Overnight Health Care — Request for COVID-19 funds faces resistance

by Peter Sullivan, Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi - 02/21/22 5:59 PM ET

Welcome to Monday’s Overnight Health Care, where we’re following the latest moves on policy and news affecting your health. Subscribe here: digital-staging.thehill.com/newsletter-signup.

The latest big name to test positive for COVID-19 is Justin Bieber, who had to reschedule a show in Las Vegas.

A fight could be looming for the Biden administration’s request for more funds to fight COVID-19 in the future.

For The Hill, we’re Peter Sullivan (psullivan@digital-staging.thehill.com), Nathaniel Weixel (nweixel@digital-staging.thehill.com), and welcoming the newest member of our team, Joseph Choi! (jchoi@digital-staging.thehill.com). Write to us with tips and feedback, and follow us on Twitter: @PeterSullivan4 @NateWeixel and @JosefChoi

Let’s get started.

Biden’s request for funds met with resistance

The Biden administration wants $30 billion to fight the next phase of COVID-19. But it might not be such an easy sell on Capitol Hill.

The administration, in talks with lawmakers last week, outlined the need for the additional funds for areas such as vaccines, testing capacity and treatments, though it is not yet a formal request. Officials said previous funds to fight the virus have already been spent or allocated.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the additional funds are needed “to ensure that we are well prepared to stay ahead of the virus” beyond the current omicron surge.

The request is facing outright opposition from many congressional Republicans, and even some Democrats are not enthusiastic about the idea.

The COVID-19 funding talks come as a broader government funding bill with a March 11 deadline could serve as a vehicle. But with the omicron surge on the decline and inflation growing, some lawmakers say it is time to move on.

“Spending $30 billion more without proper oversight or a proper plan to end the public health emergency is not how we give Americans their freedom back,” said Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.), the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Plus a global request: Adding another wrinkle, the Biden administration on Friday requested $5 billion for the global COVID-19 response.

The $5 billion is significantly less than the $17 billion for global COVID-19 response that advocates and a group of Democratic lawmakers had been pushing for in the coming spending package.

Read more here.

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Johnson says pandemic restrictions will end

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed Monday that COVID-19 restrictions in England would end starting later this week.

Johnson said that starting on Thursday, residents will not be legally required to enter quarantine periods if they test positive for the virus, though they will be advised to stay home, Bloomberg News reported. Johnson also said that universal COVID-19 testing will end on April 1.

Other changes include vaccinated contacts of those who test positive will no longer have to take tests for seven days, guidance that school children be tested twice a week will be ended and employees no longer have to inform their employers about their status if they test positive.

Johnson’s “Living with Covid” plan comes amid the recent decline of daily COVID-19 infections, deaths and hospitalizations, though his critics have argued that the prime minister is moving too fast, Bloomberg noted.

“Restrictions pose a heavy toll on our economy, our society, our mental well-being,” Johnson told the House of Commons. “We do not need to pay that cost any longer.”

Johnson also said the government will have a strong surveillance capability, noting that other mutations of the virus can’t be ruled out, Bloomberg reported.

Read more here.

ANOTHER UK MOVE: FOURTH SHOTS FOR SOME PEOPLE

The United Kingdom will offer a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine to certain vulnerable populations this spring, health officials there said Monday.

The U.K will offer the additional shot to people aged 75 and over, as well as people in care homes for older adults and people 12 and over who are immunosuppressed.

“We know immunity to COVID-19 begins to wane over time,” U.K. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said. “That’s why we’re offering a spring booster to those people at higher risk of serious COVID-19 to make sure they maintain a high level of protection.”

Will the US follow? So far, U.S. officials are not recommending fourth doses, except for immunocompromised people, though they say they are still studying the question and gathering data.

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study earlier this month found a third shot’s protection against hospitalization waned somewhat from 91 percent after two months to 78 percent after four months.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in an interview on the “In the Bubble with Andy Slavitt” podcast released Monday that 78 percent protection is “still pretty high.”

“We’re still doing pretty well at 78 percent in terms of hospitalization,” Walensky said. “Now, we’re going to continue to follow this. This was our first data point.”

Read more here.

TOURISTS ARRIVING IN AUSTRALIA FOR FIRST TIME IN ALMOST 2 YEARS

Tourists arrived in Australia for the first time in almost two years on Monday after the country lifted its travel restrictions for fully vaccinated individuals.

Australia barred tourists from entering the country in March 2020 in an effort to tame the spread of COVID-19 within the country, according to The Associated Press. Passengers who wanted to visit the country had to submit an application to be exempted from the travel moratorium. Tourism, however, was not a permitted reason for entering the country, according to the AP.

Australia eased its travel restrictions late last year — allowing international students, skilled migrants and tourists from New Zealand, Japan and South Korea in — though the remaining regulations were dropped for fully vaccinated travelers on Monday, according to the AP.

Travelers arriving at the airport in Sydney were welcomed with toy koalas and a variety of the country’s favorite foods, including Tim Tams chocolate cookies and Vegemite spread, according to the AP.

Fifty-six international flights are expected to land in Australia within the initial 24 hours of the border restrictions being lifted, the AP reported, citing Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Read more here.

Trudeau: Emergency powers still needed

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said emergency powers are still needed as authorities end border blockades amid a trucker convoy protest of COVID-19 restrictions, The Associated Press reported.

Speaking on Monday, Trudeau said some demonstrators are already planning further blockades along the border, adding his public health minister said there was a report of an effort to block a border crossing in British Columbia over the weekend.

“The situation is still fragile, the state of emergency is still there,” Trudeau said.

Trudeau also said Ottawa residents were harassed for weeks throughout the duration of the protests, adding billions of dollars in trade were stalled by the border blockades, putting people’s jobs at risk, according to the AP.

“A flood of misinformation and disinformation washed over Canada, including from foreign sources,” Trudeau said.

“After these illegal blockades and occupations received disturbing amounts of foreign funding to destabilize Canada’s democracy, it became clear that local and provincial authorities needed more tools to restore order.”

Read more here.

WHAT WE’RE READING

Five months post-covid, Nicole Murphy’s heart rate is still doing strange things (Washington Post)
Sacklers Raise Their Offer to Settle Opioid Lawsuits by More Than $1 Billion (The New York Times)
The Queen tests positive for Covid (BBC)

STATE BY STATE

New York Backs Off Booster Mandate for Health Care Workers (WNBC)
FDA warns consumers not to use recalled powdered baby formula (The Detroit News)
‘They have chosen to fight it’: Mental health agency withholds records (Mississippi Today)