Good Day BIO: HHS is addressing climate change—here’s how

Good Day BIO readers know climate change is a public health issue—and now, the Biden administration is officially recognizing it, too.

The news: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has launched the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity (OCCHE), which “addresses the impact of climate change on the health of the American people.” 

OCCHE is tasked with:

• “Identifying communities with disproportionate exposures to climate hazards and vulnerable populations.”
• “Addressing health disparities exacerbated by climate impacts to enhance community health resilience.”
• “Promoting and translating research on public health benefits of multi-sectoral climate actions.”
• “Assisting with regulatory efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and criteria air pollution throughout the health care sector, including participating suppliers and providers.”
• And a lot more.

The details: OCCHE will be “small to start,” reports POLITICO. “HHS has requested $3 million from Congress to fund it next year, with plans to draw on existing resources until then.” It will be led by Dr. John Balbus, Senior Advisor for Public Health at NIH.

Read more about it in the Wall Street Journal. 

“The connection between human and environmental health has never been clearer or more dramatic,” said BIO President and CEO Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath last year on the I am BIO Podcast. Listen to her conversation with Chirfi Guindo, EVP and Head of Global Product Strategy and Commercialization at Biogen, about the industry’s vital role in creating a more equitable and sustainable future.

More Agriculture and Environment News:

Farmers Weekly: Rothamsted gets green light to trial gene-edited wheat
“The first field trials of CRISPR-edited wheat anywhere in the UK or Europe will be planted at the Hertfordshire-based research institute this autumn.”

September is chock-full of awareness initiatives about diseases both widespread and rare. We’re beginning with a look at National Cholesterol Education Month and the genetic causes of high cholesterol.

About 38% of American adults have cholesterol that’s considered “high,”according to the CDC—and many times, there are no symptoms. Unchecked, high cholesterol can lead to cardiovascular disease as well as deadly heart attack and stroke.

For many people, high cholesterol is genetic. Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a genetic condition that causes high cholesterol in about 30 million people worldwide, according to The FH Foundation. 

FH is highly undiagnosed—80% of people don’t know they have it. 

But it’s the cause of 1 in 5 heart attacks in people under age 45—which is why it’s vital to raise awareness of the condition and early diagnosis for individuals who might be at risk due to family history. 

During Cholesterol Education Month, The FH Foundation is raising awareness of FH, including Homozygous FH (HoFH), the most serious and rare form, as well as high Lipoprotein(a), which affects 1 in 5 people worldwide and can cause early heart attack and stroke.

Do you want to know more about cholesterol? TODAY, September 1, at 7 PM ET, join Stanford University Medical Center’s Dr. Josh Knowles, Chief Research Advisor at the FH Foundation, for a free cholesterol basics webinar—register here. 

FH Awareness Day is September 24—check out the FH Foundation’s toolkit to learn more about these diseases as well as risk factors and testing options. And join the month-long Race for FH and Lp(a) to help raise awareness and funds for research.

More Health Care News:

POLITICO: CDC vaccine panel: Let regulators lead on COVID-19 booster shots
“Members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's independent vaccine advisory panel voiced frustration Monday with the Biden administration's plan to begin doling out COVID-19 boosters next month, arguing the announcement got ahead of federal regulators and could exacerbate vaccine hesitancy.”

President Biden’s Wednesday: Holding a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the afternoon, according to CNBC.

What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: The House Armed Services Committee will hold a full committee markup of H.R. 4350, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY22, at 10:00 AM ET. Members of the House Republican Study Committee are reportedly looking to add several amendments to the NDAA to sanction the Taliban, per reporting from Axios. Then the House Homeland Security Committee’s Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Innovation is holding a hearing at 12:00 PM ET to hear stakeholder perspectives on cyber incident reporting for the Infrastructure Act of 2021. At 1:00 PM ET the House Small Business Committee is holding a hearing on PPP loan forgiveness. The Senate remains adjourned for full session until Sept. 13.