First Edition: March 23, 2021
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KHN:
Democrats Eye Medicare Negotiations To Lower Drug Prices
Democrats, newly in control of Congress and the White House, are united behind an idea that Republican lawmakers and major drugmakers fiercely oppose: empowering the Department of Health and Human Services to negotiate the prices of brand-name drugs covered by Medicare. But they do not have enough votes without Republican support in the Senate for the legislation they hope will lower the price consumers pay for prescription drugs. That raises the possibility that Democrats will use a legislative tactic called reconciliation, as they did to pass President Joe Biden’s covid relief package, or even eliminate the Senate filibuster to keep their promise to voters. (Huetteman, 3/23)
KHN:
‘Press 1 For English’: Vaccination Sign-Ups Prove Daunting For Speakers Of Other Languages
In late February, a week after Virginia launched a centralized website and call center for covid-19 vaccine preregistration, Zowee Aquino alerted the state to a glitch that could prove fatal for non-English speakers trying to secure a shot. Callers who requested an interpreter on its new 1-877-VAX-IN-VA hotline would be put on hold briefly and then patched through. Then the line would automatically hang up on them. (Pradhan, 3/23)
KHN:
Under New Cost-Cutting Medicare Rule, Same Surgery, Same Place, Different Bill
A cost-saving change in Medicare launched in the final days of the Trump administration will cut payments to hospitals for some surgical procedures while potentially raising costs and confusion for patients. For years, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services classified 1,740 surgeries and other services so risky for older adults that Medicare would pay for them only when they were admitted to the hospital as inpatients. Under the new rule, the agency is beginning to phase out that requirement and, on Jan. 1, 266 shoulder, spine and other musculoskeletal surgeries were crossed off what’s called the “inpatient-only list.” By the end of 2023, the list — which includes a variety of complicated procedures including brain and heart operations — is scheduled to be gone. (Jaffe, 3/23)
KHN:
Indiana School Goes Extra Mile To Help Vulnerable Kids Weather Pandemic
After covid-19 forced Olivia Goulding’s Indiana middle school to switch back to remote learning late last year, the math teacher lost contact with many of her students. So she and some colleagues came up with a plan: visiting them under the guise of dropping off Christmas gifts. One day in December, they set out with cards and candy canes and dropped by the homes of every eighth grader at Sarah Scott Middle School in Terre Haute, a city of more than 60,000 near the Illinois border where both Indiana State University and the federal death row are located. They saw firsthand how these kids, many living in poverty and dysfunctional families, were coping with the pandemic’s disruptions to their academic and social routines. (Bruce, 3/23)
KHN:
‘An Arm And A Leg’: In Vaccinating Philadelphia, A Mix Of The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
In Philadelphia, the good, the bad and the ugly have all been on vivid display in the covid vaccine rollout. The Bad comes with a giant serving of gall: For a while, the city put its mass-vaccination program in the hands of Andrei Doroshin, a 22-year-old with no experience in health care but what, from all reports, seemed a healthy interest in making money. It did not go well. In this episode, we get a deep dive from public-radio reporter Nina Feldman, who uncovered the debacle. (Weissmann, 3/23)
AP:
Biden To Talk Up Health Insurance Cost Cuts In Visit To Ohio
President Joe Biden will showcase health insurance cost cuts in a speech in Ohio Tuesday during what may be the best time for Democrats to talk up the Affordable Care Act since it became law. Biden’s COVID-19 relief bill pumps up “Obamacare” premium subsidies to address longstanding problems of affordability, particularly for people with solid middle-class incomes. More taxpayer assistance means, in effect, that consumers who buy their own policies through HealthCare.gov will pay hundreds of dollars less out of their own pockets. (Jaffe and Alonso-Zaldivar, 3/23)
Politico:
Biden Administration Frets J&J May Miss Vaccine Goal
Biden administration officials are increasingly concerned Johnson & Johnson may not deliver the 20 million doses of coronavirus vaccine it promised would be available by the end of this month, according to three senior administration officials. The full tranche of vaccine Johnson & Johnson committed in February to delivering may not be ready to ship until the second or third week of April, the officials said, potentially complicating preparations for states expecting millions of J&J shots. (Banco, Owermohle and Roubein, 3/22)
The Wall Street Journal:
White House Teams With Groups On Vaccine-Hesitancy Campaign It Hopes Will Sway Conservatives
The Biden administration is enlisting the help of groups including the Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. and Nascar to encourage more people to get the Covid-19 vaccine, particularly members of communities that have been the most skeptical. The administration aims to use such organizations to help persuade conservatives, one of the demographic groups that polls show have significant reluctance to get the coronavirus vaccine. The Ad Council, a nonprofit that produces public-service announcements, and the Covid Collaborative, a coalition of leaders in education, health and economics, announced a campaign Tuesday that will run during time donated by media across TV and digital media platforms. (Armour and Siddiqui, 3/23)
The New York Times:
Harris Visits Florida To Sell Stimulus Package In A Republican-Led State
Vice President Kamala Harris urged the public to receive vaccinations during a visit on Monday to Florida, a Republican-led state that has largely remained open for business despite concerns that doing so may prolong the pandemic. Ms. Harris, who in the past week has traveled the country to promote the particulars of the Biden administration’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, said she did not have a specific message from the administration to a state where a prominent coronavirus variant has spread, even as officials have aggressively courted tourists for an unmasked spring break season that has spiraled out of control. (Rogers, 3/22)
Politico:
Drugmakers Brace For A Rare Washington Loss
The pharmaceutical industry is preparing to take a hit in Democrats’ next major legislative package — and the long-untouchable powerhouse is racing to contain the damage. Democratic lawmakers are weighing whether to include drug pricing measures that could extract tens of billions of dollars from the industry, or potentially more, to help pay for a massive infrastructure bill they could try to pass along party lines this summer. (Luthi and Owermohle, 3/23)
CNBC:
Covid Cases Rise Across More Than Half Of The U.S. As Country Races To Vaccinate
New cases of Covid-19 are once again on the rise across more than half of the United States as officials race to vaccinate additional people before highly contagious variants become prevalent in the country. As of Sunday, the seven-day average of new cases rose by 5% or more in 27 states, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Across the U.S., the nation logged an average of 54,308 new cases per day over the past week — a 1% rise from the prior week after months of rapidly declining case numbers, according to the data. (Feuer, 3/22)
Stateline:
US COVID-19 Testing Has Dropped Dramatically
As more U.S. residents receive their COVID-19 vaccinations, testing for the virus has plummeted, dropping by a third in two months. This is a positive development wrapped in a potentially worrisome one, public health experts say. They say the decline reflects diminishing COVID-19 caseloads and suggests fewer Americans are fearful that they have contracted or been exposed to the virus. That relief leaves people less inclined to get tested. (Ollove, 3/22)
Axios:
Axios-Ipsos Poll: America Reemerges From Coronavirus Lockdown
With each shot in the arm, more and more Americans are letting down their guard — seeing family and friends outside the home again, venturing out to eat or relaxing social distancing precautions, according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index. Nine in 10 respondents said they know someone who's already been vaccinated, and 36% said they've been vaccinated themselves. Meanwhile, the share who know someone who died from COVID-19 has leveled off at around one in three, after climbing through 2020. (Talev, 3/23)
The Hill:
Global COVID-19 Deaths Up For First Time In Six Weeks, WHO Says
A top expert at the World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday said that COVID-19 deaths are seeing a “slight increase” for the first time in six weeks, a trend that she called a “worrying sign.” “I do want to mention that it had been about six weeks where we were seeing decreases in deaths,” Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead on COVID-19 at the United Nations health agency, told reporters. “And in the last week, we’ve started to see a slight increase in deaths across the world, and this is to be expected if we are to see increasing cases. But this is also a worrying sign.” (Schnell, 3/22)
Modern Healthcare:
Why A 70% COVID-19 Vaccination Rate Doesn't Ensure Herd Immunity
Reaching that 70% threshold statewide or even citywide isn't a guarantee against future outbreaks. If vaccination rates lag in some areas, the virus could continue to circulate and mutate, generating new variants impervious to vaccines and making the entire region vulnerable again. With a mutating virus, it becomes "much harder to get to herd immunity, and it requires a different public health response than what we typically think of for measles or some other childhood vaccine-preventable diseases," says Dr. Marielle Fricchione, a medical director at the Chicago Department of Public Health. (Goldberg, 3/22)
The Wall Street Journal:
Regeneron Covid-19 Antibody Drug Reduced Risk Of Hospitalization, Death By 70% In Late-Stage Trial
Among subjects in a late-stage trial receiving a lower dose of the antibody drug, 1% were hospitalized or died, compared with 3.2% of patients receiving placebos, Regeneron said Tuesday. Study subjects getting a higher dose had a similar risk reduction, the company said. (Walker, 3/23)
The Wall Street Journal:
Pfizer Goes It Alone To Expand Vaccine Business Beyond Covid-19 Pandemic
Pfizer will develop new shots using the technology, called mRNA, to target other viruses and pathogens beyond the coronavirus, Chief Executive Albert Bourla said in an interview. He said the company’s scientists and engineers gained a decade’s worth of experience in the past year working on the Covid-19 vaccine with Germany’s BioNTech SE, BNTX -0.55% and is ready to pursue mRNA on its own. “There is a technology that has proven dramatic impact and dramatic potential,” Mr. Bourla said. “We are the best positioned company right now to take it to the next step because of our size and our expertise.” (Hopkins, 3/23)
Bloomberg:
A New Generation of Vaccines Is Coming, Some With No Needles
The coronavirus outbreak made household names of companies like Moderna Inc. and BioNTech SE, whose shots offered hope for ending the pandemic. Now a new wave of vaccines is on the horizon that may get the world over the finish line of inoculation. Protecting 7.7 billion people is a herculean task. There are more than 250 vaccine candidates in the wings to take on the challenge, including 82 in human studies. In addition to sheer numbers, they offer unique benefits compared to the dozen now available. (Pernice, 3/23)
Reuters:
Vaccine Makers Should License Technology To Overcome 'Grotesque' Inequity: WHO
More producers of COVID-19 vaccines should follow AstraZeneca’s lead and license technology to other manufacturers, the World Health Organization’s head said on Monday, as he described continuing vaccine inequity as “grotesque”. AstraZeneca’s shot, which new U.S. data on Monday showed was safe and effective despite some countries suspending inoculations over health concerns, is being produced in various locations including South Korea’s SKBioScience and the Serum Institute of India. (Nebehey and Miller, 3/23)
Stat:
Inside The Scramble To Bring Covid-19 Vaccines To Homebound Americans
Karen Meadows’ plans on Wednesday did not involve leaving her house, and they certainly did not involve a Covid-19 vaccination. Wired to an oxygen tank and largely homebound with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, it’s a challenge for Meadows to make it up her driveway. The voyage to her county’s mass vaccination site, at a basketball arena 10 miles to the east, is all but impossible. (Facher, 3/23)
The New York Times:
How People Are Dealing With Distorted Smell
“I stopped going places, even to my mom’s house or to dinner with friends, because anything from food to candles smelled so terrible,” Ms. LaLiberte, 35, said. “My relationships are strained.” She is dealing with parosmia, a distortion of smell such that previously enjoyable aromas — like that of fresh coffee or a romantic partner — may become unpleasant and even intolerable. Along with anosmia, or diminished sense of smell, it is a symptom that has lingered with some people who have recovered from Covid-19. (Krueger, 3/22)
Stat:
What We Know And Don’t Know About Long Covid
It doesn’t have a formal name or a definition. No one can predict who will develop it, but whether you call it long Covid or post-acute Covid-19 or just identify yourself as a long-hauler, the constellation of prolonged symptoms after Covid-19 infection has become all too familiar. (Cooney, 3/23)
The Wall Street Journal:
Humana Opens Search For New CFO As Brian Kane Resigns
Health insurer Humana Inc. is looking for a new chief financial officer following the resignation of Brian Kane, who will step down on June 1. Mr. Kane is leaving to pursue other career goals, the Louisville, Ky.-based company said on Monday, without providing additional details. Mr. Kane will serve as an adviser through the end of the year, the company said. He has been Humana’s CFO since 2014. Humana has begun searching for a new finance chief, the company said. (Broughton and Dabaie, 3/22)
Stat:
Lawmakers Introduce A Bill To Prevent Sacklers From Using Bankruptcy 'Loophole' To Evade Liability
In a move directed at the owners of Purdue Pharma, a pair of Democratic lawmakers has introduced a bill that would prevent people who have not filed for bankruptcy from being released from lawsuits brought by local communities or the U.S. government. The legislation follows controversy over the bankruptcy plan filed last week by the drug maker. If the plan is approved by a federal bankruptcy court, some members of the Sackler family, who own Purdue, would receive immunity from the nearly 3,000 lawsuits filed by states, counties, cities and tribes seeking compensation for the costs of the opioid crisis. (Silverman, 3/22)
The Washington Post:
The Big Number: Eating Breakfast Before 8:30 A.M. May Reduce Diabetes Risk
Eating breakfast earlier in the day — specifically, starting before 8:30 a.m. — appears to lower the risk for developing Type 2 diabetes, according to a report presented recently at the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting. Looking at eight years of national data on 10,575 adults, researchers found that people who began eating earlier than 8:30 a.m. tended to have lower blood sugar levels and less insulin resistance than people whose daily food intake started later. (Searing, 3/22)
Axios:
USDA To Increase SNAP Food Aid By 15% Through September
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Monday a 15% increase in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits through September, providing about $3.5 billion of assistance to people affected by food insecurity. The pandemic has spurred an uptick in food stamp spending. As part of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, the increase in benefits will provide about $28 more per person per month or more than $100 more per month for a household of four. (Chen, 3/23)
Stat:
Wildfire Smoke Is Particularly Harmful To Kids’ Respiratory Health, Study Finds
Wildfire smoke was associated with a far greater number of pediatric respiratory care visits than other sources of airborne fine particles, according to a new study, even when wildfires were less severe. The study, published Tuesday in Pediatrics, examined more than 170,000 emergency and urgent care visits for respiratory concerns from 2011 to 2017 in the Rady Children’s Hospital Network, which cares for around 90% of hospitalized children in San Diego County. (Sohn, 3/23)
The Hill:
Study Suggests Adults Under Stay-At-Home Orders Gained Nearly Two Pounds A Month
American adults gained half a pound on average for every 10 days spent under stay-at-home orders, a new study finds. In a study posted online by the JAMA Network health journal, researchers from University of California San Francisco (UCSF) found that participants under stay-at-home orders gained on average 0.59 pounds every 10 days spent under lockdown — a finding that could indicate as many as 20 pounds gained over the course of 2020 and early 2021 for some newly-remote workers. (Bowden, 3/22)
AP:
Tourism Groups Push US To Eliminate Travel Restrictions
Airlines and other tourism-related businesses are pushing the White House to draw up a plan in the next five weeks to boost international travel and eliminate restrictions that were imposed early in the pandemic. More than two dozen groups made their request in a letter to the White House on Monday. They want people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 to be exempt from testing requirements before entering the United States. They also want the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to say that vaccinated people can travel safely. (Koenig, 3/23)
CNN:
Children's Book On Dr. Fauci Set For June
Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has served under seven US presidents and has guided the national response to Covid-19, will soon be immortalized in a children's book. Simon & Schuster is putting the finishing touches on "Dr. Fauci: How a Boy from Brooklyn Became America's Doctor," a book written by Kate Messner and illustrated by Alexandra Bye. The publishing house said Sunday that the picture book will arrive in bookstores on June 29. (Stelter, 3/22)
Fox News:
Arizona Man Arrested After Holding National Guardsmen Transporting COVID-19 Vaccines At Gunpoint: Cops
An Arizona man was arrested Monday after he allegedly held at gunpoint a caravan of National Guardsmen transporting COVID-19 vaccines to Matador, Texas, according to police. Larry Harris, 66, of Willcox, is accused of following and making several attempts to run the vans off a roadway earlier on Monday, authorities said. He allegedly claimed to be a detective and ordered the unarmed Guardsmen out of their vehicles at gunpoint, according to reports. (Aaro, 3/23)
The Texas Tribune:
Asian Americans In Texas Are Struggling To Get The COVID Vaccine. Here's Why
Asian people across the country and in Texas have already experienced an increase in racist attacks since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and now, many are finding themselves left out as the vaccine rollout trundles forward. From refugee communities across the state to older people living in low-income housing, many face language barriers, technological difficulties and lack of access to transportation, leaving community organizations to ensure their most vulnerable groups do not fall through the cracks. (Bohra, 3/22)
Houston Chronicle:
Texas Restaurant Owner Threatens To Charge $50 If 'I Have Explain Why Masks Are Mandatory'
Don't even think about heading to Denton's Legends Diner if you're not planning to wear a mask. The fee is $50 if "we have to explain why a mask is mandatory," Legends Diner owner Wayne LaCombe told Chron. Posted right outside LaCombe's restaurant is a bright pink sign with the rules: "Our new surcharge: $50 if I have to explain why masks are mandatory; $75 if I have to hear why you disagree." (Medley, 3/19)
Grand Forks Herald:
All North Dakota Adults Will Be Eligible For COVID-19 Vaccine Starting March 29
The North Dakota Department of Health has announced that the state's full general public over the age of 16 will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as Monday, March 29. Some vaccine providers, including public health units in Burleigh and Morton counties, have already opened up eligibility to the general public, but other providers are still focusing on Phase 1C, which includes essential workers and adults with underlying conditions. (Turley, 3/19)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Metro Atlanta Schools Offer Vacations, Raffles To Boost Staff Vaccines
Atlanta and Fulton County school districts are dangling a host of incentives — from tropical vacations to relaxed dress codes — to entice employees to get vaccinated at special events this week. Fulton County Schools started mass vaccinations Monday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Atlanta Public Schools will begin Wednesday. ... APS will raffle off a host of prizes provided by businesses. There’s a chance to win resort stays in Antigua, the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Barbados and Panama. There’s also gift cards to Amazon, Jiffy Lube and Delta Air Lines. Fulton calls its big push “Project Vaccinate 2021.” (McCray, 3/22)
Fox News:
Arkansas’ Republican Gov. Says He Only Signed Abortion Bill As A ‘Direct Challenge’ To Roe V. Wade
Republican Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said over the weekend that he signed a sweeping anti-abortion bill into law earlier this month with the sole purpose of setting into motion a review of the landmark Roe v. Wade case. During an interview with CNN's State of the Union, Hutchinson confirmed that the "whole design of the law" was to overturn the Supreme Court’s current case law. "And so I signed it because it is a direct challenge to Roe vs. Wade. That was the intent of it," Hutchinson said. "I think there's a very narrow chance that the Supreme Court will accept that case, but we will see. (De Lea, 3/22)
Bismarck Tribune:
California COVID-19 Variants Surface In North Dakota; State Also Confirms More Cases Of UK Variant
Variant coronavirus strains first identified in California in the latter half of 2020 have now surfaced in North Dakota, where state officials also have confirmed more cases of the variant first detected in the United Kingdom last fall. There are two cases of each of the two new California strains in North Dakota -- four total cases -- along with seven confirmed cases of the U.K. strain, Kirby Kruger, disease control director for the Health Department, told the Tribune on Wednesday. All 11 people have recovered, he said. Their names and cities of residence haven't been released due to medical privacy reasons. (Nicholson, 3/17)
AP:
Sinovac Says Its Vaccine Is Safe For Children As Young As 3
Sinovac said its COVID-19 vaccine is safe in children ages 3-17, based on preliminary data, and it has submitted the data to Chinese drug regulators. More than 70 million shots of Sinovac’s vaccine have been given worldwide, including in China. China has approved its use in adults but it has not yet been used in children, because their immune systems may respond differently to the vaccine. Early and mid-stage clinical trials with over 550 subjects showed the vaccine would induce an immune response, Gang Zeng, the medical director at Sinovac, said at a news conference. (Wu, 3/23)
Reuters:
COVAX To Set Aside 5% Of Vaccine Doses For Emergency Stockpile
The COVAX vaccine-sharing scheme will set aside 5% of the vaccine doses it procures for a “buffer” to be used in humanitarian settings or released in the case of severe outbreaks, the GAVI vaccine alliance said on Tuesday. That amounts to up to 100 million vaccine doses by the end of 2021, it said. COVAX is the programme backed by the World Health Organization and GAVI vaccine alliance to provide vaccines for poor and middle-income countries. So far, 31 million doses have been delivered to 57 economies, although the rates trail behind wealthier countries, revealing inequity that WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described this week as “grotesque”. (Farge, 3/23)
The New York Times:
Some Nations Could Wait Years For Covid Shots. That’s Bad For Everyone
The nurse lay in bed this month, coughing, wheezing and dizzy with fever. It was three months after rich countries began vaccinating health workers, but Kenyans like the nurse, Stella Githaiga, had been left behind: Employed in the country’s largest public hospital, she caught the coronavirus on an outreach trip to remote communities in February, she believes, sidelining her even as Kenya struggles with a vicious third surge of infections. Ms. Githaiga and her colleagues are victims of one of the most galling inequities in a pandemic that has exposed so many: Across the global south, health workers are being sickened and killed by a virus from which doctors and nurses in many rich countries are now largely protected. (Latif Dahir and Mueller, 3/22)
AP:
Germany Extends Virus Lockdown Till Mid-April As Cases Rise
Germany has extended its lockdown measures by another month and imposed several new restrictions, including largely shutting down public life over Easter, in an effort to drive down the rate of coronavirus infections. Speaking early Tuesday after a lengthy video call with the country’s 16 state governors, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that restrictions previously set to run through March 28 will now remain in place until April 18. Coronavirus infections have increased steadily in Germany as the more contagious variant first detected in Britain has become dominant, and the country’s daily number of cases per capita has passed that of the United States. (Jordans, 3/23)
Reuters:
French Hospitals Face 'Violent Shock' Within Weeks From COVID-19 Surge
The French hospital system could face an “unprecedented violent shock” in about three weeks if the country fails to curb its vertiginous rise in COVID-19 cases, the president of the French hospital federation, said on Tuesday. “The epidemic is gathering pace, and the figures are exploding,” Frederic Valletoux, who leads the hospital group and is also mayor of Fontainebleau just south of Paris, told LCI TV. (3/23)