First Edition: April 28, 2020

Kaiser Health News: Amid Coronavirus Distress, Wealthy Hospitals Hoard Millions
Inova Health System, with campuses in some of the wealthiest suburbs of Washington, D.C., and Truman Medical Centers, a safety-net hospital in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, have little in common. But, today, they are confronting the same financial plague: mass cancellations of nonessential surgeries that are their biggest moneymakers while bracing for an expensive onslaught of coronavirus patients. (Rau, 4/28)

Kaiser Health News: Widely Used Surgical Masks Are Putting Health Care Workers At Serious Risk
With medical supplies in high demand, federal authorities say health workers can wear surgical masks for protection while treating COVID-19 patients — but growing evidence suggests the practice is putting workers in jeopardy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently said lower-grade surgical masks are “an acceptable alternative” to N95 masks unless workers are performing an intubation or another procedure on a COVID patient that could unleash a high volume of virus particles. (Jewett and Luthra, 4/28)

Kaiser Health News: Health Insurers Prosper As COVID-19 Deflates Demand For Elective Treatments
As doctors and consumers are forced to put most nonemergency procedures on hold, many health insurers foresee strong profits. So why is the industry looking to Congress for help? Insurers say that while that falloff in claims for non-COVID care is offsetting for now many insurers’ costs associated with the pandemic, the future is far more fraught. (Appleby and Findlay, 4/28)

Kaiser Health News: Consumer Beware: Coronavirus Antibody Tests Are Still A Work In Progress
After hearing for months about serious access issues involving tests that diagnose COVID-19 based on swabs from the nose or throat, Americans are being inundated with reports about promising new tests that look for signs of infection in the blood. There are high hopes for these antibody tests, which detect proteins that form in blood as part of the body’s immune response to an invading virus. (Aleccia, 4/27)

Politico: Supreme Court Rules Government Must Pay Billions To Obamacare Insurers
The Supreme Court on Monday ruled the federal government owes health insurers massive payments from an Obamacare program shielding them from financial risks after the companies accused Washington of reneging on its funding promises. The 8-1 decision could open the floodgates for federal cash to the insurance industry. Insurers who accused the government of a “bait and switch” claimed they’re owed $12 billion from the Affordable Care Act program. (Luthi, 4/27)

The New York Times: Supreme Court Rules For Insurers In $12 Billion Obamacare Case
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writing for the majority in the 8-to-1 ruling, said the court’s decision vindicated “a principle as old as the nation itself: The government should honor its obligations.” The health care law had promised the insurers that they would be protected, she wrote, and it did not matter that Congress later failed to appropriate money to cover the insurers’ shortfalls. The Affordable Care Act established so-called risk corridors meant to help insurance companies cope with the risks they took when they decided to participate in the law’s marketplaces without knowing who would sign up for coverage. (Liptak, 4/27)

NPR: Supreme Court Says U.S. Must Pay Obamacare Insurers $12B
The law, as enacted, promised to limit profits and losses for insurance companies in the first three years of the Obamacare program. Some companies made more money than allowed by the formula, and had to pay some back to the government, and other companies lost money and were owed money by the government under the formula. But in 2014, the first year that the ACA's plan was in place, the Republican-controlled Congress reneged on the promise to appropriate money for the companies that had lost money. It did the same for the next two years as well, adding to appropriation bills a rider that barred the government from fulfilling the promise in the statute. After President Trump was elected, his administration supported the GOP-led refusal to pay. (Totenberg, 4/27)

USA Today: Affordable Care Act: Supreme Court Rules For Health Insurers
Because insurers took considerable risks when they agreed to participate in Obamacare's marketplaces, the original 2010 law included limits on the amount of losses they could incur. But when the bill came due to cover some of those losses several years later, the government refused to pay. (Wolf, 4/27)

The Wall Street Journal: Supreme Court Rules Government Must Pay Insurers Under Affordable Care Act Program
The decision clears insurers to seek roughly $12 billion under the program. Early on, Obama administration officials believed the now-expired program could remain budget-neutral by balancing insurance company profits and losses during the first few years of the exchanges, from 2014 to 2016. But those hopes missed the mark, especially after changes in implementing regulations initially altered the pool of consumers seeking insurance coverage. Fewer healthy people participated in the exchanges than anticipated, leading to larger financial losses than many insurers expected. (Kendall, 4/27)

Reuters: U.S. Coronavirus Deaths Projected At Over 74,000 By August
The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus outbreak could exceed 74,000 by August, according to the University of Washington’s predictive model, often cited by White House officials and state public health authorities. Late on Monday, the university’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) model raised its projected U.S. death toll to 74,073 by Aug. 4, up from nearly 67,000 predicted a week ago, and 60,000 predicted two weeks ago. (4/28)

Politico: Trump Raises His Virus Death Toll Projection To Up To 70,000 In U.S.
President Donald Trump on Monday acknowledged more Americans would die of the coronavirus than he has recently predicted, now saying that the nationwide toll is likely to be between 60,000 and 70,000. (Ollstein, 4/27)

The New York Times: N.Y.C. Deaths Reach 6 Times The Normal Level, Far More Than Coronavirus Count Suggests
More than 27,000 New Yorkers have died since the start of the novel coronavirus outbreak in March — 20,900 more than would be expected over this period and thousands more than have been captured by official coronavirus death statistics. (Katz and Sanger-Katz, 4/27)

The Washington Post: U.S. Coronavirus Deaths In Early Weeks Of Pandemic Exceeded Official Number
The excess deaths — the number beyond what would normally be expected for that time of year — occurred during March and through April 4, a time when 8,128 coronavirus deaths were reported. The excess deaths are not necessarily attributable directly to covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. They could include people who died because of the epidemic but not from the disease, such as those who were afraid to seek medical treatment for unrelated illnesses, as well as some number of deaths that are part of the ordinary variation in the death rate. The count is also affected by increases or decreases in other categories of deaths, such as suicides, homicides and motor vehicle accidents. (Brown, Ba Tran, Reinhard and Ulmanu, 4/27)

The Hill: Case Fatality Rates Rise As Coronavirus Runs Deadly Course 
The percentage of people who die after testing positive for the coronavirus is rising even as thousands of new U.S. cases are identified each day, a troubling preview of the weeks and months that lie ahead. Epidemiologists and experts say increased case fatality rates are a natural function of a deadly virus running its course: The people who succumb today were probably infected as long as a month ago, when the number of cases began accelerating. (Wilson, 4/27)

Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus Deaths Doubled In L.A. County Last Week
The number of coronavirus deaths in Los Angeles County doubled in the last week amid new evidence that the poor are being hardest hit, according to the county health department. As of Sunday, the county had recorded 916 deaths and nearly 20,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19. (Wigglesworth, 4/27)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Behind The Data: Breaking Down The Statistical Models Of COVID-19
The public’s thirst for information about the coronavirus has sharply elevated the profiles of academic and government research institutions that analyze data about the virus. The COVID-19 tracker developed by Johns Hopkins University became a near-constant image on cable news, showing new cases glowing red in hotspots around the world.But there are other sources that go beyond recording new cases, deaths and mapping them around the world. These sources take data about the virus and forecast the future. But they each do it in different ways and it’s important to understand the differences. (Thieme, 4/24)

The New York Times: U.S. Governors Move Ahead With Reopening, Despite Health Worries
Governors across the country forged ahead Monday with plans to reopen their economies, even as the nation hit a grim milestone of 50,000 deaths from the coronavirus and public health experts warned against lifting stay-at-home orders too quickly. Numerous states, including some of the largest, began the process of lifting shelter orders in what could be a pivotal stage in the U.S. response to the pandemic. Texas, with its population of nearly 30 million, made one of the most expansive moves toward reopening when Gov. Greg Abbott announced that retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters and malls would be allowed to reopen with limited capacity on Friday. (Healy, Fernandez and Baker, 4/27)

The Associated Press: The US Reopening Is Coming, But 'Normal' Is Still A Ways Off
Everyone wants to know: When, oh when, will it go back to normal? As some governors across the United States begin to ease restrictions imposed to stop the spread of the coronavirus, hopes are soaring that life as Americans knew it might be returning. But plans emerging in many states indicate that “normal” is still a long way off. White House adviser Dr. Deborah Birx says social distancing will be with Americans through the summer. (DiLorenzo, 4/28)

Reuters: Georgia Eateries Welcome Diners Back As More U.S. States Ease Pandemic Shutdowns
Georgia, at the vanguard of states testing the safety of reopening the U.S. economy in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak, permitted restaurant dining for the first time in a month on Monday while governors in regions with fewer cases also eased restrictions. (McKay, 4/27)

The Associated Press: Fears Of Virus Seem Far Away As Stores Reopen In Rural US
Traffic got a little busier along Main Street, but otherwise, it was hard to tell that coronavirus restrictions were ending in the tiny Montana town of Roundup. That’s because it’s largely business as usual in the town of 1,800 people. Nonessential stores could reopen as a statewide shutdown ended this week, but most shops in Roundup — the pharmacy, the hardware store, two small grocers — were essential and never closed. (Brown and Hanson, 4/28)

The Associated Press: Texas, Ohio Among Many States To Take Steps Toward Reopening
Restaurants opened up to dine-in patrons in at least three states Monday and the governor of Texas allowed movie theaters, malls and eateries to start letting customers trickle into their establishments later this week. Across the country, an ever-changing patchwork of loosening stay-home orders and business restrictions took shape Monday. (Snow, 4/27)

The Wall Street Journal: States Move To Ease Lockdowns As Global Cases Top 3 Million
After weeks of closures and social-distancing orders in the U.S., states from Mississippi to Tennessee to Colorado began to permit some businesses to reopen Monday, welcoming customers back and letting some employees return to work. Over the weekend, some businesses had resumed in Georgia, Oklahoma, Alaska, Texas and South Carolina, with social-distancing measures in place. Retail stores, restaurants, malls, movie theaters, museums and libraries in Texas will be allowed to open Friday at 25% capacity, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday. He will allow a stay-home order now in place to expire Thursday. (Calfas, Findell and Purnell, 4/27)

The New York Times: Ohio’s G.O.P. Governor Splits From Trump, And Rises In Popularity
For 40 years, Mike DeWine rose steadily if blandly up the ladder of Ohio politics, finally landing his dream job as governor. He took office last year as a familiar figure in the state, not because of any indelible political identify, but because, at 72, he had been around forever. But the coronavirus crisis has made Mr. DeWine something that decades in elected offices never did: a household name. A Republican, he took early and bold actions to lock down his state, even as the head of his party, President Trump, dismissed the threat of the pandemic. (Gabriel, 4/28)

The Washington Post: New York Edges Toward Lifting Some Coronavirus Restrictions In Some Areas In May
Hard-hit New York edged toward lifting restrictions meant to limit the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus on Monday despite a shortage of testing, joining other U.S. states and some countries in Europe eyeing a gradual reopening, while the Trump administration said the federal government will only be a “last resort” source of critical virus tests. (Gearan and Wagner, 4/27)

NPR: Restaurants Open In Tennessee As State's Confirmed Coronavirus Cases Spike
Restaurants across Tennessee are able to welcome dine-in customers Monday for the first time in nearly a month as the state eases restrictions put in place to help stem the spread of the coronavirus. The step toward some semblance of normalcy comes a day after the state reported its highest single-day jump in newly confirmed COVID-19 cases, 478, which officials say represents a 5.2% increase from the previous day. (Booker, 4/27)

The Wall Street Journal: On West Coast, Counties Push Back Against Coronavirus Lockdowns
The commissioners of rural Franklin County, some 200 miles inland from Seattle, spelled out their defiance of Gov. Jay Inslee’s stay-at-home order on a piece of paper in blue ink. It passed unanimously last week. “Franklin County is now open for Business!!!” commissioner Clint Didier wrote on Facebook with a photo of the motion, which called the order unconstitutional. Two days later, after Mr. Inslee’s office threatened legal action, the commissioners rescinded the motion. (Parti and Elinson, 4/28)

Politico: Newsom Chides California Beachgoers: 'We Can't See Images Like We Saw'
Gov. Gavin Newsom chided Californians who flocked to beaches over the weekend, saying they could delay an otherwise imminent start to reopening the economy. “We can’t see images like we saw, particularly on Saturday, in Newport Beach and elsewhere,” Newsom told reporters, adding that coronavirus “doesn't go home because it's a beautiful sunny day around our coasts.” (White, 4/27)

Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus: Garcetti Says Some L.A. Stay-At-Home Rules Could Be Eased In Weeks
Mayor Eric Garcetti seemed optimistic that social distancing measures were proving effective and said he believed “the curve really is beginning to flatten,” even suggesting that easing restrictions under the city’s safer-at-home order could be weeks away. Testing capabilities were continuing to increase, according to Garcetti, who said asymptomatic essential workers including delivery, ride-hail and taxi drivers, as well as journalists, will now be able to be tested for the virus. (Queally and Shalby, 4/27)

CNN: Covid-19 Experts Say States Easing Restrictions Too Early May Increase The US Coronavirus Death Toll 
A leading coronavirus model has upped its predicted death toll again, this time projecting 74,000 Americans will lose their lives to the virus by August. The projection was adjusted due to longer peaks in some states and signs that people are becoming more active again, according to Dr. Chris Murray, the director of the University of Washington's Institute for Help Metrics and Evaluation. The model had previously forecasted 60,000 deaths from Covid-19. (Maxouris, 4/28)

The New York Times: ‘Quarantine Fatigue’ Has More People Going Outside
For more than a month, governors in a vast majority of states have urged people to stay indoors and away from one another, critical measures needed to slow the spread of the coronavirus. But as the lockdowns drag on, the weather gets warmer and some states move to reopen, researchers at the University of Maryland have found that more people across the country are going outside, that they are doing so more frequently and that they are traveling longer distances. (Zaveri, 4/27)

Politico: Republican Firefight Kicks Off As Protesters Target GOP Govs Over Closures
Republican governors are facing a new challenge as they fight to stop the spread of coronavirus: pressure from their own right flanks. While the biggest protests calling for an end to stay-at-home orders and business restrictions have hit Democratic governors, conservative activists and groups are intensifying pressure on GOP governors they say are being too deliberative as their economies stagger and jobless rates spiral — part of a hyperaggressive effort on the right to reshape the debate over the financial ravages of Covid-19. (Cadelago, 4/27)

The Wall Street Journal: As Coronavirus Lockdowns Ease, WHO Urges Caution
More U.S. states and countries around the world began exiting coronavirus-related lockdowns, while the head of the World Health Organization warned that infections could be undercounted in some regions because of limits to testing capacity. Total confirmed coronavirus cases rose by roughly 20% over the past week to more than three million globally, while the death toll passed 211,000, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. (Xie, 4/28)

The New York Times: Job Or Health? Restarting The Economy Threatens To Worsen Economic Inequality
Efforts to quickly restart economic activity risk further dividing Americans into two major groups along socioeconomic lines: one that has the power to control its exposure to the coronavirus outbreak and another that is forced to choose between potential sickness or financial devastation. It is a pick-your-poison fact of the crisis: The pandemic recession has knocked millions of the most economically vulnerable Americans out of work. Rushing to reopen their employers could offer them a financial lifeline, but at a potentially steep cost to their health. (Tankersley, 4/27)

The Associated Press: Companies Press For Limited Liability From Virus Lawsuits
As companies start planning their reopening in the coming weeks, business groups are pushing Congress to limit liability from potential lawsuits filed by workers and customers infected by the coronavirus. They appear to have the White House’s ear. President Donald Trump has floated shielding businesses from lawsuits. (D'Innocenzio and Tucker, 4/27)

The Washington Post: White House Is Reviewing Expanded Guidance On Reopening Society
The White House is finalizing expanded guidelines to allow the phased reopening of schools and camps, child-care programs, certain workplaces, houses of worship, restaurants and mass transit, according to documents under review by administration officials. Members of the White House coronavirus task force and other officials received the guidelines late last week, according to senior administration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the guidelines have not been officially released. (Sun and Dawsey, 4/27)

Politico: White House Signals A Pivot To Reopening The Country
On Monday, for instance, the president met with retail executives and spoke with governors about the coronavirus response and “economic revival,” a subject that has cropped up on several of his daily schedules in the past few weeks, replacing “mitigation” and “containment” of the new coronavirus. With a slimmed-down public schedule, Trump has spent much of April meeting — virtually or otherwise — with business groups, including his reopening council of more than 200 people. (Oprysko, 4/27)

The Associated Press: Coronavirus: Barr Tells Prosecutors To Look For Unconstitutional Rules
Atty. Gen. William Barr on Monday ordered federal prosecutors across the U.S. to identify coronavirus-related restrictions from state and local governments “that could be violating the constitutional rights and civil liberties of individual citizens.” The memo to U.S. attorneys directs the head of the Justice Department’s civil rights division and the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan to coordinate the department’s efforts to monitor state and local policies and take action if needed. (4/27)

The Associated Press: Trump Urges States To Consider Opening Schools Before Summer
President Donald Trump says states should “seriously consider” reopening their public schools before the end of the academic year, even though dozens already have said it would be unsafe for students to return until the summer or fall. Trump made the comments Monday in a call with governors discussing how to reopen their economies, among other topics. (Binkley, 4/28)

The Washington Post: How Schools Are Planning To Reopen In Fall
From the White House podium to harried homes, pressure is building to reopen the nation’s schools. But the next iteration of American education will look far different from the classrooms students and teachers abruptly departed last month. Many overwhelmed school systems remain focused on running remote education that was set up on the fly. Others, though, are deep into planning for what they see coming: an in-between scenario in which schools are open but children are spread out in places where they are normally packed together. (Meckler, Strauss and Balingit, 4/27)

The Washington Post: President’s Intelligence Briefing Book Repeatedly Cited Virus Threat
U.S. intelligence agencies issued warnings about the novel coronavirus in more than a dozen classified briefings prepared for President Trump in January and February, months during which he continued to play down the threat, according to current and former U.S. officials. The repeated warnings were conveyed in issues of the President’s Daily Brief, a sensitive report that is produced before dawn each day and designed to call the president’s attention to the most significant global developments and security threats. (Miller and Naskashima, 4/27)

The Hill: Coronavirus Warnings Appeared Repeatedly In Classified Presidential Briefings In January, February: Report
The president declined to form a White House task force on the issue until late February, about a month after the initial warnings began, according to the Post. White House deputy spokesman Hogan Gidley fired back at the Post's report in a statement to the newspaper, denying that the president was slow to react. (Bowden, 4/27)

The New York Times: Trump’s Bleach Statements Echo Claims By ‘Miracle Cure’ Quacks
President Trump’s public statements about using disinfectants to potentially treat the coronavirus have put him in the company of pseudoscientists and purveyors of phony elixirs who promote and sell industrial bleach as a “miracle cure” for autism, malaria and a long list of medical conditions. The president’s comments, at a White House briefing last week, have already prompted widespread incredulity, warnings from health experts and a spike in calls to poison control centers around the country. The makers of Clorox and Lysol urged Americans not to inject or ingest their products. (Jacobs, 4/27)

The Washington Post: White House Moves To Refocus Trump After Bleach Controversy At Coronavirus Briefing
Like an SOS distress signal emanating from deep within the White House, the daily coronavirus briefing was on, then off, and then on again. Monday morning’s whiplash — a news conference scheduled, canceled, and rescheduled all over the course of five hours — was a stark reminder of the challenges of trying to restrain a president who doesn’t want to be controlled. (Parker, 4/27)

The Washington Post: Trump's WHO Funding Freeze In Coronavirus Pandemic Lets China Expand Influence
Days after President Trump announced he would freeze U.S. funding to the World Health Organization, China made a very different statement: a $30 million pledge to the group. Trump and his allies argue the WHO’s response to the novel coronavirus has been ineffectual and “China-centric” — and some outside the administration agree. (Rauhala, 4/27)

The New York Times: Trump Vows More Coronavirus Testing, But Less Than What May Be Needed
President Trump, under growing pressure to expand coronavirus testing as states move to reopen their economies, unveiled a new plan on Monday to ramp up the federal government’s help to states, but his proposal runs far short of what most public health experts say is necessary. Mr. Trump’s announcement in the Rose Garden came after weeks of him insisting, inaccurately, that the nation’s testing capability “is fully sufficient to begin opening up the country,” as he said on April 18. Numerous public health experts say that is untrue, and Mr. Trump’s plan may do little to fix it. (Stolberg, 4/27)

The Associated Press: Doubts About Testing Remain In Spite Of Trump's Assurances
The White House released new guidelines aimed at answering criticism that America’s coronavirus testing has been too slow, and President Donald Trump tried to pivot toward a focus on “reopening” the nation. Still, there were doubts from public health experts that the White House’s new testing targets were sufficient. (Miller, Colvin and Lemire, 4/28)

The Washington Post: White House Issues Coronavirus Testing Guidance That Leaves States In Charge 
Pressure mounted Monday on the White House and Congress to develop a national strategy to test Americans for exposure to the novel coronavirus, as health and economic experts said the current patchwork of testing efforts is insufficient to allow the economy to reopen safely. Governors, congressional leaders and public health officials have pressed for a robust testing plan from the federal government, insisting that frequent and widespread testing is crucial to ending the stay-at-home orders that have idled businesses across much of the country. (DeBonis, Mooney and Eilperin, 4/27)

The Wall Street Journal: Trump Administration Has Enough Tests For 2% Of Each State’s Population, Official Says
“We’re deploying the full power and strength of the federal government to help states, cities, to help local governments get this horrible plague over with,” Mr. Trump said in a Rose Garden press conference, in which he was joined by several executives. Adm. Brett Giroir, the administration official overseeing coronavirus testing efforts, said the federal government would be able to supply every state with the supplies and tests they need to “dramatically increase” the number of tests. (Bender and Abbott, 4/27)

CNN: Trump Returns To The Stage With Underwhelming Testing Promises 
The rosy assessments of progress appear to contrast with the reality in the states, as fears mount that early openings in some regions could cause a spike in infections -- and with business sparse in shops and restaurants that have already opened up, for instance, in Georgia on Monday. The President dodged a question over whether he bore any responsibility for the deaths of more Americans than those who perished in Vietnam in a pandemic that he denied was ever coming to US shores. Despite weeks of prior warning that the virus would spread around the world, the President blamed China for not keeping it confined to its territory, thereby absolving himself of a buck stops moment. (Collinson, 4/28)

Stat: New Trump Plan Aims To Offer 2 Million Coronavirus Tests Per Week  
The 2-million-tests-per-week pledge would represent a dramatic testing capacity increase for the U.S., where roughly 5.4 million coronavirus tests have been conducted to date. Yet it also represents the low end of what many public health officials estimate the country will require to safely reopen, according to an analysis conducted by STAT and leading public health officials. Other leading researchers have estimated that for most Americans to safely return to work, testing capacity might need to reach between 3 and 4 million per week. (Facher, 4/27)

Politico: With More Testing, White House Prepares For Outbreaks This Summer ‘And Beyond’
Several national retailers, including CVS Health, Kroger Health and Walmart, announced they would significantly expand coronavirus testing efforts in May. The United States has run about 5.5 million coronavirus tests after a slow start caused by the botched rollout of CDC's diagnostic test. But the number of tests analyzed has risen dramatically in recent days: More than 1.5 million samples have been processed in the past week alone, according to The COVID Tracking Project. (Lim and Tahir, 4/27)

The Hill: Schumer Demands GOP Convene Hearings On Coronavirus Testing, Small Business Program 
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on Monday that Republicans should "immediately" start oversight of the government's coronavirus response and related legislation, including holding public hearings. “Now that Leader McConnell has decided the Senate will reconvene next week, he should instruct his Committee Chairs to immediately begin vigorous and desperately needed oversight of the Trump administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its implementation of the CARES Act," Schumer said in a statement. (Carney, 4/27)

NPR: Testing Could Unlock A Return To Normal Life, But Obstacles Persist
Testing is the key that will unlock normalization for millions of Americans. It's the doorway between the disaster response mode of the pandemic and confidence about returning to work, school and life. And it's also still apparently weeks or more away from scaling to a level that will make a big difference for most people in most places. (Ewing and Moore, 4/28)

ABC News: Despite Slow Start, White House Doubles Down On Testing Partnership With Retailers 
But those and other major retailers have made only modest progress in the 45 days since Trump first announced the federal partnership, predicting Americans would be able to easily access drive-thru testing sites in parking lots across the country. "The goal is for individuals to be able to drive up and be swabbed without having to leave your car," Trump said in his March 13 remarks in the Rose Garden. Since that time, the participating retail giants -- who boast a combined 28,903 store locations across the country -- have launched 69 drive-thru testing sites. (Rubin and Mosk, 4/28)

The Associated Press: Pence To Visit Mayo Clinic To Learn About Testing 'Moonshot'
Vice President Mike Pence has an appointment Tuesday at Minnesota’s Mayo Clinic to learn about a new coronavirus testing “moonshot” that has the famed clinic partnering with the state and its flagship university to quickly boost the state’s capacity to 20,000 tests a day. It’s an approach that leverages a health care infrastructure not all states can match. And it should help Minnesota become one of the most aggressive states at testing on the scale experts say is necessary to safely reopen the economy. Minnesota is one of several states that have quit waiting for the federal government for help. (Karnowski, 4/27)

NPR: Pence Trips Show It's Not Easy To Return To Political Normal
A source familiar with the vice president's plans confirmed that Pence and Trump staffers are meeting regularly to talk about lessons they have learned from the Pence trips, such as new security and health protocols. NPR accompanied Pence on his first two trips. There were several new safety protocols evident. For example, at Andrews Air Force Base, masked officers in camouflage took the temperatures of passengers traveling with Pence and made sure no one showed symptoms of the virus. (Ordonez, 4/28)

The New York Times: Rhode Island Pushes Aggressive Testing, A Move That Could Ease Reopening
Rhode Island gives the appearance of a state where the coronavirus is a fire raging, the average number of daily infections more than quadrupling since the start of this month. The reality is more complicated and encouraging, as state health workers have tested more residents per capita in Rhode Island than in any other state, leading them to discover many infections that might have gone overlooked elsewhere. (Powell, 4/28)

The New York Times: In Race For A Coronavirus Vaccine, An Oxford Group Leaps Ahead
In the worldwide race for a vaccine to stop the coronavirus, the laboratory sprinting fastest is at Oxford University. Most other teams have had to start with small clinical trials of a few hundred participants to demonstrate safety. But scientists at the university’s Jenner Institute had a head start on a vaccine, having proved in previous trials that similar inoculations — including one last year against an earlier coronavirus — were harmless to humans. That has enabled them to leap ahead and schedule tests of their new coronavirus vaccine involving more than 6,000 people by the end of next month, hoping to show not only that it is safe, but also that it works. (Kirkpatrick, 4/27)

The Hill: Race For Coronavirus Vaccine Faces Early Challenges 
Drug companies are racing to develop a coronavirus vaccine at breakneck speed, but they’re quickly encountering challenges with clinical trials, production capacity and governmental approval. The world is pinning its hopes on a vaccine to prevent COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Public health experts say that until a vaccine is successfully deployed, it will be difficult to completely lift the social distancing restrictions that have devastated the global economy. (Weixel, 4/27)

The Wall Street Journal: The Secret Group Of Scientists And Billionaires Pushing A Manhattan Project For Covid-19
A dozen of America’s top scientists and a collection of billionaires and industry titans say they have the answer to the coronavirus pandemic, and they found a backdoor to deliver their plan to the White House. The eclectic group is led by a 33-year-old physician-turned-venture capitalist, Tom Cahill, who lives far from the public eye in a one-bedroom rental near Boston’s Fenway Park. He owns just one suit, but he has enough lofty connections to influence government decisions in the war against Covid-19. These scientists and their backers describe their work as a lockdown-era Manhattan Project, a nod to the World War II group of scientists who helped develop the atomic bomb. (Copeland, 4/27)