Biden officials are worried about the rise of ‘the BQs’

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Oct 18, 2022 View in browser   By Krista Mahr and Daniel Payne Presented by Driving The Day The variants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 have spread swiftly throughout the U.S. over the past few weeks. | Brandon Bell/Getty Images THE NEW VARIANTS PREOCCUPYING THE WHITE HOUSE — Top Biden health officials are getting increasingly anxious about new Covid-19 variants in the U.S. that appear to evade two common treatments used to protect immunocompromised people from severe illness, POLITICO's Adam Cancryn and Erin Banco report . The variants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 have spread swiftly throughout the U.S. over the past few weeks and now account for more than 11 percent of all cases nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . The variants — known as 'the BQs' among officials — are now on track to become the dominant Covid strains within the next month, administration officials said. The vaccines and the administration's main Covid treatment, Paxlovid, still work against the new strains. But early studies suggest Evusheld, the main monoclonal antibody treatment used to protect people with weakened immune systems from Covid, is likely to be ineffective against the new variants. A second monoclonal antibody treatment known as bebtelovimab, also used by immunocompromised patients, is also unlikely to work. Those results have sent the Biden administration scrambling for alternatives, including whether it can expand the use of other medicines not currently used to protect the immunocompromised. WELCOME TO TUESDAY PULSE — Sports bras and shirts sold by several major athletic wear brands may expose customers to up to 22 times the safe limit of BPA , a chemical linked to diabetes, heart disease, cancer and obesity. Send your news and tips to kmahr@politico.com and dpayne@politico.com . TODAY ON OUR Pulse Check Podcast , Lauren Gardner talks with Daniel Payne about why the years-long effort to yank the approval of the pregnancy drug Makena offers a case study of the agency's accelerated approval program.   A message from PhRMA: Fresh data show the 340B program may be driving up costs for some patients. How? A new analysis finds 340B hospitals prescribe patients more expensive medicines than non-340B hospitals on average. It's time to fix the 340B program. Learn more.   Listen to today's POLITICO Pulse Check podcast! In Congress Trump officials sought to block, delay or influence at least 19 CDC scientific reports that they deemed were not politically advantageous to the former president. | Andrew Harnik/AP Photo INSIDE TRUMP'S MEDDLING AT THE CDC — The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis released a new report on Monday providing new detail about the Trump administration's attack on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its staff during the pandemic's early days. Among the key findings in the report: Trump officials handed an order that used the pandemic health emergency to keep migrants out of the country to the director of the CDC's global migration and quarantine division. That Title 42 order wasn't drafted by the CDC team. Members of the Trump administration retaliated against CDC scientists whose Covid-19 messaging was perceived as "working against the President." Trump officials blocked the CDC from deploying a public transportation mask requirement ahead of the fall and winter 2020 surge, despite calls from the transit industry for federal support for mask requirements. Trump appointees sought to block, delay or influence at least 19 CDC scientific reports that they deemed were not politically advantageous to the former president, including a national health alert about a potentially fatal syndrome called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children.   TUNE IN TO THE PULSE CHECK PODCAST: Keep your finger on the pulse of the biggest stories in health care by listening to our daily Pulse Check podcast. POLITICO's must-listen briefing decodes healthcare policy and politics, and delivers reality checks from health professionals on the front lines. SUBSCRIBE NOW AND START LISTENING .     Midterms Watch ANTI-ABORTION GROUPS WANT GOP TO HIT BACK — Groups that oppose abortion rights are urging Republican candidates to speak up and go on offense against Democrats, POLITICO's Megan Messerly and Alice Miranda Ollstein report . Anti-abortion groups contend that while most voters may not support banning abortion at conception, they also oppose the procedure being available at any point during pregnancy. They sense an opportunity to flip the script on Democrats and call out their positions on reproductive rights as too extreme for most Americans. They're also encouraging Republicans up and down the ballot to highlight policies that help new parents, including paid parental leave and lactation rooms. The move comes amid signs that Democrats are losing their advantage with women despite an unrelenting focus on abortion ahead of the fast-approaching midterms, providing a window for some Republicans to advance their abortion message without incurring political damage.   A message from PhRMA:   At the Agencies THE GAO TAKES ON THE SNS — A report released publicly on Monday by the Government Accountability Office found that regular reviews of the National Strategic Stockpile haven't been taking place in recent years to inform what needs to be ordered in the nation's supply of emergency medicine, vaccines and supplies. The GAO report noted that annual reviews weren't completed from 2020 through 2022, "resulting in purchases based on past reviews and HHS discretion." HHS, which oversees the stockpile, has completed reviews for 2023 and 2024, but the reviews "did not meet most statutory requirements." As a result, the GAO found the stockpile contains "most medical countermeasure types recommended, but often not in the recommended quantities," a fact that officials from HHS blame on its budget . VA VOWS TO FIX BURN PIT REGISTRY — The Department of Veterans Affairs is moving to redesign its Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry, POLITICO's Ben Leonard reports. The move comes after a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine report found the effort to enroll veterans in the registry did little to promote research into the health risks of exposure to airborne chemicals, monitor the health outcomes of veterans exposed while on duty or connect veterans to care. To join the registry , veterans who served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, where the military used burn pits to dispose of refuse, fill out a questionnaire about their exposure to burn pits and their health history. They're then eligible for a voluntary health evaluation. As of the end of August, more than 325,000 service members and veterans were part of the registry. In a statement to POLITICO, a VA spokesperson granted anonymity to explain the department's plans said the VA would "explore all options" to fix the registry.   STAY AHEAD OF THE CURVE: Our Future Pulse newsletter will continue to bring you the biggest stories at the intersection of technology and healthcare, but now five times a week. Want to know what's next in health care? Sign up for our Future Pulse newsletter. If you aren't already subscribed, follow this link to start receiving Future Pulse .     Names in the News Christopher Krepich has joined ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers' (R-Wash.) team on the Energy and Commerce Committee as press secretary. He previously served as communications director with Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), former Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) and the GOP Doctors Caucus. He was most recently a top communicator with Nahigian Strategies. Cameron Lynch has been promoted to SVP and head of global corporate affairs at Fresenius Medical Care. What We're Reading The Guardian checks in with the whistleblower who drew attention to unwanted hysterectomies being performed on migrants in an ICE detention center. The New York Times has an informative, frustrating and at times very entertaining dive into the black hole of expertise on the clitoris. And the CDC is already seeing signs of an early flu season, STAT reports .   A message from PhRMA: The 340B program grew, yet again, hitting a whopping $43.9 billion in sales at the discounted 340B price in 2021. But there has not been evidence of corresponding growth in care provided to vulnerable patients at 340B covered entities. And making matters worse, fresh data show that 340B may actually be driving up costs for some patients and our health care system as whole. The program of today is having the opposite effect of what Congress intended when they created 340B. That's a problem. It's time to fix the 340B program. Learn more.     Follow us on Twitter Tucker Doherty @tucker_doherty Dan Goldberg @dancgoldberg Erin Banco @ErinBanco Katherine Ellen Foley @katherineefoley Lauren Gardner @Gardner_LM Ben Leonard @_BenLeonard_ David Lim @davidalim Krista Mahr @kristamahr Megan Messerly @meganmesserly Alice Miranda Ollstein @aliceollstein Carmen Paun @carmenpaun Megan R. Wilson @misswilson Daniel Payne @_daniel_payne Ruth Reader @RuthReader   Follow us

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