This Week in Congress

House and Senate

Both chambers are out of session until November 13, 2022.

Appropriations

On September 30, 2022, President Biden signed the continuing resolution that will keep the government funded at the FY’22 level until December 16, 2022. Negotiations on the FY’23 funding bills will continue after the November election, with negotiators hoping to reach an agreement before the current CR expires. The text of the bill can be found here.  A summary can be found here.

Hearing to Investigate the January 6 Capitol Riot

The House committee investigating last year’s attack on the US Capitol has rescheduled its next public hearing to Oct. 13.  Last week’s hearing was postponed due to Hurricane Ian.

Other Legislation and Happenings Around the Nation

NCSD Wins Power Of Association Summit Award

Last week, the nation’s most prestigious award for associations recognized NCSD’s efforts to raise awareness of disease intervention specialists, advocate for federal funds, and partner to provide professional development during the COVID-19 pandemic.

NCSD Executive Director Harvey, when accepting the award, stated: “NCSD is proud to have our efforts recognized, but we are even more proud of the way we successfully supported our members and the broader public health community through one of the most challenging public health threats in our lifetimes.”

Monkeypox

Intradermal Monkeypox Vaccine Causing Scars and Discoloration: The intradermal injection can leave a painful, itchy red mark for weeks, potentially worsening the stigma of an outbreak mostly affecting gay men, and it can cause long-term discoloration or scarring. The outbreak appears to be waning and monkeypox vaccine appointments are more plentiful in many parts of the country when compared to earlier in the summer, when obtaining a shot was like “winning the sweepstakes or getting concert tickets,” one recipient said. However, the makeshift vaccination plan has not been without its downsides. The article can be found here

Monkeypox is not likely to be eradicated in the US:  This week, the CDC said monkeypox is not likely to be eradicated in the US. The report on the course of the outbreak, also states that the virus’ spread appears to be slowing — with transmission likely to remain concentrated among gay and bisexual men, and lower levels of new cases are expected in the upcoming months. “Domestic transmission in the US is unlikely to be eliminated in the near future. But U.S. monkeypox cases will most likely continue to decline or plateau over the next two to four weeks.” Yet CDC cautions that case counts are not declining in all jurisdictions, and that predicting the rate of future case decline is difficult. Predicting the long-term future of the outbreak is even more difficult, CDC said.  The article can be found here

Monkeypox Case Rates 5 Times Higher In Black Americans:  A new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation based on CDC’s data reveals that monkeypox case rates in the US disproportionately affect Black and Latino Americans, with Black Americans having case rates 5 times those found among White peers (14.4 cases vs. 2.6 per 100,000).

Syphilis Testing for Pregnant Mothers

New Mexico health officials are renewing a public order aimed at protecting newborn babies from syphilis. This week the state Health Department announced requirements that medical providers follow best practices by testing all pregnant women for syphilis multiple times.

COVID-19

Statistics:  The U.S. has recorded 1,060,408 deaths due to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, almost matching the combined toll of three major wars. Data show an average of 1,400 world-wide deaths per day (322 in the US.)  Data also show over 86% of U.S. kids have already been infected.

Long-Term COVID:  More than four in five Americans with long Covid say the syndrome has limited their daily activities. Data from the CDC found that a quarter of Americans with long COVID said the limitations were “significant.”  About 14 percent of Americans report having lingering symptoms from COVID-19, though some health experts suggested the actual number of people affected may be higher.

CDC Ends Country-By-Country COVID Travel Advisories:  The CDC has announced that the agency will no longer maintain a list of COVID-19 travel advisories for foreign countries. The agency said it would instead issue travel health notices only for “a concerning COVID-19 variant” or other situation that would change travel recommendations for a particular country, as it does with other infectious diseases.

COVID-19 Vaccination Boosters:  A new analysis suggests that if more people in the US get their booster by the end of the year, about 90,000 COVID-19 deaths could be prevented this fall and winter. But if booster vaccinations continue at their current pace, the nation could see a peak of more than 1,000 deaths per day this winter.  “When you look at the data of the deaths and severe disease among unvaccinated versus those vaccinated and boosted, and vaccinated and doubly boosted, the data are crystal clear about the difference in severity and death among people who are not vaccinated,” according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. “Dr. Fauci further stated “68% of the population is vaccinated and only one half of those have received one booster.”  As of this week, about two-thirds of the US population, 67.9%, is fully vaccinated with at least their initial series, according to the CDC, but only about a third, 33.3%, of the population has received a booster dose.

340B

CMS will begin paying hospitals in full for 340B drugs in two weeks, HHS lawyers told a federal district court. Last week, the D.C. district court directed Medicare to begin paying hospitals the full amount for 340B drugs after the U.S. Supreme Court in July overturned a nearly 30% pay cut for Part B drugs obtained through that discount program. The district court ruling last week only dealt with how Medicare must pay now for 340B drugs, and it didn’t deal with how CMS would pay hospitals back for cuts dating back to the beginning of 2018; the court said it will deal with that issue in a future order. The district court did not say whether CMS must offset the pay hike for 340B drugs with an equal amount of pay cuts for other outpatient items and services. CMS hasn’t said whether it plans to maintain so-called budget neutrality for the rest of 2022.

Abortion

• In the 100 days since the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, 66 clinics in the U.S. stopped providing abortions. The analysis, published by the Guttmacher Institute, assessed abortion access in the 15 states that have banned or severely restricted access to abortion. The analysis stated that “prior to Roe being overturned, these15 states had 79 clinics that provided abortion care, 100 days later, this was down to13.” All of the 13 clinics still providing abortions are in Georgia, where abortion is banned at six weeks—before many women know they are pregnant.

• With a growing number of patients in states that now prohibit abortion traveling for the procedure, Planned Parenthood says it will soon open its first mobile abortion clinic in the country, in southern Illinois.