Spiegel Stuff: Overnight Health Care: Trump on coronavirus death toll: 'It is what it is' | Majority in poll support 2-week stay-at-home order

Welcome to Tuesday’s Overnight Health Care.

Another potential COVID-19 vaccine reported positive initial results, a new poll shows support for a national stay-at-home order and states are joining together in the absence of a national testing strategy.

We'll start, though, with the president's views on the state of the pandemic:

Trump on coronavirus death toll: 'It is what it is'

President Trump said the coronavirus death toll “is what it is” during an interview with “Axios on HBO” broadcast late Monday.

The president told Axios’ Jonathan Swan that the COVID-19 pandemic is “under control as much as you can control it” in the U.S.

“They are dying, that's true. And you have — it is what it is,” Trump said. “But that doesn't mean we aren't doing everything we can. It's under control as much as you can control it. This is a horrible plague.”

At times, the interview turned combative as Swan pointed out the data Trump was referencing measured death as a proportion of cases instead of as a proportion of the population.

“I’m talking about death as a proportion of population,” Swan said. “That’s where the U.S. is really bad. Much worse than South Korea, Germany, etc.”

“You can’t do that,” Trump responded, prompting Swan to ask, “Why can’t I do that?”

Read more here.

Poll: Majority support new, 2-week national stay-at-home order

A majority of U.S. adults supports a mandatory two-week shelter-at-home order nationwide to slow the spread of coronavirus, a new poll finds.

The NPR-Ipsos survey finds that 59 percent of respondents would back a national stay-at-home order, indicating that many Americans are willing to embrace drastic steps to help get the virus under control. Thirty-six percent would oppose such an order.

Fifty-five percent would support a ban on all travel between states, according to the poll, with 39 percent opposed.

Some debate among experts: Hundreds of public health experts have signed an open letter calling for a new nationwide shutdown, writing, “Shut it down now, and start over."

Other experts say a full nationwide shelter-at-home order is unnecessary, given that some states, particularly those in the Northeast, are doing better in their efforts to fight COVID-19, and some outdoor activities, like going to a park, are relatively safe.

The consensus minimum: But a wide range of health advocates are calling for at least steps such as closing bars and indoor dining in hard-hit states, which many governors have still declined to do.

Louisiana pushes back loosening coronavirus restrictions — again

Potential coronavirus vaccine from Novavax shows positive early signs

There’s more encouraging news on a coronavirus vaccine, though the results are still early.

Novavax, one of several firms working on a coronavirus vaccine with financial support from the Trump administration's Operation Warp Speed, said a trial has produced "robust antibody responses," with higher levels of antibodies in people who received the vaccine than in people who had recovered from coronavirus.

Caveat: The results are from the earliest, smallest human trial for a potential vaccine, known as Phase 1, and further, larger trials are still needed.

Context: Other candidates from Moderna, AstraZeneca and Pfizer have also shown promising early results.

Those potential vaccines are further along in the process, having already started Phase 3 trials.

Read more here.

CDC expects 2020 outbreak of rare, life-threatening condition affecting children

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned parents and doctors Tuesday that it expects another outbreak this year of a rare but life-threatening condition that mostly affects children.

Outbreaks of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), a serious neurologic condition that can cause paralysis, typically peak every two years between August and November.

The last peak occurred in 2018, when 238 cases were reported to the CDC.

While rare, parents and doctors should be vigilant to recognize symptoms of AFM because it progresses quickly over the course of hours or days, leading to permanent paralysis or life-threatening respiratory failure in previously healthy patients, according to the CDC.

Why it matters: There is still a lot we don’t know about AFM, but scientists suspect it is caused by a virus, since most kids had a respiratory illness or fever before experiencing limb weakness. But it’s not known why the vast majority of kids who have respiratory illness recover with no neurologic symptoms, said Thomas Clark, deputy director of CDC’s Division of Viral Diseases. The best parents can do to keep their kids say is to keep an eye on their illnesses, practice hygiene that wards off viruses and get the flu shot, he said.

Read more here.

Six states band together to secure rapid COVID testing

Bipartisan governors of six states have entered into a first-of-its-kind agreement to jointly purchase rapid coronavirus testing kits.

The governors – from Virginia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio and Maryland – said the goal of the compact is to show private companies that there is significant demand to scale up the production of these tests, which deliver results in 15-20 minutes.

The states will coordinate on policies and protocols regarding rapid antigen testing technology.

Why: Five months into the pandemic, the administration has yet to develop an efficient testing system. In the absence of a national testing strategy, states have been left to come up with their own plans and secure their own equipment. The agreement would reduce the need for states to rely on overburdened commercial labs.

Read more here.

Missouri set to vote on Medicaid expansion, bypassing GOP opposition

Voters in Missouri will decide Tuesday whether to amend the state's constitution to extend Medicaid coverage to tens of thousands of low-income individuals and families.

The ballot measure, backed by progressive activists as well as state business and health groups, would expand the state's MO HealthNet program to anyone earning under 133 percent of the poverty level, which is less than $18,000 a year for an individual and less than $30,000 for a family of three.

Missouri has one of the strictest Medicaid programs in the country. Adults who do not have disabilities and who do not have minor children living at home cannot qualify for Medicaid coverage, no matter how little money they make. Parents with dependent children can only earn up to 21 percent of the poverty level, which is about $2,700 each.

If passed, the proposed expansion would take effect on July 1, 2021. While some Republican governors have dragged their feet on implementing expansion even after it passed, or imposed conservative policies like work requirements, amending the constitution would make that virtually impossible in Missouri.

Read more here.

What we’re reading

Insurers can trim Obamacare premiums, federal regulators say (Bloomberg Law)

Nursing home companies accused of misusing federal money received hundreds of millions of dollars in pandemic relief (Washington Post)

Rafael Nadal opts out of U.S. Open, citing coronavirus concerns (NPR)

The coronavirus is never going away (The Atlantic)

State by state

How ballot initiatives changed the game on Medicaid expansion (New York Times)

Newsom says don't let your guard down as coronavirus slows in California (KTVU)

Mississippi on track to become No. 1 state for new coronavirus cases per capita (NPR)

Op-eds in The Hill

Data breaking bad: COVID-19 corruption in an election year