The Washington Post: Biden To Reopen ACA Insurance Marketplaces As Pandemic Has Cost Millions Of Americans Their Coverage
President Biden is scheduled to take executive actions as early as Thursday to reopen federal marketplaces selling Affordable Care Act health plans and to lower recent barriers to joining Medicaid. The orders will be Biden’s first steps since taking office to help Americans gain health insurance, a prominent campaign goal that has assumed escalating significance as the pandemic has dramatized the need for affordable health care — and deprived millions of Americans coverage as they have lost jobs in the economic fallout. (Goldstein, 1/26)

Bloomberg Law: Medicaid Expansion Ballot Measures Brewing In Three More States
Health policy advocates in Florida, Mississippi, and South Dakota are pushing for Medicare expansion at the ballot box to get around Republican opposition in the statehouse. The three are the last remaining states where passing Medicaid expansion by ballot initiative is a possibility under the state constitution. Six red states have expanded Medicaid eligibility by ballot initiative so far: Maine in 2017, Idaho, Nebraska and Utah in 2018, and Oklahoma and Missouri in 2020. (Brown, 1/26)

AP: Biden Orders COVID-19 Travel Restrictions, Adds South Africa
President Joe Biden on Monday reinstated COVID-19 travel restrictions on most non-U.S. travelers from Brazil, Ireland, the United Kingdom and 26 other European countries that allow travel across open borders. He also added South Africa to the list. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said South Africa was added to the restricted list because of concerns about a variant of the virus that has spread beyond that nation. “This isn’t the time to be lifting restrictions on international travel,” Psaki said. (Madhani and Miller, 1/25)

The Hill: Biden Keeps COVID-19 Travel Restrictions For Europe And Brazil, Adds South Africa 
“On advice of our administration’s medical and COVID team, President Biden has decided to maintain restrictions previously in place for the European Schengen Area, United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and Brazil,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Monday. ... The Schengen area covers 26 countries in Europe. (Chalfant, 1/25)

The New York Times: White House To Extend Travel Bans On Europe, Brazil And Adding South Africa 
Mr. Biden’s travel ban is a presidential proclamation, not an executive order; typically, proclamations govern the acts of individuals, while executive orders are directives to federal agencies. It will go into effect Saturday and apply to non-U.S. citizens who have spent time in South Africa in the last 14 days. The new policy, which was earlier reported by Reuters, will not affect U.S. citizens or permanent residents, officials said. (Shear and Stolberg, 1/25)

In related news about travel restrictions —

The New York Times: How Travel Restrictions Work 
One of the biggest lessons of the pandemic has been the success of travel restrictions at reducing its spread. And this is a moment when they have the potential to be particularly effective in the U.S., given the emergence of even more dangerous coronavirus variants in other countries. (Leonhardt, 1/26)

Reuters: UK To Unveil Hotel Quarantine Plans, Public Told Not To Book Vacations 
Britain will announce on Tuesday whether it will bring in mandatory quarantine in hotels for some or all arrivals, the country’s coronavirus vaccination minister said as he warned the public not to book summer vacations. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he was looking at the option of introducing quarantine hotels for those coming to Britain to prevent the risk of “vaccine-busting” new coronavirus variants entering the country. (Holton and Holden, 1/26)

AP: Minnesota Case Marks 1st Detection Of Brazil Variant In US
A new Brazilian variant of the coronavirus has made its first known appearance in the United States in a person who recently returned to Minnesota after traveling to Brazil, state health officials announced Monday. The Brazil P.1 variant was found in a specimen from a patient who lives in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area who became ill in the first week of January, the Minnesota Department of Health said in a statement. Epidemiologists are interviewing the person to obtain more details about their illness, travel and contacts. There was no immediate indication that the variant was spreading in Minnesota. (Karnowski and Stobbe, 1/26)

The Washington Post: First U.S. Case Of Highly Transmissible Brazil Coronavirus Variant Identified In Minnesota 
Minnesota officials announced Monday they have identified a person infected with a highly transmissible variant of the coronavirus that has been spreading at alarming rates in recent weeks in Brazil. This is the first report in the United States of the P.1 variant, which has been of particular concern to scientists as they have observed the disastrous surge in infections in the Brazilian city of Manaus. (Achenbach, 1/25)

CNBC: Minnesota Confirms First Known U.S. Case Of More Contagious Covid Variant Originally Found In Brazil
The patient with the Brazil variant is a resident of the Twin Cities metro area who recently traveled to Brazil, according to state health officials. The person became ill during the first week of January and the specimen was collected Jan. 9, the state said. “We’re thankful that our testing program helped us find this case, and we thank all Minnesotans who seek out testing when they feel sick or otherwise have reason to get a test,” Minnesota Commissioner of Health Jan Malcolm said in a statement. “We know that even as we work hard to defeat COVID-19, the virus continues to evolve as all viruses do.” (Lovelace Jr., 1/25)

The New York Times: First Case Of Brazil-Based Virus Variant Found In U.S.
The variant identified in Britain is more transmissible, but just as susceptible to vaccines as the original form of the virus. But the variants in Brazil and South Africa have additional mutations that may help elude the vaccines. “The amount of concern that I have between the U.K. variant, and the South African/Brazilian is much, much different,” Dr. Fauci said. (1/26)

In related news —

Detroit Free Press: COVID-19 Variant Case Count Swells To 17 In Michigan
At least three mutated coronavirus strains that originated in Brazil, South Africa and the United Kingdom are spreading rapidly around the world, triggering new U.S. travel restrictions and setting state and local health officials on edge. One of those variant forms of coronavirus, B.1.1.7, which originated in the U.K. in September, has caught hold in Michigan and infected at least 17 people as of Monday, said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the state's chief medical executive. Of the outbreaks known to have emerged in the state, one is tied to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where the U.K. variant has been confirmed among at least 13 student athletes and shut down campus sports for two weeks. In addition, at least four people in Wayne County are confirmed to have the U.K. variant. (Jordan Shamus, 1/25)

CNN: Everyday Activities Are More Dangerous Now That New Covid-19 Variants Are Circulating, Expert Says
While the US seems to be heading in the right direction on infection rates -- with 42 states reporting downward trends -- that progress could be erased if variants take hold, emergency physician Dr. Leana Wen told CNN's Anderson Cooper. Preventing that will mean extra vigilance. "If there is something more contagious among us, if we thought that going to the grocery store before was relatively safe, there's actually a higher likelihood of contracting coronavirus through those every day activities," she said. (Maxouris, 1/26)

The Washington Post: What You Need To Know About The Coronavirus Variants
Viruses are always mutating and taking on new forms. The coronavirus has thousands of variants that have been identified. But several, including the U.K., South Africa and Brazil variants, are highly transmissible and have sparked concerns that vaccines may be less effective against them. (Iati and Fritz, 1/25)

Also —

The Washington Post: New Coronavirus Variants Accelerate Race To Make Sure Vaccines Keep Up 
The scientific and pharmaceutical race to keep coronavirus vaccines ahead of new virus variants escalated Monday, even as a highly transmissible variant first detected in people who had recently traveled to Brazil was discovered in Minnesota. Moderna, the maker of one of the two authorized coronavirus vaccines in the United States, announced it would develop and test a new vaccine tailored to block a similar mutation-riddled virus variant in case an updated shot becomes necessary. (Johnson, McGinley and Achenbach, 1/25)

Bloomberg: Trailing The First Vaccines, Next Generation Turns To Variants
The rapid rollout of vaccines from front-runners including Pfizer Inc. is forcing those trailing behind to shift their focus to fighting potentially more dangerous versions of the coronavirus and find other ways to deploy their technologies. Imperial College London is unlikely to go ahead with a late-stage trial in the U.K. to test its experimental Covid-19 shot, now that three vaccines have been approved in the country, according to Robin Shattock, the professor leading the research. Instead, his team will aim to provide a boost to first-generation shots, protect people against new variants and combat future threats, he said. (Paton, 1/26)

Politico: New Virus Variants Threaten Biden’s Pandemic Plans
The Biden administration is rushing to prevent the spread of new strains of the coronavirus that scientists worry could be more transmissible or render vaccines less effective. The government is already collaborating with Moderna to develop vaccine booster shots aimed at strains first identified in South Africa and the United Kingdom. President Joe Biden on Monday also unveiled travel restrictions, implementing new limits for South Africa and reinstating bans for much of Europe that former President Donald Trump had stripped back. (Owermohle and Cancryn, 1/25)

Fox News: Fauci Backs 'Double-Masking' In Coronavirus Fight, Says 'Likely More Effective'
Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Biden’s chief medical adviser on COVID-19, said two face masks are likely more effective than one against the novel coronavirus, despite significant uncertainty on the subject. "If you have a physical covering with one layer, you put another layer on it just makes common sense that it likely would be more effective," Fauci told NBC News on Monday. Infectious disease experts from Stanford Health Care, Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins University recently told Fox News there is little to no evidence on the issue. Neysa Ernst from Johns Hopkins University, where she serves as nurse manager of the Biocontainment Unit, agreed, though she proposed that anecdotal evidence suggests additional layers could offer "psychological safety" to some. (Rivas, 1/25)

CNBC: Dr. Fauci: Double Mask During Covid Makes Common Sense, More Effective
Although the Centers for Disease Control has not recommended double masking yet, the practice generated buzz when people were seen wearing two masks at president Joe Biden’s inauguration Wednesday. Viewers noted that poet Amanda Gorman and Pete Buttigieg, who is Biden’s nominee to run the Transportation Department, wore surgical masks underneath cloth masks. (Stieg, 1/25)

In related news —

NBC News: What Do Coronavirus Variants Mean For Your Masks?
Which mask should you wear? The key is to strike a balance between comfort and effectiveness. "If you put three or four masks on, it's going to filter better because it's more layers of cloth," said Dr. Scott Segal, chair of anesthesiology at Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. "But you'll be taking it off because it's uncomfortable." (Edwards, 1/26)

CNN: Which Mask Is Best For You, And When To Use It 
Think of masks as the newest trendy accessory that can save your life -- and the lives of those you love. But instead of what pattern, logo or slogan you display, choose your mask based on its effectiveness against the deadly coronavirus in the environment you are in. Guidelines on how to help you make that choice should be out by midspring, according to Jonathan Szalajda, deputy director at the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory, which is part of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (LaMotte, 1/25)

CBS News: Where To Find An N95 Or High-Filtration Mask For Biden's 100-Day Challenge
Megan Ranney, an emergency physician at the Rhode Island Hospital, ranked generally available mask alternatives from most effective to least effective, noting that typically, any kind of face covering is better than none at all. N95s provide the most filtration, according to Ranney, followed by so-called KN95 masks. Regular surgical masks are the next best option, followed by double-layer cloth masks with a filter worn in-between the two layers. Double-layer and single-layer cloth masks without filters tend to be the least efficient, she said.  (Cerullo, 1/25)

In other news about masks —

CIDRAP: Fewer Stayed Home, More Wore Masks As Pandemic Wore On 
Self-reported adherence to such coronavirus-curbing behaviors as physical distancing fell substantially—while mask wearing rose significantly—from spring to fall 2020, regardless of US Census region, according to a research letter published late last week in JAMA. The study, led by scientists from Johns Hopkins University, analyzed responses to 16 waves of the national Coronavirus Tracking Survey from Apr 1 to Nov 24, 2020. The respondents were recruited from the University of Southern California's Understanding America Study, an ongoing nationwide panel of US residents. (Van Beusekom, 1/25)

CNN: Portland Mayor Tells Police He Pepper-Sprayed A Man Who Harassed Him Over Mask Policies 
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler told police Sunday night that he used pepper spray on a man who had been harassing him about Covid-19 mask policies outside of a restaurant. "He had no face mask on and got within a foot or two of my face while he was videoing me," Wheeler said in a voluntary statement to the Portland Police Bureau. (Holcombe and Rose, 1/26)

KHN: ‘We’re Not Controlling It In Our Schools’: Covid Safety Lapses Abound Across US 
Computer science teacher Suzy Lebo saw covid-19 dangers frequently in her Indiana high school: classes with about 30 students sitting less than 18 inches apart. Students crowding teachers in hallways. Students and staff members taking off their masks around others. “I’m concerned,” said Lebo, who teaches at Avon High School in the Indianapolis suburbs. “We’re not controlling the virus in our county. We’re not controlling it in our state. And we’re not controlling it in our schools.” (Ungar, 1/26)

AP: US Virus Numbers Drop, But Race Against New Strains Heats Up
The U.S. is recording just under 3,100 deaths a day on average, down from more than 3,350 less than two weeks ago. New cases are averaging about 170,000 a day after peaking at almost 250,000 on Jan. 11. The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients has fallen to about 110,000 from a high of 132,000 on Jan. 7.States that have been hot spots in recent weeks such as California and Arizona have shown similar improvements during the same period. (Drew and Kunzelman, 1/26)

NBC News: Fauci Says Drop In Covid Cases Not Due To Vaccine: 'We Don't Want To Get Complacent'
Dr. Anthony Fauci on Monday said that a drop in Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations in most of the country cannot likely be attributed to vaccines, meaning people should continue to be as cautious as possible. "I don’t think the dynamics of what we’re seeing now with the plateauing is significantly influenced, yet — it will be soon — but yet by the vaccine," Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on NBC's "TODAY" show. (Fieldstadt, 1/25)

The Wall Street Journal: New U.S. Cases Stay Below 200,000 For Ninth Straight Day 
Hospitalizations in the U.S. due to Covid-19 fell below 110,000 for the first time since Dec. 13, as the country reported fewer than 200,000 new coronavirus cases for the ninth day in a row. A total of 109,936 people across the country were hospitalized due to the disease as of Monday, according to the Covid Tracking Project. The number of patients requiring treatment in intensive care units also fell slightly to 20,875. (Hall, 1/26)

In news from California, New York and Maryland —

The Hill: California Lifts Regional Stay-At-Home Order 
California on Monday lifted its regional coronavirus stay-at-home order because of slightly improving ICU conditions, health officials announced. As a result, the state will return to the county-based restrictions established last summer. Most counties will be returning to the strictest tier. (Weixel, 1/25)

Los Angeles Times: Eight More L.A. County Children Contract COVID-Related MIS-C
Eight more children in Los Angeles County have contracted an inflammatory condition connected to the coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases to 62, county public health officials announced Saturday. Multisystem inflammatory syndrome, or MIS-C, is serious but relatively rare. In L.A. County, it has disproportionately affected Latino children. No further details about the eight new cases were available. Children are generally less vulnerable to the coronavirus than adults and usually remain asymptomatic. The inflammatory reaction that results in MIS-C usually develops two to four weeks after exposure to the virus. (Pinho, 1/25)

The Wall Street Journal: New York To Ease Some Covid-19 Restrictions As Cases Decline 
New York will start relaxing economic restrictions that were imposed after Thanksgiving to respond to an increase in novel coronavirus cases, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday. The Democratic governor said in Buffalo that the state would allow elective surgeries to resume in Erie County, where they were halted on Dec. 4. He also said the state Health Department would review other restrictions that cover parts of New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and New Rochelle. During the fall, the state imposed localized restrictions based on infection rates, but Mr. Cuomo abandoned the approach in favor of a metric that looked at hospital capacity. (Vielkind and De Avila, 1/25)

The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Reports Lowest Coronavirus Positivity Rate, Smallest Number Of New Cases Since Late November 
Maryland health officials reported 1,686 new cases of the coronavirus Monday, along with 28 new deaths. It’s the smallest number of new daily cases since Nov. 28, when 1,590 were reported. (Condon, 1/25)

In other coronavirus news —

Stat: Undercounting Of Covid-19 Deaths Is Greatest In Pro-Trump Areas
Some of these excess deaths are likely due to factors that were exacerbated by the pandemic, such as overdoses and suicide in response to isolation and economic hardship, or subpar health care in an overrun system. But researchers believe many are Covid-19 deaths that go uncounted. Overall, the true Covid-19 death toll is 31% higher than official figures, according to the study, which has been submitted to PLOS Medicine. The researchers found that unattributed Covid-19 deaths were significantly higher in rural areas than urban; in the South compared to other regions; and in areas with lower levels of education. All these factors tend to correlate with support for Trump. (Goldhill, 1/25)

CNBC: Moderna Working On Booster Shots For South African Strain
Moderna said Monday it’s accelerating work on a Covid-19 booster shot to guard against the recently discovered variant in South Africa. The company’s researchers said its current coronavirus vaccine appears to work against the two highly transmissible strains found in the U.K. and South Africa, although it looks like it may be less effective against the latter. (Lovelace Jr., 1/25)

The Wall Street Journal: Moderna Developing Vaccine Booster Shot For Virus Strain Identified In South Africa 
Moderna Inc. said its Covid-19 vaccine appeared to protect against emerging variants of the coronavirus in laboratory tests, but as a precaution it would test whether a booster shot improves immune responses and develop a new vaccine targeting the strain first identified in South Africa. The company said Monday its vaccine produced immune-system agents known as neutralizing antibodies that worked against the emerging virus variants tested, including strains first evident in the U.K. and South Africa. (Loftus, 1/25)

Politico: Moderna Making Booster Shot To Fight Covid-19 Variants 
Moderna said the development of the booster is a precaution because its already-authorized two-dose regimen still offered substantial protection against the U.K. and South African strains in the lab study. “As we seek to defeat the COVID-19 virus, which has created a worldwide pandemic, we believe it is imperative to be proactive as the virus evolves,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a statement. The company is starting human trials for the South African booster shot “out of abundance of caution,” he added. (Owermohle, 1/25)

The New York Times: As Virus Grows Stealthier, Vaccine Makers Reconsider Battle Plans
Moderna said it also planned to begin testing whether giving patients a third shot of its original vaccine as a booster could help fend off newly emerging forms of the virus. (Grady, Mandavilli and Thomas, 1/25)

Stat: In A Major Setback, Merck To Stop Developing Its Two Covid-19 Vaccines And Focus On Therapies
Merck said Monday it will stop developing both of the current formulations of the Covid-19 vaccines the company was working on, citing inadequate immune responses to the shots. Work will continue on at least one of the vaccines, which is being developed in partnership with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), to see if using a different route of administration would improve how effective it is. (Herper and Branswell, 1/25)

NPR: Merck Stops Developing Both Of Its COVID-19 Vaccine Candidates
Merck is halting development of its two COVID-19 vaccine candidates, saying that while the drugs seemed to be safe, they didn't generate enough of an immune response to effectively protect people against the coronavirus. Results of Phase 1 clinical studies showed that the two vaccine candidates — known as V590 and V591 — "were generally well tolerated, but the immune responses were inferior to those seen following natural infection and those reported for other SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 vaccines," Merck said in a statement about its decision. (Chappell, 1/25)

USA Today: Merck Drops Out Of COVID-19 Vaccine Race, Citing 'Inferior' Immune Responses. But That's Proof Safety Systems Are Working, Experts Say
The decision by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Merck to get out of the COVID-19 vaccine research business should have little direct impact on efforts to vaccinate Americans – and it's proof safety protocols are working, experts say. Developing a vaccine is challenging and laden with failures, so Merck’s announcement Monday that it was giving up development of two COVID-19 vaccines after poor results  wasn’t a complete surprise, said Dennis Carroll, who led the pandemic unit at the federal Agency for International Development for nearly 15 years. The real surprise, he said, is the success of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines already widely distributed across the U.S. (Bacon, 1/25)

How other companies are doing with vaccine development —

FiercePharma: COVID-19 Tracker: Merck Quits The COVID-19 Vaccine Game; Civica Rx Plots $124M Essential Medicines Plant 
Merck & Co. called it quits on both of its COVID-19 vaccine candidates, citing lackluster efficacy data in phase 1. Meanwhile, Moderna is advancing a virus variant-specific booster shot into preclinical studies and a U.S. phase 1 trial. (Kansteiner, Sagonowsky, Liu and Hale, 1/25)

The New York Times: Biden Raises Daily Vaccination Target And Extends Travel Bans 
President Biden, under pressure to speed up the pace of coronavirus vaccination, said on Monday that he was now aiming for the United States to administer 1.5 million vaccine doses a day — a goal that is 50 percent higher than his initial target but one that the nation already appears on track to meet. The president made his comments just hours after he banned travel by noncitizens into the United States from South Africa because of concern about a coronavirus variant spreading in that country, and moved to extend similar bans imposed by his predecessor on travel from Brazil, Europe and Britain. Those bans were set to expire on Tuesday. (Stolberg, 1/25)

The Washington Post: Biden Now Hopes For 1.5 Million Vaccinations A Day 
Overall, Biden on Monday projected a relatively optimistic timeline, even while acknowledging the death toll from covid-19 could eventually reach 600,000 or even 660,000. By spring, he said, everyone who wants a vaccine should be able to get one. “It’s going to be a logistical challenge that exceeds anything we’ve ever tried in this country, but I think we can do that,” he said. “I feel confident that by summer we’re going to be well on our way to heading toward herd immunity. I feel good about where we’re going, and I think we can get it done.” (Linskey, 1/25)

Politico: Biden Sets Sights On 1.5 Million Vaccinations A Day
“I think we may be able to get that to 1.5 million [shots] a day, rather than 1 million a day. But we have to meet that goal of a million a day,” Biden told reporters after signing an executive order tightening “Buy American” rules. Biden said he was optimistic that the vaccine would be readily available to those who want it by sometime in the spring. (Niedzwiadek, 1/25)

Also —

The Hill: Biden Says Anyone Who Wants Vaccine May Be Able To Get It By Spring 
President Biden said he thinks any American who wants a COVID-19 vaccine should be able to get one by the spring. “I think we’ll be able to do that this spring,” Biden said in a press conference with reporters. “It’s going to be a logistical challenge that exceeds anything we’ve ever tried in this country, but I think we can do that,” he added. (Hellmann, 1/25)

Los Angeles Times: California Will Prioritize COVID-19 Vaccine By Age, Not Occupation, In Next Rounds
In a significant reshuffling of vaccine eligibility guidelines, California officials said Monday they will be shifting who is prioritized in the next round of COVID-19 inoculations to focus on age rather than specific occupations considered higher risk. The modifications announced Monday by Gov. Gavin Newsom leave unchanged the current priority list, which focuses on healthcare workers and residents 65 and older before expanding to teachers, farmworkers and first responders. (Shalby and Gutierrez, 1/25)

Charlotte Observer: NC Running Low On COVID Vaccine Supply. What Group Are You In? 
The Orange County Health Department said Monday it has used the last of its first doses of COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday and doesn’t know when it will receive more. “Until the vaccine supply is significantly increased, it will be weeks or perhaps months until we can complete vaccinations for (Groups) One and Two, said Orange County Health Director Quintana Stewart in a news release. (Wagner, 1/25)

Oklahoman: Citing Slow Vaccine Rollout, Oklahoma Pauses Distribution To CVS, Walgreens
Oklahoma health officials have stopped sending a portion of the state’s COVID-19 vaccines to pharmacies contracted to administer doses to some of the state’s most vulnerable residents. Keith Reed, Oklahoma’s deputy commissioner of health, said this is a temporary pause in vaccine allocations to allow CVS Health and Walgreens to catch up on the doses set aside for residents and staff in long-term care facilities. In a legislative budget hearing last week, state health officials blasted the pharmacy chains for the pace at which long-term care residents have been vaccinated as Oklahoma lawmakers questioned why the vaccine rollout to vulnerable communities is taking longer than expected. (Forman, 1/25)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Sisolak Asks Feds Why Nevada Is Near Bottom In Vaccine Allocation
Gov. Steve Sisolak has asked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to probe why Nevada is near the bottom of the list for the amount of COVID-19 vaccine distributed to states per capita. “We need our fair share of vaccine doses to stand up and sustain successful vaccination efforts to reach Nevadans in an equitable fashion,” Sisolak wrote in a letter dated Sunday to acting Health and Human Services Secretary Norris Cochran. The governor asked the department to not only look into the amount distributed to the state but to “find ways to increase our allocation both immediately and for the long term,” a call echoed Monday by local and federal officials. (Hynes, 1/25)

Several states are coping with other distribution problems, as well —

KRQE News 13: Some New Mexicans Receiving Bills For COVID-19 Vaccine Despite Being Free For The Public  
Some New Mexicans got a surprise in the mail this week when they received a bill for the COVID-19 vaccine. The CARES Act ensures the vaccine is free, regardless of your insurance status, but some say they were still billed. When Kim Federici received her vaccination appointment notice two weeks ago from the New Mexico Department of Health, she was assigned to Optum Health’s Journal Center clinic. This weekend, she was shocked to get a bill in the mail for $34, charging her for the administration of the vaccine. (Seymore, 1/25)

The Baltimore Sun: Red Flag Raised About Race Disparity In Maryland’s Early Coronavirus Vaccine Rollout Data 
As Maryland health officials scramble to meet growing demand for the coronavirus vaccine, a red flag is emerging: Minorities, who’ve been hit hardest by the disease, have received shots at disproportionately low rates. While observers caution it’s too early to draw conclusions about racial disparities in vaccine administration, the preliminary data has some health experts and lawmakers in Maryland concerned that the vaccination campaign isn’t effectively reaching the populations the virus has harmed most. (Mann, Miller and Cohn, 1/25)

Philadelphia Inquirer: New Jersey Launched A Vaccine Hotline. Four Hours Later, 58,000 Calls Had Flooded In
More than 17,000 calls came in to New Jersey’s COVID-19 vaccine hotline in the first hour it was open on Monday. By noon, that number had increased by 41,000, illustrating the public’s pent-up demand for information about the shots everyone wants but relatively few can get. Thousands in the state who don’t have computer access or have questions about the vaccination process may be able to more easily access information, but getting an appointment remains difficult. New Jersey is still receiving about 100,000 doses each week, allocated by the federal government, health officials said Monday. (McDaniel, Steele and McCarthy, 1/25)

Modern Healthcare: Few Nursing Home Residents Have Received Second COVID-19 Vaccine Dose
A little more than a month into the COVID-19 vaccination effort in long-term care facilities, only 8% of residents and staff have received the second dose of the vaccine, according to newly released federal data. As of Jan. 24, 2,567,019 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines had been administered to staff and residents in long-term care facilities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Only 201,293 of those vaccinations were second doses. The federal Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program, which pairs nursing facilities with either Walgreens or CVS for vaccine administration, has distributed more than 4.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses so far. (Christ, 1/25)

FiercePharma: Pfizer's 6-Dose-Per-Vial OK Boosts Its Supply Numbers. The Catch? Special Syringes Are Required
When pharmacists discovered a sixth dose could be pulled from vials of Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine, rather than the original five, it looked like a solution to supply-constrained vaccine rollouts. But now that the FDA has approved that tactic, Pfizer's counting those extra doses toward its established orders, The New York Times reports—which means it won't help boost immediate supplies. In fact, it might actually cut them. (Kansteiner, 1/25)

KHN: Big Business Boosts Vaccine Effort, But It’s ‘Complex Choreography’ To Get Shots In Arms  
As states await the promise of a renewed federal pandemic response and expand the number of Americans who qualify for a shot, some governors are trying to scale up their covid vaccine operations — and smooth out the kinks — with the help of the private sector. In Washington state, Starbucks, Microsoft and Costco are lending logistical expertise and manpower to public health agencies that are trying to dispatch their doses of vaccines more efficiently. (Stone, 1/26)

KHN: Why Even Presidential Pressure Might Not Get More Vaccine To Market Faster 
Americans are dying of covid-19 by the thousands, but efforts to ramp up production of potentially lifesaving vaccines are hitting a brick wall. Vaccine makers Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech are running their factories full tilt and are under enormous pressure to expand production or collaborate with other drug companies to set up additional assembly lines. That pressure is only growing as new viral variants of the virus threaten to launch the country into a deadlier phase of the pandemic. (Szabo, Tribble, Allen and Hancock, 1/26)

Also —

Roll Call: Companies Unlikely To Require COVID-19 Vaccine, Walmart CEO Says
Companies are unlikely to mandate that their employees receive a COVID-19 vaccine to come to work, said Business Roundtable Chairman and Walmart Inc. CEO Doug McMillon. McMillon said no members of the Business Roundtable, a lobbying group whose members are CEOs of the largest U.S. companies, have chosen to require vaccination so far. (Weiss, 1/25)

CNN: In West Virginia, Covid-19 Vaccinations are Nearly Double The National Rate 
More than 9% of people in West Virginia have received at least their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, according to data published Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nationally, that number stands at less than 6%. "We continue to lead the nation," Gov. Jim Justice said in a news conference Monday. (McPhillips, 1/26)

The New York Times: How West Virginia Became A U.S. Leader In Vaccine Rollout 
Since the nation began distributing vaccines more than a month ago, it has moved far more slowly than officials hoped and has been stymied by widespread logistical problems. But West Virginia has stood out for its success in getting people vaccinated. About 9 percent of all West Virginians have received a first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, a larger segment than in every state but Alaska and double the rate of some. No state has given a larger share of its residents second doses, a crucial step to securing the best chance at immunity. (Mervosh, 1/24)

Also —

Anchorage Daily News: Alaska Rises To No. 1 Among States For Per-Capita Coronavirus Vaccinations
Alaska last week was administering more COVID-19 shots per capita than any other state in the nation, a striking statistic given the challenge of getting vaccine across rugged roadless terrain to far-flung communities in the nation’s only Arctic state. Nearly 11% of the state’s population was at least partially vaccinated by Monday. Still, Alaska’s rollout has hit rough spots, especially for seniors. And Alaska’s ranking isn’t nearly as high when it comes to shots administered out of the total received, where the state falls closer to the middle of the national picture, according to data from the CDC. (Berman, 1/25)

CNN: Kittitas County In Washington State Is Lapping The Field In Covid-19 Vaccine Distribution
A rural county in Washington state is lapping the field when it comes to distribution of the coronavirus vaccine. A big part of the reason Kittitas County says it is outpacing the vaccine rates in the state is that it's had a lot of practice in triaging and managing disasters, especially wildfires. (Zdanowicz, 1/25)

The Washington Post: Biden To Tap Nurse As Acting Surgeon General
The Biden administration has selected nurse Susan Orsega to serve as the nation’s acting surgeon general, said two people with knowledge of her selection who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the announcement. Orsega, a career-commissioned officer in the U.S. Public Health Service corps and a longtime infectious-disease specialist, would be among the first nurses to serve in the role of surgeon general, which is often referred to as “the nation’s doctor.” The announcement of Orsega’s selection could come as soon as Tuesday, one of the people said. (Diamond, 1/25)

The Hill: Nurse To Be Tapped By Biden As Acting Surgeon General: Report 
President Biden is expected to tap a nurse as acting surgeon general after former President Trump’s surgeon general was asked to resign last week, The Washington Post reported Monday. The newly sworn-in president plans to name Susan Orsega, a nurse and officer in the U.S. Public Health Service corps, as among the first nurses to serve in the role, two people with knowledge of her selection told the Post. One source said Biden could select Orsega to serve as soon as Tuesday. (Coleman, 1/25)

In other news from the White House —

The Hill: Biden White House To Resume COVID-19 Briefings With Health Officials 
The Biden White House announced it will resume regular briefings with public health experts focused on the response to the coronavirus pandemic, reviving an approach that had fizzled out during the Trump administration even as the outbreak worsened. The White House anticipates holding three briefings each week led by public health officials and members of the administration's COVID-19 response team, press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday. The first of those briefings will take place on Monday, and will "continue regularly for the foreseeable future," she said. (Samuels, 1/25)

AP: White House Adding Sign Language Interpreter For Briefings
The Biden administration is adding a sign language interpreter to its daily press briefings. White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced the move during Monday’s briefing, and an interpreter could be seen on the White House’s YouTube stream of the event. (Jaffe, 1/25)

AP: Biden Replaces White House Doctor With Longtime Physician
President Joe Biden has brought back Dr. Kevin O’Connor as his physician, replacing President Donald Trump’s doctor with the one who oversaw his care when he was vice president. The White House confirmed that Dr. Sean Conley, the Navy commander who served as the head of the White House Medical Unit under Trump and oversaw his treatment when he was hospitalized with COVID-19, will assume a teaching role at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. (Miller, 1/25)

Also —

The Washington Post: Biden Moving To Nix Trump Plan On Opioid-Treatment Prescriptions 
The Biden administration is preparing to halt a last-minute plan by the Trump administration to let more physicians prescribe an opioid-treatment drug, said three officials with knowledge of the pending announcement, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the plan. The Trump plan had been hailed by physicians as loosening requirements they said had slowed their response to the nation’s worsening opioid crisis. Then-presidential candidate Joe Biden also criticized the prescribing rules and vowed to lift them if elected president. But some legal experts warned that the Department of Health and Human Services lacked the authority to issue guidelines that allowed physicians to avoid requirements mandated by Congress. (Diamond and Bernstein, 1/25)

Roll Call: Biden Won't 'Cherry Pick' Parts Of His $1.9 Trillion Coronavirus Aid Plan 
President Joe Biden suggested Monday he was prepared to give Republicans a "couple weeks" to reach a bipartisan deal on a coronavirus aid package before triggering the budget reconciliation process to skirt GOP opposition. Facing a key governance test in his fledgling presidency, Biden made clear he hoped to rally bipartisan support for his $1.9 trillion pandemic relief plan. But he also held out the prospect of resorting to a more partisan approach: a reconciliation tool that avoids the risk of a Senate filibuster. (Lerman and McPherson, 1/25)

Axios: Axios-Ipsos Poll: Trust In Federal COVID-19 Response Surges 
Trust surged in the federal government since President Biden's inauguration when it comes to COVID-19 — but that's almost entirely because of Democrats gaining confidence, according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index. The big picture: Americans reported the biggest improvement in their mental and emotional health since our survey began last March, and the highest trust levels since April about the federal government providing them accurate virus information and looking out for their best interests. (Talev, 1/26)

In related news about trust in the government —

The Hill: GOP Lawmaker Wants To Ban Feds From Funding Collection Of COVID-19 Vaccine Info
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) introduced a bill on Monday to ban the federal government from funding efforts to collect information on those who are receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. The Arizona Republican's bill would prevent the government from using federal funding “to maintain or collect information that can be used to identify any individual” who has received a coronavirus vaccine. (Coleman, 1/25)

CNN: Fauci Says He Worried Trump's Disinfectant Comment Would Make People 'start Doing Dangerous And Foolish Things' 
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert, said Monday evening he was extremely worried by former President Donald Trump's dangerous April suggestion that ingesting disinfectant could possibly be used to treat Covid-19."I just said, 'Oh my goodness gracious.' I could just see what's going to happen," Fauci told CNN's Erin Burnett on "Out Front" of Trump's suggestion. (LeBlanc, 1/25)

The Hill: Slaoui: Criticism Of Vaccine Distribution 'A Huge Misunderstanding' 
The former head of the Trump administration's COVID-19 vaccine production and distribution efforts, Moncef Slaoui, said in an interview published Monday that the public and news media has a "misunderstanding" about what the federal government went through to get a vaccine finished. In an interview with Science Magazine, Slaoui defended what he said were "exceptional" results from Operation Warp Speed, which the Biden administration has taken over following the new president's inauguration. (Bowden, 1/25)

San Francisco Chronicle: ‘New Weapon’ To Kill COVID? UCSF-Led Team Finds Drug That Could Be Far More Effective Than Remdesivir
After a yearlong search for existing drugs that might help COVID-19 patients and point to a cure, a UCSF-led science team has identified what they say is an especially promising candidate: an anti-cancer drug that kills the coronavirus in lab studies and is almost 30 times more potent than remdesivir, one of the few antiviral drugs available to treat the disease. The new peer-reviewed research, published Monday in the journal Science, highlights a drug called Aplidin, which was originally extracted from an exotic marine creature called Aplidium albicans — a type of “sea squirt” found off the coast of Ibiza that looks a bit like a disembodied brain. (Fagone, 1/25)

NPR: Gorilla Gets Monoclonal Antibody Therapy For COVID-19
A gorilla at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondido, Calif., underwent monoclonal antibody therapy after contracting COVID-19 this month. Winston, an elderly silverback gorilla, and several of his troop members tested positive for the coronavirus after they had symptoms such as mild coughing. Veterinary staff, concerned about Winston's age and underlying medical conditions, performed a diagnostic examination on him, a zoo statement said. He was found to have pneumonia and heart disease. (Jones, 1/25)

Live Science: Why Cats And Dogs May Need Their Own COVID-19 Vaccines
Cats and dogs may eventually need their own COVID-19 vaccines to prevent the coronavirus from evolving further and "spilling" back to humans, according to one group of researchers. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is known to infect a number of animals besides humans, including cats, dogs, minks, tigers and gorillas. However, at this time, scientists don't think animals play a significant role in spreading the virus to people, and reports of COVID-19 in pets are rare, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (Rettner, 1/25)

In other science and research news —

Stat: A Growing Share Of Lung Cancer Is Turning Up In Never-Smokers 
Breast cancer wouldn’t have surprised her; being among the 1 in 8 women who develop it over their lifetime isn’t statistically improbable. Neither would have colorectal cancer; knowing the risk, Mandi Pike “definitely” planned to have colonoscopies as she grew older. But when a PET scan in November 2019 revealed that Pike, a 33-year-old oil trader, wife, and mother of two in Edmund, Okla., had lung cancer — she had been coughing and was initially misdiagnosed with pneumonia — her first reaction was, “but I never smoked,” she said. “It all seemed so surreal.” (Begley, 1/26)

Becker's Hospital Review: Researchers Use Device That Creates Small Hole In Heart To Treat Heart Failure
Researchers at the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville are evaluating the use of a valve pressure relief device meant to alleviate the severe shortness of breath associated with congestive heart failure as part of a clinical trial, The Daily Progress reports. The device, an interatrial shunt, is a permanent implant that prevents the left ventricle from becoming backed up and placing pressure on the lungs by redirecting small amounts of blood from the left ventricle to the right ventricle. (Carbajal, 1/25)

The Washington Post: Hospitals Drag Feet On New Regulations To Disclose Costs Of Medical Services 
Hospitals are now required to disclose the prices they secretly negotiate with insurers. But many are dragging their feet on the new regulations, which were passed under President Donald Trump and could very well stay in place under President Biden. (Ellerbeck and Cunningham, 1/25)

Modern Healthcare: Billing, Antitrust Exemption Changes Upend Negotiations Between Insurers And Providers
A flurry of recent mandates will completely upend the negotiating table between payers and providers, but how the final contracts will change going forward all depend on enforcement. Although most negotiations between hospital systems and insurers have been finalized for 2021, Rick Kes, a senior analyst at RSM, said recent mandates around surprise billing, price transparency and the antitrust exemption for health insurers will reverberate throughout the healthcare industry for years to come. In late January, CMS also approved a prior-authorization rule that requires payers to build application programming interfaces between their records and providers', in a move to speed decisions about whether patient procedures are covered. The changes will phase in during 2023 and 2024. (Tepper, 1/25)

Modern Healthcare: Hospitals See Opportunity, Risk In Ambulatory Surgery Centers
Allegheny Health Network’s ambulatory surgery centers had a record year in 2020. Surgeries were up around 10% at the Pittsburgh-based integrated health system’s 10 ASCs, and Allegheny plans to move even more procedures into those facilities. Surgery centers generally have high physician and patient satisfaction given their convenience and efficiency and ASCs help ensure that more acute patients can be treated in hospitals, said Dr. Sricharan Chalikonda, Allegheny’s chief medical operations officer. Health systems continue to invest in ambulatory surgery centers. While reimbursement rates are typically significantly lower than the inpatient setting, ASCs provide lower-cost alternatives and free up inpatient capacity. (Kacik, 1/25)

Also —

The Baltimore Sun: Gov. Larry Hogan Insults Anne Arundel Health Officer On Facebook Over School Reopenings; County Executive Steuart Pittman Says Let’s Talk 
Gov. Larry Hogan told a constituent on social media Thursday that Anne Arundel Health Officer Nilesh Kalyanaraman “doesn’t really know what he is talking about” as he provides guidance on reopening county schools. Readers reached out to The Capital to point out the response, in which Hogan responded to a comment on his Facebook page dismissing the knowledge of a physician whose appointment he approved less than two years ago. (Pacella, 1/25)

Medscape: How Likely Are Malpractice Lawsuits From Treating COVID?
Last May, Emily Reardon, a 19-year-old college freshman and former high school varsity swimmer, was brought by her parents to the Riverside Methodist Hospital emergency department (ED) in Columbus, Ohio, with severe respiratory distress and low pulse-oximetry readings. She was treated by an emergency physician. It looked like a case of COVID-19. But after testing negative three times for the virus, Reardon was sent home with her parents with a diagnosis of pneumonia and prescriptions for an antibiotic and acetaminophen. She returned 2 days later in respiratory distress with a dangerously low pulse-oximetry reading of 70%. She died 8 hours later. (Meyer, 1/25)

KHN: California’s Top Hospital Lobbyist Cements Influence In Covid Crisis
As intensive care units filled and coronavirus cases surged over the holidays, Carmela Coyle invoked a World War II-era quote attributed to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to rally her own troops: “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” Coyle is head of the California Hospital Association, and her “troops” are the highly paid hospital executives she represents. Throughout the pandemic, as in the December memo in which she quoted Churchill, she has employed battlefield rhetoric to galvanize their massive political and financial clout. (Young, 1/26)

The Washington Post: NFL Teams With CDC On A Paper Explaining What It Learned About Containing The Coronavirus 
Medical leaders of the NFL and the NFL Players Association teamed with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to release a jointly written scientific paper detailing the lessons from the league’s coronavirus protocols and operations during its nearly completed season that could be applied beyond football. The release of the paper comes after the league completed its 256-game regular season in the standard 17 weeks while operating with daily coronavirus testing of players, coaches and team staff members and strict and ever-tightening protocols. (Maske, 1/25)

CIDRAP: NFL COVID-19 Tracking Yields Lessons For Fine-Tuning Control Measures
As part of the NFL's COVID-19 measures established last July, players and staff wore masks, physically distanced, were frequently tested, and wore proximity devices to assist with contact tracing. Through the end of November, 329 (2.9%) cases were found among about 11,400 players and staff. Through early September, fewer than 10 cases were found per week, but during the last week of September and into October, there were 41 cases, 21 from inter-team transmission linked to a single club, which led to temporary closure of the facility. The increase mirrored the national increase in cases. (1/25)

In other sports and recreation news —

The Wall Street Journal: Budweiser Skips Super Bowl Ad, Promises Vaccine Education Instead 
Anheuser-Busch said it won’t devote a Super Bowl commercial to its flagship Budweiser beer brand this year for the first time since 1983, pledging to redirect spending for the airtime to marketing campaigns related to Covid-19 vaccinations instead. Budweiser said it is committing $1 million of ad inventory to vaccine awareness and education work by the Ad Council, a nonprofit that helps make public service campaigns, and to COVID Collaborative, a coalition of experts and institutions in public health and other areas. It will also produce multimillion-dollar vaccine awareness efforts throughout the year, executives said. (Ives, 1/25)

The Washington Post: Arizona Officials Ask MLB To Delay Spring Training Due To Coronavirus Concerns 
Government officials from eight Cactus League cities sent a letter to Major League Baseball late last week asking MLB to delay spring training from its scheduled mid-February start because of the high rate of coronavirus infections in Arizona’s Maricopa County. While the municipalities lack the authority to force a delay, the letter underscored the fraught public-health and policy issues MLB faces as it seeks to launch its 2021 season.“[In] view of the current state of the pandemic in Maricopa County — with one of the nation’s highest infection rates — we believe it is wise to delay the start of spring training to allow for the COVID-19 situation to improve here,” said the letter, the existence of which was first reported Monday by Phoenix television station KPNX. (Sheinin, 1/25)

The Washington Post: Will Cruises Require Vaccines? One Line Just Set A Standard
One small cruise line in the United Kingdom has announced it will sail with only vaccinated passengers. Saga Cruises, a two-ship operator for passengers 50 and older, said last week that it was delaying the restart of cruises to give passengers time to get fully vaccinated. That means they would have to get both doses and wait at least 14 days before departing. (Sampson, 1/25)

Becker's Hospital Review: Asbestos Exposure Forces Evacuation At Missouri Nursing Home
Bentonview Park Health and Rehab, a nursing home in Monett, Mo., was evacuated Jan. 22 after construction crews exposed asbestos, local NBC affiliate KSN reports. Construction crews exposed the asbestos while removing tiles, which prompted the evacuation of the facility's 57 residents. Some residents were transferred to other nursing homes temporarily while others were taken to a temporary shelter at the former Cox Monett Hospital.  (Carbajal, 1/25)

Idaho Statesman: Idaho Senators Delay Vote On Measure To Ban Marijuana, Drugs
After two hours of public comments, a state Senate committee on Monday delayed a vote on a measure to ban psychoactive drugs that are already illegal in Idaho. The constitutional amendment, introduced by Sen. C. Scott Grow, R-Eagle, would put the prohibition against now-illicit drugs in the state’s Constitution instead of just code — if voters passed it. Putting the ban in the Idaho Constitution would make it more difficult to legalize marijuana and other drugs in the future. Grow said the measure would preserve Idaho’s values and “ensure the health and safety” of children. He cited Oregon’s recent drug reform measure that voters approved in November, in which small amounts of several street drugs were decriminalized, as an “end game where all drug legalization is headed.” (Norimine, 1/25)

Consumer Reports: Having A Safe Birth — And A Healthy Child — During This Pandemic
Even under the best of circumstances, planning for birth requires parents to make many decisions: Where to have their baby, which providers to entrust with their care during and after pregnancy and what kind of experience they want during delivery. But planning ahead for birth has become both more complicated and more important during the pandemic. The limitations hospitals have placed on numbers of visitors, for example, may mean that you won’t be able to have as many people supporting you in person during labor as you had planned. (1/25)

KHN: Readers And Tweeters Fight Stigma And Salute Front-Line Workers 
Letters to the Editor is a periodic feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection. We edit for length and clarity and require full names. (1/26)

The New York Times: In Israel, Infections Drop Sharply After One Shot Of Vaccine 
Israel, which leads the world in vaccinating its population against the coronavirus, has produced some encouraging news: Early results show a significant drop in infection after just one shot of a two-dose vaccine, and better than expected results after both doses. Public health experts caution that the data, based on the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, is preliminary and has not been subjected to clinical trials. Even so, Dr. Anat Ekka Zohar, vice president of Maccabi Health Services, one of the Israeli health maintenance organizations that released the data, called it “very encouraging.” (Kershner, 1/25)

AP: Australia OKs Pfizer Vaccine, To Begin In Feb.
Australia’s medical regulator has approved use of its first coronavirus vaccine, paving the way for inoculations to begin next month. The Therapeutic Goods Administration on Monday gave provisional approval for people aged 16 and over to use the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. Residents and workers at aged-care facilities, frontline healthcare workers and quarantine workers are among the groups being prioritized for the first doses. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison welcomed the development. He said Australia was among the first countries to complete a comprehensive process to formally approve a vaccine rather than just grant an emergency approval. (1/25)

Bloomberg: Ardern Says New Zealand Won’t Open Border To The World This Year
New Zealand’s success in combating the virus has allowed it to lift restrictions and get its economy moving again much sooner than initially expected, but the closed border is decimating its tourism industry. While the government today announced it expects to give regulatory approval for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine next week, Ardern said mass immunization will not begin until midyear and she was taking a “conservative” approach to letting foreigners into the country again. “For travel to restart we need one of two things,” she said. “We either need the confidence that being vaccinated means you don’t pass Covid-19 on to others -- and we don’t know that yet -- or we need enough of our population to be vaccinated and protected that people can safely re-enter New Zealand. Both possibilities will take some time.” (Brockett, 1/26)

AP: Taiwan Quarantines 5,000 After Hospital Cluster
Health authorities in Taiwan are quarantining 5,000 people while looking for the source of two new coronavirus cases linked to a hospital. Officials said on Monday that they have not been able to identify how the husband and wife became infected after a brief hospital stay in the Taoyuan General Hospital, located in the city of Taoyuan just outside Taiwan’s capital city. The man had stayed at the hospital for three days for health problems unrelated to COVID-19, while his wife looked after him. (1/26)

In other global developments —

Stat: EU Ombudsman Probes Failure To Disclose Covid-19 Vaccine Contracts
In response to concerns that key terms of Covid-19 vaccine deals remain hidden, the European Union’s ombudsman has opened an inquiry into the refusal by the European Commission to fully disclose contracts with several drug makers. (Silverman, 1/25)

The Washington Post: Violence Erupts In Israel’s Ultra-Orthodox Neighborhoods Over Coronavirus Restrictions
Long-building tensions over pandemic restrictions within Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods erupted in violence Sunday night as rock-throwing crowds pushed back police attempts to clear yeshiva classes and religious gatherings being held in violation of lockdown rules. (Hendrix and Rubin, 1/25)

The Washington Post: Riots Explode Across Netherlands Over Covid Restrictions, With Dutch Leader Calling Participants Criminals
Dutch rioters who attacked police and destroyed property over the weekend while protesting new coronavirus measures are “criminals,” Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Monday, as law enforcement officials warned that the violence could last for weeks. The unrest across the Netherlands, some of the worst in decades, had “nothing to do with protest,” Rutte, who resigned last week following a scandal, told reporters outside his office in The Hague, news agencies reported. (Cunningham, 1/25)

The Washington Post: Wealthy Couple Chartered A Plane To The Yukon, Took Vaccines Meant For Indigenous Elders, Authorities Said
Located deep in Canada’s Yukon, the remote community of Beaver Creek is home to only about 100 people, most of them members of the White River First Nation. So when an unfamiliar couple who claimed to work at a local motel showed up at a mobile clinic to receive coronavirus vaccines, it didn’t take long for locals to become suspicious. Authorities soon found that the pair were actually wealthy Vancouver residents who had chartered a private plane to the isolated outpost so that they could get shots intended to protect vulnerable Indigenous elders. (Noori Farzan, 1/26)

The New York Times: The Biden Administration's Plan To Get Vaccines To Americans 
I’ve never covered a moment that simultaneously merits so much despair and so much hope. It’s dizzying. The Biden administration takes office with over 25 million Covid-19 cases nationwide, over 420,000 Americans dead, and new, highly contagious variants of the virus stalking our future. It’s as grim a situation as I’ve seen.But for the first time, we can do more than hide. We can immunize. Getting a population of 330 million to herd immunity is a hellishly difficult undertaking in the best of circumstances, and these are not the best of circumstances. Still, speed matters: Getting to herd immunity a few months faster could save hundreds of thousands of lives. (Ezra Klein, 1/26)

Kaiser Family Fund: How Quickly We Need To Ramp Up Vaccinations To Get To Herd Immunity
The country needs to ramp up vaccinations rapidly if we are to reach herd immunity by, say, July 4th our Independence Day, Labor Day, or even by the beginning of next year. Some basic math and assumptions paint the picture: We need to  average 2.4 million doses a day starting now to reach the point where 70% of the population is vaccinated by July 4th (assuming two doses needed per person). There are many estimates out there of what’s needed for herd immunity, and that’s probably the bare minimum. It’s also harder than it sounds, because kids aren’t being vaccinated right now, so we need to reach the vast majority of adults, which means overcoming hesitancy where it exists. It’s 1.9 million doses to reach it by Labor Day. And 1.2 million doses per day if we achieve the goal by January 1, 2022. (Drew Altman, 1/26)

The New York Times: Biden, Try For 2 Million Covid-19 Vaccinations A Day
Donald Trump’s administration overpromised on coronavirus vaccines. In November, his secretary of health and human services said there would be 40 million doses available by the end of the 2020; he was off by about a month. Trump himself promised 100 million doses in that same period. Everything he and his team said was a sales pitch, designed to foster the false impression that the pandemic they let burn out of control was on the cusp of ending. There’s a growing consensus that Joe Biden’s administration has done the exact opposite. “Biden’s early approach to virus: Underpromise, overdeliver,” says an Associated Press headline. In December, when Biden pledged 100 million vaccine shots in 100 days, some experts thought it was a reach. But now that the United States is already vaccinating a bit more than a million people a day, that figure is far too modest. (Michelle Goldberg, 1/25)

Bloomberg: The EU Is Flirting With A Vaccine Disaster
It’s hard not to look in dismay at the feeble start to the European Union’s Covid vaccination campaign. The bloc has only managed to administer about 8.9 million doses in total, according to the Bloomberg vaccine tracker, about two for every 100 citizens. The U.S. and the U.K. are running at seven and 10.5 respectively, while Israel is at 43. Since all vaccines that have been approved so far require two jabs to work, it’s a very steep mountain to climb to get the EU’s program on track. (Ferdinando Giugliano, 1/26)

The Wall Street Journal: Closing Time For Bars And Restaurants
Time is nearly up for my business and many others. Restaurants operate under a unique business model that is tight on cash and short on profit. Ten weeks of diminished revenue can spell trouble for a restaurant’s business health. Independent restaurants across the country have been struggling for more than 10 months on financial fumes. The solutions offered by Congress so far have amounted to a Band-Aid on a bullet hole. Our first round of Paycheck Protection Program funds are gone, and the second round will keep us afloat for only a few weeks. Restrictions limit indoor dining, and winter weather has brought an end to outdoor dining for much of the country. Thousands more businesses will soon have no choice but to shut their doors forever. It’s time for Congress to make restaurants a priority and pass direct aid. It’s the only thing that will save our restaurants and workers. (Robert St. John, 1/25)

Tampa Bay Times: Where Florida Ranks In Inoculating Its Residents Against COVID 19
Depending on who’s talking, Florida is either a leader or a laggard in inoculating residents against COVID-19. And it’s possible to find data to back up either claim. Florida, for instance, doesn’t look so good compared to Alaska and West Virginia, which lead the nation in the percentage of residents who have received at least one dose of the vaccine. But Florida has administered more of its available vaccine than Pennsylvania, Arizona and about 20 other states. Two data points, two different conclusions. (1/26)

Richmond Times Dispatch: A More Approachable, Accessible System To Get Vaccinated
On Monday morning, the Richmond City and Henrico County Health Districts launched a new Facebook Live series aimed at giving the public a better handle on issues associated with COVID-19 vaccines. Nurse Manager Amy Popovich, the local lead on vaccination efforts, was explicit about demand far exceeding supply. While more than 60,000 people in the health district have filled out interest forms to get a vaccine, Popovich said this week’s allotment of doses only is 6,400 between the city of Richmond and Henrico County. That’s about one-fourth of the doses that were requested and one-fourth of the capacity that the health district could handle, she added. (1/25)

Kansas City Star: Cass County Should Not Host Chiefs Super Bowl Victory Parade 
Super Bowl LV is set. The Kansas City Chiefs will take on the Buccaneers on Feb. 7 in Tampa, Florida. Win or lose, Kansas City won’t host a traditional Super Bowl parade this year. Amid the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, the team and City Hall announced Monday that a city-wide celebration is off. Enter the three-member Cass County Commission, which on Friday extended an invitation to the Chiefs and their fans to host a possible victory parade in the southeast part of the metropolitan area. (1/26)

The Wall Street Journal: Chicago Teachers Union Vs. Biden
Chicago’s Board of Education had required K-8 teachers to show up at schools on Monday to prepare for a return to in-person instruction on Feb. 1. The union doesn’t care. Seventy-one percent of CTU voting members rejected a return to in-person learning until schools are “safe”—meaning whenever teachers feel like going back. The district has installed air purifiers in classrooms, conducted ventilation tests, increased cleaning and procured rapid testing, among other things. It will begin vaccinating teachers next month. There’s no excuse for teachers not to return to classrooms. (1/25)

Los Angeles Times: For Vaccine Priority, Teachers Should Agree To Return To Class
The number of coronavirus cases is inching down, a positive if tenuous sign. So are hospitalization rates, including at intensive care units. As sloppy as the vaccination rollout has been, thousands of doses are administered every day. And teachers have been given high priority in California for those inoculations, although in Los Angeles and many other counties they’re still waiting their turn. Strange to say, however, even vaccination isn’t enough to make some teachers unions ready to return to physical classrooms. Educators in the Los Angeles teachers union say they want to see coronavirus infection rates drop significantly in communities served by L.A. Unified before they return. (1/26)

The Washington Post: Fairfax County Should Open Schools Or Stop Vaccinating Teachers
The Fairfax County school system demanded and then received high-priority placement for teachers and administrators to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. Those vaccines began a week ago, and, according to the Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Scott Brabrand, 5,000 teachers have received their first dose and an additional 22,000 teachers are registered to receive their first dose soon. And yet, having jumped to the front of the vaccine line, Brabrand, the FCPS School Board and the teachers union are delaying opening schools. That raises the question of why they have the priority placement to begin with, and whether these vaccinations should be immediately halted so that high-risk individuals or public servants who have been working outside of their homes for the entirety of the year have access. (Rory Cooper, 1/25)

New York Post: America’s Urban Schools Are Massively Damaging Children By Refusing To Reopen
Kids in the nation’s big cities have been banned from public-school buildings for nearly a year now — and for many of them, that won’t change any time soon, thanks to two-faced, spineless pols and selfish but powerful teachers’ unions. In major cities across America, students have been relegated to educationally inferior (and sometimes near-worthless) online “instruction” since March. In New York City, elementary public schools have opened part-time, but middle and high schools have been closed since November with no word on when they’ll return. (Karol Markowicz, 1/25)

Stat: Be More Open-Minded To Newcomers Moving Into Health Tech 
Silicon Valley types like to talk about disrupting things. But health care doesn’t want to be disrupted. I get it. Who wants to see their medical care taken over by a bunch of techies willing to cut corners in their insatiable quest for growth? (Christina Farr, 1/26)

The New York Times: We Can Improve Health Care. It Just Takes Compromise.
President Biden says he will draw on his decades-long experience in the Senate to bridge partisan divides in Washington. Health care may stress-test his deal-making prowess. Mr. Biden is right: There is an opportunity for bipartisan cooperation on expanding coverage and controlling costs — but only if the parties set aside ideological ambitions to make our health care system work better. (Lanhee J. Chen and James C. Capretta, 1/26)

The Hill: How The Coronavirus Has Totally Transformed Society In America 
There must have been a corporate Zoom meeting sometime at the end of March 2020. For several months all commercial messages had a version of “in these unprecedented times” stamped on top of the product or service for sale. Americans hadn’t seen the effects of a mass pandemic in a century, and many of COVID-19’s results have headlined major news programs for a year now. But the true, lasting effects of the coronavirus will stay with us for generations, even beyond the grisly death toll or economic effects. (Kristin Tate, 1/24)

Stat: FDA Should Make Friends With Independent Researchers 
Support for open science — accessible, collaborative, and radically transparent research done outside of traditional science venues — has been growing. During the Covid-19 pandemic, you might even say it is having a moment. (Christi Guerrini, Alex Pearlman and Patti Zettler, 1/26)