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By ADAM CANCRYN and SARAH OWERMOHLE
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With David Lim
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— Thirty percent of health care workers are still unvaccinated against Covid-19, despite providers’ attempts to impose mandates.
— Political affiliation is playing a major role in who gets vaccinated — and how serious people view the Covid-19 threat, a new study found.
— The legal battle over President Joe Biden’s vaccine requirement could give the Supreme Court an opportunity to place broad limits on government’s policing of workplace safety.
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At HCA Healthcare, we believe excellence in healthcare starts with a foundation of inclusion, compassion and respect for our patients and each other. We are committed to meeting the social, cultural, linguistic and spiritual needs of our patients, their families and the communities we serve.
One of the ways we do this is through our Equity of Care program, which provides innovative, pragmatic, compassionate, patient-focused solutions and resources across our organization.
THIRTY PERCENT OF HEALTH WORKERS UNVAXXED — Nearly a third of the nation’s health care workforce remained unvaccinated against the coronavirus as of mid-September, according to an analysis of CDC data publishing in the American Journal of Infection Control today.
The data provides a picture of vaccination levels days after President Joe Biden laid out a vaccine mandate plan for federal employees and before some states and cities like New York City implemented requirements. But several providers had started to roll out mandates in the summer.
“Our analysis revealed that vaccine coverage among U.S. hospital-based [health care providers] stalled significantly after initial uptake,” said Hannah Reses, a member of the CDC team that conducted the analysis and the paper’s lead author.
Among data from more than 2,000 hospitals, researchers found that vaccination rates were highest among children’s hospitals (77 percent) followed closely by staff at short-term and long-term acute care sites. Workers in high-density cities were also more likely to get vaccinated than those in rural counties, at 71 percent and 63.3 percent, respectively.
The journal is published by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, a group representing hospital workers who focus on preventing infections at hospitals.
THE POLITICAL VAX DIVIDE IS REAL — Republicans in the U.S. are 26 percentage points more likely to be unvaccinated than Democrats, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s latest study, in what represents the latest evidence of a direct link from political affiliation to Covid-19 vaccination status.
That’s a wider gap than the ones found between any of the following: different racial or ethnic groups, varying education levels, insured versus uninsured, rural versus urban or different age groups. And it signals that the vaccine resistance within the GOP will remain a chief obstacle to further suppressing the virus across the country.
Overall, Republicans and Republican-leaning independents make up 60 percent of unvaccinated adults, KFF found. That’s despite representing just 41 percent of the total adult population.
The GOP’s share of the unvaccinated has risen over time as well, meaning unvaccinated adults are now more than three times as likely to lean Republican than Democratic.
Republicans are also more likely to downplay the Covid-19 threat — though even within the party, there’s a noticeable split based on vaccination status. Among the unvaccinated, nearly nine in 10 Republicans surveyed believe the virus’ seriousness is exaggerated. But just 54 percent of vaccinated Republicans believe the same.
HOW BIDEN’S VAX RULE LEGAL FIGHT COULD BACKFIRE — The Biden administration’s vaccine-or-test mandate seems destined to land in front of the Supreme Court — where a conservative majority could use the opportunity to impose broad limits on the government’s policing of workplace safety, POLITICO’s Rebecca Rainey reports.
The growing legal fight hinges on whether the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has the authority to make businesses require vaccination or regulate Covid-19 testing. While the White House has expressed confidence there’s clear precedent, those challenging the regulations say Congress never granted that power — and even if it did, it shouldn’t have.
Biden’s bad news scenario: The Supreme Court could embrace that line of thinking and conclude OSHA’s authority is too vague, opening the door to a flood of challenges to regulations governing all sorts of workplace hazards.
In particular, some businesses challenging the vaccine rule have argued it violates the “non-delegation doctrine” that says Congress can’t pass its legislative authority off to executive agencies. The Supreme Court hasn’t struck down a law based on that argument in decades — but the court’s conservative majority cited delegation concerns in an August ruling against Biden’s eviction moratorium.
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MODERNA PUSHES FOR BROADER BOOSTERS — The vaccine maker is asking the FDA to authorize its Covid-19 booster for all adults in an application that comes roughly a month after the additional dose was made available to older Americans and those at high risk.
Moderna’s booster is already authorized for people 18 and up in many international markets, the company said, after data showed the third shot was 93 percent effective if given six months after an initial regimen.
The FDA is also weighing a similar request from Pfizer and BioNTech for their booster, which it could greenlight as soon as tomorrow. The Biden administration has long signaled it would eventually open up booster eligibility to all adults, in hopes of further protecting people against a resurgence of the virus.
Still, regulators will need to evaluate links between Moderna’s shot and myocarditis. While the overall risk is low, some European nations have limited the vaccine to older populations to cut down on the potential for cases. Moderna also delayed seeking authorization for its pediatric vaccine over the issue.
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CMS TO REQUIRE INSURERS TO SUBMIT DRUG PRICE DATA — The Biden administration will require health insurers to begin submitting a range of drug pricing-related information each year, in an effort to better identify the factors driving costs upward.
The new regulations published Wednesday mandate that insurers and health benefit plans offered to federal employees provide HHS with data on their top 50 drugs across a range of categories, including those most frequently dispensed to enrollees and the most costly medicines.
They must also disclose specifics on the rebates and fees drugmakers are paying health plans and pharmacy benefit managers, as well as the impact they’re having on premiums and out-of-pocket costs.
But those requirements won’t kick in for a while. The administration is giving the industry until December 2022 to begin sending their data, with plans for HHS to release its first public report on the findings in June 2023.
FIRST IN PULSE: MICHAEL MINA JOINS TELEHEALTH FIRM — The prominent public health expert is joining digital health company eMed as its chief science officer, POLITICO’s David Lim reports.
The move comes weeks ahead of the Biden administration’s original January 4 target date for OSHA’s vaccinate-or-test mandate for companies with 100 or more employees. Under the policy — which is being challenged in court — at-home tests must be overseen by employers or authorized telehealth proctors to be eligible for the weekly testing requirement.
A vocal advocate for at-home Covid-19 testing, Mina was previously an associate professor of epidemiology, immunology and infectious diseases at Harvard University’s public health school and was the principal investigator of a study evaluating the pairing of Innova Medical Group’s rapid Covid-19 test with BELLA Health’s platform.
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Contract disputes between hospitals and insurers are increasingly complicating patients’ ability to seek care without the risk of a big bill, Kaiser Health News’ Andy Miller reports.
The NFL is intensifying its Covid-19 protocols ahead of Thanksgiving after seeing a recent uptick in cases, ESPN’s Dan Graziano writes.
In a letter sent Wednesday, 10 D.C. Council members asked Mayor Muriel Bowser to reverse her decision to lift the district’s mask mandate next week.
A message from HCA Healthcare:
At HCA Healthcare, we believe excellence in healthcare starts with a foundation of inclusion, compassion and respect for all. Amidst the fight against COVID-19, HCA Healthcare’s commitment to addressing critical environmental, social and governance issues has not wavered, and our dedication to the communities we serve extends beyond our facilities.
In addition to our commitment to providing equitable care for patients, our robust diversity, equity and inclusion strategy supports colleagues in the work they do every day, creating opportunities for connection and dialogue and enabling us to better attract, engage and develop diverse talent.
We also invest in healthier tomorrows for the communities we serve through strategic community partnerships focused on addressing key issues tied to education, workforce development, civic and economic advancement, veterans, health equity and well-being. This includes a new $75 million community impact fund which addresses high-priority community needs and health equity.
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