Overnight Health Care — Presented by Alexion — CDC: Drop in births likely linked to pandemic

View in your browser PRESENTED BY OVERNIGHT POLICY: Health Care CDC: Drop in births likely linked to pandemic © Getty Images Welcome to Tuesday’s Overnight Health Care, where we’re following the latest moves on policy and news affecting your health. Subscribe here: thehill.com/newsletter-signup  We’ll be watching President Biden’s State of the Union address tonight, so check out our coverage on thehill.com. There should be a range of health care announcements, from nursing homes to mental health to cancer. And of course, we’ll see exactly how the president tries to strike a message on the new phase of COVID-19 the country is entering.   For The Hill, we’re Peter Sullivan (psullivan@thehill.com), Nathaniel Weixel (nweixel@thehill.com), and Joseph Choi (jchoi@thehill.com). Write to us with tips and feedback, and follow us on Twitter: @PeterSullivan4 @NateWeixel and @JosefChoi.  Let’s get started.  Pandemic likely related to birth rate decline © Getty Images The COVID-19 pandemic may have contributed to a drop in birth rates at the beginning of 2021, according to a new report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday.  Compared to the same time period in 2020, the first six months of 2021 saw births decline by 2 percent overall, largely due to a 9 percent drop observed in January. In this period, the number of births declined in 19 states and Washington, D.C., while increasing in four states.  The birth rates last year: From January to June 2021, the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) recorded 1.75 million births, compared to 1.78 million births in the same period of 2020.  The NCHS noted that while birth rates also declined about 2 percent in both the first and last six months of the calendar year from 2015 to 2019, the sharp drop observed in January 2021 followed by a moderate drop in February was unusual compared with recent trends.  "This difference between patterns seen for the first 6 months of 2021 and earlier years suggests that the magnitude of the downward trend seen in the second half of 2020 and January of 2021 may have begun to wane and declines in the number of births may be returning to prepandemic levels," said the agency.  Read more here.  VIRTUAL EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT Breaking New Ground: Innovations in Alzheimer's Research -- Wednesday, March 2; 1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT Alzheimer’s disease is currently the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. While recent data indicate nearly six million Americans currently live with the disease, some estimates suggest that number could triple by 2060, causing yearly treatment costs in the hundreds of billions of dollars. What innovations show the most promise for early detection and treatment for this disease that takes a crushing toll on patients, their loved ones and caregivers? Former NIH director Elias Zerhouni, Alzheimer’s Association’s Maria Carrillo and more join The Hill’s Steve Clemons. RSVP today. 140M Americans have had coronavirus: CDC © AP. About 140 million Americans have been infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus through the end of January, according to an estimate from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  The percentage of individuals who have antibodies to COVID-19, known as seroprevalence, is 43.3 percent for the total U.S. population, the CDC study found, much higher than regularly cited infection rates.  The data for the study was collected from late December to late January and relied on tests of nearly 72,000 samples.  Prevalence across age groups: The percentage of those with antibodies to the virus was lower in older age groups, with children having a seroprevalence of about 58 percent compared to 23 percent for those over the age of 65, the study found.  The CDC estimated the seroprevalence by collecting about 1,750 blood tests at 52 sites roughly every four weeks. Specimens for the study were collected from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.  Read more here.  A MESSAGE FROM ALEXION PELOSI SAYS SHE WON’T WEAR MASK TO STATE OF THE UNION House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she won’t wear a mask during President Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday night following a rule change that relaxed mask mandates in the House chamber.   During an appearance on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” Pelosi told host Andrea Mitchell that she won't be wearing a mask and will “use my own judgment” when it comes to wearing a mask going forward.  “I’m not going to be wearing a mask tonight. If I had little children or if I were around little grandchildren, I would because some of them would not be vaccinated,” Pelosi told Mitchell.  Many lawmakers may not be wearing masks given the new guidance from officials on Capitol Hill and the falling number of cases nationwide.  In a letter on Sunday, Capitol physician Brian Monahan told lawmakers that the House will lift its mask mandate ahead of Biden’s address, making mask wearing optional throughout the Capitol complex.   "Individuals may choose to mask at any time, but it is no longer a requirement," Monahan wrote in a letter.  Read more here.   BABY FORMULA RECALL EXPANDS The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded its food recall for Abbott Nutrition’s baby food products on Monday after one child died following an infection caught after consuming one of the company's products.  The FDA said that a bacterial infection that developed after one patient consumed an Abbott Nutrition product may have contributed to their death.  "As of February 28, CDC has announced one additional illness of Cronobacter sakazakii with exposure to powdered infant formula produced at Abbott Nutrition’s Sturgis, MI facility. Cronobacter infection may have been a contributing cause of death for this patient," said the agency.  "The most recent patient was reported to have consumed Abbott Nutrition’s Similac PM 60/40 product with the lot code 27032K800 prior to Cronobacter sakazakii infection."  Abbott Nutrition has issued a voluntary recall of its Similac PM 60/40 powdered infant formula with the lot code 27032K800. Products from this lot code were distributed to the U.S. and Israel.  Ready more here.  GET IN THE KNOW 📄 Sign up for NotedDC: The Hill’s insider take on the heartbeat of politics and policy.  Australian leader tests positive for COVID-19 © Getty Images Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced he has tested positive for COVID-19.   “Tonight I tested positive to COVID-19,” Morrison wrote in a Twitter thread Tuesday. “I am experiencing flu-like symptoms and will be recovering over the next week.”   “I had tested myself daily since Sunday, including this morning, with all tests returning a negative result.”  Morrison shared that his wife and children have tested negative for the virus but will have to quarantine for a week due to them being close contacts.   Morrison also said he plans to continue his work on his prime minister duties in quarantine, focusing on his government's response to Russia's Ukraine invasion and devastating floods on Australia’s east coast.  Read more here.  A MESSAGE FROM ALEXION WHAT WE'RE READING They got ‘long Covid.’ It cost them dearly. (NBC)  New Coronavirus Lineage Discovered in Ontario Deer (New York Times)  Maternal mortality rates increased during 1st year of COVID pandemic: CDC (ABC)  STATE BY STATE SC lawmakers consider splitting state’s health department (WCSC)  Mississippi Republican legislators oppose Medicaid expansion, but want federal dollars to pay for prisoner healthcare (Clarion Ledger)   N.J. hospitals want COVID booster deadline for health care workers extended (NJ.com)  That's it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill's health care page for the latest news and coverage. See you Wednesday. Sign Up for Health Care Forward Health Care Privacy Policy  |   Manage Subscriptions  |   Unsubscribe Email to a friend  |   Sign Up for Other Newsletters The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 © 1998 - 2022 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved.

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