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In healthcare today, you no longer need a negative COVID test to enter the United States by plane. We will go into the decision.
Welcome to Night Health Care, where we are following the latest moves on policies and news regarding your health. For The Hill we are Peter Sullivan, Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi. Sign up here.
Biden officials terminating their international travel obligation
Another crisis-era COVID rule is lifted.
Biden administration announced on Friday the end of the requirement for international travelers to test negative for the coronavirus before coming to the United States
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) “have determined on the basis of science and data that this requirement is no longer necessary at this time,” said a senior administration official.
- The requirement ends at 12:01 on Sunday.
Between the lines: Some experts noted that the requirement didn’t seem to do much, as COVID-19 is already circulating widely in the United States and land border crossings aren’t subject to the same requirement.
The travel industry also lobbied to remove the requirement, saying it was no longer necessary.
Sign of a new era: The move is another sign of a new phase of COVID-19 where some of the measures planned when the virus was seen as an overwhelming crisis have been undone.
- “We are able to take this step thanks to the enormous progress we have made in our fight against the virus: we have made vaccines and life-saving treatments widely available and these tools are working to prevent serious illness and death and are effective against the prevalent variants that circulate. in the United States and around the world, “the senior administration official said.
Read more here.
APPOINTMENTS IN THE TRAVEL SECTOR
Airlines and travel groups hailed the Biden administration’s decision to lift COVID-19 testing requirements for air travelers entering the United States, a much-desired victory for the industry.
A lobbying blitz follows: Travel and tourism interests have for months prompted the White House to lift the obligation in a series of meetings, letters and opinion pieces. They argued that the rule was hurting travel demand and noted that other countries such as the UK and France had already abandoned similar restrictions.
“The revocation of this policy will help encourage and restore air travel to the United States, benefiting communities across the country that are heavily dependent on travel and tourism to support their local economies,” Nicholas Calio, president of Airlines for America , a trading group representing major US carriers, said in a statement.
“We look forward to welcoming the millions of travelers who are ready to come to the United States for vacations, business and reunions with loved ones.”
The travel industry has presented to the Biden administration the potential economic growth resulting from the abandonment of testing requirements. The US Travel Association released an analysis this month that found that making the change could increase US travel spending by 12%, leading to an additional $ 9 billion.
Read more here.
The feds buy 500,000 more vaccine doses to fight monkeypox
Health officials announced Friday that the White House has ordered an additional 500,000 doses of a vaccine believed to be effective against monkeypox.
- These are liquid, frozen doses of Jynneos’ smallpox vaccine, Dawn O’Connell, assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), said at a news conference.
- While there are currently no vaccines or antivirals specifically designed to treat monkeypox, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the use of Jynneos in adults to prevent monkeypox infections.
The order announced on Friday is expected to be delivered by the end of the year.
The current supply: O’Connell also said that the US Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) currently has 72,000 doses of Jynneos in its immediate inventory, and that another 300,000 is expected to arrive in the coming weeks.
The drug was created by Bavarian Nordic, a biotech company based in Denmark.
- The SNS also has more than 100 million doses of the ACAM2000 smallpox vaccine, though health officials have noted that there has been a preference for Jynneos.
- ACAM2000 is an older vaccine and has some side effects that may concern suppliers, including muscle pain, rash, and nausea.
Read more here.
MILITARY CONFIRMS HIS FIRST MONKEYPOX CASE
The Pentagon on Friday confirmed its first known case of monkeypox in the US military.
- An active duty member based in Germany recently tested positive for the virus, a Defense Department spokesperson told The Hill.
- NBC News, which first reported the case, was told that the unidentified individual was seen and treated at the Stuttgart Army Health Clinic and is now in solitary confinement in their basic accommodation.
What they are saying: Navy Captain William Speaks, a spokesman for the US European command, told NBC that public health officials have found that the risk to the overall population is “very low”, as the case is part of the Africa strain. Western, a generally mild version with limited human-to-human transmission.
He added that contact tracing is underway for clinic staff who viewed the patient “as a precautionary measure.”
The CDC pointed out that the virus, spread through prolonged skin-to-skin contact or through contaminated textiles such as clothing or bedding, does not pose a high risk to the public.
Read more here.
CDC data reveals a new overlap
Reports of rising substance use and rising rates of mental health disorders in recent years are nothing new, especially as Americans have struggled with the economic and humanistic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But data released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) documents the extent to which these two conditions overlap.
According to the centre’s latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, in 2019 at least one third of adults evaluated for substance use in treatment centers reported severe psychiatric problems.
Although current data was collected before the COVID-19 pandemic, the authors noted that future research will focus on the impact of the crisis on trends.
- In 2019, more than 65 million adults self-reported alcoholism while more than 35 million reported using illicit drugs in the past month, the authors explained, noting that people with substance use disorders have an increased risk of overdose and other adverse health outcomes.
- A total of 49,138 individuals were evaluated at 339 treatment centers in 37 states. All individuals were at least 18 years of age and the most commonly used substances in the past month were alcohol, followed by cannabis, misuse of prescribed opioids, and illicit stimulants, among others.
Read more here.
WHAT WE ARE READING
- Are these Cocoa Krispies-loving hamsters a key to breaking the long Covid? (Statistics)
- Report reveals strong increase in transgender youth in the United States (New York Times)
- Some monkeypox patients also have sexually transmitted diseases, says the CDC (CNBC)
STATE BY STATE
- Grassroots groups lead the way in closing Colorado’s infant mortality gap (Kaiser Health News)
- ‘It doesn’t go away’: Northeast Florida COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations on the rise (News4Jax)
- Oklahoma Abortion Law Raises Questions About NCAA’s Softball World Series (The New York Times)
That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill’s Health Care page for the latest news and coverage. I’ll see you next week.
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