for a COVID-19 treatment for children under 12. The agency granted approval to the treatment remdesivir, also known as Veklury, made by Gilead Sciences, which has already been approved as a treatment for adults. (Sullivan, 4/25)
And a new book from Dr. Deborah Birx reveals a secret pact with Dr. Fauci —
ABC News: Exclusive: Dr. Birx Speaks To Trump Disinfectant Moment, Says Colleagues Had Resignation Pact
The coronavirus response coordinator for President Donald Trump's COVID task force, Dr. Deborah Birx, told ABC News in an exclusive interview that she became "paralyzed" when Trump raised the possibility of injecting disinfectant into people to treat the virus – and revealed how she thinks data meant to keep New York City playgrounds open led the president to make that ill-advised jump. Birx, who spoke with Dr. Jennifer Ashton, ABC News' chief medical correspondent, before the Tuesday release of her new book, also said she had a pact with other doctors on Trump's team – including Anthony Fauci – that if one of them was fired, then they would all resign. (Gittleson, 4/25)
