Abortion and emergency powers | FDA clears Novavax | Monkeypox outbreak grows

VIEW IN BROWSER | SUBSCRIBE Fri, Jul 15, 2022 EDITOR'S NOTE Think a friend or colleague should be getting this newsletter? Share this link with them to sign up.   Pressure is growing for President Joe Biden and Health Secretary Xavier Becerra to declare a public health emergency in response to states banning abortion, but the White House would face a fearsome legal battle that could backfire.   Legal experts told CNBC that the Biden administration could use emergency public health powers to expand access to the abortion pill, mifepristone, for women living in states that have banned the procedure. But Republican state governments would almost certainly sue, and there's a risk that federal courts could restrict the powers of the nation's health agencies to respond to future crises.    Becerra took several limited actions this week to protect abortion. He warned hospitals that they are required to offer the procedure in medical emergencies, but the state of Texas has already filed suit. The Health and Human Services Department also warned pharmacies that they might violate federal civil rights law if they refuse to fill prescriptions for drugs used in abortions in certain circumstances.    Meanwhile, the U.S. faces twin challenges from Covid and monkeypox. The CDC has confirmed 1,400 monkeypox infections so far and expects the outbreak to grow, but the demand for vaccines is currently outstripping the available supply.    And Covid hospitalizations are rising again as the more contagious omicron BA.5 subvariant sweeps the U.S., though deaths remain relatively low compared to past waves.    Meanwhile, Novavax's Covid-19 vaccine finally received FDA authorization this week after months of delays. Novavax was an early participant in Operation Warp Speed, but the small company struggled to get manufacturing in place. It's unclear how much demand there will be for the Novavax vaccine, given that a majority of adults are already fully vaccinated.   Feel free to send any tips, suggestions, story ideas and data in the meantime to me at spencer.kimball@nbcuni.com. Spencer Kimball | Health Reporter @spencekimball Spencer Kimball | Health Reporter @spencekimball   Biden could declare a public health emergency for abortion, but it would face a tremendous legal fight The nation's leading reproductive rights groups and House Democrats are calling for the White House to use every power at its disposal to defend access to abortion.  Planned Parenthood said the Biden administration should immediately declare a public health emergency.   The president said he's weighing the option, but legal experts warned such a move could backfire. Republican state governments will almost certainly sue, and a conservative court could restrict emergency powers for future health crises.  - Spencer Kimball CDC expects monkeypox outbreak to grow as total cases surpass 1,400 and vaccine demand outstrips supply   The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed more than 1,400 monkeypox infections across 44 states and territories in the U.S. and said it expects the outbreak to grow.   CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said the demand for monkeypox vaccines is outstripping the available supply, which has led to long lines in places such as New York City — an epicenter of the outbreak.   "We know that this is frustrating," Walensky said in a call with reporters Friday. The Health and Human Services Department is working to increase supply, she added.   Walensky said the agency expects cases to increase through July and August since symptoms of the virus usually start within three weeks of exposure. People who don't yet know they're infected will likely seek medical attention and get tested in the coming weeks. - Spencer Kimball Covid hospitalizations have doubled since May as omicron BA.5 sweeps U.S.   People hospitalized with Covid-19 have doubled since early May as the even more transmissible omicron BA.5 subvariant has caused another wave of infection across the country, U.S. health officials said Tuesday. But deaths from Covid still remain relatively low given the number of infections right now, the officials said. Dr. Ashish Jha, who coordinates the Biden administration's Covid response, said deaths from the virus are not increasing at the same rate they once did due to the availability of vaccines and the antiviral treatment Paxlovid.   "Even in the face of BA.5, the tools we have continue to work. We are at a point in the pandemic where most Covid-19 deaths are preventable," Jha told reporters during a pandemic update Tuesday. But he said the number of deaths still remains unacceptably high given the fact that the U.S. has vaccines and treatments to prevent the worst outcomes. - Spencer Kimball   FDA authorizes Novavax Covid vaccine for adults as the first new shots in U.S. in more than a year The FDA decision comes weeks after its committee of independent vaccine experts voted overwhelming in favor of Novavax's shot in early June, after an all-day public meeting in which they weighed data on the vaccine's safety and its effectiveness at preventing illness from Covid.   The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still needs to sign off on Novavax's vaccine before pharmacies and other health-care providers can start administering shots. FDA authorization of Novavax's vaccine was delayed for weeks as the agency reviewed changes to the company's manufacturing process.   Novavax's shots have received FDA authorization at a time when nearly 77% of adults ages 18 and over are already fully vaccinated. However, 27 million adults still have not gotten a single shot yet, according to CDC data from June.  - Spencer Kimball   UnitedHealth to offer $0 Insulin  UnitedHealth Group's second quarter profits and sales beat. And the company announced it would offer $0 cost-sharing on insulin, albuterol asthma inhalers, epi-pens and Max lone on its fully insured group plans in 2023.  CEO Andrew Witty says it's part of the company's commitment to help promote equity and better health.   - Bertha Coombs JOIN US REGISTER CONTRIBUTORS Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs Meg Tirrell @megtirrell Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs Meg Tirrell @megtirrell Unsubscribe Manage Newsletters Terms of Service Join the CNBC Panel Digital Products Feedback Privacy Policy CNBC Events © 2022 CNBC LLC. All rights reserved. A property of NBCUniversal. 900 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. 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