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Hi, I’m Fenit Nirappil a public health reporter for The Post, and I for one am eager to get a coronavirus shot this fall after covid ruined Christmases past. What covid or other public health stories aren’t getting enough attention? Send me your thoughts at fenit.nirappil@washpost.comSubscribe for unlimited access to The PostYou can cancel anytime.SubscribeToday’s edition: Congress passed legislation to avert a government shutdown. Two Senate Democrats are teaming up to tackle the unregulated hemp market. But first …New survey finds tepid interest in covid, flu, RSV shotsSurvey data shows few U.S. adults are concerned about respiratory viruses or interested in getting shots. (Astrid Riecken/The Washington Post)Federal health officials are urging Americans to get vaccinated ahead of the respiratory virus season as new survey data shows tepid interest in getting shots.Mandy Cohen, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the agency anticipates 800,000 flu, covid and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) hospitalizations in the coming months, on par with last year.“These vaccines can cut the risk of hospitalization in half,” Cohen said at a Wednesday news conference where she received a flu shot on camera.But results released Wednesday from an annual National Foundation for Infectious Diseases survey reveals that relatively few U.S. adults are concerned about respiratory viruses (less than 1 in 5) or interested in getting shots. The survey was conducted in early August.55 percent definitely or probably will get a flu shot, 34 percent definitely or probably will not.40 percent definitely or probably will get the updated coronavirus vaccine, while 45 percent definitely or probably will not.38 percent of eligible older adults definitely or probably will get an RSV vaccine, while 25 percent definitely or probably will not.The percentages of adults who say they will definitely or probably get flu and coronavirus shots mirror last year’s survey results. The shares that definitely or probably won’t slightly increased.Just because someone says they’ll get a shot doesn’t mean they’ll actually follow through. Last year, 45 percent of adults got the flu shot.New CDC estimates show that 23 percent of adults and 38 percent of people 65 and older received last year’s coronavirus vaccine.Strikingly, just 31 percent of medical professionals received a dose of the 2023 vaccine. Cohen said health-care workers can boost vaccination rates by promoting the shots when seeing patients.The numbers reflect public health officials’ increasingly lonely fight to persuade Americans to get vaccinated. Today, fewer high-profile figures step up to lead by example, which they did when coronavirus vaccines debuted.Last year, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris urged Americans to get a new covid vaccine, but they haven’t done so this fall. Their aides did not return repeated requests for comment. When Biden got covid this summer, the White House declined to say whether he was up-to-date on his vaccinations and had received a second dose of the 2023-2024 vaccine.Covid does not hospitalize or kill as many people as it used to thanks to immunity built up from vaccination and prior infections, but it can still cause severe disease, especially in older and immunocompromised adults. And it can also cause lasting debilitating symptoms known as long covid in otherwise healthy children and adults, though that has become less common.Concerns about side effects ranked as the top reason survey respondents cited for not planning to get vaccinated, the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases said.The CDC counters that covid, flu and RSV pose a far greater danger than the vaccines.“The benefit of the vaccine is far greater than its risk, and we know that vaccines prevent really severe complications,” said Demetre Daskalakis, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.Reed Tuckson, board chair of the Coalition For Trust In Health & Science, blamed misinformation for erosions in vaccine confidence.“We are flooded and bombarded with social media and other forms of public conversation with just plain old facts that are wrong,” Tuckson said. “They are not facts – they are misrepresentations.”On the HillCongress passes bill to avert government shutdown, setting up December fightCongress approved legislation Wednesday to extend federal funding for three months, staving off a looming government shutdown ahead of November’s elections, The Post’s Jacob Bogage reports.The bill, which passed both the House and Senate with wide bipartisan support, extends federal finances to Dec. 20. It heads to Biden’s desk with time to spare before government funds would expire on Monday.Yes, but: The temporary solution sets the stage for a new tussle during the lame-duck, end-of-year session to pass annual funding bills for the rest of the 2025 fiscal year, with several high-profile issues still unresolved. For example, the Department of Veterans Affairs needs an additional $12 billion to provide care for military service members sickened by toxic burn pits.In other news from Capitol Hill ...The Senate voted unanimously on Wednesday to hold Steward Health Care CEO Ralph de la Torre in contempt, asking the Justice Department to pursue criminal charges against the hospital executive for failing to comply with a congressional subpoena, our colleague Dan Diamond reports.Catch up quick: Steward, a for-profit company that owns about two dozen hospitals nationwide, is embroiled in bankruptcy proceedings and seeking to sell its facilities. Community leaders and health workers have accused its executives of taking extravagant paydays while its hospitals struggled to stay afloat. The Justice Department is also investigating Steward over fraud allegations.In July, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee launched a bipartisan inquiry into Steward’s financial practices, issuing a subpoena to compel de la Torre’s testimony. However, he skipped the hearing earlier this month.De la Torre’s attorney, Alexander J. Merton, has defended his client’s refusal to testify, labeling the proceedings as “a pseudo-criminal proceeding with the goal of convicting Dr. de la Torre in a court of public opinion.”From our notebookSenate Democrats unveil bill to rein in hemp marketOregon’s U.S. senators introduced a bill to establish federal restrictions on hemp products, which have proliferated since Congress legalized the plant in 2018, our colleague David Ovalle writes.The Cannabinoid Safety and Regulation Act, sponsored by Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, would bar anyone under 21 from buying edibles, vapes and other products made from hemp-derived compounds such as delta-8 THC.The bill, which is supported by numerous hemp industry associations, would also require safety testing and allow the Food and Drug Administration to recall or ban products found with dangerous chemicals or additives.Agency alert10th listeria death tied to Boar’s Head deli meatA New York resident has died amid a nationwide listeria outbreak tied to Boar’s Head deli meat, the CDC announced, bringing the death toll to 10 in the largest outbreak of the foodborne illness since 2011, per The Post’s Rachel Roubein and Joe Heim.The CDC noted that illnesses have started to decline, but it also confirmed two new hospitalizations linked to the outbreak, with a total of 59 individuals hospitalized across 19 states since late May. The agency said the number of sick people is probably higher than the official case count.Key context: Boar’s Head identified the production process for liverwurst at its plant in Jarratt, Va., as the source of contamination. Last week, the company announced it would indefinitely close the facility and permanently discontinue liverwurst production.The plant was repeatedly cited for health and safety violations for nearly two years before the deadly outbreak.Meanwhile, across the agencies …Enrollees in the Federal Employees Health Benefits program will see expanded coverage for fertility services from more insurers in 2025, including two nationwide plans that will offer $25,000 in benefits for in vitro fertilization, the Office of Personnel Management announced.A federal judge ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to further regulate fluoride in drinking water, citing a U.S. government report that determined “with moderate confidence” that there is a link between higher exposure and lower IQ in young people.In other health newsNew this a.m.: Suicide remained the 11th leading cause of death across all age groups in the United States in 2022, unchanged from the prior year. Firearms were the most common method among both males and females, according to final data from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.On the move: The Association for Accessible Medicines has tapped John A. Murphy as its new president and chief executive officer, starting in October. Murphy most recently served as the chief policy officer at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization.On the move: The American Academy of Family Physicians has named Jen Brull as its new president. Brull, a Colorado family physician, currently serves as vice president of clinical engagement for Aledade, which manages the nation’s largest network of independent primary care.Health readsSugar rushThanks for reading! Not a subscriber? Sign up here.

The CDC anticipates 800,000 flu, covid and respiratory syncytial virus hospitalizations in the coming months, on par with last year.