First Edition: Jan. 6, 2021
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KHN:
Black Women Find Healing (But Sometimes Racism, Too) In The Outdoors
It would be the last hike of the season, Jessica Newton had excitedly posted on her social media platforms. With mild weather forecast and Colorado’s breathtaking fall foliage as a backdrop, she was convinced an excursion at Beaver Ranch Park would be the quintessential way to close out months of warm-weather hikes with her “sister friends.” Still, when that Sunday morning in 2018 arrived, she was shocked when her usual crew of about 15 had mushroomed into about 70 Black women. There’s a first time for everything, she thought as they broke into smaller groups and headed toward the nature trail. What a sight they were, she recalled, as the women — in sneakers and hiking boots, a virtual sea of colorful headwraps, flowy braids and dreadlocks, poufy twists and long, flowy locks — trekked peacefully across the craggy terrain in the crisp mountain air. (Thomas Whitfield, 1/6)
KHN:
Children’s Hospitals Grapple With Wave Of Mental Illness
Krissy Williams, 15, had attempted suicide before, but never with pills. The teen was diagnosed with schizophrenia when she was 9. People with this chronic mental health condition perceive reality differently and often experience hallucinations and delusions. She learned to manage these symptoms with a variety of services offered at home and at school. But the pandemic upended those lifelines. She lost much of the support offered at school. She also lost regular contact with her peers. Her mother lost access to respite care — which allowed her to take a break. (Heredia Rodriguez, 1/6)
KHN:
‘An Arm And A Leg’: A Look Back At 2020 — What We Learned And Where We’re Headed
This episode turns the tables: Host Dan Weissmann gets interviewed about what he learned in 2020 and what’s ahead for the show — with T.K. Dutes, a radio host and podcast-maker who is also a former nurse, so she knows a thing or two about the health care system. She chronicled her career transition in an episode of NPR’s “Life Kit.” During their conversation, Dutes shared stories about life before and after health insurance. She coins what could be a new tagline for “An Arm and a Leg”: “Where there’s money, there’ll be scams.” (Weissmann, 1/6)
CNN:
As US Hits Daily Covid-19 Death Toll Record, States Call In National Guard And Train Volunteers To Help Boost Pace Of Vaccinations
The US reported its highest daily Covid-19 death count ever Tuesday -- a grim milestone that comes as state leaders work urgently to combat a slow pace of vaccinations. More than 3,770 American deaths were reported in one day -- more than two dozen above the country's previous record, set less than a week ago. (Maxouris, 1/6)
CIDRAP:
Study: US COVID Cases, Deaths Far Higher Than Reported
An estimated 14.3% of the US population had antibodies against COVID-19 by mid-November 2020, suggesting that that the virus has infected vastly more people than reported—but still not enough to come close to the proportion needed for herd immunity, according to a study published today in JAMA Network Open. After adjusting for underreporting, the analysis revealed an estimated 46,910,006 infections with SARS-CoV-2 [and] 304,915 deaths from April to mid-November. ... In contrast, the CDC reported 10,846,373 COVID-19 cases and 244,810 deaths in that same time span. (Van Beusekom, 1/5)
FierceHealthcare:
Study: Hospitals At Or Near Full COVID-19 ICU Capacity Increase By 90% Over Past Few Months
A new study found a 90% increase in hospitals reaching intensive care unit (ICU) capacity from July through December, with rural hospitals facing the biggest capacity issues. The study released Tuesday by the Epic Health Network looked at ICU occupancy rates at 809 hospitals in rural, suburban and metro areas from July through December. The study also explored the increase in nursing staff demand. The number of hospitals that reached 80% to 100% ICU capacity increased from 200 in July to nearly 400 in the middle of November. (King, 1/5)
AP:
California Hospital, In Midst Of COVID-19 Crisis, Maxes Out
The crush of patients with coronavirus is so severe in Los Angeles that on Tuesday they exceeded the normal capacity at Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital, which serves many Blacks and Latinos in America’s largest county. The hospital in the south part of the city, which has a capacity of 131 patients, was treating 215 patients, 135 of them with COVID-19, said Jeff Stout, the interim chief nursing and operating officer. (Melley, 1/6)
Atlanta Journal Constitution:
Georgia Reports First U.K. COVID-19 Strain; State Now 9th In New Cases
As hospitals struggled with a record surge in hospitalizations Tuesday, Georgia announced its first confirmed case of the new coronavirus strain that has overwhelmed the medical system in the United Kingdom. The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) said the case was discovered in an 18-year-old man with no travel history. The teen, who was not identified, is isolating at his home, and state officials are working to identify, monitor and test the teen’s close contacts. (Scott Trubey and Hart, 1/5)
Politico:
Trump Administration Speeds Up Plan To Deliver Covid Shots In Pharmacies
The Trump administration late Tuesday said it's accelerating a plan to begin offering coronavirus shots in pharmacies — a move that comes after federal officials faced fierce criticism for the slow pace of immunizations. Within the next two weeks, Operation Warp Speed, the federal government’s vaccine accelerator, estimates 3,000 to 6,000 pharmacies could begin administering Covid-19 shots, according to a senior HHS official. The administration announced in November that it would work with major pharmacy chains and independent community pharmacies to distribute vaccines but didn't lay out a timetable. (Roubein, 1/5)
The Hill:
Surgeon General Tells States Not To Let Priority Guidelines Slow Vaccinations
U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams on Tuesday urged states to speed up vaccinations by moving down the list of priority groups if supply is outstripping demand from one group. Adams’s comments about a way to increase the pace of vaccination come amid widespread concerns about the slow rollout of vaccines so far. Adams, speaking on NBC’s “Today” show, said states should not be so concerned about vaccinating people in the exact right order that they end up slowing down the process. (Sullivan, 1/5)
Stat:
Messonnier Predicts The Slow Vaccine Rollout Will Soon Speed Up
Nancy Messonnier, a top federal health official involved in the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, predicted on Tuesday that delays in the administration of the shots would improve soon, even as public health experts have piled up complaints about the slow rollout and about the gap between the number of doses distributed versus those actually going into people’s arms. (Joseph, 1/5)
The Hill:
Fauci: US Could Soon Administer More Than 1 Million Vaccines Doses Per Day
Anthony Fauci, the government’s leading infectious disease expert, said the U.S. could soon be administering a million coronavirus vaccines per day as the Trump administration faces criticism over its rollout of the shots. Fauci expressed confidence that the rate of vaccinations would ramp up after the White House fell far short of its goal of inoculating 20 million people by the end of 2020. As of Tuesday morning, more than 4.8 million doses have been injected. (Axelrod, 1/5)
CNN:
When A Freezer Broke In A California Hospital, Officials Jumped To Action To Administer More Than 800 Vaccines In Just About 2 Hours
When a freezer that was used to store the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine at a Northern California hospital broke, officials soon realized they only had about two hours to administer the more than 800 doses that were inside. And they took on the challenge. (Chan and Maxouris, 1/6)
The Washington Post:
Website Crashes And Other Tech Problems Plague Early Coronavirus Vaccine Rollout
Technical problems are already hampering the early rollout of the coronavirus vaccine. Websites in multiple large Florida counties buckled from a surge of traffic in recent days as seniors attempted to book appointments for their vaccinations. Many were instead met with error messages. Outages were reported in Broward, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. (Zakrzewski, 1/5)
The Hill:
Frustration Builds Over Slow Pace Of Vaccine Rollout
More than 17 million doses of various COVID-19 vaccines have been shipped to all 50 states and the U.S. territories, enough to inoculate about 5 percent of the population against the deadly virus that has reshaped American life for almost a year. But less than 30 percent of those shots have been used so far, leaving millions of doses in storage instead of in people’s arms. (Hellmann, 1/5)
USA Today:
Delay In COVID-19 Vaccinations Could Prolong The Pandemic In America
Doses have been distributed behind the government's initial schedule – 15 million, instead of the 20 million doses promised to be delivered by the end of 2020. About 70% of those doses are sitting on pharmacy shelves, according to government data, and only about 14% of doses destined for nursing home residents and caregivers have been injected. Although vaccination is off to a rough start, it's not too late to turn the situation around, according to experts such as Kelly Moore, deputy director of the Immunization Action Coalition, an education and advocacy group. To do so will require a host of improvements, including more money, additional staffing and greater experience with vaccines that have been shown to be safe and effective but not so easy to use. (Weintraub, 1/5)
Becker's Hospital Review:
States Ranked By Percentage Of COVID-19 Vaccines Administered
South Dakota has administered the highest percentage of COVID-19 vaccines it has received, according to the CDC's COVID-19 vaccine distribution and administration data tracker. ... Here are the states ranked by the percentage of COVID-19 vaccines they've administered of those that have been distributed to them, based on data updated Jan. 5. (Adams, 1/5)
NPR:
COVID-19 Vaccine May Not Get To Long-Term Care Facilities Quickly Enough
Long-term care facilities — places that care for the most vulnerable, high-risk populations — now account for close to 40% of all U.S. deaths due to the virus. "It is an American tragedy," said Elaine Ryan, vice president for state advocacy and strategy at AARP. "The states need to redouble their efforts to make sure that vaccines are being administered as quickly as possible." Only about 14% of the first shots distributed to long-term care facilities have gone into someone's arms via the federal pharmacy partnership, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Stone, 1/5)
The New York Times:
Warning Of Shortages, Researchers Look To Stretch Vaccine Supply
Federal officials and drugmakers, faced with a slower-than-expected rollout of the coronavirus vaccine, are racing to find ways to expand the supply, looking at lowering the required dosage and extracting more doses from the supplies they have. Just weeks into the vaccine program, scientists at the National Institutes of Health and the drugmaker Moderna are analyzing data to see if they can double the supply of the company’s coronavirus vaccine by cutting doses in half. The study, though long planned, is increasingly urgent in the face of looming shortages as the country tries to fight off a surging pandemic. (Stolberg and LaFraniere, 1/5)
The Hill:
Maryland Takes Steps To Speed Coronavirus Vaccine Rollout
Maryland is taking steps to speed up the slow pace of vaccination rollout by adding additional people into the top tiers of its coronavirus vaccine priority groups and ensuring hospitals use every available dose, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said Tuesday. Phase 1A, which is ongoing, will now include all licensed and certified health providers, as well as first responders like firefighters, police and EMS. (Weixel, 1/5)
The Washington Post:
Maryland Places Disabled Adults In Group Homes High On Vaccine Priority List
Thousands of Marylanders with intellectual disabilities who live in group homes, and those who care for them, learned Tuesday that they would soon be eligible for the coronavirus vaccine, putting an end to weeks of lobbying and worry. In what came as a surprise announcement to providers, advocates and relatives of the disabled, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said residents and staff of “special-needs group homes” will be included in Phase 1B of the state’s vaccination plan, along with individuals over 75, teachers and child-care workers. This group, which totals about 860,000 residents, could start receiving doses of the vaccine by late January, Hogan said. (Tan, 1/5)
AP:
Tennessee Announces COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility Tool
Tennessee officials have set up an online tool that helps people figure out when they will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. Gov. Bill Lee’s office announced the initiative Tuesday as the state reported more than 169,000 Tennesseans have been vaccinated with their first dose so far. (1/6)
Boston Globe:
Hundreds Have Tried To Cut To The Front Of The COVID-19 Vaccine Line
With only enough doses available to vaccinate about 1.5 percent of the state’s population against COVID-19 each week, Rhode Island health officials have been working to prioritize vaccinating those at highest risk first. Several hundred people have already tried to cut in line anyway. The line-jumpers were caught this week, after health officials realized that a special link given to employers for their workers to register for vaccinations was shared with others, said Alysia Mihalakos, the co-lead of the state’s COVID-19 mass vaccination workgroup and chief of Health’s Center for Emergency Preparedness and Response. She didn’t identify the employers. (Milkovits, 1/5)
The Washington Post:
MorseLife In West Palm Beach Provided Coronavirus Vaccine To Donors And Country Club Members
MorseLife Health System, a high-end nursing home and assisted-living facility in West Palm Beach, Fla., has made scarce coronavirus vaccines — provided through a federal program intended for residents and staff of long-term-care facilities — available not just to its residents but to board members and those who made generous donations to the facility, including members of the Palm Beach Country Club, according to multiple people who were offered access, some of whom accepted it. The precise number of invitations, and how many may have also gone to non-donors, could not be learned. (Stanley-Becker and Boburg, 1/5)
AP:
Hank Aaron, Civil Rights Leaders Get Vaccinated In Georgia
Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, former U.N. Ambassador and civil rights leader Andrew Young and former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Louis Sullivan got vaccinated against COVID-19 in Georgia on Tuesday, hoping to send a message to Black Americans that the shots are safe. Getting vaccinated “makes me feel wonderful,” Aaron told The Associated Press. “I don’t have any qualms about it at all, you know. I feel quite proud of myself for doing something like this. ... It’s just a small thing that can help zillions of people in this country.” (Warren and Harris, 1/5)
Stateline:
Prioritizing Prisoners For Vaccines Stirs Controversy
“The fact that people in prison have been convicted of a crime should not deprioritize their need for an important public health measure like the vaccine,” said Jennifer Scaife, executive director of the Correctional Association of New York, a nonprofit authorized to investigate conditions inside the New York prison system. Scaife and other advocates say the vaccines are desperately needed inside prisons and jails. Approximately 20% of all inmates in state and federal prisons have been infected, a rate more than four times as high as that in the general population, according to a recent analysis by the Associated Press and the Marshall Project. Nationwide, at least 275,000 prisoners have been infected and more than 1,700 have died, according to the report. (Montgomery, 1/5)
The Washington Post:
Native American Tribes Prioritize Vaccinations For Speakers Of Endangered Languages
Following decades of concerted attempts to stamp out Native American languages, the number of fluent Cherokee speakers has dwindled to about 2,000 people, most of them tribal elders. And since the pandemic hit the Cherokee Nation, at least 20 of those last remaining speakers have died of the coronavirus. So when the Oklahoma-based tribe began deciding who should be first in line to receive the vaccine, Cherokee speakers were at the top of the list. (Noori Farzan, 1/6)
Politico:
Congress Using Covid Test That FDA Warns May Be Faulty
The House and Senate are screening members and staff with a Covid-19 test that the Food and Drug Administration says is prone to false results — complicating the already difficult task of stemming coronavirus outbreaks on Capitol Hill. The Office of the Attending Physician has been offering the test, made by Curative, to members, staff and reporters on Capitol Hill since at least November. The service, which typically offers results within 12 hours, is used by dozens, if not hundreds, of people a day when Congress is in session. (Lim and Ferris, 1/5)
The Hill:
COVID-19 Test Used By Congress Could Give False Results, FDA Warns
The COVID-19 test being used in the U.S. Capitol could be producing false negative results, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The test, manufactured by Curative, has been offered for lawmakers, staff and reporters since November, following an order from the D.C. mayor requiring people traveling to the city to obtain a test. (Weixel, 1/5)
Modern Healthcare:
Democrats Blast Trump Plan To Privatize State-Based ACA Exchanges
Several Democratic lawmakers recently called on the Trump administration not to move forward with a last-minute proposal allowing states to privatize their Affordable Care Act exchanges. Democratic leaders of key healthcare committees in the Senate and House wrote to CMS, HHS and Treasury Department on Dec. 30, saying consumers will pay higher premiums for less comprehensive coverage if private brokers are in charge of state-based exchanges. That would also result in more people not having insurance coverage, the lawmakers said. The Trump administration could issue the final rule before leaving office. (Tepper, 1/5)
Modern Healthcare:
Congress Recalibrates Medicare Physician Fee Schedule After Lobbying
After a lobbying frenzy that pitted primary care providers against specialty physicians, Congress decided to recalibrate the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule in its latest stimulus and government funding bill. CMS decided to give primary care providers a pay boost in the 2021 physician fee schedule through changes to pay for evaluation and management services and creating an additional add-on code for serving patients with multiple chronic conditions. Because of budget neutrality requirements, the pay increases to primary care had to be offset with cuts to other specialties. (Cohrs, 1/5)
Modern Healthcare:
Providers Want More Time To Understand Prior Authorization Changes
Healthcare insiders are pressing the Trump administration to extend the public comment period for a proposed rule that aims to reform prior authorization and improve patient and provider access to medical records, according to comments on the proposed rule due Monday. CMS on Dec. 10 unveiled its plan to require payers—including Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program and exchange plans—to build application program interfaces to support data exchange and prior authorization. It said the changes would allow providers to know in advance what documentation each payer would require, streamline documentation processes and make it easier for providers to send and receive prior authorization information requests and responses electronically. (Brady, 1/5)
Becker's Hospital Review:
FDA Updates Medical Device Shortage List
The FDA recently added new supplies, including pipette tips and micro pipettes, to its medical device shortage list. The agency also changed some of the categories for the list, which includes the reason the supply is in shortage and gives an estimate on how long the shortage is expected to last. (Anderson, 1/5)
FiercePharma:
Becton Dickinson, Ramping Up Syringe Capacity, Set To Turn Out 1B COVID-19 Vaccine Devices By Year-End
As Pfizer, BioNTech, Moderna and now AstraZeneca rack up emergency authorizations for their COVID-19 vaccines, the world is racing to get shots shipped out and into patients’ arms. A slew of injection device deals—inked early during the pandemic’s spread—are obviously key to that effort. Becton Dickinson, for one, last month surpassed 1 billion pandemic injection device orders globally. Now, as more than 300 million devices arrive in North America, Europe and the Middle East—with the rest slated for delivery by the end of the year—BD is leveraging some pandemic know-how gained with the 2009 swine flu, Elizabeth Woody, SVP of public affairs, said in an interview. (Kansteiner, 1/4)
FiercePharma:
Goodbye Pill, Hello Science: Pfizer Debuts Redesigned Logo With Double Helix
Pfizer’s got a new blue. Two new blues in fact, with the company’s rebrand and new logo design. Gone is the staid blue oval pill background, replaced by a two-tone blue double helix spiral. It’s the first significant visual redesign for Pfizer in 70 years since the company began using the blue oval background. The tagline outlining Pfizer’s purpose, “Breakthroughs that change patients' lives,” remains the same. (Snyder Bulik, 1/5)
The Washington Post:
Large-Scale Global Study To Investigate Links Between Covid And Cognitive Decline
There is compelling evidence that covid-19 will have long-term effects on the brains and nervous systems of survivors as they age, and researchers on Tuesday announced a large international study to investigate the correlation between the coronavirus and cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia in later life. Decades of evidence from other respiratory viruses, along with observations of patients in recent months, suggests such infections may increase a person’s risk for Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and other brain disorders, according to a paper announcing the study, published Tuesday in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association. (Bahrampour, 1/5)
NPR:
How COVID-19 Attacks The Brain And May, In Severe Cases, Cause Lasting Damage
Early in the pandemic, people with COVID-19 began reporting an odd symptom: the loss of smell and taste. The reason wasn't congestion. Somehow, the SARS-CoV-2 virus appeared to be affecting nerves that carry information from the nose to the brain. That worried neurologists. "We were afraid that SARS CoV-2 was going to invade the brain," says Dr. Gabriel de Erausquin, an investigator at the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. (Hamilton, 1/5)
Stat:
For People With OCD And Fear Of Germs, Covid-19 Upended Therapy
Long before the pandemic arrived, Renée battled intense fears of getting sick from daily life. She worried she could get HIV from doorknobs or suffer brain damage from odorless carbon monoxide leaking from a faulty furnace. (Glaser, 1/6)
CNN:
From His Hospital Bed In Florida, A Former Covid Skeptic Posts Videos On Social Media Urging Others To Wear Their Masks
A man who tested positive for the coronavirus after Christmas has posted several videos on social media warning others to wear their masks and learn from his mistake. "I didn't think masks would make that much of a difference," Chuck Stacey told CNN on Tuesday. "I was wrong." (Jackson, 1/5)
Becker's Hospital Review:
Safety Protocol Reduces Self-Harm For At-Risk Emergency Room Patients
The implementation of a safety protocol helped to reduce self-harm for high-risk patients in the emergency department, according to findings published in the January issue of The Joint Commision Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. A research team from Boston-based Massachusetts General Hospital developed the following safety precautions: created safe bathrooms, increased the number and training of observers, managed access to belongings, managed clothing search or removal, and implemented additional interventions for particularly high-risk patients. ... Before the protocol, there were 13 instances of attempted self-harm among 4,408 high-risk patients and six that resulted in actual self-harm. After the protocol was enacted, there were six episodes of self-harm among 4,523 high-risk patients, with one resulting in actual self-harm. (Carbajal, 1/5)
The New York Times:
One Hospital System Sued 2,500 Patients After Pandemic Hit
When the coronavirus began spreading through New York, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo ordered state-run hospitals to stop suing patients over unpaid medical bills, and almost all of the major private hospitals in the state voluntarily followed suit by suspending their claims. But one chain of hospitals plowed ahead with thousands of lawsuits: Northwell Health, which is the state’s largest health system and is run by one of Mr. Cuomo’s closest allies. (Rosenthal, 1/5)
Becker's Hospital Review:
Northwell Rescinds 2,500 Suits Filed Against Patients To Collect Unpaid Debt
New York City-based Northwell Health will rescind thousands of lawsuits filed against patients for unpaid medical bills amid the pandemic, the system told Becker's Hospital Review. Vice President of Public Relations Barbara Osborn told Becker's that during the height of the pandemic in the spring of 2020, Northwell eased some patient collection activities and put a six-month pause on legal filings to collect unpaid debts. The pause took place from April through September. However, the lawsuits resumed in October. (Paavola, 1/5)
FierceHealthcare:
UnitedHealthcare Cuts Envision From Its Provider Network
UnitedHealthcare is continuing a trend of pressuring physician staffing firms by cutting Envision Healthcare from its network. Envision said in a statement that its clinicians would no longer be in-network for UnitedHealth plans as of Jan. 1. Envision boasts 25,000 clinicians working in hospitals across 45 states and D.C. (Minemyer, 1/5)
Becker's Hospital Review:
Renovations Prompt Los Angeles Hospital To Suspend Patient Care Services
Olympia Medical Center, an Alecto Healthcare hospital in Los Angeles, said it will suspend all patient care services, including the emergency department and emergency medical services, so it can complete substantial renovations. According to the facility's website, the emergency department won't provide services after 11:59 p.m. March 31, and some supplemental services may be suspended after Jan. 31. (Gooch, 1/5)
Dallas Morning News:
Amid Latest COVID Surge, Texas Health Resources Suspends Elective Surgeries At 14 Hospitals In D-FW
As coronavirus cases continue to climb, hospitals in North Texas are suspending or rescheduling elective surgeries in order to preserve staff and equipment for COVID-19 patients. Texas Health Resources, one of the region’s largest hospital operators, said it would suspend elective and nonessential surgeries and procedures at its 14 wholly owned hospitals, including major facilities in Dallas, Fort Worth and Plano. The suspension begins on Thursday and will continue “until further notice,” the company said. (Schnurman, 1/5)
Becker's Hospital Review:
Hospital Employees Report Pest Issue In Florida Hospital Kitchen
Two employees at Jacksonville, Fla.-based Memorial Hospital say roaches have been roaming the hospital's kitchen for about a month, local CBS and FOX affiliate Action News Jax reports. One of the employees, who requested to remain anonymous for fear of losing their job, sent the station pictures and videos showing roaches crawling around the hospital kitchen. (Carbajal, 1/5)
The Washington Post:
U.S. Airlines Push To Slash International Travel Restrictions, Implement Universal Testing
The country’s biggest airlines are asking the Trump administration to institute a “global program to require testing for travelers to the United States” — and to scrap many travel restrictions. In a letter to Vice President Pence on Monday, the advocacy group Airlines for America said it was supporting a proposal by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to implement the universal testing. The organization, which represents airlines including American, Delta, United and Southwest, said it also urged the administration to eliminate entry restrictions on people traveling “from Europe, the United Kingdom and Brazil.” (Sampson, 1/5)
The Washington Post:
Emotional Support Animals Will No Longer Be Permitted, Airlines Warn
New federal rules set to go into effect next week significantly narrow the definition of service animals. As a result, emotional support animals are no longer considered service animals, and airlines — which previously had to make accommodations for them — will no longer be required to do so. (Aratani, 1/5)
The Wall Street Journal:
Grammy Awards Postponed Amid Covid-19 Concerns
The Grammy Awards ceremony has been postponed for two months, as concerns surge over the spread of Covid-19, according to the Recording Academy, which hosts the annual music-industry awards show. The ceremony was originally set to take place on Jan. 31 in Los Angeles, with “The Daily Show” host and comedian Trevor Noah as host. Grammy organizers have pushed the event to March 14. The academy’s website earlier Tuesday showed the date had been pushed back to March 21. (Shah, 1/5)
The Washington Post:
Boston University, Holy Cross Basketball Teams Are First To Both Wear Masks
Boston University’s mask mandate is meant to help protect the health of the school’s basketball teams, as well as that of their opponents, during the coronavirus pandemic. The mandate — and its impact on the competition — was on display for the first time Tuesday, when the Terriers fell, 68-66, to Holy Cross in their home opener, believed to be the first men’s college basketball game this season in which both teams wore masks on the court. (Hill, 1/5)
CNBC:
Red Cross Raffles Super Bowl Tickets To Solicit Convalescent Plasma Donors
The Red Cross is teaming up with the NFL to urge people to donate blood and plasma, especially from those who have recovered from Covid-19 to combat a convalescent plasma shortage. In return, donors will be entered to win two tickets to next year’s Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles. (Bhattacharjee, 1/5)
The Wall Street Journal:
As Covid-19 Surges, Colleges Make Last-Minute Changes To Spring Calendars
Syracuse University laid out its plan for the spring semester back in September, scheduling classes to start Jan. 25 and eliminating spring break to minimize potential travel-related exposure to Covid-19. On Monday, the school scrapped that calendar and said it would start and end the spring term two weeks later than anticipated, in the hopes of staving off further outbreaks as case numbers surge nationwide. (Korn, 1/5)
AP:
1 Dead, 3 Hospitalized In Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak
An outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease at a North Portland apartment complex has killed one person and sickened three others, county health officials said. Multnomah County health officials said Tuesday they told more than 100 residents of Rosemont Court on Dekum Street to leave after residents contracted pneumonia, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. (1/5)
AP:
South Dakota COVID-19 Update Shows No Deaths For 2nd Day
South Dakota’s COVID-19 update released Tuesday showed no new deaths for a second straight day, although the state Department of Corrections on Monday reported that a sixth prison inmate has died due to the coronavirus. State health officials confirmed 444 positive tests in the past day, increasing the total number to 101,076 since the start of the pandemic. The death toll remained at 1,513. (1/5)
CNN:
WHO Covid Team Blocked From Entering China To Study Origins Of Coronavirus
The World Health Organization said that China has blocked the arrival of a team investigating the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, in a rare rebuke from the UN agency. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said two scientists on the United Nations team had already left their home countries for Wuhan when they were told that Chinese officials had not approved the necessary permissions to enter the country. (Regan and Sidhu, 1/6)
AP:
EU Agency Ponders Approval For Moderna's COVID-19 Vaccine
The European Union’s medicines agency was meeting Wednesday to consider giving the green light to Moderna Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine, a decision that would give the 27-nation bloc a second vaccine to use in the desperate battle to tame the virus rampaging across the continent. The meeting of the European Medicines Agency’s human medicines committee (CHMP) comes amid high rates of infections in many EU countries and strong criticism of the slow pace of vaccinations across the region of some 450 million people. (Furtula and Corder, 1/6)
AP:
Dutch Begin COVID-19 Vaccinations; Last EU Nation To Do So
Nearly two weeks after most other European Union nations, the Netherlands on Wednesday began its COVID-19 vaccination program, with nursing home staff and frontline workers in hospitals first in line for the shot. Sanna Elkadiri, a nurse at a nursing home for people with dementia, was the first to receive a shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at a mass vaccination center in Veghel, 120 kilometers (75 miles) southeast of the capital, Amsterdam. (Corder, 1/6)
Politico:
As Cases Spike, Europe Mulls Delaying 2nd Coronavirus Vaccine Shot
Faced with surging coronavirus cases, some European countries are considering whether to change tack and join the U.K. in vaccinating as many people as possible with just one dose rather than the two administered during clinical trials so far. This issue has been live since December 30, when the U.K. announced its decision to delay second doses by up to 12 weeks when it approved the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine for emergency use. The switch also applied to the BioNTech/Pfizer jab. Just this week, Denmark announced its decision to delay the second dose of both the Pfizer and forthcoming Moderna jabs by up to six weeks. The German health ministry has also confirmed looking into widening vaccination coverage by similar delays between doses. (Collis, 1/5)
The Wall Street Journal:
How Did President Duterte’s Guards Get Smuggled Covid Vaccines? Philippine Lawmakers Ask
Opposition lawmakers in the Philippines want to know how members of President Rodrigo Duterte’s security detail and potentially other officials received Covid-19 vaccines, when the country hasn’t approved any. The scandal emerged after Mr. Duterte said last month that several members of a military unit tasked with his personal protection had been vaccinated without his knowing. Brig. Gen. Jesus Durante III, the unit’s commander, later said “a handful” of guards got the shots in September and October to protect the president from exposure to the virus. (Solomon, 1/6)
The New York Times:
Did Oxygen Outage Kill Covid Patients In Egypt? Government Says No
Hoping to quell growing outrage over a video from inside an Egyptian hospital purportedly showing a number of Covid-19 patients dying after an interruption in oxygen supply, the country’s authorities insisted that neither shortages nor negligence caused the deaths. The wrenching footage, posted on social media this weekend, was shot on a cellphone by a visiting relative who appeared to be in a frantic state as he paced from bed to bed repeating the phrase “Everyone in the intensive care unit has died.” (El-Naggar, 1/5)