Politico: Biden Administration To Begin Shipping Vaccine Doses Directly To Pharmacies 
The Biden administration said Tuesday it will begin distributing a limited number of Covid-19 vaccine doses directly to retail pharmacies across the nation. Many pharmacies are already administering vaccine doses that have been allocated to states. Under the new program, the federal government would ship doses directly to pharmacies. The new pharmacy initiative — which is aimed at broadening access to vaccines generally — is separate from an ongoing federal program to have Walgreens and CVS vaccinate residents of long-term care facilities. (Lim, 2/2)

NPR: White House Will Send Vaccines Directly To Retail Pharmacies
The program will begin on Feb. 11 on a limited basis, with vaccines sent to about 6,500 stores nationwide, Jeff Zients, the White House's COVID-19 response coordinator, told reporters on Tuesday. He said that the effort would then scale up and that eventually up to 40,000 retail pharmacies, including Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid locations, would receive doses directly from the federal government. Once the program starts, Zients said, those wishing to get vaccinated should follow their state's current eligibility requirements and, if eligible, then check with their local pharmacy to see if there is vaccine availability. (Swasey, 2/2)

The Hill: White House Announces Some COVID-19 Vaccines Will Be Sent Directly To Pharmacies 
Still, [Jeff] Zients was careful to temper expectations that far from everyone will be able to walk into a CVS for a vaccine in the near future. “This will be limited when it begins next week,” he said. Some pharmacies “may have very limited supply,” he added. (Sullivan, 2/2)

In related news from CVS and Walmart —

Bay Area News Group: CVS Soon Will Start Vaccinating At 100 California Stores As Biden Administration Ramps Up Supply
The Biden administration announced plans Tuesday to speed the nation’s roll-out of coronavirus vaccine by increasing the supply of shots to states, while sending another 1 million doses directly to thousands of pharmacies across the country. As a result, the nation’s largest pharmacy chain, CVS, said it would distribute doses at 100 of its California stores starting on Feb. 11, including at locations in Sunnyvale, San Francisco and Sonoma. Meanwhile California officials said the state has stepped up distribution efforts that had ranked among the slowest in the country. (Savidge and Krieger, 2/2)

Houston Chronicle: CVS Will Start Administering COVID-19 Vaccines At 70 Pharmacies In Texas Next Week
COVID-19 vaccines are coming to CVS pharmacies in Texas. But, only 70 locations will roll them out starting Feb. 11. CVS Health announced the incoming vaccines are part of an 11-state rollout across approximately 335 CVS Pharmacy locations, according to a Tuesday news release from CVS. Supply for the limited rollout in the state, which is sourced directly from the federal pharmacy partnership program, will be approximately 38,000 total doses. (Aguirre, 2/2)

Chicago Tribune: Walmart Distributing COVID-19 Vaccines At Eight Chicago Stores 
Walmart is among a handful of retailers administering COVID-19 vaccines, and at least 1,200 seniors and essential workers have received the vaccine at eight Chicago stores since last week, the retailer said. The stores will offer COVID-19 vaccines through Sunday and will administer additional doses if Walmart receives more from health officials, said Chinni Pulluru, a senior director at Walmart Health and Wellness. (Zumbach, 2/2)

Also —

The Hill: Roughly One-Third Of Long-Term Care Staff Vaccinated Through Federal Program: CDC 
Only 37 percent of staff in long-term care facilities have been vaccinated against COVID-19 through a federal partnership with local pharmacies, according to an analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), raising further concerns about low vaccination rates among those who work with people at high risk for serious illness or death from the virus. (Hellmann, 2/1)

KHN: 100 Million Covid Shots In 100 Days Doesn’t Get Us Back To Normal 
April 30 will mark the end of the first 100 days of President Joe Biden’s tenure. That’s a benchmark presidents often set for making good on high-priority campaign promises. In early December, Biden announced that one promise would be to get 100 million covid-19 vaccines into the arms of Americans in the first 100 days, averaging about 1 million daily doses. The U.S. reached that pace around Inauguration Day but will have to maintain it for the next three months for Biden to reach his goal. If realized, how will everyday life change? We asked the experts. (Knight, 2/3)

CNN: Oxford/AstraZeneca Vaccine May Cut Coronavirus Transmission, UK Researchers Say 
The Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine may reduce transmission of the virus, rather than simply reducing the severity of disease, UK researchers have suggested. The rate of positive PCR tests declined by about half after two doses, according to preliminary results by researchers at the University of Oxford that have yet to be peer reviewed. (Nedelman and Smith-Spark, 2/3)

The New York Times: Study Finds AstraZeneca Shots Drastically Cut Transmission 
The vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca not only protects people from serious illness and death but also substantially slows the transmission of the virus, according to a new study — a finding that underscores the importance of mass vaccination as a path out of the pandemic. The study by researchers at the University of Oxford is the first to document evidence that any coronavirus vaccine can reduce transmission of the virus. (2/2)

AstraZeneca's research suggests delaying a second dose is acceptable —

Los Angeles Times: UK Says New Study Supports Delaying 2nd COVID Vaccine Dose
Britain’s health secretary says a new study showing that a single dose of the AstraZeneca-Oxford University COVID-19 vaccine provides a high level of protection for 12 weeks supports the government’s strategy of delaying the second shot so that initial doses can be delivered to more people. Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s comments Wednesday came after Oxford released a study showing that the vaccine cut transmission of the coronavirus by two-thirds and prevented severe disease. The study has not been peer-reviewed yet, but it was greeted with excitement by British officials under pressure to justify their decision to delay the second dose. (2/3)

AP: UK: New Study Vindicates Delaying 2nd Virus Vaccine Dose
The Oxford research was greeted with excitement by U.K. officials under pressure to justify their decision to delay the second dose for up to 12 weeks. “That reduction in transmission, as well as the fact there is no hospitalizations, the combination of that is very good news. And it categorically supports the strategy we’ve been taking on having a 12-week gap between the doses,” [Health Secretary Matt] Hancock told Sky News. (2/3)

But France and Sweden say people older than 65 can't get the AstraZeneca vaccine —

AP: France Says No AstraZeneca Virus Vaccine For People Over 65
France will only administer the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to people under age 65, President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday after the government’s health advisory body cited a lack of sufficient data about its effectiveness in older people. The decision could shake up the French vaccination strategy, because the country has prioritized nursing home residents and people over 75. France had counted on the AstraZeneca vaccine for a large part of its upcoming inoculations, until the company announced delays affecting countries around Europe and the world. (2/2)

The Hill: Swedish Health Officials Won't Recommend AstraZeneca Vaccine For People Over 65 
Swedish health officials are not recommending people over the age of 65 receive AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine. “The European Medicines Agency (EMA) considers that Astra Zeneca's vaccine is safe to use and provides a good immune response,” the Swedish Public Health Agency said in a statement Tuesday. “However, there is still no data on how effective the vaccine is in protecting against severe covid-19 disease in the older age groups.” (Pitofsky, 2/2)

NPR: Russia's COVID-19 Vaccine Reported To Be 92% Effective
Russia's Sputnik V vaccine is 92% effective in protecting people from developing COVID-19 symptoms, according to a study published in The Lancet on Tuesday. The study follows a Phase 3 trial in Moscow hospitals and clinics that included nearly 22,000 participants age 18 and older. The vaccine, known as Gam-COVID-Vac, "was well tolerated in a large cohort," the researchers said. It was administered in two doses, 21 days apart. (Chappell, 2/2)

The Washington Post: Russian Vaccine Sputnik V More Than 90% Effective In Interim Trial 
The Russian vaccine effort has been criticized for being too rushed, elevating nationalistic competition over scientific evidence. The publication in the Lancet, a British medical journal, marks the first large-scale, peer-reviewed results to be published showing the performance of Sputnik V — despite the fact that the vaccine has been in broad use in Russia and is being rolled out to other countries. Outside experts said the data convincingly shows the vaccine works. But because the trial was conducted in Russia in the fall, before the spread of virus variants that have shown signs of eroding vaccine effectiveness, questions loom about how protective the vaccine will be in the face of emerging threats. (Taylor and Johnson, 2/2)

Fox News: Russia’s Sputnik V Vaccine 91.6% Effective Against COVID-19 In Late-Stage Trial: Study
The most common side effects were "flu-like illness, injection site reactions, headache" and weakness, per the study. There were also four deaths reported among trial participants, (three in the vaccine group) but none were found to be associated with the vaccine. Among the vaccine group, two deaths were tied to COVID-19; "these two participants were probably already infected with SARS-CoV-2 at the time of randomisation and vaccination," study authors wrote. The other death involved a spine fracture. The death in the placebo group involved a hemorrhagic stroke. (Rivas, 2/2)

Mexico has approved use of the Russian vaccine —

AP: Russia's Coronavirus Vaccine Approved For Use In Mexico
Mexico approved the Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V for use Tuesday, just hours after the publication of early results of an advanced study saying it is about 91% effective. Assistant Health Secretary Hugo López-Gatell, the government’s pandemic spokesman, said the health ministry signed a contract Monday for 400,000 doses of Sputnik V that will arrive this month. That is still a tiny amount for Mexico’s 126 million people. (Delgado, 2/3)

The Hill: Moderna Wants To Increase Amount Of Coronavirus Vaccine In Each Vial 
Moderna is seeking permission from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to increase the amount of vaccine sealed within each vial in the hopes of relieving some pressure on the manufacturing and distribution process, according to a report from CNBC. An anonymous source told the news outlet that the change would allow Moderna to store 15 doses of the vaccine per vial, five more than the 10 that are currently packaged. (Choi, 2/2)

New York Times: Moderna’s Simple Fix To Vaccine Supply: More Doses In Each Vial
Moderna is asking United States regulators to approve what it says could be a remarkably simple proposal to speed up the immunization of Americans against the coronavirus: Fill empty space in its vials with as many as 50% more doses. The Food and Drug Administration could decide in a few weeks whether to allow Moderna, a Massachusetts-based biotech firm that is the developer of one of the two federally authorized COVID vaccines, to increase the number of doses in its vials to up to 15 from 10. Moderna has been ramping up production of its vaccine, but the process of filling, capping and labeling millions of tiny vials has emerged as a roadblock. The company could produce more if regulators allow it to make fuller vials, Ray Jordan, a Moderna spokesman, said late Monday. (LaFraniere and Weiland, 2/2)

In other news on the vaccine rollout —

Chicago Tribune: Chicago Promotes Zocdoc Website To Sign Up For COVID-19 Vaccine Appointments 
The city of Chicago is promoting a national website that will allow people to find and schedule COVID-19 vaccination appointments, officials announced Tuesday. The site, www.zocdoc.com/vaccine, is run by an outside provider and will allow users to find and book appointments from some local vaccination sites including city-run mass vaccination sites and those operated by AMITA Health, Erie Family Health, Innovative Express Care and Rush University Medical Center, city officials said. (Pratt and Yin, 2/2)

Houston Chronicle: Houston Plans To Launch Web Portal For Scheduling Second Doses Of COVID-19 Vaccine
Houston officials plan to launch a website this week that will let people schedule appointments for their second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Health Director Stephen Williams on Monday said officials plan to send out that link to people who got their first shot from the city “later this week, and maybe even as soon as tomorrow.” The new process would be welcome news to people waiting on their second doses, many of whom have grown uneasy as their windows for the booster shot approach. Currently, city health workers call vaccinees to schedule their shots in the week before the 28-day window when the second dose is recommended. (McGuinness, 2/1)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Philadelphia To Open Mass COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics, Pharmacies To Get Doses
Philadelphia plans to open six mass coronavirus vaccination clinics this month, officials said Tuesday, aiming to inoculate 500 people a day in the wake of its decision last week to sever ties with Philly Fighting COVID. Grocery and drugstore pharmacies will also begin offering shots to Philadelphians 75 and older, and city officials are hoping some hospitals will open mass vaccination clinics as they transition from inoculating health-care workers to other residents. (McCrystal and McDaniel, 2/2)

Detroit Free Press: Michigan Makes Big Strides On Nursing Home COVID-19 Vaccinations
Every person who wants a coronavirus vaccine who lives in a skilled nursing facility in Michigan has had the chance to get at least a first dose, said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the state's chief medical executive, in written testimony Tuesday submitted to the House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. As of Jan. 28, 104,209 doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been injected into the arms of residents and staff, she said. And by the end of February, Khaldun said she expects all of the staff and residents at the state's 4,400 long-term care facilities, which include nursing homes, assisted living and skilled nursing facilities as well as adult foster care homes and homes for the aged, will have had a chance to get at least a first dose. (Jordan Shamus, 2/3)

Fox News: COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Hits Hurdle At Nursing Homes With Staff Refusing Shots, CDC Report Finds
Many nursing home staff members around the country have declined the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Researchers with the CDC looked at more than 11,00 skilled nursing facilities that held at least one vaccination clinic between mid-December and mid-January, finding that nearly 78% of residents at these facilities received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. But among staff members, estimates plummeted to 37.5%. "The program achieved moderately high coverage among residents; however, continued development and implementation of focused communication and outreach strategies are needed to improve vaccination coverage among staff members in [skilled nursing facilities] and other long-term care settings," the researchers wrote in the report. (Farber, 2/2)

The Hill: Washington State Officials Warn Providers Offering VIP Vaccine Access 
Washington state authorities on Monday warned hospitals and providers that their supply of coronavirus vaccines may be cut if they are caught providing "VIP" special access to the vaccine, The Associated Press reports. (Choi, 2/2)

Also —

Stateline: These States Found The Secret To COVID-19 Vaccination Success
Most states’ vaccine distributions have been slow, confusing and erratic, with balky signup websites, arbitrary changes in eligibility and frequent mismatches between supply and demand. But a few states with smaller populations have fared better. They started planning early, called up the National Guard to help even before they knew how or when to set up mass vaccination sites and scrapped the idea of using big chain pharmacies for distribution, knowing that smaller local drug stores had better handles on their clients’ qualifications and needs. (Povich, 2/2)

KHN: Dispelling Vaccine Misinformation And Myths In California’s Breadbasket
Dust swirled in the air as Luz Gallegos parked her SUV on the side of a dirt road. She had just learned that her aunt died of covid-19 — the third family member to succumb to the disease in only two weeks. She stepped out of her car at about 11:30 a.m. onto a bell pepper farm in this agricultural community in the Coachella Valley, a little northwest of the Salton Sea. Gallegos, a daughter of farmworkers who had worked in the fields herself, had only 15 minutes to make what she considered a life-or-death pitch to roughly 20 workers who had just finished a break. The farm had already seen two workers fall ill to covid. “We’re losing people in our community each day,” she said. (de Marco, 2/3)

CNN: US Coronavirus: 70% To 85% Of Americans Need To Be Fully Vaccinated For A Return To Normal, Fauci Says. So Far It's Less Than 2% 
About 70% to 85% of the US population should be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 before the country can begin to return to a sense of normalcy, Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN Tuesday night. So far, less than 2% of Americans have received both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Maxouris, 2/3)

In other news about who's in line for the vaccine —

USA Today: Nursing Home Workers Reluctant To Get COVID Vaccine, CDC Study Finds
While residents of nursing homes and their caregivers have been considered a top priority for COVID-19 vaccination, only 38% of nursing home staff accepted shots when they were offered, new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed Monday. Anecdotal reports have been circulating for weeks that nursing home staff members were turning down vaccination offers, but these are the first national-level figures. "These findings show we have a lot of work to do to increase confidence and also really understand the barriers to vaccination amongst this population," said Dr. Radhika Gharpure, lead author of the study and a member of the CDC’s Vaccine Task Force. (Weintraub, 2/1)

The Baltimore Sun: What Happens After You Get The COVID Vaccine? Here’s What You Should Do And Expect, According To Hopkins Experts
People who get the COVID-19 vaccine may notice some soreness in their arm and other side effects, which is normal. The good news is that the symptoms are usually short lived, according to experts in the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. (Cohn, 2/2)

Capital & Main: Data Reveals Dramatic Gap Between COVID Vaccinations And COVID Deaths Among Latinos In L.A. County 
Last week, Los Angeles County’s top public health official called the death toll exacted on Latinos by the COVID pandemic “frankly horrifying.” But, at least so far, a population that has performed so much of the essential work that has kept the region’s economy going has been vastly underrepresented among those receiving vaccinations. Preliminary data released by the county on Jan. 29 revealed that between the launch of the vaccination program on December 14 and Jan. 23, just 29% of the people receiving vaccines were Latino, while they make up 52% of COVID deaths in L.A. County, 47% of COVID cases and 49% of the county’s population. African Americans are likewise underrepresented among those receiving vaccines when compared to the rate at which they are dying. About 5% of the people receiving vaccines were Black, while Blacks make up 8% of the COVID deaths in the county, 3% of the cases and 8% of the population. (Goodheart, 2/2)

KHN and KUT: In Austin, Some Try To Address Vaccine Inequity, But A Broad Plan Is Elusive
Communities of color have been among the hardest hit during the pandemic. But advocates in Texas say those communities are likely to have a harder time getting the vaccine in the coming months, so they are urging local leaders to step in. Travis County Judge Andy Brown, the county executive in the Austin area, put together a vaccination event recently. Brown said he’d been hearing concerns that there weren’t enough places to get a covid-19 shot on the east side of Austin, which has more Black and Latino residents and more poverty than other parts of the city. (Lopez, 2/3)

The Washington Post: Worrisome Mutation Seen In UK Variant And In Some Virus Samples In U.S. 
A coronavirus mutation that appears to limit the protection of vaccines against infection has appeared in the United Kingdom, which is already struggling with a highly transmissible and apparently more lethal virus variant. The worrisome mutation, at a site on the virus RNA called E484K, has drawn close scrutiny from infectious-disease experts, who have given it the nickname “Eeek.” (Achenbach and Booth, 2/2)

CIDRAP: New Variant COVID Findings Fuel More Worries About Vaccine Resistance 
The latest sequencing data as of Jan 26 revealed the E484K mutation in 11 of the B117 sequences and that initial analysis suggests more than one acquisition event. The same mutation is found in two other variants of concern from two other continents, B1351 and P1. Trials in South Africa—where the B1353 variant is dominant—of Novavax and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines have hinted that they are less effective against the variant. (Schnirring, 2/2)

The Wall Street Journal: U.K. Coronavirus Variant Acquires Mutation That Could Weaken Vaccine Defense 
Researchers say they have discovered 11 people around the southwest city of Bristol infected with the U.K.’s more transmissible B.1.1.7 variant that also has the E484K mutation. They also have found 32 cases in Liverpool of an older version of the virus that has also now acquired the extra mutation. (Sugden and Steinhauser, 2/2)

And GSK and CureVac are teaming up to create a vaccine that targets variants —

AP: GSK, CureVac To Make COVID-19 Vaccines Aimed At New Variants
Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline said Wednesday it will work with a German biopharmaceutical company to develop new vaccines targeting emerging variants of COVID-19 amid concerns that some mutations are making the virus harder to combat. GSK plans to invest 150 million euros ($181 million) to support the research of the Tubingen, Germany-based CureVac, which is developing vaccines that use messenger RNA to attack the disease. GSK also said it will help make up to 100 million doses of the company’s existing COVID-19 vaccine candidate this year. (Kirka, 2/3)

Reuters: GSK, CureVac Team Up To Develop Vaccine Against COVID-19 Variants 
Britain’s GlaxoSmithKline and German biotech firm CureVac have teamed up in a 150 million euro ($180 million) deal to develop a COVID-19 vaccine from next year that could target several variants with one shot. ... For GSK, the world’s largest vaccine maker by sales, the deal marks a fresh attempt to play a major role in fighting the pandemic after a COVID-19 alliance with Sanofi ran into delays and a collaboration with China’s Clover Biopharmaceuticals was ended. (Burger, 2/3)

Bloomberg: Covid Antibodies Remain Six Months After Infection, Study Shows 
The vast majority of people who contract Covid-19 still have antibodies at least six months after infection, a new study involving more than 20,000 people showed. Some 88% of participants who tested positive for a previous infection retained antibodies for six months, according to the report by UK Biobank, a major biomedical database. The number was 99% at three months. The results follow other, smaller studies that indicate a level of immunity following a natural infection for at least 6 months. (Gretler, 2/3)

CNN: Some People Test Positive After Getting A Covid-19 Vaccine. Here's Why. 
A Covid-19 vaccine does not provide full or immediate protection, which means it's still possible to get infected and test positive for the virus. Democratic Rep. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts did. He tested positive after he got his second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Hall of Fame basketball coach Rick Pitino, who coaches the men's team at Iona College in New York, also tested positive after getting his first dose. (Christensen, 2/2)

In other news about the coronavirus —

The Hill: Line Cooks, Agriculture Workers At Highest Risk Of COVID-19 Death: Study 
Essential workers in kitchens and in agricultural settings are most at risk of death from the coronavirus, according to a study that adds a new urgency to the race to vaccinate those on the front lines of the pandemic. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of California-San Francisco, examined the occupations of those who have died in California since the beginning of 2016. In the past year, researchers found an especially high rate of excess mortality — the measure of how many people died over what might have been an ordinary period — among those who work in proximity to others. (Wilson, 2/2)

The Wall Street Journal: Covid Wears On, Essential Workers Carry On: ‘Everybody Forgets That You’re Still On The Front Line’ 
When the state shut down around her in March, 67-year-old Joyce Babineau, a supermarket employee in Dartmouth, Mass., was among the many workers who stayed on the job providing basic needs during the pandemic. She felt pride walking into Stop & Shop at 6 a.m. five days a week. She also felt constant dread knowing she was risking the health of her husband, who had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. (Levitz, Bauerlein and Lazo, 2/1)

Bloomberg: Illinois’s Covid Curve Drops More Sharply Than Peers After Surge
As the pandemic begins to recede in U.S. states, Illinois is among America’s most improved. The nation’s sixth-most-populous state has had a notable turnaround since its case curve peaked in November, compared with large peers including California, Georgia, New York, Florida and Pennsylvania. The improved metrics follow almost two months of tightened restrictions that Governor J.B. Pritzker enacted to avoid a holiday surge. (Singh and Querolo, 2/2)

The Washington Post: Coronavirus Variants Call For Masks And Vaccines Instead Of Lockdowns 
As America faces the potential for catastrophic coronavirus spikes fueled by highly infectious variants, public health authorities remain wary of imposing the stricter measures adopted by other nations. Instead, they continue to embrace a stick-to-the-basics strategy: Wear a mask, maybe even two. Avoid crowds. And get vaccinated — fast. The restrained approach differs from strict preemptive measures taking place in Europe, including lockdowns, classroom closures and requirements to wear medical-grade masks. It also illustrates the realities of the pandemic response in America, where there is little appetite for more limitations to curb viral spread. (Nirappil and Shammas, 2/2)

Also —

Politico: Yang Tests Positive For Covid-19
Andrew Yang has tested positive for Covid-19, his mayoral campaign announced Tuesday. “After testing negative as recently as this weekend, today I took a COVID rapid test and received a positive result,” Yang said in a statement Tuesday morning. “I am experiencing mild symptoms, but am otherwise feeling well and in good spirits.” Yang faced early criticism in his campaign for spending a significant chunk of the pandemic outside of New York City. Since kicking off his run last month he’s been fairly unique among the mayoral contenders in barnstorming the city on walking tours and holding in-person events — with staffers, press and supporters in tow. (Eisenberg, 2/2)

Politico: Democrats Plow Ahead With A Party-Line Covid Relief Package 
Senate Democrats took the first step Tuesday toward passing a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill without Republican support, advancing their efforts to avoid a GOP filibuster. The vote to kickstart the budget reconciliation process, which passed 50-49, is a sign that leadership expects to have the full Democratic caucus on board for the final package. (Levine and Everett, 2/2)

The Washington Post: Biden Urges Senate Democrats To Go Big On His Relief Package, Warns Against Risks Of Smaller Plan 
President Biden urged Senate Democrats on Tuesday to go big on coronavirus relief, making an aggressive case in favor of his $1.9 trillion rescue package as Democrats took the first steps to advance the legislation. Biden’s comments, on a private lunchtime call with the Senate Democratic caucus, were confirmed by several people familiar with his remarks who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were private. (Werner, Stein and Kim, 2/2)

Politico: ‘Let Them Take You To Court’: Biden Dares GOP To Obstruct Him 
Biden officials and allies are now practically daring Republicans to fight them, convinced that the public is firmly on the side of quick action. “It will save our majority if he takes that approach with everything that he does,” said House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), one of Biden’s closest allies in the House. “Don’t try to go around them. But if they refuse to do it, use his executive powers and do it. And let them take you to court.” It’s a remarkable turn from the Trump years, when Democrats were the ones doing the suing. (Korecki and Caputo, 2/2)

The Hill: Manchin Warns Against Democratic-Only Coronavirus Relief Bill 
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) warned his party on Tuesday against pursuing a Democratic-only coronavirus relief bill, vowing that Republicans would have input as lawmakers write the legislation. (Carney, 2/2)

In other news from Capitol Hill —

The Hill: Warren To Join Finance Panel Overseeing Taxes, Health Care 
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) will join the Senate Finance Committee, giving her a prominent platform to push forward progressive proposals on tax policy and health care. Warren will be one of roughly a dozen Democrats to sit on the Finance panel, which has jurisdiction over taxes, trade policy, health insurance, Social Security and safety net programs. (Lane, 2/2)

USA Today: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Is Explaining Something About Trauma. Experts Say We Should Listen
After her harrowing account of how she hid from a violent mob on Jan. 6, Ocasio-Cortez received an outpouring of support from colleagues and other survivors who saw themselves in her story. But some critics derided her and claimed she was weaponizing trauma for political gain. Journalist Michael Tracey accused her of "emotional manipulation." Trauma experts say Ocasio-Cortez's reaction is normal and expected, and her account aligns with what science shows happens to a mind and body under extreme forms of stress. When someone has a history of trauma, a new traumatic event, even if it's a different type of trauma, can reactivate similar feelings. It's likely, experts said, that Ocasio-Cortez's experience with sexual assault intensified what she endured at the Capitol. (Dastagir, 2/2)

Modern Healthcare: Biden Admin To Review Rule Discouraging Immigrants From Using Medicaid
Health and immigration advocates cheered the Biden administration's announcement Tuesday that it will review a Trump-era rule that allowed immigrants' use of Medicaid and other public programs to weigh against their residency applications. The White House's instruction that agencies review the so-called public charge rule was tucked into a broader executive order the administration said is designed to restore faith in the country's legal immigration system and promote integration of new Americans. (Bannow, 2/2)

Politico: Biden Signs Executive Orders On Family Separation And Asylum 
President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed executive orders to launch a long-awaited task force to reunite families separated at the border under the Trump administration, as well as begin a review of a Trump-era program that has forced tens of thousands of people to remain in Mexico while their asylum cases are processed. (Rodriguez, 2/2)

Politico: Trump Aides Made A Late Request To Team Biden To Extend Their Parental Leave. They Said No. 
After four years in the Trump administration, Vanessa Ambrosini was looking forward to three months of parental leave when she and her husband welcomed a baby a week before Christmas. The Commerce Department’s human resources office had given her approval for it. But then she was surprised to find out the benefit was no longer available because of the change in administration. “I got completely screwed,” she said in an interview. “There were no caveats in that language saying anything about if the administration turns, you get nothing and of course, that happened and so I got nothing.” (Lippman, 2/2)

In news about Vice President Kamala Harris —

Politico: Call In Kamala: Biden Turns To The Veep To Sell Covid Vax To Communities Of Color
One of Vice President Kamala Harris’ first tasks in office could very well be her most important: getting skeptical communities — mainly people of color — to put the Covid-19 vaccine in their arms. The task falls on her for an obvious reason. She’s the highest ranking and most visible person of color in the federal government, and the African American community has been among the most skeptical of any about getting the Covid vaccine. (Daniels, 2/1)

AP: Interview Flap Shows Challenges As Harris Settles In As VP
Vice President Kamala Harris has spent her first two weeks in office working with the president on coronavirus relief, consulting with the head of the World Health Organization and talking with the prime minister of Canada. It’s her interview with a local news station in West Virginia, though, that’s getting more attention — and not in a good way. West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, a moderate whose support is critical to the success of President Joe Biden’s agenda in Congress, didn’t take kindly to the vice president’s effort to put public pressure on him in his home state by urging passage of a $1.9 trillion virus relief package, especially when he had no warning it was coming. (Jaffe, 2/2)

San Francisco Chronicle: California Nurses Declare Victory In Battle Over How Many Patients They Must Handle In COVID Era
Nurses are cheering California’s decision to end emergency waivers to hospitals and nursing homes, which have allowed the institutions to require nurses to care for more patients than state law allows at any one time. Hundreds of nursing homes and more than 100 hospitals received the waivers since the program began in December, when surging cases of COVID-19 led to a severe nursing shortage up and down the state. Nurses staged protests when the waivers were announced, saying exceeding the cap on nurse-to-patient ratios put patients in danger. (Asimov, 2/2)

Modern Healthcare: California Ends Fast-Tracked Hospital Staffing Ratio Waivers
The California Department of Public Health on Monday imposed stricter requirements on its staffing waiver requirements. Effective Feb. 1, the state's public health department stopped accepting expedited requests for staffing waivers, instead requiring hospitals to follow the standard waiver process. All existing staffing waivers will expire Feb. 8, unless the public health department deems there is an "unprecedented circumstance" for that hospital, according to a letter sent to general acute care hospitals. (Christ, 2/2)

In other health care industry news —

The Washington Post: Why The U.S. Still Has A Shortage Of N95 Masks 
Officials initially discouraged most people from buying medical masks such as N95s and KN95s, to try to protect the supply for health-care workers. Doctors and nurses have used individual medical-grade masks for far longer than recommended as shortages have continued during the pandemic. Although federal officials have not changed their guidance on medical masks, experts’ suggestions are prompting questions about whether and how to access these face coverings as the variants threaten the country’s progress against the virus. (Iati, 2/2)

Modern Healthcare: Most Consumers Hit With High Bills After Just One Healthcare Visit, Study Says
Healthcare costs exceeded $400 during at least one month for more than a quarter of Americans in 2017, ballooning far above the amount Federal Reserve estimates that most U.S. consumers have saved for surprise expenses, according to a new study in Health Affairs. By analyzing office, inpatient and pharmacist reports, study authors found that most consumers incurred the majority of their care costs in just two months of the year. Of the 18 million people studied using the 2017 IBM MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters database, researchers found that 83% of enrollees paid an average of $954 in out-of-pocket healthcare costs, while 17% reported no out-of-pocket healthcare costs. (Tepper, 2/2)

Modern Healthcare: 5G Installed At Seattle VA Medical Center
The Veterans Affairs Department plans to test how 5G internet connectivity can improve care delivery and hospital processes through a pilot at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System. The VA is working with telecommunications company AT&T on the project through a public-private partnership, AT&T announced Tuesday. AT&T has already installed 5G infrastructure indoors throughout the Seattle VA Medical Center and plans to deploy 5G millimeter wave spectrum and technologies that use 5G this year. (Kim Cohen, 2/2)

Stat: As The FDA Clears A Flood Of AI Tools, Missing Data Raise Troubling Questions On Safety And Fairness
Artificial intelligence is the fastest-growing frontier in medicine, but it is also among the most lawless. U.S. regulators have approved more than 160 medical AI products in recent years based on widely divergent amounts of clinical data and without requiring manufacturers to publicly document testing on patients of different genders, races, and geographies, a STAT investigation has found. (Ross, 2/3)

Stat: Explore STAT’s Database Of FDA-Cleared Artificial Intelligence Tools
The Food and Drug Administration has cleared scores of AI tools for use in the clinic, but there remains little publicly available data on how well those tools work on different groups of patients, a STAT investigation has found. (Ross, 2/3)

In other pharmaceutical and biotech industry news —

Stat: Amid A Crush Of Covid-19 Research, Scientists Hone AI Tool To Screen Papers
Long before the pace of scientific publishing about Covid-19 broke land speed records, researchers were struggling to keep tabs on new studies in their fields. And to lighten the load, they’re increasingly turning to tools powered by artificial intelligence. (Palmer, 2/1)

Stat: Who Will Vertex Buy? And How Much Might It Spend?
Who (or what) is Vertex Pharmaceuticals going to buy? The question — asked many different ways by analysts — dominated the company’s year-end earnings conference call on Monday evening. (Feuerstein, 2/2)

Stat: Verily Spinout Onduo Expands Virtual Care To Spanish Speakers
The virtual care company Onduo is widening its reach: On Tuesday, the Alphabet-owned company announced it was bringing its chronic disease management platform to patients with certain cardiometabolic conditions, including hypertension and prediabetes. (Palmer, 2/2)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: New, 100% Fatal Disease In Chimps Raises Concern About Jump To Humans
A new and always fatal disease that has been killing chimpanzees at a sanctuary in Sierra Leone for years has been reported for the first time by an international team of scientists led by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The disease, reported Wednesday in the journal Nature Communications, is caused by a newly discovered species of bacterium and comes as the world wrestles with a devastating pandemic caused by another novel foe, the new coronavirus. Although the chimpanzee illness has yet to be found in a human being, the two species share about 99% of their hereditary material, or DNA. (Johnson, 2/3)

Scientific American: Pathogen Discovered That Kills Endangered Chimps; Is It A Threat To Humans?  
On a Friday evening in mid-January, Jackson, a five-year old chimp living at Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Sierra Leone, alarmed his keepers by ignoring his dinner. By Saturday, he was lethargic and having seizures. Jackson has improved since then—he’s eating and seems stable, despite lingering diarrhea—but his survival is by no means guaranteed. “The disease is very much like that, you see ups and downs,” says veterinarian Andrea Pizarro, the general manager at Tacugama. “One day they’re very good, the next, they’re very bad.” Jackson has epizootic neurologic and gastroenteric syndrome (ENGS), a mysterious ailment that has killed 59 of the 60 Tacugama chimps that have come down with it since 2005. After years struggling to pinpoint the cause of the disease, scientists and veterinarians finally have a possible culprit: a newly discovered species of Sarcina, a type of bacteria commonly found in the environment and occasionally associated with gastrointestinal disease in humans. (Nuwer, 2/3)

In other public health news —

Stat: Global Trends In Lung Cancer Show Continuing Disparities 
With over 2 million new cases globally in 2018, lung cancer remains the most prevalent cancer in the world. And with tobacco use accounting for somewhere between 80% and 90% of lung cancers, depending on region, it’s unsurprising that the World Conference on Lung Cancer this past weekend devoted an entire oral session to the “end-game” of a tobacco-free world. (Haelle, 2/2)

AP: 'New Chance At Life': Man Gets Face, Hands In Rare Surgery
Almost six months after a rare face and hands transplant, Joe DiMeo is relearning how to smile, blink, pinch and squeeze. The 22-year-old New Jersey resident had the operation last August, two years after being badly burned in a car crash. “I knew it would be baby steps all the way,” DiMeo told The Associated Press recently. “You’ve got to have a lot of motivation, a lot of patience. And you’ve got to stay strong through everything.” (Renault and Ritzel, 2/3 )

The Washington Post: Bon Appetit Takes Down A ‘Dangerous’ Video On Canning Seafood After Experts Warn Of Botulism Risk
On his popular series for the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen video channel, “It’s Alive,” host Brad Leone walks viewers through the process of making foods that involve fermentation or preservation, such as kimchi, pickled onions and kombucha. But his latest installment on canned seafood proved to be a jar too far. Bon Appétit removed the video segment from its platforms over the weekend after experts pointed out that the method depicted on the show was dangerous and could result in the growth of the potentially deadly bacteria that causes botulism. (Heil, 2/2)

In pediatric news —

NPR: Is The Pandemic Fueling A Rise In Suicide Attempts Among Kids?
In recent months, many suicidal children have been showing up in hospital emergency departments, and more kids are needing in-patient care after serious suicide attempts. "Across the country, we're hearing that there are increased numbers of serious suicidal attempts and suicidal deaths," says Dr. Susan Duffy, a professor of pediatrics and emergency medicine at Brown University. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between April and October 2020, hospital emergency departments saw a rise in the share of total visits that were from kids for mental health needs. (Chatterjee, 2/2)

CNN: Psychoactive Drugs Are Misused By One-Third Of Young Adults 
Over one-third of young adults misuse their psychoactive prescription drugs, a new study has revealed. Some 34% of adults ages 18 to 25 misused their psychoactive medications, defined as opioids, stimulants, tranquilizers and sedatives, according to a study published Tuesday in the British Medical Journal. (Marples, 2/2)

North Carolina Health News: Teachers Vs Politicians, Parents In COVID Battle 
A groundswell of parents across North Carolina are ready to relinquish their home-schooling roles and are pushing school districts that have yet to open their doors to get students in kindergarten through high school back into classrooms. They’ve caught the ears of elected officials. (Blythe, 2/3)

The Wall Street Journal: Advice On Raising Resilient Kids During The Covid-19 Pandemic 
The pandemic has dealt a tough hand to kids and their parents, with social isolation, distance learning and the constant threat of illness. Child and adolescent psychiatrist Harold S. Koplewicz says even small steps can help parents foster resilience and self-reliance in their children. Dr. Koplewicz, the president and medical director of the Child Mind Institute in New York and California, lays out his parenting approach in “The Scaffold Effect,” which is being published today. Parents, he says, should think of their role as that of a scaffold for a building under construction: their child. The scaffold doesn’t control the shape or style of the building and it eases its support as the structure rises. (Petersen, 2/2)

Chicago Tribune: Palos Hills Teen On Rebound From Spinal Stroke 
Meilita Pilkionis, 16, plays piano and dabbles in painting. She relishes a good meal from Chik-fil-A, and Starbucks’ Pink Drink. Although she’s not a big reader, she likes math, and she’s looking forward to hanging out with her friends when she is back on her feet — literally. Pilkionis suffered a spinal stroke in November that paralyzed her — all feeling and movement from the neck down was gone. (Rockett, 2/2)

Georgia Health News: State Is Years Behind In Reporting On Medicaid Program Quality
Federal law requires states to update their plans for improving Medicaid health care quality at least every three years. Georgia, however, published its most recent quality plan in February 2016. It’s at least two years out of date. (Grapevine, 2/2)

AP: Missouri GOP Proposal Would Shield Pre-Existing Conditions
Several Republican Missouri lawmakers on Tuesday filed legislation to ensure people with pre-existing conditions can access health insurance if the Affordable Care Act is undone. The proposals would amend the state Constitution to require that health insurance companies cover people with pre-existing medical conditions without charging them more. (2/3)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: As Fatal Overdoses Surge In Jefferson Parish, Deadly New Fentanyl Variants Emerge
Drug overdose deaths in Jefferson Parish climbed by at least 50% last year, and authorities now report the emergence of two new, deadlier variants of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that already has a lethal reputation when abused. The Jefferson Parish Coroner's Office has recorded 233 overdose deaths in 2020, up 50% from 2019, according to Coroner Gerry Cvitanovich. And the final number is expected to rise as investigators complete toxicology testing for about 20 outstanding cases from last year. Of those 233 deaths, 160 cases involved fentanyl, a pain-management drug that is more potent than heroin and 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine. (Hunter, 2/2)

AP: Farmers Sue State Over COVID-19 Rules For Migrant Workers
Two farm groups are suing the state of Washington for failing to revise emergency regulations that seek to protect migrant farmworkers from the COVID-19 virus. The groups filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Yakima County Superior Court. It seeks to invalidate the recently renewed rules as arbitrary, capricious and not feasible. “We’re disappointed we had to take this step, but our farms are on the line and we had no other choice,” said John Stuhlmiller, chief executive officer of the Washington Farm Bureau. (Geranios, 2/2)

AP: Tokyo Olympic Organizers Reiterate 'We Will Hold The Games'
The president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee had a simple message Tuesday for fellow members of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party. The games will happen. “No matter what situation would be with the coronavirus, we will hold the games,” Yoshiro Mori, who is also a former Japanese prime minister, told lawmakers. “We should pass on the discussion of whether we will hold the games or not, but instead discuss how we should hold it.” (Tanaka, 2/2)

Politico: Pentagon: Trump Administration Laid Groundwork For Guantanamo Vaccinations 
The Pentagon on Tuesday said the Trump administration set in motion the now-reversed decision to vaccinate 40 prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, after the plan initiated a sharp backlash as coronavirus vaccine doses remain scarce across the country. John Kirby, the Pentagon’s top spokesperson, said the vaccine plan was part of the Defense Department’s original rollout, rather than the result of a specific decision to vaccinate the detainees ahead of other people. (Seligman, 2/2)

Modern Healthcare: Anthem Picks Up Medicaid Plans In Puerto Rico
Anthem is acquiring InnovaCare Health's Medicare Advantage and Medicaid plans in Puerto Rico. A spokesperson estimates the Indianapolis-based insurer's total number of members in the combined plans will reach 10.5 million once the deal is complete. Anthem, which operates Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in 14 states, will add more than 267,000 Medicare Advantage members and 305,000 Medicaid members to its rolls with the acquisition, making it the fourth-largest Medicare Advantage insurer behind Aetna. (Tepper, 2/2)

Bloomberg: Myanmar’s Doctors Vow To Shut Hospitals In Anti-Coup Protests
Myanmar’s doctors have vowed to shut hospitals across the country as public protests intensified amid calls to defy the new military regime that took control of the government and seized civilian leaders in a coup on Monday. A “Civil Disobedience Movement” started by pro-democracy activists including medical professionals announced on social media Wednesday that more than 70 hospitals and medical departments would stop work in protest of what it called an “illegitimate” government. (Lin Kyaw and Heijmans, 2/3)

The Wall Street Journal: Capt. Tom Moore, U.K. Covid-19 Charity Hero, Dies At 100 
Capt. Tom Moore, a British military veteran who shot to fame last year after raising millions of pounds for charity by walking lengths of his garden during lockdown, has died at age 100 after contracting the coronavirus. Capt. Moore’s family said on Twitter that he had been fighting pneumonia and had tested positive for the coronavirus in January. During the last year, the World War II veteran became a mascot for a British nation plagued by Covid-19, raising millions for health workers, recording a No. 1 single, publishing a book and being knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his efforts. (Colchester, 2/2)

In updates from China —

Bloomberg: WHO Experts Visit Wuhan Lab At Center Of Virus Conspiracy Theory
A World Health Organization scientific team in China to investigate the origins of the coronavirus visited the Wuhan laboratory that’s been at the center of months of speculation over how the disease jumped to humans. The international group of scientists arrived at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, home to a high-tech laboratory that studies some of the world’s most infectious diseases, on Wednesday morning. The team is “looking forward to a very productive day and to asking all the questions that we know need to be asked,” Peter Daszak, a New York-based zoologist who is part of both the WHO and The Lancet teams trying to trace the virus’s origin, told reporters, Agence France-Presse reported. (2/3)

AP: China To Send 10 Million Coronavirus Vaccine Doses Abroad
China on Wednesday announced a plan to provide 10 million coronavirus vaccine doses to developing nations through the global COVAX initiative. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said China is responding to a request from the World Health Organization as developing countries seek to fill shortages predicted to run through March. (2/3)

AP: China Arrests Suspects In Fake COVID-19 Vaccine Ring
Chinese police have arrested more than 80 suspected members of a criminal group that was manufacturing and selling fake COVID-19 vaccines, including to other countries. Police in Beijing and in Jiangsu and Shandong provinces broke up the group led by a suspect surnamed Kong that was producing the fake vaccines, which consisted of a simple saline solution, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. The vaccines were sold in China and to other countries, although it was unclear which ones. The group had been active since last September, according to state media. (Wu, 2/3)

USA Today: Fact Check: Biden Freezes Rule On Health Center Insulin, EpiPen Prices
The claim: President Joe Biden is 'reversing' an executive order put into place by Donald Trump to reduce patient costs for insulin and epinephrine. For years, members of Congress have pressured drug companies and pharmacy benefit managers to bring under control the rising costs of insulin and epinephrine for millions of Americans with diabetes or allergies. (Rood, 1/30)

PolitiFact: Why Are Insulin Prices Going Up? Chuck Grassley Explains It
More than 7 million Americans require insulin to treat their diabetes but some people struggle to afford the cost. On Jan. 14, 2021, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, tweeted, "2day Sen Wyden & I released Finance Cmte report on INSULIN costs Prices hv gone THRU THE ROOF for patients/taxpayers bc of manufacturer, health plan & PBM biz practices They make $$ as % of ballooning list price so no incentive to lower price on 100 yr old drug." Grassley has a history of attempting through proposed legislation to lower the cost of the drug, and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, worked with him as the ranking minority member on the Senate Finance Committee when Republicans controlled the Senate. (Black, 2/2)

In other news —

Grand Forks Herald: North Dakota Senate Committee Hears Proposals To Lower Prescription Drug Costs 
The Senate Human Services Committee heard testimony last week on three bills aimed at getting North Dakota consumers access to lower prescription prices. ... The first of the three, SB 2170, would create a system to set payment rates for prescription drugs based on international prices, specifically the price of those drugs in Canada. The bill would compare prescription drug prices in America to prices in Alberta, B.C., Ontario and Quebec. After comparison, the lowest price would be used as reference rate, or maximum rate, for consumers. (Buissinne, 2/1)

Modern Healthcare: Pennsylvania Auditor Claims Express Scripts, Highmark Insurance Overcharged County $1.6 Million For Prescription Drugs
A county official in southwestern Pennsylvania is alleging an insurer and pharmacy benefits manager overcharged Lehigh Valley $1.6 million for prescription drugs over a three-year period, an experience that Controller Mark Pinsley said is far too common in an opaque industry. "This is, as they would say, a standard practice," Pinsley said. "This is why standard practices need to be changed." (Tepper, 1/29)

KOLD and AP: Latino Population Highly Impacted By High Prescription Costs, Organization Says
In a recent report, an organization that advocates for the Latino population in the United States says when it comes to prescription costs, the Latino population is greatly impacted by high prices. According to the UnidosUS Action Fund, Latinos in the U.S. are more likely to live with chronic health conditions that require prescription medicines to stay healthy, but are more likely to be uninsured. (1/28)

Montana Free Press: How To Bring Transparency To Prescription Drug Prices? 
Montana lawmakers are considering a bill that supporters say would bring more clarity to prescription drug prices and eventually lead to lower costs. The Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee heard testimony Friday on Senate Bill 137, which would improve prescription drug pricing transparency. Under the proposal, prescription drug makers would be required to file an annual report with the state disclosing the wholesale price of any drugs sold in Montana. Manufacturers would also be required to provide reasons for price increases if the cost of a drug jumps by 10% or more in a single year or 30% or more over the prior three years.  (Aadland, 1/29)

The Hill: The Path Forward For The Biden Administration: Lowering Drug Costs Without Raising Premiums For Seniors 
The new Biden administration has started off strong, taking a thoughtful approach to any number of critical health care issues and pulling back a number of new regulations to take a fresh look at these public policy issues. To avoid significant disruption of the Medicare Part D program and avoid a spike in premiums at a time when seniors can least afford it, the administration should pull back the rebate rule, issued at the last minute by the outgoing administration. Prescription drug rebates are a primary negotiating tool used by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to exert leverage on drug manufacturers to reduce costs. As validated in reports issued by the Government Accountability Office and Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, rebates are fully passed through from the PBM to the plan sponsor and used to keep premiums low and affordable, which has led to the historic success of the Part D program. (J.C. Scott, 1/27)

Managed Health Care Executive: While We Await Vaccine Progress, We Can Trust In Generic Drugs
Generic drugs account for 90% of the prescriptions filled in the United States. They are the backbone of healthcare providers’ treatment protocol and they are remarkably cost effective: despite being 90% of the prescriptions filled, generics account for only 20% of drug spending. But, while generics are indispensable to the American healthcare system and central to the treatment of COVID-19, the industry’s future still remains uncertain. As President Biden takes office amid a second wave of COVID-19 infections, it’s never been more critical that policymakers recognize the lifesaving role that generic drugs serve. While generic drugs have long been proven to drive down healthcare costs, the essential role they’ve played during the global pandemic has reinforced the necessity of a healthy generics marketplace and emphasized the need for policy that will support the sustainability of the generics and biosimilars industry. (Dan Leonard, 2/1)

The Washington Post: Maryland Should Reject An Arbitrary Upper Limit On Prescription Drugs 
As millions of Americans nationwide patiently wait for access to the coronavirus vaccine, why would lawmakers enact a bill to reduce the availability of lifesaving treatments? Those effects would likely result from legislation the Maryland House of Delegates will soon vote on. As the parent of a child born with a disability, I believe the move will harm some of the most vulnerable among us. In 2019, the Maryland General Assembly voted to establish a Prescription Drug Affordability Board to oversee the prices of prescription drugs. Because the original legislation did not include a funding mechanism for the board, last year lawmakers passed a second bill taxing drug manufacturers and insurers to fund the board’s operations. The House of Delegates will soon consider whether to override Gov. Larry Hogan’s (R) veto of that funding bill. (Mary Vought, 1/29)

The Tennessee Tribune: When Addressing Drug Prices, There's A Right Way And A Wrong Way - The Tennessee Tribune
In what may have been the last significant action of his presidency, former President Trump issued two executive orders designed to lower prescription drug spending in Medicare. The first order would eliminate the current system of “rebates” for prescription drugs covered by Medicare Part D. The second order, dubbed the “Most Favored Nation” model, ties Medicare payments for advanced medicines covered by Medicare Part B — think chemotherapy infusions and other physician-administered medicines — to the lowest prices paid by governments abroad. (Ron Klink, 1/31)

Stat: How Should Biopharma Companies Respond To Drug Price Controls? 
As the Biden administration assumes leadership in Washington and former President Donald Trump’s most-favored nation ruling has been halted by a federal judge, drug price controls don’t feel imminent. Though this should provide some relief to the R&D-based biopharmaceutical industry, the relief may be short-lived. (Ed Schoonveld, 2/2)

Bloomberg: Stopping The Next Covid-19
As the First World War wore on, a new scourge erupted: an influenza pandemic that left even more bodies in its wake than the conflict itself. But the 1918 pandemic was overshadowed by the war, and its lessons went unheeded. One hundred years later, the world faces a similar test. When the Covid-19 pandemic eventually recedes, will we learn the lessons it is teaching us? Or once the emergency subsides and life returns to “normal,” will we carry on the same as before? (Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Michael R. Bloomberg, 2/3)

Boston Globe: A Crisis For One Is A Threat To All
The most serious crises call for the most ambitious decisions to shape the future. We believe that this one can be an opportunity to rebuild consensus for an international order based on multilateralism and the rule of law through efficient cooperation, solidarity, and coordination. In this spirit, we are determined to work together, with and within the United Nations, regional organizations, international forums such as the G7 and G20, and ad hoc coalitions to tackle the global challenges we face now and in the future. Health is the first emergency. The COVID-19 crisis is the greatest test of global solidarity in generations. It has reminded us of an obvious fact: In the face of a pandemic, our health safety chain is only as strong as the weakest health system. COVID-19 anywhere is a threat to people and economies everywhere. (Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel, Macky Sall, António Guterres, Charles Michel, and Ursula von der Leyen, 2/3)

The Washington Post: The Covid Questions We Don’t Want To Face
For nearly a year, most of us have assumed this pandemic could end only one way: herd immunity. Maybe we’d get there by staying inside until a vaccine arrived, or maybe we’d all give up, catch covid-19 and acquire immunity the old-fashioned way. Almost none of us considered whether it was possible that neither of those things might happen. So let’s ask: What if the virus gets more contagious and even more lethal, like the variant first identified in Britain, instead of less deadly, like the 1918 flu? What if the virus keeps reinventing itself and evading our immune defenses, so much so that it’s not possible to reach herd immunity without continually updated vaccinations? What if the pandemic never really “ends”? The situation in Manaus, Brazil, is making me ask those questions. And I don’t like the answers. (Megan McArdle, 2/2)

Bloomberg: Are Covid-19 Vaccines Safe During Pregnancy? Women Deserve Better Data
Researchers studying Covid-19 vaccines failed to get much of any data on pregnant people. That disservice was compounded last week when the WHO recommended against giving pregnant women the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines, appearing to conflict with earlier advice offered by the CDC and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. It later backtracked, though too late to avoid raising a round of new questions. Experts who study sex differences, pregnancy and the immune system say the limited evidence available suggests pregnant people are more at risk from the virus than from the vaccine. (Faye Flam, 2/2)

The New York Times: What Do You Do When Your Child Has The Coronavirus?
I have spent the past 11 months filling my children with fear. Don’t touch that, I say. Lift your mask over your nose. Keep six feet away! I have chosen not to water down the reasons, explaining to my 6- and 9-year-old sons what the coronavirus is and how it infects and how many people have died and continue to die daily in the United States (2,010 on Monday). I have been especially preachy with my youngest. We’ve talked about his lungs. About the pulmonologist who told us he had tracheomalacia at 18 months and then, later, asthma. We’ve talked about all the emergency medical visits, all the nebulizers and inhalers that fill our kitchen cabinet. He gets it. He’s washed his hands so often that his knuckles have turned red and raw. What happens after you spend 11 months filling your children with fear and then the source of dread arrives? And of all the bodies in your household, it slips into only the smallest one? (Courtney Zoffness, 2/2)

Stat: Community Health Centers Can Help Stamp Out Covid-19 
“If you are having difficulty breathing, go to an emergency room or call 911.” This previously routine advisory made its last appearance in a Dec. 18 news release by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, announcing that county hospitals had exceeded 5,000 patients being treated for Covid-19. (Jeffrey E. Harris, 2/3)

Dallas Morning News: Texas Needs A New COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Plan
We’ve got the first miles under our belt in the long drive to achieving herd immunity against COVID-19 through vaccination. But we need to reorient ourselves on this journey with a vaccine 2.0 distribution plan to get us on a better path. The coronavirus now poses the highest risk ever. Although there have been promising signs in recent weeks, with the number of COVID-19 cases in Dallas down 22%, Dallas hospital intensive care units are in crisis. A New York Times national scorecard puts Dallas at “extremely high risk,” the top of the scale. Deaths are on the increase, and new and more dangerous variants of the virus are circulating in the U.S. When it comes to administering the vaccine, Texas has a middling record, according to The New York Times, behind Arkansas and Oklahoma. (Donald F. Kettl, 2/1)

Miami Herald: Gov. DeSantis Says Florida Doesn’t Need Biden’s FEMA Plan
Florida’s COVID vaccine rollout is more like a flaming ant farm, only less organized. Day after day, millions of exasperated seniors armed with laptops, cell phones, iPads and tech-savvy grandchildren try to penetrate swamped local websites that fleetingly offer appointments. Meanwhile, in the blue-sky parallel universe accessible only to the mind of Gov. Ron DeSantis, the state’s distribution networks are humming along like well-oiled machines. The only problem is a shortage of vaccines. ....The result is a daily display of doubletalk that would be comical if so many lives and jobs weren’t at stake. The governor never had a master plan for getting out the vaccine, but he’s determined to ignore and discredit Joe Biden’s. (Carl Hiaasen, 1/29)

The Wall Street Journal: Can Biden Broker A Covid Compromise?
The Covid-19 relief bill is the first test for the Biden administration. It’s no surprise there’s disagreement on how to proceed. One controversy is strategic: How vigorously should the administration pursue bipartisan support for its legislation, and what price should it be willing to pay to achieve it? Some Democrats—myself among them—believe that the president’s calls for unity will be hollow unless he does all he can to reach a bipartisan agreement that satisfies his core objectives. Monday’s meeting with 10 Republican senators to discuss their $618 billion offer was a good first step, and conversations will continue. In the end compromise may be out of reach, and Mr. Biden could be forced to depend on Democratic votes. Then the question will be if the arcane congressional process of “budget reconciliation” is compatible with political reconciliation. The optimists hope that the president can start with one-party government and shift to bipartisanship later; the pessimists fear that early partisanship will poison the well for the next two years. I believe that the preponderance of the evidence supports the pessimists, but Mr. Biden will have to make a tough call. (William A. Galston, 2/2)

The Washington Post: Public Education’s Two Afflictions: Covid-19 And Teachers Unions
Of course the Chicago Teachers Union blamed “sexism, racism and misogyny” for the pressure to open the nation’s third-largest public school system. The CTU could have added a fourth grievance: anti-Puerto Rican vacationism. On the same day that a CTU board member explained that she was not in a classroom teaching because schools are unsafe, she posted a poolside photo of her grinning self, 2,000 miles from Chicago’s winter winds. Teachers unions always justify their aggressions as “for the children,” but always are serving only their members. Abundant data — from public and private U.S. schools, many of which have remained open, and from schools worldwide — refutes the proposition that children, or teachers, are seriously endangered in schools that have taken, as in Chicago, precautions including air purifiers and intensified cleaning. (George F. Will, 2/3)

Stat: Medical School Debt Keeps New Doctors From Working In Underserved Areas
A medical degree from one of America’s elite private medical schools adds prestige to a new doctor’s resume. But it can also come with a significant impediment to society: Because of the exorbitant tuition these schools charge, it’s extremely difficult for their new doctors to help patients in underserved sections of the country who would greatly benefit from their skills, knowledge, and passion. (David Lenihan, 2/3)

The Hill: Medicare Expansion Is A Discount Compared To Obamacare 
President Biden’s ambitious program to fix American healthcare will succeed only if healthcare costs are brought under control. This can only be done with Medicare, which has a scale and simplicity that allow the administrative efficiency and market power needed to control costs. (Gerald Friedman and Travis Campbell, 2/2) 

The Hill: The Care Economy As An Infrastructure Investment 
Infrastructure investment is at the top of the agenda for the new administration and for members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, as it’s a tried-and-true strategy for creating jobs while fulfilling a public need in the midst of a deep recession. (Heather McCulloch and Al-Jen Poo, 2/2)

The New York Times: Covid Is Killing My Patients. Vaccines Can't Come Fast Enough
It takes nearly an hour to clean an intensive care unit room between Covid-19 patients. The curtains come down first. Next the custodial staff removes the trash, disposable gowns and gloves, biohazard bins, leftover belongings. They wipe the room down with bleach. New sheets on the bed, hospital corners. Mop the floor until the splatters of bodily fluids are gone, until it shines. I stopped to watch this process on one recent overnight shift as we prepared for a new patient. She was in her mid-60s, intubated with severe respiratory failure from Covid-19. In some states she might been vaccinated weeks ago, but not yet in Massachusetts, where 7.2 percent of the population has been vaccinated, a rate lower than in three-quarters of the rest of the country. And now she would enter the same freshly cleaned room where countless Covid-19 patients lived and died before her. (Daniela J. Lamas, 2/3)