First Edition: March 29, 2021

KHN: It’s Not Just QAnon. Democrats And Independents Also Want To Recall California’s Governor
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is framing the burgeoning effort to remove him from office as a fringe Republican movement backed by right-wing extremists, Trump supporters and QAnon conspiracy theorists. But Newsom isn’t telling the whole story about who supports his recall. Democrats and independent voters — who together dominate the state’s electorate — have also signed the recall petition, motivated by frustration with Newsom’s response to the covid-19 pandemic. Even Californians who helped elect Newsom to his first term in 2018 are angry over prolonged school closures, the whipsaw of business closings and openings and closings, vaccination chaos and turmoil at the state’s unemployment agency — which has been plagued with fraud, website failures and devastating backlogs that have left legions of residents without benefits. (Hart and Young, 3/29)

KHN: Scientists Seek Covid Treatment Answers In Cheap, Older Drugs
Could a decades-old antidepressant be a secret weapon against covid? A few scientists think so, after two small studies showed that fluvoxamine, typically prescribed for obsessive-compulsive disorder, prevented serious illness in all participants who took the pills soon after developing symptoms. It’s an exciting notion: A $10, two-week course of this drug could reduce death and hospitalizations. The drug could be used to fight ongoing outbreaks in the United States and would be a particular godsend for lower-income countries that may have to wait years for vaccines against the virus. But fluvoxamine, as well as other old drugs showing potential against covid, face hurdles to full evaluations. (Landhuis, 3/29)

KHN: Analysis: How The US Invested In The War On Terrorism At The Cost Of Public Health
Here’s one big takeaway from our country’s disastrous 2020 covid response: For 20 years, we’ve lavished attention and money on fighting human terrorism and forgot that the terrorism of nature is equally deadly, deserving equal preparation. Today, with more than 545,000 U.S. covid deaths, I hope we’ve learned the huge cost of allowing our public health structure to wither as we single-mindedly pursued the decades-long war on terror. Slowly, with no one much paying attention, here’s how it happened. (Rosenthal, 3/29)

KHN: Fact Check: In His Continued Sparring With Fauci, Sen. Rand Paul Oversimplified The Science
That Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky often disagrees with infectious-disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci is well known. Recently, the pair clashed at a Senate hearing when Paul, a Republican, argued against mask recommendations for people who have had covid-19 or have been vaccinated against it. (Appleby, 3/29)

AP: AP Exclusive: WHO Report Says Animals Likely Source Of COVID
A joint WHO-China study on the origins of COVID-19 says that transmission of the virus from bats to humans through another animal is the most likely scenario and that a lab leak is “extremely unlikely,” according to a draft copy obtained by The Associated Press. The findings were largely as expected and left many questions unanswered, but the report provided in-depth detail on the reasoning behind the team’s conclusions. The researchers proposed further research in every area except the lab leak hypothesis. (Moritsugu, 3/29)

CNN: Wildlife Trade Most Likely Pathway For Coronavirus To Arrive In Wuhan, WHO Expert Says
The wildlife trade in China is the most likely pathway through which Covid-19 was able to spread from the original animal source, possibly bats, to humans, according to one of the authors of a long-awaited World Health Organization report on the origin of the virus. The report, expected to be released on Tuesday after repeated delays, will include "multiple hundred pages, with lots of data, lots of new facts and information," said Peter Daszak, a member of the WHO team of international experts who visited the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus first emerged, earlier this year. (Sidhu and Gan, 3/29)

Bloomberg: Covid Origin Study Found Lab Leak ‘Extremely Unlikely,’ 
The coronavirus probably spread from bats to humans via another animal, with the likelihood it was leaked from a lab in China “extremely unlikely,” according to the long-awaited results of a joint World Health Organization-China study into the origins of Covid-19 reported by the Associated Press. The findings align with what researchers said last month, at the end of their mission to Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the first Covid cases emerged at the end of 2019, and in their subsequent public comments, including to Bloomberg News. The scientists proposed further research in every area except the lab leak hypothesis, the AP reported Monday, citing a draft copy of the report, which it said left many questions unanswered. (Gale, 3/29)

Politico: Trump CDC Chief: Coronavirus ‘Escaped’ From Chinese Lab
Robert Redfield, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said he believed the virus that causes Covid-19 originated from a laboratory in Wuhan, China — contradicting the assessment of the World Health Organization and most public health experts. In an interview with CNN’s Sanjay Gupta that aired Friday, the former Trump administration official also speculated that the virus began transmitting within central China’s Hubei province in September or October 2019, a potential time frame more in line with mainstream scientific views. (Forgey, 3/26)

The Wall Street Journal: Biden Administration Plans Localized Approach To Promote Covid-19 Vaccine
The Biden administration’s new campaign promoting Covid-19 vaccination will emphasize working with community groups and others to target specific populations that are skeptical of the vaccine, senior administration officials said. Much of the overall messaging budget will be spent on such localized outreach, with a lesser portion to be spent on ads for television, digital, print and radio. The White House didn’t provide a total budget for the campaign, but officials said it would largely be funded by money from the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package that became law this month and will be made available beginning in April. (Siddiqui and Armour, 3/26)

Politico: Biden Admin Remakes Vaccine Strategy After Mass Vaccination Sites Fizzle
The Biden administration is rethinking a costly system of government-run mass vaccination sites after data revealed the program is lagging well behind a much cheaper federal effort to distribute doses via retail pharmacies. The government has shipped millions of doses to the 21 mass vaccination hubs, or “pilot” community centers, in states such as California, Florida, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts and Texas. The hubs are part of a $4 billion federal system that funds more than 1,000 smaller vaccination locations across the country and provides other vaccination support — such as supplies — to states across the country. The Federal Emergency Management Agency did not respond to repeated questions about how much the pilot sites cost. (Banco, 3/29)

CNBC: Biden To Push Infrastructure Before Health And Family Care
President Joe Biden will separate his sprawling plan to upgrade the nation’s infrastructure into two separate pieces that he will unveil weeks apart, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Sunday. Psaki said on Fox News Sunday that Biden will unveil the first part of his plan, focusing on items like rebuilding roads and railways, on Wednesday. The second part of Biden’s plan will include child-care and health-care reforms — aspects of what is sometimes called social infrastructure — and will be released in “in just a couple of weeks,” she said. (Higgins, 3/28)

CNBC: Fauci: Rise In Covid Cases Can't Be Blamed On Variants Alone As Travel Resumes
The latest rise in new Covid-19 infections can’t be pinned on highly transmissible variants alone as more Americans travel for spring break and states lift restrictions, including mask mandates, intended to slow the virus’ spread, White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Sunday. Following nearly three months of declines, U.S. coronavirus cases are beginning to rebound once again. The country is reporting a weekly average of 61,821 new Covid-19 cases per day, a 12% increase compared with a week ago, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. (Higgins-Dunn, 3/28)

The Hill: Fauci Says He And Birx Had 'Bad Cop,' 'Good Cop' Roles On Trump Coronavirus Task Force
Top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said in an interview that aired on Sunday he and former White House coronavirus coordinator Deborah Birx took on “bad cop” and “good cop” roles, respectively, within former President Trump’s COVID-19 task force. CNN’s Sanjay Gupta asked Fauci in a CNN Special Report whether he and Birx had “a strategy” to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, asking if one of them was the “good cop,” while the other was the “bad cop.” “I was the bad cop,” Fauci responded. “She was the good cop.” (Coleman, 3/28)

CNN: Dr. Deborah Birx Recalls 'Very Difficult' Phone Call From Trump Following Her Covid-19 Warnings 
Dr. Deborah Birx revealed in a CNN documentary clip released Sunday that she received a "very uncomfortable" and "very difficult" phone call from Donald Trump after speaking publicly about the spread of Covid-19 while serving in the former President's administration. Birx, who had served as the Trump White House's coronavirus response coordinator, said the phone call followed her appearance on CNN in August. (Howard and Kelly, 3/28)

USA Today: Most COVID-19 Deaths After First 100,000 Were Avoidable
Former White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx said most coronavirus deaths in the United States were avoidable, during a CNN interview for a documentary scheduled to air Sunday. In an excerpt from "Covid War: The Pandemic Doctors Speak Out," Birx said that while many deaths in the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic were likely inevitable, the lethality of later waves could have been greatly reduced if the U.S. had "mitigated earlier ... paused earlier and actually done" greater social distancing and shutdown measures. "I look at it this way," Birx told CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta. "The first time, we have an excuse. There were about 100,000 deaths that came from that original surge. All of the rest of them, in my mind, could have been mitigated or decreased substantially." (Brown, 3/28)

The Washington Post: ‘Vaccine Passports’ Are On The Way, But Developing Them Won’t Be Easy
The Biden administration and private companies are working to develop a standard way of handling credentials — often referred to as “vaccine passports” — that would allow Americans to prove they have been vaccinated against the novel coronavirus as businesses try to reopen. The effort has gained momentum amid President Biden’s pledge that the nation will start to regain normalcy this summer and with a growing number of companies — from cruise lines to sports teams — saying they will require proof of vaccination before opening their doors again. (Diamond, Sun and Stanley-Becker, 3/28)

CNBC: White House Weighs Temporarily Lifting Intellectual Property Shield On Covid-19 Vaccines
The White House is weighing whether to suspend intellectual property protections for Covid-19 vaccines and treatments, in response to pressure from developing nations and subsequent support from progressive lawmakers, according to three sources familiar with the matter. A temporary suspension of intellectual property protections would apply to all medical technologies to treat or prevent Covid-19. South Africa and India made a formal request to the World Trade Organization to waive the protections until the pandemic is over, but the issue was tabled without a resolution. (Tausche and Pramuk, 3/26)

The New York Times: For Biden, A New Virus Dilemma: How To Handle A Looming Glut Of Vaccine
Biden administration officials are anticipating the supply of coronavirus vaccine to outstrip U.S. demand by mid-May if not sooner, and are grappling with what to do with looming surpluses when vaccine scarcity turns to glut. President Biden has promised enough doses by the end of May to immunize all of the nation’s roughly 260 million adults. But between then and the end of July, the government has locked in commitments from manufacturers for enough vaccine to cover 400 million people — about 70 million more than the nation’s entire population. (LaFraniere and Weiland, 3/26)

Roll Call: White House Expects 11 Million More Johnson & Johnson Doses By Next Week 
Johnson & Johnson is projected to ship 11 million COVID-19 vaccine doses next week, the White House COVID-19 task force said Friday, which would ensure the company keeps its commitment of delivering 20 million vaccines before the end of March. Jeffrey Zients, the White House coronavirus coordinator, said during a briefing that Moderna and Pfizer, the manufacturers of the two other authorized vaccines, also appear on track to meet their first quarter targets. He estimated that half of the states would open eligibility to all adults by mid-April. (Raman, 3/26)

Politico: J&J On Track To Meet Vaccine Delivery Goal, White House Says
Johnson & Johnson is on track to meet its goal of delivering 20 million doses of its single-shot Covid vaccine by the end of March after facing scrutiny for a slow ramp-up of production, the Biden administration said. White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients said Friday the company was due to send the government 11 million more doses next week. The administration on Tuesday said it had just 4 million doses to deliver to states and federal partners, which wouldn't have gotten the company even halfway to its self-imposed target. (Luthi, 3/26)

The New York Times: Pfizer Begins Testing Its Vaccine In Young Children
Pfizer has begun testing its Covid-19 vaccine in children under 12, a significant step in turning back the pandemic. The trial’s first participants, a pair of 9-year-old twin girls, were immunized at Duke University in North Carolina on Wednesday. Results from the trial are expected in the second half of the year, and the company hopes to vaccinate younger children early next year, said Sharon Castillo, a spokeswoman for the pharmaceutical company. (Mandavilli, 3/25)

The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Shots For Children Hold Key To Herd Immunity
Countries are racing to immunize adults against Covid-19 and move toward a more normal future. To achieve the vaccination rates that health authorities are aiming for, the shots must eventually reach the arms of children and teenagers, too. Children aren’t going to be vaccinated for several months at least, however, because drugmakers are still testing shots in younger ages. That means health authorities can’t be confident of securing community protection against the virus, known as herd immunity, until later this year at the earliest, because children under 18 make up a significant proportion of many countries’ populations. (Abbott and Douglas, 3/28)

CNN: Conceivable That Unvaccinated Children Could Go To Camp Or Playgrounds This Summer, Fauci Says 
Children may not need to be vaccinated for Covid-19 for parents to send them to camps or playgrounds this summer, the nation's top infectious disease expert told CBS News on Sunday. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has previously said that elementary school-aged kids won't likely be vaccinated until the first quarter of 2022, as vaccine developers continued to study their effects in children. But asked by "Face the Nation" host Margaret Brennan whether parents can send their kids to summer camp without vaccines, Fauci said, "It is conceivable that that will be possible." (Thomas and Andone, 3/28)

Roll Call: Company With Trump Administration Tie May Be COVID-19 Vaccine Bottleneck 
A pharmaceutical contractor under scrutiny for its ties to former government officials could be one of the bottlenecks holding up the production of millions of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines. Emergent BioSolutions, the U.S. company making “drug substance,” the active ingredient in the vaccines, is still awaiting regulatory authorization, according to a company official familiar with the process. Emergent-made doses were not included in the paperwork Johnson & Johnson submitted to the Food and Drug Administration. That means that the material Emergent makes would not be available to be used for vaccines that can be administered in the United States now. (Kopp, 3/26)

CNBC: The U.S. Is In A Delicate Position As Covid Cases Increase Alongside Vaccinations, Experts Warn
With the possibility of summer barbeques just a few months away, along with the promise of widespread Covid-19 vaccine supply in the U.S. by the end of May, many Americans may be feeling as though the nation has finally turned the corner on the pandemic. But to leading infectious disease experts, the country isn’t there yet. (Higgins-Dunn, 3/28)

Axios: Millions Of Americans Remain Vulnerable As New Coronavirus Variants Drive Up Cases 
Coronavirus cases are on the rise again in several states, partially a result of variants of the virus becoming more widespread, experts say. Even though a remarkable 72% of Americans 65 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine, millions of Americans — particularly younger Americans with underlying conditions — remain vulnerable. (Owens, 3/29)

NPR: Rising COVID Cases And Fear Of Variants Prompt Concern In U.S.
COVID-19 vaccinations are on the rise in the U.S. — and so are coronavirus cases. After a plateau lasting several weeks, the number of cases is once again on the increase in parts of the country. New cases, test positivity rates and hospital admissions are creeping upward. An increase in daily COVID-19 deaths is likely to follow, health officials say. (Huang, 3/28)

The New York Times: Cases In Florida, A National Covid Bellwether, Are Rising — Especially Among Younger People
Scientists view Florida — the state furthest along in lifting restrictions, reopening society and welcoming tourists — as a bellwether for the nation. If recent trends there are any indication, the rest of the country may be in trouble.The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Florida has been steadily rising, though hospitalizations and deaths are still down. Over the past week, the state has averaged nearly 5,000 cases per day, an increase of 8 percent from its average two weeks earlier. (Mandavilli, 3/29)

CNN: Some States Report Concerning Covid-19 Case Increases -- And One Warns The Surge Is Already Here 
For weeks, health experts have warned of another possible Covid-19 surge if Americans get lax with safety measures while the country races to vaccinate more people. Now infections are on the rise again and some state leaders are sounding the alarm over their latest trends. After weeks of declines and then a plateau, the average number of new Covid-19 cases saw a 7% increase from the previous week, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said on Friday. The average of new virus-related hospitalizations also saw a slight increase from the previous week, she said. (Maxouris, 3/29)

USA Today: Why Some States Have Opened Vaccine Eligibility Faster Than Others
When Alaska led the nation in offering COVID-19 vaccinations to all adults earlier this month, officials could point to the state’s vaccination pace – the best in the country. But as a growing number of states have removed eligibility requirements for getting vaccinated, it’s become less clear why some states are acting faster than others. Mississippi, which eliminated requirements in mid-March, ranks near the bottom in the share of adult residents who have been vaccinated. In fact, of the 28 states that have either opened up eligibility to all, or will be doing so in the next two weeks, seventeen have below average adult vaccination rates, according to figures available Sunday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Eleven lag behind other states on fully inoculating those 65 and older, one of the highest-risk groups. (Groppe, 3/29)

The New York Times: Six States Open Vaccines To All Adults On Monday
Kansas is one of six states — Louisiana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas are the others — that are expanding eligibility for the vaccine to all adults on Monday. Minnesota will follow on Tuesday, and Indiana and South Carolina on Wednesday. Gov. Laura Kelly of Kansas urged residents last week to seek out appointments, saying, “With the anticipated increase in supply from the federal government, we must get every dose of vaccine into arms quickly.” (McDonnell Nieto del Rio, 3/28)

Stat: Amazon Is Granted Authorization For Its Own Covid-19 Test
Amazon is now the developer of an authorized Covid-19 test. The company on Thursday received emergency clearance from the Food and Drug Administration for an at-home test known as the Amazon Covid-19 Collection Kit. The nasal swab and PCR-based test, developed by Amazon subsidiary STS Lab Holdco, allows users to test themselves with or without the supervision of a health care professional. (Brodwin, 3/26)

CIDRAP: COVID Vaccine In Pregnancy Triggers Strong Immune Response In Moms, Babies
COVID-19 vaccination can prompt a vigorous immune response in pregnant women, who then pass the resulting antibodies on to their newborns through the placenta and breast milk, according to a study published yesterday in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Led by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, who call it the largest such study yet, the prospective analysis involved the blood and breast milk of 131 women of reproductive age, including 84 pregnant, 31 lactating, and 16 nonpregnant participants, who received two doses of either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccine from Dec 17, 2020, to Mar 2, 2021. (Van Beusekom, 3/26)

CIDRAP: Long-Haul COVID-19 Likelihood Associated With Middle Age, Female Sex
Researchers reporting on two non-peer–reviewed studies published this week on the preprint server medRxiv followed up months after adults' COVID-19 hospitalization and found that 55% to 71% have not fully recovered. Middle age and female sex were associated with a higher likelihood of worse recovery in both studies. The larger study involved 1,077 UK patients (median age, 58) a median of 5 months after hospital discharge. While 28.8% felt fully recovered, 19.6% had a new disability, 17.8% of those who were working in full- or part-time capacity no longer were, and 19.3% had undergone a health-related change in occupation. Additionally, 1 in 4 had clinically significant symptoms of anxiety and depression, 12.2% had post-traumatic stress disorder, 17% had mild cognitive impairment, and 46% had lower physical performance. (3/26)

The Washington Post: ‘Pandemic Grief’ Proves Especially Devastating And Complex For Many In Mourning, Health Experts Say
Even though vaccines have changed the trajectory of the coronavirus pandemic, a death toll approaching more than 550,000 has cast a long, dark shadow over all Americans. The months ahead will require us to carry an intense and a pervasive grief that is more acute and complicated than grief after death from other natural causes. Recent research suggests that the full effect of this onslaught will not be known for some time. We will feel it with each empty chair at the table, a holiday with one less present to wrap or a birthday without the guest of honor. (Alter, 3/28)

Stat: Inside The Battle Over Talkspace And A Grand Experiment In Mental Health
Late last year, Reno, Nev., Mayor Hillary Schieve proposed a novel idea to try to meet the mental health needs of her community: The city would spend $1.3 million of expiring coronavirus relief funding on virtual therapy through the app Talkspace. With the exception of young children, every resident would have free access. (Aguilar, 3/29)

The Washington Post: ‘Zombie Genes’ Increase Their Activity For Hours After The Simulated Death Of Brain Tissue Samples, Study Says
When the heart stops beating and somebody dies, the body’s systems shut down and its natural processes cease. Or do they? A new study suggests that at least one type of cell remains alive after death — and that for hours, they experience increased genetic activity and even massive growth. The research, published in the journal Scientific Reports, looked at how brain tissue acts in the hours after death. To simulate what happens after death, researchers examined tissue samples taken from patients during routine brain surgeries. (Blakemore, 3/27)

Stat: FDA Approves First Personalized Cell Therapy For Multiple Myeloma
The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the first personalized cell therapy to treat patients with advanced multiple myeloma. It will be marketed under the brand name Abecma by its makers, Bristol Myers Squibb and Bluebird Bio. Multiple myeloma is a cancer that forms in plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that helps fight infections. In people with multiple myeloma, malignant plasma cells accumulate in the bone marrow, where they crowd out healthy blood cells, causing tumors, kidney damage, bone destruction, and impaired immune function. (Feuerstein, 3/26)

The New York Times: Cold Tooth Pain's Mysterious Molecular Culprit
There’s nothing quite like the peculiar, bone-jarring reaction of a damaged tooth exposed to something cold: a bite of ice cream, or a cold drink, and suddenly, that sharp, searing feeling, like a needle piercing a nerve. Researchers have known for years that this phenomenon results from damage to the tooth’s protective outer layer. But just how the message goes from the outside of your tooth to the nerves within it has been difficult to uncover. On Friday, biologists reported in the journal Science Advances that they have identified an unexpected player in this painful sensation: a protein embedded in the surface of cells inside the teeth. The discovery provides a glimpse of the connection between the outer world and the interior of a tooth, and could one day help guide the development of treatments for tooth pain. (Greenwood, 3/26)

The Wall Street Journal: Researchers Look For Ways To Make Drug Trials More Diverse
Pharmaceutical researchers are turning to technology to broaden access to experimental treatments, and make clinical trials more equitable in terms of their inclusion of minorities. Minorities are often underrepresented as participants in studies of new drugs—leaving them with less access to new, potentially lifesaving drugs, and making scientists less aware of how medicines affect people of various races differently. One reason is minority groups, because of abuses in the past, sometimes distrust the medical system. Minorities also can lack the resources needed to travel or fulfill other requirements to be able to participate in drug trials. (Gormley, 3/28)

Modern Healthcare: Congressional Action On Maternal Mortality Likely This Year
With the pandemic highlighting health disparities in the U.S., maternal health advocates think this will be the year Congress takes bold action to end preventable, pregnancy-related deaths that disproportionately impact people of color. Black women are three times more likely to die pregnancy-related deaths than white women, and Black people are two times more likely to die of COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those issues are likely compounding each other, experts say. "Maternal health should be a part of the COVID response because it is a problem that's been exacerbated by the pandemic," said Jamille Fields Allsbrook, director of the women's initiative at the Center for American Progress. (Hellmann, 3/26)

Politico: High Anxiety Over Federal Weed Loophole
When Congress passed the 2018 farm bill legalizing hemp, it was eager to distinguish the crop from marijuana. Hemp and marijuana are the same species of plant, cannabis sativa L., but hemp can’t contain more than 0.3 percent THC. The distinction is legal, not scientific. "It's not clear whether [Delta-8 THC products] are illegal under the 2018 farm bill," said Jonathan Miller, general counsel for the U.S. Hemp Roundtable. "It is clear that it violates the spirit of the law." Hemp proponents in Congress like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell "support hemp but do not support intoxicating products," Miller said. (Zhang, 3/27)

AP: Did COVID-19 Stress, Uncertainty Stall Anti-Smoking Push?
Researchers are already concerned about COVID-19′s impact on cancer screenings and opioid overdoses as many Americans were cut off from routine care and examinations. But services to help smokers quit -- delivered via phone and online -- would seem well-positioned to withstand the disruptions of the pandemic. The programs help with devising a plan and often provide free nicotine gums and patches. Yet, calls to states routed through a national hotline fell 27% last year to about 500,000 — the biggest drop in a decade, according to the North American Quitline Consortium. In a recent report, the coalition of anti-smoking counselors cited the pandemic and the drop in public awareness messaging. (Perrone, 3/28)

Modern Healthcare: 'Skyrocketing Healthcare Costs' During The Pandemic Inspire Academic Workers To Organize
A faculty petition at The New School in New York denouncing "skyrocketing healthcare costs" during the pandemic has attracted the support of more than 600 signatories, reflecting the growing calls among workers, particularly academics, to increase transparency of the price self-insured employers pay for healthcare. "Did self-insured employers make money? The short answer is yes, in the same way that health plans made a ton of money because of all the deferred care," said Adam Block, a New York-based health economist and former CMS regulator. (Tepper, 3/26)

Modern Healthcare: Magellan Can't Be Sued Over Mental Health Denials
A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that Illinois state employees can't sue Magellan Health for denying them coverage for their children's behavioral health services. The employees had alleged that Illinois' state-sponsored, self-funded health plan improperly denied their children coverage for serious mental health conditions that required residential treatment. Their lawsuit, filed in July 2020, sought class action status. Magellan Health had rejected the claims using Milliman Care Guidelines, which the employees alleged conflict with generally accepted standards of care. But U.S. District Court Judge Manish Shah in Chicago ruled the employees couldn't claim the insurer or the state's health administrators had violated their constitutional rights or sue under mental health parity laws. (Brady, 3/26)

Modern Healthcare: COVID-19 Curbed Health Systems' Charity-Care Spending In 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic sunk hospital volumes in 2020. For most of the country's largest health systems, fewer patients meant providing less free or discounted care. A Modern Healthcare analysis found the top 15 not-for-profit health systems by revenue for which data were available dedicated 1.4% of expenses in calendar 2020 to charity care, the industry's term for free or reduced-price services for patients who meet financial eligibility criteria. That's compared with 1.6% in calendar 2019. Those 15 health systems spent an average of $203.7 million on charity care in calendar 2020, compared with $216.5 million in 2019. (Bannow, 3/26)

AP: Texas Set To Make Vaccines Available To All Adults On Monday
Texas was set on Monday to begin making COVID-19 vaccines available to anyone who wants one. Texas will become the most populous U.S. state to expand COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to all adults. The state has nearly 30 million residents. This will come more than a month before President Joe Biden’s goal of opening vaccine eligibility to everyone by May 1. In Texas, individuals who are 16 and 17 years old will also be able to get a vaccine starting Monday. But the Texas Department of State Health Services said only the Pfizer vaccine is authorized for individuals in that age group. (3/28)

AP: Virus Fight Stalls In Early Hot Spots New York, New Jersey
A year after becoming a global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, New York and New Jersey are back atop the list of U.S. states with the highest rates of infection. Even as the vaccination campaign has ramped up, the number of new infections in New Jersey has crept up by 37% in a little more than a month, to about 23,600 every seven days. About 54,600 people in New York tested positive for the virus in the last week, a number that has begun to inch up recently. The two states now rank No. 1 and 2 in new infections per capita among U.S. states. New Jersey has been reporting about 647 new cases for every 100,000 residents over the past 14 days. New York has averaged 548. (Villeneuve and Catalini, 3/28)

Axios: GOP Vaccine Hesitancy Is A Big Obstacle For Iowa's Herd Immunity 
Republicans, especially men, are among the most reluctant to receive a COVID vaccine, Iowa and national polls show. That runs counter to the dominant narrative that minority groups are the most hesitant, as explored last week in a New York Times podcast. (Clayworth, 3/29)

AP: Outdoor Weddings Up To 100 People Allowed On Oahu In Hawaii
Weddings on Oahu in Hawaii can now be held outside with a maximum of 100 people after an easing of public health orders related to the coronavirus pandemic. Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said Friday that the easing of restrictions would be effective immediately. Weddings were previously restricted to 10 people. A limit of 10 people will continue for indoor weddings. For outdoor weddings, a maximum of 100 people will be allowed, seating will be limited to 10 people per table, everyone will be required to wear masks and each wedding must be supervised by “event planning professionals.” Temperature checks will also be required. (3/27)

NPR: Alabama Trans Youth Dismayed By State's Effort To Block Medical Care 
Syrus Hall, a 17-year-old from Mobile, Ala., has heard it all before: "You'll grow out of it." "It's a phase." "You're just confused." "It makes me mad," he says. Hall is transgender and in the early stages of his transition; he gets weekly shots of a low dose of testosterone. "I worked really hard to be able to transition," he says. "I dealt with bullying at school, and people being mean to me just because I exist. If I can deal with that, I know who I am. I'm not going to go back. "So Hall is watching with alarm as the Alabama legislature advances bills that would outlaw hormone treatment for him and other trans youth in the state. (Block, 3/28)

USA Today: New York COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout Leads Some To Small, Rural Potsdam
Vetia Searcy could get her vaccine. But she had to go to somewhere called Potsdam, New York, to get it. Searcy had never heard of the place. Scanning through New York's vaccine portal in February, refreshing the website and hoping to snag an appointment somewhere near her home in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, the name kept coming up as the only location with sporadic open slots. Searcy, who qualified for the vaccine on Feb. 15 because of her asthma, made some calls to see if she would be allowed receive the shot at the state-run facility at the State University of New York at Potsdam. The answer was yes — as long as she was willing and able to travel. For two days, she checked constantly. Finally, an appointment opened up in Potsdam again. (Silvarole, 3/28)

Reuters: Mexico Says COVID-19 Deaths Likely 60% Higher Than Confirmed Toll
Mexico’s death toll from the coronavirus pandemic is likely at least 60% higher than the confirmed number, putting it in excess of 300,000, according to government data. Updated figures here on excess mortality in a table published by Mexico's Health Ministry showed that by the end of the sixth week of this year, 294,287 fatalities "associated with COVID-19" had been registered on death certificates in Mexico. That was 61.4% higher than the confirmed death toll of 182,301 given as a comparison in the same table. (3/28)

Reuters: Mexico Receives 1.5 Million Does Of AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine From U.S.
A delivery of 1.5 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine from the United States landed in Mexico City on Sunday night, Mexico’s foreign ministry said, following an accord U.S. President Joe Biden made with Mexico this month. The vaccines were the initial batch in an agreement to send some 2.7 million AstraZeneca doses from the United States to help Mexico offset local shortages for its drive to inoculate its population of 126 million. (3/29)

The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Variant Rages In Brazil, Posing Global Risk
Brazil is in the throes of a battle against the new Covid-19 variant from the Amazon that threatens to send shock waves across the globe. Home to less than 3% of the world’s population, Brazil currently accounts for almost a third of the daily global deaths from Covid-19, driven by the new variant. More than 300,000 have died, and daily deaths now top 3,000, a toll suffered only by the far more populous U.S. (Trevisani, Pearson and Magalhaes, 3/27)

Stat: Canada Says Drug Spending Keeps Rising Due To Expensive Specialty Meds
As Canadians brace for new rules to address prescription drug spending, a government report found sales of patented medicines rose a “modest” 3.5% in 2019 and that prices were stable, but a growing number of increasingly expensive, specialized treatments are driving overall costs higher. Such medicines — such as biologics and cancer therapies — now account for approximately half of all sales of patented medicines in the country, a “dramatic” increase from 10% less than a decade ago, the report found. In 2009, only one of the top 10 selling patented medicines cost more than $1,000 a year. By 2019, seven of the top 10 had annual treatment costs exceeding $10,000 annually. (Silverman, 3/26)

The Hill: UK Plans To Administer Coronavirus Vaccine Booster Shots To Elderly
British Vaccine Deployment Minister Nadhim Zahawi announced on Friday that the country will begin to disperse coronavirus vaccine booster shots to citizens who are 70 or older. The booster shots are set to begin in September of this year and will be provided to elderly British citizens in an effort to protect them from emerging coronavirus variants, according to The Telegraph. "Jonathan Van-Tam [the deputy chief medical officer] thinks that if we are going to see a requirement for a booster jab to protect the most vulnerable, [it] would be around September," Zahawi told the newspaper. (Jenkins, 3/27)