AP: COVID-19 Vaccine Shipments Begin In Historic US Effort
The first of many freezer-packed COVID-19 vaccine vials made their way to distribution sites across the United States on Sunday, as the nation’s pandemic deaths approached the horrifying new milestone of 300,000. The rollout of the Pfizer vaccine, the first to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration, ushers in the biggest vaccination effort in U.S. history — one that health officials hope the American public will embrace, even as some have voiced initial skepticism or worry. Shots are expected to be given to health care workers and nursing home residents beginning Monday. (Irvine and Gash, 12/14)

The Wall Street Journal: The Mass Distribution Of Covid-19 Vaccines Is Under Way. ‘Everything Has To Come Together.’ 
Trucks filled with Covid-19 vaccine vials pulled out of Pfizer Inc.’s Kalamazoo, Mich., production plant on Sunday morning, part of one of the largest mass mobilizations since the country’s factories were repurposed to help fight World War II. The effort to vaccinate the nation relies on chemists, factory workers, truck drivers, pilots, data scientists, bureaucrats, pharmacists and health-care workers. It requires ultracold freezers, dry ice, needles, masks and swabs converging simultaneously at thousands of locations across the country. (Krouse, Hopkins and Wilde Mathews, 12/13)

Reuters: Historic U.S. Vaccine Campaign Begins With First Shipments 'Delivering Hope' To Millions
“Today, we’re not hauling freight, we’re delivering hope,” said Andrew Boyle, co-president of Boyle Transportation, which was hired by UPS to help ferry vaccine from the factory to a waiting plane in Lansing. The precious cargo was escorted to airports by body-armor-clad security officers. (Baertlein, 12/13)

The Washington Post: First Coronavirus Vaccine Shipments Leave Pfizer Facility, Head To States 
Additionally, the governors of California, Washington, Oregon and Nevada announced Sunday that an independent review of the Pfizer vaccine found it was safe for public use. They said the vaccine was on the way but did not give a specific estimate for when the first shots would be given. (Firozi, Kornfield and Dawsey, 12/13)

Stat: First Covid-19 Vaccines To Arrive In States Monday, Marking A Pivotal Moment In The Pandemic Response 
The distribution plan contradicts promises made by President Trump, who in a video released shortly after the FDA authorization, claimed that shipments of the vaccine had already begun and that the vaccine would be administered “in less than 24 hours.” [General Gus] Perna insisted that the distribution efforts, like packing vaccines, began almost immediately after the FDA authorized the vaccine for use in individuals age 16 or older on Friday. The vaccine will begin shipping from Pfizer’s manufacturing facility to UPS and Fedex within 24 hours, Perna added. (Florko, 12/12)

Also —

AP: Explainer: How Much COVID-19 Vaccine Will Be Shipped In US
The first wave of shipments is going to health care workers and nursing home residents. Officials say vaccines should be available to everyone by the middle of next year. Trucks with Pfizer’s vaccine rolled out Sunday. They will deliver to 145 distribution centers around the country by Monday, said Army Gen. Gustave Perna of Operation Warp Speed, the government effort to develop and distribute COVID-19 vaccines. An additional 425 sites will get shipments Tuesday, and the remaining 66 on Wednesday. (Choi, 12/12)

Bay Area News Group: COVID-19: The Perilous Journey Of A Vaccine From Michigan To California
This week’s deliveries of the valuable new Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will be an exercise of intricate logistics, with each step of the perilous journey watched by high-tech tools to ensure safety and security. Handling should be so smooth that the vaccine itself would barely notice it is being moved. “Seven days a week, 24 hours a day, every shipment is monitored,” said Scott Hurley of Roambee, a Santa Clara-based company whose sensors, cloud data analytics, and automation specialize in high-value shipment tracking, including a COVID-19 vaccine it declines to name. (Krieger, 12/13)

USA Today: Role-Playing, Planning For Earthquakes, Mass Training: US Health Care Centers Prep For Arrival Of COVID-19 Vaccine
Hospitals and medical centers spent Sunday preparing for the first COVID-19 vaccine to arrive Monday morning, a massive undertaking that began when a caravan of semis guarded by unmarked police cars pulled out of the Pfizer manufacturing plant in Portage, Michigan, just after dawn. Onlookers applauded and cheered as the tractor-trailers carrying 189 boxes of vaccine slowly rolled out. The doses held in those cartons will be injected into the arms of health care workers in all 50 states beginning Monday morning. (Weise, 12/13)

CNN: US Readies For First Covid-19 Vaccinations As Country Nears 300,000 Deaths
It's up to states to allocate their share of vaccines, but the CDC has recommended that frontline health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities get the vaccine first. Officials warn it could be months before the vaccine becomes available to many Americans as the virus continues to surge, breaking grim state and national records. (Cullinane, 12/14)

The New York Times: First Coronavirus Vaccines Head To States, Starting Historic Effort 
At Novant Health in Winston-Salem, N.C., the new ultracold freezers are ready — enough to eventually house more than 500,000 doses of the first coronavirus vaccine approved in the United States. In Los Angeles, the Cedars-Sinai medical center has installed extra security cameras to protect the secret location of its soon-to-arrive supply of the vaccine. (Goodnough, Abelson and Hoffman, 12/12)

In updates from Michigan, Massachusetts, Texas and Alaska —

Detroit Free Press: TCF Center To Be COVID-19 Vaccination Site, Counties Preparing Sites
Across metro Detroit, county and city leaders are getting ready for the arrival of coronavirus vaccines, lining up sites for vaccination clinics with hopes that mass immunizations will bring about the end of the pandemic. The city of Detroit has selected the TCF Center's parking garage as a primary site for drive-up COVID-19 vaccinations as pharmaceutical giant Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine is on the verge of regulatory approval and could be ready to ship out to hospitals and health departments in the next few days, possibly as early as Sunday. (Hall and Jordan Shamus, 12/13)

Boston Globe: With Vaccine, Mass. This Week Goes From ‘Defense To Offense’ Against COVID-19
The earliest shipments of COVID-19 vaccine are expected to arrive at some Massachusetts hospitals starting Monday, officials said, as the state readies for a distribution effort that initially seeks to vaccinate thousands of medical workers and support staff in hospitals, as well as employees and residents of long-term-care facilities. A significant portion of the state’s initial allocation of 59,475 vaccine doses, developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, is being shipped directly to several area hospitals and health care systems. Tufts Medical Center could receive vaccine as early as midday Monday, while Massachusetts General Brigham and UMass Memorial Health Care each could get deliveries on Tuesday, officials said. (Hilliard, 12/13)

Houston Chronicle: Thousands Of Doses Of The New COVID Vaccine Are Coming To Houston, With MD Anderson First And Only Stop Monday
Months of waiting for a COVID-19 vaccine to arrive in Houston are almost — but not quite — over, as hospitals prepare to move the first doses from sealed subzero shipments and into the arms of thousands of front-line health care workers this week. About 19,500 doses of Pfizer’s vaccine will arrive Monday at four medical centers in Texas: MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Methodist Dallas Medical Center, Wellness 360 at UT Health San Antonio and UT Health Austin’s Dell Medical School, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services, which is overseeing deliveries of the first vaccine approved and shipped in the United States. (Begley and Ackerman, 12/13)

Anchorage Daily News: The First Doses Of A COVID-19 Vaccine Are Expected To Arrive In Alaska In The Next Couple Days
Alaska is expected to receive an initial 35,100 doses of the vaccine from drugmaker Pfizer. Those doses are specifically designated for people deemed highest priority for initial vaccination by federal and state allocation committees. Those individuals include people who work on the front lines in the state’s hospitals, which officials hope will alleviate some of the major staffing issues that Alaska has seen recently. Health care staff have been in quarantine or isolation and away from work after positive tests or recent exposures, limiting the number of staffed beds available to patients and putting pressure on the entire health care system. In addition, community health aides and practitioners are prioritized for the initial vaccine round, along with emergency services personnel. (Krakow, 12/13)

Stat: ‘It’s Peace Of Mind’: Covid-19 Vaccines Can’t Arrive Soon Enough For Many Frontline Health Workers
Now that the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine has been cleared for emergency use, frontline health care workers across the U.S. are days away from being offered the shots. They couldn’t be arriving at a more crucial moment, with Covid-19 cases at their highest level since the pandemic began a year ago and many hospitals overwhelmed. (McFarling, 12/13)

KHN: Hospitals Scramble To Prioritize Which Workers Are First For COVID Shots
If there’s such a thing as a date with destiny, it’s marked on Dr. Taison Bell’s calendar. At noon Tuesday, Bell, a critical care physician, is scheduled to be one of the first health care workers at the University of Virginia Health System to roll up his sleeve for a shot to ward off the coronavirus. “This is a long time coming,” said Bell, 37, who signed up via hospital email last week. “The story of this crisis is that each week feels like a year. This is really the first time that there’s genuine hope that we can turn the corner on this.” (Aleccia, 12/14)

Bangor Daily News: Maine Hospitals Are Deciding Which Frontline Workers Will Get Coronavirus Vaccine First
State health officials chose the initial hospitals based on their ability to store the vaccines — which need extremely cold temperatures to remain viable — and their locations, aiming to spread the vaccines out as “equitably” as possible, Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said last week. But the limited supply means hospitals must be judicious in how they vaccinate at first. Even the hospitals that get the vaccine first may not get enough initial vaccines to cover their entire frontline workforce, a relatively broad group that hospitals could prioritize differently as they look to preserve continuity of care with cases and hospitalizations due to the virus hitting highs.(Andrews and Eichacker, 12/12)

FierceHealthcare: Exec Says CVS To Administer First COVID-19 Vaccines In Nursing Homes On Dec. 21 
CVS is planning to begin administering COVID-19 vaccines in nursing homes beginning on Dec. 21, a top executive told Reuters. ... Chris Cox, senior vice president at CVS Health, told Reuters that the healthcare giant expects to receive its first shipments of the vaccine at the end of next week, but will hold off on beginning to administer the vaccine until Dec. 21 to comply with the regulatory agencies. (Minemyer, 12/11)

And 40 million doses could be distributed by the end of 2020 —

The Atlantic: COVID Vaccine Purgatory: How And When You'll Get A Vaccine
The biggest unknown is how long we will be left in purgatory. Operation Warp Speed officials have laid out an aggressive timeline to get nearly all Americans vaccinated by June, but this presumes several pieces going perfectly. The vaccines from Pfizer, which was just recommended for FDA authorization, and Moderna, which is expected to follow next week, cannot hit manufacturing delays, and additional vaccine candidates, from AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, must earn speedy authorization from the FDA early next year. Pfizer earlier revised down the number of doses it will deliver in 2020 and separately has said it cannot supply any additional doses to the U.S., beyond the 100 million already ordered, before June. The timeline for authorizing AstraZeneca’s vaccine is up in the air after a messy clinical trial. And Johnson & Johnson’s has not yet been proved to work. (Zhang, 12/11)

The Hill: Operation Warp Speed Head Says 40M Doses Of Vaccine Will Be Distributed By End Of The Month 
Moncef Slaoui, the scientific head of Operation Warp Speed, said Sunday that the U.S. plans to distribute about 40 million doses of coronavirus vaccine by the end of 2020. “We plan to have about 40 million doses of the vaccine available to us and distributed in the US by the end of this year,” Slaoui said on “Fox News Sunday,” adding that the U.S. would distribute up to 80 million doses through January. (Budryk, 12/13)

Reuters: U.S. Expects To Have Immunized 100 Million Against COVID-19 By End Of March -Slaoui 
The United States expects to have immunized 100 million people with the coronavirus vaccine by the end of March, the chief adviser for the U.S. COVID-19 vaccine program said on Sunday. ... “We would have immunized 100 million people by the first quarter of 2021,” U.S. Operation Warp Speed chief adviser Dr. Moncef Slaoui said in an interview with Fox News Sunday. (12/13)

More details from New Jersey, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and the Navajo Nation —

Philadelphia Inquirer: First Doses Of COVID-19 Vaccine Expected To Arrive In Philly, N.J. On Tuesday
New Jersey’s first doses of the coronavirus vaccine will be given Tuesday, with the injections beginning for health-care workers in Philadelphia the following day, officials said. New Jersey’s first 76,000 doses will be administered at University Hospital in Newark, Gov. Phil Murphy said in a Sunday tweet. They have been allotted for health-care workers and residents and staff of long-term care facilities. (Park, 12/14)

The Washington Post: D.C. Coronavirus Vaccine: Fire Chief Donnelly, Other Firefighters To Get First Doses 
Five first responders — the acting D.C. fire chief, the department’s medical director and three firefighters — will be among the first people in the District to get the coronavirus vaccine, as part of a targeted campaign to build confidence in the process, city officials announced Sunday. But while city officials expect the first shipments of the vaccine to arrive in the District on Monday, the fire department personnel will not get their shots until later in the week. (Fadulu, 12/13)

The Hill: Navajo Nation Will Receive First Doses Of COVID-19 Vaccine Early This Week 
The Navajo Nation announced on Saturday that it will receive its first doses of Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine early this week. The nation said in a statement that it is expecting its first shipments on Monday and Tuesday. The doses will be administered to health care workers and those in long-term assisted living facilities. (Williams, 12/12)

The New York Times: Pregnant And Breastfeeding Women May Opt To Receive The Vaccine 
In its emergency authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Friday night, the Food and Drug Administration took an unexpected step, leaving open the possibility that pregnant and breastfeeding women may opt for immunization against the coronavirus. The agency authorized the vaccine for anyone 16 and older, and asked Pfizer to file regular reports on the safety of the vaccine, including its use in pregnant women. (Mandavilli, 12/11)

Philadelphia Inquirer: The COVID-19 Vaccine Wasn’t Tested In Pregnancy, But Experts Say It’s Still Worth Considering If You’re Expecting
As health-care workers prepare to receive Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine starting this week, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention committee has recommended that pregnant workers — a group typically excluded from vaccine trials — still be allowed to decide with their doctors whether to receive the vaccine. The majority of health-care workers are women, and Johns Hopkins University researchers noted in STAT News last week that an estimated 330,000 in this workforce “will be pregnant or breastfeeding as initial doses of vaccine are being distributed.” Even more could become pregnant in the weeks between administration of the two doses of vaccine required for full protection from the virus. (Whelan, 12/14)

People with a history of allergic reactions should talk to their doctors —

Stat: CDC Says People With History Of Severe Allergic Reaction Can Get Covid-19 Vaccine
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday said people who have experienced severe reactions to prior vaccines or injectable drugs can still get the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for Covid-19, but should discuss the risks with their doctors and be monitored for 30 minutes afterward. The guidance is a shift from a prior proposal laid out Saturday that would have recommended against vaccination for that group of people. (Ross, 12/13)

Stat: Experts Grapple With Covid-19 Vaccine Guidance On Severe Allergies
An independent advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted overwhelmingly on Saturday to recommend use of the Covid-19 vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech. But the meeting also revealed an apparent divide in thinking on whether the vaccine should be given to people with a history of severe allergic reactions to other medicines, a determination that could prevent hundreds of thousands of people from receiving it. (Ross, 12/12)

The Washington Post: Coronavirus Vaccines Can Have Side Effects. That Typically Means They’re Working. 
The new coronavirus vaccine appears to be stunningly effective — blocking serious illness entirely in randomized trials — and it has passed strict safety reviews and won emergency authorization from regulators in the United States and several other countries so far. But news bulletins in the past week provided a reminder that this remains a revolutionary pharmaceutical agent that will be scrutinized in the months ahead as shots go into arms. Among the unknowns: To what extent does the vaccine prevent infection vs. simply preventing clinical illness? (Achenbach, 12/13)

And CDC advisers agreed that the vaccine is safe for 16-year-olds —

NPR: CDC Advisers Agree With FDA: COVID-19 Vaccine Is OK For Public Use
An important federal advisory committee at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has added its vote of support for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. In an emergency meeting Saturday, the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to recommend the first COVID-19 vaccine for use for people 16 or older in the U.S, expressing hope that the vaccine would help curb the spread of the disease that has killed more than 295,000 people in the U.S. (Huang, Simmons-Duffin and Wroth, 12/12)

The Hill: CDC Director Accepts Advisory Panel's Recommendation, Clearing The Way For Vaccinations To Begin 
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has signed off on an advisory panel's recommendation to use Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine in people 16 and older, clearing the way for inoculations to begin. “As COVID-19 cases continue to surge throughout the U.S., CDC’s recommendation comes at a critical time. Initial COVID-19 vaccination is set to start as early as Monday, and this is the next step in our efforts to protect Americans, reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and help restore some normalcy to our lives and our country,” Robert Redfield said in a statement on Sunday. (Budryk, 12/13)

The New York Times: Vaccinated? Show Us Your App 
Among all the tools that health agencies have developed over the years to fight epidemics, at least one has remained a constant for more than a century: paper vaccination certificates. In the 1880s, in response to smallpox outbreaks, some public schools began requiring students and teachers to show vaccination cards. In the 1960s, amid yellow fever epidemics, the World Health Organization introduced an international travel document, known informally as the yellow card. Even now, travelers from certain regions are required to show a version of the card at airports. (Singer, 12/13)

Fox Business: Ex-Facebook Exec Suggests Everyone Who Gets Vaccinated To Wear Certain Color Mask 
Former Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya suggested in a tweet on Friday that everyone who gets vaccinated should "all wear a mask of a special design or color" in order to let other people around them know that they have been vaccinated. The idea did not sit well with many on social media, who quickly blasted the idea, comparing it to Nazi Germany's use of the Star of David. (Manfredi, 12/13)

In related news about tracking the virus —

AP: States Get Tracing Apps To Talk To Each Other As Virus Rises
As coronavirus exposure notification technology slowly rolls out across the country, every resident in 17 states and the District of Columbia will now be able to send and receive alerts beyond their home state if they’ve tested positive for the coronavirus or come into contact with someone who has. On Friday, Virginia joined Washington, D.C., and 16 other states that have been using the Association of Public Health Laboratories’ National Key Server, which allows phones to “talk to each other” across state borders. This means users in these 18 areas won’t have to download a separate app in places they are visiting. (Anderson, 12/11)

Stat: Early Data Suggests Wearables Can Flag Some Covid-19 Cases Early
The results of several ambitious studies testing wearables as early predictors of for Covid-19 are in — and they suggest that data from devices including Apple Watches, Fitbits, and Oura smart rings may be useful for flagging some infections in people before they even feel ill. Recently published research from ongoing efforts at three high-profile institutions in the Golden State — the University of California in San Francisco, Stanford University, and Scripps Research Translational Institute in San Diego — indicate that wearables can detect a bump in heart rate or temperature, the most consistent signs that the body is mounting a response to an external threat before symptoms appear. (Brodwin, 12/14)

AP: Barcelona Concert Tests Use Of Same-Day COVID-19 Screening
Eager for a live music show after months of social distancing, more than 1,000 Barcelona residents gathered Saturday to participate in a medical study to evaluate the effectiveness of same-day coronavirus screening to safely hold cultural events. After passing an antigen screening, 500 of the volunteers were randomly selected to enjoy a free concert inside Barcelona’s Apolo Theater. (Wilson and Morenatti, 12/12)

Politico: Biden Starts Countering Trump’s Messaging On Vaccine
President-elect Joe Biden's team is feverishly working to get a messaging plan in place to sell a skeptical public on the first FDA-backed coronavirus vaccine, believing the Trump administration has set the effort back significantly. Biden implied on Friday that he’s not going to wait until he takes office to start counteracting Trump’s mixed messaging on the vaccine, which includes downplaying the public health threat of the coronavirus while hailing the unprecedented speed at which a shot was developed. (Roubein and Goldberg, 12/12)

The New York Times: Trump Administration Plans A Rushed Effort To Encourage Americans To Be Vaccinated 
The Trump administration, scrambling to make up for lost time after a halting start, is rushing to roll out a $250 million public education campaign to encourage Americans to take the coronavirus vaccine, which will reach the first patients in the United States this week. Federal officials acknowledge the effort will be a complicated one. It must compete with public doubt and mistrust of government programs amid deep political divisions created in part by a president who has spent much of the year belittling government scientists, promoting ineffective treatments and dismissing the seriousness of the pandemic — and is now rushing to claim credit for a vaccine that he has made a priority. (Gay Stolberg and Shear, 12/13)

Also —

The Hill: FDA Chief: Americans' Hesitancy To Get Vaccine A 'Significant Problem' 
Dr. Stephen Hahn, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said on Sunday that resistance to the COVID-19 vaccine by some Americans is a “significant problem” and officials are working to address those “fears and concerns.” Host Martha Raddatz noted during Hahn’s appearance on ABC’s “This Week” that recent polling shows between one-quarter and one-third of Americans do not want to receive a vaccine. (Balluck, 12/13)

AP: After 110K Virus Deaths, Nursing Homes Face Vaccine Fears
After 110,000 deaths ravaged the nation’s nursing homes and pushed them to the front of the vaccine line, they now face a vexing problem: Skeptical residents and workers balking at getting the shots. Being first has come with persistent fears that the places hit hardest in the pandemic — accounting for nearly 40% of the nation’s death toll — could be put at risk again by vaccines sped into development in months rather than years. Some who live and work in homes question if enough testing was done on the elderly, if enough is known of side effects and if the shots could do more harm than good. (Condon and Sedensky, 12/14)

The Clarion-Ledger: Mississippians Have Lowest COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance Rate In Nation
Gov. Tate Reeves recently said among his biggest concerns about a COVID-19 vaccine is whether people will take it. He has reason to be worried. Mississippi has the lowest coronavirus vaccine acceptance rate in the nation at 43%, according to survey results published in September by The COVID States Project, a coalition of university researchers. Reeves also has a front-row seat to the Magnolia State’s vaccine skepticism and conspiracy theories: His Facebook page is awash in them. (Ramseth, 12/13)

Stat: Can Celebrities Spur Acceptance Of The Covid-19 Vaccine? 
Former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton announced earlier this month their intentions to get vaccinated against Covid-19 — potentially on live television — to bolster trust and confidence in the shots among Americans. Following their lead, President-elect Biden said he too would take a vaccine on camera, as did Anthony Fauci, the nation’s most visible virologist. Ivanka Trump also signaled her willingness to get inoculated publicly. (St. Fleur, 12/14)

The Wall Street Journal: Coronavirus Live Updates: U.S. Hospitalizations Hit Record, Doubling In Five Weeks 
The U.S. neared 300,000 Covid-19 deaths on Sunday, as virus vaccines from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE started shipping across the country. Johns Hopkins data showed 299,057 had died from the virus, while Covid-19 cases in the country exceeded 16 million, and hospitalizations hit a record high. (12/13)

The Hill: COVID-19 Infections Spread Rapidly As Officials Race To Distribute Vaccine 
The number of coronavirus infections is spreading at an alarming rate across the nation as the U.S. government  gears up to distribute its first rounds of an approved coronavirus vaccine. The United States added 1 million coronavirus infections in just four days, bringing the cumulative total of cases to over 16 million on Saturday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The country has recorded over 215,000 cases each day since Tuesday, Dec. 8. (Williams, 12/12)

AP: Task Force Recommends Stricter Virus Measures For Florida
A White House Coronavirus Task Force report for Florida recommended stricter measures for stopping the virus including mask wearing at all times in public, increased physical distancing by reducing capacity or closing indoor spaces at restaurants and bars and limiting gatherings outside of immediate households. The Dec. 6 report obtained by the Center for Public Integrity also urged leaders to begin warning about the risks of gathering during the December holiday season. (12/12)

In related news —

The New York Times: The 2020 Death Toll Is Higher Than Normal, And It’s Not All Covid-19 
The year 2020 has been abnormal for mortalities. At least 356,000 more people in the United States have died than usual since the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the country in the spring. But not all of these deaths have been directly linked to Covid-19.More than a quarter of deaths above normal have been from other causes, including diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, high blood pressure and pneumonia, according to a New York Times analysis of estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Lu, 12/13)

CNN: What Not To Do Now That A Covid-19 Vaccine Has Arrived 
The country's first Covid-19 vaccines could be administered as soon as Monday, after the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine received green lights from the US Food and Drug Administration and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention... But the pandemic isn't over yet. Here are three things you shouldn't do until things are under control. (Andone, 12/14)

The New York Times: As U.S. Deaths Approach 300,000, Obituaries Force Reckoning With Covid 
When Kim Miller sat down in her Illinois house to compose her husband’s obituary, she could not hold back. Not about the coronavirus that had left Scott, her fit, healthy spouse who loved to swim, golf and putter in the garden, gasping for breath and unable to move his limbs as he stood at the kitchen counter. Not about what had killed him swiftly and cruelly in only a few days. “This disease is real, it is serious and it is deadly,” she wrote in his obituary. “Wear the mask, socially distance, if not for yourself then for others who may lose a loved one to the disease.” (Bosman, 12/13)

Politico: FDA's Hahn: Covid-19 Vaccine Authorization Based In 'Science And Data' 
FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn on Sunday denied reports his agency was pressured by the Trump administration to get Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine authorized quickly, asserting authorization was based on a "thorough review of the science and data." "Our timeline, how we approached this was based upon our thorough review of the science and data," Hahn said on CNN's "State on the Union." "That's the promise we made to the American people, the transparency around that, and that's what we did.” (Carrasco, 12/13)

Bloomberg: As Vaccines Move, Warp Speed Leader Rues Political Pressure
Moncef Slaoui of Operation Warp Speed was asked on “Fox News Sunday” about reports the U.S. Food and Drug Administration chief was told Friday his job was in jeopardy if the agency didn’t approve the first Covid vaccine by day’s end. If a phone call along those lines between Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, and FDA Administrator Stephen Hahn happened as reported, “I think it was useless and unfortunate, and so are some of the tweets,” he said. (Czuczka and Miller, 12/13)

Forbes: Trump Health Officials Blast President’s Vaccine Approval Pressure As ‘Useless And Unfortunate’
President Trump’s recent attempts to speed up the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the coronavirus vaccine for emergency use, which reportedly went as far as threatening the FDA commissioner’s job, were brushed aside by high-ranking health officials on Sunday who decried the additional pressure as useless and potentially counter-productive.  “I do think it’s not helpful,” Moncef Slaoui, the head of the White House’s program to accelerate the development of a Covid-19 vaccine, told Fox News Sunday in response to a question about President Trump’s tweet last week telling the FDA to “get the [damn] vaccine out NOW” and The Washington Post’s report that Chief of Staff Mark Meadows threatened Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn. (McEvoy, 12/13)

ABC News: Refuting Trump, FDA Commissioner Says Pfizer Vaccine Could Not Have Been Authorized Sooner 
As the first United States shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine set out across a beleaguered nation ravaged by nine months of illness and death, the leader of the agency responsible for authorizing the immunization for emergency use, maintained Sunday that the authorization was made as quickly as possible, despite claims to the contrary by President Donald Trump. "We do not feel that this could have been out a week earlier," Dr. Stephen Hahn, the FDA commissioner, countered on ABC's "This Week." "We went through our process. We promised the American people that we would do a thorough review of the application and that's what we did. We followed our process." (Kelsey, 12/13)

The Washington Post: Trump Reverses Course On Plan To Have White House Staff Be Among First To Get Vaccine 
President Trump reversed course on a plan to have some White House staffers be among the first Americans to be vaccinated against the novel coronavirus, tweeting late Sunday that they “should receive the vaccine somewhat later in the program, unless specifically necessary.” Earlier Sunday, White House officials had said that senior members of the Trump administration would receive priority as a vaccine is rolled out this week, an announcement that drew criticism in light of the fact that Trump and his top advisers have repeatedly downplayed the seriousness of the pandemic while flouting public health guidance. (Noori Farzan, 12/14)

Politico: Trump Rejects Plan For Early Vaccination At White House 
President Donald Trump tweeted Sunday night that White House officials will not necessarily be given the first shot at the new Covid-19 vaccine. "People working in the White House should receive the vaccine somewhat later in the program, unless specifically necessary," Trump tweeted. "I have asked that this adjustment be made. I am not scheduled to take the vaccine, but look forward to doing so at the appropriate time. Thank you!" (Cohen, 12/14)

Fox Business: Trump Says White House Staff Members Will Be Vaccinated Later
In a statement, National Security Council spokesman John Ullyot told Fox News that the officials will receive vaccinations "pursuant to continuity of government protocols established in executive policy." "The American people should have confidence that they are receiving the same safe and effective vaccine as senior officials of the United States government on the advice of public health professionals and national security leadership," he said. (Musto, 12/13)

The New York Times: This Week Will Be Decisive In Determining Whether Congress Passes A Stimulus Deal Before The End Of The Year.
Congress will reconvene on Monday for a make-or-break week in the effort to deliver badly needed relief to Americans and an economy hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic before the Christmas holidays. After months of impasse, lawmakers are now staring down a Friday deadline to complete a must-pass government funding bill to which they hope to attach new money for small businesses, unemployed Americans, the airline and restaurant industries, and schools. Many of the relief programs created this year are set to expire next week, putting millions of Americans at risk of losing government support as the health crisis continues in their communities. (12/13)

Politico: Bipartisan Group To Offer 2-Part Coronavirus Relief Package 
A bipartisan group of senators is expected to introduce a $908 billion coronavirus relief bill as soon as Monday, with a twist: The deal is expected to be split into two pieces, according to two people familiar with the negotiations. One would be a $748 billion piece of coronavirus relief with less controversial items like schools and health care; the other would marry $160 billion in money for local governments with a temporary liability shield. (McCaskill and Everett, 12/13)

The Wall Street Journal: Congress Eyes Targeted Coronavirus Aid For Small Businesses 
Lawmakers considering a fresh round of financial aid for small businesses are focusing on firms with fewer employees that could show they have been hurt by the pandemic-triggered downturn, addressing criticisms that dogged the Paycheck Protection Program. “Let us target the program to the smaller of the small businesses. Let’s make sure it’s based upon need, so that we get to the small businesses that really need help,” said Sen. Ben Cardin (D., Md.), the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, during a Congressional hearing last week. (Omeokwe, 12/13)

ProPublica: Congressional Investigation Finds Many Booster Seat Makers “Endangered” Children’s Lives After Review Of “Meaningless Safety Testing” 
In an unusually harsh and pointed report, a U.S. House subcommittee, responding to a ProPublica investigation, found widespread evidence that the nation’s largest manufacturers of car seats “endangered the lives of millions of American children and misled consumers about the safety of booster seats” in crashes that can kill or paralyze children. On Friday, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform’s Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy upped the ante, formally requesting that federal highway safety regulators, as well as the Federal Trade Commission, investigate “unfair and deceptive marketing and unreasonable risks to safety” by the makers of booster seats. Separately, the subcommittee urged state attorneys general to look for violations of consumer protection laws by these companies. (Callahan, 12/11)

CBS News: Congressional Probe Raises Safety Concerns About Booster Seats 
A congressional investigation is raising new questions about the safety of some popular children's car booster seats. The probe began after a ProPublica investigation aired on "CBS This Morning" in February which showed how some booster seats got a passing grade, despite disturbing video of crash test dummies being violently tossed around during safety testing. That video was originally obtained by ProPublica. New videos obtained by "CBS This Morning" show child-size dummies flailing violently in car booster seats during side-impact crash tests. In each case, the booster seats passed the tests. Because there are no federal standards for such side-impact crash tests, the companies decide what qualifies as passing.  (Van Cleave, 12/10)

Motherly: Before You Continue Using Your Booster Seat, Read This 
On December 10th, The House Committee on Oversight and Reform released the findings of an investigation led by the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy which reported that parents have been potentially misled into moving their children out of five-point harness car seats and into booster seats too soon. In February of this year, the Subcommittee began an investigation following concerns from safety experts and parents. They looked at information from leading car seat manufacturers including Artsana (the seller of the Chicco brand), Baby Trend, Britax, Dorel, Evenflo, Graco and KidsEmbrace. In their review, they examined non-public videos and written briefings of side-impact crash tests, written documents about side-impact testing protocols, and internal communication regarding marketing, safety labeling and instructions. Their report states, "The Subcommittee's investigation found that manufacturers of booster seats have endangered the lives of millions of American children and misled consumers about the safety of booster seats by failing to conduct appropriate side-impact testing, deceiving consumers with false and misleading statements and material omissions about their side-impact testing protocols." (Spalding, 12/11)

NPR: Op-Ed Urging Jill Biden To Drop The 'Dr.' Sparks Outrage Online
An opinion column in The Wall Street Journal came under fire over the weekend for asking educator and incoming first lady Jill Biden — who holds two master's degrees and a doctorate in education — to stop using the title "Dr." In the op-ed published Friday evening, writer and former editor of The American Scholar magazine Joseph Epstein urged Biden to drop the title, a message that public figures and women in academia panned on Twitter as misogynistic both in substance and tone. (Treisman, 12/13)

Slate: Everyone Is Mad At Wall Street Journal For Op-Ed Saying Jill Biden Should Drop Dr. Title.
The Wall Street Journal is facing lots of criticism after it published an op-ed that called on soon-to-be first lady Dr. Jill Biden to drop the “Dr.” from her title when she moves into the White House. Joseph Epstein, a former Northwestern University professor, claims in the piece that “‘Dr. Jill Biden’ sounds and feels fraudulent, not to say a touch comic.” He also opens the piece by speaking directly to President-elect Joe Biden’s wife: “Madame First Lady—Mrs. Biden—Jill—kiddo.” Epstein cites an unnamed “wise man” who supposedly said “no one should call himself Dr. unless he has delivered a child” and then goes on to ask Biden to “think about it.” (Politi, 12/13)

Read the opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal —

The Wall Street Journal: Opinion: Is There A Doctor In The White House? Not If You Need An M.D. 
Madame First Lady—Mrs. Biden—Jill—kiddo: a bit of advice on what may seem like a small but I think is a not unimportant matter. Any chance you might drop the “Dr.” before your name? “Dr. Jill Biden ” sounds and feels fraudulent, not to say a touch comic. Your degree is, I believe, an Ed.D., a doctor of education, earned at the University of Delaware through a dissertation with the unpromising title “Student Retention at the Community College Level: Meeting Students’ Needs.” A wise man once said that no one should call himself “Dr.” unless he has delivered a child. Think about it, Dr. Jill, and forthwith drop the doc. (Joseph Epstein, 12/11)

In other news related to President-elect Joe Biden's transition —

Stat: Patrick Kennedy Pitches Himself For Biden 'Drug Czar'
Patrick Kennedy, the former congressman and mental health care advocate, has launched a public push to serve as the incoming Biden administration’s “drug czar.” He’s the highest-profile candidate to join the early jockeying for the post, and already enjoys backing from prominent figures including a former drug czar, former surgeon general, and the former director of the National Institute of Mental Health. (Facher, 12/14)

The Hill: Bill Gates: Presidential Transition 'Complicating' Rollout Of COVID-19 Vaccine 
Philanthropist Bill Gates warned Sunday that the failure of President Trump to formally recognize his defeat to President-elect Joe Biden and begin a White House transition process is "complicating" efforts to roll out a COVID-19 vaccine to the general public. Gates told CNN's "State of the Union" that a lack of communication between the Trump and Biden teams risked a slower distribution process for the vaccine, which is set to become available for some vaccinations this week. (Bowden, 12/13)

Modern Healthcare: Oncologists Sue To Stop White House Outpatient Drug Pay Rule
Community oncologists are suing the Trump administration to stop implementation of its new outpatient drug pay demonstration, which would cut Medicare reimbursement for certain high-spend drugs. The Community Oncology Alliance argues that CMS' plan to tie drug payment to foreign prices in Medicare Part B would cause financial hardship for providers, reduce patient access, and reduce pay rates from other payers. The model depends on providers negotiating drugmakers' prices down to meet reduced reimbursement levels. (Cohrs, 12/11)

Stat: HHS Sued For Failing To Stop Drug Makers From Cutting 340B Drug Discounts
A group of hospital associations filed a lawsuit accusing the Department of Health and Human Services of failing to prevent a half dozen large drug makers from curtailing the discounts they offer through a federal program for safety-net hospitals. At issue is the 340B drug discount program, which was created in 1992 and requires drug makers to offer discounts that are typically estimated to be 25% to 50% — but could be much higher — on all outpatient drugs to hospitals and clinics that serve low-income populations. (Silverman, 12/12)

Stat: 'Most Favored Nations' Test Threatens Care For Medicare Beneficiaries 
President Trump and other administration officials have talked a big game about their new most favored nation model for lowering prices for Medicare Part B drugs, including cancer therapies and other potentially lifesaving treatments administered by physicians. But they failed to disclose the fine print: By their own estimates, nearly 10% of people covered by Medicare would lose access to treatment in the first year, and almost 20% by the end of the second year. (Okon, 12/11)

In other news —

Modern Healthcare: HHS Finalizes Rule Easing Protection Of Substance Abuse Disorder Medical Records
HHS on Friday finalized a rule clarifying that courts can allow disclosure of confidential communications between patients and substance abuse treatment programs if it aids the investigation or prosecution of serious crimes. It aims to correct a 2017 rule that reworked privacy protections for substance use disorder information. According to the final rule, HHS didn't intend to block information that could help criminal investigations. (Brady, 12/11)

The Hill: Trump Administration To Purchase Another 100M Doses Of Moderna Vaccine 
The Trump administration announced on Friday that it will purchase another 100 million doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate, according to a release from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The vaccine is still pending emergency authorization from the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) but approval appears likely. (Hellmann, 12/11)

The New York Times: Covid Patient Study Shows Some Benefit From An Arthritis Drug 
Adding an arthritis drug called baricitinib to Covid treatment regimens that include the antiviral drug remdesivir might shave a day or more off recovery times, especially for those who are seriously sick, according to a study published on Friday. The findings of a government-sponsored clinical trial were made public more than three weeks after the Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for the dual treatment. Earlier this month, some experts said they were uncomfortable deploying drugs without the opportunity to vet the underlying data supporting their performance. Last month, the World Health Organization also recommended against remdesivir as a treatment for Covid patients because evidence supporting its use was lacking. (Wu, 12/13)

In other pharmaceutical industry news —

Stat: AstraZeneca To Acquire Alexion For $39 Billion In Blockbuster Deal
AstraZeneca on Saturday said it was acquiring Alexion Pharmaceuticals for $39 billion, marking a significant expansion into the treatment of rare diseases of the immune system. The deal — a mix of cash and stock — values Alexion at $175 per share, a 45% premium to Friday’s closing stock price. (Feuerstein and Herper, 12/12)

Stat: Historian Tells Judge Making Purdue A Public Benefit Company Is A Bad Idea
For the past few weeks, a U.S. bankruptcy court has heard objections to a plan to transform Purdue Pharma into a public benefit company, which would be run on behalf of the numerous communities that have pursued the drug maker for compensation for the cost of the opioid crisis. The notion is part of an $8.3 billion settlement of criminal and civil charges reached with the Department of Justice. And at a recent hearing, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Drain cited a new book by an historian to express tentative support for the proposal. (Silverman, 12/11)

The Guardian: 'Autoantibodies' May Be Driving Severe Covid Cases, Study Shows
Dramatic levels of “friendly fire” from the immune system may drive severe Covid-19 disease and leave patients with “long Covid” – when medical problems persist for a significant time after the virus has been beaten – scientists have said. Researchers at Yale University found that Covid-19 patients had large numbers of misguided antibodies in their blood that targeted the organs, tissues and the immune system itself, rather than fighting off the invading virus. (Sample, 12/13)

The Telegraph: Immune System 'Friendly Fire' May Cause Long Covid, Yale Study Finds
Immune system “friendly fire” may cause long Covid as antibodies mistakenly target organs and tissues instead of the Coronavirus, a Yale study has found. Researchers in the US found Covid-19 patients had large numbers of misguided antibodies in their blood that went on to target organs, tissues and the immune system itself, rather than the invading virus. This could explain why some victims of the disease develop so-called long Covid; a continuation of medical problems many weeks after the initial attack of Covid-19 has been beaten off. (Nicholls, 12/13)

In other updates about "long COVID" —

CNBC: Covid ‘Long Haulers’ May Take More Than A Year To Recover, Says Mayo Clinic Doctor
Coronavirus patients who develop “post-Covid syndrome” brain fog and fatigue — often referred to as “long haulers” — may feel the effects for more than a year, according to a Mayo Clinic doctor studying the phenomenon. Dr. Greg Vanichkachorn, an occupational medicine specialist, told CNBC in a phone interview Wednesday that he won’t be “too shocked” if some Covid-19 long-haulers were to experience a similar, lengthy recovery trajectory as some sufferers of severe acute respiratory syndrome. SARS, a respiratory virus similar to the novel coronavirus, sparked an epidemic in 2003. (Stankiewicz, 12/9)

The Lancet: Facing Up To Long COVID
Multiorgan symptoms after COVID-19 are being reported by increasing numbers of patients. They range from cough and shortness of breath, to fatigue, headache, palpitations, chest pain, joint pain, physical limitations, depression, and insomnia, and affect people of varying ages. At the Lancet–Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences conference on Nov 23, Bin Cao presented data (in press at The Lancet) on the long-term consequences of COVID-19 for patients in Wuhan, and warned that dysfunctions and complications could persist in some discharged patients for at least 6 months. So-called long COVID is a burgeoning health concern and action is needed now to address it. (12/12)

CIDRAP: CDC Reports First Pediatric Flu Death Of The New Flu Season
Though flu activity in the United States remains well below expected levels for this time of year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today reported the first pediatric flu death of the 2020-21 season, a child who died from influenza B. The percentage of respiratory specimens that were positive for flu last week was 0.2%, and the percentage of clinic visits for flulike illness stayed at 1.6% for the third week in a row. Deaths from flu, pneumonia, and COVID-19 were at 14.3%, well above the 6.5% epidemic threshold, but with the vast majority deaths due to COVID-19. The CDC cautioned that flu patterns should be interpreted with caution, due to impacts from COVID-19. (12/11)

The New York Times: Fears Of A ‘Twindemic’ Recede As Flu Lies Low 
Despite the horrifying surge of Covid-19 cases and deaths in the United States right now, one bit of good news is emerging this winter: It looks unlikely that the country will endure a “twindemic” of both flu and the coronavirus at the same time. That comes as a profound relief to public health officials who predicted as far back as April that thousands of flu victims with pneumonia could pour into hospitals this winter, competing with equally desperate Covid-19 pneumonia victims for scarce ventilators. (McNeil Jr., 12/13)

The Washington Post: Study Explores Link Between Public Transportation And Spread Of Seasonal Flu 
In a study released this month, a team of researchers at New York University found that fears about virus transmissions in public transportation systems could be exaggerated. While acknowledging that “transportation of any type is clearly associated with the spread of disease from one geographic region to another,” researchers from NYU’s Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service and the Rudin Center for Transportation found that high public transportation ridership didn’t necessarily translate to a greater number of deaths from seasonal flu or pneumonia. (Aratani, 12/11)

In other science and research news —

Stat: A Portrait Of The Coronavirus At 1: How It Spreads, Infects, And Sickens 
The coronavirus behind the pandemic presents some vexing dualities. It’s dangerous enough that it dispatches patients to hospitals in droves and has killed more than 1.6 million people, but mild enough that most people shrug it off. It blocks one arm of the immune system from responding as it takes hold, but lures other parts into dangerous hyperdrive. It homes in on cells high up in the airway — think the nose and throat — but also burrows deeper into the lungs, maximizing infectiousness without ceding how sick it can make people. (Joseph, 12/14)

Becker's Hospital Review: Smell Test May Help Spot COVID-19 Cases
A scratch-and-sniff screening tool that identifies impaired sense of smell, a common symptom of COVID-19, could help quickly pinpoint cases, CBS News reports. Researchers from the University of Colorado in Boulder studied a smell test called U-Smell-It, which combines the use of a scratch-and-sniff card with different scents and an app where users input what they smelled. The app then alerts users if it detects an impaired sense of smell, indicating the need for a standard COVID-19 test.  (Carbajal, 12/11)

The Hill: Three Snow Leopards At Louisville Zoo Test Positive For COVID-19 
Three snow leopards at the Louisville Zoo in Kentucky tested positive for COVID-19 Friday, marking the sixth animal species to be infected with the highly-contagious virus after contact with humans. The zoo said two males and a female contracted the virus and that their symptoms are currently “mild” and include wheezing and dry coughing. All three are anticipated to make a full recovery. No other animals at the zoo are exhibiting symptoms. (Axelrod, 12/11)

Bloomberg: First Covid Vaccines’ Triumph Raises Hope For Cancer Fight
Now, with one vaccine vaccine having gained U.S. clearance and the other close behind, the pandemic validation could wrench open a whole new field of medicine. “We are now entering the age of mRNA therapeutics,” said Derrick Rossi, a former Harvard University stem-cell biologist who helped found Moderna in 2010. “The whole world has seen this. There is going to be increased investment and increased resources.” In some ways, the global pandemic was the perfect proving ground for the new technology as deep-pocketed backers -- including Pfizer -- became more willing to take a risk. But the effort was only possible because BioNTech and Moderna Inc. had worked on messenger RNA for years. (Kresge and Langreth, 12/13)

The Guardian: 'People Will Die': Chicago Could Lose An Essential Hospital In The Middle Of The Pandemic
Activists, medical professionals and community members in Chicago are rallying against the looming closure of Mercy hospital – the oldest healthcare facility in the city, and one of its most storied – warning that its closure would drastically worsen racial health disparities in the city. Trinity Health, which has owned the facility for eight years, plans to shutter it later this winter or early spring, citing financial struggles. But organizers here say that its closure, particularly against the backdrop of the Covid-19 crisis, will exacerbate existing healthcare inequalities in the city, and have called on officials to intervene on behalf of the hospital, an oasis in the medical desert of the predominantly Black and brown South Side. (Lutz, 12/13)

In other health care industry developments —

Becker's Hospital Review: What Was The Biggest Missed Opportunity For Healthcare IT In 2020? 5 Hospital CIOs Weigh In
While the teams handling hospital and health systems' IT systems made significant, necessary changes to help provide patients with quality care and keep operations afloat during the pandemic, reflection would prove that there were some improvements health IT professionals failed to implement in 2020. Below, five hospital and health system CIOs share what they think were health IT's biggest mishandlings and missed opportunities in 2020. (Adama, 12/11)

Stat: World Trade Council Fails To Act On Proposal To Waive IP Rights To Covid-19 Drugs And Vaccines 
In a widely anticipated meeting, a World Trade Organization council failed to act on a controversial proposal to temporarily waive some provisions in a trade agreement governing intellectual property rights, which would make Covid-19 medical products more easily accessible, especially by low-income countries. During the closed-door session, which took place on Thursday, several wealthy nations reiterated arguments that patent rights do not create barriers to wider access and affordability. (Silverman, 12/11)

Modern Healthcare: Healthcare Leverages Partnerships, Social Needs Data To Address COVID-19
When COVID-19 hit, Carilion Clinic used its arsenal of social determinants of health data to figure out which patients would need the most education and support throughout the pandemic. With help from an artificial intelligence vendor, the Roanoke, Va.-based health system used ZIP code and census data and other social needs data to identify thousands of patients most at risk for negative outcomes should they contract COVID-19. Data from electronic health records was also used. (Castellucci, 12/12)

KHN: This Health Care Magnate Wants To Fix Democracy, Starting In Colorado
In the final weeks before the Nov. 3 election, supporters of a down-in-the-weeds effort to overturn a tax law in Colorado received a cascade of big checks, for a grand total of more than $2 million. All came from Kent Thiry, the former CEO of DaVita, one of the largest kidney care companies in the country. This was not the first time he donated big to a ballot initiative aimed at tweaking the nitty-gritty details of how Colorado functions. Nor will it be the last. (Bichell, 12/14)

USA Today: Wisconsin Raw Meat Sandwich: Officials Warn About Cannibal Sandwiches
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services is urging residents to put down their cannibal sandwiches, also known as raw meat sandwiches, tiger meat or steak tartare. "Many Wisconsin families consider them to be a holiday tradition, but eating them poses a threat for Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, Campylobacter and Listeria bacteria that can make you sick," the department wrote in a Facebook post Saturday, which it called its annual reminder. "Remember, ground beef should ALWAYS be cooked to an internal temperature of 160° F." (Tyko, 12/13)

In news about developmental disabilities —

ProPublica: They Made A Revolutionary System To Protect People With Developmental Disabilities. Now It’s Falling Apart. 
More than 40 years ago, Arizona set up a revolutionary system to protect the safety of residents with developmental disabilities like Down syndrome, autism and cerebral palsy. ... But today, the Independent Oversight Committees are falling apart, with members accusing the state Division of Developmental Disabilities, or DDD, of neglecting to provide the information and resources they need to do their job, according to interviews, official documents and a review of confidential incident reports by the Arizona Daily Star and ProPublica. (Silverman, 12/12)

In obituaries —

CNN: Actress Carol Sutton Dies Of Covid-19 
Actress Carol Sutton died Friday at age 76 of Covid-19 complications, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said. The New Orleans native built an extensive list of credits, including "Steel Magnolias," "Queen Sugar," and "Lovecraft Country," according to her IMDb page. (McCleary, 12/13)

The Washington Post: Charley Pride, First Major Black Star In Country Music, Dies At 86 Of Covid-19 
In the early 1960s, a young minor league baseball pitcher and aspiring country singer named Charley Pride had settled into a discouraging routine. His days were spent toiling in Helena, Mont., at a smelter operated by the Anaconda Copper Mining Co., and he spent his free time playing for its semipro baseball team, the East Helena Smelterites. He stood out as an African American working in a musical genre that seldom welcomed black voices. But he developed a small but enthusiastic fan base singing in Montana honky tonks, which in 1962 led to his invitation to perform before a show headlined by country singers Red Sovine and Red Foley. (McArdle, 12/12)

The New York Times: John Le Carré, Best-Selling Author Of Cold War Thrillers, Dies At 89
John le Carré, whose exquisitely nuanced, intricately plotted Cold War thrillers elevated the spy novel to high art by presenting both Western and Soviet spies as morally compromised cogs in a rotten system full of treachery, betrayal and personal tragedy, died on Saturday in Cornwall, England. He was 89. The cause was pneumonia, his publisher, Penguin Random House, said on Sunday. (Lyall, 12/13)

KHN: In COVID Hot Zones, Firefighters Now ‘Pump More Oxygen Than Water’
As a boy, Robert Weber chased the blazing lights and roaring sirens of fire engines down the streets of Brooklyn, New York. He hung out at the Engine 247 firehouse, eating ham heroes with extra mayonnaise, and “learning everything about everything to be the best firefighter in the world,” said his wife, Daniellle Weber, who grew up next door. (Cahan, 12/14)

AP: Worst Year On Record For Drug Overdoses In Virginia
This year is proving to be the worst on record by far for fatal drug overdoses in Virginia, a statewide forensic epidemiologist said. Rosie Hobron, of the Virginia Department of Health’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, told The Virginian-Pilot that as of October, the most recent report available, there will be 2,053 deaths from drugs in 2020. (12/12)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Should Ohio Decriminalize Addiction? Bill Heads To Vote This Week
Ohio could soon take the biggest step toward decriminalizing drugs since the "war on drugs" began in the 1970s. Senate Bill 3, pending in the Ohio House, would reduce penalties for possessing smaller amounts of drugs while keeping stronger penalties for having larger quantities. The goal: Get people treatment for their drug addictions and keep them out of prison, which can impact a person's ability to find a job for the rest of their life. The bill has broad support from opposite ends of the political spectrum, from the Koch brothers to employment agencies. But law enforcement and judges remain opposed. They say reducing felony possession charges to misdemeanors, punishable by jail time but not prison, will remove an effective tool for nudging people into treatment. (Borchardt and DeMio, 12/13)

Albuquerque Journal: Despite COVID-19, NM Suicide Rate Is Steady, LFC Says
New Mexico has one of the highest suicide rates in the country, and the COVID-19 pandemic could make it worse. But preliminary statewide suicide data doesn’t show an increase during January through October this year, according to Legislative Finance Committee research. An LFC Action Plan, released Tuesday, shows there were 515 suicides in the state last year, and the ripple effects of the pandemic “will likely exacerbate behavioral health issues and could lead to an increase in suicides.” (Perea, 12/13)

AP: Maine Looks To Boost Mental Health Resources For Farmers
Maine’s agriculture department is adding new resources about mental health for farmers and foresters in the state. The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry said it has added a mental health resources page to its website. The page includes information about noticing signs of stress and tools for managing stress. (12/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Antibodies As Covid Insurance
The U.S. can buy a Covid insurance policy for next year. The federal government should scale up production of antibody drugs to make as many doses as possible. The Food and Drug Administration has cleared two such drugs, from Regeneron and Eli Lilly, for emergency use. For newly diagnosed patients, they reduce the risk of severe disease. Making them is relatively straightforward, but supply is limited because the government didn’t find enough manufacturing space in the spring. Regeneron and Lilly took extraordinary steps to increase their own production. (Scott Gottlieb, 12/13)

Bloomberg: Covid Vaccines Bring Home The Failure Of Herd Immunity
It’s time for some good news. A few hours before I wrote this, my father (who is 83 and had a nasty case of pneumonia a few years ago) phoned to tell me that he will be having his first Covid-19 vaccination shot this week, with a second to follow in the first week of January. My 81-year-old mother will get her jabs at the same time. The British rollout continues apace, just as the introduction of the same vaccine is ready to start in the U.S. (John Authers, 12/14)

The New York Times: The Coronavirus Vaccine Won't Solve Everything
This should be a season of hope: We will shortly be getting a highly effective coronavirus vaccine, and the pandemic should wind down in the coming months. Yet this is the most wretched holiday season of my life. Consider: More Americans have died from Covid-19 in nine months than in combat over four years in World War II. The virus death toll exceeds 292,000, compared with 291,557 American World War II battle deaths. (Nicholas Kristof, 12/11)

CNN: Congress Stumbles On A Covid-19 Aid Package As Hopes For A Vaccine 
A key panel charged with evaluating the first coronavirus vaccine candidate in the US raced against the clock on Thursday in the quest to save American lives -- a stark contrast with the dithering, excuses and appalling lack of action on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers are struggling to strike a deal to send emergency pandemic relief to millions of Americans and may fail, once again, to avert a government shutdown at midnight. (Maeve Reston, 12/11)

Stat: Let Patients Speak For Themselves On The Biden Task Force 
Ever since President-elect Biden named his Covid-19 task force, advice for improving its makeup has poured in from all quarters. A recent op-ed by two nurses chided Biden to add a nurse to the task force in part because nurses “give voice to patients.” As a cancer survivor and patient, I have my own voice. So do the millions of patients around the country, whose voices have often been co-opted in national debates and policy forums by nurses, doctors, and others speaking for us. (Shari Berman, 12/14)

The Hill: How The Pandemic Brought Us Opportunity For Health, Wealth And Happiness 
It is often said that health is wealth, and at no time in our lives has this truism proven more correct than during the COVID-19 pandemic and the U.S. political upheaval. This has been a year unlike any other in my lifetime. Individuals have learned a lot about just how precious life is. At this point, nearly a year into the pandemic, each of us probably knows someone who has contracted COVID-19. While most have managed to defeat this insidious virus, going through days of unpleasantness but ultimately emerging a survivor, others have not been so fortunate. (Armstrong Williams, 12/10)

Los Angeles Times: Universal Mail Ballots Are A COVID Measure Worth Keeping
Though it may be hard to imagine now, sometime in the not distant future, the emergency measures adopted this year to control the spread of COVID-19 will no longer be necessary. But California would benefit by keeping at least one of them in place for good: mailing a ballot to every active registered voter in the state. When it became clear this spring that the pandemic was not likely to end before the Nov. 3 election, lawmakers acted to ensure that all active registered voters in California could participate without risking infection. Counties were directed to mail ballots to all voters, whether they requested one or not, and, with an onslaught of mail ballots expected, were allowed to start processing ballots extra early. The state also extended the grace period for mailed-in ballots to 17 days. (12/14)

The Hill: Time Awarding Biden, Harris 'Person Of The Year' Is An Insult To Health Care Workers 
Time giving President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris its 2020 Person of the Year award is patently laughable in its partisanship. Why did Time do it? Because it was the politically correct thing to do, and it's what Time’s readers wanted from a comfort food perspective, all while largely ignoring the true heroes of 2020: health care workers on the front lines of COVID-19. (Joe Concha, 12/13)

Stat: Peer Recovery Programs Should Be A Key Part Of Addiction Treatment 
I still remember the charge nurse looking at me when I walked into the hospital four years ago for my first assignment as a peer recovery specialist. “Hey,” she said. “Are you the overdose guy?” I nodded. She pointed me toward the far corner of the emergency department, where a man lay in a hospital bed. “He’s a real winner,” she said wryly. I glanced over at him, paused, and replied, “Once upon a time, I was that winner. The only difference between him and me was that I was also handcuffed to the bed.” (Eric McIntire, 12/14)

The Washington Post: We Need A Marshall Plan For Our Schools. And We Need It Now.
It’s time to treat the dire situation facing public school students with the same federal mobilization we have come to expect for other national emergencies, such as floods, wildfires and hurricanes. A major, coordinated nationwide effort — imagine a Marshall Plan for schools — is needed to return children to public schools quickly in the safest way possible. (Richard Carranza, Austin Beutner and Janice Jackson, 12/13)

USA Today: COVID Christmas Doctor's Orders: Don't Travel. Stay Home And Stay Safe.
In many ways, this nightmarish year has been defined by isolation and loneliness. My heart broke for my 80-year patient, a devoted father and grandfather, as he lay dying from COVID-19, alone in his hospital room. To limit the spread of the lethal virus, he was surrounded only by the beeping machines and an iPad broadcasting his last moments to his family. My heart breaks for the families who are missing one of the nearly 300,000 people who have died this year from COVID-19. These hundreds of thousands of people will be missing from dinners and celebrations this bittersweet holiday season. Unfortunately, these families do not have a choice: Their Christmas and holidays will be smaller and lonelier. But for those of us who do, we must voluntarily choose to keep our holiday celebrations smaller, limited only to immediate household members, so that our future celebrations are not scarred by the death of loved ones. (Thomas K. Lew, 12/13)

The Washington Post: Lockdowns Are Coming Again. This Time, We Know Better How To Make The Most Of Them.
Here come the lockdown restrictions again. All across the United States, public officials are imposing limits on people congregating in order to combat the pandemic. Much of Southern California, the San Joaquin Valley and the Bay Area is shut down. New restrictions are being imposed in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and some Maryland counties. The measures are painful, but we know much more today than we did in March about how the virus spreads and ways to mitigate it, at least until a vaccine arrives. Those lessons must be applied in new shutdowns to protect public health and shield so much else that’s vulnerable, including the economy, schools and the health-care system. (12/12)

The Washington Post: Airborne Transmission, Not Surfaces, Is The Bigger Covid-19 Problem
We don’t have a single documented case of covid-19 transmission from surfaces. Not one. So why, then, are we spending a small fortune to deep clean our offices, schools, subways and buses? Business leaders, school districts and government officials often ask us whether people are over-cleaning in response to the pandemic. The short answer is yes. The reality is that the novel coronavirus spreads mainly through the air. Especially with regular hand-washing, there’s no need to constantly disinfect surfaces. (Joseph G. Allen, Charles Haas and Linsey C. Marr, 12/11)

CNN: Donald Trump Engages In Self-Sabotage Ahead Of Historic Vaccine Rollout 
As the first doses of a coronavirus vaccine are prepared for shipment to communities across the United States, President Donald Trump has an opportunity to mark a historic milestone for science -- and show some semblance of leadership in curbing the spread of Covid-19 as the number of US cases crosses 16 million. Instead, he is engaged in self-sabotage, distracting Americans from that great accomplishment for his administration by spreading more election disinformation while questioning whether to fire Attorney General William Barr, in part, because Barr did not inform Trump of the federal investigation into the business dealings of Hunter Biden, the son of President-elect Joe Biden, before the election. (Maeve Reston, 12/13)

CNN: The Best Way To Hold A Covid-Era Inauguration 
It's time to change the presidential inauguration. As January 20 nears, the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies is trying to figure out the best way to commemorate the transfer of power during a pandemic. "The health and safety of our guests is a top priority. This includes the implementation of a layered approach in terms of health and safety measures," the committee said. (Julian Zelizer, 12/12)