This Week in Congress

The Senate and the House are out of session until legislative business resumes July 11 and 12, respectively. When lawmakers return they face a long list of legislation to be completed prior to the next scheduled recess scheduled to begin August 8. The agenda includes:

• House floor action on all twelve FY’23 appropriations bills;
• Possible Senate action on its version of the FY’23 appropriations bills;
• The United States Innovation and Competition Act to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing and U.S. competitiveness; and
• Another version of the “Build Back Better” legislation, that could include a prescription drug pricing plan, tax increases, and renewable-energy subsidies.

Senator Leahy’s Health: After a fall, Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., is recovering from hip replacement surgery. It is unclear how long the Senator’s rehabilitation will take, but the Appropriation chairman’s possible absence from the evenly divided Senate could delay progress on the Democrats’ appropriations and legislative agenda.

Monkeypox

Statistics

Global Cases:  The WHO confirmed the global outbreak of monkeypox has grown to more than 7,000 cases, with 80 percent in European countries. The July 1 tally was double the cases reported on June 25, when the decision not to declare an international health emergency was announced by the WHO. The WHO’s monkeypox emergency committee will reconvene the week of July 18 as cases continue to surge, said the WHO Director-General, but the committee may meet sooner if warranted, he added. “Testing remains a challenge, and it’s highly probable that there are a significant number of cases not being picked up.” The monkeypox virus outbreak is growing in the United States and elsewhere, with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now reporting 605 cases in 34 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. New York has the most cases, with 122, followed by California with 116 and Florida with 64.

Washington, DC:  This week the CDC reported 53 cases of the monkeypox virus in D.C. To combat growing case counts, D.C. Health has opened two monkeypox vaccine sites.  Vaccines are available by appointment only. Since opening the sites, DC health officials stated the appointments are filled in a matter of minutes.

Idaho: The first probable case of monkeypox was announced by the Idaho Division of Public Health.  Health officials stated that it appears this infection was acquired during travel to a country experiencing a monkeypox outbreak.

Texas:  Texas health officials are reporting that the number of cases has risen to 23, an increase of 15 cases from the previous week. The spread is contributed to festivals held in the state in the past several weeks.

Oregon:  One case has been confirmed in the state with another five cases waiting confirmation. The confirmed case is associated with travel. Oregon health officials are ramping up testing, vaccines, and antiviral treatments for monkeypox.

New York: As of July 4, the city had tallied 122 cases of monkeypox, over twice the cases reported on June 29, and a 28 percent jump from July 1. New York health departments struggled to book appointments for one of the city’s scarce monkeypox vaccines in a botched roll-out that the department is blaming on technological glitches. The city received nearly 6,000 doses of the vaccine from the federal government. “We are sorry about the issues in scheduling monkeypox vaccination appointments,” the city health department tweeted. It was not immediately clear how many people were able secure a dose amid the glitches.

Massachusetts:  Ten more men in Massachusetts have been diagnosed with monkeypox in the past week, bringing the number of cases in the state to 31 since the first infection was announced on May 18.  The state rolled out a vaccination program for those at highest risk.

Testing:  On July 7, Labcorp began testing for monkeypox using CDC’s orthopoxvirus test (which detects all non-smallpox related orthopoxviruses, including monkeypox). “The ability of commercial labs to test for monkeypox is a key pillar in our comprehensive strategy to combat this disease. This will not only increase testing capacity but will make it more convenient for providers and patients to access tests by using existing provider-to-lab relationships.” said CDC Director Walensky. Labcorp will offer this testing at its largest facility in the US and will be able to accept specimens from anywhere in the country.  Labcorp expects to be able to perform up to 10,000 tests per week, double the current capacity provided through CDC’s Laboratory Response Network ,  here which itself has rapidly expanded testing capacity over the last seven weeks. CDC anticipates additional commercial laboratories which can be found here will come online and monkeypox testing capacity will continue to increase throughout the month of July.  Healthcare providers can access information on Labcorp’s test here. The latest CDC information on monkeypox is available here.

Vaccines

This week the Department of Health and Human Services announced that it will distribute 144,000 doses of the two-shot Jynneos vaccine, which is approved for monkeypox and smallpox, to cities and states starting on July 11. That’s on top of 56,000 doses the department made available last week, of which 41,000 have been delivered.

Other Legislation and Happenings Around the Nation

COVID-19

Deaths:  COVID-19 deaths in 2020 led to the biggest life expectancy drop in the US since World War II.

Cases:  COVID cases rose for the fourth week in a row, led by the more transmissible BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants, according to the WHO.

Paxlovid:  This week the FDA announced that state-licensed pharmacists can now prescribe paxlovid. Pharmacists will be permitted to prescribe Pfizer Inc.’s Paxlovid aimed at providing prompt access to the widely used COVID treatment. Pharmacists can prescribe the antiviral to eligible patients, subject to certain limitations to assure appropriate treatment. Paxlovid reduces the risk of hospitalization and death by 89 percemt. The drug should be prescribed within five days of symptom onset to people 12 and older who have tested positive and are at high risk for progression to severe COVID. Technically, that includes everyone from people who have asthma or obesity to people who are over age 65. The list of conditions can be found here.

Abortion

On July 8, President Biden will sign an executive order on abortion access, outlining his administration’s response to the Supreme Court’s recent decision overturning Roe v. Wade. The executive order:

• directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to take actions to expand access to medication abortion and to contraception, while also issuing guidance clarifying physician responsibilities during medical emergencies;
• directs the Attorney General to convene a network of volunteer lawyers who will work pro bono to defend women who travel across state lines to obtain an abortion;
• calls for federal agencies to take steps to protect the privacy of consumers seeking information about abortion from doctors or online, and to ensure the safety of abortion clinics; and
• establishes an interagency task force to coordinate these and other actions related to protecting abortion rights.

Colorado:  The Democratic Governor Jared Polis of Colorado has mandated that his state will not cooperate with any investigations into abortions led by other states. The Governor signed an executive order pledging that the state will not assist other states in criminal or civil investigations used to prevent people from accessing abortions. The executive order adds protections for individuals and organizations that provide abortions, as well as for individuals obtaining an abortion, including people who have traveled from other states. “We are taking needed action to protect and defend individual freedom and protect the privacy of Coloradans,” said Polis.

South Carolina: South Carolina lawmakers became the first to consider more restrictive legislation after the Roe decision. The state already decided to outlaw abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy. But this week, the legislature is considering abortion bans at conception, limits on out-of-state abortions and shutting down access to abortion pills.

North Dakota: This week the state’s sole abortion clinic filed a lawsuit seeking to block a “trigger” law banning abortion following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision.  The Red River Women’s Clinic argues that the ban violates the rights to life, safety and happiness guaranteed by the state constitution. It said the ban also infringes on the right to liberty because it “deprives patients of the ability to control decisions about their families and their health.”

Louisiana:  Abortions remain legal in Louisiana for now after the Louisiana Supreme Court said it won’t step in yet to overturn a New Orleans judge’s decision to temporarily stop enforcement of state’s abortion ban trigger law. The court will hear arguments on behalf of a Shreveport, La. abortion clinic which filed a lawsuit asking to block the ban. Louisiana’s Attorney General will argue the trigger law should be allowed to take effect.