First Edition: Feb. 23, 2021

KHN: After Billions Of Dollars And Dozens Of Wartime Declarations, Why Are Vaccines Still In Short Supply? 
The U.S. government has invested billions of dollars in manufacturing, used a wartime act dozens of times to boost supplies and yet there’s still not enough covid vaccine on the way to meet demand — or even the government’s own goals for national immunization. President Joe Biden, in remarks at the National Institutes of Health this month, said the nation is “now on track to have enough supply for 300 million Americans by the end of July.” But at the current rate of production, Pfizer and Moderna will miss their targets of providing at least 100 million doses each by the end of March, let alone 200 million more doses each has promised by July. (Pradhan and Allen, 2/23)

KHN: Covid Strikes Clergy As They Comfort Pandemic’s Sick And Dying
The Rev. Jose Luis Garayoa survived typhoid fever, malaria, a kidnapping and the Ebola crisis as a missionary in Sierra Leone, only to die of covid-19 after tending to the people of his Texas church who were sick from the virus and the grieving family members of those who died. Garayoa, 68, who served at El Paso’s Little Flower Catholic Church, was one of three priests living in the local home of the Roman Catholic Order of the Augustinian Recollects who contracted the disease. Garayoa died two days before Thanksgiving. (Alpert, 2/23)

KHN: Calling All Vaccinators: Closing The Next Gap In Covid Supply And Demand
Beating back covid right now comes down to balancing supply and demand. With hopes pinned to vaccines, demand has far outstripped the supply of doses. But, as an increasing number of vaccine vials are shipped in coming weeks, the concern about shortages may well shift to human capital: the vaccinators themselves. (Appleby, 2/23)

KHN: It’s Time To Get Back To Normal? Not According To Science. 
A popular Facebook and blog post by conservative radio host Buck Sexton claims scientific research indicates life should return to normal now despite the persistence of the covid-19 pandemic. “Here’s what the science tells anyone who is being honest about it: open the schools, stop wearing masks outside, and everyone at low risk should start living normal lives. Not next fall, or next year — now,” reads the blog post, posted to Facebook on Feb. 8. (Knight, 2/23)

KHN: In Search Of The Shot 
Too little covid vaccine and too great a demand: That’s what KHN readers from around the country detail in their often exasperating quest to snag a shot, although they are often clearly eligible under their local guidelines and priority system. Public health officials say the supply is growing and will meet demand in several months, but, for now, readers’ experiences show how access is limited. Some savvy readers report no problem getting in line for the vaccine, but others say that balky application processes and lack of information have stymied their efforts. Their unedited reports are a good snapshot of the mixed situation around the country. (2/22)

The Wall Street Journal: Biden Remembers The More Than 500,000 Covid-19 Victims 
With a moment of silence and a candlelit memorial, President Biden marked the loss of life from Covid-19, as the U.S. death toll passed 500,000 Monday. “We often hear people described as ordinary Americans. There’s no such thing, there’s nothing ordinary about them,” Mr. Biden said during a speech at the White House. “People we lost were extraordinary. They spanned generations, born in America, emigrated to America. Just like that, so many of them took their final breath alone in America.” “As a nation, we can’t accept such a cruel fate,” he said. (Lucey and Restuccia, 2/22)

AP: Biden Mourns 500,000 Dead, Balancing Nation's Grief And Hope
Biden stepped to a lectern in the White House Cross Hall, unhooked his face mask and delivered an emotion-filled eulogy for more than 500,000 Americans he said he felt he knew. “We often hear people described as ordinary Americans. There’s no such thing,” he said Monday evening. “There’s nothing ordinary about them. The people we lost were extraordinary.” (Lemire and Boak, 2/23)

Reuters: Bells Toll For Lives Lost As U.S. Reaches 500,000 COVID Deaths 
Bells tolled at the National Cathedral in Washington to honor the lives lost - ringing 500 times to symbolize the 500,000 deaths. “As we acknowledge the scale of this mass death in America, remember each person and the life they lived,” Biden said in a somber speech at the White House after the bells sounded. (Caspani and Maan, 2/22)

Reuters: Fauci Says U.S. Political Divisions Contributed To 500,000 Dead From COVID-19 
In an interview with Reuters, [Dr. Anthony] Fauci on Monday said the pandemic arrived in the United States as the country was riven by political divisions in which wearing a mask became a political statement rather than a public health measure. “Even under the best of circumstances, this would have been a very serious problem,” Fauci said, noting that despite strong adherence to public health measures, countries such as Germany and the UK struggled with the virus. “However, that does not explain how a rich and sophisticated country can have the most percentage of deaths and be the hardest-hit country in the world,” said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a top adviser to President Joe Biden. “That I believe should not have happened.” (Steenhuysen, 2/22)

Fox News: Fauci Cautions Against Dining Out, Even When Vaccinated
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top disease expert in the U.S., said Monday that Americans who have received their second vaccine jab should still exercise caution and try to resist the urge to dine out or go to the movies. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was at the White House giving a press briefing on vaccine distribution in the U.S., and said those vaccinated have dramatically increased their own personal safety, but he said the country is "still at an unacceptably high baseline level" of new infection, according to Business Insider. (DeMarche, 2/23)

Bloomberg: Covid Vaccines In U.K. Show Positive Results After One Dose
New findings in the U.K., the first country in the western world to roll out Covid-19 vaccines, show the shots provide a high level of protection against infection, illness and death after a single dose. Initial data in medical workers show the Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE vaccine reduces the risk of infection by more than 70% with one dose -- or 85% after the second dose -- according to Public Health England. The findings suggest the shot helps interrupt transmission, officials said. (Paton, 2/22)

The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Vaccinations Cut Hospitalizations And Deaths, U.K. Finds 
The new information from the U.K., published Monday, is preliminary and hasn’t been reviewed by other scientists, but provides reasons for optimism that vaccines offer a route out of a pandemic that has claimed at least 2.5 million lives world-wide and sickened tens of millions. The data suggest vaccines are most successful in preventing hospitalizations and deaths, a top concern of health authorities. While vaccines also suppress new infections, the effect isn’t as pronounced. (Douglas and Colchester, 2/22)

Politico: UK: Coronavirus Vaccines Cutting Hospitalization After First Dose 
First data from England and Scotland suggests vaccines are reducing hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 and appear to be preventing transmission, English and Scottish public health officials reported on Monday. Based on the latest data, scientists in England estimate that hospitalization and death rates will fall around 75 percent in those who receive a single dose of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine. And this may be an "underestimate," according to Mary Ramsay, head of immunization at Public Health England, since the analysis included people vaccinated 14 days ago and therefore doesn't measure the four weeks it takes to fully account for the increase in protection, especially in older people. Limiting data to more than four weeks ago “would see an even more profound drop,” she said. (Collis, 2/22)

CIDRAP: Flu Vaccine Associated With Lower COVID Likelihood, Hospitalizations
People who received their flu vaccine were less likely to test positive for COVID-19, and if they were infected with the virus, they were less likely to need hospitalization, mechanical ventilation, or a longer hospital stay, according to a study published today in the American Journal of Infection Control. The researchers created a retrospective cohort of 27,201 patients who were tested for COVID-19 from Feb 27 to Jul 15, 2020, in the Michigan Medicine healthcare system. Of those, they found that 12,997 (47.8%) were vaccinated against the flu between Aug 1, 2019, to Jul 15, 2020. Of that number, 525 (4.0%) tested positive for coronavirus. Of the 14,204 (52.%) not vaccinated, 693 (4.9%) got COVID-19. (2/22)

The Wall Street Journal: FDA Looks To Quickly Authorize Covid-19 Vaccine Booster Shots As New Variants Emerge 
The Food and Drug Administration said Monday it will quickly analyze any vaccine booster shots against Covid-19 variants such as those from South Africa and the U.K., and won’t require further large clinical trials of the new shots’ effectiveness. The agency issued new guidance for vaccine manufacturers as it looks to establish speedier procedures to deal with virus mutations that could worsen the pandemic. Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said in a statement the agency is seeking “efficient ways to modify medical products that either are in the pipeline or have been authorized for emergency use to address emerging variants.” (Burton, 2/22)

Bloomberg: FDA Outlines Faster Path For Shots Against New Covid Variants
Drugmakers won’t have to perform massive trials for new vaccines or booster shots developed to combat worrisome new variants of the coronavirus, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said. In documents released by the agency Monday, it said immunizations that protect against the variants could receive clearance based on so-called immunogenicity studies, where researchers vaccinate people and then conduct laboratory tests to measure the strength of their immune response. These tests, similar to what is done for annual flu shots, are far simpler than the standard efficacy studies used for clearance of the initial vaccines, which involved thousands of volunteers and took months of work. (Langreth and Fay Cortez, 2/22)

Politico: Johnson & Johnson Says It Can Provide 20M Vaccine Doses By Late March 
Johnson & Johnson can deliver 20 million doses of its single-shot coronavirus vaccine to the U.S. government by the end of March, an executive will testify tomorrow. “Assuming necessary regulatory approvals relating to our manufacturing processes, our plan is to begin shipping immediately upon emergency use authorization, and deliver enough single-doses by the end of March to enable the vaccination of more than 20 million Americans,” Johnson & Johnson’s Richard Nettles, vice president of medical affairs for the company's pharmaceutical unit Janssen, will tell a House Energy & Commerce subcommittee Tuesday. (Owermohle, 2/22)

The Hill: Johnson & Johnson Ready To Provide Doses For 20M Americans By End Of March 
Johnson & Johnson said Monday that it plans to have enough doses of its vaccine for more than 20 million Americans by the end of March if its vaccine is authorized by the Food and Drug Administration. The vaccine is being eagerly awaited as the next in line to join the COVID-19 vaccines already in use from Pfizer and Moderna. An FDA advisory committee is meeting Friday to consider the application, and emergency authorization could come soon after. (Sullivan, 2/22)

Fox News: GSK, Sanofi Start New COVID-19 Vaccine Study After Setback
GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi on Monday announced the start of a new Phase 2 trial involving their protein-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate after facing a setback in December. The companies had said previous trials showed an insufficient immune response in older people which sent them back to the drawing board. In a news release posted Monday, the companies announced the initiation of a new Phase 2 study involving 720 volunteers ages 18 and older, which they hope will help determine the appropriate antigen dosage for Phase 3 evaluation. (Hein, 2/22)

The Hill: Debate Heats Up Over Vaccinating More People With Just One Dose 
Debate is intensifying over the idea of accelerating the U.S. vaccination campaign by giving people just one dose instead of two for the time being. The approach, which has the backing of some prominent experts, could essentially double the country’s vaccine supply in the short term. It has also gained ground in recent days after new research on the effectiveness of receiving only one dose, with a second dose planned for a few months down the line when supply shortages ease. (Sullivan, 2/22)

Wall Street Journal: For Coronavirus Survivors, One Vaccine Dose May Be Enough, Early Studies Show
COVID-19 survivors who have gotten a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine are generating immune responses that might render a second shot unnecessary, potentially freeing up limited vaccine supply for more people, several new research papers suggest. The research, while preliminary, found that the previously infected people generated protection against the disease quickly and at dramatically higher levels after a first shot of the current two-shot regimens when compared with people who were vaccinated but hadn’t been sick. (Hopkins, 2/22)

The Hill: 11 GOP Senators Slam Biden Pick For Health Secretary: 'No Meaningful Experience' 
Eleven Senate Republicans announced their opposition to President Biden’s nominee for health secretary ahead of his confirmation hearings before two committees this week. The senators, led by Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), urged Biden in a letter to withdraw the nomination of Xavier Becerra, California’s attorney general, arguing he is unqualified to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). (Hellmann, 2/22)

AP: GOP Working To Block Biden's Health Care Pick; Dems Unfazed
President Joe Biden’s pick for health secretary faces two days of contentious Senate hearings. Republicans are portraying the Californian as unfit but Democrats are unfazed, accusing the GOP of playing politics despite the pandemic. Xavier Becerra, now attorney general of the nation’s most populous state, will be grilled by two panels. Tuesday, it’s the health committee’s turn, followed Wednesday by the Finance Committee, which will vote on sending Becerra’s nomination to the Senate floor. If confirmed, he’d be the first Latino to head the Department of Health and Human Services, a $1.4 trillion agency with a broad portfolio that includes health insurance programs, drug safety and approvals, advanced medical research and the welfare of children. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 2/23)

Politico: ‘Exceedingly Deep Convictions’: Inside Xavier Becerra’s Quest For Health Care For Immigrants 
When President Barack Obama headed to the Capitol in 2009 to make a late-stage push for the Affordable Care Act, pleading to a joint session of Congress that the “season for action” had arrived, it wasn’t only Republicans who became affronted: then-Rep. Xavier Becerra, the California Democrat who had been lobbying for a more immigrant-friendly bill, listened as the president threw cold water on policies that they had been discussing for months. “There are also those who claim that our reform effort will insure illegal immigrants. This, too, is false — the reforms I'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally,” Obama said. (Severns, 2/22)

San Francisco Chronicle: Supreme Court OKs Review Of Trump Rules On Abortion Referrals
The Supreme Court granted requests by abortion-rights advocates Monday to review Trump administration rules that have barred recipients of U.S. family-planning funds from referring any of their 4 million low-income patients for abortions. The rules, in effect since June 2019, also require federally funded family-planning providers to place their abortion clinics in separate facilities, a mandate that has already driven Planned Parenthood out of the program. The Biden administration, however, could repeal its predecessor’s rules before the court decides their legality. (Egelko, 2/22)

The Hill: Supreme Court To Hear Challenge On Family Planning Program 
The Supreme Court will hear a challenge to the Trump administration’s changes to a federally funded family planning program that pushed hundreds of providers to leave. The court announced Monday it will hear a case brought by the American Medical Association (AMA), Planned Parenthood and others arguing that the Trump administration’s changes to the Title X family planning program that bans providers from referring patients for abortions violates federal law and harms patient care. (Hellmann, 2/22)

AP: Biden Asks High Court To Drop 2 Trump-Era Medicaid Cases
The Biden administration is asking the Supreme Court not to hear arguments in two cases on its March calendar about the Trump administration’s plan to remake Medicaid by requiring recipients to work. The Biden administration has been moving to roll back those Trump-era plans and cited “greatly changed circumstances” in asking Monday that the cases be dropped from the court’s argument calendar. They are currently scheduled to be heard on March 29. The court has been hearing arguments by phone because of the coronavirus pandemic. (2/22)

Modern Healthcare: Supreme Court Won't Weigh In On False Claims Act Standards Case
The Supreme Court declined to clarify how false claims should be verified under the False Claims Act, which could draw out some related healthcare cases, legal experts said. Hospice provider Care Alternatives asked the Supreme Court to review the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' determination that a false claim could arise if an expert contradicted a physician's reasoning for recommending hospice treatment. That threshold was lower than most other appellate courts' rulings, which found that a reasonable difference of doctors' opinions was not enough to certify a false claim. (Kacik, 2/22)

AP: CDC Study: Teachers Key To COVID-19 Infections In 1 District
A new study finds that teachers may be more important drivers of COVID-19 transmission in schools than students. The paper released Monday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studies nine COVID-19 transmission clusters in elementary schools in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta in December and January, That included one cluster where 16 teachers, students and relatives of students at home were infected. (Amy, 2/23)

The New York Times: Covid Vaccines For Kids Are Coming, But Not For Many Months 
As adults at high risk for Covid-19 line up to be immunized against the coronavirus, many parents want to know: When will my child get a vaccine? The short answer: Not before late summer. Pfizer and Moderna have enrolled children 12 and older in clinical trials of their vaccines and hope to have results by the summer. Depending on how the vaccines perform in that age group, the companies may then test them in younger children. The Food and Drug Administration usually takes a few weeks to review data from a clinical trial and authorize a vaccine. (Mandavilli, 2/12)

The Washington Post: Can We Reach Covid Herd Immunity Without Vaccinating Children? 
Amid a race to vaccinate as many people as possible against the coronavirus, which has sickened more than 28 million people and killed about 500,000 in the United States, the 10-year-old son of a Washington Post reader posed a pertinent question — one even experts are struggling to answer with any real certainty. Is it possible for the United States to achieve herd immunity without vaccinating children? It’s a complicated question, as health experts have differing ideas about what constitutes a herd immunity threshold for the coronavirus. (Bever, 2/22)

Stat: Schools May See A Burst Of The Common Cold When They Reopen
A curious thing happened when Hong Kong reopened schools after closing them because of the Covid-19 pandemic. It bears watching here. Hong Kong closed its schools to in-person learning from late January 2020 to late May — and then again in early July, when more Covid cases were detected. Within a few weeks of schools reopening in October, they started to see large numbers of kids getting sick, despite mandatory mask-wearing, additional spacing between desks, and other measures to lower the risk of spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. (Branswell, 2/23)

The Washington Post: Covid Vaccine And Infertility: Misinformation Is Scaring Some Women 
Niharika Sathe, a 34-year-old internal medicine physician in New Jersey, first heard the fertility rumor from another doctor. The friend confided that she would decline the coronavirus vaccine because of something she’d seen online — that the shot could cause the immune system to attack the placenta, potentially leading to miscarriage and infertility. Sathe, who was early in her pregnancy at the time but had not told anyone, spent the next few weeks scrutinizing information from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine and calling trusted experts to investigate the report. (Cha, 2/22)

The Washington Post: In Baltimore, 400 Million Vaccine Doses Manufactured By Emergent BioSolutions Shipped Elsewhere 
In a city battered by the coronavirus, one biomedical plant is churning out enough vaccine doses to inoculate every resident hundreds of times over. The lifesaving medicine is brewed in stainless steel vats and bottled at subfreezing temperatures — then loaded into trucks that carry the vaccines hundreds of miles away. Most will never return. (Jamison, 2/22)

NPR: Texas Vaccination Site Apologizes For Refusing COVID-19 Shots To 2 Eligible People
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is apologizing for turning away two people eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations on Saturday because they could not prove they live in the United States. On Feb. 21, it posted a statement on Twitter. UT Health Rio Valley, the clinical practice of the university, stated it "apologizes to those patients who were affected" and "did not follow the most current State of Texas guidelines." Proof of residency and citizenship are not required to get the vaccine, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services — as stated in guidance on the agency's website. UT-RGV spokesperson Patrick Gonzalez confirmed the university did not follow state protocol. (Cabrera, 2/22)

The Washington Post: Maryland To Launch A Centralized Vaccine Registration System For Mass Clinics 
After weeks of criticism of its decentralized vaccine distribution, Maryland will launch a single registration system for appointments at the state’s mass vaccination sites, which officials say will reduce competition for limited doses. The centralized system falls short of what the state’s federal delegation and many local leaders have requested, because it applies only to a limited number of locations. It will not automatically replace individual scheduling systems for local health departments, hospitals, pharmacies and health clinics that have so far distributed the vast majority of vaccine doses in Maryland. (Cox, Olivo, Tan and Portnoy, 2/22)

The Wall Street Journal: The One Shot NBA Players Might Not Take: The Covid Vaccine 
Professional athletes will soon get access to the Covid-19 vaccines that promise a return to normalcy after a year of pandemic sports. But now the country’s biggest and richest leagues are dealing with another problem: The players haven’t decided if they want the shot. NBA, NFL and Major League Baseball officials say a significant percentage of players—perhaps even a majority in some leagues—have expressed concerns about taking the vaccine when it becomes available to them.  (Cohen and Beaton, 2/22)

Boston Globe: Lonely, Isolated COVID-19 Patients Get Lifeline: Doctor Creates Pilot Program For Vaccinated Hospital Workers To Sit With Them
As Dr. Ben Moor wandered the halls of the South Shore hospital where he works over the past year, the closed doors separating COVID-19 patients from the world outside weighed heavily on his mind. “Behind every door, a person with COVID-19. Alone,” Moor wrote in a recent op-ed for STAT. “They see their nurse periodically. A food service worker comes in three times a day with a tray of food. Other than that, no human contact.” But these days, Moor — an anesthesiologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Plymouth — is breaking through these barriers. After receiving his second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine last month, he saw an opening, a way to bring comfort to people in quarantine and be a liaison to their anxious families, waiting desperately to be by their side. (Annear, 2/22)

AP: Not To Be Sniffed At: Agony Of Post-COVID-19 Loss Of Smell
The doctor slid a miniature camera into the patient’s right nostril, making her whole nose glow red with its bright miniature light. “Tickles a bit, eh?” he asked as he rummaged around her nasal passages, the discomfort causing tears to well in her eyes and roll down her cheeks. The patient, Gabriella Forgione, wasn’t complaining. The 25-year-old pharmacy worker was happy to be prodded and poked at the hospital in Nice, in southern France, to advance her increasingly pressing quest to recover her sense of smell. Along with her sense of taste, it suddenly vanished when she fell ill with COVID-19 in November, and neither has returned. (Leicester, 2/23)

CIDRAP: Persistent COVID-19 Symptoms Detailed Months After Recovery
One third of symptomatic COVID-19 patients continued to experience symptoms about 5.6 months after their infection began, according to a research letter published late last week in JAMA Network Open. The researchers noted that their study was purely descriptive because of the small participant number. University of Washington researchers received 117 surveys from COVID-19 patients between August and November 2020. Of these, 11 (6.2%) were asymptomatic, 150 (84.7%) were outpatients with mild symptoms, and 16 (9.0%) needed hospitalization. (2/22)

NPR: COVID-19 Long-Haulers Struggle To Get Condition Recognized As A Disability
Disability advocates and lawmakers are calling on the Social Security Administration (SSA) to study the issue, update their policies and offer guidance for applicants. "If we end up with a million people with ongoing symptoms that are debilitating, that is a tremendous burden for each of those individuals, but also for our health care system and our society," says Dr. Steven Martin, a physician and professor of family medicine and community health at UMass Medical School. "We know what's coming. So, we have to make sure that we're on top of this," says U.S. Rep John Larson, a Democrat from Connecticut, who joined with another member of Congress to write a letter asking the SSA to work with scientists to understand what support long-haulers might need. (Emanuel, 2/22)

Becker's Hospital Review: Utah Nurse Who Had Severe COVID-19 Receives Double Lung Transplant
A Utah intensive care unit nurse was released from Gainesville, Fla.-based UF Health Shands Hospital after a severe COVID-19 infection left her needing a double lung transplant, CBS4 Miami reported Feb. 22. Jill Hansen Holker, RN, contracted a COVID-19 infection in November. The infection eventually became severe, leaving Ms. Holker unable to breathe on her own. She was transferred from her hospital's ICU in Utah to UF Health Shands Hospital and placed on the list for a double lung transplant, which she received about a month ago, according to CBS4. (Carbajal, 2/22)

Stat: Lung Transplants After Covid-19 Raise Difficult Issues 
When the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States in the spring, I wrote that some people with severe Covid-19-related lung injury would never recover their lung function. As a lung transplant specialist and lead author on the most recent guidelines for selecting lung transplant candidates, I was concerned that transplant specialists would soon be asked to evaluate Covid-19 patients for lung transplants. (Weill, 2/23)

Becker's Hospital Review: Rutgers Study Finds Little Coronavirus On Cancer Care Facility Surfaces
The overall positive test rate for the SARS-CoV-2 virus across surfaces in a number of oncology units was 0.5 percent, according to research published Feb. 18 in Cancer. Researchers conducted environmental surface swabbing from outpatient and inpatient oncology clinics and infusion suites across New Brunswick, N.J.-based Rutgers Cancer Institute and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital for 12 days in June. A total of 204 samples were collected and grouped into the following categories: public areas, staff areas or medical equipment. Of those, 130 samples were collected from two outpatient hematology/oncology clinics, 36 were from surfaces in an inpatient lymphoma/leukemia/CAR-T cell unit and 38 were from an inpatient COVID-19 unit. (Carbajal, 2/22)

Becker's Hospital Review: Acid Reflux Heightens Risk For Certain Cancers, Study Finds
Those with gastroesophageal reflux disease face a two times greater risk of developing larynx and esophagus cancers, according to research published Feb. 22 in Cancer. Scientists assessed information from 490,605 people enrolled in the National Institutes of Health AARP Diet and Health Study who were surveyed between 1995-1996. Participants were between the ages of 50 and 71 during the survey period and Medicare claims data showed about 22 percent had GERD.  (Carbajal, 2/22)

Stat: With Amazon On Their Heels, Digital Pharmacies Race To Expand Their Reach
Ever since Amazon launched its digital pharmacy late last year, industry rivals have been worried the tech giant would steal the show. Rather than waiting to find out, they’re all scrambling to secure their spot on the stage. (Brodwin, 2/23)

CIDRAP: Drug Supply Chain Issues Aren't Going Away, Report Says 
In a new American Society of Health-system Pharmacists (ASHP) report, 92% of its "2021 Pharmacy Forecast" panelists say global issues like trade restrictions, pandemics like COVID-19, or climate change will increase the potential for more drug shortages, and almost 90% say a major technology failure or breach could cause widespread disruptions in the delivery of US healthcare supplies. To help mitigate these issues, 90% of panelists also predicted that at least 75% of health systems will develop allocation guidelines. In the report, the ASHP notes a 36.6% increase in ongoing drug shortages from 2017 to 2020, with 276 shortages occurring in 2020. (McLernon, 2/22)

Stat: FDA Concludes Brainstorm's Cell Therapy For ALS Lacks Convincing Data
The Food and Drug Administration told Brainstorm Therapeutics that rejiggered data from a negative clinical trial does not support the submission of a stem cell therapy for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, the company said Monday. Despite the FDA’s recommendation that Brainstorm not seek the approval of its patient-specific ALS treatment called NurOwn, the company may still do so, but will consult with outside experts first before making a decision. (Feuerstein, 2/22)

Stat: Avoiding Light Due To Migraines, Woman Develops A Centuries-Old Condition
In 2017, Karen Porter mentioned something unusual at a routine neurology appointment: Everything she saw appeared to be vibrating. The 57-year-old U.K. resident has chronic migraines, and over the past few years had become increasingly sensitive to light; her house was almost completely blacked out, except for a dim camping light. In low light, she’d noticed the startling change in her vision. (Sohn, 2/22)

Stat: AbbVie Smooths Over Trade Secrets Dispute Over A New Version Of Botox
After two years of bickering, AbbVie (ABBV) and a marketing partner have settled a dispute in which they had accused two competitors of stealing trade secrets that were used to develop a rival product to the best-selling Botox treatment. (Silverman, 2/22)

Modern Healthcare: Oscar Health's $1B IPO Sets The Stage For More Health Tech Exits In 2021
Oscar Health has unveiled a plan to go public for $1.054 billion, making it the largest public debut by a health tech startup so far this year and there could be many more digital health startups maturing soon. As interest rates remain low and investment interest in the stock market remains high, the New York City-based company's offering is a harbinger for good things to come in the digital health space, particularly as many of these startups mature and new ways to go public pop up in the market, according to Michael Yang, managing partner of the Omers Venture investment firm. "It's just building off the crescendo of the last two years," Yang said. "You had a few in '19, you build that drumbeat in '20 and by '21, people are just kind of conditioned to expect this." (Tepper, 2/22)

Becker's Hospital Review: Oregon Hospital Workers File Strike Notice
The union representing 156 technical employees at St. Charles Health System's St. Charles Bend (Ore.) hospital campus filed a strike notice Feb. 22, according to a hospital news release. The strike of indefinite duration is set to begin March 4 unless an agreement is reached. "We were driven to do this by the hospital," labor organizer Sam Potter told the publication. "Our members have been waiting for and fighting for fair pay and a fair contract. We've waited long enough." (Gooch, 2/22)

Becker's Hospital Review: TikTok Partners With National Eating Disorder Association To Curb Harmful Content
TikTok is rolling out new features to encourage body inclusivity and provide support to anyone struggling with an eating disorder through a new partnership with the National Eating Disorder Association, the organization said Feb. 22. Starting this week, when a user searches for hashtags like "proana" (short for pro-anorexia) or "whatieatinaday," TikTok will show resources like NEDA's phone number and hours of operation. The social media platform will also share tips and resources from eating disorder experts for people who may be struggling with a disorder. These resources will remain permanent features on the app. (Mitchell, 2/22)

CNN: Pandemic Stress Is Causing Paranoia 
It was like I had asked her to fork over her Social Security number and firstborn child. "What do you need it for? What are you going to do with it?" my colleague asked me, Zoom eyes wide with fear. "Whoa there," I wanted to say. There was no need to get concerned. I had simply asked a coworker for a straightforward piece of information that in normal times would have evoked little more than an "OK, no problem," in response. Of course, these aren't normal times. (Hope, 2/23)

The Hill: Arkansas State Senate Approves Bill Banning All Abortions Unless Mother's Life Is Threatened 
Arkansas state senators on Monday voted to pass a new measure that would ban nearly all abortions. According to The Associated Press, the majority-Republican Senate approved the ban in a 27-7 vote. The bill must be approved by the House and signed by the governor to become law. (Seipel, 2/22)

Politico: New Jersey Legalizes Cannabis After Years Of Failed Efforts And Toxic Negotiations
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy finally delivered on a 2017 campaign promise when he signed legislation Monday that legalizes cannabis for adults, decriminalizes the possession of up to six ounces of the drug and codifies criminal justice reforms that will upend how police officers interact with underage offenders. Despite New Jersey's deep-blue political backdrop and strong tailwinds in support of loosening Reagan-era drug policies, Murphy, a progressive Democrat, came close to rejecting the measures. (Sutton, 2/22)

Los Angeles Times: California Legislators Approve COVID-19 Plan, Including $600 Checks
Californians who qualify for a $600 state stimulus payment could see the money arrive as soon as a month after filing their tax returns under a $7.6-billion COVID-19 economic relief package approved Monday by the state Legislature. Crafted by Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders last week, the pandemic assistance plan also includes more than $2.1 billion in grants and fee waivers for small businesses. Those companies can soon apply for the grants, followed by an approval process that state officials estimate would take 45 days. (McGreevy, 2/22)

Bloomberg: New York City Can Re-Open Movie Theaters At 25% Capacity On March 15
Movie theaters will be allowed to open at 25% capacity with no more than 50 people per screening, Cuomo said at a Monday briefing. There will be mandatory masks, assigned seating and enhanced ventilation and air filtration. Theaters are the latest businesses the governor has allowed to reopen as Covid-19 cases have dropped from post-holiday highs and the state’s vaccination campaign ramps up. Over the weekend, New York’s positivity rate dropped below 3% for the first time since Nov. 23. More than 12% of state residents have received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine, according to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker. (Clukey, 2/22)

The Hill: North Dakota House Passes Bill Forbidding Mandatory Mask Wearing 
The North Dakota House of Representatives passed a bill on Monday that would make future mask mandates illegal. The Grand Forks Herald reported that the bill passed 50-44. It next heads to the state Senate. The bill comes three months after North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) imposed a statewide mask mandate, though the governor himself had previously expressed skepticism over such a move. (Choi, 2/22)

The New York Times: Gender-Reveal Device Explodes, Killing Man in Upstate New York
A man who was expecting his first child was killed on Sunday and his brother was injured when a device they were preparing for a gender-reveal party exploded in a garage in the Catskills in New York, the authorities said. The New York State Police said troopers responded to a report of an explosion at a home in the town of Liberty, N.Y., just before noon. Christopher Pekny, 28, died and his brother Michael Pekny, 27, was hurt, officials said. (Mele, 2/22)