First Edition: Jan. 27, 2021

KHN: Remdesivir, Given To Half Of Hospitalized Covid Patients In U.S., Is Big Win For Gilead — Boosted By Taxpayers
It was the end of April — just as the U.S. confirmed its millionth covid-19 case and 50,000 deaths — when White House adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci announced “highly significant” news about a drug called remdesivir. That was surprising because the antiviral drug, owned by Gilead Sciences and developed with investment from the federal government, had languished for years with no apparent commercial use. It had struck out as a treatment for hepatitis C and Ebola. (Tribble, 1/27)

KHN: If I Have Cancer, Dementia Or MS, Should I Get The Covid Vaccine? 
As public demand grows for limited supplies of covid-19 vaccines, questions remain about the vaccines’ appropriateness for older adults with various illnesses. Among them are cancer patients receiving active treatment, dementia patients near the end of their lives and people with autoimmune conditions. Recently, a number of readers have asked me whether older relatives with these conditions should be immunized. This is a matter for medical experts, and I solicited advice from several. All strongly suggested that people with questions contact their doctors and discuss their individual medical circumstances. (Graham, 1/27)

KHN: Poll: Nearly Half Of American Adults Now Want The Covid Vaccine — ASAP 
Americans’ reluctance to get vaccinated for covid-19 is waning, according to a poll released Wednesday. Nearly half of adults surveyed in January said they have either already been vaccinated or want the vaccine as soon as they can, up from about a third of adults polled in December, according to the latest KFF survey. (KHN is an editorially independent program of KFF.) (Galewitz, 1/27)

Politico: Biden Administration To Buy 200 Million More Doses Of Covid Vaccine 
"This is an aggregate plan that doesn’t leave anything on the table or anything to chance," he said. "This is a wartime effort." Yet the companies will not deliver on those new shots until sometime this summer, raising the possibility of supply shortages that could stretch on for the next several months. The White House in the interim is boosting the amount of existing vaccine that it sends to states and other jurisdictions each week, as it tries to temper intensifying complaints about scarce supplies across the nation. (Cancryn and Roubein, 1/26)

NBC News: Biden Administration Orders 200 Million More Doses Of Covid-19 Vaccines
The agreement would lessen the country's reliance on getting additional doses on the market from other manufacturers. The Trump administration had passed on buying more doses from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna and was instead betting that additional vaccines from Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca would come to market. Johnson & Johnson said it will release data for its single-dose vaccine in the coming days. "We can't speak to the Trump administration, but what we can say is it is our philosophy, given the nature of this emergency and the speed with which the virus needs to be addressed, to procure enough supply as we need to vaccinate Americans and to give Americans the confidence we can do that," a senior administration official said. (Pettypiece, 1/26)

ABC News: Biden Plans To Purchase 200M More Doses Of Pfizer, Moderna COVID-19 Vaccines 
Biden also said the federal government will be increasing the number of doses shipped to states -- from 8.6 million doses a week to 10 million a week for the next three weeks, and will start notifying states how many doses they will receive three weeks in advance. ... The announcement does not resolve the major shortages that the nation is experiencing now and does not suggest the Biden administration has found a novel way to ramp up production quickly. (Flaherty, Ebbs and Gittleson, 1/26)

The Wall Street Journal: Administration To Buy Enough Doses To Vaccinate Most Americans By End Of Summer 
“The brutal truth is, it’s going to take months before we get the majority of Americans vaccinated,” Mr. Biden said. Even with the increase in doses to states starting next week, supplies aren’t yet sufficient for what is needed now, a senior administration official said. (Armour, Siddiqui and Restuccia, 1/26)

Stat: U.S. Will Have Supply To Vaccinate 300 Million By Summer's End, Biden Says
Both Biden and his advisers have warned for weeks that supply constraints were one of the biggest obstacles in vaccinating a wide swath of Americans. “I wish I could tell you there’s plenty of vaccine and we can fill all these endless amounts of appointments. We can’t. It’s going to take us months to have enough supply,” said David Kessler, Biden’s top vaccine expert, during an interview last week. (Florko, 1/26)

The Washington Post: CDC Finds Scant Spread Of Coronavirus In Schools With Precautions In Place 
Schools operating in person have seen scant transmission of the coronavirus, particularly when masks and distancing are employed, but some indoor athletics have led to infections and should be curtailed if schools want to operate safely, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded in papers published Tuesday. The CDC team reviewed data from studies in the United States and abroad and found the experience in schools differed from nursing homes and high-density work sites where rapid spread has occurred. (Meckler, 1/26)

The Hill: CDC Researchers Find 'Little Evidence' Of Major School Outbreaks, With Precautions 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers on Tuesday said that there is "reassuring" evidence about a lack of widespread coronavirus transmission in schools, amid sometimes-intense debate over reopening. The researchers wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Association that there have been some reported cases of the virus in schools, but they have not been major drivers of transmission. (Sullivan, 1/26)

The Washington Post: Teachers Are Moving To The Front Of The Vaccine Line — But That Doesn’t Mean All Schools Will Reopen Right Away 
Vaccinating teachers has been widely hailed as a vital step toward reopening the nation’s still-closed schools and, in many places, educators have been moved toward the front of the line for shots. But it has not gone hand-in-hand with efforts to return students to classrooms. And adding to the confusion, some officials are explicitly refusing to link vaccination and reopening. (Natanson, St. George and Stein, 1/26)

FiercePharma: Johnson & Johnson Is 'Comfortable' Meeting Coronavirus Vaccine Delivery Promises, CFO Says 
As the world awaits Johnson & Johnson’s phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine data, the company is prepping for regulatory filings and a global rollout. Orders for hundreds of millions of doses are pending. But even as rivals face manufacturing and logistics hurdles, a top J&J exec said his company is “comfortable” meeting its 2021 supply commitments. J&J's one-dose vaccine would provide a major boost to worldwide vaccination efforts as shots from Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca remain in the early stages of their rollouts. News of supply disruptions for the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines has been surfacing in Europe, and U.S. rollouts for the mRNA vaccines have gotten off to a slower-than-expected start.  (Sagonowsky, 1/26)

The Hill: Johnson & Johnson On Track For 100 Million Vaccine Doses By End Of June, Bolstering US Supply 
Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday that it is on track to meet its target of 100 million coronavirus vaccine doses for the United States by the end of June, one of a string of confident announcements on vaccine supply. Johnson & Johnson's vaccine trial is being closely watched as it has the potential to produce a third vaccine for the U.S., helping further an increase in available doses. The company said Tuesday that it expects results from its Phase 3 trial “by early next week.” (Sullivan, 1/26)

The Hill: Vice President Harris Receives Second Dose Of COVID-19 Vaccine 
Vice President Harris received her second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Md. Harris urged all Americans to get the vaccine when it's available to them, and thanked the NIH employees for their work. (Weixel, 1/26)

The Washington Post: Democrats Turn To Quick Action On Biden Covid Relief Bill After Power-Sharing Deal In Senate 
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday that the Senate could vote as soon as next week on a budget bill setting the stage for party-line passage of President Biden’s $1.9 trillion pandemic relief plan. “The work must move forward, preferably with our Republican colleagues but without them if we must,” Schumer said. “Time is of the essence to address this crisis.” (Werner, DeBonis and Kim, 1/26)

The Hill: Schumer: Senate Could Pave Way For Reconciliation On COVID Relief Next Week 
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) told Democrats on a conference call on Tuesday that they could vote as soon as next week on a budget resolution that would pave the way for coronavirus legislation to pass the chamber with a simple majority. Schumer, who disclosed the detail to reporters during a press conference, didn't commit to using reconciliation — a budget process that bypasses the 60-vote filibuster — but warned that Democrats were willing to go it alone. (Carney, 1/26)

Stat: Senate Rules Could Pose Hurdles For Vaccine Funds 
Progressive Democrats in the Senate are hoping to use a streamlined process that needs just 50 votes to approve a Covid-19 relief package that includes billions in new funding for vaccines and other supplies. But some experts are already casting doubt on that plan. ... STAT spoke with nine current and former congressional staffers and budgetary experts, and they were about evenly divided on whether Democrats could move the public health funds through the streamlined process. None of them were definitively sure. (Cohrs, 1/27)

Modern Healthcare: Lab Stakeholders Welcome Biden Moves On COVID-19 Testing, Suggest Additional Steps
With President Joseph Biden taking office this week, the lab industry is keen to see what steps his administration will take to boost COVID testing. Last week he released details on his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, a legislative package that would include $50 billion to expand COVID-19 testing and an additional $30 billion investment in the Disaster Relief Fund to help ramp up production of supplies including items like vials, reagents, and protective gear that are essential to collecting and running clinical samples. The president's plan also calls for doubling the number of drive-through testing sites and investing in new testing technologies, particularly at-home and rapid tests. (Bonislawski, 1/26)

The Hill: Eli Lilly Says Antibody Combo Significantly Cuts COVID-19 Death Risk 
A combination treatment of two monoclonal antibodies developed by Eli Lilly can significantly reduce hospitalizations and deaths due to COVID-19, the company announced Tuesday. The results from a final-stage clinical trial of more than 1,000 patients testing the combination of bamlanivimab and etesevimab found just 11 hospitalizations in patients taking the therapy, compared to 36 events in patients taking a placebo, a 70 percent reduction compared to a placebo. (Weixel, 1/26)

USA Today: Eli Lilly Says Monoclonal Antibody Cocktail Cuts Hospitalizations By 70% For High-Risk COVID-19 Patients
While vaccines may help slow the COVID-19 pandemic over the next months, drug company Eli Lilly announced Tuesday that its treatments can help save lives in the meantime. The company's drug bamlanivimab was authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration late last year and has been used by 125,000 high-risk patients nationwide based on early-stage data suggesting it could be effective. The drug is a monoclonal antibody, meaning it mimics one of the natural antibodies the immune system uses to fight off the virus. (Weintraub, 1/26)

Stat: Regeneron Says Monoclonal Antibodies Prevent Covid-19 In Study
Regeneron said Tuesday that its monoclonal antibody cocktail prevented Covid-19 in a clinical trial. The news, issued via a press release, mirrored similar news from Eli Lilly last week that its monoclonal antibody prevented symptomatic Covid-19 infections in nursing homes. (Herper, 1/26)

FiercePharma: Regeneron Pitches COVID-19 Antibody Cocktail For 'Passive Vaccination' With Fresh Trial Data
As the demand for COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna, Pfizer and AstraZeneca continues to outstrip supply and alternative vaccines struggle to make it out of the pipeline, the world is desperate for new ways to end the pandemic. Regeneron says it's offering a potential solution. The New York-based biotech released preliminary data from an ongoing phase 3 trial of its antibody cocktail REGEN-COV in people at high risk of contracting COVID-19 because of exposure to family members with the disease. The results justify using the drug for “passive vaccination,” the company said today. (Weintraub, 1/26)

The Hill: WHO Revises Guidance For COVID-19 Patients' Treatment, Recommending Follow-Up Care, Low-Dose Anticoagulants 
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday issued new guidance for treatment of coronavirus patients, including those with persistent post-recovery symptoms. The advice includes the use of at-home oxygen saturation testing for those who have been discharged from hospitals and low-dose anticoagulants for patients who remain hospitalized to prevent thrombosis. (Budryk, 1/26)

CNN: White People Are Getting Vaccinated At Higher Rates Than Black And Latino Americans
Black and Latino Americans are receiving the Covid-19 vaccine at significantly lower rates than White people -- a disparity that health advocates blame on the federal government and hospitals not prioritizing equitable access. A CNN analysis of data from 14 states found vaccine coverage is twice as high among White people on average than it is among Black and Latino people. The analysis found that on average, more than 4% of the White population has received a Covid-19 vaccine, about 2.3 times higher than the Black population (1.9% covered) and 2.6 times higher than the Hispanic population (1.8% covered). (Ellis and McPhillips, 1/26)

The Washington Post: Philadelphia Let ‘College Kids’ Distribute Vaccines. The Result Was A ‘Disaster,' Volunteers Say.
Philadelphia is home to some of the most venerated medical institutions in the country. Yet when it came time to set up the city’s first and largest coronavirus mass vaccination site, officials turned to the start-up Philly Fighting COVID, a self-described “group of college kids” with minimal health-care experience. Chaos ensued. (Noori Farzan, 1/27)

The New York Times: ‘Paramedic Of The Year’ Is Arrested After Covid-19 Vaccine Theft, Sheriff Says 
An emergency worker in Florida was arrested this week in connection with the theft of coronavirus vaccine doses, just 12 days after he had been recognized as a county’s “paramedic of the year,” the authorities said on Tuesday. The paramedic, Joshua Colon, 31, had been responsible for administering doses of the vaccine to firefighters in Polk County, the county’s sheriff, Grady Judd, said during a news conference. (Vigdor, 1/26)

The Wall Street Journal: Wisconsin Pharmacist To Plead Guilty To Attempting To Spoil Covid-19 Vaccine 
A Wisconsin pharmacist agreed to plead guilty to intentionally attempting to spoil hundreds of doses of Covid-19 vaccine by leaving them unrefrigerated on two nights late last year at the hospital where he worked, according to a plea agreement filed in federal court. Steven R. Brandenburg of Grafton, Wis., indicated he planned to enter a guilty plea to two counts of attempting to tamper with consumer products, with reckless disregard for the risk that another person will be placed in danger of death or bodily injury, according to the agreement filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Each count carries up to 10 years in prison, court documents say. (Barrett, 1/26)

Houston Chronicle: UTMB Receives 3-Year Grant To Research Breast Milk’s COVID-19 Antibodies
Back in June, Dr. Roberto Garofalo, vice chair for research in the department of pediatrics at the University of Texas Medical Branch, drafted a grant proposal to the Gerber Foundation to examine two categories of pregnant women: those who were infected with COVID-19 during their pregnancy or perinatal period and those who have never had the virus. The foundation approved a three-year, $300,000 grant for UTMB to determine whether breast milk has an innate ability to stop the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the novel coronavirus, or if an infected mother who recovers can pass antibodies to her child through her milk. (Garcia, 1/26)

The Washington Post: U.S. Arrivals Will Now Have To Quarantine. But Officials Haven’t Said How They Plan To Enforce It.
In a new Biden administration executive order that took effect Tuesday, the United States now requires all international entrants — including those returning home to the United States — pass two significant hurdles for entry. Travelers must secure a negative coronavirus test result before boarding their flight home, and upon arrival are directed to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance to self-quarantine for at least seven days. ... While the first of those rules has a clear prerequisite attached to it — acquiring a coronavirus test abroad — it remains unclear how a self-quarantine would be enforced, and the CDC said in an email Monday that it will not enforce its guidelines for quarantine as a rule. (The White House did not respond to requests for clarification on that stance.) (McMahon, 1/26)

USA Today: FDA Issues Alert About Methanol-Contaminated Hand Sanitizer Imported From Mexico
U.S. regulators are warning that hand sanitizer imported from Mexico could be tainted with dangerous chemicals or not work effectively. The Food and Drug Administration issued the warning Tuesday amid a pandemic that has dramatically increased demand for hand-cleaning products. The FDA said it is applying an "import alert" to "all alcohol-based hand sanitizers from Mexico" in an attempt to "stop products that appear to be in violation from entering the U.S. until the agency is able to review the products' safety." (Bomey, 1/26)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Pauses Three Trump-Era Proposed Rules
CMS on Tuesday paused three proposed rules developed under the Trump administration. The proposed rules would affect in-center dialysis coverage requirements for third-party payment programs, enable seniors to keep their Social Security retirement benefits if they opt out of Medicare Part A coverage and increase oversight of accrediting organizations. The White House budget office had been reviewing all three rules. CMS withdrew the proposed rules following a memo last week from White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain directing agencies to freeze new regulations that hadn't taken effect. The moves don't take any of the policies off the table, but the Biden administration won't sign off on any rules until it's had a chance to review them. HHS froze a new regulation targeting community health centers' 340B drug discounts last week. (Brady, 1/26)

Stat: FTC Sues Drug Makers Over Allegedly Illegal Deal Over An Opioid Painkiller
For the second time, the Federal Trade Commission has filed a lawsuit alleging Endo International (ENDP) and Impax Laboratories violated antitrust laws by striking a deal that sought to eliminate competition for an opioid painkiller. In filing its suit, the FTC pointed to a request made in 2017 by the Food and Drug Administration for Endo to voluntarily withdraw its reformulated version of the drug, which was called Opana ER, or extended release. (Silverman, 1/26)

The Wall Street Journal: Walgreens Poaches Starbucks Executive Rosalind Brewer For CEO 
WalgreensBoots Alliance Inc. named Starbucks Corp. operating chief Rosalind Brewer as its next chief executive, setting her up to be the only Black woman leading a Fortune 500 company today. Ms. Brewer will replace Stefano Pessina, who said in July that he would step down as CEO once the drugstore company found a new leader. Mr. Pessina, one of Walgreens’ biggest individual investors, will stay on the company’s board and serve as executive chairman. (Mattioli and Lombardo, 1/26)

AP: HCA To Share COVID-19 Hospital Care Data With Researchers
HCA Healthcare says it has reached an agreement to share data about COVID-19 care at the company’s hospitals with prominent research institutions. The Nashville-based company announced Tuesday that some of the entities participating include the federal Agency for Health Research and Quality, Johns Hopkins University, Duke University, Meharry Medical College and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute. (1/27)

Stat: Why Health Care Lobbyists Saw A Windfall In 2020 
Let’s face it: 2020 was a very, very big year for health care. If you had any doubt about that blatantly obvious statement, the latest federal lobbying disclosures should drive that point home. The trade associations for hospitals, drug makers, drug middlemen, health insurers and doctors spent a collective $81 million on lobbying this year, according to STAT’s tally. (And that’s only five organizations…) (Florko, 1/26)

FierceHealthcare: Physician Compensation Slides After COVID-19 Slams Practices, Kaufman Hall Says 
Physician net revenue was down 4.5% in 2020 compared to 2019 as the industry still struggles with declines in patient volumes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report finds. The report released Tuesday by the consulting firm Kaufman Hall said that practices must navigate the continuing shift away from fee-for-service Medicare and to the payer mix away from commercial plans to Medicaid due to job losses stemming from the pandemic. (King, 1/26)

Becker's Hospital Review: Illinois Rejects Trinity's Plan To Build Outpatient Facility Where It's Closing A Hospital
An Illinois board voted to deny an application from Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health to build an outpatient center in a South Side Chicago neighborhood where it wants to close its 170-year-old inpatient hospital, according to the Chicago Tribune. Trinity filed a certificate of need application with the state last November for permission to open a $13 million, 13,000-square-foot outpatient care center about 2 miles away from the hospital it wants to close, Mercy Hospital & Medical Center in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood.  (Paavola, 1/26)

Stat: Orthopedic Patients Eagerly Await Surgeries Delayed By Covid-19 
Robin Young wants you to know she thinks her second knee replacement is the least important thing in the world. While hospitals are caught in the grips of a Covid-19 surge that is straining their capacity, she doesn’t compare her pain to the life-and-death struggles that have erased most elective surgery from hospital booking calendars. (Cooney, 1/27)

FierceHealthcare: Former Veterans Affairs Doctor Sentenced To Prison For Sexual Abuse 
A former Veterans Affairs doctor was sentenced to 25 years in prison for sexually abusing patients, officials announced Tuesday. Jonathan Yates, 52, was formerly an osteopathic medicine physician who worked at the Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center in Beckley, West Virginia. In September, he pleaded guilty to three felony counts of sexual assault of veterans seeking treatment for chronic pain through osteopathic manipulative therapy. (Reed, 1/26)

The Hill: The Coronavirus Pandemic Has (Not) Given Birth To The Baby 'Bust' Generation 
If the United States was banking on another baby boom after the Great Recession, the coronavirus pandemic has set it even further back. After falling to a record low in May last year, the birth rate has continued dropping at a faster rate than the previous year, reported NBCLX. And research shows Americans aren't even thinking about having children as much as they used to, with drops in Google searches for pregnancy- and sex-related topics. (Srikanth, 1/26)

The Hill: Former Ohio State Health Director Reportedly Considering Senate Bid 
Amy Acton, the former director of the Ohio Department of Health who was responsible for leading the state's early response to the coronavirus outbreak, is reportedly considering a run for U.S. Senate. Cleveland.com reported Tuesday that Acton, a Democrat, is considering running to succeed Sen. Rob Portman (R), who announced on Monday he would not be seeking reelection in 2022. (Choi, 1/26)

The Hill: Colorado Governor Says State, Local Officials Key To Federal COVID Response 
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) said Tuesday that politicians staying in tune with the needs of their constituents’ communities is a key to effectively tackling issues like the COVID-19 pandemic. “While the federal government with the pandemic is playing a coordinating role, it’s really on the ground in states and in cities where it’s playing out,” Polis said at The Hill’s “Listening to America” event. (Gans, 1/26)

Los Angeles Times: Groups Fear Being Left Out As California Shifts Vaccine Priority
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement Monday that the state would shift vaccine priority to an age-based eligibility structure has sparked concerns from groups representing some essential workers and disabled people who may now have to wait longer to get vaccinated. Little has been shared as to what that would mean in practice. Before Newsom’s announcement, the state intended to give priority to several new groups after California is done vaccinating people 65 and older, including residents in incarcerated and homeless settings, essential workers and individuals with underlying health conditions. It’s now unclear when those groups would be vaccinated. (Shalby, 1/26)

The Washington Post: A Georgia GOP Lawmaker Refused Covid-19 Tests. He Was Kicked Off The Floor For ‘Jeopardizing The Health’ Of Colleagues.
As the Georgia House of Representatives convened on Tuesday, Speaker David Ralston (R) called for an unnamed lawmaker who had repeatedly refused to be tested for the coronavirus to quietly remove himself from the room. But no one left the chamber. So Ralston then called on a state trooper to escort out Republican state Rep. David Clark for violating the twice-a-week testing policy and for “jeopardizing the health of our members in this Chamber.” (Peiser, 1/27)

The New York Times: Texas Hostage Standoff Ends With 2 Dead at Austin Medical Office
Two people were found dead in a medical office in Austin, Texas, late Tuesday after a hostage standoff that lasted more than five hours, according to the police and local news reports. It was not immediately clear how many people had been held hostage or who had taken them captive. ... Several news outlets identified the medical office as a branch of the Childrens Medical Group. (Ives, 1/27)

The Hill: World Surpasses 100M Coronavirus Cases 
The total number of worldwide coronavirus cases surpassed 100 million on Tuesday. The coronavirus tracker from Johns Hopkins University shows that the world has hit 100 million cases. The United States is No. 1 with more than 25 million cases and 400,000 deaths. (Lonas, 1/26)

AP: Unwanted Virus Milestone: UK's Civilian Dead Now Tops WWII's
There are no warning sirens, nor a rush for shelter. No neighborhoods of collapsed rubble with bodies buried inside from Nazi Germany bombardment. It is quieter than all that. But the United Kingdom has now suffered its worst civilian loss of life since World War II by a significant number. Some 70,000 non-combatants perished in the 1940s. Three quarters of a century later, it’s 100,000 taken by the coronavirus pandemic, an adversary no less relentless and fearsome and one whose defeat is still some time away. (Fakahany, 1/26)

The New York Times: E.U. And U.K. Fight Over Coronavirus Vaccines: 'Solidarity Is Failing' 
The vaccine wars have come to Europe. For months now, wealthy countries have been clearing the world’s shelves of coronavirus vaccines, leaving poorer nations with little hope of exiting the pandemic in 2021. But a fresh skirmish this week has pitted the rich against the rich — Britain versus the European Union — in the scramble for vials, opening a new and unabashedly nationalist competition that could poison relations and set back collective efforts to end the pandemic. (Mueller and Stevis-Gridneff, 1/27)

AP: France's Sanofi To Make Vaccines From Rival Pfizer-BioNTech
French drug maker Sanofi said Wednesday it will help manufacture 125 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine developed by rivals Pfizer and BioNTech, while its own vaccine candidate faces delays. The Germany-based BioNTech will initially produce the vaccines at Sanofi facilities in Frankfurt, starting in the summer, according to a Sanofi statement. The company did not reveal financial details of the agreement. (1/27)

FiercePharma: Sanofi, After R&D Setback, Lends A Hand To Vaccine Rival Pfizer For Coronavirus Shot Production
Following its midstage coronavirus R&D setback, vaccine giant Sanofi is still looking for ways to help in the world’s effort to beat back the pandemic. It’s teaming up with leading vaccine players Pfizer and BioNTech to produce 100 million doses of the rival vaccine—even as Sanofi works to push its own programs through clinical testing. After Sanofi's weak trial showing in December forced the company to delay its own vaccine development, the French drugmaker approached Pfizer and BioNTech about helping with mRNA shot production, CEO Paul Hudson said in an interview with Le Figaro newspaper. (Sagonowsky, 1/26)

The Washington Post: Only One Of The World’s 29 Poorest Countries, Guinea, Has Started Covid-19 Vaccinations 
In more than 50 countries, most of them wealthy, coronavirus vaccination efforts are well underway, with some 20 million doses already distributed in the United States alone. But most poorer nations have yet to even begin. World Health Organization officials said last week that the West African nation of Guinea is the only low-income country of 29 to begin vaccinating. And those efforts have been limited in scope — just 55 people out of the population of more than 12 million have received doses so far. (Taylor and Paquette, 1/26)

NPR: Some European Countries Move To Require Medical-Grade Masks In Public
A number of European countries have announced new mask recommendations and requirements, pushing aside fabric masks in favor of surgical masks or medical-grade respirators. In Germany, the federal and state governments introduced measures last week making medical masks — identified as surgical masks or KN95 or FFP2 masks — mandatory in stores and on public transit. It also issued a recommendation that medical masks be worn whenever there is close or prolonged contact with other people, particularly in enclosed spaces. FFP2 is a European standard promising filtration similar to that of N95 or KN95 respirators. (Wamsley, 1/26)

AP: Maduro's 'Miracle' Treatment For COVID-19 Draws Skeptics
Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro appears to be counting on yet another “miracle” to save his citizens from COVID-19, promoting a secretive solution with no published scientific evidence he claims will conquer the new coronavirus. “Ten drops under the tongue every four hours and the miracle is done,” Maduro said in a televised appearance on Sunday. “It’s a powerful antiviral, very powerful, that neutralizes the coronavirus.” (Smith and Rueda, 1/26)

AP: Mexico Near Approving Russian Vaccine, With Little Data
Mexico said Tuesday it is close to granting approval for Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, with lots of spy drama but little public data available. The approval process described by Hugo López-Gatell, Mexico’s assistant health secretary, sounded like a Cold War spy thriller, and may not foment confidence in the shot. (Stevenson, 1/27)

AP: Criminals In Mexico Exploit Desperation For Oxygen Canisters
Mexico continued to post near-record rates of coronavirus deaths Tuesday, and the huge demand for oxygen canisters has led to frauds, robberies and other crimes against families trying to care for relatives at home. Mexico posted a near-record 1,743 newly confirmed COVID-deaths, bringing the total to over 152,000, and 7,165 new infections. Hospitals in some parts of Mexico are almost 90% full, forcing families to treat their relatives at home. But the oxygen tanks they rely on have been the object of thefts, hijackings and fraud. (1/27)

AP: Shoah Survivors To Get Vaccine On Auschwitz Liberation Day
Hundreds of Holocaust survivors in Austria and Slovakia were poised to get their first coronavirus vaccination Wednesday, acknowledging their past suffering with a special tribute 76 years after the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp, where the Nazis killed more than 1 million Jews and others. “We owe this to them,” said Erika Jakubovits, the Jewish Community of Vienna organizer of the vaccination drive. “They have suffered so much trauma and have felt even more insecure during this pandemic.” (Grieshaber and Jenn, 1/27)

Reuters: Pandemic 'On The Decline' In Moscow As Mayor Lifts Some Curbs 
The coronavirus pandemic is on the decline in Moscow, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Wednesday as he abolished some COVID-19 restrictions, allowing bars, restaurants and nightclubs to open overnight. New COVID-19 cases in the Russian capital have not exceeded 3,000 in the past week and more than 50% of beds in coronavirus hospitals were vacant for the first time since mid-June, Sobyanin wrote on his personal blog. (1/27)

Reuters: China, India's COVID-19 Vaccinations To Stretch To Late 2022: Study 
COVID-19 vaccination programmes in China and India will stretch until late 2022 due to the sheer size of their population, and more than 85 poor countries will not have widespread access to vaccines before 2023, a study showed on Wednesday. (1/27)