First Edition: Jan. 22, 2021
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KHN:
Trump’s Pardons Included Health Care Execs Behind Massive Frauds
At the last minute, President Donald Trump granted pardons to several individuals convicted in huge Medicare swindles that prosecutors alleged often harmed or endangered elderly and infirm patients while fleecing taxpayers. “These aren’t just technical financial crimes. These were major, major crimes,” said Louis Saccoccio, chief executive officer of the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association, an advocacy group. (Schulte, 1/22)
KHN:
Health Issues Carried Weight On The Campaign Trail. What Could Biden Do In His First 100 Days?
Joe Biden ran on an expansive health care platform during his 2020 presidential campaign, with a broad array of promises such as adding a government-sponsored health plan to the Affordable Care Act and lowering prescription drug prices. Perhaps most significantly, he pledged to get control of the covid pandemic that claimed more than 400,000 American lives by Inauguration Day. President Biden now faces major challenges in accomplishing his health care agenda; among the biggest will be bridging partisan divides in both Congress and the nation at large. (Knight, 1/22)
KHN:
Covid Vaccine Rollout Leaves Most Older Adults Confused Where To Get Shots
Over a month into a massive vaccination program, most older Americans report they don’t know where or when they can get inoculated for covid-19, according to a poll released Friday. Nearly 6 in 10 people 65 and older who have not yet gotten a shot said they don’t have enough information about how to get vaccinated, according to the KFF survey. (KHN is an editorially independent program of KFF.) (Galewitz, 1/22)
KHN:
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: The Biden Health Agenda
President Joe Biden wasted no time getting down to work. Among the raft of executive orders he signed on Inauguration Day were several aimed at curtailing the covid crisis, including one requiring mask-wearing by federal employees and anyone on federal property for the next 100 days. Meanwhile, with the inauguration of Vice President Kamala Harris and the swearing-in of two new Democratic senators from Georgia, Democrats took over the majority in the Senate, albeit with a 50-50 tie. That leaves Democrats in charge of both the legislative and executive branches for the first time since 2010, but with such narrow majorities it could be difficult to advance many of Biden’s top health agenda items, starting with an expansion of the Affordable Care Act. (1/21)
Politico:
‘Wartime Effort’: Biden Signs Orders To Fight The Pandemic
President Joe Biden signed 10 more executive orders on Thursday, invoking the Defense Production Act in a "wartime undertaking" to boost production of vaccine supplies while also requiring travelers to the U.S. to get a test before flying. After assailing Donald Trump's coronavirus response as a candidate and throughout the transition, Biden laid out in more detail what he'll do differently as cases and hospitalizations continue to rise, with the U.S. death toll expected to reach half a million people within weeks. Biden said that the worst of the pandemic is yet to come and that it will take time for progress to be measurable. (Ollstein and Leonard, 1/21)
AP:
Biden Signs Burst Of Virus Orders, Vows 'Help Is On The Way'
With a burst of executive orders, President Joe Biden served notice Thursday that America’s war on COVID-19 is under new command, promising an anxious nation progress to reduce infections and lift the siege it has endured for nearly a year. At the same time, he tried to manage expectations in his second day in office, saying despite the best intentions “we’re going to face setbacks.” He brushed off a reporter’s question on whether his goal of 100 million coronavirus shots in 100 days should be more ambitious, a point pressed by some public health experts. (Alonso-Zaldivar and Miller, 1/21)
AP:
Biden's COVID-19 Plan: Masks, Testing, More Vaccine Supplies
A day after being sworn in, President Joe Biden is rolling out a national strategy to fight COVID-19, reopen the nation’s schools and restart the U.S. economy. His plan calls for an expansion of coronavirus testing, accelerated vaccine distribution and new action to prepare for future biological threats. The plan is tied to a $1.9 trillion plan that Biden unveiled last week to combat the pandemic. The administration’s new strategy is based around seven major goals. (1/21)
The Washington Post:
Biden To Require Masks On Planes, Buses, Trains And At Airports
President Biden signed an order Thursday mandating masks in airports and on many planes, trains, ships and intercity buses. His action comes on the heels of a Wednesday order — his first as president — requiring masks on federal property. Together, the two orders come as close to a national mask mandate as his federal powers may allow, leaving it to states and municipalities to require residents to wear masks at a local level. (Laris and Wan, 1/21)
Bloomberg:
Biden Team Vows Tough Enforcement Of Anti-Virus Travel Steps
The Biden administration is vowing tough enforcement of new safety measures it is imposing on travelers to curb the spread of the coronavirus even as some in the travel indusry say elements of the plan will be difficult to police. In an executive order issued Thursday, President Joe Biden required masks be worn in airports, planes, intercity buses and other forms of transportation. The president is also ordering people who arrive in the U.S. from other countries to self-quarantine, which had previously been unenforced guidance. “We are prepared to make sure we use all relevant authorities to enforce the president’s executive order to ensure across every mode of transportation workers, passengers, commuters are protected,” Pete Buttigieg, the nominee to become secretary of transportation, told lawmakers Thursday during a hearing on his confirmation. (Levin and Laing, 1/21)
The New York Times:
Biden Unveils National Strategy That Trump Resisted
Beyond the 100-day mark is where the problem lies. Federal health officials and corporate executives agree that it will be impossible to increase the immediate supply of vaccines before April at the earliest, because of lack of manufacturing capacity. Mr. Biden seemed to acknowledge the problem. “The brutal truth is it’s going to take months before we can get the majority of Americans vaccinated,” he said. Calls for unity were already fraying a day into the new presidency. Mr. Biden took a shot at Mr. Trump, saying, “For the past year, we couldn’t rely on the federal government to act with the urgency and focus and coordination that we needed, and we have seen the tragic cost of that failure.” (Stolberg, 1/21)
The Washington Post:
Biden Says Death Toll From Pandemic Likely Will Top 500,000 Next Month, Says It Will Take Months ‘For Us To Turn Things Around’
A new federal strategy to tame the coronavirus pandemic focuses on trying to make tests and vaccines more abundant, schools and travel safer, and states better able to afford their role in the long road back to normal life. The plan and 10 executive orders that President Biden issued Thursday include the creation of a Pandemic Testing Board that can spur a “surge” in the capacity for coronavirus tests. Other orders will foster research into new treatments for covid-19, the disease caused by the virus; strengthen the collection and analysis of data to shape the government’s response to the crisis; and direct the federal occupational safety agency to release and enforce guidelines to protect workers from getting infected. (Goldstein, Stanley-Becker and Meckler, 1/21)
The Washington Post:
Biden Executive Order Seeks Stronger Workplace Safety Guidance From OSHA
President Biden signed an executive order Thursday to direct federal regulators to issue stronger safety guidance for workplaces operating in the midst of the pandemic. The executive order on “Protecting Worker Health and Safety” seeks to reorient worker safety guidelines and enforcement at the Labor Department’s workplace safety division — the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (Rosenberg, 1/21)
Politico:
Biden Executive Orders: The 17 Things Joe Biden Did On Day One
Joe Biden signed more than a dozen executive orders in his first hours as president on Wednesday, the first salvos in a coming legislative and regulatory crusade to erase Donald Trump’s legacy from federal law and advance his own agenda. While many of Biden’s first policy moves are expected reversals of Trump policies, others go further, and his team has signaled that many more actions will be announced in the days ahead. Here is what Biden did Wednesday, and what it means for the country. (Ollstein, Kakkar and Jin, 1/21)
The New York Times:
Here’s What’s In Biden’s Executive Orders Aimed At Covid-19
One order calls on agency leaders to check for shortages in areas like personal protective gear and vaccine supplies, and identify where the administration could invoke the Defense Production Act to increase manufacturing. The White House has said it could use the Korean War-era law, which the Trump administration made use of in its vaccine development program, to increase production of a type of syringe that allows pharmacists to extract an extra dose from vaccine vials. The Biden team has said it identified 12 “immediate supply shortfalls” critical to the pandemic response, including N95 surgical masks and isolation gowns, as well as swabs, reagents and pipettes used in testing. (Weiland, 1/21)
Reuters:
Factbox: Biden's Plan To Fight The Coronavirus
President Joe Biden launched a comprehensive federal plan on Thursday to rein in the raging COVID-19 pandemic. (Bose, 1/21)
Stat:
Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Is Running Low. Here’s How Biden Hopes To Fix That
The Biden administration is willing to consider almost anything to boost the nation’s dwindling supply of Covid-19 vaccines. A new strategy document released Thursday, totaling nearly 200 pages, offers the first clear list of the options President Biden has before him, though it doesn’t specifically say he’ll actually take all of the steps. (Florko, 1/21)
The New York Times:
Why Biden Inherited A Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Unlikely To Grow Before April
[F]ederal health officials and corporate executives agree that it will be impossible to increase the immediate supply of vaccines before April because of lack of manufacturing capacity. The administration should first focus, experts say, on fixing the hodgepodge of state and local vaccination centers that has proved incapable of managing even the current flow of vaccines. President Biden’s goal of one million shots a day for the next 100 days, they say, is too low and will arguably leave tens of millions of doses unused. Data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that the nation has already reached that milestone pace. About 1.1 million people received shots last Friday, after an average of 911,000 people a day received them on the previous two days. (LaFraniere and Weiland, 1/21)
Politico:
Biden’s Covid Team Grapples With A Basic Question: Where’s All The Vaccine?
As President Joe Biden spent his first full day in office issuing executive actions aimed at containing the coronavirus, his administration scrambled to get a handle on a key unanswered question: How much vaccine is actually available? Conflicting accounts of supply totals have bedeviled federal and state health officials, complicating the new administration's sweeping pandemic response plan and casting fresh doubts on how long it will take Biden to bring the virus under control. (Cancryn and Pager, 1/21)
USA Today:
Scientists Applaud Biden Decision To Rejoin World Health Organization
The move had both symbolic and practical implications, said Jen Kates, senior vice president and director of Global Health & HIV Policy at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Practical, because U.S. funding will help the agency balance its budget, fulfill its commitments to boost public health, and protect Americans from new strains of COVID-19 and future disease threats. And symbolic, because the United States was the agency's largest funder and has long been a key player on the global health stage. In one of his first official acts as president, Biden signed letters retracting his predecessor's decision to withdraw from the WHO. He also appointed Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, to represent the United States on the WHO's executive committee. (Weintraub, 1/22)
Reuters:
Biden To Sign Order To Increase Pandemic-Related Food Aid
U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday will sign two executive orders aimed at speeding pandemic stimulus checks to families who need it most and increasing food aid for children who normally rely on school meals as a main source for nutrition. ...“We’re at a precarious moment in our economy,” Brian Deese, director of the White House National Economic Council, told reporters in a preview of the orders. He said the actions are not a substitute for comprehensive legislative relief, “but they will provide a critical lifeline to millions of American families.” (Holland and Saphir, 1/22)
The Wall Street Journal:
Biden To Sign Executive Orders To Boost Pandemic Aid, Expand Federal Worker Protections
Mr. Biden is also asking the Treasury Department to take steps to ensure eligible households who haven’t received the stimulus payments Congress authorized last year are able to access the funds. And he will ask the Labor Department to clarify that workers have a right to refuse a job that would jeopardize their health and are still eligible for jobless benefits if they do so. The order would also establish a network of “benefit delivery teams” across federal and state-administered programs to help improve access to relief, such as tax credits, small business loans and jobless benefits. (Davidson, 1/22)
NPR:
Biden To Bump Up Food Assistance For People 'Hanging By A Thread'
Biden plans to ask the Agriculture Department, which administers the food stamp program, for a 15% bump in the emergency benefits given to families whose kids normally would count on breakfast and lunch from school programs, Deese said. That change could increase food stamp benefits for a family of three by about $105 over two months, he said. Biden also wants about 12 million of the lowest-income food stamp recipients to be able to qualify for the emergency food benefits. This tweak would lift their food stamps by 15% to 20% per month, Deese said. (Rampton and Horsley, 1/22)
NPR:
Biden To End Ban On Funding Groups That Provide Abortions Abroad
President Biden is preparing to reverse a Trump administration policy that prohibits U.S. funding for nongovernmental groups that provide or refer patients for abortions — the first of several moves reproductive rights advocates are hoping to see from the Biden administration. In prepared remarks released by the White House on Thursday, Dr. Anthony Fauci tells the World Health Organization's executive board that Biden will soon revoke the Mexico City Policy "as part of his broader commitment to protect women's health and advance gender equality at home and around the world." The policy, first instituted by the Reagan administration, has pingponged on and off between Republican and Democratic presidents ever since. Trump reinstituted and expanded the policy, which critics describe as a "gag rule," within days of taking office. An analysis published in 2019 in the medical journal The Lancet found that the Mexico City Policy increased the abortion rate in at least some affected countries, likely because it also reduced access to contraception. (McCammon, 1/21)
The Hill:
Biden To Rescind Controversial Abortion Rule In Coming Days
“It will be our policy to support women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights in the United States, as well as globally,” Anthony Fauci said in remarks to the World Health Organization Thursday morning. ... Trump reinstated the ban upon taking office in 2017 and later expanded it to cover all global health assistance, including funding for HIV, maternal and child health and malaria programs. (Hellmann, 1/21)
The Washington Post:
On Biden’s Inauguraton Day, U.S. Bishops Clash Over The New President And Abortion
Joe Biden, the second-ever Catholic U.S. president, was greeted on his Inauguration Day with contrasting messages from his church: A warm blessing from Pope Francis — and a statement by the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops saying that Biden “will advance moral evils,” including contraception, abortion and same-sex marriage. The statement by Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez immediately set off a debate among the dozens of U.S. bishops, who, like U.S. Catholics, are bitterly divided on the direction of their extensive denomination and its entanglement with partisan politics. (Boorstein, 1/21)
The Hill:
Pelosi Says House Will Move Immediately On COVID-19 Relief
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that House Democrats will move immediately on a massive coronavirus relief package, setting the stage for an early showdown in the newly flipped Senate over the chief legislative priority of the nascent Biden administration. House Democrats have rearranged their schedule over the next two weeks, scrapping votes next week to allow the relevant committees to consider the various provisions of their emerging COVID-19 relief package. Pelosi suggested that package could hit the House floor as early as the week of Feb. 1. (Lillis, 1/21)
Politico:
Republicans Bludgeon Biden's Big Stimulus Plans
Senate Republicans vowed Thursday that President Joe Biden’s coronavirus relief bill will not get 60 votes, daring the White House to either compromise with the GOP or use partisan procedural tactics to evade their filibuster. Put simply, the Senate GOP says Biden’s proposal spends too much money and comes too soon on the heels of Congress’ $900 billion stimulus package from last month. And that unless the proposal has major changes made to it or Democrats use budget reconciliation to pass it with a simple majority, it is doomed on the Senate floor. (Everett, 1/21)
AP:
Coronavirus Guidelines Now The Rule At White House
Testing wristbands are in. Mask-wearing is mandatory. Desks are socially distanced. The clearest sign that there’s a new boss at the White House is the deference being paid to coronavirus public health guidelines. ... Officials in close contact with Biden wear wristbands to signify they have been tested that day. Every event with the president is carefully choreographed to maintain distancing, with strips of paper taped to the carpet to show the likes of Vice President Kamala Harris and Dr. Anthony Fauci where to stand when Biden is delivering an address. ... Plexiglass barriers have been set up at some desks that are in open areas, but nearly all staff who are already working in the building have enclosed offices. (Jaffe and Miller, 1/22)
AP:
Fauci Unleashed: Doc Takes 'Liberating' Turn At Center Stage
Dr. Anthony Fauci is back. In truth, the nation’s leading infectious-diseases expert never really went away. But after enduring nearly a year of darts and undermining comments from former President Donald Trump, Fauci now speaks with the authority of the White House again. He called it “liberating” Thursday to be backed by a science-friendly administration that has embraced his recommendations to battle COVID-19.“One of the new things in this administration is, If you don’t know the answer, don’t guess,” Fauci said in one pointed observation during a White House briefing. “Just say you don’t know the answer.” (Lemire, 1/22)
The New York Times:
Banished By Trump But Brought Back By Biden, Fauci Aims To ‘Let The Science Speak’
Most of the times Dr. Anthony S. Fauci made an appearance in the White House briefing room in 2020 — before eventually being banished from public view for his grim assessments of the coronavirus pandemic — he had President Donald J. Trump glowering over his shoulder. On Thursday, Dr. Fauci, the nation’s foremost infectious disease specialist, was back, this time with no one telling him what to say. And he made no effort to hide how he felt about it. (Shear, 1/21)
The New York Times:
As Fauci Returns To Spotlight, Reassurances, But Warnings, Too
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, addressing reporters from the White House for the first time in months, warned Thursday that the nation is “still in a very serious situation” because of the coronavirus pandemic, but he said that so far, vaccines appear effective against new variants of the virus circulating in the United States. Dr. Fauci, the longtime government infectious disease expert who is now President Biden’s chief medical adviser for the pandemic, said that while the number of cases appeared to be “plateauing” on a seven-day average, there were new signs of more infectious versions of the virus that could cause spikes in cases in the coming months. (1/22)
Politico:
‘Nobody Is Telling You What To Say’: Fauci Regains The Spotlight Under Biden
Anthony Fauci isn’t hiding his relief that he’s serving in a new administration. One day into the Biden presidency, the longtime infectious disease expert and unlikely celebrity of the Covid-19 response described it as “a refreshing experience.” Fauci, who has served under seven presidents as head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was a frequent target of public criticism from President Donald Trump, who accused him and other career scientists at public health agencies of overstating the seriousness of the worsening pandemic and hampering efforts to address it. (Owermohle, 1/21)
Bloomberg:
Fauci Says He Had Brief Side Effects From Second Covid-19 Vaccine Dose
Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious-disease expert, said he suffered mild side effects after receiving a second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. “I was hoping that I wouldn’t get too knocked out. I did for about 24 hours. Now I’m fine,” he said at a White House event Thursday. Fauci, an adviser to President Joe Biden on Covid-19, said he felt fatigued and achy, “not sick.” (Jacobs and Tozzi, 1/21)
The Hill:
Fauci Said Second COVID-19 Vaccine Shot Knocked Him Out For 24 Hours
The nation's top infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci told reporters on Thursday that the second round of the COVID-19 vaccine knocked him out for 24 hours. “I did. I had it on the 19th. I was hoping that I wouldn’t get too knocked out. I did for about 24 hours. Now I’m fine,” Fauci said after he was asked if he received the second dose of the vaccine at a White House event. (Lonas, 1/21)
The Hill:
Biden COVID-19 Czar Calls Trump Vaccine Planning 'So Much Worse Than We Could Have Imagined'
President Biden's coronavirus team is faulting the Trump administration for what it's calling a lack of planning in the government's COVID-19 response that is now forcing officials to ramp up federal action. "What we're inheriting is so much worse than we could have imagined," Jeff Zients, Biden's coronavirus response coordinator, said on a call with reporters. (Sullivan, 1/21)
The Wall Street Journal:
A Year In, Covid-19 Cases Have Reached Every U.S. County
A year ago, health authorities announced the first confirmed U.S. Covid-19 case in Snohomish County, Wash., near Seattle. Less than 11 months later, the virus reached an isolated Hawaiian enclave established more than a century ago for patients with leprosy, now called Hansen’s disease. It appears to be the last county in the U.S. to record a coronavirus case, according to a Wall Street Journal review of state records and data collected by Johns Hopkins University. (Kamp and Abbott, 1/21)
The Washington Post:
Coronavirus Detected In Hawaii’s Kalawao County, Previously The Last Virus-Free County In United States
The coronavirus has now reached every county in the United States — even a remote Hawaiian outpost that was the last remaining holdout. Until recently, Kalawao County, which has less than 100 residents and was used as a leper colony for decades, was the only county in the nation that hadn’t reported a single covid-19 case. But even though it’s so isolated from the rest of the world that basic supplies have to be brought in by barge once a year, as the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, the virus still managed to make its way there. (Noori Farzan, 1/22)
KCRA:
COVID-19 Timeline: It's Been One Year Since The First Announced Case In The United States
It's been one year since COVID-19 was first detected in the United States. Here's a list of several key dates and events relating to the pandemic since then. (1/21)
CNBC:
A Year Into The Covid Crisis, Scientists Explain What We Learned — And What We Got Wrong
[P]ublic health experts, doctors, scientists and leaders from industry and government say the past year has taught us a lot about the virus — and how those lessons can be applied to try to slow the pandemic now. Their takeaways ranged from findings about the virus itself, and how it spreads — remember when we were all Clorox-wiping our groceries? — to reflections on our own behavior, and how it’s condemned us to ever-increasing infection rates. (Tirrell, 1/21)
Fox News:
Coronavirus Variants Pose Reinfection Risk, Scientists Say
Those who recover from coronavirus infection have immunity for at least five to six months, per several early studies, and while re-infections to prior strains were rare, new mutated strains pose a risk of contracting the novel virus again, scientists say. One researcher has even pinned a recent case surge in Manaus, Brazil, a northwestern city in the Amazon, to re-infections fueled by a variant strain called P.1, per NPR. While research suggests the city already reached the herd immunity threshold, with over 70% of the population infected by last fall, the area’s health system is now collapsing amid an increase in infections and dwindling oxygen supplies. (Rivas, 1/21)
Bay Area News Group:
COVID-19 Cases, New Syndrome On The Rise Among California Children, Especially Latino Children
At least seven California children have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began, more than 350,000 kids have tested positive for the virus and the number of youngsters diagnosed with a new, rare inflammatory syndrome continues to spread. All of these stats are on the rise just as a new highly contagious strain of the virus is worrying parents and experts alike and as the state tries to move toward reopening schools next month. “We are at a critical time because the overall number of cases of COVID are increasing so much,” said Dr. Jackie Szmuszkovicz, pediatric cardiologist at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. “We are seeing more children with MIS-C the last few weeks following that big increase (of cases) in the community.” (Aguilera, 1/21)
Los Angeles Times:
Chance Of COVID Death In The Hospital Doubles Amid L.A. Surge
The chances that a person hospitalized for COVID-19 will die in Los Angeles County have doubled in recent months. That’s according to an analysis released Wednesday by the county’s Department of Health Services, which found that the probability someone will die of the disease while hospitalized increased from about 1 in 8 in September and October to roughly 1 in 4 since early November. Those increased odds coincide with a devastating spike in L.A. County’s death toll. In early November, when the current coronavirus surge began, there were fewer than 20 COVID-19 deaths per day, on average. But over the weeklong period that ended Wednesday, there were roughly 206 deaths reported each day, according to data compiled by The Times. (Lin II and Money, 1/21)
Capital & Main:
As Los Angeles COVID Vaccines Roll Out, Black And Latino Cases Surge
To no one’s surprise, California’s patchwork approach to distributing and administering COVID-19 vaccines has been chaotic. Statements from the governor’s office are countered by local health officials, sometimes almost immediately. Clinics and providers scramble to learn how many doses they’ll be allocated and when those will arrive, and patients may wait on hold for hours to schedule an appointment. The Trump administration’s abdication of federal responsibility has exacted a heavy toll, while the state’s inability to contain the virus suggests that even a smooth vaccination process would cover only so much of the damage. Through it all, though, some truths have remained maddeningly consistent. And as the latest information out of virus-ravaged Los Angeles County makes clear, those truths aren’t going to change – so vaccine policy will need to. (Kreidler, 1/21)
Stat:
Eli Lilly Says Its Monoclonal Antibody Prevented Covid-19 In Clinical Trial
Eli Lilly said Thursday that its monoclonal antibody prevented Covid-19 infections in nursing home residents and staff in a clinical trial, the first time such a treatment has been shown to prevent infection. Lilly released the results in a press release, although it said that it would publish the data in a research paper as quickly as possible. (Herper, 1/21)
The Wall Street Journal:
Lilly Antibody Drug Prevents Covid-19 In Nursing Homes, Study Finds
Eli Lilly & Co. said its antibody-based drug prevented Covid-19 among many residents and staff of nursing homes and assisted-living facilities, results that point to the drug complementing vaccines while inoculations increase. The drug, called bamlanivimab, reduced the risk of both staff and residents getting sick with Covid-19 by about 57% compared with a placebo eight weeks after receiving doses, Lilly said Thursday. The effect was more pronounced among residents, the company said, an 80% reduction in risk of Covid-19. (Loftus, 1/21)
The Hill:
Eli Lilly Says Antibody Therapy Prevented COVID-19 In Nursing Homes
Eli Lilly on Thursday said its antibody COVID-19 treatment significantly reduced the risk of nursing home residents and staff contracting symptomatic COVID-19 in a clinical trial. The company announced the results of its trial in a press release, but said they will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed clinical journal. (Weixel, 1/21)
The New York Times:
U.S. Vaccine Supply: What To Know
The two companies with authorized vaccines, Moderna and Pfizer, have each promised to provide the United States with 100 million vaccine doses by the end of March, or enough for 100 million people to get the necessary two shots. But that doesn’t mean those 200 million doses are sitting in a factory warehouse somewhere, waiting to be shipped. Both companies are manufacturing the doses at full capacity, and are collectively releasing between 12 million and 18 million doses each week. (Thomas, 1/21)
AP:
Health Experts Blame Rapid Expansion For Vaccine Shortages
Public health experts Thursday blamed COVID-19 vaccine shortages around the U.S. in part on the Trump administration’s push to get states to vastly expand their vaccination drives to reach the nation’s estimated 54 million people age 65 and over. The push that began over a week ago has not been accompanied by enough doses to meet demand, according to state and local officials, leading to frustration and confusion and limiting states’ ability to attack the outbreak that has killed over 400,000 Americans. (Johnson, Melley and Matthews, 1/22)
The Washington Post:
Vaccine Shortages Intensify While Some Doses Sit On Shelves, An Obstacle To National Strategy Promised By Biden
In a phone call with the four-star Army general overseeing the distribution of coronavirus vaccines, Tennessee’s top health official laid out what she saw as the No. 1 obstacle to getting more shots into people’s arms. “The only limitation is supply,” Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey recalled telling the general, Gustave F. Perna, earlier this month. From Miami to Manhattan, hospital leaders and public officials have been equally emphatic. But in one of the most puzzling aspects of the early vaccine rollout, the shortages are intensifying in some jurisdictions, while others have yet to use all their vaccine. The bottleneck isn’t just in administering the vaccines; some states are not ordering everything they’ve been allotted. (Stanley-Becker and Sun, 1/21)
The Hill:
Advocacy Groups Call For Including Type 1 Diabetes Among Prioritized Vaccine Recipients
Advocacy groups are calling on public health officials to prioritize vaccinating Type 1 diabetes patients in their COVID-19 vaccine distribution plans, citing new research on the risks of serious complications after contracting the virus. A group of 19 diabetes advocacy organizations recently sent a letter to top CDC officials requesting the federal agency recommend that individuals with Type 1 diabetes be included in prioritized vaccine populations. (Gans, 1/21)
The Washington Post:
D.C. Plans To Prioritize More Medical Conditions For Vaccine Than Most States
The District plans to give priority for coronavirus vaccines to the broadest possible swath of people with preexisting health conditions — a decision that will make hundreds of thousands eligible for scarce doses of the vaccine and that some public health experts say might not make medical sense. The plan, the details of which were confirmed by vaccine director Ankoor Shah, would offer vaccines to people whose weight and medical history would not qualify them for early access to the vaccine in almost any state in the country. (Zauzmer, 1/21)
AP:
Unclaimed 2nd Vaccine Doses To Be Re-Distributed, Gov Says
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox is ordering vaccine shots set aside as second doses be re-distributed as first doses to new people if the original patient doesn’t come back for their follow-up appointment a few weeks later. The second shots will be released if they’re not claimed within seven days - but latecomers can still come back at a different time, he said Thursday during his monthly news conference on PBS-Utah. Some state lawmakers have suggested not holding back a reserve of vaccine for second doses, but Cox said that health experts advise against that step. (Whitehurst, 1/22)
AP:
Lucky Few Hit COVID-19 Vaccine Jackpot For Rare Extra Doses
Fortune struck one man in the bakery aisle at the supermarket. Two others were working the night shift at a Subway sandwich shop. Yet another was plucked from a list of 15,000 hopefuls. With millions of Americans waiting for their chance to get the coronavirus vaccine, a lucky few are getting bumped to the front of the line as clinics scramble to get rid of extra, perishable doses at the end of the day. It is often a matter of being in the right place at the right time. (Condon, Choi and Sedensky, 1/22)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Beware Of Scammers Who Promise Coronavirus Vaccines, Officials Warn
“Scammers may try to exploit the uncertainty and anxiety” surrounding the vaccine roll-out, District Attorney Stephen M. Wagstaffe said in a statement. Wagstaffe warned that scams may attempt to trick those eager for a vaccine into paying for bogus shots or a a vaccine waiting list that is not valid. “If anyone that isn’t well known in your community — like a doctor, a health care clinic, a pharmacy, a county health program — offers you a vaccine, think twice and check with your doctor,” according to the county. Residents were also encouraged to remain skeptical of vitamins or other dietary supplements claiming to cure coronavirus infections. Products that claim to prevent or treat the virus have not been proven effective, officials said. (Mishanec, 1/21)
CIDRAP:
RNA—But Not Live Virus—Found In Corneas Of Deceased COVID Patients
Six of 11 deceased patients—all but one of whom had COVID-19—had SARS-CoV-2 RNA in their corneas, but live virus was not detected, according to a study published today in JAMA Ophthalmology. ... The authors noted that current guidelines recommend avoiding transplant of corneas from donors who either had COVID-19 at the time of death or who had been recently exposed to the virus, because the infectivity of contaminated tissue posed to potential recipients is unknown. They said, though, that transmission of a donor disease to a corneal transplant recipient is rare. (1/21)
The Hill:
Doctor That Promoted False Hydroxychloroquine Claims Arrested In Connection With Capitol Riot
Federal officials this weekend arrested the head of a fringe medical group that has promoted false claims about vaccines and the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine in connection with the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. The Justice Department said in charging documents that it had charged Simone Gold, head of America’s Frontline Doctors, with violent entry, disorderly conduct and entering a restricted building. John Strand, the group’s communications director, was also charged in connection with the riot, with the Justice Department including images of both inside the building. (Budryk, 1/21)
The Wall Street Journal:
Covid-19 Has Nearly Wiped Out The Flu—How Do We Keep It From Coming Back?
Influenza, usually raging throughout the Northern Hemisphere this time of year, has become virtually invisible. It is a small bright spot amid Covid-19, although the number of people saved from a flu death pales next to the number dying from the new pandemic. It also presents questions that doctors around the globe will likely be wrestling with for years: If flu can be nearly wiped out this season, why not every season? Which steps help the most to stop the flu from spreading? (Inada, 1/21)
AP:
FDA Approves 1st Long-Acting HIV Drug Combo, Monthly Shots
U.S. regulators have approved the first long-acting drug combo for HIV, monthly shots that can replace the daily pills now used to control infection with the AIDS virus. Thursday’s approval of the two-shot combo called Cabenuva is expected to make it easier for people to stay on track with their HIV medicines and to do so with more privacy. It’s a huge change from not long ago, when patients had to take multiple pills several times a day, carefully timed around meals. (Marchione, 1/21)
Stat:
FDA Approves First Long-Acting Injectable To Treat HIV Infection
In a move that could transform HIV treatment, the Food and Drug Administration has approved a monthly injectable medication, a regimen designed to rival pills that must be taken daily. The newly approved medicine, which is called Cabenuva, represents a significant advance in treating what continues to be a highly infectious disease. (Silverman, 1/21)
Modern Healthcare:
Profit Up Nearly 23% Across U.S. Community Hospitals In 2019
U.S. hospitals together generated more than $100 billion in profit in 2019, almost 23% more than in the prior year, according to a new American Hospital Association report. The more than 5,100 community hospitals operating in 2019 produced an aggregate total margin of 8.8%, up from 7.6% in 2018, when they drew $83.5 billion in profit. Those data come from the trade group's annual statistics book, which it shared exclusively with Modern Healthcare ahead of its public release. The book covers calendar 2019, so does not include the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has tightened the margins of many health systems despite federal government support. (Bannow, 1/21)