What we know about the virus that's spreading across the globe.

Coronavirus

What's ahead in a post-Roe v. Wade world.

Axios Explains: Abortion

The developments that matter in how Americans are paying for drugs, treatment, insurance and more.

Health care costs

Opioids

The developments that matter in the fight over Obama's landmark health care law.

Affordable Care Act

The latest in the debate over whether the U.S. should shift to government-funded health care.

Medicare for All

The developments that matter in the fight over e-cigarette use.

Vaping

The developments that matter on issues that affect our immediate safety and health.

Public health

The U.S. faces a range of health care flashpoints — unaffordable drugs, opioids, vaping — as we debate whether to adopt universal care. For now, the Affordable Care Act is the law of the land, but Republicans want to issue it a final death blow.

Health

National

Health: Study: 76% of long COVID patients were not initially hospitalized — Axios-Ipsos poll: 1 in 3 say the pandemic's over — U.S. COVID death toll officially surpasses 1 million.

Vaccines: Which age groups are eligible for the different COVID vaccines — FDA authorizes Pfizer COVID booster for children 5-11.

Politics: Fauci says he won’t stay if Trump is re-elected — Biden orders flags at half-staff for 1 million deaths.

World: North Korea reports first COVID death.

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday: 525,031,217 — Total deaths: 6,282,022 — Total vaccine doses administered: 11,424,669,803.

U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday: 82,766,654 — Total deaths: 1,000,317.

What should I do? Axios asked the experts:

When you can be around others after contracting the coronavirus

Traveling, asthma, dishes, disinfectants and being contagious

Answers about the virus from Axios experts

Download our app and follow the Coronavirus channel to get the latest news.

Editor's note: Johns Hopkins University stopped reporting U.S. COVID-19 recoveries on its dashboard on Dec. 15, citing a Coronavirus Tracking Project post that explained the national data is incomplete since several states do not keep records of recovered patients. It stopped reporting global recoveries and began reporting doses administered in May. 

COVID-19 dashboard

The latest headlines that you need to know.

Illustration of a coronavirus cell falling into a time warp.  

Health Care

World

Politics

President Biden has made the COVID-19 crisis and a post-Trump return to national unity and traditional democratic ideals his top priorities. From vaccinations to stimulus to schools, Biden is seeking bipartisan compromise while showing a willingness to use executive authority and bare Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate to implement his policies. Republican leaders are navigating deep party divisions over if and how to move beyond former President Trump.

Politics & Policy

China is becoming the most formidable rival America has faced, and the risk of confrontation with Russia, North Korea or Iran still looms. Authoritarians are rising, the chaotic Afghanistan exit revealed the limits of U.S. power, and the pandemic, climate change and other critical challenges continue to pose grave threats.

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Economy & Business

The CDC is growing concerned that a recent monkeypox outbreak in the United Kingdom could spread beyond the country, per STAT News.

Driving the news: "We do have a level of concern that this is very different than what we typically think of from monkeypox. And I think we have some concern that there could be spread outside the U.K. associated with this," Jennifer McQuiston, a senior CDC official, told STAT.

Catch up quick: Health officials in the U.K. said that there are seven "rare and unusual" cases of monkeypox in London, per the Associated Press.

The U.K.'s Health Security Agency said Monday that four men became infected in England. They had no history of traveling to African countries where monkeypox is endemic, per AP.

Britain reported three cases last week, including two from people in the same home and another person who traveled to Nigeria, where monkeypox is endemic, AP reports.

Why it matters: "You have two clusters that have no link to travel or to other people who are known to be associated with a recognized outbreak. It suggests that there are unknown chains of transmission happening," McQuiston told STAT.

Cases have been spotted outside the U.K., including in Portugal and eight in Spain, per CNN.

Zoom in: Monkeypox is most often found in humans in Central and Western African countries.

Symptoms are similar to smallpox and include fevers, headaches, swollen lymph nodes and chills, per the CDC.

The big picture: Cases of monkeypox have been popping up during the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. faced a brief outbreak in the summer of 2021 with the CDC monitoring close to 200 people for potential symptoms, the Guardian reports.

CDC: "Very different" level of concern over U.K.'s recent monkeypox spread

The agency said that Monkeypox is spreading in the United Kingdom through unrelated clusters.

The Centers for Disease Control headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo: Tami Chappell / AFP via Getty Images

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Companies across the United States are announcing plans to help workers who live in states with abortion restrictions gain access to reproductive health care.

Driving the news: A leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft ruling indicated that the court could soon overturn Roe v. Wade.

Abortion would become illegal in at least 13 states if the Supreme Court overturns the decision, Axios' Oriana Gonzalez writes.

Multiple companies have suggested they'll pay for travel expenses if employees have to receive health care services in another state.

Levi Strauss & Co. said in a statement that employees will be reimbursed for travel expenses for receiving health care services outside their state, including abortions.

"We know this is a fraught conversation; it's not something we enter into lightly. But women make up 58% of our global workforce, and in recent years, numerous employees have expressed to leadership their growing alarm over the rollback of all forms of reproductive care," the company said.

"Our position on this is in keeping with our efforts to support employees and family members at all stages of their lives."

Microsoft said it would help cover workers' travel expenses for abortions and gender-affirming care, per Bloomberg.

The company said it would “support employees and their enrolled dependents in accessing critical health care -- which already includes services like abortion and gender-affirming care -- regardless of where they live across the U.S."

“This support is being extended to include travel expense assistance for these and other medical services where access to care is limited in availability in an employee’s home geographic region.”

Apple said it would cover medical expenses for employees in Texas who have to travel outside of the state for abortions, per the Washington Post.

Tesla said it would cover travel costs for employees seeking abortions outside of their state, per the AP. 

The company's 2021 “Impact Report” released Friday said the company's Safety Net program will now include “travel and lodging support for those who may need to seek healthcare services that are unavailable in their home state.”

Tesla's headquarters is located in Texas which has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country.

Salesforce said it is willing to relocate workers from Texas due to the state's new abortion law, CNBC reports.

Amazon said it would cover up to $4,000 in travel for United States workers who are seeking medical treatments, including abortions, per Reuters.

Uber and Lyft both pledged to cover any legal fees in case their drivers are sued because of Oklahoma's new abortion bill, which allows citizens to sue anyone they suspect has helped someone receive an abortion.

Citigroup will cover travel expenses for employees who are forced to travel outside their state for abortions, MarketWatch reports.

"In response to changes in reproductive health care laws in certain states in the U.S., beginning in 2022 we provide travel benefits to facilitate access to adequate resources," the company said in a filing back in April.

Yelp said it would offer assistance through the company's insurance plan for employees and their dependents if they need to travel out of state for an abortion, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Starbucks said that it will cover the travel expenses of employees seeking abortion or gender-affirming care.

Mastercard said it will cover travel expenses for employees who must travel out of state to receive abortions, with the new policy going into effect June 1, per Bloomberg. 

 Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.

These companies are helping employees access abortions

Apple, Amazon, Uber and Mastercard, among the companies that say they will help employees cover costs.

Apple company logo. Photo: Thiago Prudencio via Getty Images

Abortion

Top lawmakers on the Senate health committee are proposing to beef up FDA oversight of dietary supplements, cosmetics and lab-developed tests as part of a sweeping plan to reauthorize regulatory programs.

Why it matters: The agency has faced challenges looking out for unproven claims or companies that aren't safely manufacturing products.

Where it stands: A draft plan released Tuesday by Senate HELP Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Ranking Member Richard Burr (R-N.C.) would, among other things, require premarket approval of supplements and make manufacturers disclose what's in their products.

The FDA lacks authority to approve supplements, and firms generally don't have to provide evidence for the FDA to conclude the products are safe.

Some supplement manufacturers are aggressively fighting the plan: The Natural Products Association says it would drive up consumer costs and weaken privacy protections for the industry's supply chain.

Go deeper: Murray and Burr's plan would also address the agency's oversight of lab-developed tests, which became a friction point during the Trump administration.

And it would require cosmetics manufacturers to track and report adverse events involving their products and make the FDA set good manufacturing practices.

The proposals are wrapped in a larger package that would renew FDA user fees that help fund the agency's product evaluations. 

Any plan that emerges from the Senate would still have to be blended with a House FDA reform package.

Lawmakers eye more oversight of dietary supplements and cosmetics

A draft plan would require premarket approval of supplements and make manufacturers disclose what's in their products.

A shopper looks through shelves of supplements.

Health care

About 76% of patients with long COVID had not been hospitalized for their initial infection, a new study conducted by the non-profit FAIR Health released Wednesday indicates.

Driving the news: While the patients weren't sick enough to be hospitalized, they experienced "abnormalities of breathing, cough, and malaise and fatigue" months after being diagnosed, the study says. The research has not been formally peer-reviewed.

Details: The study examined over 78,000 people who were diagnosed with long COVID between Oct. 1, 2021 and Jan. 31, 2022.

Women were more likely than men to be diagnosed with long COVID, and people between ages 36 and 50 were in the most likely age demographic to get the diagnosis.

Long COVID patients had higher Department of Health & Human Services-Hierarchical Condition Category (HHS-HCC) risk scores. The score identifies patients likely to consume more health care resources and potentially incur greater care costs long term.

Between the lines: Most people who test positive for COVID will not be hospitalized, but this study suggests that people with mild cases of the disease "will end up with lingering symptoms or new post-Covid health problems," The New York Times writes.

Our thought bubble, via Axios' Tina Reed: While this is just one study, it validates the anecdotal experience patients and health professionals alike have reported. Health systems were prepared for long-term impacts among the sickest COVID patients. 

But “we've ended up seeing a lot of patients with mild or moderate, mostly stay-at-home infections that came in with a wide range of symptoms. It was bizarre," Bradley Sanville, a pulmonary and critical care physician who is part of the UC Davis Post-COVID-19 Clinic, told Axios for a Deep Dive on the long COVID crisis earlier this month.

Study: 76% of long COVID patients were not initially hospitalized

Patients that weren't initially hospitalized later suffered "abnormalities of breathing, cough, and malaise and fatigue."

Picture of a patient in a glass box taking a respiratory test

A long Covid patient takes a pulmonary function test at Hufeland Clinic's Center for Pneumology. Photo: Sebastian Gollnow/picture alliance via Getty Images

Long COVID

Axios Cities

NASA's Artemis missions, which aim to send a human crew — including a woman and a person of color — to the moon by 2025, will shoot female dummies into space first to test the effects of radiation on them.

Why it matters: Artemis is a prelude to sending human astronauts to Mars, NASA says, and "women appear to be at a greater risk of suffering from the harmful effects of space radiation" than men, Gizmodo reports.

What's happening: This summer, the first of three planned Artemis missions is expected to launch into orbit — not with humans, but with "two identical ‘phantoms’ representative of the female body," according to the German Aerospace Center, the NASA partner that developed the mannequins.

The dummies, nicknamed Helga and Zohar, will include "more than 10,000 passive sensors and 34 active radiation detectors," said the German Aerospace Center, or DLR.

The mannequins will "investigate radiation exposure throughout the flight, which may last up to six weeks."

Details: The German agency says the twin mannequins are "modeled on female bodies" and made from "materials that mimic human bones, soft tissues and organs of adult women." 

Women are at greater risk of cancer than men, "so different radiation boundary values always apply to female astronauts," the DLR said. 

"However, so far there have been no sex-specific measurements using phantoms in space."

Helga will fly to the moon unprotected, while Zohar will wear a newly developed radiation vest called the AstroRad.

The big picture: Solving the radiation problem will help NASA with its long-term goal of getting humans to Mars. Outside of the Earth's protective shield, human bodies are far more vulnerable to the harmful effects of radiation.

"Studies of radiation exposure for men and women indicate a higher chance of women developing cancer, while other research has found that space radiation is likely to affect female reproductive health," Gizmodo says.

In the Artemis 1 mission, NASA's Space Launch System will take off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida this year and send a capsule named Orion around the moon and back, the New York Times reports. 

Artemis 2 will trace the same path — but with astronauts, sometime in 2024.

"The third mission, Artemis 3, will result in a moon landing," per the Times.

What they're saying: With the Artemis flights, "we will collaborate with commercial and international partners and establish the first long-term presence on the moon," NASA says. "Then, we will use what we learn on and around the moon to take the next giant leap: sending the first astronauts to Mars."

NASA will test female dummies in space

A test will simulate the effects of radiation on women astronauts.

Illustration of the Orion space capsule with female mannequins in it.

Illustration of the "crew" of the Artemis 1 mis­sion to the moon. Image courtesy of NASA/Lockheed Martin/DLR

NASA

Space

A look at the scientific breakthroughs changing the world, explorations in space and in worlds beyond our own and the threats posed to us by our own planet, both out of our control and of our own making.

Science

From the Valley to D.C., Big Tech players like Facebook, Google and Amazon are under more scrutiny than ever as new technology develops and privacy and antitrust concerns grow in lockstep with companies’ ambitions.

Technology

Axios Vitals

America's dependence on baby formula has come under the spotlight as a national shortage sparked a nutritional crisis. 

Why it matters: The U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend infants be exclusively breastfed for about the first six months. But, in practice, most babies get some type of formula.

What they're saying: “Although we're doing a better job of breastfeeding nationally, we still have most infants — or a little over half — that are requiring some type of formula within the first six months of life," James Franciosi, chief of gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition at Nemours Children's Hospital in Florida told Axios.

The big picture: Years of public health campaigns about the nutritional benefits of breastfeeding for babies have resulted in more than four out of five babies starting out on breastmilk. 

Hospitals have adopted programs to support new mothers with early skin-to-skin contact while not introducing any formula, as well as in-person lactation support to help them become comfortable with breastfeeding.

Public support for breastfeeding has also grown, at times exposing major cultural dividing lines. Case in point: The firestorm sparked by Bette Midler's "Try breastfeeding!" tweet about the shortage, which critics said was insensitive and uninformed.

While breastmilk is considered nutritionally "best," parents ultimately switch exclusively to using formula or supplement breastfeeding with formula for many reasons, Franciosi said. 

In many cases, breastfeeding is simply not possible due to medical concerns, including an infant's food allergies or metabolic conditions.

Breastfeeding can also be physically and mentally taxing, or simply incompatible "with the demands of work outside the home," the New York Times reports. 

Between the lines: As parents scramble to find scarce formula, they've turned to online communities for help.

In one notable example, gymnast Shawn Johnson and her husband Andrew East, launched a website for parents to share formulas called Baby Formula Exchange.

But these efforts by parents have also led to the spread of misinformation, including recipes of how to make homemade formula or stretch their formula with water — which experts urge parents not to do. 

"Formulas are made try to closely resemble, but not perfectly, breastmilk. It's a hard thing to get right. We don't want people to try make their own," Franciosi said adding it has landed babies in the hospital due to malnutrition, or electrolyte or calcium imbalances.

What to watch: That's left many Americans dependent on a heavily concentrated industry that manufactures the product. Four companies — Abbott Laboratories, Mead Johnson, Perrigo and Nestle — account for more than 87% of the market, according to IBISWorld.

House Democrats on Tuesday proposed an emergency funding bill that would give the FDA $28 million to beef up its inspections of formula before it hits store shelves and to prepare for future shortages, Axios' Herb Scribner reports.

A House panel plans a hearing next week with formula manufacturers and FDA food safety officials. 

The bottom line: "This infant formula crisis is really heartbreaking and it's really sad that it's happened in America," Franciosi said.

Baby formula shortage puts spotlight on how America feeds its young

The widespread use of baby formula across America has come under the spotlight as a national shortage has sparked an infant nutritional crisis.

Illustration of a tipped over baby bottle dripping milk into a milk puddle the shape of the United States.   

Department of Agriculture (USDA)

What is your top concern related to COVID-19 right now?

Data: Axios/Ipsos poll; Chart: Simran Parwani/Axios

One in three Americans now says the pandemic is over — despite rising cases and hospitalizations — according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index.

The big picture: Respondents are more concerned about spreading COVID-19 to others or being inconvenienced by restrictions than getting sick or dying. 

And political affiliation is driving the thinking about how much the federal government should keep spending on the virus.

40% of those surveyed said they're already had COVID.

What they're saying: "There appears to be a relatively small amount of Americans who are feeling any personal sense of risk," said Ipsos pollster and senior vice president Chris Jackson.

"Politically, it really demonstrates the ongoing divisions in society about the pandemic and its aftermath." 

By the numbers: Overall, 31% of respondents said they believe the pandemic is over, while 69% disagree.

59% of Republicans say it's over, compared to just 27% of independents and 10% of Democrats.

55% of unvaccinated Americans said it's over, compared to just 22% of vaccinated people.

38% of white respondents, 27% of Hispanic respondents and 10% of Black respondents said it's over.

The intrigue: Americans' top COVID concern at the moment is inadvertently spreading it to others at higher risk of serious illness. That's true for 32% of respondents overall — with little difference by political affiliation.

It's also true for 38% of Americans under 30 and ages 50-64.

The concern is shared by 35% of vaccinated people, but only 22% of unvaccinated people. The top concern among the unvaccinated is dealing with restrictions such as vaccines or mask requirements.

Hospitalization remains the top concern for Americans 65 and older.

When it comes to federal spending on COVID, 33% say it's too much, 31% say it's not enough and 35% say it's the right amount.

63% of Republicans say it's too much, compared with 28% of independents and 14% of Democrats.

42% of Democrats, 33% of independents and 15% of Republicans say it's not enough.

Between the lines: Since last month, as cases have been rising, the survey found a slight softening in support for federal, state and local governments lifting all restrictions — now 51%, down from 59%.

What we're watching: In two new questions to the survey, 62% of respondents say they support the idea of local news broadcasts reporting daily on COVID rates in their area — and 57% support the idea of a the federal government funding a single national COVID monitoring system.

These numbers suggest majorities of Americans want to stay informed about the data around the virus, even if they aren't inclined to modify their behaviors any longer.

Methodology: This Axios/Ipsos Poll was conducted May 13-16 by Ipsos' KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 982 general population adults age 18 or older.

The margin of sampling error is ±3.5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults.

Axios-Ipsos poll: 1 in 3 say the pandemic's over

Respondents are more concerned about spreading COVID-19 to others or being inconvenienced by restrictions than getting sick or dying.

Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index

House Democrats on Tuesday proposed an emergency funding bill that would give the Food and Drug Administration $28 million to address the nationwide baby formula shortage.

Why it matters: The bill intends to give the FDA funds to increase its staff to help inspect baby formula before it arrives on grocery store shelves and to prepare for potential future shortages.

Context: The United States has faced a nationwide baby shortage since Abbott Nutrition issued a recall for some of its products in February.

The recall happened after federal officials found four babies suffered bacterial infections after ingesting baby formula made at Abbott's factory in Sturgis, Michigan.

Driving the news: The House Democrats' new bill — titled the ‘‘Infant Formula Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022’’ — will look "to address the shortage of infant formula and certain medical foods in the United States."

According to the legislation, the act will also look "to prevent future shortages, including such steps as may be necessary to prevent fraudulent products from entering the United States market."

What they're saying: “The stories of mothers and fathers struggling to find formula and the images of empty store shelves are heartbreaking,” said Rosa DeLauro, chair of the House Appropriations Committee in a statement.

 “Parents and caretakers across the country cannot wait — they need our support now. This bill takes important steps to restore supply in a safe and secure manner," she added.

DeLauro said at a press conference Tuesday that the FDA "dragged its feet" amid the shortage.

Rep Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). Photo: Jim Watson via Getty Images

The big picture: Abbott Nutrition and the FDA this week reached an agreement to reopen Abbott's Michigan site, paving the way for an increased baby formula supply.

Abbott said it can restart operating the site in two weeks.

It will take another six to eight weeks before the baby formula can make its way onto shelves.

What's next: Abbott will need to meet FDA standards to keep its facility open. 

The company will also have to tell the FDA if there are any contaminations found and "conduct a root-cause investigation before resuming production," the FDA said.

What they're saying: "The public should rest assured that the agency will do everything possible to continue ensuring that infant and other specialty formulas produced by the company meet the FDA’s safety and quality standards, which American consumers have come to expect and deserve,” FDA commissioner Robert Califf said in a statement Monday.

Go deeper ... Why there is a baby formula crisis and what can be done about it

House Democrats release $28M bill to address baby formula shortage

The money is intended to help the FDA prepare for potential future shortages.

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