First Edition: March 22, 2021

KHN: The Hype Has Faded, But Don’t Count Out Convalescent Plasma In Covid Battle
Six months after it was controversially hailed by Trump administration officials as a “breakthrough” therapy to fight the worst effects of covid-19, convalescent plasma appears to be on the ropes. The treatment that infuses blood plasma from recovered covid patients into people newly infected in hopes of boosting their immune response has not lived up to early hype. Some high-profile clinical trials have shown disappointing results. Demand from hospitals for the antibody-rich plasma has plunged. After a year of large-scale national efforts to recruit recovered covid patients as donors and the collection of more than 500,000 units of covid convalescent plasma, known as CCP, some longtime advocates of the therapy say they’re now pessimistic about its future. (Aleccia, 3/22)

KHN: In America, Covid Vaccine Eligibility Is A ‘Crazy Quilt’ Of State Rules
In North Carolina, the nation’s leading tobacco producer, any adult who has smoked more than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime can now be vaccinated against covid. In Florida, people under 50 with underlying health conditions can get vaccinated only if they have written permission from their doctor. In Mississippi, more than 30,000 covid vaccine appointments were open Friday — days after the state became the first in the contiguous United States to make the shots available to all adults. (Galewitz, 3/22)

KHN: So You’re Vaccinated Against Covid. Now What?
As you surely know, this country’s covid vaccination effort has been plagued by major birth pangs: registration snafus, poor communication, faulty data and a scant supply of vaccine — all exacerbated by inequitable allocation, alleged political favoritism and unseemly jockeying for shots. Still, as of Friday, over 118 million shots had gone into arms, and about 42 million people, 12.6% of the nation’s population, had been fully vaccinated. Nearly one-quarter of U.S. residents have had at least one dose. (Wolfson, 3/22)

KHN: Some Dream — Others Scheme — To Find A Vaccine Before Spring Break
Hawaii, Florida, Seattle and the South of France are on the minds of New York City college students. Those are some of the destinations that undergrads mentioned when asked where they’d go for spring break, if they weren’t grounded by covid-19. “I’d be getting a house with 10 people, with a pool, and we’d be going crazy in Miami,” said Sile Ogundeyin, 22, a senior economics major at Columbia University, who was sitting on the steps of the library with his friends. (Mogul, 3/22)

KHN: Blue Shield Spent Years Cultivating A Relationship With Newsom. It Got The State Vaccine Contract
Gavin Newsom was just making a name for himself as mayor of San Francisco in 2005 when Blue Shield of California wrote him its first major check. The young, business-friendly Democrat had exploded onto the national scene the year before by issuing same-sex marriage licenses in San Francisco, and he was pushing his next big idea, called Project Homeless Connect. The initiative would host bazaar-style events in neighborhoods across the city, linking homeless people to services like food assistance and health care. (Young and Hart, 3/19)

KHN: Journalists Analyze The Covid Relief Bill
Reporter LJ Dawson discussed how undocumented immigrants have been left out of the pandemic relief package with Newsy on Tuesday. KHN correspondent Emmarie Huetteman discussed Affordable Care Act provisions included in the recent covid-19 relief bill with Newsy on Monday. (3/20)

Stat: AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 Vaccine Shows Better-Than-Expected Efficacy
AstraZeneca said Monday that the Covid-19 vaccine it developed with the University of Oxford reduced both mild and serious forms of the disease, paving the way for a likely U.S. authorization of the vaccine. Doctors, regulators, and government officials the world over are likely to breathe a sigh of relief at the results, which are better than expected and appear materially higher than those in previous studies. (Herper, 3/22)

NBC News: CDC Relaxes Distance Requirements In Schools From 6 To 3 Feet
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday relaxed physical distancing requirements for children in school, from 6 feet to 3 feet — a change aimed at allowing more students to be inside classrooms. The recommendations come with a few caveats. Teachers and other adult school staff must still adhere to the 6 feet guidelines, and face coverings remain mandatory. (Edwards, 3/19)

Politico: CDC Cuts School Distancing Requirements To 3 Feet
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that students attending in-person instruction only need to stay 3 feet apart, rather than 6, as long as universal masking is maintained. The agency’s new guidance, released Friday, recommends 3 feet of separation at elementary, middle and high schools in communities with low, moderate or substantial transmission. But the agency says middle school and high school students should stay 6 feet apart in communities where test positivity rates are 10 percent or higher and cohorting — when groups of students are kept together with the same staff throughout the day — is not available. (Banco, 3/19)

CIDRAP: CDC Updates COVID School Guidance, OKs 3-Feet Distancing
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today updated its guidance on school reopening and said that for most elementary and middle schools across the country, at least 3 feet of physical distancing is sufficient when masks are worn properly. For middle schools and high schools in areas with high community transmission, 6 feet of distancing is still recommended unless students can cohort in small groups. And 6 feet is still required when students are not wearing masks—while eating lunch, for example. (Soucheray, 3/19)

CNBC: Remote Learning: Parents Stressed Out, Some Turned To Drugs, Alcohol: CDC
Parents with kids stuck home during the pandemic will tell you how stressed they are, but now the CDC has scientific evidence that virtual schooling is taking a real physical and emotional toll — driving some parents to drugs and alcohol to help cope. The findings, published Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suggest that virtual learning “might present more risks than in-person instruction related to child and parental mental and emotional health and some health-supporting behaviors.” (Miao and Higgins-Dunn, 3/19)

CIDRAP: CDC Survey Shows Remote Learning In Pandemic Strains Children, Parents
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today published a survey that shows that American families have been strained by school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic and suffer high levels of stress when children are given online instruction. The survey, conducted Oct 8 through Nov 13, 2020, included 1,290 respondents who have children ages 5 through 12 enrolled in public or private school: 45.7% reported that their child received virtual instruction, 30.9% in-person instruction, and 23.4% combined instruction. (3/19)

Miami Herald: Miami Beach Commission Extends Spring Break Curfew, Closures
Curfews and causeway closures to control unruly spring break crowds in South Beach will be extended through April 12, the Miami Beach City Commission unanimously decided Sunday during an emergency meeting. An 8 p.m. curfew in South Beach’s entertainment district and a 10 p.m. shutdown of the eastbound lanes of the MacArthur, Julia Tuttle and Venetian causeways will remain in effect Thursday through Sunday for the remainder of spring break. (Vassolo, 3/21)

AP: Police Chief Says Miami Partying "Couldn't Go On Any Longer"
Pointing to over 1,000 arrests in one of the nation’s top party spots, Miami Beach officials warned Sunday that the unruly spring break crowd gathering by the thousands, fighting in the streets, destroying restaurant property and refusing to wear masks has become a serious threat to public safety. During a last-minute meeting Sunday, city officials voted to extend a highly unusual 8 p.m. curfew for another week along famed South Beach, with the possibility of extending it well into April if needed, and stressed this isn’t the typical spring break crowd. They said it’s not college students, but adults looking to let loose in one of the few states fully open during the pandemic. (Kennedy, 3/22)

NPR: Miami Beach Issues Curfew To Curb Swelling Spring Break Crowds
For anyone looking forward to the annual frivolity of spring break or the diversion offered every year by March Madness, the coronavirus pandemic is once again reminding: not so fast. Just as tens of thousands of revelers were dreaming of dancing the night away in Miami Beach on Saturday, the city abruptly declared a state of emergency. Local officials shut down traffic on the causeways leading into the beach mecca, ordered outdoor restaurants to suspend outdoor dining starting at 7 p.m. and banned strolling on the city's iconic Ocean Drive after 8 p.m. The announcement came after cheap flights, discounted hotel rooms and new rules rolling back state-mandated COVID-19 restrictions led to a surge of visitors into Miami Beach and other Florida hot spots just as U.S. colleges pause for spring break. (Beaubien, 3/21)

CNN: Some Experts Are Split On Whether US Could See Another Covid-19 Surge 
The spread of variants, in combination with the still small percentage of fully vaccinated Americans, is why experts have stressed state leaders should not be lifting Covid-19 measures just yet -- and Americans should be doubling down on safety measures, to avoid another surge of the virus. But while at least a dozen governors have eased restrictions this month and cases across the US are no longer seeing the steep declines recorded earlier this year, one expert says it's unlikely the US will see another Covid-19 surge. (Maxouris, 3/22)

NPR: Atlanta Killings: Sex Worker Advocate Sees Deadly Consequences Of Overlapping Hatreds
The man accused of killing six Asian women told police that he attacked the Georgia massage businesses because they contributed to his "sex addiction." The spas, police said, were a source of "temptation for him that he wanted to eliminate." Although authorities have not said whether sex work occurred at the businesses, the spas he targeted were reported sites of law enforcement prostitution stings and reviewed online as places where sex work occurred. (Bowman, 3/21)

USA Today: Poll: 1 In 4 Americans Have Seen Asians Blamed For COVID-19
One in 4 Americans, including nearly half of Asian Americans, in recent weeks have seen someone blame Asian people for the coronavirus epidemic, a new USA TODAY/Ipsos Poll finds. The nationwide survey was taken Thursday and Friday in the wake of last week's mass shooting in Georgia that killed eight people, six of them women of Asian descent. Reports across the country of physical assaults and verbal abuse against Asian Americans have jumped during the yearlong pandemic. (Page and Elbeshbishi, 3/21)

AP: Pope Decries Shame Of Racism, Like ‘Virus’ Lurking In Wait 
Pope Francis on Sunday denounced racism, likening it to a virus that lurks in waiting and only to emerge and show that “our supposed social progress is not as real or definitive” as people think. Francis tweeted on racism on the date that the United Nations marks as International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The pope likened racism to a “a virus that quickly mutates and, instead of disappearing, goes into hiding, and lurks in waiting.” (3/21)

The New York Times: House Votes To Avert Deep Medicare Cuts To Pay For $1.9 Trillion Stimulus Plan
The House voted on Friday to avert an estimated $36 billion in cuts to Medicare next year and tens of billions more from farm subsidies and other social safety net programs, moving to stave off deep spending reductions that would otherwise be made to pay for the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill enacted last week. The action, opposed by the vast majority of Republicans, would effectively exempt President Biden’s pandemic aid package from a deficit-reduction law that requires that all spending be offset by automatic, across-the-board cuts to certain government programs. It passed by a vote of 246 to 175, with 29 Republicans joining Democrats to support it. (Cochrane and Sanger-Katz, 3/19)

Modern Healthcare: House Votes To Avert Medicare Cuts, But Senate Action Uncertain
The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation Friday that would prevent Medicare cuts to providers but its future is unclear in the Senate, where Republicans are bitter over the recently passed COVID-19 relief bill that passed along party lines. The legislation, introduced by House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) and passed 246-175, would extend a pause on the 2% Medicare sequester cuts through the end of the year. (Hellmann, 3/19)

USA Today: Vice President Kamala Harris To Visit Fla. Monday To Tout COVID Relief
Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Jacksonville, Florida, on Monday to tout the administration's $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus plan, according to an administration source. It will be her first visit since crisscrossing Florida last fall during the presidential campaign. (Fins, 3/21)

AP: Several White House Employees Fired For Using Drugs
Five White House staffers have been fired because of their past use of drugs, including marijuana, press secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday. Marijuana has become a delicate issue for President Joe Biden's administration because 15 states and Washington, D.C., allow for recreational usage, despite a federal prohibition. The administration has tried not to automatically penalize potential staffers for legal behavior in their communities by developing a more flexible policy, Psaki said in a statement to The Associated Press. (Boak, 3/19)

CNN: Supreme Court Conservatives Want To Topple Abortion Rights -- But Can't Agree On How 
Conservative Supreme Court justices have demonstrated a desire to reverse prior decisions on abortion rights. The question, with Chief Justice John Roberts no longer the undisputed swing vote on abortion, is when and how far at least five justices will go to overturn rulings that support a constitutional right to end a pregnancy. The aims of individual justices, based on their recent writings, range from reversing Roe v. Wade to forbidding clinics from challenging restrictions on behalf of women to relaxing the standard that states must meet to limit women's access to the procedure. (Biskupic, 3/19)

Politico: Will At-Home Abortions Make Roe V. Wade Obsolete?
The battle over abortion rights has a dramatic new front: the fight over whether the Biden administration will make pills available online. Even as they keep a sharp eye on the increasingly conservative Supreme Court, activists, lawmakers and medical groups are pushing Biden’s FDA to lift restrictions on a 20-year-old drug for terminating early pregnancies. Such a decision would dramatically remake the abortion landscape by making the pills available online and by mail even if the Supreme Court overturns or cuts back Roe vs. Wade. (Miranda Ollstein and Tahir, 3/20)

AP: A Rapid COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout Backfired In Some US States
Despite the clamor to speed up the U.S. vaccination drive against COVID-19 and get the country back to normal, the first three months of the rollout suggest faster is not necessarily better. A surprising new analysis found that states such as South Carolina and Florida that raced ahead of others to offer the vaccine to ever-larger groups of people have vaccinated smaller shares of their population than those that moved more slowly and methodically, such as Hawaii and Connecticut. (Johnson and Forster, 3/22)

Politico: Vaccine Mystery: Why J&J’s Shots Aren’t Reaching More Arms
Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot Covid vaccine was supposed to be the catalyst for the country’s return to normal. Instead, it’s sparking confusion and finger-pointing between the states and the Biden administration over why millions of doses are sitting unused. Almost three weeks after the Food and Drug Administration authorized the shots, no one appears to be able to explain why immunizations are lagging. Some states are thought to be intentionally holding back shots, while others say it takes time to inoculate populations like the homebound. (Banco and Roubein, 3/22)

CNBC: Covid Cases Are Rising In 21 States As Health Officials Warn Against Reopening Too Quickly
Even as the pace of vaccinations accelerates in the U.S., Covid-19 cases are increasing in 21 states and highly infectious variants are spreading as governors relax restrictions on businesses like restaurants, bars and gyms. Public health officials warn that while roughly 2.5 million people nationwide are receiving shots every day, infection levels have plateaued this month and some states have failed to reduce the number of daily cases. (Newburger, 3/20)

Stat: Rising Covid-19 Cases In Some States Highlight 'Precarious Position' 
The United States is in for a celebratory summer, experts and political leaders have forecasted — when widespread availability of Covid-19 vaccines will allow the safe return of gatherings and activities shunned for the past year. But epidemiologists have been warning it might not be a smooth road to that point, and now, data in some states are pointing to, if not just stalled progress, increased cases. (Joseph, 3/20)

AP: Number Of Newly Reported Coronavirus Cases Decline In Texas
The number of newly reported coronavirus virus cases in Texas declined Sunday and the rolling average of cases in the state is down 36.1%. There were a reported 1,905 new virus cases Sunday, according to the Texas health department, compared to 3,673 new cases on Saturday. The seven-day rolling average of new cases in Texas dropped during the past two weeks from 6,189.7 per day on March 5 to 3,953.1 daily on March 19, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The Johns Hopkins data showed 47,346 deaths due to COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, since the pandemic began, the third highest death toll in the United States. (3/21)

The Hill: Fauci: COVID-19 Variant Likely Accounts For Up To 30 Percent Of US Infections
Anthony Fauci, the government’s leading infectious disease expert, warned that variants of the coronavirus could account for up to 30 percent of infections in the U.S. Fauci specifically sounded the alarm at a White House press conference Friday over the B.1.1.7 variant, which was first discovered in the United Kingdom and has since spread across the globe. “This variant, as you know, is every day getting more and more dominant in our own country,” Fauci said. (Axelrod, 3/20)

CNBC: Fauci Says Variant From U.K. Likely Accounts For Up To 30% Of U.S. Infections
The highly contagious variant first identified in the U.K. likely accounts for up to 30% of Covid-19 infections in the United States, White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Friday. The variant, called B.1.1.7, has been reported in at least 94 countries and detected in 50 jurisdictions in the U.S., Fauci said during a White House news briefing on the pandemic, adding that the numbers are likely growing. (Lovelace Jr. and Miao, 3/19)

Bloomberg: U.K. Says It’s Developing Fast Test For Covid-19 Variants
The U.K. government is developing new testing technology that would identify whether positive Covid-19 test samples contain variants of concern, and provide more rapid results. The “genotype assay test” would halve the time it takes to identify the variants and could be used in addition to standard testing to find cases more quickly, the U.K. government’s health ministry said in a statement Monday. (Gopal, 3/21)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 17% Of U.K. COVID Patients Had Skin Rash As First Symptom
Skin rash might join the list of other symptoms associated with COVID-19.Dr. Alessia Viscont at King’s College London and fellow researchers analyzed data from 336,847 U.K. users of the COVID Symptom Study app to examine the diagnostic value of body rash or an acral rash in SARS-CoV-2 infection. ... The researchers found a significant association between skin rashes and a positive swab test result. Among respondents of the online survey, 17% reported skin rashes as the first symptom, and 21% said it was their only clinical sign. (Clanton, 3/18)

Boston Globe: Should Pregnant Women Get The COVID-19 Vaccine? With Little Data, Some Are Eager, Some Wary 
When COVID-19 vaccines became available late last year, Dr. Lauren Westafer faced a double challenge. She’d been asked to help develop a guide for pregnant women and their doctors in deciding about vaccination. And Westafer, an emergency medicine physician at Baystate Health in Springfield, had just learned that she herself was pregnant. She would have to navigate the very process she was developing for doctors and patients everywhere — and on that road she would confront a surprise: her emotions were suddenly running counter to the choice she had expected to make. (Freyer, 3/21)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Study: 94% Of Older Adults Prescribed Drugs That Raise Risk Of Falling
If your parents or grandparents take antidepressants, high blood pressure medication, or tranquilizers such as Valium and Xanax, you might want to keep an eye on them. A new study from the University of Buffalo shows nearly every older adult was prescribed medication that increased their risk of falling in 2017. In 1999, the researchers found, 57% of adults age 65 and older were prescribed drugs that might cause them to lose their balance. In 2017, however, that percentage leaped to 94%. (Clanton, 3/18)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: More Body Fat May Better Protect Women From Heart Disease Death
Amid regular chatter about burning body fat, good news has emerged about the potential benefits of having it. New research shows that higher rates of body fat in women may offer more protection against dying from heart disease. The findings come from a recent UCLA study where researchers analyzed data from two studies. One set of data was focused on body composition and came from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2004. Another data set came from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2014 and focused on cardiovascular disease. (Willis, 3/19)

CNN: Melatonin For Children: Experts Say To Use Caution 
Melatonin is a popular over-the-counter sleeping aid, touted as a natural way for adults to fall asleep and used by millions around the world. So why wouldn't it be good for children, too? "There is a view that if it's natural, then it can't hurt," said Rebecca Robbins, an associate scientist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, who studies sleep. "The truth is, we just really don't know the implications of melatonin in the longer term, for adults or kids," she said. (LaMotte, 3/22)

HealthDay: Kids' ER Visits For Swallowed Magnets Soars
Calls to U.S. poison centers about incidents involving children and high-powered magnets surged more than 400% after a court overturned a ban on the magnets, a new study finds. "Regulations on these products were effective, and the dramatic increase in the number of high-powered magnet related injuries since the ban was lifted - even compared to pre-ban numbers - is alarming," said Dr. Leah Middelberg. She's lead author of the study and emergency medicine physician at Nationwide Children's Hospital, in Columbus, Ohio. (Preidt, 3/18)

USA Today: COVID Vaccine Motivation: Krispy Kreme Is Giving Away Free Donuts For Showing Vaccination Card
Krispy Kreme is providing a sweet incentive to encourage more people to roll up their sleeves for the COVID-19 vaccine: Free doughnuts through the end of 2021. Starting Monday, consumers who show a valid COVID-19 vaccination card at locations nationwide will get a free Original Glazed doughnut, the Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based chain announced.  (Tyko, 3/22)

Stat: Finch Therapeutics Goes Public, Quietly Reshuffles An Executive
Microbiome company Finch Therapeutics is, officially, worth about $960 million. Shares in the company began trading publicly on Friday morning. The company’s shares were initially priced at $17; as of 11 a.m., that price had increased by 30% to nearly $22. Finch’s stock ticker is FNCH. The company announced positive topline results from a Phase 2 trial this summer for its treatment for C. difficile, a potentially fatal gut infection that often returns even after a course of antibiotics. (Sheridan, 3/19)

The Wall Street Journal: Hospitals Hide Pricing Data From Search Results
Hospitals that have published their previously confidential prices to comply with a new federal rule have also blocked that information from web searches with special coding embedded on their websites, according to a Wall Street Journal examination. The information must be disclosed under a federal rule aimed at making the $1 trillion sector more consumer friendly. But hundreds of hospitals embedded code in their websites that prevented Alphabet Inc.’s Google and other search engines from displaying pages with the price lists, according to the Journal examination of more than 3,100 sites. (McGinty, Wilde Matthews and Evans, 3/22)

Stat: How Pharma Companies Stacked Up In The Covid-19 Vaccine Race
In the early stages of the race to develop Covid-19 vaccines, it wasn’t clear how many would work, which manufacturers would score successes, or which projects would fall by the wayside. Now, just a few days past the first anniversary of the start of Moderna’s Phase 1 trial — the first to begin in the United States — we have a much clearer picture of the Covid vaccine landscape. (Branswell, Herper and Garde, 3/22)

Stateline: ‘Why Do I Put My Life On The Line?’ Pandemic Trauma Haunts Health Workers
Brittany Bankhead-­Kendall, 34, was a newly minted surgeon when the COVID-19 pandemic began. At first, like thousands of other health care professionals, she worked tirelessly in crisis mode. But by last fall, she was experiencing random and repeated physiological symptoms, including a racing heart and dimmed vision. She diagnosed herself as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The worst of the pandemic may be behind the country. But for front-line health workers such as Bankhead-Kendall, the psychological scars from the chaos and uncertainty they’ve lived through, and the suffering and death they’ve witnessed, may take much longer to heal. (Vestal, 3/18)

ABC News: California Among Worst In Getting Vaccines To Vulnerable Populations, CDC Report Finds
About a quarter of California's population has received one shot of the coronavirus vaccine so far, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, most of the shots so far appear to have gone to populations that are less vulnerable than others. State health officials say they are working to improve those numbers. The CDC issued a report last week that measured county's vaccine rollouts with regards to "social vulnerability." The vulnerability index included several factors including race, education, poverty level and housing, which the agency noted has also been linked to higher coronavirus rates. (Pereira, 3/21)

San Francisco Chronicle: California Poised To Make Vaccines Available To All By Last Week Of April, Newsom Says
California is poised to make coronavirus vaccines available to all residents 16 and older by the last week of April, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday, a move that would eliminate the tiered system that currently only grants vaccine eligibility to seniors, some essential workers and younger people with disabilities or underlying medical conditions. “We’re anticipating within five-and-a-half weeks ... we can eliminate all the tiering, so to speak, and make available the vaccines to everybody across the spectrum because the supply will exponentially increase,” Newsom said during a news conference in San Francisco. (Ho and Williams, 3/19)

Modern Healthcare: Chicago Hospital Board Under Fire In Trump Tower Vaccine Controversy
A Chicago hospital is scrambling to contain fallout from the controversial decision to vaccinate workers at Trump Tower and members of the CEOs suburban church. In a statement, the board of safety-net Loretto Hospital said it had reprimanded hospital CEO George Miller Jr. and Chief Operating Officer Dr. Anosh Ahmed "for their roles in mistakes of judgment made," but did not specify any sanctions. (Strahler, 3/21)

CNN: Kent Taylor, Texas Roadhouse Founder And CEO, Dead At 65 
Texas Roadhouse founder and CEO Kent Taylor died Thursday, according to a post on the restaurant chain's Facebook page. He was 65. "Our community and the restaurant industry lost a legend and the Taylor family lost a wonderful son, father and grandad this week," said a joint statement from Taylor's family and Texas Roadhouse sent to CNN on Saturday. The statement said Taylor died by suicide after a battle with Covid-19-related symptoms, including severe tinnitus, or ringing in the ear, and his suffering had increased in recent days. (Dominguez, 3/21)

AP: Tennessee To Expand Vaccine Eligibility
Tennessee health officials on Monday are expected to expand eligibility to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. “As Tennessee continues working to protect those most at risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19 and provide vaccinations as quickly as possible, counties may progress through each of the phases as vaccine supply allows,” said Bill Christian, spokesperson for the Department of Health, in an email. (3/22)

Modern Healthcare: Michigan Blues To Pay $100- $125 Million To Settle National Antitrust Lawsuit
Employers, individuals and other claimants insured by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan over the last decade stand to split up to $125 million as part of a $2.67 billion proposed antitrust settlement agreement that the national Blue Cross association and its 36 member plans have signed off on. While admitting no wrongdoing, the Blues were alleged in an 8-year-old antitrust lawsuit filed in Alabama by more than 1 million plaintiffs to have overcharged self-funded company plans, fully insured company plans and individuals based on national association membership licensing rules that prohibited plans from competing in others' territories or states. (Greene, 3/21)

The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan Is Expanding COVID Vaccine Eligibility Starting Next Week. Here’s What You Need To Know. 
In the coming weeks, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced Thursday, vaccine eligibility will open up to all adults in the state. Maryland will expand vaccine eligibility to everyone 16 or older “no later than April 27,” Hogan said at an afternoon news conference at the State House in Annapolis. In the meantime, the governor said, the state will expand eligibility in “waves” that accommodate risk factors such as age, occupation and underlying health conditions. (Oxenden, 3/19)

CNBC: Third Covid Wave Hits Europe, France, Germany Eye More Lockdowns
More than a year after the coronavirus outbreak was declared a pandemic, Europe is continuing to struggle with the virus amid a third wave of infections and ramping up of lockdown measures. At the same time, the bloc’s vaccination rollout remains sluggish, hit by manufacturing issues and supply snags, to the extent that European Union leaders are meeting this week to discuss — once again — the introduction of possible vaccine export bans. (Ellyatt, 3/22)

AP: France's Limited Lockdown Beset By Glitches As Cases Rise
Residents of Paris and several other regions of France spent their first weekend under a limited monthlong lockdown. While the French government insisted the rules would be less strict than in the past, the measures have been criticized as messy. A travel authorization certificate posted online was so ridiculed by French media for its unnecessary complexity that the Interior Ministry scrapped it within hours. For now, simple proof of residence is required to stroll within a 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) radius. (3/21)

The Washington Post: Third Dose Of Sinopharm Vaccine Needed For Some In UAE
A "very small number" of people in the United Arab Emirates are being invited to receive a third shot of the Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine after antibody tests indicated they did not have a sufficient immune response following two doses of the Chinese-made vaccine, its distributor confirmed Sunday. Walid Zaher, the chief researcher for G42 Healthcare, which distributes the Sinopharm vaccine in the UAE, told Dubai Eye radio that a study was underway to give some people third doses. (Schemm, 3/21)

Reuters: Pandemic Hits Efforts To Stop Mexico's 'Silent' Killer
Chagas, spread mostly via the faeces of blood-sucking bugs, is one of the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) that affect 1.7 billion people around the world, mostly in poor countries, according to the World Health Organization. Chagas patients are more likely to be cured if they are treated soon after infection, making early detection key. But the coronavirus pandemic slowed Mexico’s already limited testing and the number of diagnoses more than halved in 2020 compared to 2019 as COVID-19 overwhelmed the health system. (Murray, 3/22)