Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'No Matter What, ... We Will Hold The Games,' Tokyo's Olympic Chief Insists
AP: Tokyo Olympic Organizers Reiterate 'We Will Hold The Games'
The president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee had a simple message Tuesday for fellow members of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party. The games will happen. “No matter what situation would be with the coronavirus, we will hold the games,” Yoshiro Mori, who is also a former Japanese prime minister, told lawmakers. “We should pass on the discussion of whether we will hold the games or not, but instead discuss how we should hold it.” (Tanaka, 2/2)
Politico: Pentagon: Trump Administration Laid Groundwork For Guantanamo Vaccinations
The Pentagon on Tuesday said the Trump administration set in motion the now-reversed decision to vaccinate 40 prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, after the plan initiated a sharp backlash as coronavirus vaccine doses remain scarce across the country. John Kirby, the Pentagon’s top spokesperson, said the vaccine plan was part of the Defense Department’s original rollout, rather than the result of a specific decision to vaccinate the detainees ahead of other people. (Seligman, 2/2)
Modern Healthcare: Anthem Picks Up Medicaid Plans In Puerto Rico
Anthem is acquiring InnovaCare Health's Medicare Advantage and Medicaid plans in Puerto Rico. A spokesperson estimates the Indianapolis-based insurer's total number of members in the combined plans will reach 10.5 million once the deal is complete. Anthem, which operates Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in 14 states, will add more than 267,000 Medicare Advantage members and 305,000 Medicaid members to its rolls with the acquisition, making it the fourth-largest Medicare Advantage insurer behind Aetna. (Tepper, 2/2)
Bloomberg: Myanmar’s Doctors Vow To Shut Hospitals In Anti-Coup Protests
Myanmar’s doctors have vowed to shut hospitals across the country as public protests intensified amid calls to defy the new military regime that took control of the government and seized civilian leaders in a coup on Monday. A “Civil Disobedience Movement” started by pro-democracy activists including medical professionals announced on social media Wednesday that more than 70 hospitals and medical departments would stop work in protest of what it called an “illegitimate” government. (Lin Kyaw and Heijmans, 2/3)
The Wall Street Journal: Capt. Tom Moore, U.K. Covid-19 Charity Hero, Dies At 100
Capt. Tom Moore, a British military veteran who shot to fame last year after raising millions of pounds for charity by walking lengths of his garden during lockdown, has died at age 100 after contracting the coronavirus. Capt. Moore’s family said on Twitter that he had been fighting pneumonia and had tested positive for the coronavirus in January. During the last year, the World War II veteran became a mascot for a British nation plagued by Covid-19, raising millions for health workers, recording a No. 1 single, publishing a book and being knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his efforts. (Colchester, 2/2)
In updates from China —
Bloomberg: WHO Experts Visit Wuhan Lab At Center Of Virus Conspiracy Theory
A World Health Organization scientific team in China to investigate the origins of the coronavirus visited the Wuhan laboratory that’s been at the center of months of speculation over how the disease jumped to humans. The international group of scientists arrived at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, home to a high-tech laboratory that studies some of the world’s most infectious diseases, on Wednesday morning. The team is “looking forward to a very productive day and to asking all the questions that we know need to be asked,” Peter Daszak, a New York-based zoologist who is part of both the WHO and The Lancet teams trying to trace the virus’s origin, told reporters, Agence France-Presse reported. (2/3)
AP: China To Send 10 Million Coronavirus Vaccine Doses Abroad
China on Wednesday announced a plan to provide 10 million coronavirus vaccine doses to developing nations through the global COVAX initiative. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said China is responding to a request from the World Health Organization as developing countries seek to fill shortages predicted to run through March. (2/3)
AP: China Arrests Suspects In Fake COVID-19 Vaccine Ring
Chinese police have arrested more than 80 suspected members of a criminal group that was manufacturing and selling fake COVID-19 vaccines, including to other countries. Police in Beijing and in Jiangsu and Shandong provinces broke up the group led by a suspect surnamed Kong that was producing the fake vaccines, which consisted of a simple saline solution, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. The vaccines were sold in China and to other countries, although it was unclear which ones. The group had been active since last September, according to state media. (Wu, 2/3)
