Clem’s Chronicles: H1N1 Vaccine priorities/Health Care Reform Update/Attorney General Eric Holder

Howdy-here's what's doing news-wise this evening:

H1N1 VACCINE/WHO GETS IT FIRST?-A government advisory group met today at the CDC in Atlanta to figure out who gets priority for the H1N1 Swine Flu vaccine. As we reported last night, at the top of list are pregnant women and health care workers. Lisa Stark, reporting for WORLD NEWS from Atlanta, fills us in on who else rates at the top of the list:
“Those who care for young infants under 6 months of age.
Children and teens-6 months to 18 yrs. old.
Those 19 to 64 with health problems, such as asthma and diabetes.
In a surprise vote, the committee added healthy college age kids to the list-deciding 19 to 24 year-olds should get priority too because they frequently study and live in close quarters and often spread the virus.”
If that seems like a lot of people “going first”, you’re not wrong-The groups above account for nearly 160 million people, more than half the entire population of the United States. And while they be able to identify those who need the vaccine the most, problems with when authorities will be able to get it to them abound. Stark notes that the vaccine “may only be effective after two doses. The government hopes to have 120 million doses of this vaccine available by mid-October and then 80 million a month after that. We learned today that there’s a good chance the timetable may slip.” WORLD NEWS anchor Elizabeth Vargas talked with Dr. Tim about this after Stark’s spot. Vargas noted that there are only enough full doses for about 60 million people, far short of the 160 million folks identified as priorities which would leave many people unprotected. Dr. Tim replied that “so much depends on what we learn during testing during the next two months. It will be tested at two different levels of strength, each of the levels with one or two doses. We may learn that a single dose is sufficient for some people. Usually you need two doses when you’re producing a new strain of vaccine in younger people.” And as for those in need who might not get the vaccine in a timely manner? Dr. Tim: “We need to remind people that there are other strategies to prevent getting the flu. Washing your hands, covering your mouth when coughing, it’s not just the vaccine. These other strategies are very helpful.” What about the safety of the vaccine? Stark noted in her piece that “bulk doses of this new vaccine will contain the controversial preservative Thimerosal, which some people claim contributes to autism, despite exhaustive studies that show otherwise.” Dr. Tim noted that “that’s going to be a prime question. We remember the 1976 swine flu vaccine problem…the government will have to assure us that they’ve tested adequately and there are no real serious side effects.”

HEALTH CARE REFORM-Good news today for President Obama-the House Energy and Commerce committee has gotten conservative Democrats to agree to a deal. George Stephanopoulos fills us in on the details: “It’s a big deal in the House. If this holds, every House committee will have passed the bill before the August recess.” What caused these “blue dog” Dems to change their mind? Stephanopoulos notes three components:
“1)They agreed to lower the cost of the bill by about $100 billion over ten years. That brought it below the key trillion dollar cost mark.
2)They increased the number of small businesses exempt from providing health insurance for their employees. Before it was any business that had $250 thousand in revenue. They raised that up to $500K.
3)They watered down that public health insurance option. It will not have the same kind of power Medicare has to set rates.”
Jon Karl received a release from the Blue Dog Dems and notes: “Although a deal has been struck with the 7 moderate blue dog Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the rest of the Blue Dogs are withholding judgment.  ‘While it appears ongoing negotiations at the committee level have yielded a number of important concessions in the direction of our principles,’ says Blue Dog co-chair Stephanie Herseth Sandlin,  ‘many Blue Dogs remain concerned with various aspects of the bill draft.”
What about the Senate? Stephanopoulos notes “they’re not there yet….one of the things holding it up is the Republicans who are negotiating are saying that anything they agree to will have to hold up all the way through the process with the House and the Senate. Democrats can’t go along with that.”
As for timing, the President himself acknowledged at a town hall meeting in North Carolina today that “best-case scenario…we won’t even vote on it probably until the end of September or the middle of October.” Stephanopoulos notes it may take even longer: “I heard from key negotiators on the House and Senate side who said don’t be surprised if we don’t finish this until Christmas.”

ERIC HOLDER EXCLUSIVE:  What’s it like being the country’s top law enforcement official?  Pierre Thomas found out – first hand:  “Just before 8 am the Attorney General leaves his home and is greeted by his armed FBI security detail. His first mission each day—-a review of the THREAT MATRIX—laying out how terrorists are actively targeting America.”  Pierre spent much of his day with Attorney General Holder and found that he has lots to think about:  “Terrorism. Espionage. Corruption. The pressure of hardball politics – all on the plate for the nation's top cop.  As the summer races by, Holder faces a series of critical decisions  – whether to investigate the Bush Administration detention and interrogation of terrorism suspects. Holder made clear that's a real possibility  — regardless of the fallout.”  And what about the flap in Cambridge?  Pierre:  “On the issue of race and policing inflamed by the arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates. While he declined to take sides—-Holder acknowledged he had been racially profiled.”   Holder said it happened when he was a college student – and it left “a lasting impression,” remembering how humiliated and angry he felt.  Holder said the Gates incident presents an opportunity to talk about racial matters and he hopes the nation takes advantage of it. (thanks to Ed Bailey for this entry)
 
PACIFIC NORTHWEST HEAT-Welcome to the tropical paradise of….Seattle? It was a record 102 degrees today at Sea-Tac Airport. In fact throughout the Pacific Northwest, triple-digit heat has gripped an area where coffee is usually the only thing topping the century mark. Laura Marquez went off to the sweltering “Emerald City” and reports just how rare this weather event is: “For many in Seattle, keeping cool has become improvisational art because there have been entire years when it hasn’t hit 90 degrees. But this week alone, it’s topped that mark four days running. And more hot weather is expected.” This crazy weather is not limited to the Pacific Northwest either. Meteorologist Steve Pool was quoted in Marquez’ WORLD NEWS piece saying “we are seeing extremes on both sides. We’re seeing the east coast go through some rain periods where you don’t really expect it. We’ve seen us dry and hotter than usual where we don’t usually expect it.”

MICHAEL JACKSON-The LAPD confirmed to us today that the coroner’s press conference on findings in the Michael Jackson death will be delayed until next week. There’s lots more tidbits in Grace Huang’s “Jackson note”, the most recent of which was sent out at 8:45pm ET. Program reminder-tonight’s PRIME TIME:CRIME looks at the latest investigation details surrounding the death of Michael Jackson. It’s anchored by Elizabeth Vargas and airs at 10pm ET this evening.

BEIGE BOOK-More evidence out today that we may have reached a bottom in our economic recession-here’s Dan Arnall with details from the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book: “The Federal Reserve said its member regional banks are seeing that, ‘…the pace of decline has moderated since the last report or that activity has begun to stabilize, albeit at a low level.’
The central bank released its regular report – known as the ‘Beige Book’ – which paints a picture of how things are going in all 12 Federal Reserve districts. It’s based on real time interviews with business leaders, bankers and consumers in what is the most comprehensive anecdotal report on the overall economy. Some of the highlights:
RETAIL: ‘Consumer spending in the early summer remained below previous-year levels in most Districts, as households continued to be price conscious.’
REAL ESTATE: ‘Residential real estate markets in most Districts remained weak, but many reported signs of improvement.’
BANKING: ‘In most reporting Districts, overall lending activity was stable or weakened further for most loan categories.’
JOBS: ‘All Districts indicated that labor markets remain slack, with most sectors either reducing jobs or holding them steady and aggregate employment continuing to decline, on net. … The weakness of labor markets has virtually eliminated upward wage pressure, and wages and compensation are steady or falling in most Districts.’
PRICES: ‘Most Districts reported that upward price pressures were minimal.’

TANNING BEDS-Need a quick bronzing? Better think twice about heading to that tanning salon down the street. Cancer experts with the World Health Organization today moved tanning beds and ultraviolet radiation into the top cancer risk category deeming both to be definite causes of cancer. A new analysis of about 20 studies concludes the risk of skin cancer jumps by 75 percent when people start using tanning beds before age 30. Experts also found that all types of ultraviolet radiation caused worrying mutations in mice, proof the radiation is carcinogenic. The new classification means tanning beds and ultraviolet radiation are definite causes of cancer, alongside tobacco, the hepatitis B virus and chimney sweeping, among others.

OTHER STUFF-
–AIR FARES DROP-Good news for the flying public-average domestic air fares dropped 9.1 percent in the first quarter of 2009 from the fourth quarter of 2008, the biggest quarter-to-quarter drop on record. (Matt Hosford)