First Edition: March 26, 2021

KHN: Democrats Could Undo Trump Policies Faster, But They’re Not. Why?
Undoing many of the policies of his predecessor is one of President Joe Biden’s top priorities. In early February, Biden even got a little defensive about all the executive actions he was taking in his first days in office to halt policies set by President Donald Trump. “I’m not making new law,” he said Feb. 2. “I’m eliminating bad policy.” But as easy as it sounds on the campaign hustings or in a 30-second political ad, it’s complicated to overturn rules from earlier administrations. There is one tool, however, that Biden and the Democratic Congress could use to undo the policies the Trump administration left behind. A little-used law called the Congressional Review Act allows a new administration with a like-minded Congress to fast-track the repeal of regulations and other executive actions with simple majority votes in both chambers and no filibuster in the Senate. (Rovner, 3/26)

KHN: The Great Undoing: Which Of Trump’s Policies Will Biden Reverse?
KHN has put together an interactive tool of significant health policies implemented by the Trump administration using its own authority — executive orders, agency guidance or formal regulations — and is tracking Biden administration and court actions. (Rovner)

KHN: How One State’s Public Health Defunding Led To Vaccination Chaos
Missourians have driven hours to find vaccines in rural counties — at least those with cars and the time. Tens of thousands of doses are waiting to be distributed, slowly being rolled out in a federal long-term care program. Waitlists are hundreds of thousands of people long. Black residents are getting left behind. Missouri’s rocky vaccine rollout places it among the bottom states nationwide, with 23.7% of the population vaccinated with at least one dosef as of Thursday, compared with the national average of 26.3%. If Missouri were on par with the national rate, that would be roughly equivalent to more than 162,000 additional people vaccinated, or almost the entire population of the city of Springfield. (Weber, 3/26)

KHN: Her Doctor’s Office Moved One Floor Up. Her Bill Was 10 Times Higher
Kyunghee Lee’s right hand hurts all the time.She spent decades running a family dry cleaning store outside Cleveland after emigrating from South Korea 40 years ago. She still freelances as a seamstress, although work has slowed amid the covid-19 pandemic. While Lee likes to treat her arthritis with home remedies, each year the pain in the knuckles of her right middle finger and ring finger increases until they hurt too much to touch. So about once a year she goes to see a rheumatologist, who administers a pain-relieving injection of a steroid in the joints of those fingers. (Weber, 3/26)

KHN: ‘Incredibly Concerning’ Lawsuit Threatens No-Charge Preventive Care For Millions
With a challenge to the Affordable Care Act still pending at the Supreme Court, conservatives are continuing to launch legal attacks on the law, including a case in which a Texas federal judge seems open to ending the requirement that most Americans must receive preventive services like mammograms free of charge. Businesses and individuals challenging the ACA’s first-dollar coverage mandate for preventive services have legal standing and legitimate constitutional and statutory grounds to proceed with their lawsuit to overturn it, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor ruled late last month in Fort Worth. O’Connor, who previously found the entire ACA to be unconstitutional, denied most of the federal government’s motion to dismiss the case, Kelley v. Azar. (Meyer, 3/26)

KHN: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Getting Down To Work At HHS
As questions swirl about the covid vaccine made by AstraZeneca, public health experts are worried the confusion could create more doubts among people already hesitant to get a vaccine. Meanwhile, the first Senate-confirmed officials are settling into their offices at the Department of Health and Human Services, starting with new Secretary Xavier Becerra, who was confirmed on a 50-49 vote. Becerra, at least at first, appears focused on the rollout of new benefits for the Affordable Care Act passed as part of the recent covid relief bill. (3/25)

Tampa Bay Times: Florida To Lower Coronavirus Vaccine Eligibility To 40, Then To 18
Florida will lower the age for coronavirus vaccination to 40 on Monday, then to all residents 18 and older a week later, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday, marking the largest and final expansion of eligibility in the state’s rollout of shots for adults. The news, announced on Twitter, brings long-awaited relief to younger residents across Florida — and to the state as a whole as COVID-19 infections are falling and the pandemic seems to be inching closer to its end. (Reeves, 3/25)

Los Angeles Times: All California Adults To Be COVID Vaccine Eligible In April 
California is dramatically expanding the eligibility for COVID-19 vaccines, offering the shots to virtually all residents 16 and older beginning next month, the state announced Thursday. Residents who are at least 50 years old can get vaccines starting April 1, and all Californians 16 and older will be eligible starting April 15. (Money and Shalby, 3/25)

Stat: Pfizer And BioNTech To Begin Testing Covid-19 Vaccine In Children
Pfizer and BioNTech said Thursday they are beginning a study aimed at showing their Covid-19 vaccine can be used in children as young as 6 months. The study follows the launch of a separate and ongoing trial in children ages 12 to 15, which was fully enrolled in January. That study could lead to results by the end of the first half of the year, depending on the data, and then to an emergency use authorization. (Herper, 3/25)

Stat: What To Make Of AstraZeneca's Vaccine Data — And Debate Around Them
AstraZeneca’s up-and-down quest to develop a vaccine for Covid-19 stands out from what has otherwise been a remarkably straightforward process in the U.S. And the latest twist for AstraZeneca’s vaccine, involving a contentious back-and-forth with federal authorities, only adds confusion to an already muddled process. (Feuerstein, Garde and Tirrell, 3/26)

CNBC: AstraZeneca Covid Vaccine: All The Issues And Problems The Shot Has Faced
Heralded as “the vaccine for the world,” AstraZeneca’s Covid shot has been accompanied by high hopes ever since its inception. But unlike other coronavirus vaccines, the shot developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford has been plagued by problem after problem. AstraZeneca’s troubles started almost as soon as it published interim trial data and have continued ever since. (Ellyatt, 3/25)

CIDRAP: Experts: 3-Foot Rule In Schools Problematic In Light Of COVID Variants
Late last week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued updated guidance on school reopening, saying that 3 feet, not 6 feet, of physical distancing between students was sufficient in most elementary schools—regardless of the level of community spread of COVID-19. At the same time that CDC officials were updating school policy, they were also warning that B117, a variant strain 50% more transmissible than the wild-type virus, would likely become the dominant strain in the United States by April. In some states, such as Florida and California, the variant, which was first detected in the United Kingdom, already accounts for 25% of cases. (Soucheray, 3/25)

AP: Rutgers To Require Students Be Vaccinated For Virus In Fall
Rutgers University will require that all students be vaccinated for the coronavirus before arriving for classes in the fall, the university said Thursday. The federal government’s assurance of vaccine supply for all Americans prompted Rutgers to make the decision, the university said in a statement. Brian Strom, chancellor of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences and executive vice president for health affairs, said the vaccine is the key “to the return of campus instruction and activities closer to what we were accustomed to before the pandemic.” (3/26)

NBC News: Colleges Consider Requiring Covid Vaccinations For Students As Young Adults Drive Rise In Cases
Dickinson State University in North Dakota has a plan to encourage students to get their Covid-19 vaccinations: Students who have been fully vaccinated will receive a pin or a bracelet that will exempt them from the campuswide mask mandate, university administrators announced this week. The Dickinson vaccination incentive is voluntary. On Thursday, Rutgers University in New Jersey said it would require its more than 71,000 students to be vaccinated to attend fall classes on campus. Students who are studying only remotely won't have to be vaccinated, and there will be medical and religious exemptions, the university's president, Jonathan Holloway, said in a statement. (Syal, 3/26)

Boston Globe: As Many Workers Resist COVID-19 Vaccines, Calls Grow For State To Make Shots Mandatory 
Large pockets of first responders, front-line health workers, and other public-facing employees are so far refusing COVID-19 vaccination by the thousands in Massachusetts, prompting calls for state government and private employers to make getting shots a condition of hiring. Already, the president of one of the largest senior care operators in the state, Hebrew SeniorLife, has said its facilities plan to require COVID vaccines for new employees later this spring when shots are more widely available. And Attorney General Maura Healey earlier this week suggested that public safety employees, such as State Police and prison workers, should be expected to get the shots. (Stout and Weisman, 3/25)

Modern Healthcare: Dialysis Centers To Get COVID-19 Vaccines For Patients
Dialysis centers will get thousands of COVID-19 vaccine doses to vaccinate their patients and employees, the Biden administration announced Thursday. The doses will be provided directly to dialysis centers for patients who receive treatment at least three times a week. People on dialysis who contract COVID-19 are at greater risk for serious illness and death. In fact, a study published earlier this year in the Canadian Medical Journal Association found that patients undergoing long-term dialysis were more than five times likelier to be infected with COVID-19 and nearly four times as likely to die than the general population. (Hellmann, 3/25)

Modern Healthcare: Community Health Centers To Get $6 Billion From HHS For Vaccine Programs
The Biden administration on Thursday said HHS will give approximately 1,400 community health centers across the country $6 billion to expand COVID-19 vaccinations, testing and treatment to vulnerable populations. The funding, which Congress appropriated through the most recent relief bill, will be distributed by HHS starting next month as part of the Biden administration's efforts to ensure communities of color, low-income populations and people living in rural areas receive COVID-19 vaccines, testing and treatment. (Hellmann, 3/25)

Bloomberg: U.S. Covid Cases Are Rising Again, Reversing Months Of Progress 
Covid cases in the U.S. are rising again, reversing course after months of decline and threatening another setback in the return to normality. The seven-day average of new cases jumped to 57,695 Wednesday, 9.5% above the prior week, marking the biggest increase since Jan. 12, according to Johns Hopkins University data. (Querolo and Court, 3/25)

CNN: US Coronavirus: Dangerous Covid-19 Variants Could Mean All Bets Are Off On The Road To Normalcy, Expert Warns 
The evidence that Americans are gearing up for a return to normal life is growing apparent. States are relaxing capacity restrictions for public areas and private gatherings. More school districts are reopening for in-person learning. Travel is increasing, with TSA data showing more than 1 million daily passengers in US airports for two consecutive weeks, the longest such stretch since the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns in early 2020. However, many experts reiterate that Covid-19 is far from over. (Caldwell, 3/26)

CNN: Eli Lilly: US Government Stops Distribution Of Covid-19 Antibody Treatment Due To Spread Of Coronavirus Variants 
The US government in coordination with Eli Lilly said it will no longer distribute the Covid-19 monoclonal antibody therapy bamlanivimab for use on its own. The halt is due to the "sustained increase" in coronavirus variants in the United States. The government stopped distributing the treatment on Tuesday. Last week, the US Food and Drug Administration updated guidance to say the therapy on its own may not work as well against variants. (Christensen, 3/25)

Stat: HHS Is Urged To Use Its Patents For The Moderna Covid-19 Vaccine
Seeking to quickly widen global access to Covid-19 vaccines, academics, and patient advocates are urging the Biden administration to use a key patent owned by the U.S. government to boost manufacturing and distribution of the Moderna (MRNA) shot. In a letter to federal officials, the group noted that a soon-to-be-issued-patent covering the use of spike proteins in the vaccine was jointly developed by the company and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The patent has not been licensed to Moderna; the group maintains it is an “important policy tool” that can be used to ensure any licensing agreement fosters greater access. (Silverman, 3/25)

CIDRAP: Scientists Report That SARS-CoV-2 Infects Oral Cells
SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, infects cells in the mouth, according to a study published today in Nature Medicine. This could change perceptions on how the virus travels to the lungs or the digestive system as well as how it is transmitted from person to person, the researchers write. The investigators created a map of the mouth's tissues and found some salivary gland and gum cells were vulnerable to the virus because of their potential to create ACE2 and TMPRSS2 proteins, or the entry points of SARS-CoV-2 infection. To confirm their suspicions, they looked at 18 COVID-19 cadavers, of which 88.9% had the virus in their salivary glands. Infection was also found in two sets of tissues, affecting five of six mucosal sites. (3/25)

Salt Lake Tribune: University Of Utah Researchers Studying Possible COVID-19 Treatment — An Old Antidepressant
A decades-old antidepressant drug may stop coronavirus from causing serious illness — and the University of Utah is enrolling patients in a study to confirm whether it works. The drug, fluvoxamine, is an early selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor — a common type of antidepressant, similar to Prozac or Zoloft — developed in the 1980s. But, infectious diseases professor Dr. Adam Spivak said Thursday, “there’s a lot of research that suggests it acts as a very strong anti-inflammatory.” (Alberty, 3/25)

Stat: FDA Panel Says Risks Of Pfizer Pain Drug Outweigh The Benefits 
A panel of expert advisers to the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday concluded that the risks of an investigational pain treatment from Pfizer might outweigh its benefits — likely a major obstacle to the drug’s approval. The treatment, an injectable painkiller that has been studied in osteoarthritis, has been linked to rare but serious cases of joint damage. Pfizer proposed a post-approval plan to mitigate those dangers, but in a 19-1 vote, the FDA’s assembled experts found that the company’s proposal would be insufficient to keep patients safe. (Garde, 3/25)

Politico: Why The Pandemic Could Make This Year's Flu Shot Less Potent
Precautions aimed at tamping down the coronavirus helped nearly eradicate last year’s flu season — but that could backfire by making it harder to develop effective vaccines for next winter’s flu. The hospitalization rate for the 2020-21 flu season was just 0.7 per 100,000 people, the lowest it’s been since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began collecting such data in 2005. Measures such as social distancing, wearing masks and staying indoors likely helped hold pediatric flu deaths to just one last flu season, compared to 196 in the 2019-20 season. (Hilton, 3/25)

CIDRAP: CDC Notes Dramatic Drops In HPV In Females Since Vaccine Introduced
Since the introduction of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in 2006, rates of HPV infections among females fell 88% in teens 14 to 19 years and by 81% in those aged 20 to 24 by 2018, according to a study today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). Vaccination against HPV, which is transmitted through sex, has been recommended for girls at age 11 or 12 years since 2006 and for boys since 2011 to prevent cervical, anogenital, and oropharyngeal cancers and anogenital warts. Catch-up vaccination is recommended for men and women through age 26. (3/25)

Today: Caffeine And Pregnancy: Study Evaluates Moderate Consumption
When it comes to consuming caffeine during pregnancy, moms-to-be often feel confused. Some think it's best to cut it out completely while others seem content to have a 12-ounce cup of coffee every morning. A new study in JAMA Network Open looks at caffeine consumption and birth weight and found that even women who enjoy less than the recommended amount of caffeine can have slightly smaller babies. (Holohan, 3/25)

Stat: With Time Running Out, ALS Patient Fights With Biogen Over Access To Drug
Earlier this year, Lisa Stockman Mauriello was diagnosed with a fast-moving form of ALS, a fatal neurological disease that gradually causes muscle weakness and paralysis. So her doctor sought to enroll her in a clinical trial for an experimental drug being developed by Biogen (BIIB) called tofersen. But even though he is a clinical investigator in the late-stage study, Biogen would not admit her because enrollment had recently ended. (Silverman, 3/25)

Stat: EPA Rule On Citrus Farming Challenged Over Antibiotic Resistance Concerns
Amid rising concern over antibiotic resistance, a coalition of advocacy groups has filed a lawsuit to stop the Environmental Protection Agency from letting citrus farmers spray streptomycin in hopes of preventing or treating diseases that harm their trees. The move comes after the EPA significantly expanded use of the medically important antibiotic on citrus trees in California, Texas, and other states where citrus is grown. However, the groups argue this will contribute to antibiotic resistance by causing germs to mutate and eventually harm countless people. And they allege the EPA failed to ensure that the spraying will not harm human health. (Silverman, 3/25)

Modern Healthcare: Research Points Way To Prioritize Patients For Mammograms
Researchers have found a way for providers to prioritize which patients need mammograms the soonest based on a few simple questions about whether a woman has a lump or other potential symptoms of breast cancer, according to a new study. Lead author Diana Miglioretti from the University of California Davis School of Medicine said she and other researchers wanted to help providers prioritize screenings during the pandemic, when patients are delaying care. (Gillespie, 3/25)

Boston Globe: Broad Institute Launches $300 Million Effort To Harness AI To Fight Diseases
The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard is launching a new, $300 million initiative that applies advanced computer science to some of the hardest problems in medicine — an endeavor it said could uncover new ways to fight cancer, infectious disease, and other illness. The Cambridge research center early Thursday announced the creation of the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Center, named for the former Google chief executive and his wife, who are major funders of the effort. (Rosen, 3/25)

Modern Healthcare: COVID-19 'Survival Mode' Sparking New Hospital Challenges
Hospitals are struggling with a new set of problems because they have been operating in "survival mode" for the past year, according to a report from HHS' Office of Inspector General released on Tuesday. Not only has the COVID-19 pandemic worsened longstanding challenges in healthcare delivery, access and health outcomes, it has also created new issues as health systems try to restart routine hospital care. Hospitals reported that they continue to suffer from staffing shortages that affect patient care and that exhaustion and trauma have taken a toll on staff's mental health, HHS OIG said. They're also dealing with various problems related to vaccine distribution and vaccine hesitancy among their staff and communities. (Brady, 3/25)

Modern Healthcare: COVID-19 Sinks Not-For-Profit Hospitals' Operating Margins
While COVID-19 relief measures boosted not-for-profit hospitals' cash on hand, the pandemic sunk their median operating margin, according to a new report. Not-for-profit hospitals recorded a median operating margin of 0.5% and operating cash flow margin of 6.7% in fiscal 2020, which were down 2.4% and 8.4% respectively year over year, according to Moody's Investors Service preliminary median report that gathered data from June 30 and Sept. 30 of last year. Medicare advanced payments, deferral of payroll taxes, suspension of retirement contributions and deferral of capital spending led to substantially higher median days cash on hand, which rose from 44 days to 246.9 days. (Kacik, 3/25)

The New York Times: U.S.C. Agrees To $1.1 Billion Settlement In Gynecologist Abuse Case
The University of Southern California on Thursday announced that it will pay more than $1.1 billion to the former patients of a campus gynecologist accused of preying sexually on hundreds of patients, marking what university officials called “the end of a painful and ugly chapter in the history of our university.” The staggering sum — a combination of three sets of settlements with thousands of alleged victims of Dr. George Tyndall — sets a record for collegiate sex abuse payouts, compensating a generation of young U.S.C. women. (Hubler, Arango and Hartocollis, 3/25)

The Washington Post: USC To Pay $852 Million To Settle Sex Abuse Claims Related To George Tyndall
The University of Southern California has agreed to an $852 million settlement to resolve lawsuits from hundreds of women alleging that the university failed to respond adequately to complaints that a gynecologist sexually abused patients at its student health center, according to terms disclosed Thursday. USC and attorneys for the plaintiffs made the terms public after a hearing in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The magnitude of the settlement — about one-seventh the size of the $5.9 billion endowment USC reported in 2020 — made it a landmark case for higher education. (Anderson, 3/25)

Politico: VA Asking California If Net Neutrality Law Will Snag Veterans' Health App
Officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs are privately sounding the alarm that California's new net neutrality law could cut off veterans nationwide from a key telehealth app, according to a government communication between federal agencies obtained by POLITICO. Two internet providers in California have told the VA that the new law could force them to end agreements offering free, subsidized data to veterans participating in the telehealth app called VA Video Connect, according to the email from one VA official, who described the department as having "concerns" about the possibility. Such a cutoff "would be nationwide and not limited to Veterans and caregivers in California," the official wrote. (Hendel, 3/25)

The New York Times: A Tenth Of N.Y.C.'s Covid Dead May Be In Mass Graves On Hart Island
As many as one-tenth of the people who have died from the coronavirus in New York City may go unclaimed and be buried on Hart Island, the city’s potter’s field, according to an analysis of city data. The analysis, a collaboration between Columbia Journalism School’s Stabile Center of Investigative Journalism and a nonprofit news website, The City, found a huge increase in burials on Hart Island in 2020 — 2,334 adults were buried there, up from 846 in 2019. The reporters, citing public health officials, attributed the increase largely to the pandemic: people killed by the coronavirus or by other medical issues that went unaddressed because of the crisis. (Slotnik, 3/25)

AP: As Contact Tracing Ebbs In Parts Of US, NYC Stays Committed
Coronavirus contact tracing programs across the U.S. scaled back their ambitions as cases surged in winter, but New York City has leaned into its $600 million tracing initiative. The city hired more tracers during the holiday season surge and in early March hit its goal of reaching at least 90% of people who test positive, a mark it hadn’t reached since around Thanksgiving. Last week, the number hit 96%. Overwhelmed tracing programs elsewhere confronted the wave by switching to automated calls, limiting the types of cases they trace or telling infected people simply to reach out to their contacts themselves. (Peltz, 3/26)

AP: Michigan Sees Virus Surge, But Tighter Restrictions Unlikely
Michigan, which not long ago had one of the country’s lowest COVID-19 infection rates, is confronting an alarming spike that some experts worry could be a harbinger nationally. In what public health authorities across the U.S. have been warning for months might happen around the country, the resurgence is being fueled by loosened restrictions, a more infectious variant and pandemic fatigue. While vaccinations in Michigan are helping to protect senior citizens and other vulnerable people, the upswing is driving up hospitalizations among younger adults and forcing a halt to in-person instruction at some schools. (Eggert and White, 3/26)

Anchorage Daily News: For Second Straight Year, Alaska Ranks No. 1 In The Nation For Highest Rate Of Tuberculosis  
In 2020 Alaska once again recorded the highest rate of tuberculosis infections in the country, with 58 documented cases, according to a federal report released this month. Although the nation as a whole saw a 20% reduction in incidence of TB last year, Alaska’s rate remained equally high in 2020 as it was in 2019, at 7.9 cases per 100,000 people, the report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates. (Berman, 3/25)

The Hill: Tennessee GOP Bill Would Ban Textbooks With LGBTQ Content
A bill proposed by Republican Tennessee state lawmakers would ban textbooks and teaching materials that contain LGBT content. The bill, H.B. 800, was introduced by state Rep. Bruce Griffey (R) in February and is slated to be considered by the state's Education Instruction Subcommittee on March 30, according to KENS5. (Jenkins, 3/25)

Arizona Republic: Some Disabled Arizonans Upset With State Opening COVID-19 Vaccine To All Ages Before Them
Arizona's vaccine rollout program first began as an age-based system that also prioritized vaccines for frontline workers, such as hospital staff, regardless of age. That changed on Monday when the state announced that anyone over the age of 16 would be eligible for the vaccine at state-run sites. But that's drawn the ire of some in the state's disability community, who say they are now being unfairly made to compete with millions for appointments that are usually gone in minutes. (Frank, 3/25)

Arizona Republic: Arizona Landlords Who Received Rental Aid Filed Evictions Anyway
Arizona landlords who received money from a state program that aimed to prevent evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic filed nearly 2,500 eviction notices during the pandemic, an Arizona Republic investigation found. Gov. Doug Ducey's office launched the Arizona Rental Property Owner Preservation Fund in August with $5 million to assist landlords whose tenants were not paying their rent during the COVID-19 crisis. The state added an additional $5 million to the fund in September after the initial funds quickly ran out. (Boehm, Reagor and Chapoco, 3/25)

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: Pharmacists Weigh Ordering Fewer Shots
In another sign of waning demand for coronavirus vaccines from eligible Arkansans, the head of the Arkansas Pharmacists Association said Thursday that a pharmacy group is considering reducing the amount of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech that it orders next week. Association CEO John Vinson said members of the Community Pharmacy Enhanced Services Network have seen strong demand for the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but less for Pfizer's, which requires two shots spaced three weeks apart. (Davis, 3/26)

Reuters: Britain Approves 20-Second COVID-19 Test, Distributor Says
Britain’s medicine regulator has approved a 20-second COVID-19 test, the product’s distributor said on Friday as it launched a testing system it said could be used in airports, sports venues and businesses. Rapid tests are seen as a key plank of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s roadmap out of lockdown, but concerns have been expressed about the accuracy of existing lateral flow devices. (3/26)

Reuters: Brazil Hits Record 100,000 Coronavirus Cases In A Day, Piling Pressure On Bolsonaro
Brazil on Thursday registered a record 100,158 new coronavirus cases within 24 hours, the Health Ministry said, underlining the scale of a snowballing outbreak that is becoming a major political crisis for President Jair Bolsonaro. The record caseload, along with 2,777 more COVID-19 deaths, comes a day after Brazil surpassed 300,000 fatalities from the pandemic, the world’s worst death toll after the United States. (Fonseca, 3/25)

The Washington Post: U.N. Says Global Vaccine Deliveries Delayed Due To Virus Surge In India
Soaring demand for coronavirus vaccines in one of the world’s worst hotspots is causing a global supply shortage of up to 90 million vaccine doses, according to the United Nations, a setback to immunization efforts primarily in poorer countries. A surge in new cases in India is putting pressure on the Serum Institute — a major global vaccine manufacturer — to divert resources toward domestic production, the U.N.-backed COVAX facility said. The facility seeks the equitable distribution of coronavirus vaccines worldwide. (Cunningham, 3/26)

AP: UK Extends Emergency Coronavirus Powers By 6 Months
British lawmakers agreed Thursday to prolong coronavirus emergency measures for six months, allowing the Conservative government to keep its unprecedented powers to restrict U.K. citizens’ everyday lives. The House of Commons voted to extend the powers until September, and approved the government’s road map for gradually easing Britain’s strict coronavirus lockdown over the next three months. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s large Conservative majority in Parliament guaranteed the measures passed by a decisive 484-76 margin. But Johnson faced rebellion from some of his own party’s lawmakers, who argued that the economic, democratic and human costs of the restrictions outweigh the benefits. (Lawless, 3/25)