Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
US Will Spend Over $2B To Back White House Biomanufacturing Plan
The federal government is pledging more than $2 billion to launch President Biden’s new national biomanufacturing initiative, funding efforts to build or expand drug manufacturing sites in the U.S. and readying the raw materials needed to respond to a new pandemic. (DeAngelis, 9/14)
The White House released new details on Wednesday on how it plans to invest more than $2 billion in the U.S. biotechnology sector as it hosts a meeting of government leaders to discuss the emerging industry. ... The executive order allows the federal government to direct funding for the use of microbes and other biologically derived resources to make new foods, fertilizers and seeds, as well as making mining operations more efficient, administration officials said. It also will help fund a quest for medical breakthroughs, such as a vaccine to prevent cancer, or a blood test that could detect cancer in an annual physical. (Renshaw, 9/14)
On federal funding for covid and monkeypox —
As the Biden administration asks Congress for additional federal dollars to fight infectious diseases, it faces a conundrum: pandemic fatigue. (Cohen, 9/14)
On the polio threat in America —
Top Biden health officials, increasingly concerned about the polio case in New York, have met several times in recent weeks to determine how to increase vaccination rates and improve surveillance, according to two senior administration officials. The conversations have taken place at the National Security Council, with senior officials from the White House, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services. (Banco and Messerly, 9/14)
The World Health Organization added the U.S. to the list of countries where vaccine-derived poliovirus is circulating according to a CDC announcement. (Dreher, 9/14)
