The newest omicron subvariant, BA.5, now comprises the majority of U.S. COVID-19 cases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released data Tuesday highlighting the BA.5 variant along with the subvariant BA.4 and noted the ability of the variants to elude protection from vaccines. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration called on vaccine producers to address the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants in their updated vaccines that they are preparing for this fall.
BA.5 and BA.4 now make up around 70% percent of the infections across the country. The Biden Administration announced an agreement to secure 105 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine ahead of a fall vaccination campaign. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secured the vaccines with a $3.2 billion contract, which includes adult and pediatric doses. HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra called vaccines “a game-changer in our fight against COVID-19.”
On Tuesday, researchers at the National Cancer Institute found that COVID-19 was the third-leading cause of death in the U.S. between March 2020 and October 2021. An analysis of the federal data shows that 1 in every 8 deaths in these 20 months occurred because of the coronavirus. COVID-19 only trailed heart disease and cancer, and registered as a top-five cause of death for every age category in the U.S. aged 15 years and older.
Capitol Hill
At a June 16 Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing on “An Update on the Ongoing Federal Response to COVID-19: Current Status and Future Planning,” several GOP committee members expressed opposition to any additional funding to fight COVID-19. Ranking Member Richard Burr (R-NC) stated that he would be a “roadblock” to the Biden Administration’s efforts to receive additional funding until the Administration provides sufficient justification that the money is needed. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), who had previously negotiated with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in early April on legislation providing $10 billion in COVID funding, reacted angrily to the Administration’s move in early June to shift some money to buying more vaccines and treatments. Sen. Romney called it “unacceptable” that the Administration had previously said it was unable to buy more vaccines and treatments without new money from Congress, only to later shift money to do so. He said he would not have worked so hard with Democrats to try to reach a deal for new dollars “had I been told that in fact they weren’t necessary.”
At a June 14 House Oversight Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing on “Examining Federal Efforts to Prevent, Detect, and Prosecute Pandemic Relief Fraud to Safeguard Funds for All Eligible Americans,” Chairman James Clyburn (D-SC) said that the U.S. failed to take basic steps at the start of the coronavirus pandemic to prevent fraud in the SBA’s COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program intended to help small businesses, depleting the funds and making people more vulnerable to identity theft. The Subcommittee majority also released a staff report titled “IDLE on EIDL Fraud: How the Trump Administration Wasted Taxpayer Dollars by Leaving the COVID-19 EIDL Program Vulnerable to Fraud.”
At a June 23 House Oversight Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing with Trump White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx, she provided firsthand knowledge of the federal government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic during her tenure in the Trump Administration.
Administration
President Biden announced the final rule implementing the American Rescue Plan Act’s (ARPA) Special Financial Assistance program. A White House press release notes that the ARPA’s Special Financial Assistance Program will protect millions of workers in multiemployer pension plans who faced significant cuts to their benefits.
President Biden called on schools to use the $122 billion in ARPA funds to provide high-quality tutoring, summer learning and enrichment, and afterschool programs that are proven pathways to helping students make up for lost learning time and succeed in school and in life, including by supporting their mental health.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen commented on the World Bank Executive Board’s approval of a new Financial Intermediary Fund (FIF) for Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response. “This important financing vehicle will provide dedicated funding to close gaps in pandemic preparedness that have been brought into stark relief by our collective experiences during the COVID pandemic,” said Yellen. “The approval of a pandemic prevention fund by the World Bank is a major achievement that will help low- and middle-income countries be better prepared for the next pandemic.”
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Elected leaders from major urban counties with over 4.2 million residents outlined how they are deploying resources from ARPA to respond to urgent community needs. Leaders of the National Association of Counties Large Urban County Caucus hosted a Capitol Hill briefing to describe how they are investing in pandemic recovery, including efforts to address the nation’s growing mental health and homelessness crises. The briefing highlighted innovated ways urban country leaders are leveraging ARPA funding to save lives, strengthen communities and restore livelihoods.
States and localities are using some of their ARPA funding to make up for the items that the cities cannot afford because of declining revenues in the early part of the pandemic. Cleveland’s ARPA money is being used to exclusively tackle long-term projects like ensuring that all rental homes built before 1978 are lead free. The City has used $17 million of its $511 million total ARPA funds to help accomplish that goal. More examples include Vienna, Virginia, a community of about 16,000, which is getting about $17.1 million from ARPA intended to replace revenues that were anticipated to come in short as a result of the pandemic. Denver is making sizeable investments in affordable housing including alternatives to “traditional sheltering models.” Madison, Wisconsin, is using ARPA funding to create an organization called Occupy Madison, which is working to create villages of tiny houses for the previously homeless.
Local leaders, including the National League of Cities (NLC), spoke to the effectiveness of the American Rescue Plan Act at a House Budget Committee hearing last month. Vince Williams, Mayor of Union City, Georgia and President of the NLC, stated that not one colleague has reached out to say, “the American Rescue Plan was a bad deal, that’s Republicans and Democrats.” The panel also included the Founder and President of Macropolicy Perspectives; and officials from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Save America Coalition. The panel’s majority consensus is that ARPA was effective in preventing a serious downtown in a precarious economic environment. A key result was the legislation’s “support for the labor market and getting people back to work when they’re ready to do so,” said Dr. Julia Coronado of Macropolicy Perspectives. “The last recovery [following the Great Recession], we didn’t do that, and people were out of the labor force for years – we didn’t see people reenter the workforce for seven years.”
Vaccine & Treatment News
On June 18, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky endorsed the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommendation that all children 6 months through 5 years of age should receive a COVID-19 vaccine. This expands eligibility for vaccination to nearly 20 million additional children and means that all Americans ages 6 months and older are now eligible for vaccination. Children in this age range have been able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine (either Pfizer or Moderna) since June 21.
On June 24, CDC Director Walensky endorsed the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommendation that Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine be used as an option for children ages 6 through 17 years, in addition to its already recommended use in children 6 months through 5 years and adults 18 years and older. This recommendation reinforces the use of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine as an important tool in the pandemic and provides another vaccine option for children and adolescents.
The FDA revised the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for Paxlovid to authorize state-licensed pharmacists to prescribe Paxlovid to eligible patients, with certain limitations to ensure appropriate patient assessment and prescribing of Paxlovid.
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