First Edition: Jan. 25, 2022

KHN: Pharmacies Are Turning Away Immunocompromised Patients Seeking 4th Covid Shot
Patients with weakened immune systems — who are at high risk from covid-19 — say pharmacies are turning them away when they seek additional vaccine doses recommended by federal health officials. Alyson Smith became eligible this month for a fourth vaccine dose because her medications leave her immunocompromised. Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention encourages most adults to receive a total of three mRNA vaccines — two “primary” vaccinations and a booster — the agency now advises people with weak immune systems to receive three primary shots plus a booster, for a total of four doses. (Szabo, 1/25)

KHN: With A Vaccine Mandate Looming, Nursing Homes Face More Staffing Problems 
Jamie Smith, a staffing agency nurse who loves end-of-life care, said she has been warmly welcomed by staffers and residents at Frontier Health & Rehabilitation in this conservative St. Louis suburb. That’s even though she has not been vaccinated against covid-19. But leaders of the nursing home, where 22 residents died from covid before vaccines were available, likely won’t be able to employ unvaccinated people like Smith for much longer. The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 13 upheld a federal mandate requiring health care workers at facilities that receive Medicaid or Medicare funding to be fully vaccinated. If all staffers — excluding those with approved religious or medical exemptions — aren’t fully vaccinated, the facility will lose that money. (Berger, 1/25)

KHN: I Write About America’s Absurd Health Care System. Then I Got Caught Up In It
I got a hurried voicemail from my pharmacist in Wisconsin the day before Thanksgiving letting me know my insurance was refusing to cover my insulin. I had enough of the hormone that keeps me alive to last 17 days. In my 10 years living with Type 1 diabetes, I’ve never really struggled to access insulin. But in my job reporting on the people left behind by our country’s absurdly complex health care system, I’ve written about how insulin’s steep cost leads to deadly rationing and about patients protesting to bring those prices down. (Sable-Smith, 1/25)

The Hill: Biden Administration Limits Use Of Two Monoclonal Antibody Treatments
The agency said the therapies made by Eli Lilly and Regeneron should only be used in patients that have been infected with or exposed to a variant that is susceptible to the treatments.  "Because data show these treatments are highly unlikely to be active against the omicron variant, which is circulating at a very high frequency throughout the United States, these treatments are not authorized for use in any U.S. states, territories, and jurisdictions at this time," the FDA said. (Weixel, 1/24)

CNN: Florida Shuts Down All Monoclonal Antibody Treatment Sites After FDA Decision To Limit Use Of Certain Treatments Not Proven Effective Against Omicron
Florida is closing its monoclonal antibody treatment sites, health officials announced late Monday, citing the US Food and Drug Administration's decision to limit the use of certain versions of the treatments that were found less effective against the now-dominant Omicron variant of coronavirus. "Unfortunately, as a result of this abrupt decision made by the federal government, all monoclonal antibody state sites will be closed until further notice," the Florida Department of Health said in a statement. More than 2,000 appointments for the treatment were canceled in the state on Tuesday alone, according to a statement from Gov. Ron DeSantis. (Boyette, 1/25)

The Washington Post: New York Seeks To Save Mask Mandate, Appeal State Supreme Court Justice’s Ruling 
The State Supreme Court is not New York’s top judicial body and Justice Thomas Rademaker's ruling can be appealed. Gov. Hochul said in a statement that she disagreed with the decision and that her office would pursue “every option” to reverse it. “My responsibility as Governor is to protect New Yorkers throughout this public health crisis, and these measures help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and save lives,” she said. (1/25)

AP: Judge Hears Arguments In Case Challenging Omaha Mask Mandate 
A Nebraska judge could decide as early as Monday afternoon whether to overturn a new Omaha mask mandate that’s opposed by state officials. Douglas County District Court Judge Shelly Stratman said in a court hearing that she will rule on the matter by the end of the day or noon Tuesday at the latest. (1/24)

AP: Youngkin Faces New Lawsuit As Virginia Mask Order Kicks In
Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin was facing a new legal challenge over his executive action that aimed to let parents opt out of school mask mandates as his order took effect Monday but was ignored by some districts. Youngkin issued the order as one of his first acts after being sworn in as governor Jan. 15, and confusion has swirled over the implications since then. Some districts have interpreted the order as being at odds with a state law that deals with COVID-19 mitigation in schools and have opted to keep pre-existing mask mandates in place for students. (Rankin and Barakat, 1/24)

The Washington Post: There’s A New Version Of Omicron But So Far It Doesn’t Appear To Be More Dangerous
As a new version of the highly contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads in parts of Asia and Europe, the World Health Organization recommended Monday that officials begin investigating its characteristics to determine whether it poses new challenges for pandemic-weary nations. Known as BA. 2, the new version of the virus is a descendant of the omicron variant responsible for huge surges of covid-19 in the United States and elsewhere around the globe. Virologists are referring to the original omicron variant as BA. 1. (Bernstein, 1/24)

Fox News: Washington State Reports Two Cases Of Omicron Subvariant BA.2
A new subvariant of omicron that differs from the original variant in some mutations, including on the spike protein, has been detected in Washington state. "Two cases of BA.2, a subvariant of omicron, were detected earlier this month in Washington," a spokesperson for the Washington Department of Health told Fox News Digital on Monday. The spokesperson said that health officials do not have much information on the new subvariant, which has been reported in parts of Europe and Asia. (Best, 1/24)

Reuters: Omicron Survives Longer On Plastic, Skin Than Prior Variants
The Omicron variant can survive longer than earlier versions of the coronavirus on plastic surfaces and human skin, Japanese researchers found in laboratory tests. Its high "environmental stability" - its ability to remain infectious - might have helped Omicron replace Delta as the dominant variant and spread rapidly, they said. ... On skin, all of the variants were completely inactivated by 15 seconds of exposure to alcohol-based hand sanitizers. (1/24)

CIDRAP: WHO Chief Warns Conditions Ripe For More COVID-19 Variants
At a briefing to the World Health Organization (WHO) executive board today, its director-general warned that conditions remain ideal for new variants to emerge and that countries have the power to change the drivers of the pandemic. (Schnirring, 1/24)

The New York Times: How Omicron's Mutations Allow It To Thrive 
As nurses and doctors struggle with a record-breaking wave of Omicron cases, evolutionary biologists are engaged in a struggle of their own: figuring out how this world-dominating variant came to be. When the Omicron variant took off in southern Africa in November, scientists were taken aback by its genetic makeup. Whereas earlier variants had differed from the original Wuhan version of the coronavirus by a dozen or two mutations, Omicron had 53 — a shockingly large jump in viral evolution. (Zimmer, 1/24)

The Hill: Study Finds High Levels Of Omicron-Fighting Antibodies Four Months After Pfizer Booster
A new study shows high levels of coronavirus antibodies that fight the omicron variant four months after a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine, a positive sign for the durability of a booster shot’s effectiveness.  The study from researchers at Pfizer, BioNTech and the University of Texas Medical Branch shows virus-fighting antibodies enduring four months after the third dose, helping answer the key question of how long protection from the booster shot lasts.  (Sullivan, 1/24)

The Washington Post: Lab Study Shows Omicron-Blocking Antibodies Persist Four Months After A Pfizer-BioNTech Booster 
Virus-fighting antibodies capable of blocking the omicron variant persist four months after a third shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, according to a new study. The study, which was published on a preprint server Saturday, gives a first hint about the durability of coronavirus vaccine protection, with a key line of immune defense remaining intact. The study has not yet been peer-reviewed and will need to be replicated and extended to a longer period. (Johnson, 1/24)

San Francisco Chronicle: COVID In California: Omicron Appears To Kill Faster Than Other Coronavirus Strains, L.A. Data Shows
Los Angeles County data suggests that the highly infectious omicron variant strikes down its patients quicker than previous strains of the coronavirus, according to Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. The county last Thursday recorded 102 fatalities, the highest tally since March 2021. Ferrer said patients with omicron on average appear to be dying within 2-4 weeks after requiring hospitalization, compared with an average of 5 weeks observed with the delta variant. “It looks to us that folks may be progressing faster — folks who have omicron — so we’re seeing a much shorter timeframe,” from infection to death, said Ferrer. “It looks like they get hit pretty hard earlier on.” (Vaziri and Beamish, 1/24)

AP: 6th Michigan Hospital To Get Federal Medical Team Amid Surge 
A sixth Michigan hospital will receive staffing assistance from a federal medical team to help treat COVID-19 patients during the latest surge, state health officials said Monday. Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, where 100% of beds were occupied as of Monday, will be supported by as many as 25 additional personnel for 30 days starting Feb. 7, the state health department said. Teams already are in place at hospitals in Dearborn, Grand Rapids, Muskegon, Saginaw and Wyandotte. (Eggert, 1/24)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio National Guard Arrives To Assist UC Medical Center With COVID-19 Surge
Another 70 Ohio National Guard troops arrived Monday to help University of Cincinnati Medical Center staff during the latest COVID-19 hospitalization surge. The troops are among those Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine sent to the state's hospitals to help healthcare staff during the barrage of COVID-19 cases triggered by the omicron variant. The addition of Guard members at UC Health's Corryville facility comes days after a group arrived at Christ Hospital Health System in Mount Auburn. (DeMio, 1/24)

AP: Crisis Standards Activated For Southern Idaho Health Systems 
Idaho public health officials activated crisis standards of care for much of southern Idaho on Monday, citing major staffing and blood supply shortages. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare activated the crisis standards for the southwest, central and south central health districts, which encompass 18 counties including the Boise, Nampa and Twin Falls metro regions. Crisis standards of care allow hospitals to triage health care as needed when they don’t have the capacity to deal with patient influxes. (Boone, 1/24)

CIDRAP: Study: Mental Health Visits Increased For Physicians During Pandemic
A new Canadian study shows visits for mental health and substance abuse problems by physicians increased 27% during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study is published in JAMA Network Open. The study was based on mental health and substance use outpatient records of 34,055 practicing physicians in Ontario, Canada. The number of visits per 1,000 physicians increased by 27% during the first year of the pandemic, and the absolute proportion of physicians with one or more mental health and substance use visits increased to 13.4% during the first year of the pandemic, compared with 12.3% in the prior year. (1/24)

USA Today: Sarah Palin Tests Positive For COVID, Delaying Trial
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's day in court over defamation claims against the New York Times was put on hold Monday after she tested positive for the coronavirus. Federal Judge Jed Rakoff said the trial, which had been set to start Monday, can begin Feb. 3 if Palin has recovered. "She is, of course, unvaccinated," Rakoff said in announcing three Palin tests came back positive for the virus. Palin, the Republican candidate for vice president in 2008, has urged people not to get vaccinated, telling an audience in Arizona last month that "it will be over my dead body that I'll have to get a shot." She previously was infected last March. (Bacon, Ortiz and Tebor, 1/24)

The New York Times: Sarah Palin, Who Is Unvaccinated, Recently Dined Indoors In New York City Before Testing Positive.
Sarah Palin, who is not vaccinated against the coronavirus, dined indoors Saturday night at Elio’s, an Italian restaurant on the Upper East Side of Manhattan that regularly draws celebrities, despite New York City’s requirement that all indoor guests show proof of vaccination. She tested positive for the virus on Monday. “We just made a mistake,” said Luca Guaitolini, a manager for the restaurant, who was not working Saturday night but confirmed Ms. Palin’s visit. In an interview on Monday, he said that the restaurant checked vaccination cards for all first-time customers but not for regulars who come each week, and that Ms. Palin had dined with a longtime guest, whom he declined to name. (Krishna, 1/24)

The Boston Globe: More Than 94 Percent Of Boston City Workers Vaccinated, As Mayor Wu Extends Deadline For Showing Proof Of COVID Vaccine
The city of Boston will give its workforce one more week to get vaccinated against COVID-19 before employees are placed on unpaid leave, a temporary but noticeable concession in what has become an acrimonious dispute between Mayor Michelle Wu and several first responders unions. More than 94 percent of municipal employees are already complying with the mandate, Wu said Monday. (Platoff and Andersen, 1/24)

Los Angeles Times: California School Kids Must Get COVID Vaccine Under New Bill 
California students would be required to be immunized for COVID-19 under a bill introduced Monday, offering backup to districts such as L.A. Unified that have struggled with their own mandates while igniting familiar backlash from anti-vaccine activists and parents who say the state should not make medical decisions for their children. Senate Bill 871, by state Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), would add COVID-19 vaccines to California’s list of required inoculations for attending K-12 schools, which can be skipped only if a student receives a rare medical exemption. If passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor, the measure would supplant a more limited COVID-19 vaccine mandate for schools that was created by Gov. Gavin Newsom last year. (Gutierrez and Blume, 1/24)

Fox News: Boston Patient Removed From Heart-Transplant List Because He’s Not Vaccinated Against COVID: Report
The parents of a 31-year-old in need of a heart transplant at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital said their son has been removed from the transplant list because he has not been vaccinated for COVID-19, according to a report. The hospital told CBS Boston that its policy is in line with other transplant programs in the U.S. that require the vaccine because it fits under the lifestyle behaviors of the candidates. The statement said it is the hospital’s goal to "create both the best chance for successful operation and also the patient’s survival after transplantation." David Ferguson, the father of the patient DJ Ferguson, told the station that his son was at the front of the line to receive the organ, but was removed because he refuses to take the vaccine. (DeMarche, 1/25)

CIDRAP: Black Adults Outpace White Peers In Accepting COVID Vaccine 
A pair of new US studies late last week in JAMA Network Open shed new light on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, finding that reluctance to get vaccinated fell faster among Black than White Americans and revealing a link between depression and vulnerability to vaccine misinformation. ... When the study began, about 38% of Black and 28% of White participants were vaccine-hesitant, but by June, 26% of Black and 27% of White participants were reluctant. Similarly, the belief that the vaccines were necessary rose more among Black than White participants in March and April. (Van Beusekom, 1/24)

USA Today: Neil Young Demands Spotify Remove His Music Due To Its Vaccine Misinfo
Rock legend Neil Young wants Spotify to remove his music in response to the spread of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation on the platform. In an open letter to his manager Frank Gironda and Tom Corson, co-chairman and chief operating officer of Warner Bros. Records on Monday, Young demanded his classic collection of songs be pulled due to the disinformation, and specifically called out Spotify's popular podcast host Joe Rogan. "I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines – potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them," Young said. "Please act on this immediately today and keep me informed of the time schedule. (Collins, 1/24)

Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus Test Provider Says It Plans To Sue L.A. County Sheriff Villanueva Over China Claims
The company that provides Los Angeles County with coronavirus testing said it plans to sue Sheriff Alex Villanueva for defamation over claims the sheriff made alleging the company has links to the Chinese government. Fulgent Genetics, the Temple City company contracted to administer tests and track the vaccination status of county employees, alleged that Villanueva orchestrated a briefing with FBI agents a day after Thanksgiving “in a last-ditch effort” to avoid complying with the county’s employee vaccine mandate, according to papers the company’s lawyers filed in court Friday. After the briefing, Villanueva claimed in a letter to elected county officials that FBI agents had called the meeting to warn him about Fulgent. The Times obtained a copy of the letter the same day Villanueva sent it. (Tchekmedyian, 1/24)

Stat: It’s Too Early To Say CBD Helps Against Covid. Will That Stop CBD Makers?
The scientists stressed the caveats that early-stage research demands: the compounds they had studied showed hints — in cells in lab dishes and in animals — of being able to combat the coronavirus. Definite answers could only come from clinical trials. But the compounds were CBD and other marijuana and hemp derivatives, so the news took off. Kimmel and Colbert cracked jokes. The studies received coverage in outlets from Fox News to The Daily Beast. The latest hubbub is an example of both the promise of cannabinoids — components of cannabis — as potential therapies, but also the hype around them, which can far outpace the evidence that they work. (Florko and Joseph, 1/25)

Stat: Insulin Giants Boost Their Lobbying Spending Amid Drug Pricing Talks
As lawmakers took aim at high insulin costs, two major insulin manufacturers increased their lobbying spending last year, according to new federal disclosures. Insulin has become the poster child for dysfunction in the drug pricing debate, and lawmakers are considering enacting insulin-specific policies including allowing Medicare to negotiate prices for all insulin products and capping out-of-pocket monthly costs for patients in Medicare and the private insurance market. (Cohrs, 1/25)

Modern Healthcare: How Startup Insurers Captured Medicare Advantage Market Share
Startup health insurers grew their Medicare Advantage membership during the annual enrollment period, with some capturing market share from larger competitors like UnitedHealth Group, Humana and Cigna. Among the larger insurtechs, Devoted Health increased its membership the most, nearly doubling its beneficiary base to 63,046 from the start of December to beginning of January, according to federal data. The majority of the company's growth and members came from Florida and Texas, states where more than 80% of Devoted's members reside. Devoted is the last of the large insurtechs to remain private and, after raising a Series D round late last year, represents the most valuable of the health insurer upstarts with a valuation of $11.5 billion. (Tepper, 1/24)

CBS News: Parents Scramble As Some Types Of Baby Formula Now Harder To Find In Parts Of U.S.
Some kinds of baby formula are getting harder to find in parts of the country, leaving parents of young children frustrated and scrambling for alternatives. "We've noticed it being difficult to find maybe a couple months ago — two, three months ago — and then just recently we can't find it," San Francisco resident Irene Anhoeck told CBS News. She and her husband, Mario Anhoeck are the parents of Marlo, a 10-month-old boy. And since she can't breastfeed, the couple have fed Marlo a liquid infant formula from Similac, which they said is now in short supply. (1/24)

NBC News: Giving Low-Income Families Cash Can Help Babies’ Brain Activity 
Supporting low-income families with cash could protect infants from the deleterious effects poverty has on brain development, research published Monday finds. The preliminary results from an ongoing clinical trial found that infants whose families received an extra $4,000 in annual income were more likely to show brain activity patterns associated with the development of thinking and learning. (Sullivan, 1/24)

The Atlantic: How A Rare Brain Mutation Spread Across America
Of the three Bowlin sisters, Margaret, the middle one, was the first to show signs. She began having seizures as a toddler. Then the eldest, Bettina, had a brief and mysterious episode of weakness in her right hand. In 1986, as an adult, she had a two-week migraine that got so bad, she couldn’t hold food in her mouth or money in her right hand. The youngest, Susan, felt fine, but her parents still took her for an exam in 1989, when she was 19. A brain scan found abnormal clusters of blood vessels that, as it turned out, were in her sisters’ brains too. These malformations in the brain can be silent. But they can also leak or, worse, burst without warning, causing the seizures, migraines, and strokelike symptoms Bettina and Margaret experienced. If the bleeding in the brain gets bad enough, it can be deadly. (Zhang, 1/24)

NBC News: Dry January Still Carries Benefits Even If You Slip Up, Experts Say
How is your Dry January going? If you’ve managed to abstain from alcohol so far, pat yourself on the back. But if your plans already have been derailed a time or two, don’t beat yourself up, experts say: When it comes to quitting drinking, a slip is not a fail. “It certainly doesn’t mean all is lost,” said Dr. Brian Hurley, a Los Angeles addiction specialist and president-elect of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. “People can absolutely get back on track.” (Stenson, 1/25)

CNN: Fictional Peloton-Related Heart Attacks Undermine A Basic Reality About Exercise 
First it was Mr. Big, the character from "Sex in the City," dying in Carrie Bradshaw's arms from a heart attack after a 45-minute ride on his Peloton. Then it was Mike "Wags" Wagner, the drug-abusing, sadistic right hand of Axe Capital's Bobby Axelrod in the Showtime series "Billions," who too suffers a heart attack after exercising on his elite bike. Wags, played by esteemed character actor David Costabile, survives. "I'm not going out like Mr. Big," he declares in his typical cynical style in this season's opening episode. The negative publicity caused by the fictional incidents may have some wondering: Is it safe for your heart to exercise intensely? (LaMotte, 1/25)

The Washington Post: Supreme Court Takes EPA Case That Could Narrow Clean Water Act
The Supreme Court will take up a challenge to the Clean Water Act that could narrow the law’s reach in ways long sought by businesses and home builders. The justices said Monday that they will consider, probably in the term beginning in October, a long-running dispute involving an Idaho couple who already won once at the Supreme Court in an effort to build a home near Priest Lake. The Environmental Protection Agency says there are wetlands on the couple’s roughly half-acre lot, which brings it under the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act, and thus requires a permit. The case raises the question of the test that courts should use to determine what constitutes “waters of the United States,” which the Clean Water Act was passed to protect in 1972. (Barnes, 1/24)

AP: House OKs Plan To Put Teachers On State Health Insurance 
Legislation allowing Idaho K-12 teachers to take home more of their paychecks by giving school districts an opportunity to leave private health care carriers and join the state’s self-funded health insurance plan cleared the House on Monday and headed to the Senate. The House voted 55-14 to approve the legislation backers said is needed to help the state hire and retain teachers and other school workers by reducing premiums and lowering deductibles. Backers also said it could reduce reliance on school levies some school districts use that can raise property taxes. (Ridler, 1/24)

Stat: Pfizer Faces Calls To Quickly Sell More Covid-19 Pills To Low-Income Countries
Amid concerns over access to Covid-19 vaccines and treatments, Pfizer (PFE) is being urged by a prominent advocacy group to make a recently authorized pill more widely available to poor countries and avoid the inequity problems that have so far plagued the global response to the pandemic. In a Jan. 24 letter to Pfizer chief executive officer Albert Bourla, Public Citizen argued the company is remiss for entering into supply agreements for its Paxlovid pill that “almost exclusively” cover countries based in North America and Europe while its production output is constrained. Pfizer has indicated that 120 million treatment courses will become available this year. (Silverman, 1/24)

The Hill: Immunity Against Variants Found In Sinovac Recipients Who Got Mixed Vaccine Booster
People who were originally fully vaccinated with the Chinese-made Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine were shown to develop a high degree of immunity after receiving booster doses of either Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson vaccines. In the Brazilian government-funded phase 4 study conducted by researchers from Brazil and Oxford University, patients who received an initial vaccination from Sinovac shots were found to develop significantly higher immune responses when given a booster shot from another vaccine manufacturer. (Choi, 1/24)

AP: Israeli Expert Panel Advises 4th Vaccine Dose For Adults 
An expert panel on Tuesday advised the Israeli government to begin offering a fourth vaccine dose to everyone over the age of 18, citing research showing it helps prevent COVID-19 infection and severe illness. The advisory committee said research shows a fourth dose provides three to five times the level of protection against serious disease and double the protection against infection compared to three doses. The Health Ministry’s director must approve the recommendation. (1/25)

AP: 23 Australians On Ship Delivering Aid To Tonga Have Virus
Nearly two dozen sailors on an Australian military ship going to deliver aid to Tonga have tested positive for the coronavirus, officials said Tuesday, raising fears they could bring COVID-19 to a Pacific nation that has so far managed to avoid any outbreaks. Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton said his government was working with Tongan authorities to keep the ship at sea and make sure there is no threat to Tonga’s 105,000 residents. (1/25)

AP: UK To Lift Travel Test Requirements For The Vaccinated 
The British government announced Monday that it is scrapping coronavirus travel testing requirements for the vaccinated, news hailed by the travel industry as a big step back to normality. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that “to show that this country is open for business, open for travelers, you will see changes so that people arriving no longer have to take tests if they have been vaccinated, if they have been double vaccinated.” (Lawless, 1/24)

The Washington Post: Boris Johnson ‘Birthday Bash’ Added To List Of Alleged Lockdown Parties 
A British broadcaster on Monday reported that yet another alleged “bash” occurred at 10 Downing Street during strict lockdown, this one to celebrate Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s birthday in June 2020, at a time when rules designed to stop the spread of the coronavirus forbid indoor social gatherings. ITV News also said that on the evening of the same day, June 19, 2020, Johnson hosted family and friends upstairs in the prime minister’s residence, another breach of the government’s own orders. (Booth, 1/24)

Stat: Sanofi Wants To Nix New Condos That Will Overlook A Toronto Vaccine Plant
In an unusual move, Sanofi (SNY) is urging the Toronto City Council to restrict development of a nearby residential property over concerns that the height of two planned towers could make it easier to spy on an expanding vaccine facility and, consequently, jeopardize Canadian national security. The issue arose after a local property developer two years ago submitted plans to erect towers that would be more than 30 stories high and a few hundred yards from an existing facility, which Sanofi plans to expand with $360 million in backing from the federal and Ontario provincial governments. The residential location has housed a small apartment building for the past few decades. (Silverman, 1/24)

Bloomberg: Beijing Tests Shoppers Buying Fever Drugs Before Winter Olympics
China’s capital is requiring anyone who buys commonly available anti-fever medicine to undergo Covid-19 testing, as authorities try to root out undetected virus infections without locking down the country’s most important city and host of next week’s Winter Olympics. Beijing residents who purchase antipyretics, antivirals and drugs that target coughs and sore throats will get an alert on the mobile app China uses for contact tracing and which is frequently checked to allow entry to public venues. The buyer will then need to take a Covid test within 72 hours or face movement restrictions, the Beijing Municipal Health Commission said on Sunday. (1/24)