Welcome to Friday’s Overnight Health Care. Checking out this video from Sen. John Kennedy
John Neely Kennedy MORE (R-La.) Singing (unsurprisingly) about why you should get the vaccine.
If you have any tips, send us an email [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected] follow us on Twitter at @NateWeixel @ PeterSullivan4, and @ JustineColeman8
Today: The White House has pledged to send a wave of resources to Michigan and other states hardest hit by another wave of COVID-19 infections – just not a wave of vaccines. States should expect much smaller shipments of the J&J vaccine in the future, and new documents obtained by House Democrats show the extent to which former Trump officials interfered with the CDC.
We start with vaccines:
White House to Michigan: Sorry, no extra doses for you
The White House said Friday it planned to send additional staff to help with vaccinations in badly affected states, but declined calls to send more doses of the vaccine.
“We will provide states with significant increases in cases with a range of additional tools to help them combat the spread,” said the White House coronavirus response coordinator. Jeff Zients
Jeff ZientsWhy Some Republicans Think Vaccine Passports Will Backfire on Democrats Arkansas Ends Mask Mandate But Expands Vaccination Option to All Adults Nighttime Health Care: More Johnson & Johnson Doses Next Week | This is where schools are in session again | WHO is asking rich countries to donate MORE 10 million vaccine doses said Friday.
That includes additional federal staff to help with vaccinations, as well as more testing capacity and more therapies to treat people with the virus.
However: The offer does not include more doses of the vaccine itself, something Michigan officials have been calling for, in particular.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
Gretchen Whitmer Bipartisan Lawmakers Urge Biden to Send More Vaccines to Michigan Amid Peak Biden Scraps Trump-Approved Medicaid Work Requirements in Michigan, Wisconsin Five states account for nearly 44 percent of new US COVID-19 cases MORE (D) called President Biden
Joe BidenAnne Frank’s Step-Sister: Trump ‘Clearly Admired Hitler’ Biden-GOP Infrastructure Talks Rocky Start We Must Stop Reducing China Climate MORE to send more doses given the troubling spike in cases in the state, as have several prominent public health experts and members of the state congressional delegation.
Zients argued that the vaccine is still needed all over the country.
“There are tens of millions of people across the country in every state and province who have not yet been vaccinated and the fair and equitable way to distribute the vaccine is based on the adult population by state, tribe and territory,” he said. .
Read more here
Democrats Say: Documents Show Trump Officials Helped Suppress Coronavirus CDC Reports
Former Trump’s top advisers helped suppress scientific information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that they believed was harmful President Trump
Donald Trump First GOP lawmaker calls on Gaetz to resign Katie Hill on Matt Gaetz: ‘I feel betrayed by him’ Anne Frank’s stepsister: Trump ‘clearly admired Hitler’ MORE, attacking the agency’s credibility, according to documents obtained by House Democrats.
“Our investigation has shown that Trump administration officials are engaged in an ongoing pattern of political interference in the country’s public health response to the coronavirus pandemic, dominating and bullying scientists and making damaging decisions that could accelerate the spread of the virus,” said Rep. Clyburn (DS.C.), Chairman of the Subcommittee.
Specifically, the committee found that former science adviser Paul Alexander attempted to modify or block at least 13 CDC reports related to the coronavirus.
Yippee: When it worked, such as in the case where CDC leaders allegedly changed the opening line of a report on the spread of the virus among youth, Alexander bragged about it.
“Small victory but still a victory and yippee !!!” he reportedly wrote in an email.
The Trump administration has denied that there was any political interference influencing the CDC reports, claiming that Alexander’s emails “gave absolutely no shape to departmental policy or strategy.”
Read more here
Youth vaccines: Pfizer-BioNTech applies for emergency permit to vaccinate 12-15 year olds
Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech have filed with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to change their emergency use authorization to get approval for their COVID-19 vaccine to be administered to 12 to 15 year olds.
The move would expand the FDA’s emergency license for the vaccine, which is currently only available to people 16 and older. With the other two vaccines approved for adults only in the US, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine would become the first vaccine available for 12-15 year olds in the US.
The two companies said they plan to apply for similar age extensions from other regulatory agencies around the world in the coming days.
Follows: Pfizer and BioNTech released inquiry last month who found their vaccine to be 100 percent effective in the age group. Pfizer’s CEO, Albert Bourla, said at the time that he hoped to begin vaccinating 12 to 15-year-olds before the start of the next school year. This could go a long way in making that happen.
Read more here
Goodbye: The White House is warning states to expect low weekly J&J vaccine shipments
White House officials said Friday that states will receive significantly fewer doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the coming weeks, until the Food and Drug Administration can approve the company’s manufacturing facility in Baltimore.
“We expect a relatively low level of weekly doses distributed to states, tribes, territories and our federal channels” until the manufacturing facility is authorized, Jeff Zients, The White House coronavirus response coordinator said Friday.
Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that Johnson & Johnson doses shipped will drop from about 4.9 million this week to 700,000 next week, an 85 percent decrease.
According to data from the CDC, there have been only 5 million injections of Johnson & Johnson administered nationwide, compared to 170 million injections of the other two authorized vaccines.
Unfulfilled goals? J&J previously said it expects 24 million doses by the end of April, but it is not clear if that can happen without the consent of the Baltimore factory. But the last time it quoted those numbers was on March 31. Since then, the company has only said in public statements that it will meet, or close to, its target of 100 million doses delivered by the end of May.
Read more here
Variant concerns are on the rise: CDC documents are on the rise under pressure in Brazil in the US.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that cases of the COVID-19 variant first discovered in Brazil are on the rise in the United States.
data released on Thursday showed 434 reported cases of the P.1 variant in 28 jurisdictions.
States seeing the variant: Most cases are reported in Massachusetts, where there are 102 cases. Other states hardest hit by the P.1 variant include Illinois with 93 cases, Florida with 87 cases, and California with 39.
The P.1. variant is the second most common variant in the US behind the B.1.1.7 variant first identified in the UK, which is CDC director Rochelle WalenskyRochelle Walensky Overnight Health Care: Biden Scraps Trump-Approved Work Requirements for Medicaid in Michigan, Wisconsin | CDC Director Says Racism Is ‘Serious Threat to Public Health’ | Current Worst COVID-19 Hot Spots: CDC Director Brazil and India Says Racism Is ‘A Serious Threat to Public Health’ The Hill’s Morning Report – Biden: Let’s Deal About Infrastructure, Taxes MORE said Wednesday is the dominant species in the country. A total of 19,554 strains of the B.1.1.7 variant have been reported in 52 US jurisdictions.
The US has recorded 424 cases of the third variant, B.1.351, first discovered in South Africa.
Read more here
What we read
CDC intensifies research on rare post-vaccination ‘breakthrough infections’ (Washington Post
To speed up the vaccination, some ask to postpone second shots (New York Times
Scientists Are Working On An Elusive Dream: A Simple Pill To Treat COVID-19 (Stat News
They tested negative for COVID. Still, they have long-lasting COVID symptoms (Kaiser Health News
State by state
Wisconsin Reports Most Daily COVID-19 Cases in Nearly 2 Months; deaths, hospital admissions also (Wisconsin State Journal
Shifting to Phase 2 could mean a drop in vaccine doses sent to Northern Virginia (WTOP
Proposed new Indiana vaping products taxed as ‘measly’ (Chicago Tribune)