NPR: FDA Analysis of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine Finds It Safe, Effective
The Food and Drug Administration released an analysis of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday morning that supports its authorization for emergency use. On Friday, a panel of advisers to the agency will meet to evaluate the vaccine and make a recommendation about whether it should be given the OK. If the agency goes on to authorize the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, it would be the third, after those made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, to be become available in the U.S. (Hensley, 2/24)

CNBC: FDA Staff Endorses J&J’s Single-Shot For Emergency Use
The FDA staff said it determined that the clinical trial results and safety data were “consistent with the recommendations set forth in FDA’s guidance Emergency Use Authorization for Vaccines to Prevent COVID-19.” J&J submitted its Covid vaccine data to the FDA on Feb. 4. The vaccine’s level of protection varied by region, J&J said, with the shot demonstrating 66% effectiveness overall, 72% in the United States, 66% in Latin America and 57% in South Africa, where the B.1.351 variant is rapidly spreading. The company said the vaccine prevented 100% of hospitalizations and deaths. (Lovelace Jr., 2/24)

USA Today: FDA Finds One-Dose J&J COVID Vaccine Meets Criteria As Safe, Effective
A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee is holding an all-day meeting Friday to review the data and is likely to give the vaccine a thumbs up, likely leading to an FDA authorization for the vaccine within the next few days. The J&J vaccine differs from the two already authorized, because only one shot is recommended, instead of two. (Weintraub, 2/24)

Also —

NPR: Why The Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Has Gotten A Bad Rap — And Why That's Not Fair 
In clinical trials, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine appears to be 66% effective at preventing moderate to severe cases of COVID-19 — compared to about 95% for Moderna and Pfizer. That has some people wondering if they should avoid the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Absolutely not, says Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. "What I've been saying to my family is, as soon as the J&J vaccine is authorized, if that's what you can get, you should get it as soon as it's your turn in line," says Jha. (Shapiro, 2/22)

The New York Times: As Vaccine Production Ramps Up, The White House Announced The Weekly Supply For States Will Again Increase.
The White House said on Tuesday that weekly shipments of coronavirus vaccines to the states would rise by one million doses to 14.5 million, as vaccine manufacturers continue to ramp up production. The figure was provided to governors in a call with Jeffrey Zeints, the president’s coronavirus response coordinator, said Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, on Tuesday. With tens of millions of eligible Americans waiting to get shots, state officials have been clamoring for more vaccine, saying health practitioners could easily double or triple the number of shots they are administering. (LaFraniere, Sanger and Bogel-Burroughs, 2/24)

The Hill: Biden Administration Increases Weekly Vaccine Shipment To States To 14.5M Doses 
The Biden administration announced Tuesday that it is further increasing the weekly vaccine shipments the federal government sends to states. The White House’s COVID-19 response team announced that states will now receive 14.5 million doses starting next week, a jump from 13.5 million. (Axelrod, 2/23)

Factcheck.org: Biden's Misleading Vaccine Boasts 
In remarks at a Pfizer manufacturing site, President Joe Biden made misleading claims while boasting about his administration’s progress in getting Americans vaccinated against COVID-19. (Robertson, Kiely and Gore, 2/23)

Newsweek: Biden Administration Has Achieved Nearly 50% Of COVID Vaccination Goal, Data Shows
President Joe Biden's administration has nearly reached half of its goal to administer 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses during his first 100 days in office, according to new data. The data, which was released by the Brown University School of Public Health, shows that approximately 49,555,542 COVID-19 vaccinations have been administered, which equates to 49.6 percent of Biden's goal, as he has spent slightly over a month in office. (Impelli, 2/23)

Pfizer, Moderna and other manufacturers vow to boost supplies —

AP: Drug Executives: Big Jump In Vaccine Supply Is Coming Soon
COVID-19 vaccine makers told Congress on Tuesday to expect a big jump in the delivery of doses over the coming month, and the companies insist they will be able to provide enough for most Americans to get inoculated by summer. By the end of March, Pfizer and Moderna expect to have provided the U.S. government with a total of 220 million vaccine doses, up sharply from the roughly 75 million shipped so far. “We do believe we’re on track,” Moderna President Stephen Hoge said, outlining ways the company has ramped up production. “We think we’re at a very good spot.” (Perrone and Neergaard, 2/23)

CNN: Pfizer, Moderna, J&J Pledge 240 Million Total Covid-19 Vaccine Doses By The End Of March 
Executives from each of the vaccine makers, along with executives from AstraZeneca and Novavax, testified before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations on Tuesday. A fourth Covid-19 vaccine could become available in the US in April, when AstraZeneca could secure FDA authorization of its vaccine. Dr. Ruud Dobber, the executive vice president and president of AstraZeneca's biopharmaceuticals business unit, said the company will immediately release 30 million doses upon authorization of the vaccine and up to 50 million doses by the end of April.(Bonifield, 2/23)

In related news about Novavax —

The Wall Street Journal: Novavax Nears Covid-19 Vaccine Game Changer—After Years Of Failure 
Novavax is advancing toward authorization of a Covid-19 vaccine. Scientists believe that, if cleared, it could be one of the more powerful weapons against the pandemic, offering key possible advantages over its competitors. Some early data suggest the Novavax shot may be one of the first shown to stem asymptomatic spread of the coronavirus and also potentially provide longer-lasting protection. If the two-shot regimen is authorized, Novavax will still face the challenge of making and distributing it in large quantities. The firm sold some manufacturing assets in 2019 when it was desperate for cash. (Zuckerman and Loftus, 2/23)

USA Today: Cancer Patients Frustrated As They Continue To Wait For Vaccine
The American Association for Cancer Research released a letter Wednesday signedby 130 organizations, cancer centers and institutions to the Biden administration and state leaders to raise awareness about the importance of cancer patients and survivors receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. A December study published in JAMA Oncology found cancer patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were more likely to require hospitalization than people without cancer. More than 47% of cancer patients with COVID-19 were hospitalized versus 24% of COVID-19 patients without cancer. The study also showed about 15% of patients with cancer died from COVID-19 compared to 5% of non-cancer patients. (Rodriguez, 2/24)

The CT Mirror: Grocery Store Workers ‘Disgusted’ With Lamont's New COVID-19 Vaccine Policy
Unions representing thousands of grocery store workers vented their frustration Monday night with Gov. Ned Lamont’s decision not to prioritize the group in the next wave of coronavirus vaccinations. “We’re disgusted, we’re frustrated,” said Mark Espinosa, president of Local 919 of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which represents about 7,000 Stop & Shop grocery chain employees in Connecticut. “They are front line employees. They are essential. Let’s face it, if they’re not in the stores, people are not eating.” (Phaneuf, 2/23)

From the states —

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Nevada Vaccine Allotment Still Very Low In State Comparison
Nevada health officials are still awaiting answers about why the state has one of the nation’s lowest COVID-19 vaccine allocations from the federal government. As of this week, the state remained ranked among the bottom 10 states in terms of vaccine allocation per capita. It had received about 21,070 first doses per 100,000 adult residents. Since late January, the state has sought the formula that federal officials use to determine how many more vaccine doses each state can order each week. It has yet to be provided, Nevada COVID-19 response director Caleb Cage said during a news briefing Monday. (Scott Davidson, 2/23)

AP: Tennessee Probe Finds Wasted Vaccines
More than 2,400 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in Tennessee’s most populous county went to waste over the past month while local officials sat on tens of thousands of shots that they thought had already gone into arms, the state’s top health official announced Tuesday. The finding comes after the Department of Health launched an investigation over the weekend into a report that recent winter storms caused 1,000 doses to be tossed in Shelby County, which encompasses Memphis. (2/23)

Roll Call: Vaccine Sign-Up Struggles Highlight State And Federal Challenges 
The Biden administration’s new programs to get COVID-19 vaccines to pharmacies, long-term care centers and other sites are meant to ease state vaccine distribution — but in some cases they are having the opposite effect, and states are calling for more coordination. (Cohen, 2/24)

The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Plan To Create Sign-Up Portal And Waitlist For State COVID-19 Vaccine Sites Draws Criticism 
Two months into the effort to vaccinate the public against COVID-19, the administration of Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan reversed course and said it would launch an official, though limited, waitlist to ease the frustrating hunt for scarce doses. (Cohn and Wood, 2/24)

Also —

Stateline: Bills To Block Mandatory Worker Vaccines Falter In The States
Lawmakers in at least 23 states, often encouraged by vaccine skeptics, have proposed banning employers from requiring workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or other infectious diseases. Most bills are sponsored by Republicans, who say employees shouldn’t have to choose between getting a shot and staying employed. “I just kind of like the idea of personal freedom, and that’s one of my biggest things as a legislator,” said Republican state Sen. Dennis Kruse, who sponsored one such bill in Indiana. Although vaccines protect individuals and communities from disease outbreaks, online disinformation has turbocharged some people’s concerns about vaccine safety and potential mandates in recent years. Some anti-vaccine activists have spread false information about the science and public policy surrounding immunizations. (Quinton, 2/23)

The CT Mirror: Three Weeks Into COVID-19 Vaccinations, DOC Has Vaccinated 10% Of Inmates, 40% Of Staff
Three weeks into the Department of Correction’s vaccinations of the incarcerated population, 837 inmates — less than 10% of the 9,034 people in prisons and jails as of Feb. 22 — have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The department received another 500 doses Tuesday morning. Department Director of External Affairs Karen Martucci said the DOC has used all of the shots it has received and is seeking more. (Lyons, 2/23)

The Baltimore Sun: They Are Prioritized For COVID Vaccines. But Some Marylanders With Disabilities Still Facing Access Hurdles. 
Frustration consumes Nadina Funk when she turns on the news and sees footage of young, healthy-looking people rolling up their sleeves for the COVID-19 vaccine. Funk, an Overlea resident, has not yet found an appointment for herself or for her 30-year-old son, James, affectionately known as “Jimmy.” He is intellectually disabled, according to Funk, 63, who is his caregiver. And while James is mobile and sometimes verbal, he is not able to live alone. (Miller and Williams IV, 2/24)

Capital & Main: Vaccines Are Not Reaching Hardest Hit Los Angeles Communities 
Veronica Sance was irate. For days, she’d been monitoring the sidewalk in front of a prime South Los Angeles COVID-19 vaccination site, Kedren Community Health Center. And she did not like what she was seeing.“I was here on Thursday, Friday and Monday, and I was the only African American in the standby line,” a situation she described as “horrendous.” After securing a dose of the vaccine for herself, the 60-year-old activist who lives nearby returned the following week with a sign: “Go home vaccine chasers! Leave our vaccines alone!” On this particular day, the line of people willing to wait hours for unclaimed vaccines included a smattering of Asians, Latinos, African Americans, as well as whites. (Goodheart and Albaladejo, 2/23)

Detroit Free Press: 3.7% Of COVID-19 Vaccines Went To Black Michiganders
Just 3.7% of the nearly 1.3 million Michiganders who have gotten at least a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine are Black, even though they make up 13.7% of the state's population, new data released Tuesday from the state health department shows. People who identified as white got 41.7% of the first-dose vaccines, and 1.1% of first-dose vaccines were put into the arms of people who are listed as Asian or Pacific Islander, though they account for about 3.3% of the population. American Indian/Alaskan Natives got 0.3% of the vaccine first doses, the data shows. Some 9.5% of those vaccinated are listed as "other." (Jordan Shamus, 2/23)

PBS NewsHour: Why Indigenous People In Cities Feel ‘Invisible’ As Pandemic Wears On
Like many other communities of color, Indigenous people across America have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus because of historical health disparities, lack of basic resources in some parts of the country and poorly funded Indigenous health care. Navajo Nation, the largest American tribe with more than 300,000 members, has been devastated by loss. As of February 21, at least 1,144 Navajo people have died from the virus. Centers for Disease Control race data from December in 14 states show COVID-19 mortality among American Indians/Alaska natives was 1.8 times higher than white people. In another study of data from 23 states last summer, American Indians/Alaska Natives tested positive for COVID-19 three and a half times the rate white people tested positive. (Kuhn, 2/23)

In related news about race and health —

Capital & Main: The American Way Of Death: Separate And Unequal 
Federal researchers had braced themselves for the result. In a year ravaged by hundreds of thousands of deaths related to COVID-19, it stood to reason that the average life expectancy in the United States, a basic measure of the nation’s collective health, would drop. It was unusual, but not unprecedented. Instead, researchers were staggered by what they found. Life expectancy in the U.S. decreased by a full year during the first half of 2020 alone, their report said — the largest such setback since World War II, and one of the clearest signs yet of the havoc the virus has wrought on the country. (Kreidler, 2/23)

North Carolina Health News: Black Health A Casualty Of NC’s Journey From Plantation To Prison 
In North Carolina, the relationship between slavery and incarceration is clear and direct. Even with the end of slavery in the late-1800s, many Southern states retained economies based on labor-intensive agricultural products, but without the free labor that had supported those economies. As in many states, North Carolina turned to incarcerated populations to fill that gap. (Kelley, Saunders and Wolf, 2/23)

The New York Times: New California Variant More Contagious, Two Studies Confirm 
A variant first discovered in California in December is more contagious than earlier forms of the coronavirus, two new studies have shown, fueling concerns that emerging mutants like this one could hamper the sharp decline in cases over all in the state and perhaps elsewhere. In one of the new studies, researchers found that the variant has spread rapidly in a San Francisco neighborhood in the past couple of months. The other report confirmed that the variant has surged across the state, and revealed that it produces twice as many viral particles inside a person’s body as other variants do. That study also hinted that the variant may be better than others at evading the immune system — and vaccines. (Zimmer, 2/23)

Los Angeles Times: California's Coronavirus Strain Looks Increasingly Dangerous 
A coronavirus variant that probably emerged in May and surged to become the dominant strain in California not only spreads more readily than its predecessors but also evades antibodies generated by COVID-19 vaccines or prior infection and is associated with severe illness and death, researchers said. In a study that helps explain the state’s dramatic holiday surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths — and portends further trouble ahead — scientists at UC San Francisco said the cluster of mutations that characterizes the homegrown strain should mark it as a “variant of concern” on par with those from the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil. (Healy, 2/23)

Live Science: 'Homegrown' California Coronavirus Variant Is More Contagious And Possibly Deadlier
Scientists in California are increasingly worried about the state's "homegrown" coronavirus variant, with studies now showing that the variant is more transmissible than earlier strains and may be more resistant to current vaccines, according to news reports. The variant, known as B.1.427/B.1.429, first emerged in California last spring but didn't show up on scientists' radar until this winter, when cases of the variant rapidly took off in the state, according to The New York Times. However, scientists weren't sure if the variant was indeed more contagious than previous strains or if it became more common simply by chance — for instance, through a few superspreading events. (Rettner, 2/23)

In related news from California —

KHN: Lessons From California Prison Where Covid ‘Spread Like Wildfire’
When news of the pandemic first reached the men incarcerated at Avenal State Prison in central California, inmate Ed Welker said the prevailing mood was panic. “We were like, ‘Yeah, it’s going to come in here and it’s going to spread like wildfire and we’re all going to get it,’” he said. “And that’s exactly what happened.” Almost a year later, 94% of Avenal’s incarcerated men have contracted covid-19 and eight have died. With more than 3,600 confirmed cases among prisoners and staff members, the facility tops the list of the country’s largest covid clusters in prisons compiled by The New York Times and the UCLA Covid-19 Behind Bars Data Project. (Klein, 2/24)

Bloomberg: Covid Death Outlook Improves As Drop In U.S. Exceeds Forecasts
The decline in Covid-19 fatalities is exceeding expectations in the U.S., and virus modelers are revising forecasts to reflect a more optimistic outlook heading into March. The country is expected to have about 7,922 such deaths in the week ending March 20, the lowest since the first week of November, according to the University of Massachusetts’ Reich Lab Covid-19 Forecast Hub, which issued a 28-day forecast on Tuesday based on dozens of independent models. (Levin, 2/23)

The Washington Post: Coronavirus Deaths Fell By 20% Last Week From Previous One, WHO Says
Global deaths from the coronavirus fell by 20 percent last week compared with the one before, the World Health Organization said in a statement, part of a wider trend that also includes a decline in cases worldwide. The downturn in both cases and deaths follows a winter surge in infections but also has coincided with an increase in vaccinations, particularly in the United States and Europe. (Cunningham, 2/24)

CNN: Experts Worry Variant-Fueled Surge Of Covid-19 Could Be Weeks Away But Cases Will Likely Fall Again By Summer 
Coronavirus infections across the US are still on the way down and more Americans are getting their vaccinations -- but variants could cause complications in the coming weeks. Several experts predicted Tuesday the highly contagious B.1.1.7 variant that was first detected in the UK is likely to fuel another surge of cases in just a matter of weeks. (Maxouris, 2/24)

Anchorage Daily News: Rare U.S. Case Of Highly Contagious COVID-19 Variant From Brazil Identified In Alaska
A first in-state case of a highly transmissible coronavirus variant originally traced back to Brazil has been discovered in Alaska. The case was first discovered on Tuesday in a specimen collected from a person in Anchorage who developed COVID-19 symptoms earlier this month and had no known travel history, a state public health official told the Daily News. It is the sixth case of the P.1 variant to be discovered so far in the United States, making Alaska one of just five U.S. states with a known case of this particular variant. (Annie Berman, 2/23)

In other updates on the spread of coronavirus —

The Hill: Navy Sailor In Virginia Dies Of COVID-19 
A Virginia Beach-based Navy sailor has died of COVID-19, the service said Tuesday, marking the military’s 23rd death during the pandemic. The sailor, who was assigned to Assault Craft Unit 4 based at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, died Monday after testing positive for the virus Friday and being admitted to a civilian hospital in Norfolk, Va., Saturday, the Navy said in a statement. (Kheel, 2/23)

Fox News: Michigan Boy With Rare Coronavirus-Related Inflammatory Illness Endures 4 Amputations
A 10-year-old boy in Michigan has undergone four amputations of his hands and legs after a rare bout of a serious coronavirus-related inflammatory condition. Dae'Shun Jamison was diagnosed with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), and had his right leg amputated in early February at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, a spokesperson for Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital, where the boy entered rehabilitation and recovery, confirmed to Fox News. The child was transferred back to Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital on Monday for amputations of both hands and his left leg. (Rivas, 2/23)

Axios: A Wave Of Children Are Still Being Hospitalized For Coronavirus-Related Illness 
Children's hospitals across the country say they're still seeing a surge of kids suffering from a serious illness that typically follows coronavirus infections. ... Even as coronavirus hospitalizations decline overall, children's hospitals say they're still seeing large numbers of kids suffering from multisystem inflammatory syndrome, commonly known MIS-C, — a serious illness that generally occurs several weeks after a child is infected with the coronavirus. (Owens and McGhee, 2/24)

Also —

NPR: Cultural Differences May Affect The Outcome Of A Pandemic
On Monday, the U.S. reached a heartbreaking 500,000 deaths from COVID-19. But widespread death from COVID-19 isn't necessarily inevitable. Data from Johns Hopkins University shows that some countries have had few cases and fewer deaths per capita. The U.S. has had 152 deaths per 100,000 people, for example, versus .03 in Burundi and .04 in Taiwan. There are many reasons for these differences among countries, but a study in The Lancet Planetary Health published last month suggests that a key factor may be cultural. (Kritz, 2/23)

CIDRAP: Adults With Down Syndrome 3 Times More Likely To Die Of COVID, Study Finds
Adults older than 40 with Down syndrome are about three times more likely to die of COVID-19 than the rest of the population, pointing to the need to prioritize coronavirus vaccination to this group, a study published yesterday in the Lancet's EClinicalMedicine has found. A team led by Emory University researchers conducted the international online survey of the clinicians or caregivers of 1,046 patients with Down syndrome diagnosed as having COVID-19 from April to November 2020. (Van Beusekom, 2/23)

Fox News: Coronavirus Less Likely To Infect Glasses Wearers, Study Suggests
Good news, glasses wearers: Your spectacles may offer you some extra protection from the novel coronavirus, according to the findings of a new study. In a report published earlier this month on the pre-print site medRxiv, researchers said that those who wear glasses at least eight hours during the day are less likely to contract the novel disease because they touch their eyes less frequently than those who do not wear glasses. (Farber, 2/23)

Scientific American: COVID Variants May Arise In People With Compromised Immune Systems 
Last summer, as the second wave of COVID-19 cases was sweeping the United Kingdom, a man in his 70s was admitted to his local hospital where he tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. He was sent home, but a month later he checked into the hospital at Cambridge University, unable to shake the virus. Like many people who develop severe COVID-19, the man was immunocompromised. He had lymphoma and had previously received chemotherapy treatment. Doctors gave him remdesivir, an antiviral drug used to treat COVID-19, but he showed little improvement. Two months after his illness began, as the patient continued to worsen, his medical team opted to treat him with convalescent plasma, a therapy derived from the blood of patients who have recovered from COVID-19, which contains antibodies to fight off the virus. (Sutherland, 2/23)

The Washington Post: Coronavirus Medical Mystery: Baby With High Viral Load Puzzles Researchers
Among the more than 2,000 youngsters treated for the coronavirus at Children’s National Hospital in D.C., one newborn was unusual. The baby was very sick, for one. Most infected kids barely show symptoms and even the hospitalized ones tend to have mild cases. But the real surprise came when doctors measured the infant’s viral load. It was 51,418 times the median of other pediatric patients. And when they sequenced the virus in the baby recently, they found a variant they hadn’t seen before. (Cha, 2/23)

The Hill: Biden Health Nominee Faces First Senate Test 
President Biden’s nominee to lead the massive federal health agency faced his first hearing in the Senate on Tuesday, with some Republicans indicating he doesn’t have the experience necessary for the job but others appearing to leave the door open to supporting him. (Hellmann, 2/23)

Modern Healthcare: Becerra Supports Access To Care, Provider Funding During Confirmation Hearing
HHS secretary nominee Xavier Becerra on Tuesday threw his support behind efforts to improve access to care, aligning himself with President Joe Biden's healthcare agenda. During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, the current California attorney general focused on issues affecting the healthcare industry, including coverage expansion, access to care and provider funding. He is also slated to appear before the full Senate and Senate finance committee on Wednesday. (Brady, 2/23)

Roll Call: Video: Becerra Touts Health Care Record As GOP Targets Nomination 
President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra, appeared Tuesday for his first of two Senate confirmation hearings. He started with the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Watch CQ Roll Call health care reporter Mary Ellen McIntire break down how Becerra presented his background, and where Republican senators may not see common ground. (McIntire and McKinless, 2/23)

Stat: Republicans’ New Becerra Attack: He’s Not Sympathetic Enough To Pharma
Republican senators on Tuesday blasted President Biden’s health secretary nominee using an unexpected argument: He’s not sympathetic enough to the pharmaceutical industry. The attack on Xavier Becerra, California’s attorney general, is a surprising twist following years of agitation on Capitol Hill and from the Trump administration over high drug prices. But it also highlights the credibility that pharmaceutical companies may have earned after developing several Covid-19 vaccines in record time, and the challenge Becerra could face in balancing pricing frustrations with the industry’s central role in pandemic response. (Facher, 2/23)

The Hill: Pressed On School Reopening, Becerra Says It's A 'Local Issue' 
Xavier Becerra, President Biden's nominee to be secretary of Health and Human Services, said Tuesday when pressed about school reopenings that they are a "local issue," declining to answer a specific question about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance. (Sullivan, 2/23)

KHN: ‘It’s A Minefield’: Biden Health Pick Must Tread Carefully On Abortion And Family Planning
As President Joe Biden works to overhaul U.S. health care policy, few challenges loom larger for his health secretary than restoring access to family planning while parrying legal challenges to abortion proliferating across the country. Physicians, clinics and women’s health advocates are looking to Xavier Becerra, Biden’s nominee to run the Department of Health and Human Services, to help swiftly unwind Trump-era funding cuts and rules that decimated the nation’s network of reproductive health providers over the past four years. (Levey and Bluth, 2/24)

The Hill: Hoyer: House Will Vote On COVID-19 Relief Bill Friday 
The House will vote on President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package on Friday, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said on Tuesday night. “The House will vote on Friday on @POTUS’ #AmericanRescuePlan to end this pandemic and deliver urgently needed relief to America’s families and small businesses. The American people strongly support this bill, and we are moving swiftly to see it enacted into law,” Hoyer tweeted. (Williams, 2/23)

Roll Call: House Democrats Prep Changes To Coronavirus Relief Package 
A $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill continued to take shape Tuesday, with suspense building over whether a minimum wage increase would survive. House Budget Chairman John Yarmuth has assembled an initial 138-page draft manager's amendment full of changes to the 592-page version his committee approved on Monday, including the submissions of three committees that didn't mark up their portions previously. (Krawzak, 2/23)

CNN: First On CNN: Biden's Covid Plan Gets Backing From More Than 150 Top Business Leaders 
More than 150 senior executives from some of the largest American companies across several major industries have lined up behind President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, according to a letter obtained by CNN. (Mattingly, 2/24)

The Hill: Collins: Biden's $1.9T Coronavirus Package Won't Get Any Senate GOP Votes 
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) says that President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package likely won’t get any Republican votes on the Senate floor. And she pointed to Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and White House chief of staff Ron Klain as a major reason why bipartisan talks on the relief bill fell apart. (Bolton, 2/23)

Politico: 'Bad Politics For Them': GOP Sneers At Dem Covid Bill 
Republicans are making a risky but calculated bet: that voters won’t punish them for opposing a popular $1.9 trillion coronavirus bill. With President Joe Biden and Democrats barely even seeking their input, Republicans are now gambling that there will be more backlash over schools staying closed, the Covid bill's massive price tag and a partisan process. And with the GOP closing ranks to oppose the aid package, it could become the first pandemic relief plan that garners zero support from Republicans — following a year with five bipartisan bills and more than $3 trillion spent on fighting the virus. (Zanona and Everett, 2/23)

In related news about the effects of covid —

Roll Call: Mental Health Experts Say Funding Needed To Address Needs 
Growing behavioral health needs and existing workforce inadequacies are amplifying calls for Congress to provide additional resources to address a national mental health crisis exacerbated by COVID-19, the economic recession, and social isolation. (Raman, 2/23)

The Hill: Children's Hospitals, Pediatricians Urge Biden To Prioritize Youth Mental Health 
Children’s hospitals and pediatricians are calling on the Biden administration to prioritize children’s mental, emotional and behavioral health in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. ... They also think Congress should provide new funding for activities at the state and local level to support children like telehealth, training for crisis response, and school-based services. (Gangitano, 2/24)

NBC News: Biden To Sign Executive Order Targeting America's Supply Chains In Critical Areas
President Joe Biden plans to sign an executive order Wednesday seeking to strengthen America's supply chains in several sectors to bolster the economy and protect workers, administration officials said. The executive order would strengthen supply chains for critical goods primarily in mainly four areas: pharmaceuticals, rare earth minerals, semiconductor chips and large-capacity batteries. Officials said the order was prompted, in part, by the widespread shortage of personal protective equipment and supply chain issues at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic during the Trump administration. (Clark, 2/24)

The Washington Post: Biden To Order Sweeping Review Of U.S. Supply Chain Weak Spots
Biden’s executive order, which he is scheduled to sign this afternoon, also is aimed at avoiding a repeat of the shortages of personal protective gear such as masks and gloves experienced last year during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic. “We’re going to get out of the business of reacting to supply chain crises as they arise,” said one administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to brief reporters. (Lynch, 2/24)

Los Angeles Times: Biden To Order Check Of Supply Chains For National Security
Stable supply chains are critical for national security, something that became clear as healthcare workers struggled to get enough masks and protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s also important to help the Biden administration achieve some of its goals, such as getting more electric cars on the road and beefing up the country’s cybersecurity defenses. (Megerian, 2/24)

In other news from the Biden administration —

The Hill: Fauci: Relaxed CDC Guidance For Fully Vaccinated People May Be Coming 'Soon'
Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) could soon release more relaxed safety recommendations for people who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. In an interview with CNN’s Alisyn Camerota, Fauci said the CDC will likely issue guidance after agency officials “sit down, talk about it, look at the data and then come out with a recommendation based on the science.” (Castronuovo, 2/23)

CNN: Biden Says Administration Will 'Probably' Mail Out Millions Of Masks Soon
President Joe Biden said Tuesday the White House will "probably" move to send face masks directly to Americans as the country continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic. It's a plan originally proposed by health officials during the Trump administration but was blocked by the former President. "We're probably going to be sending out an awful lot of masks around the country very shortly, millions of them," Biden said during a roundtable event with Black frontline workers. He said that the issue of masks was turned into a political issue, which cost "an awful lot of lives." (Hoffman, 2/23)

Becker's Hospital Review: HHS Will Stop Distributing COVID-19 Antibody Drugs, Says They're No Longer In Short Supply
HHS said it will no longer allocate doses of COVID-19 antibody drugs from Eli Lilly and Regeneron because they are no longer in short supply, according to the American Hospital Association. Healthcare providers should now order the drugs directly from AmerisourceBergen, the sole distributor of the antibody drugs. The drugs will still be free, HHS said, according to a Feb. 19 news release from the hospital association.  (Anderson, 2/23)

Crain's Cleveland Business: UH Named Site For Clinical Trial Of Investigational Drug For Outpatient COVID-19 Patients
University Hospitals will serve as one of the first sites in the nation for a clinical trial evaluating an investigational drug for COVID-19 patients who don't need to be hospitalized, according to a news release. A novel, orally-administered serine protease inhibitor called RHB-107 has demonstrated antiviral and potential tissue-protective effects, according to the release. RedHill Biopharma is evaluating the study drug, also known as Upamostat, in a Phase 2/3 study for treating patients with symptomatic COVID-19 who don't require inpatient care. (Coutre, 2/23)

In biotech news —

CNBC: Elizabeth Holmes Denies Destroying Evidence In Theranos Case
The mystery of what happened to critical evidence proving Theranos’ blood-testing technology didn’t work deepened when Elizabeth Holmes blamed the government for what she calls an “investigative failure. ”In a filing late Tuesday, attorneys for Holmes shot back at prosecutors on a motion to exclude evidence of so-called test results, saying they are at fault for losing a database called the Laboratory Information System (LIS),  which contained three years worth of accuracy and failure rates of Theranos tests. (Khorram, 2/23)

Stat: How Covid-19 Could Usher In A New Role For Continuous Glucose Monitoring
In early May, a wing of Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center was eerily empty. The space had been cleared of patients as the pandemic raged. But it wasn’t going to waste. (Palmer, 2/24)

Modern Healthcare: Ascension To Expand Pilot Of Google EHR Search Tool
St. Louis-based Ascension on Tuesday said it's expanding a pilot of an electronic health record tool from Google, a next step in the controversial partnership it struck with the tech giant in 2018. The pilot of Google's tool, an interface on which clinicians will be able to search for patient records and details within a record, began with a "small group of clinicians" in Nashville, Tenn., and Jacksonville, Fla., according to a blog post from Eduardo Conrado, Ascension's executive vice president of strategy and innovations. The pilot, which tests an early release of the software, is expanding to roughly 200 clinicians. (Kim Cohen, 2/23)

Stat: Google Expands Controversial Pilot Project Using Patient Data
More than a year after facing widespread criticism over its patient data-sharing arrangement with hospital chain Ascension, Google on Tuesday unveiled new details and a name for a core product of the partnership. (Brodwin, 2/23)

In other health care industry news —

Roll Call: Health Care Bore Brunt Of Cyberattacks In 2020, Study Says 
The global health care and pharmaceutical industries bore the brunt of cyberattacks in 2020 as nation-state hackers and criminals targeted companies looking for information on COVID-19 as well as vaccine development, cybersecurity research firm CrowdStrike said in a report made public Monday. (Ratnam, 2/23)

Georgia Health News: Medicare Penalizing 18 Georgia Hospitals Under Often-Criticized Patient Safety Program 
Medicare is lowering payments to 18 Georgia hospitals due to their high rates of infections and other patient injuries. The hospitals getting penalized include large urban facilities and some serving midsized cities. They will lose 1 percent of the Medicare payments over 12 months. (Miller, 2/23)

FierceHealthcare: CVS Invested $114M In Affordable Housing Last Year. Here's Where Those Funds Went 
CVS Health invested more than $114 million in affordable housing last year. The healthcare giant said those investments will lead to the construction or rehabilitation of over 2,800 affordable housing units in 30 cities and 12 states. That includes more than 460 permanent supportive housing units for the homeless, which are in construction. In addition, 560 units are set aside for seniors, CVS said, and more than 100 units are reserved for veterans and their families. (Minemyer, 2/23)

Stat: OpenBiome To Wind Down Stool Bank Operations 
OpenBiome, the nation’s first public stool bank, will soon end its program for collecting, screening, and shipping material for fecal microbiota transplants, or FMT, the company announced Tuesday. (Sheridan, 2/23)

Crain's Detroit Business: State Of Confusion: Michigan's Mental Health System Has Many Layers For Those In Need To Navigate
Michigan's $3 billion public system for treating individuals with severe mental illnesses, intellectual disabilities and addictions is heralded by advocates as being free of the financial pressures the commercial marketplace faces to squeeze out a profit. Those same advocates also acknowledge the system is sometimes inefficient, bulky and unable to meet a growing need for behavioral health care amid escalating financial pressures for the state's overall Medicaid insurance program for low-income residents. (Livengood, 2/23)

KHN: ‘It Doesn’t Feel Worth It’: Covid Is Pushing New York’s EMTs To The Brink
In his 17 years as an emergency medical provider, Anthony Almojera thought he had seen it all. “Shootings, stabbings, people on fire, you name it,” he said. Then came covid-19.Before the pandemic, Almojera said it was normal to respond to one or two cardiac arrests calls a week; now he’s grown used to several each shift. One day last spring, responders took more than 6,500 calls — more than any day in his department’s history, including 9/11. (Pskowski, 2/24)

San Francisco Chronicle: The Other Pandemic Health Threat: Bay Area Experts Say It's Time To Get Up And Exercise
After nearly a year of staying close to home, people are feeling not only the mental toll of the pandemic, but the physical toll too. Without frantic school drop-offs, morning commutes, or pickup games of basketball after work to keep our bodies moving, many of us are leading increasingly sedentary lives. “We see a lot of eye strain, headaches and spine problems,” said Dr. Wayne Smith, chief of the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Kaiser Permanente’s San Jose Medical Center. While working from home has afforded more time for healthy habits like sleep and exercise for some, others are struggling to get out from behind their laptops. (Vaziri, 2/23)

The New York Times: How Meaningful Is Prediabetes For Older Adults? 
A few years ago, routine lab tests showed that Susan Glickman Weinberg, then a 65-year-old clinical social worker in Los Angeles, had a hemoglobin A1C reading of 5.8 percent, barely above normal. “This is considered prediabetes,” her internist told her. A1C measures how much sugar has been circulating in the bloodstream over time. If her results reached 6 percent — still below the number that defines diabetes, which is 6.5 — her doctor said he would recommend the widely prescribed drug metformin. (Span, 2/23)

Bay Area News Group: Stanford Study Shows Why Zoom Fatigue Is Real
COVID-19 pandemic has moved our lives into a virtual space. Why is that so exhausting? The tiredness doesn’t feel earned. We’re not flying an airplane, teaching toddlers or rescuing people trapped in burning buildings. Still, by the end of the day, the feeling is so universal that it has its own name: Zoom Fatigue. Stanford University professor Jeremy Bailenson, founding director of the Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab, has some answers. In research published Tuesday in the journal Technology, Mind and Behavior, he describes the psychological impact of spending hours every day on Zoom, Google Hangouts, Skype, FaceTime, or other video-calling interfaces. It’s the first peer-reviewed article to analyze zoom fatigue from a psychological perspective. (Krieger, 2/23)

In other public health news —

The Washington Post: No Officers Indicted In Death Of Daniel Prude, A Black Man Pinned And Hooded During Mental Crisis
Police officers will not face charges in the death of Daniel Prude, a Black man pinned to the ground last year while handcuffed, hooded and in the throes of a mental health crisis. Announcing Tuesday that a grand jury declined to indict, New York Attorney General Letitia James said she was disappointed in the outcome of the case that thrust Rochester, N.Y., into the national spotlight last fall, after Prude’s family released graphic footage of his arrest following a months-long legal battle to make key records public. (Knowles and Iati, 2/23)

Roll Call: ‘Do It Now. Ask For Help Now’: Rep. Madeleine Dean And Her Son Reflect On His Addiction 
Before her son came back from treatment, Madeleine Dean went downstairs and covered every bottle in the house with Saran Wrap. When he saw it, he had to laugh. Alcohol wasn’t his drug of choice, and he had already raided those bottles many times in high school, replacing the liquor with water. (Saksa, 2/24)

ABC News: How 1 Common Household Item Has Been A Lifeline To Undocumented Immigrants Amid The Pandemic 
Every day, millions of people in the U.S. wake up to a harsh reality that was amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic: food insecurity. In a year that was filled with high record unemployment numbers and long lines at food banks, a grassroots movement was born to help serve people who were struggling with hunger. Across the country, “community fridges” have been popping up on sidewalks in neighborhoods that have been deeply impacted by the coronavirus. (Florencio, 2/23)

Bloomberg: As Women Drop Out Of Labor Market, Moms Call For More Aid
As women have left the U.S. workforce in droves, in what some economists have deemed the first female recession, calls for structural changes to support them are growing louder. Since the pandemic took hold, more than 2 million women have dropped out of the workforce. The crisis has exposed the burdens on working women but also provided an opportunity for substantive change, according to Reshma Saujani, founder and chief executive officer of Girls Who Code. “The infrastructure of childcare is broken,” Saujani said Tuesday at the Aspen Institute’s RE$ET Conference with Bloomberg Economics. “Nobody can afford it and it’s not seen as something that we simply need in our society -- and that has to change.” (Fanzeres, 2/23)

USA Today: LGBTQ Poll: How Many People Identify As LGBTQ In US? 5.6%, Per Gallup
A record number of U.S. adults – 5.6% – identify as LGBTQ, an increase propelled by a younger generation staking out its presence in the world, a poll released Wednesday shows. The survey by Gallup marks more than a 1 percentage point jump from the last poll in 2017 in which 4.5% of adults identified as LGBTQ. The estimated 18 million adults who identify as LGBTQ represent a continued upward trajectory since Gallup started tracking identification in 2012, Gallup senior editor Jeff Jones said. “It reflects what we are seeing in society and the way society is changing,” he said. (Miller, 2/24)

In celebrity news —

CNBC: Tiger Woods Is ‘Awake, Responsive And Recovering’ After Car Crash And Emergency Surgery
A luxury SUV driven by Tiger Woods crashed and rolled over Tuesday morning in southern California, leaving the golf superstar with serious injuries, authorities and his agent said. Woods is “awake, responsive, and recovering in his hospital room” after undergoing emergency surgery, according to a statement posted on his Twitter account. Dr. Anish Mahajan, chief medical officer and interim CEO at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, said Woods “suffered significant orthopaedic injuries” to his lower right leg. A rod was inserted to stabilize his tibia and femur bones, while a “combination of screws and pins” were used to stabilize injuries to the bones of the foot and ankle, the statement posted on Woods’ Twitter account said.

AP: Ban On Abortion Coverage Through Exchange Plans Repealed
The Virginia General Assembly passed two bills that repeal the ban keeping some health insurance plans sold in the state from covering abortions. House Bill 1896, introduced by Del. Sally L. Hudson, D-Charlottesville, and Senate Bill 1276, introduced by Sen. Jennifer L. McClellan, D-Richmond, loosen restrictions through Virginia’s health insurance exchange. The exchange offers health insurance to approximately 270,000 Virginians who are self employed or don’t have access to insurance through employers, according to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (2/24)

Boston Globe: Could Roe V. Wade Really Become ‘The Law Of The Land’?
South Carolina just became the latest state to pass a “heartbeat bill,” banning abortion at eight weeks. Lawmakers characterized the bill as relatively moderate — and touted its exceptions for rape, incest, or a fetal anomaly “incompatible with sustaining life after birth.” Last Friday, a federal court temporarily blocked the law from going into effect. Even so, the new law shows that abortion restrictions early in pregnancy aren’t going away. If anything, making an early abortion a crime has become the new normal in red states. And now the Supreme Court has six conservative members — including three Trump nominees — who may overturn the core holding of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision recognizing a right to choose abortion before viability. In fact, laws like South Carolina’s are an invitation for the court to abandon Roe. If that happens, over half the states would implement laws that go even further and criminalize most or all abortions. (Rebouché and Ziegler, 2/24)

In news from North Carolina, Missouri, Georgia and Florida —

North Carolina Health News: Lawmakers Want To Ease Autism Therapy Practice
Samuel Robinson, a 9-year-old with autism spoke into the microphone at the legislative building Tuesday morning, calling out greetings, “Hi Tina,” to good-natured laughter from lawmakers and families in the press conference room at the North Carolina General Assembly building. (Hoban, 2/24)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: Two Missouri Medical Marijuana Applicants Win Licenses After Lengthy Legal Fight 
Missouri’s Administrative Hearing Commission has awarded two applicants licenses to start growing medical marijuana, more than a year after state officials initially rejected their requests. The commission on Tuesday awarded Heya Kirksville and Heya Excello cultivation licenses, according to orders issued by Commissioner Sreenivasa Rao Dandamudi. (Suntrup, 2/23)

Albany Herald: Albany Agencies Offer Hope For Those Struggling With Addiction During COVID-19 Pandemic 
Disruptive events such as a natural disaster or loss of a job can affect individuals, as well as their families, even when the circumstances are short in duration. In the midst of a global pandemic that has disrupted the lives of nearly everyone in myriad ways — from being shut off from loved ones to long periods spent in isolation — and has lasted for a year the impact has been massive. (Mauldin, 2/23)

KHN: DeSantis Advances Questionable Link Between Lockdowns And Despair
For months, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has boasted about his state’s “open for business” strategy in dealing with covid-19 and how it’s working better than so-called lockdown states. Unlike in some other states, all Florida public schools are open for in-person learning, restaurants and bars have few restrictions, and the state has barred local governments from penalizing individuals for not wearing a mask in public. (Galewitz, 2/24)

The Washington Post: First Vaccine Doses Distributed By Covax Land In West African Nation Of Ghana 
Ghana became the first country to receive a delivery of coronavirus doses from the global effort to boost vaccine access after a plane landed Wednesday with 600,000 AstraZeneca shots. ... The West African country of 31 million was selected as the first recipient after sending a rollout plan to Covax proving its health-care teams and cold chain equipment were ready to support a quick distribution. (Paquette, 2/24)

Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Vaccine Success Won’t Eliminate Virus Risk, UK Concludes
By the middle of this year, all adults in Britain are due to be offered a Covid-19 vaccine in what is on course to be the fastest inoculation rollout in a major Western country. But disease modelers advising the U.K. government recently made a sobering projection: 56,000 more Covid-19 deaths by the summer of next year, even if the country tiptoes out of lockdown and the vaccines work. The study points to the uncomfortable prospect that even with an effective vaccine, the virus will continue to take a toll on society and that some restrictions may have to be periodically reintroduced to control the coronavirus’s spread. (Colchester and Douglas, 2/24)

Bloomberg: Vaccine Fears Are Crippling China’s Covid Fight
In December, China announced that it planned to inoculate 50 million people against Covid-19 by Feb. 11. Although it was an ambitious goal, it wasn’t outlandish for a country that seemed to have done better than most in bringing the pandemic under control. Yet vaccination turns out to be the one Covid benchmark where China has fared badly: As of Feb. 22, it had managed just 2.89 doses per 100 people (or 40.5 million shots), according to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker. By contrast, the U.S. has administered 19.33 doses for every 100 people (a world-beating 64.18 million). (Minter, 2/24)

In travel news —

CNBC: Quarantine-Free Travel May Be One Step Closer With New Travel Industry App
A new app, set to launch within weeks, could mark the first step in resuming quarantine-free international travel. The International Air Travel Association (IATA) travel app will allow governments and airlines to digitally collect, access and share information on the status of individual passengers’ Covid-19 test and vaccination. (Gilchrist, 2/24)

Reuters: Digital Health Checks Vital To Travel Recovery, Heathrow Says 
Digital health checks will be vital to a recovery in foreign travel from the COVID-19 pandemic, Britain’s Heathrow airport said on Wednesday, after a collapse in passenger numbers saw it plunge to a 2 billion pound ($2.8 billion) loss last year. The UK government said on Monday trips abroad could restart in mid-May as its vaccination campaign kicks in, sparking a surge in holiday bookings. (Young, 2/24)

The Washington Post: Australia’s Zero-Tolerance Covid-19 Strategy Must End For Travel To Return, Experts Say 
Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Australia has taken a hard-line approach to travel restrictions in its effort to contain covid-19. Effectively closing its borders, the nation banned nonessential entry and mandated strict quarantines and testing for anyone allowed to enter — requiring even returning Australian nationals to pay for two-week stays in quarantine hotels monitored by police. But now that coronavirus vaccinations are underway worldwide, some health experts are signaling that a zero-tolerance approach will probably need to change if the country wants to restart travel. (McMahon, 2/23)

The Hill: Democrats Plan Crackdown On Rising Drug Costs 
Democrats are hoping 2021 will be the year they accomplish their long-held goal of reining in rising prescription drug costs by allowing the government to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies. The proposal is largely opposed by Republicans and loathed by the pharmaceutical industry, but Democrats think they have a chance of getting it done with control of the White House and Congress.  Price negotiations could be included later this year in a reconciliation bill, a fast-track budgetary move that only needs 51 votes to pass the Senate and can’t be filibustered. (Hellmann, 2/21)

Stat: States Seek To Import Lower Drug Prices From Canada
For years, former President Trump threatened to use foreign prices as a cap for what Americans should pay for drugs. Now that he’s left office without implementing the controversial proposal, states are picking up where his administration left off. An array of lawmakers in Hawaii, North Dakota, Maine, Oklahoma, and other states are hoping they can make a version of the Trump administration plan, which focused on Medicare prices, work at the state level. Unlike that proposal and a similar bill from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), however, several of the state efforts could potentially become law in 2021. (Facher, 2/18)

McKnight's Senior Living: Nursing Care Prices Increase 3.3% In January, But Spending Down 7.8% 
National health spending on nursing care dropped 7.8% in 2020 compared with the previous year, according to a health sector economic indicator brief released Friday by nonprofit research and consulting group Altarum. The decline was second only to that in dental services, which dropped 15.2% from 2019. The greatest increase was in home health care, which grew by 6%. (Novotney, 2/23)

Becker's Hospital Review: Most, Least Expensive US Cities For Prescription Drugs
New York City patients pay 24 percent more than the national average for prescription medications, making it the most expensive city for prescription drugs, according to a list published Feb. 19 by prescription discount service GoodRx. To compile its list, GoodRx examined the prices of the 500 most common prescriptions in 30 of the country's most populous cities. (Adams, 2/22)

ScienceDaily: Hide-And-Seek Can Lead To Higher Drug Prices 
Pharmaceutical manufacturers and national authorities often negotiate secret rebates when determining drug prices. A new study shows that these rebate systems may hamper patient access to drugs. In the medium term, this practice can even lead to increasing drug prices. (2/17)

Roll Call: ‘Rebate Rule’ Is Wrong Path To Reducing Prescription Drug Costs 
As the Biden administration and the new Congress examine policies to reduce prescription drug costs, one place to start is officially revoking the so-called rebate rule, which was hastily — and likely illegally — finalized in the remaining days of the Trump administration. The rebate rule clumsily attempts to eliminate the primary tool used by pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, to negotiate increased access to affordable prescription drugs with drug manufacturers. The rule would not reduce drug costs: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services actuaries and the Congressional Budget Office have said it would significantly increase Medicare Part D premiums and add nearly $200 billion in Part D program costs for taxpayers. (JC Scott, 2/18)

The Hill: The One-Two Punch To Knock Out High Drug Prices 
Are you among the 98.5 percent of Americans taking prescription medications annually who fill them in the U.S. — too frightened by safety concerns or of doing something illegal to fill them abroad? The same brand name prescription drugs cost on average 3.5 times as much in the U.S. as in comparable high-income countries. Or are you among the 30 percent of Americans who cannot even afford to fill your prescriptions? To lower drug prices, more than three-quarters of Democratic, Republican and Independent voters favor policies that promote imports and that harness Medicare’s market power. We propose new legislation that distills the best ideas in Democratic-sponsored bills with the best ideas in two of President Trump’s recent executive orders. This legislation can deliver a one-two punch to high prescription drug prices.  (Stephen Salant and Gabriel Levitt, 2/17)

MarketWatch: Drug Prices Are Rising Faster Than Seniors Can Keep Up 
I’m always very appreciative that MarketWatch readers take the time to write. I focus on retirement issues, and one of the more common emails I get concerns soaring drug prices. The average medication went up 4.2% in January, according to an analysis by GoodRx, a medical and health care services provider — a rate three times faster than the 1.3% increase in Social Security. Some retirees are getting hit even worse. Here’s an excerpt from one email, from “RAB,” who worries that she and her husband could lose their home because they’ve fallen behind on their taxes. One reason for this: their medical bills are through the roof. (Paul Brandus, 2/20)

Colorado Sun: Coloradans Should Pay Fair Prices For Prescription Drugs
Americans are grateful for the COVID-19 vaccines — quickly produced, safe and effective, and currently free to receive — and await their turn to receive their shots. Yet, far too many of us cannot afford the drugs vital to our health. Drug corporations continue to make hefty profits from setting drug prices that far exceed prices for the same drugs in other countries and from raising prices on older drugs just because they can. (Lisa Bero, Mark Levine, Dean Baker and Aaron Kesselheim, 2/21)

Los Angeles Times: Republicans Who Backed DeVos Won't Support Becerra? 
Sen. Richard M. Burr (R-N.C.) is a thoughtful guy, and while he’s a reliable Republican vote on the vast majority of issues that come before the Senate, he’s independent enough to have voted to convict former President Trump at Trump’s second impeachment trial (but not the first one). So it was disturbing to hear Burr make the Republicans’ least principled argument Tuesday against California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra’s nomination to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: that only someone with significant work experience in the healthcare sector should serve in that post. (Jon Healey, 2/23)

The New York Times: He Lost His Son To An Overdose. Now He’s Taking On The ‘Top Drug Cop.’
During a year in which half a million Americans have died of Covid-19, it’s easy to overlook a much longer epidemic — the worst drug crisis in American history, a crisis fueled in part by the unholy alliance between F.D.A. officials and pharmaceutical companies. Since Eddie Bisch’s Florida fishing trip, at least 500,000 Americans have died of an opioid-related overdose. Millions now have what’s called opioid use disorder. Drug overdose deaths in the year ending May 2020 reached a record high. Meanwhile, the interim F.D.A. commissioner, Dr. Janet Woodcock, long known as the nation’s top drug cop, is reported to be under consideration by the Biden administration to permanently lead the agency. (Beth Macy, 2/23)

Los Angeles Times: We Need To Tighten Up Regulations On 'Ghost Guns'
For several years now, some gun makers have been exploiting a loophole in federal regulations to evade a range of gun control measures by selling firearms in pieces to be assembled later by consumers, including people barred from owning a gun. It’s a preposterous situation, and the Biden administration should either address it through stronger regulations under existing congressional authority, or work with Congress on a legislative fix. The issue centers on so-called ghost guns, which consist of untraceable parts that can be ordered online and then, with a little finishing work, assembled into a working firearm. The gun parts fall outside federal regulation because the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives held that while the core section of a gun — called a receiver or a frame — meets the legal definition of a firearm, an incomplete receiver or frame does not. (2/24)

The Washington Post: The U.S. Should Reveal Its Intelligence About The Wuhan Laboratory
The United States possesses classified intelligence information about illnesses in the autumn of 2019, before the global pandemic, at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, or WIV, which was carrying out research on bat coronaviruses very similar in genetic makeup to the pandemic virus. The intelligence should be declassified, and soon. Then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and President Donald Trump missed no opportunity to bash China over the virus, trying to divert attention from Mr. Trump’s disastrous pandemic response. Setting aside this scapegoating, the origins of the coronavirus remain unknown. (2/22)

Stat: Three Steps Can Help Companies Speed FDA Drug Approval 
Drug developers see Food and Drug Administration approval as a difficult uphill climb, requiring large investments of resources and time. But when it comes to new drug applications and biologics license applications, it’s usually not the FDA that slows down the process. (William Feehery and Julie Bullock, 2/24)

Stat: Vaccine Equity: If We Build It, Will They Come? 
In partnership with the federal government, California launched two massive Covid-19 vaccination sites this week. One is at Cal State LA in East Los Angeles, a community deeply affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. I hope these new sites will make it easier for Angelenos to get vaccinated. But I still wonder: If we build it, will those from historically underserved communities come? (Paul Adamson, 2/24)

Los Angeles Times: A Solution To Equitable Vaccine Distribution Is Hiding In Plain Sight 
As of now, it appears that community clinics are not part of the distribution plan. Blue Shield, which has wide latitude to select the providers to receive the vaccines, has said it will create an algorithm to increase equity. But why try to solve a problem that already has a solution? Send the vaccines to the places where people who need them already come for care. Stat, the health and medicine news website, recently published a map showing the close correlation between the parts of L.A. County with high rates of COVID-19 and the locations of community clinics. The overlap is stark. (Robin Abcarian, 2/24)

The Wall Street Journal: Connecticut’s Covid Vaccine Lesson 
"I’m going to focus on the old business motto, KISS: Keep it simple, stupid.” That’s how Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont put it Monday in announcing his decision to base Covid-19 vaccine eligibility strictly on age. The more states prioritize social “equity,” the more complicated and inequitable vaccine distribution becomes. After seniors older than age 65, Connecticut had planned to vaccinate “essential workers” and younger people with underlying health conditions like diabetes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had recommended these groups be prioritized to “mitigate health inequities” and “promote justice.” Younger minorities are more likely to be “essential workers” and have comorbidities. But as Mr. Lamont explained, “A lot of complications result from states that tried to finely slice the salami and it got very complicated to administer. . ." (2/23)

CIDRAP: The CIDRAP Viewpoint: Reassessing COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment In Anticipation Of A US B.1.1.7 Surge: Stay The Course Or Pivot?
In this periodic series of reports, we will address timely issues with straight talk and clarity. And the steps we recommend will be based on our current reality and the best available data. Our goal is to help planners envision some of the situations that might present themselves later this year or next year so that they can take key steps now, while there’s still time. ... In the seventh Viewpoint report, published February 23, 2021,"Reassessing COVID-19 vaccine deployment in anticipation of a US B.1.1.7 surge: stay the course or pivot?" CIDRAP and other top US experts note that, with a likely surge of the B.1.1.7 SARS-CoV-2 variant in the US, there is a small window to maximize protection from COVID-19 vaccines by focusing first doses on people 65 years old and older and delaying second doses to other groups. (2/23)

The New York Times: Inside A Covid I.C.U., Through A Nurse's Eyes
The short film above allows you to experience the brutality of the pandemic from the perspective of nurses inside a Covid-19 intensive care unit.Opinion Video producer Alexander Stockton spent several days reporting at the Valleywise Medical Center in Phoenix. Two I.C.U. nurses wore cameras to show what it’s like to care for the sickest Covid patients a year into the pandemic. So many Americans have died in hospitals without family by their side, but they were not alone. Nurses brush patients’ teeth, change their catheters and hold their hands in their final moments. (Alexander Stockton and Lucy King, 2/24)

CNN: I Got Vaccinated. What Now? 
The United States Covid-19 vaccination program is gaining steam. As of Tuesday, more than 40 million people have received the first dose, representing about 13% of the country. At the same time, national rates of new infection have decreased, presenting a real opportunity to control the pandemic. (Kent Sepkowitz, 2/23)

The New York Times: Why Do So Many Mothers Feel Like Failures Right Now?
Parents have suffered during this pandemic, moms especially. This we know — from social and traditional media, from polls, from studies that have survived the scrutiny of peer review. Levels of maternal depression and anxiety may vary (by socioeconomic status, marital status, the ages and needs of their kids), but the consistent theme seems to be: They are elevated. Why? Mothers have disproportionately lost their jobs and financial security during this pandemic, and those who do work find that the burdens of family life fall disproportionately on them. The state has failed them utterly. But here is my question, and I do not ask it idly, as the author of a book about parenthood and the mother of a teenager myself: Why is it that so many moms I know feel like failures at this moment? (Jennifer Senior, 2/24)

The Washington Post: The Death Of Angela Hill Shows We Need To Do More For D.C.’s Homeless Population
For at least the past 10 years, Angela Hill lived in Southeast Washington under a bridge that carries D.C. Route 295 over Pennsylvania Avenue. She had a family that loved her. People from the neighborhood looked out for her, and city social workers tried to help her. But she rebuffed many such efforts, and it was there, under that bridge, that she died in the freezing cold. She was 58, and her death is unnerving to a city that has made strides in addressing homelessness but still has far to go in solving what at times seems to be an intractable problem. Ms. Hill had become a neighborhood fixture. Commuters traveling near the John Philip Sousa Bridge routinely spotted her under the overpass. Residents of the Hillcrest community would stop by to give her food and toiletries. It was one of those residents who discovered her body last Wednesday. A cause of death has not yet been released, but officials believe that the cold was a factor. (2/23)