Health Care — Rand Paul and Anthony Fauci face off in latest spat

by Joseph Choi and Nathaniel Weixel - 09/14/22 6:16 PM ET

The owners of outdoor clothing brand Patagonia just donated the entire company to a nonprofit organization to help combat climate change.

Today in health care, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and chief White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci got into yet another verbal sparring match, possibly the last one we’ll see before Fauci steps down later this year.

Welcome to Overnight Health Care, where we’re following the latest moves on policy and news affecting your health. For The Hill, we’re Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi. Subscribe here.

Paul clashes with Fauci over child vaccinations

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Wednesday clashed with White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci about whether children who were previously infected with COVID-19 need to be vaccinated, the latest in his long-running feud with the nation’s top infectious diseases doctor.

During a Senate hearing about the administration’s response to monkeypox, Paul played a clip of Fauci on C-SPAN in 2004. In the clip, Fauci told someone who was infected with the flu they did not need a flu shot.

Paul then pressed Fauci on why his comments about COVID-19 differed from what he said about the flu, and why he recommended parents vaccinate their children even if they’ve previously been infected with the coronavirus.

Not the end: Fauci has become a political lightning rod and a villain in the eyes of many on the right. Conservative media has painted him as a scapegoat for many of the nation’s missteps over the pandemic.

While he is stepping down at the end of the year after more than 50 years in government, Republicans aren’t eager to let him go quietly and are floating investigations and subpoenas if they retake control of the House or Senate.

For example: Paul pivoted to berating Fauci about vaccine royalties and whether he or anyone on the agency committees that vote on authorizing vaccines get any payments from pharmaceutical companies.
“But I tell you this: When we get in charge, we’re going to change the rules, and you will have to divulge where you get your royalties from … and if anyone on the committee has a conflict of interest we’re going to learn about. I promise you that.”

Read more here.

Graham creates unwelcome political issue for GOP

Senate Republicans aren’t thrilled that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of former President Trump’s most loyal allies, is creating a political problem for them by stoking the national abortion debate, which has energized Democratic voters, shortly before Election Day.

Graham pledged at a press conference Tuesday that Republicans will vote on legislation banning abortion nationwide after 15 weeks of pregnancy if they win back control of the Senate in November.

But that idea fell flat with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who on Tuesday distanced himself from Graham’s proposal.

“With regard to his bill, you’ll have to ask him about it. In terms of scheduling, I think most of the members of my conference prefer this be dealt with at the state level,” McConnell told reporters when asked about a vote next year if the GOP controls the Senate.

Democratic lifeline: Republican senators say McConnell did not sanction Graham’s high-profile push to ban abortions across the country after 15 weeks of pregnancy and punish health care providers who defy the ban with prison sentences reaching five years.

The proposal overshadowed Republican attempts to take advantage of a bad day for Democrats: The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday reported that inflation reached 8.3 percent in August compared to a year ago, with prices rising 0.1 percent last month despite a drop in gas price
One Republican senator close to McConnell said Senate Republican leaders want to keep the focus on President Biden and inflation and not get distracted by a debate over abortion rights, which has given new energy to Democratic voters in the final weeks of the election season.

Republicans in battleground states are trying to navigate a growing voter backlash to the Supreme Court decision while also appealing to the party’s base that’s pushing for immediate action on imposing total abortion bans.

Read more here.

WORRY OVER STATE OF WORLD IS KEEPING AMERICANS UP AT NIGHT

Two years of stressful events, including the coronavirus pandemic, have been keeping worried Americans awake.

A new survey by Ohio State University found that close to 1 in 5 Americans have trouble falling asleep at night.

“Everybody’s stressed and there’s lots of news. So, I think the increase in stress may be one of those things that’s causing more people to lose sleep,” Aneesa Das, professor of internal medicine at Ohio State University, said in a media release.

“Stress can increase your heart rate, increase your blood pressure, make you have an upset stomach and cause muscle tension. All of those things increase our alertness, making it harder to fall asleep,” Das added.

Bad habits: The survey also found that almost half of Americans scroll through their phones before bedtime, while 37 percent fall asleep with the television on. More than a quarter sleep alongside their pet.

Both practices can be disruptive to sleep quality as light exposure drives one’s internal clock to communicate that they are supposed to be asleep or awake.

Read more here.

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION SAYS END OF COVID-19 ‘IS IN SIGHT’

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday said the end of the COVID-19 pandemic “is in sight” and the world has “never been in a better position” to reach this long-awaited goal.

During a media briefing on Wednesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated the number of weekly COVID-19 deaths from around the world has reached its lowest point since March 2020.

“We have never been in a better position to end the pandemic. We are not there yet, but the end is in sight,” Tedros said. “If we don’t take this opportunity now, we run the risk of more variants, more deaths, more disruption, and more uncertainty.”

Tedros’s comments are the most optimistic he’s made about the state of the pandemic since the earliest days in March 2020.

He urged governments to invest in complete immunization of the most at-risk groups, continued viral surveillance and preparing for more potential surges.

Read more here.

House GOP leaders hedge on 15-week abortion ban

House Republicans will not commit to bringing up a 15-week abortion ban legislation if the party wins control of the House next year.

What they’re saying:

“First we’d need to see what our majority looks like,” House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) said in a news conference on Wednesday when asked if Republicans would put a 15-week abortion ban bill on the floor, adding: “We are a party that defends life. We stand up for life.”
Rep. Elise Stefanik (N.Y.), chairwoman of the House GOP Conference and also co-sponsor of the bill, told reports the legislation was “something that we’ll discuss with a majority.”
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said he had not seen the bill when asked by The Hill.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) elicited swift attacks from Democrats and icy reactions from fellow Republicans after he introduced a 15-week abortion ban bill in the Senate, as abortion has appeared to energize Democratic voters ahead of the midterm elections.

A version of Graham’s 15-week abortion ban bill was introduced in the House on Tuesday with more than 80 co-sponsors, led by House pro-life caucus leaders Reps. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), Michelle Fischbach (R-Minn.), Andy Harris (R-Md.) and Kat Cammack (R-Fla.).

House Republicans previously passed a 20-week abortion ban when they had control of the chamber in 2013 and 2017. The 15-week bill is an updated version of that legislation.

Read more here.

WHAT WE’RE READING

Southern states’ lackluster monkeypox efforts leave LGBTQ+ groups going it alone (Kaiser Health News)
‘This is pharma’s dream’: How drugmakers are turning telehealth into a marketing gold mine (Stat)
Polio is back in rich countries, but it poses a far bigger threat to developing world (Science)

STATE BY STATE

California and New York aim to curb diet pill sales to minors (Kaiser Health News)
Disabled voters win in Wisconsin; legal fights elsewhere (AP)
Colorado mental health workers demand equal pay. But a new state report says their rates are ‘adequate.’ (The Colorado Sun)