Is nothing sacred anymore? Fat Bear Week has been rocked by a cheating scandal, with spam bots submitting fake votes for one of the big bears.

In health news, a new watchdog report found millions of low- or no-income Americans are still eligible for COVID-19 stimulus funds. 

This is Overnight Health Care, where we’re following the latest moves on policy and news affecting your health. For The Hill, we’re Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi. Someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.

Millions eligible for COVID stimulus, watchdog says

As many as 10 million people may still be entitled to receive a COVID-19 stimulus payment, the government’s internal watchdog said Tuesday. 

Americans with little or no income, who are not required to pay taxes, have until Nov. 15 to complete a simplified tax return in order to get their stimulus checks, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a blog post. 

“Throughout the pandemic, IRS and Treasury struggled to get COVID-relief payments into the hands of some people — especially those with lower-incomes, limited internet access, or experiencing homelessness. Based on IRS and Treasury data, there could be between 9-10 million eligible individuals who have not yet received those payments,” the agency said. 

Who may have missed out: The GAO found that people who don’t have to file tax returns, first-time filers, mixed immigrant status families and people experiencing homelessness were among those likely not to have received a payment owed to them.

Over the course of several payments delivered through legislation enacted under both the Trump and Biden administrations, $931 billion went out to Americans to help with the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. 

However, the GAO described this process as “challenging for the IRS and Treasury.” 

Many in the tax world have come to the defense of the IRS over the course of the pandemic, saying it was beyond the call of duty for a tax collection agency to become the primary administrator of emergency economic stimulus payments. 

Read more here. 

New rule opens ObamaCare subsidies for families

Nearly 1 million additional Americans will have access to ObamaCare subsidies next year under a final rule issued Tuesday by the Biden administration. 

The rule fixes the so-called “family glitch,” a loophole in the health law that prevents family members from receiving ObamaCare subsidies if a household member has access to an affordable employer-sponsored health plan.  

• An employer-sponsored plan is considered “affordable” if it costs the employee about 9.5 percent of his or her income for single coverage.
• But as written, the law did not take into account the increased premiums for adding family members onto the plan. That put coverage for many families out of reach.
• The rule from the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service changes that threshold. 

Democrats and health advocacy groups have long pushed for a fix, and health law experts said changing the statute is something the White House has the authority to do without Congress. 

Families can take advantage of the change when open enrollment for ObamaCare coverage in 2023 begins Nov. 1. 

Read more here. 

MOST IN NEW POLL SAY PANDEMIC’S IMPACT ON DAILY LIFE MAY BE OVER

In a new poll from Monmouth University Poll, 21 percent of respondents said the coronavirus pandemic is over and 25 percent support instituting or reinstituting face mask and social distancing guidelines, down from 63 percent a year ago.  

This new poll suggests that people are shifting how they think about the COVID-19 pandemic and their attitudes toward public health measures. 

The poll results also found that fewer people plan on getting the new bivalent booster shot. About 51 percent of adults got the previous booster shots, but 33 percent respondents in this poll said they were very likely to get the bivalent shot and 1 percent had already gotten it. 

Ten percent they were “not too likely” to get it, and 39 percent said “not at all likely.”  

Twenty-six percent said it was not over yet but would be eventually, and 50 percent said that the pandemic would never be over, according to a press release. 

About 800 people were polled last month between Sept. 21-25. 

Read more here. 

WALMART ENTERING MEDICAL RESEARCH FIELD

Walmart announced Tuesday it is establishing an institute to engage in medical research with the goal of health care that is “safer, higher quality and more equitable.”

The company said in a release that the Walmart Healthcare Research Institute will focus on “innovative interventions” and medicines that can make a difference for underrepresented individuals, like older adults, rural residents, women and “minority populations.”

“At Walmart, we want to help ensure all our customers have access to high quality, affordable and convenient healthcare resources, including innovative research,” said John Wigneswaran, Walmart’s chief medical officer.  

The release states that clinical trials have not been representative of the population at large and that participants are often those who live near research centers and have the time and financial standing to participate.

“Walmart is focused on studies that can have a health equity impact in the communities it serves and represent all populations,” said the company. “With 90% of Americans living within 10 miles of a Walmart, the retailer can offer solutions to care by meeting customers and patients where they live and work.”  

Read more here.

Nasal vax fails to offer desired protection in testing

A recent clinical trial has found less-than-promising results for a nasally administered version of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, with immune responses only observed in “a minority of participants.” 

University of Oxford researchers found in their phase 1 clinical trial that not only were antibody responses only seen in a minority of participants, but these responses were also weaker in comparison to intramuscular vaccinations. The nasal formula that was administered was the same one used for intramuscular injections. 

A nasal vaccine dose was administered to 30 participants who had not yet been immunized against SARS-CoV-2. Among those study participants, 14 received second nasal doses 28 days after their first dose. 

Another 12 participants in the AstraZeneca-funded trial received mRNA coronavirus vaccines not made by the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company, whose own vaccine induces an immune response through a different system. 

Unimpressive findings: Following immunization, those who received intranasal vaccinations developed antibodies that “rarely” rose higher than the level of antibodies observed following a COVID-19 infection. 

Researchers concluded that while the nasal vaccine was well tolerated, it “induced neither a consistent mucosal antibody response nor a strong systemic response.” 

Read more here. 

WHAT WE’RE READING

• Anxiety screening for children should begin as early as age 8, task force advises (NBC News) 
• As hospitals close children’s units, where does that leave Lachlan? (New York Times) 
• Medicare considers expanding dental benefits for certain medical conditions (CNN) 

STATE BY STATE

• Kentucky is latest to test whether red states will keep voting for abortion rights (The 19th News)
• Three NY regions are current flu hotspots with 600 cases (News10NBC) 
• Arizona Proposition 209 would reduce top interest rates on medical debt (The Arizona Republic) 

That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill’s Health Care page for the latest news and coverage. See you tomorrow.