The hidden power of the airplane loo

Jan 17, 2023

Driving the Day

People pass through Salt Lake City International Airport.

A CDC program ramped up surveillance for new variants at U.S. airports after China lifted its "zero-Covid" policy. | Rick Bowmer/AP Photo

AIRPORTS: THE NEW FRONTIER IN BIOSECURITY? — When Beijing lifted its "zero Covid" policy late last year, a small CDC program tracking Covid-19 variants in international passengers arriving at U.S. airports kicked into high gear, Krista writes.

The program, started in late 2021 in response to the Delta variant first detected in India, collects voluntary nasal swabs from arriving passengers and has tested wastewater from arriving aircraft to determine what Covid strains are entering the U.S.

It's now active in seven U.S. international airports after adding operations in Seattle and LAX to target hundreds more flights carrying passengers from China. The CDC is also pursuing talks with airlines and port authorities to collect samples from additional international flights' wastewater after they land.

The long game: The small but growing Traveler Genomic Surveillance program, run by the CDC in partnership with the biotech firm Concentric by Ginkgo and the airport testing company XpresCheck, is seen by administration officials and public health experts as part of a revolution in biosafety infrastructure — and a critical plank of national security in the post-pandemic era.

As the CDC program expands geographically and looks for more pathogens, it could function as an early warning system for where and when dangerous viruses and bacteria, natural or otherwise, enter the country.

And it works: As Omicron emerged, the program detected BA.2 and BA.3 subvariants at airports early. In a pilot project at JFK this summer, in which staff collected wastewater samples on flights arriving from Europe, the program identified the same SARS-CoV-2 sequences predominantly circulating in the flights' countries of origin.

Getting buy-in: Participation among passengers in the voluntary sample collection program is rising, the CDC says, but it's still relatively low. Adding information from aircraft wastewater would improve the government's visibility into what's arriving at U.S. borders.

Setting up routine wastewater surveillance from aircraft will be a bigger challenge, requiring coordination with airlines and airport authorities, and the potential reputational risk for airlines, experts say.

WELCOME TO TUESDAY PULSE — We can't wait to binge on Vice's podcast dropping today about Havana Syndrome, the mysterious and sometimes crippling illness that's been afflicting U.S. diplomats since 2016. Any personal theories to share before Jon Lee Anderson and Adam Entous unravel the mystery? Send your favorite explanation, news and tips to kmahr@politico.com and dpayne@politico.com.

TODAY ON OUR PULSE CHECK PODCAST, Lauren Gardner talks with Helen Collis about soaring Covid and seasonal infections like Strep A and RSV in the U.K. and how they've compounded the NHS' long-term problems, such as immense waiting lists and a chronically understaffed and burnt-out workforce, and their effect on patient services.

Listen to today's Pulse Check podcast

Coronavirus

Patients receive intravenous drips at the emergency ward of a hospital in Beijing.

At least 60,000 people have died, most of them elderly, in China's ongoing Covid outbreak. | Andy Wong/AP Photo

CHINA'S GROWING TOLL — Beijing confirmed over the weekend that at least 60,000 deaths due to Covid-19 had been recorded in Chinese hospitals since early December in the nation's devastating Covid outbreak, POLITICO's Charlie Cooper reports.

Ninety percent of those who died during that time were ages 65 or older, and most of the deaths resulted from a combination of Covid and other diseases, Chinese authorities said.

By comparison, the U.S., while also experiencing a sharp increase in deaths over the last two weeks, recorded 17,376 deaths in the same period, according to CDC data.

AGENCIES FLAG POSSIBLE VACCINE STROKE LINK — The CDC and FDA said their surveillance system flagged a possible link between the new Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent Covid-19 vaccine and strokes in people ages 65 and older, POLITICO's Ben Leonard and Lauren Gardner report.

They continue to recommend the shots, but a statement published on the CDC website Friday said their surveillance "raised a question of whether" stroke risk was elevated in the 21-day period post-vaccination versus 22 to 44 days post-vaccination.

KESSLER TO LEAVE COVID TEAM — David Kessler, who helmed the Biden administration's efforts to develop and distribute coronavirus vaccines, treatments and tests, is stepping down, Adam Cancryn reports.

Kessler will officially leave the administration this week, ending more than two years of work on the pandemic response dating back to the Biden transition. He most recently shepherded the release in September of updated vaccines designed to better target new strains of the virus.

An HHS spokesperson said a team of its doctors, scientists and public health officials would continue to closely coordinate with the White House and private sector on vaccine development following Kessler's exit.

STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.

In Congress

HOUSE GOP TARGETS COVID FRAUD — House Republicans have Covid-19 unemployment fraud in the crosshairs and have scheduled the first oversight hearing into the issue for next month, POLITICO's Megan R. Wilson reports.

The Labor Department's Office of Inspector General estimated that at least $163 billion in pandemic unemployment benefits "could have been paid improperly, with a significant portion attributable to fraud" but cautioned that it's likely higher "based on our audit and investigative work."

Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), chair of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee in the new GOP-led House, is holding the hearing on Feb. 1. In addition to calling on federal officials to testify before the panel, Comer sent letters to federal and state agencies in charge of unemployment insurance to gather documents, communications and data about the fraud claims.

At the Agencies

VA RAMPS UP SUICIDE PREVENTION — Starting today, any veteran in suicidal crisis can seek care at any VA or non-VA health facility at no cost.

The expanded access will apply to the 9 million veterans not enrolled in the VA system.

Though suicide death rates among veterans have been slowly declining in recent years, dropping from 6,489 in 2019 to 6,146 in 2020, suicide prevention remains the agency's top-stated priority.

To reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, call or text 988 or chat at 988Lifeline.org.

BACK PAY FOR KICKED-OUT TROOPS? The Pentagon is considering whether to provide back pay to former service members discharged for refusing to get the Covid-19 vaccine now that the mandate has been repealed, POLITICO's Lara Seligman reports.

The Defense Department formally rescinded the mandate in a memo from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday after lawmakers directed the Pentagon to do so in the annual defense policy bill. The military had already stopped discharging troops who refused the shot.

Austin's memo opened the door to reinstating troops who believe they were wrongfully let go, stipulating that service members and veterans may apply to correct their records. While the military hasn't yet decided to provide back pay to service members for the period during their discharge, a spokesperson said the department is looking into it.

What We're Reading

Unemployed workers who were propping up China's vast "zero Covid" infrastructure are now turning against the government, The New York Times reports.

The Washington Post reports how residents in a desert community in Arizona found themselves cut off from the municipal water supply by their own neighbors.

The Wall Street Journal reports on why more medical students are unionizing.

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