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: Inside one New York hospital's fight against COVID-19 — New Omicron variants gaining ground.

Vaccines: Pfizer says Omicron-specific COVID vaccine generates a stronger response — Vaccines prevented nearly 20 million COVID deaths, study shows.

Politics: Birx says Trump officials pushed to weaken COVID reports — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will allow COVID vaccines for kids, White House says.

Economy: COVID disproportionately hurt renters of color, study says.

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 12:50 p.m. ET on Sunday: 543,488,561 — Total deaths: 6,328,895 — Total vaccine doses administered: 11,647,703,548. 

U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 12:50 p.m. ET on Sunday: 86,951,690 — Total deaths: 1,015,935.

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 covid particle reflected in a rearview mirror

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

Axios Finish Line

Fifty-nine percent of Americans disapprove of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and take away the federal protections of abortion rights, according to a new CBS News/YouGov reaction poll. Among women polled, 67% disapprove.

Why it matters: The new polling upholds what surveys before the decision showed us — that the majority of Americans support Roe.

52% call the court's decision a "step backward" for America, 31% say it's a "step forward," and 17% say neither.

Between the lines: Opinion is starkly divided along party lines. 78% of Republicans approve of the decision, compared with 38% of independents and 17% of Democrats.

What to watch: The public believes the court will reexamine other civil rights set by precedent.

57% think it's likely same-sex marriage rights will be limited, and 55% think access to birth control will be limited.

Where abortion access is guaranteed without Roe v. Wade

Democrats condemn Supreme Court's abortion ruling

Where abortion will be illegal with Roe v. Wade overturned

Poll: Majority of Americans disapprove of overturning Roe v. Wade

Opinion is starkly divided along party lines.

Outside the Supreme Court. Photo: Probal Rashid/LightRocket via Getty Images

Abortion

Axios Media Trends

Google search data shows Americans — particularly those in states most impacted by the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade —are scrambling to figure out where they can still get abortions and what the law means for future access.

Why it matters: Americans are trying to wrap their heads around what this means for the future of women's health.

On searches related to abortion, the top queries included, "is abortion illegal," "abortion ban states" and "abortion pill."

Those most actively searching were in political battlegrounds like Wisconsin, Michigan and New Hampshire — where there are no existing laws that would immediately ban or codify abortion rights, as well red states Missouri, Kentucky and Utah, where a trigger law has banned the procedure.

Top searches about the Supreme Court centered on which justices voted to overturn Roe v. Wade.

This analysis is based on Google Trends data from Friday and Saturday.

Between the lines: Searches for "abortion clinic near me" over-indexed in the Southeast, where a number of states had trigger laws on the books.

The top five states include Mississippi and Louisiana, where there were trigger laws in place, and Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina where there are not.

Searches for 'abortion pill' were highest in red states — Wyoming and Montana in the Mountain West were the top two, followed by Southeast states Louisiana, Georgia, Missouri and Arkansas.

The other side: Searches for "Planned Parenthood near me" were highest among blue states: Delaware, California, Oregon, Washington and New Jersey were the top-searching states in the aftermath of the ruling.

Overall search interest in abortion peaked at 10:56am ET on Friday, about 45 minutes after the decision was released.

What Americans are searching after Roe v. Wade reversal

The top searches for 'abortion clinic near me' were in the Southeast.

Axios Vitals

Pfizer-BioNTech said Saturday that a trial of its two Omicron-modified COVID-19 vaccine candidates elicited a "substantially higher immune response" against Omicron BA.1 compared to the companies’ current COVID-19 vaccine. 

Why it matters: The news comes in advance of a meeting of a key FDA advisory committee Tuesday to examine how the composition of COVID-19 vaccines should be modified as the virus continues evolving and vaccine protection wanes.

What they're saying: “As we’ve said since the early days of the pandemic, we will follow the science and adapt our own approaches as needed to help address COVID-19 as the virus evolves,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement. 

"We believe we have two very strong Omicron-adapted candidates that elicit a substantially higher immune response against Omicron than we’ve seen to date."

The details: The companies tested a vaccine candidate that targets the spike protein of the Omicron BA.1 variant, as well as a "bivalent" vaccine candidate that combined its Omicron-adapted vaccine with its vaccine for the original COVID strain.

The Omicron-adapted candidate given as a fourth booster dose increased neutralizing antibodies between 13.5 times and 19.6 times, depending on the dose administered.

The "bivalent" vaccine candidate increased neutralizing antibodies between 9.1 times and 10.9 times against Omicron, depending on the dose administered.

Yes, but: Omicron has continued to evolve with new subvariants.

Preliminary studies demonstrate both Omicron-adapted candidates neutralize the subvariants Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 to a lesser extent than they do for BA.1, the companies said.  

"We will therefore remain vigilant and are prepared to rapidly adapt our Omicron-adapted vaccine candidates to emerging sublineages if epidemiological and laboratory data suggest," Ugur Sahin, CEO and co-founder of BioNTech, said in a statement.

Pfizer says Omicron-specific COVID vaccine generates a stronger response

The news comes in advance of a meeting of a key FDA advisory committee to examine how the composition of COVID-19 vaccines should be modified as the virus continues evolving and vaccine protection wanes.

Photo: Sebastian Gollnow/picture alliance via Getty Images

COVID-19

States where abortion access is guaranteed

Data: Axios research; Map: Axios Visuals

Abortion access is still guaranteed in 16 states even after the Supreme Court issued a ruling Friday overturning Roe v. Wade.

Driving the news: Conservative legislatures have passed a raft of restrictive laws to ban abortion in their states in unprecedented ways, while lawmakers in blue states responded by passing bills to protect providers and patients that may become targets in red states in Roe's absence.

The big picture: There are currently at least 16 states that have codified the right to having an abortion, protecting access even in Roe's absence.

Connecticut, Washington state and New York have also enacted laws that work as a direct response to Texas' six-week abortion ban that encourages private citizens to sue abortion providers for offering the procedure.

Some of these states are moving to pass legislation that will expand abortion access and prepare for a likely influx in patients, many from out-of-state, who will be seeking care.

By the numbers: "During the 2022 state legislative session, more than 130 bills to expand access to sexual and reproductive health care have been introduced — including legislation to protect the right to abortion in state laws and expand the number of qualified abortion providers," according to data from Planned Parenthood provided to Axios.

State of play: Some states — like California and Vermont — are moving to make their protections go even further by making abortion access a constitutional right in the state, since the latter "by design" is "very hard to amend," Jessica Arons, senior policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, told Axios.

"You can pass a bill that codifies abortion rights ... but if a future election changes the political makeup of the legislature and who's in the governor's office, then they could repeal the statute that has codified abortion rights."

Additionally, Arons explained that courts can "invalidate" a state law, but not a constitutional amendment because they are "bound" by that document.

Other types of laws: Other states — like Maryland, Washington state and Delaware — have moved to expand requirements on who can provide an abortion and who can prescribe medication to end a pregnancy. 

Four states — Colorado, Massachusetts, Montana and Maine — have laws that establish a "bubble zone" that limits protests near the doors of a medical clinic.

States are also considering bills that would require insurance policies to provide abortion coverage.

Between the lines: In states like New Mexico, Kansas, Montana, Alaska, Florida and Minnesota, the right to an abortion is protected by a state Supreme Court precedent, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights.

However, lawsuits could be brought in red states where there is an anti-abortion majority of lawmakers and politicians that could challenge these decisions. 

Approximately six in 10 U.S. adults (61%) believe abortion should be legal in "all or most cases," according to a survey from the Pew Research Center.

Axios is tracking the most recent laws protecting or expanding abortion access as they move through state legislatures and will update this story regularly. 

Abortion protections that have been enacted

California: California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed into law a bill to protect abortion providers and patients from bans, lawsuits and penalties in other states, such as the restrictive laws in Texas and Oklahoma.

New York: Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed into law several bills to protect abortion providers in the state, as well as patients coming from out-of-state to access the procedure, from bans in red states.

One bill bars state law enforcement from cooperating with out-of-state probes investigating abortions considered legal in New York, and also protects abortion providers in the state from being extradited.

Another one prohibits "professional misconduct charges" from being brought against New York providers who perform an abortion on a patient that comes from a state where the procedure is banned. 

A third bill makes it possible to sue a person who takes action to stop someone from accessing health care that is protected under state law, such as abortion.

Connecticut: The governor of Connecticut signed into law a bill to protect abortion providers and patients from bans in other states that are enforced via private lawsuits. It will take effect in July.

Connecticut state Rep. Matt Blumenthal (D), one of the bill's co-authors, told Axios that the bill would be a "blueprint" for other states looking to protect abortion rights. 

State lawmakers in Massachusetts and Delaware have shown interest, Blumenthal said.

Colorado: Gov. Jared Polis (D) signed into law a bill, known as the Reproductive Health Equity Act, that enshrines the right to have an abortion in the state under law. 

New Jersey: Gov. Phil Murphy (D) signed a bill codifying the right to an abortion into state law.

Washington state: Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signed into law a bill that is a response to Texas' six-week ban. The legislation says that a person in Washington "shall not penalize, prosecute, or otherwise take adverse action" against a pregnant person, a provider or anyone who is "aiding or assisting" someone get an abortion.

Abortion protections that have passed both chambers in the state legislature

Vermont: State lawmakers voted to advance the Right to Personal Reproductive Autonomy Amendment, which would guarantee the right to get an abortion under the state's constitution.

Voters will be able to vote on whether the proposal gets added to Vermont's constitution in November. 

Red states race to enact new abortion restrictions

What abortion access would look like if Roe v. Wade is overturned

Over 130 bills to expand and protect abortion have been introduced in the 2022 legislative cycle.

Map of the U.S. showing in which states the right to an abortion is guaranteed.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Friday signed into law a bill to protect abortion providers and patients from bans, lawsuits and penalties in other states.

Driving the news: The measure is in response to laws like those in Texas and Oklahoma, which ban most abortions at early points in the pregnancy and encourage private citizens to sue those believed to be involved in obtaining an abortion.

It also comes following the Supreme Court's ruling overturning on Roe v. Wade.

The bill explicitly says that other state abortion laws enforced by civil action are "contrary to the public policy" of California.

Details: AB 1666 bars California state courts from hearing legal cases that were filed under other states' bans and "would prohibit the enforcement or satisfaction of a civil judgment received under that law."

"It puts up a legal shield for our doctors, providers and patients against attacks from the radical-right extremists who seek to strip women of their fundamental right," said California state Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, who introduced the bill.

What he's saying: "We will not cooperate with any states that attempt to prosecute women or doctors for receiving or providing reproductive care," Newsom said in a tweet.

Between the lines: Without Roe, the number of women traveling from other states to California for abortion care is expected to increase from 46,000 to 1.4 million, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights.

As a result, state officials want to protect California providers who give care to patients coming from red states that might potentially look to prosecute them, said Molly Robson, legislative director for Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California.

Newsom, along with Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D), launched a "West Coast offense" to protect reproductive rights in their states now that Roe is gone.

Catch up fast: California's bill follows a similar one enacted in Connecticut, which also prohibits state courts from enforcing a different state’s penalties against someone who has provided an abortion that is considered legal in the state.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) in mid-June signed into law several protective abortion measures, including three that are meant to protect providers and patients from bans in other states.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) in March signed into law a bill that says that no state resident can "penalize, prosecute, or otherwise take adverse action" against a pregnant person, a provider or anyone who is "aiding or assisting" someone getting an abortion.

The big picture: Blue states are moving to protect abortion rights as red states continue to enact restrictive laws.

What we're watching: State lawmakers in New Jersey, where abortion rights are also protected under the law, have introduced legislation in response to civil lawsuit-enforced bans.

One of the bills being introduced in New Jersey would prohibit "extradition of an individual to another state if conduct relates to reproductive health services and is legal" in the state, said the bill's author, state Sen. Nia Gill (D).

Don't forget: California is already one of the 16 states that have codified abortion rights into their state laws.

Go deeper: Where abortion access is guaranteed without Roe v. Wade

California enacts bill to "shield" abortion providers and patients from state bans

The bill takes effect immediately after being signed by the California governor.

Picture of people holding signs in support of abortion rights

Photo: Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images

California

The Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade on Friday and send the question of abortion rights back to the states kickstarted a period of legal uncertainty that effectively halted abortion access across some red states.

Why it matters: For many Americans, especially those residing in the bluest parts of red states, abortions might not technically become illegal for a few more weeks — but they've instantly become almost impossible to obtain.

In Texas, Attorney General Ken Paxton confirmed that the state's "trigger" law will come into effect a month after the Supreme Court's official judgment, but noted that "some prosecutors may choose to immediately pursue criminal prosecutions based on violations of Texas abortion prohibitions predating Roe that were never repealed by the Texas Legislature."

That led Whole Woman's Health, America's largest independent abortion provider, to choose to stop abortions at its four clinics in the state, per the Texas Tribune.

In Tennessee, which also has a "trigger" law, Attorney General Herbert Slatery asked the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals to immediately end a stay on the state's separate 2020 law that would outlaw abortions after 6 weeks — a move that would effectively criminalize the procedure in most instances.

Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi told WPLN in a statement that it expects the stay to be lifted and has stopped offering abortions in the state as a result.

The other side: Blue cities in these states are discussing implementing policies of their own in an attempt to offer their citizens some level of abortion access, which Axios' Oriana Gonzalez previewed earlier this month.

In Austin, city council members Chito Vela and Vanessa Fuentes called for a special meeting to decriminalize abortion, part of a measure that would make enforcing Texas’ abortion ban of the lowest priority for Austin police. The move also would restrict the use of city funds and staff for investigations into abortions.

A spokesperson for Vela’s office previously told Axios that his office has been in contact with lawmakers in several other cities, including Dallas, San Antonio and Houston, who are interested in advancing similar measures.

Nashville Councilmember Freddie O'Connell tells Axios he is studying how the city could create an abortion access fund to provide ways for city residents to legally get abortions in other states. The city's district attorney has also said he won't prosecute abortions, although state law allows for a special prosecutor on certain charges.

The bottom line: More than anywhere else in America, residents of cities like Austin and Nashville will face the biggest shock from the Supreme Court's decision — with their immediate access to abortion cut off almost overnight.

Axios' Nicole Cobler, Nate Rau and Adam Tamburin contributed to this story.

Sign up for Axios Local, now publishing daily newsletters in 21 cities across the U.S.

Austin

Austin Alerts

A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Austin. Written by Nicole Cobler and Asher Price.

Axios Austin Thought Bubble

Axios Austin

Post-Roe legal turmoil hits hardest for blue cities in red America

Cities like Austin and Nashville faced the biggest shock from the decision.

Illustration of a small blue megaphone against a red background.

Abortion laws around the world

Data: Center for Reproductive Rights; Map: Axios Visuals 

With the Friday's Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the U.S.  joined only three other countries — El Salvador, Nicaragua and Poland — that have rolled back abortion rights since 1994, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights. 

The big picture: Nearly 60 countries have liberalized their abortion laws — though some only incrementally — over the last 25 years. 

The rollback of abortion rights has come in countries "where democracies have eroded," said Margaret Harpin, a legal adviser at the Center for Reproductive Rights, which advocates for abortion rights advocacy and tracks abortion laws worldwide. 

At the same time, "we've seen a considerable amount of change in recent years, [and] an overall global trend towards liberalization" of abortion laws, Harpin told Axios before the Supreme Court decision. 

Here's a look at current abortion laws worldwide, according to research from the Center for Reproductive Rights: 

About 91 million women of reproductive age live in about 24 countries or territories that prohibit abortion under all circumstances.

El Salvador has some of the strictest abortion laws in the world. At least 180 women have been prosecuted for abortion or aggravated homicide after having obstetric emergencies, such as a miscarriage or stillbirth. After public pressure, some of these women have been released in recent years, though many remain in prison serving decades-long sentences. 

Nicaragua implemented a total ban on abortion in 2006. 

Honduras, which has banned abortion under any circumstance since 1985, hardened its abortion law last year by adding an amendment to its constitution, making it harder to change the ban in the future, abortion rights advocates say. 

Malta is the only EU member state to ban abortion with no exceptions. 

Other countries on this list include the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Haiti, Iraq, Madagascar, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Senegal and Suriname. 

Abortion is permitted to save a woman's life

42 countries or territories allow abortions to save a pregnant person's life. 

Chile currently falls into this category, but as the country drafts a new constitution, there are indicators it may include reproductive rights. 

Other countries on this list include Bahrain, Guatemala, Kiribati, Lebanon, Libya, Malawi, Myanmar, Nigeria, Oman, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

Nearly 50 countries or territories allow abortion for health or therapeutic reasons. Health is sometimes specified to include physical and/or mental health. 

Poland, where a large portion of the population identifies as Catholic, is among the countries that have rolled back abortion rights in recent years. Abortion is allowed in cases of rape, incest or if there's a risk to a woman's health or life, but "it is almost impossible for those eligible for a legal abortion to obtain one," according to Amnesty International.

Other countries in this category include Algeria, Bolivia, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Djibouti, Ecuador, Kuwait, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Togo and Zimbabwe. 

Abortion is permitted on broad social or economic grounds

13 countries or territories allow "abortion under a broad range of circumstances." Some also provide exceptions in cases of rape, incest, fetal impairment or on other grounds. 

"These countries often consider a woman’s actual or reasonably foreseeable environment and her social or economic circumstances in considering the potential impact of pregnancy and childbearing," the Center for Reproductive Rights said in its research.

Among the countries on this list are Ethiopia, Finland, India, Rwanda, Taiwan and Zambia. 

Note: Some countries that allow abortion to save a woman's life, to preserve health and on broad social and economic grounds, may also have exceptions for cases of rape, incest, fetal impairment and/or other circumstances. 

Abortion is permitted on request (gestational limits vary)

At least 75 countries allow abortion on request, with varying gestational limits.

The most common gestational period is 12 weeks, but Harpin points out many countries, particularly in Europe, offer legal protections for abortion beyond that limit and/or other broad exceptions. 

Colombia this year decriminalized abortion. Abortion became legal in Argentina last year. Ireland legalized it in 2018. South Korea, New Zealand and other nations have also liberalized their abortion laws in recent years. 

Keep in mind: A country's laws don't always accurately reflect the reality on the ground, Harpin said. 

Costs, geography, health care and other factors can limit access — as they have often done in the U.S.

Without Roe in place, states can legally regulate or ban abortion. 

More than a dozen states have trigger laws in effect that make abortion illegal shortly after the ruling, and several more are "certain or likely" to ban abortion in the near future, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which tracks reproductive rights laws and advocates in favor of abortion access

Human rights groups and global leaders warned Friday that the U.S. Supreme Court decision could have wide-reaching consequences for reproductive rights worldwide by emboldening anti-abortion rights activists in other countries. 

Methodology, per the Center for Reproductive Rights: 

U.S. joins only 3 other countries that have rolled back abortion rights since 1994

Nearly 60 countries have liberalized their abortion laws over the last 25 years, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Sections

Axios Local

Axios gets you smarter, faster with news & information that matters.

About

Subscribe