On The Hill

Biden Highlights Supply Chain Security in Acceptance Speech

On Thursday (Aug. 20), Former Vice President Joe Biden formally accepted the Democratic presidential nomination. Biden, as well as other speakers at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), accused the Trump administration of mishandling the COVID-19 crisis.

Notably, Biden vowed to ensure U.S. supply chains will not rely on foreign nations by increasing domestic manufacturing of essential medical supplies and PPE. Supply chain security is a key part of Biden’s ‘Build Back Better’ proposal.

To view a transcript of Biden’s speech, click here.

 

Trump Admin Taps McKesson to Lead COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution

On Friday (Aug. 14), the Trump administration announced medical supply giant McKesson Company has been selected as the central national distributor for COVID-19 vaccines. McKesson will collaborate with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to distribute vaccines throughout the nation when one becomes available.

“Today’s announcement puts another building block in place as the Nation moves toward a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine,” said CDC Director Robert Redfield, M.D.. “America’s march toward one or more safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines is a combined effort between American industry and the federal government. McKesson is a leader in their field, and we welcome their expertise and dedication to public health,” he added.

McKesson has worked with previous administrations to distribute vaccines. Notably, the company was contracted under the Obama administration in 2009 and 2010 to distribute H1N1 vaccines.^[1] 

The deal is the most recent of a series of Operation Warp Speed (OWS) contracts to develop, manufacture, and distribute vaccines.^[2] 

To view the HHS announcement, click here.

To view a fact sheet on OWS, click here.

 

Amid ‘HHS Protect’ Uncertainty, Arrieta Resigns

Jose Arrieta, HHS’ chief information officer, resigned unexpectedly last Friday (Aug. 14), just four months after revamping the department’s data-sharing system through the new HHS Protect portal.^[3] 

Since the transition, Arrieta has faced considerable criticism over the decision to require hospitals to report COVID-19 data directly to HHS Protect, rather than traditional reporting mechanisms through the CDC. HHS officials claim the change will help streamline data reporting and prevent duplications. Democrats have argued the new system will allow the administration to hide information.

In addition to the HHS Protect rollout, the administration is now pushing hospitals and public health departments to digitize their case reporting as part of a broad effort to improve public health technology.^[4] Hospitals will continue to report data through HHS Protect, despite reports claiming the administration is moving back to CDC reporting. HHS officials have insisted COVID-19 data reporting is not changing, but they are continuing to transition to a more automated system to improve the speed and level of detail in COVID-19 data.

Arrieta will remain with HHS for up to a month to aid the department’s transition.

To view the HHS Protect public data hub, click here.

Updated COVID Numbers: As of Monday (Aug. 17), HHS is reporting 80 percent of U.S. jurisdictions are showing a downward trajectory in case numbers – down from 87 percent last week. Seven percent of jurisdictions are in plateau and 13 are seeing an upward trajectory in case numbers, compared with two percent and 11 percent respectively from last week.

Last week marked the 4th consecutive week of positivity rates declining, with 6.3 percent of tests returning positive results. COVID-19 now accounts for 11 percent of inpatient hospital admissions – down from 24 percent at its peak.

 

Testing Updates

During an interview this week, HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir predicted the U.S. will have the ability to test 90 million people per month starting in September – a 10 million decrease from earlier predictions. Giroir indicated approximately 40 million of available tests will be “point-of care” tests which will not require tests to be sent to labs for analysis. Point-of-care tests are considered critical to safely reopen the nation.^[5] 

In July, the U.S. conducted approximately 25 million tests. To curb the spread of the pandemic, public health officials estimate the country will need to run up to 30 million tests per week.

HHS Issues EUA For LumiraDx Antigen Test: On Wednesday (Aug. 18), the FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for LumiraDx UK Ltd.’s LumiraDx SARS-CoV-2 Ag Test. LumiraDx is a rapid point-of-care antigen test that is used with the LumiraDx Platform for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 directly from nasal swab specimens.

“LumiraDx Platform is a novel, flexible, highly scalable and low cost rapid point-of-care test that will significantly contribute to our scaling up and expanding testing platforms for SARS-CoV-2,” Giroir said in a statement.

“This technology has built-in digital connectivity, almost everything we hope for in new testing platforms coming to market. Furthermore, its flexibility to perform diagnostic assays to detect indicators of various diseases, including inflammatory markers, could be transformative in providing improved access to quality health care,” he continued.

To view the HHS announcement, click here.

 

SCOTUS Sets Date for Obamacare Hearing

On Wednesday (Aug. 19), the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) announced it will hear a case that could potentially weaken the Affordable Care Act (ACA) one week after the election. For the third time during Trump’s presidency, SCOTUS will decide the fate of the ACA. Democrats have argued the lawsuit risks the health insurance of more than 20 million people with preexisting conditions, and vulnerable Republicans may face pressure over the lawsuit due to their party’s lack of a replacement.^[6] 

A decision on the lawsuit is not expected until the spring. The Supreme Court has twice upheld the law when faced with previous Trump administration challenges.

 

References

^[1] Brennan, Zachary, “Warp Speed takes a page out of Obama’s playbook to distribute coronavirus vaccines,” Politico Pro, 14 Aug. 2020. https://link.edgepilot.com/s/ad988f67/HZ1UFv3aKkyZjA-wnX0dNw?u=https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2020/08/warp-speed-takes-a-page-out-of-obamas-playbook-to-distribute-coronavirus-vaccines-3983383

^[2] Blankenship, Kyle “McKesson signs up with Warp Speed to distribute COVID-19 shots in U.S.” FiercePharma, 17 Aug. 2020 https://link.edgepilot.com/s/15a26cd7/sGNgn5xixE6vkvGv5BvOrg?u=https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/warp-speed-taps-distributor-mckesson-to-build-infrastructure-for-covid-19-vaccine-rollout

^[3] Ravindranath, Mohanna & Diamond, Dan, “HHS chief information officer abruptly resigns,” Politico Pro, 14 Aug. 2020. https://link.edgepilot.com/s/ec9ab8ba/Yf1-XYDnn0O3MfWoAdbWAw?u=https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2020/08/hhs-chief-information-officer-abruptly-resigns-3983391

^[4] Tahir, Darius & Roubein, Rachel, “Trump plots broad health data overhaul after troubled rollout of Covid-19 database,” 18 Aug. 2020. https://link.edgepilot.com/s/a5b7ba9c/bJDn80JHMkWc-jBgCjAi5Q?u=https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2020/08/trump-plots-broad-health-data-overhaul-after-troubled-rollout-of-covid-19-database-1980481

^[5] Brennan, Zachary, “Giroir resets prediction for increase in U.S. testing capacity,” Politico Pro, 19 Aug. 2020. https://link.edgepilot.com/s/968d8eba/KUnZq1ze80qeWXnTP-0vpg?u=https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2020/08/giroir-resets-prediction-for-increase-in-us-testing-capacity-3983438

^[6] Luthi, Susannah, “SCOTUS sets hearing on Obamacare for week after election,” Politico Pro, 18 Aug 2020. https://link.edgepilot.com/s/953733cd/vawHuPZPp0S5P32-yQH8cw?u=https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2020/08/scotus-sets-hearing-on-obamacare-for-week-after-election-3983433