Delivered daily by 10 a.m., Pulse examines the latest news in health care politics and policy. | | | | By Sarah Owermohle and Adam Cancryn | With Rachel Roubein, Dan Goldberg, Alice Miranda Ollstein and Daniel Lippman Editor’s Note: POLITICO Pulse is a free version of POLITICO Pro Health Care's morning newsletter, which is delivered to our s each morning at 6 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day’s biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro. | | — Pfizer’s Covid-19 shot is the first to be authorized for 12- to 15-year-olds, opening the door for broad U.S. immunization this summer. — Obamacare sign-ups have spiked during the ongoing special enrollment window. — Andrea Palm is expected to be confirmed today, as other top health nominees wait for votes. WELCOME TO TUESDAY PULSE — Herd immunity — or, shall we say, pack immunity — has never been so cute. Send tips to sowermohle@politico.com and Adam at acancryn@politico.com. | | SUBSCRIBE TO "THE RECAST" TODAY: Power is shifting in Washington and in communities across the country. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. The Recast is a twice-weekly newsletter that explores the changing power dynamics in Washington and breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics and policy in America. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country and hear critical new voices that challenge business as usual. Don't miss out, SUBSCRIBE . Thank you to our sponsor, Intel. | | | | | PFIZER SHOT CLEARS THE WAY FOR VACCINATING CHILDREN — The FDA announced the shot’s authorization for younger teens late Monday, and the CDC plans to convene a panel on Wednesday to discuss recommendations for its use. States are already preparing. Several officials said they are prepared to begin administering shots to young teens this week, Lauren Morello reports. The new authorization includes 17 million adolescents nationwide, roughly half of whom are people of color, according to an analysis of government data by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Up to this point, Pfizer's vaccine had been authorized only for people 16 and older. The two other Covid-19 vaccines available in the U.S., from Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, are authorized only for adults 18 and up. Pfizer and other vaccine-makers are now studying the shots’ use in even younger kids, from 11-year-olds down to 6-month-old infants. Meanwhile, countries around the world are still clamoring to get enough vaccines even for just their high-risk populations, let alone teens, who are generally less likely to develop severe illness. The new authorization could be the latest dilemma in the Biden administration’s minefield of global vaccine promises. Still, Biden’s top medical advisor, Anthony Fauci, argued that getting American adolescents vaccinated should be an urgent priority. “We really do need to crush the outbreak, and you do that by essentially interrupting the chain of transmission and adolescent kids are part of the chain of transmission,” he told POLITICO last week. “I am extraordinarily sensitive about the needs of the developing world. ... But I believe that we can really, dramatically interrupt the chain of transmission in this country at the same time as looking at the needs of other countries. I don't think it's either-or.” OBAMACARE SIGN-UPS SKYROCKET DURING PANDEMIC ENROLLMENT — Biden is set to announce a massive surge in sign-ups since the administration opened a special enrollment window on Feb. 15, Rachel Roubein reports. Last week, HHS released data showing that nearly 940,000 customers had signed up during the special enrollment period, with the pace quickening over the past month. About 469,000 people signed up in April alone, after new financial help in the form of subsidies passed in the Democrats’ Covid relief package took effect. The sign-ups represent a substantial increase from the same period in 2020 and 2019. BIDEN HHS PICK TO GET FINAL VOTE TODAY — Palm is expected to be confirmed as deputy health secretary today, after her nomination cleared a procedural Senate hurdle Monday. Palm is an Obama administration veteran who most recently served as the top Wisconsin’s top health official during the pandemic. What else we’re watching: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer may soon file a motion to discharge the Senate Finance Committee’s deadlocked vote on Chiquita Brooks-LaSure’s nomination to serve as Biden’s Medicare and Medicaid chief, Rachel writes. The Senate could vote on that motion as soon as today, though it’s still up in the air, according to a notice sent to Senate offices Monday. | | HEALTH OFFICIALS GO BEFORE SENATE PANEL — Biden’s top health officials are set to appear before the Senate’s health panel this morning, where senators will likely question them on issues like global coronavirus aid and U.S. outreach to get people vaccinated, Alice Miranda Ollstein writes. Testifying: Fauci, HHS chief science officer David Kessler, FDA official Peter Marks and CDC Director Rochelle Walensky all will appear. India’s current surge in cases is “a reminder that this pandemic won’t fully be over for our country until it is over for the world,” Committee chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) will say, according to prepared remarks. On the other side of the dais, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ken.) made it clear on Twitter that he plans to use the hearing to once again pick a fight with Fauci over the administration’s pandemic guidance. | | NOVAVAX AIMS FOR JULY VACCINE AUTHORIZATION —The dark horse in the coronavirus vaccine race won’t be ready for U.S. or European use before July, executives said on an earnings call Monday, though Chief Commercial Officer John Trizzino said the company still expects to announce key data from its phase 3 trial before the end of June. Novavax already has between 30 and 40 million doses stockpiled for distribution, executives said, and expects to churn out at least 70 million doses a month later in the year. That projection doesn’t include contributions from the Serum Institute of India, which has promised 1 billion shots this year, mostly for low-income countries. While U.S. officials say they are confident about meeting Americans’ vaccine needs with the supply of shots now authorized, senior health officials still say Novavax’s shot could be key for global vaccination efforts. | | SUBSCRIBE TO WEST WING PLAYBOOK: Add West Wing Playbook to keep up with the power players, latest policy developments and intriguing whispers percolating inside the West Wing and across the highest levels of the Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | MEDICAID EXPANSION CAMPAIGN LAUNCHES IN MISSISSIPPI — The Fairness Project, which ran successful Medicaid expansion campaigns in Idaho, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Utah, is kicking off a signature drive today in Madison, Miss. The organization estimates that 200,000 people would qualify for health insurance if Medicaid is expanded. Organizers need 108,000 signatures by October to qualify their measure for the November 2022 ballot. Gov. Tate Reeves in March reaffirmed his opposition to expansion following the passage of the American Rescue Plan, which offered new financial incentives for states to cover more poor residents. The Kaiser Family Foundation estimated that Mississippi could save $400 million over two years if it were to expand Medicaid. HHS AGENCY RELEASES CHILD CARE FUNDING GUIDANCE — The Administration for Children and Families on Monday issued notably flexible guidelines outlining how states, territories and tribes can dispense with $24 billion in relief funds for child care providers. “These funds represent an unprecedented opportunity that will be difficult to realize without adequate staffing and system supports at the state, territory, and tribal level,” the document read , in a section urging staffing boosts. “Lead agencies may also use funds to make upgrades to data collection and technology systems needed to administer subgrants and collect data, including building capacity to assess outcomes, especially with respect to underserved communities.” | | Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) names new health team. Anna Kaltenboeck, former health economist for Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s Center, will be a senior health adviser on drug pricing. Eva DuGoff, a former Wyden aide, is rejoining as a senior advisor on the Obamacare marketplace and Medicare Advantage. And Liz Dervan will lead work on Medicaid and the CHIP program. Dolly Moorhead is now chief product officer at Mediportal Technologies. She most recently was senior adviser to the U.S. Surgeon General and is also a Trump White House alum. | | Biden officials are wrestling over how to prioritize global Covid-19 vaccine assistance, as India remains in crisis and other nations push for clarity, Washington Post’s Dan Diamond and Tyler Pager report. Speaking of: Venezuela’s medical agency asked the U.S. to include the country in potential vaccine donations, despite icy relations between the two nations, Reuters reported. Data on sexual orientation and gender identity among Covid-19 vaccine recipients is spotty at best, exacerbating concerns among advocates about potential vaccine disparities, New York Times’ Jillian Kramer writes. | | Follow us on Twitter | | Follow us | | | | |