AP: South Africa Suspends AstraZeneca Vaccine Drive
South Africa has suspended plans to inoculate its front-line health care workers with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine after a small clinical trial suggested that it isn’t effective in preventing mild to moderate illness from the variant dominant in the country. South Africa received its first 1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine last week and was expected to begin giving jabs to health care workers in mid-February. The disappointing early results indicate that an inoculation drive using the AstraZeneca vaccine may not be useful. (Meldrum and Hui, 2/7)

The New York Times: AstraZeneca’s Vaccine Does Not Work Well Against Virus Variant In South Africa 
The findings were a devastating blow to the country’s efforts to combat the pandemic. Scientists in South Africa said on Sunday that a similar problem held among people who had been infected by earlier versions of the coronavirus: The immunity they acquired naturally did not appear to protect them from mild or moderate cases when reinfected by the variant, known as B.1.351. (2/8)

Reuters: South Africa Halts AstraZeneca Rollout On Fears It Doesn't Stop Mild Illness 
Protection against moderate-severe disease, hospitalisation or death could not be assessed in the study as the target population were at such low risk, the researchers said. ... Professor Shabir Madhi, lead investigator on the AstraZeneca trial in South Africa, said the vaccine’s similarity to another produced by Johnson & Johnson, which reduced severe disease by 89%, suggested it would still prevent serious illness or death. “There’s still some hope that the AstraZeneca vaccine might well perform as well as the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in a different age group demographic that I address of severe disease,” he told BBC radio. (Faulconbridge and Holton, 2/8)

The Wall Street Journal: Rollout Of AstraZeneca Covid-19 Vaccine Halted In South Africa After Study 
South Africa’s health minister, Zweli Mkhize, said that while the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine was on hold, the country would accelerate the deployment of the J&J shot, of which it has ordered 9 million doses. That vaccine, which requires only one dose, was found to be 57% effective at preventing mild and moderate cases of Covid-19 in a recent clinical trial in South Africa and offered 85% protection against severe illness. (Steinhauser, 2/7)

In related news —

CNBC: AstraZeneca Races To Adapt Covid Vaccine As South Africa Halts Rollout
Drugmaker AstraZeneca is racing to adapt its Covid-19 vaccine in the face of new variants of the virus, with the process becoming more urgent after a small-scale study found that it was less effective at protecting against the more virulent strain discovered in South Africa. The country said it would suspend the use of the shot in its vaccination program after a study, published Sunday and not yet peer-reviewed, found that the vaccine offered “minimal protection” against mild to moderate disease caused by the South African variant. (Ellyatt, 2/8)

USA Today: Pfizer Expects To Cut COVID-19 Vaccine Production Time By Almost 50%
Pfizer expects to nearly cut in half the amount of time it takes to produce a batch of COVID-19 vaccine from 110 days to an average of 60 as it makes the process more efficient and production is built out, the company told USA TODAY. As the nation revs up its vaccination programs, the increase could help relieve bottlenecks caused by vaccine shortages. "We call this 'Project Light Speed,' and it's called that for a reason," said Chaz Calitri, Pfizer's vice president for operations for sterile injectables, who runs the company's plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan. "Just in the last month we've doubled output." (Weise, 2/7)

Politico: Fauci Looking Ahead To More Vaccines In March, April 
The demand for Covid-19 vaccine doses may outpace supply at the moment, but availability is already looking better for the months ahead, Anthony Fauci said Sunday morning. “The demand clearly outstrips the supply right now,” Fauci told NBC’s Chuck Todd. “If you look at the escalation of availability of doses purely on the ability and the capability of manufacturing, it’s going to escalate and will continue to escalate as we go from February to March to April and beyond.” (Weaver, 2/7)

In related news about vaccine supply and distribution —

Politico: Biden’s Vaccine Ad Campaign Hits Roadblock: Not Enough Doses 
President Joe Biden is planning a massive campaign to sell Americans on getting a coronavirus vaccine — just as soon as there are enough shots for everyone. The limited vaccine supply has curbed the Biden administration’s early ambitions for a national effort to build enthusiasm for shots that can help smother the pandemic. Much of an envisioned $1 billion public awareness campaign remains on hold, with health officials figuring it makes little sense to make their pitch when so few Americans can get vaccinated. The U.S. is not expected to make vaccines widely available to the public until the spring. (Cancryn, 2/7)

The Hill: Vaccine Troubles Overseas Could Haunt United States 
The Biden administration and states across the country are slowly making progress with their coronavirus vaccination campaign, but the unequitable scramble for doses overseas threatens to prolong the pandemic indefinitely. Rich countries have essentially cleared the shelves, securing almost 60 percent of global vaccine supply, according to a Duke University procurement tracker, and the U.S alone has pre-purchased enough doses to inoculate the population twice over. (Weixel, 2/6)

The Hill: AstraZeneca Approvals Abroad Fuel Debate Over Speeding US Process 
Recent authorization of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine in the United Kingdom and European Union has sparked the question: Why not here as well? Positive data from the vaccine released Wednesday, combined with the urgent need for more doses in the U.S., is now fueling the debate. (Sullivan, 2/5)

Bloomberg: Putin’s Once-Scorned Vaccine Now Favorite In Pandemic Fight
President Vladimir Putin’s announcement in August that Russia had cleared the world’s first Covid-19 vaccine for use before it even completed safety trials sparked skepticism worldwide. Now he may reap diplomatic dividends as Russia basks in arguably its biggest scientific breakthrough since the Soviet era. Countries are lining up for supplies of Sputnik V after peer-reviewed results published in The Lancet medical journal this week showed the Russian vaccine protects against the deadly virus about as well as U.S. and European shots, and far more effectively than Chinese rivals. (Meyer, 2/6)

The Hill: Pentagon Approves Over 1,000 Personnel To Help FEMA With COVID-19 Vaccines 
The Pentagon has authorized more than 1,000 active-duty service members to help the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with its vaccination effort against COVID-19. The 1,110 active-duty troops will be broken up into teams of 222 people to support five state vaccination sites, according to a Defense Department fact sheet released Friday. (Mitchell, 2/5)

The Hill: Vaccine Inequity Prompts Calls For Federal Response 
More than 35 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered across the country, but it is becoming increasingly clear that vaccinations have not been equitable for communities of color that have been hardest hit by the pandemic. Several members of Congress have taken notice of the disparity in the past week, with three sets of the lawmakers urging the Biden administration to address the situation. (Johnson, 2/7)

Houston Chronicle: Mayor Turner, Elected Officials, Call Out Racial Inequality For Vaccine Distribution
Mayor Sylvester Turner and other elected officials called for a more fair and equitable system for distributing COVID-19 vaccines. At a news conference Saturday at the Settegast Community Health clinic, Turner criticized the vaccine distribution system, calling it skewed against minorities and blaming it for vaccine hesitancy. The discrepancy is even more concerning, Turner said, given that minority communities have been hit hardest by the virus. “The impact of this virus has been disproportionate on people of color,” he said. “Yet when the vaccine is on the scene, it seems as though it is converse of that.” (Goodman, 2/6)

The New York Times: Where Do Vaccine Doses Go, And Who Gets Them? The Algorithms Decide
Faced with the daunting task of parceling out a limited supply of coronavirus vaccines, Trump administration officials came up with a seemingly simple formula last year to streamline distribution of the shots. First, federal administrators would run an automated algorithm to divide vaccine doses nationwide, based on the size of each state’s adult population. Then each state would decide how to dole out the shots to local hospitals, nursing homes and clinics. (Singer, 2/7)

In other news about how states are rolling out the vaccine —

CNN: Kroger To Pay Workers $100 If They Get The Covid-19 Vaccine 
Kroger has joined a growing list of large US grocery store chains offering incentives for workers to get the Covid-19 vaccine. The company announced that its associates would get a one-time $100 payment if they show proof that they've received the full manufacturer-recommended doses of a Covid-19 vaccine. Workers that can't get the vaccine for health or religious reasons can get the payment if they take an educational health and safety course, the company said in a news release. (Williams, 2/6)

The Washington Post: Virginia Assisted-Living Facility Markets A ‘Vaccination Staycation’
As seniors across the country struggle to book appointments for scarce doses of coronavirus vaccines, one assisted-living facility marketed access to the doses through a “Vaccination Staycation.” Tall Oaks Assisted Living in Fairfax County advertised that those who booked a month-long stay in a $5,000, all-inclusive studio apartment there could also receive a two-dose vaccine at the facility. (Portnoy, 2/7)

The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Hopes Adding Pharmacies To COVID Vaccine Rollout Will Expand Its Reach
When Baltimore resident Phyllis Fung heard that some pharmacies were going to offer the COVID-19 vaccine in Maryland, she rushed to check their websites. The 53-year-old had “frantically” tried health departments and hospitals to get her elderly parents and in-laws immunized. (Mann and Condon, 2/8)

KHN: California’s Smallest County Makes Big Vaccination Gains
In the winter, the roughly three-hour drive from Alpine County’s main health clinic in Woodfords to the remote enclave of Bear Valley winds along snowy two-lane roads and over 8,000-foot mountain passes, circumventing the more direct route, which is closed for the season. So to get a box of the frozen Moderna covid-19 vaccine to the ski resort hamlet of about 100 people, the clinic has enlisted the sheriff’s department. (Norman, 2/8)

Fox News: Daily Coronavirus Cases In US Drop Below 100,000, Data Shows
The U.S. recorded fewer than 100,000 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday for the first time in months, data shows. Just over 96,000 new cases were identified Sunday, a decrease from the 113,927 cases reported on Saturday, according to the COVID Tracking Project (CTP). It was the first time since Nov. 2 that less than 100,000 new COVID-19 cases were reported. The data on Sunday was missing updates from a handful of states because some do not regularly report on the weekend, while others were having "technical difficulties." (Aaro, 2/7)

USA Today: US COVID Cases Are Falling But It's Not From Vaccine, Yet, Experts Say
New coronavirus cases are on the decline in the United States after staggering post-holiday peaks last month, but experts say it's too early for new COVID-19 vaccines to be having an influence. The positive trend also is not assured to continue, because new and more transmissible variants threaten to reverse it, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky. "Although we have seen declines in cases and admissions and a recent slowing of deaths, cases remain extraordinarily high, still twice as high as the peak number of cases over the summer," she said this week. (Rodriguez, 2/6)

CNN: Despite Dip In Covid-19 Cases, Expert Says US Is In The 'Eye Of The Hurricane' As Variants Spread 
While a recent dip in Covid-19 infections may seem encouraging, experts warn now is not the time for Americans to let their guard down. That's largely because of new variants circulating in the US, putting the country once again in the "eye of the hurricane," according to one expert. (Maxouris, 2/8)

NPR: Actual Coronavirus Infections Far Higher Than Confirmed Cases, Model Shows
Ever since the coronavirus reached the U.S., officials and citizens alike have gauged the severity of the spread by tracking one measure in particular: How many new cases are confirmed through testing each day. However, it has been clear all along that this number is an understatement because of testing shortfalls. Now a research team at Columbia University has built a mathematical model that gives a much more complete — and scary — picture of how much virus is circulating in our communities. (Aizenman, Carlsen and Talbot, 2/6)

KHN: Why The U.S. Is Underestimating Covid Reinfection 
Kaitlyn Romoser first caught covid-19 in March, likely on a trip to Denmark and Sweden, just as the scope of the pandemic was becoming clear. Romoser, who is 23 and a laboratory researcher in College Station, Texas, tested positive and had a few days of mild, coldlike symptoms. In the weeks that followed, she bounced back to what felt like a full recovery. She even got another test, which was negative, in order to join a study as one of the earliest donors of convalescent blood plasma in a bid to help others. (Aleccia, 2/8)

In related news about mask-wearing —

The Hill: CDC Study: Mask Mandates Reduce COVID-19 Hospitalizations 
States and counties that implemented mask mandates saw a substantial decline in the number of people admitted to the hospital to treat COVID-19 symptoms in the weeks after the mandates took effect, according to a new study published Friday. (Wilson, 2/5)

NPR: Iowa Rolls Back Coronavirus Restrictions
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a new public health disaster proclamation Friday that will ease previous public health regulations geared to controlling the coronavirus. Starting Sunday, Iowa residents will no longer be required to wear masks. Reynolds' previous order, which was put into place last November, required individuals to wear masks when indoors in a public space and within six feet of individuals who are not part of their household. (Jones, 2/5)

The Hill: UK Strain Doubling Every 10 Days In US: Study 
The COVID-19 strain first discovered in the U.K. is doubling in the U.S. every 10 days, presenting a potential risk of increased cases and deaths in the country, according to a study released Sunday. (Coleman, 2/7)

The New York Times: Coronavirus Variant First Found In Britain Now Spreading Rapidly In US
A more contagious variant of the coronavirus first found in Britain is spreading rapidly in the United States, doubling roughly every 10 days, according to a new study. Analyzing half a million coronavirus tests and hundreds of genomes, a team of researchers predicted that in a month this variant could become predominant in the United States, potentially bringing a surge of new cases and increased risk of death. (Zimmer, 2/7)

Also —

The Hill: Gottlieb: Vaccines Probably Going To Be About 20 Percent Less Effective Against Some Strains 
Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said Sunday that existing coronavirus vaccines would likely be about 20 percent less effective against strains of the virus believed to have originated in South Africa and Brazil – but the vaccines will still offer significant protection. (Budryk, 2/7)

Fox News: As Coronavirus Variants Spread, FDA Drawing Up Guidance For Adjusted Vaccines, Diagnostics
Amid emerging coronavirus variants, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is drafting guidance to help companies tweak vaccines, therapeutics and tests, should that need arise. "We are committed to identifying efficient processes for authorized products that may need to be modified, based on information on emerging variants," Dr. Janet Woodcock, acting commissioner of the FDA, said in a statement posted Thursday. "We do not believe there will be the need to start at square one with any of these products." (Rivas, 2/6)

Stat: Q&A With A Coronavirus Expert, On ‘What Other Variants Might Be Out There?’
"Variants” is the latest term to leap from the infectious disease lexicon to the general public as a result of the coronavirus, as the effects of mutations on transmission and vaccines have emerged as top global concerns. But researchers like Emma Hodcroft, a molecular epidemiologist at the University of Bern, have been looking out for genetic changes to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic. (Joseph, 2/8)

USA Today: COVID Tongue May Be A Rare Symptom Of The Coronavirus
"COVID tongue" and mouth ulcers may need to be included in what could become a vast list of symptoms of the coronavirus, a British researcher says. Tim Spector, a professor of genetic epidemiology at King's College London, says one in five people with COVID are presenting with less common symptoms such as skin rashes not on lists published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public health entities. Spector, an investigator of the ZOE COVID Symptom Study that encourages Britons to report symptoms via an app, says a swollen or discolored tongue is another manifestation he has been seeing. (Bacon, 2/7)

CIDRAP: Small Study Finds Colchicine Improves Outcomes In COVID-19 Patients
Colchicine appeared to be safe and effective in treating moderate to severe COVID-19 infections in hospitalized patients, according to a randomized, double-blind clinical trial published yesterday in RMD Open. Patients who took the inexpensive drug, which is commonly used to treat gout, required supplemental oxygen and hospitalization for less time. (2/5)

The New York Times: The Coronavirus Is A Master Of Mixing Its Genome, Worrying Scientists 
In recent weeks, scientists have sounded the alarm about new variants of the coronavirus that carry a handful of tiny mutations, some of which seem to make vaccines less effective. But it is not just these small genetic changes that are raising concerns. The novel coronavirus has a propensity to mix large chunks of its genome when it makes copies of itself. Unlike small mutations, which are like typos in the sequence, a phenomenon called recombination resembles a major copy-and-paste error in which the second half of a sentence is completely overwritten with a slightly different version. (Khamsi, 2/5)

Modern Healthcare: NYC To Fund COVID-19 Surveillance Sequencing
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Congress are launching separate efforts to boost next-generation sequencing-based surveillance of COVID. On Wednesday, the NYC health department issued an emergency procurement request for contractors to perform whole-genome sequencing of samples that have tested positive. According to the request, which expires Feb. 5, 2021, preference would be given to contractors who can "perform at least 96 sequences of positive COVID-19 tests per week upon contract notification, with the capability to ramp up to at least approximately 150 to 350 sequences per week after four weeks" and who can generate and analyze data in less than seven days. (Han, 2/5)

In other news related to covid research —

The Hill: Immunization Expert Accuses CDC Of Stealing COVID-19 Tracking Idea 
An immunization expert is accusing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) along with a company called Deloitte for stealing her ideas for a mass vaccination tracker. A cease-and-desist letter from August obtained by The New York Times shows Tiffany Tate, creator of vaccination tracker PrepMod, is seeking $15 million in damages after she believes the CDC and Deloitte took the ideas from her vaccination tracker and implemented them in their own Vaccine Administration Management System (VAMS). (Lonas, 2/6)

Stat: Wife Of CytoDyn’s Chairman Files Intent To Sell $2.6 Million In Company Stock
The wife of CytoDyn’s chairman disclosed an intent to sell company stock worth $2.6 million as CytoDyn prepares to disclose results of a long-delayed clinical trial involving a treatment for patients with severe Covid-19. (Feuerstein, 2/5) 

The Washington Post: Biden Discusses Vaccinations, School Reopenings, Foreign Policy In First Network Interview As President
In his first network television interview since taking office, President Biden acknowledged it will be “very difficult” for the United States to reach herd immunity at the current rate coronavirus vaccines are being administered in the country and that his administration would utilize all 32 National Football League stadiums as mass vaccination centers to help in the effort. “It is a national emergency,” Biden said on “CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell,” referring to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and its effect on schoolchildren and the workforce. (Wang and Gearan, 2/7)

CBS News: Biden Says Women Dropping Out Of Workforce During COVID Pandemic Is A "National Emergency" 
President Biden said the exodus of millions of women from the labor force and the closing of schools —along with the mental health issues for children that could arise — during the COVID-19 pandemic constitute a "national emergency."  "CBS Evening News" anchor and managing editor Norah O'Donnell spoke to Mr. Biden in the first network news interview he has given since his inauguration. (Linton, 2/7)

The Hill: CDC Could Lay Out School Reopening Requirements This Week, Biden Says 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) could as soon as Wednesday lay out the requirements for schools to reopen, President Biden said in an interview that aired Sunday. Biden told CBS’s Norah O’Donnell in an interview that aired in part before the Super Bowl that he believed “it’s time for schools to reopen safely,” after calling it a “national emergency” that about 20 million American children have not been in a classroom for almost a year. (Coleman, 2/7)

CNBC: Covid Herd Immunity: Biden Says Getting There By Summer's End Will Be Hard
President Joe Biden won’t commit to achieving herd immunity to the coronavirus in the U.S. by the end of summer, suggesting a long road ahead to defeating the deadly virus. “The idea that this can be done and we can get to herd immunity much before the end of this summer is very difficult,” the Democrat said in an interview broadcast on CBS on Sunday ahead of the Super Bowl. (Higgins, 2/7)

In related news from President Biden —

The Hill: Biden Expects To Take NFL Up On Offer To Use Stadiums As Vaccination Sites 
President Biden said he expects to take the NFL up on an offer to use its 32 stadiums as mass vaccination sites during an interview that aired Sunday. The president told CBS’s Norah O’Donnell in the interview that aired in party ahead of the Super Bowl that he received a call from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, in which the commissioner offered the league’s 32 stadiums as potential vaccination sites. (Coleman, 2/7)

The Hill: Bidens Express Gratitude For Health Care Workers Ahead Of Super Bowl Kickoff 
President Biden and first lady Jill Biden thanked health care workers from around the country for their work during the coronavirus pandemic in an ad that aired ahead of the Super Bowl kickoff on Sunday. The couple in a pre-recorded message called on viewers to continue to “do our part” to combat the virus and to participate in a moment of silence for those who died of COVID-19 ahead of the game. (Coleman, 2/7)

Politico: Dems Try To Shoehorn Major Child Poverty Reduction Plan Into Covid Bill 
Congressional Democrats will try to insert a major child poverty reduction proposal into their Covid relief package when it comes up for consideration in the next few weeks. The proposal, details of which are still being finalized, would provide families a $3,600-per-child allowance for children under the age of 6 over the course of three years. and $3,000 per child for those between the ages of 6 and 17. The size of the benefit would grow smaller at certain yearly income levels — $75,000 for single parents and $150,000 for a couple’s aggregate total — and would be distributed on a monthly basis. (Stein, 2/7)

The Washington Post: Senior Democrats To Unveil $3,000-Per-Child Benefit As Biden Stimulus Gains Steam
Senior Democrats on Monday will unveil legislation to provide $3,000 per child to tens of millions of American families, aiming to make a major dent in child poverty as part of President Biden’s $1.9 trillion economic relief package. The 22-page bill to dramatically expand direct cash benefits to American families was obtained by The Washington Post ahead of its release. (Stein, 2/7)

Politico: Biden Brushes Off Rescue Plan Critics From Left And Right 
Joe Biden had a message for naysayers on Friday as he looks to move his Covid-19 relief package forward: get on board or get out of the way. In remarks at the White House, the president showed no signs of moving off his $1.9 trillion economic rescue plan, pointing to lackluster January jobs numbers released Friday as further justification for spending big and moving quickly. (Cassella, 2/5)

The Washington Post: Inside Biden's Decision To Go It Alone With Democrats On Coronavirus Relief 
Sen. Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.), one of Biden’s closest confidants and a longtime colleague, said that while the president cares deeply about bipartisanship, he won’t let that impulse prevent him from helping Americans struggling amid the pandemic. “Who Joe is and who he’s been for decades is a Senate man, a person who wants to see the best in others, who if it’s at all possible wants to reach a reasonable, principled compromise,” Coons said. “But he’s perfectly clear that if he spends months and months chasing Republican partners who never emerge, he’s doing a real disservice to a country in crisis.” (Parker, Viser and Kim, 2/7)

In related news about President Biden's covid-relief plan —

Roll Call: Biden To Use Defense Production Act For Gloves, COVID-19 Vaccines 
The White House COVID-19 task force announced Friday that the Biden administration plans to use the Defense Production Act to ramp up manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines, surgical gloves and at-home testing kits as part of an effort to increase supplies and reduce long-term dependence on foreign suppliers. The administration said it will use the DPA to contract with six more COVID-19 at-home test suppliers, which should result in more than 60 million at-home tests becoming available by the end of the summer. This news comes just days after the administration announced a $231.8 million deal with at-home COVID-19 test-maker Ellume to produce 100,000 test kits per month for the United States from February to July, with a goal of ramping that number up to 19 million tests per month by the end of the year. (Cohen, 2/5)

The Washington Post: Majority Of Americans Approve Of Biden’s Coronavirus Response, Poll Finds 
Two in 3 Americans approve of President Biden’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a poll by ABC News-Ipsos, with widespread support for his efforts to pass a relief bill. The survey was conducted Feb. 5 and 6 among 508 adults using the probability-based KnowledgePanel. Biden’s 67 percent approval on handling the coronavirus contrasts sharply with how Americans felt President Donald Trump handled the pandemic. In October, 61 percent said they disapproved of Trump’s response to the coronavirus. (Shammas, 2/7)

In other news from Capitol Hill —

Politico: Republicans Seek To Pin California’s Covid-19 Problem On Biden’s HHS Pick 
Senate Republicans plan to link President Joe Biden’s pick for Health secretary with California’s troubled pandemic response in a long-shot bid to sink the nomination later this month. As the state’s attorney general, Xavier Becerra enforced stay-at-home orders and other restrictions imposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, including limits on indoor religious services that outraged many on the right. (Ollstein, 2/6)

The Washington Post: Paid Family And Sick Leave Could Expand For The First Time In Decades Because Of The Pandemic
As the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic continues to devastate workers — particularly women — a new generation of advocates are hopeful a more expansive iteration of the FMLA might finally have a shot. On Friday, Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) reintroduced the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, which would grant workers up to 12 weeks of paid leave, whether to recover from illness or childbirth, or provide care for a loved one. (Bellware, 2/6)

Dallas Morning News: Generic Drug Company Backed By Mark Cuban Files To Build $11 Million Manufacturing Plant In Deep Ellum
The new Dallas-based affordable generic drug company bearing Mark Cuban’s name has filed to build an $11 million drug-manufacturing facility in Deep Ellum. The privately funded 22,000-square-foot facility will be created through a remodeling of the existing building at 302 S. Walton St. and will be designed by Jacobs architects, according to a filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Construction is set to begin Wednesday. Cuban mentioned on a podcast in November that he was working to turn a building he owned in the neighborhood east of downtown Dallas into a manufacturing facility for the company. Founder Alex Oshmyansky confirmed that the facility is expected to be completed in 2022. (DiFurio, 2/5)

In other pharmaceutical industry news —

Stat: FDA Blasts Merck's Keytruda Data For New Breast Cancer Indication
Merck (MRK) may have readily turned its Keytruda cancer drug into a medical and financial juggernaut, but its bid to win regulatory approval for at least one additional use may not come so easily, judging by documents from the Food and Drug Administration. (Silverman, 2/5)

Stat: How A Journal's Censure Inflamed Debate Over Biogen's Alzheimer's Drug
A science journal owned by the Alzheimer’s Association punished a trio of leading researchers after they published a stinging rebuke of Biogen’s controversial treatment aducanumab — a drug that the powerful advocacy group is lobbying regulators to approve. (Garde and Feuerstein, 2/8)

Stat: What 23andMe's Filing To Go Public Says About The Big Genetics Business
It seemed a foregone conclusion: Despite the early popularity of companies offering health and ancestry insights for the cost of roughly $200 — and the brief but awkward experience of spitting into a tube — the consumer genetics industry was not going to thrive. Privacy concerns took center stage. Sales declined. Profits never materialized. (Brodwin and Palmer, 2/5)

In obituaries —

The New York Times: Emil Freireich, Groundbreaking Cancer Researcher, Dies At 93
Dr. Emil Freireich, a relentless cancer doctor and researcher who helped devise treatments for childhood leukemia that dramatically transformed the lives of patients thought to have little hope of survival, died on Feb. 1 at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where he had worked since 1965. He was 93. His death was confirmed by his daughter Debra Ann Freireich-Bier. The hospital said he had tested positive for Covid-19 but it has not yet been determined as the cause of death. (Sandomir, 2/7)

Modern Healthcare: Hospitals Fight UnitedHealthcare Policies Over Lab Test, Specialty Drug Payments
Hospitals are pushing back against new UnitedHealthcare policies that threaten payments for lab tests and specialty drugs in outpatient settings. The country's largest private health insurer, with more than $200 billion in revenue in 2020, is cutting off reimbursement to diagnostic labs that don't meet certain price and quality criteria. UnitedHealthcare is also taking over the process of supplying certain outpatient specialty drugs to hospitals rather than reimbursing hospitals for those drugs. (Bannow, 2/5)

Modern Healthcare: Long-Term Care Providers Prepare To Fend Off COVID-19 Lawsuits
Long-term care providers and their lawyers are preparing to defend the industry against claims of neglect and wrongful death of residents as lawsuits related to the COVID-19 pandemic start being filed nationwide. While plaintiff lawyers say residents are being neglected, defense lawyers say long-term care providers have been working hard to follow changing regulations on testing, personal protective equipment and infection control during a global pandemic that targets the elderly and puts intense pressures on healthcare providers. On both sides, lawyers are preparing to argue cases where the rules are still being determined. (Christ, 2/6)

Capital & Main: Podcast: For-Profit Hospital Deserts Pandemic-Wracked Los Angeles 
An interview with Shenita Anderson, an ER nurse at L.A.’s for-profit Olympia Medical Center, which is closing despite the COVID-19 crisis. (2/3)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Nevada Health Centers Reports Data Breach
Personal information of patients at Nevada Health Centers “potentially” was accessed during a data breach last fall, the organization announced Friday. An unknown person logged into an employee’s email account and “potentially accessed” patient names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, gender, ethnicity and race, insurance and appointment information, medical record number, provider names and locations of service for an unknown number of patients sometime between Nov. 20 and Dec. 7, according to a statement Friday night. Social security numbers, financial information and medical records were not accessed, the statement said. It did not say how many patients were affected. (Schnur, 2/5)

KHN: Community Health Workers, Often Overlooked, Bring Trust To The Pandemic Fight
For 11 months, Cheryl Garfield, a community health worker in West Philadelphia, has been a navigator of pandemic loss and hardship. She makes calls to people who are isolated in their homes, people who are sick and afraid and people who can’t afford their rent or can’t get an appointment with a doctor. The conversations always start with a basic question: “Tell me about yourself.” She wants to know her clients before she figures out how she can help. “Sometimes a patient just needs somebody to listen to them, so you just listen,” said Garfield, 52. (Cohen Marill, 2/8)

Also —

Wisconsin State Journal: Tables Turned: Wisconsin Cardiologist Who Attended Johns Hopkins Medical School Gets Rare Heart-Kidney Transplant 
Dr. Matt Wolff became a cardiologist, treating heart disease, before learning he has a genetic heart condition that can cause people to die suddenly as his father did at age 50. After spending years as UW Health’s chief of cardiology, replacing heart valves and doing angioplasties to clear blocked arteries, Wolff has undergone a major procedure himself: a heart-kidney transplant. (Wahlberg, 2/6)

Becker's Hospital Review: CEO Gets 15 Years In Prison For $150M Healthcare Fraud
The CEO of a group of Texas-based hospice and home health companies was sentenced Feb. 3 to 15 years in prison for his role in a $150 million healthcare fraud and money laundering scheme, according to the Department of Justice. Henry McInnis was sentenced more than a year after he was convicted of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, obstruction of justice and healthcare fraud. (Ellison, 2/5)

USA Today: Thousands Of Fans, Many Without Masks, Flood Tampa Streets After Buccaneers Win Super Bowl 55
Thousands of people took to the roads and the streets across this city Sunday night after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 in Super Bowl 55. What many didn’t bring to the impromptu celebration was masks. The festivities turned especially raucous outside the Tampa Convention Center downtown, where college-aged revelers cheered, guzzled alcohol and sometimes surrounded cars that were blaring music. There was little sign of masks. (Peter, 2/8)

North Carolina Health News: COVID Instability Fuels A Surge In Opioid Use 
Though attention has shifted to combating the coronavirus pandemic, the opioid crisis in North Carolina has not gone away. The stressors caused by COVID-19 — such as homelessness and job loss — have contributed to an increase in drug overdoses in the last year. (Knopf and Engel-Smith, 2/5)

The Washington Post: Companies Are Charging Hidden ‘Covid Fees’ To Make Up For Lost Profits. They May Be Illegal.
Nearly a year into the pandemic’s gutting of the economy, businesses across the country are increasingly charging coronavirus-related fees, ranging from a $5 disinfection charge in a hair salon to $1,200 for extra food and cleaning in a senior living center, which are often undisclosed until the customer gets a bill. According to a survey by The Washington Post of attorney general offices and financial departments in 52 states and territories, U.S. consumers in 29 states have filed 510 complaints of coronavirus-related surcharges at dentist offices, senior living facilities, hair salons and restaurants. (Denham, 2/5)

KHN: Schools Walk The Tightrope Between Ideal Safety And The Reality Of Covid 
California mom Megan Bacigalupi has had enough. She wants her kindergartner and second grader back in their Oakland classrooms. But the coronavirus is spreading too quickly to open schools in Alameda County, based on the current state standards. And the local teachers union hasn’t agreed to go back — even after teachers have been vaccinated. So she expects her kids will be logging on to school from home for a while. (Ungar and Young, 2/8)

The Washington Post: What If You Test Positive For Covid-19 Abroad? Here’s What Travelers Need To Know.
Now that entry into the United States requires a negative coronavirus test result taken within 72 hours, travelers have been scrambling to secure coronavirus tests abroad — with many opting for speedier, though less-accurate, rapid tests. And most travelers probably do so under the assumption that their test will come back negative, allowing them to board their flight home without issue. But what if that test comes back positive? (McMahon, 2/6)

In other public health news —

North Carolina Health News: Monthly Shot To Treat HIV Available In NC 
The Food and Drug Administration approved the use of monthly shots for treating HIV last week. For the first time, people living with HIV, a virus that if untreated can lead to AIDS, have an option outside the daily pills traditionally used/taking a pill daily/taking pills daily to suppress the virus. (Critchfield, 2/8)

CIDRAP: Poll Finds Older US Adults Often Use Leftover Antibiotics
A new poll of US adults aged 50 to 80 years indicates that taking leftover antibiotics without consulting a healthcare professional is a common practice, University of Michigan researchers reported today in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. Among 2,256 respondents to the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging, 47.7% reported receiving an antibiotic prescription in the previous 2 years. The most common indications were respiratory (49.7%), dental (17.6%), urinary tract (16.6%), and skin (11.7%) infections. (2/5)

Boston Globe: Firefighters May Be Wearing Gear That Contains Toxic Chemicals, Researchers Find
The heavy turnout gear firefighters use to protect themselves from flames and other hazards is highly likely to contain a range of carcinogenic chemicals, according to a new study. Harvard University researchers took dust samples at 15 fire stations in Eastern Massachusetts and found significant amounts of toxic compounds known as PFAS. The so-called “forever chemicals,” which never fully degrade, have been linked to cancer, low infant birth weights, and suppression of the immune system. Researchers found the highest concentrations of the chemicals in rooms where turnout gear was stored. The stations rarely, if ever, used foam, a known source of PFAS, to fight fires. (Abel, 2/5)

Modern Healthcare: Digital Check-Ins, Connected Inhalers Help Control Asthma
A core challenge for asthma management is teaching patients how to properly use an inhaler. Asthma patients, many of them children, could avoid emergency department visits or using a rescue inhaler, if only they followed proper inhaler technique. To take on that problem, LifeBridge Health in early 2020 enrolled 24 children at a Baltimore primary-care clinic in a two-month pilot program that uses asynchronous telehealth. It’s an example of the growing arsenal of digital health tools physicians are using to tackle medication adherence—a particular challenge for asthma patients. (Kim Cohen, 2/6)

The New York Times: Celebratory Cannon Salute At Baby Shower Ends In Death, Police Say 
A 26-year-old Michigan man died on Saturday after he was hit with shrapnel from “a small cannon type device” that exploded when it was fired in celebration at a baby shower, the Michigan State Police said. The man, Evan Thomas Silva, a guest at the party, was about 10 to 15 feet from the device when it blew up in the backyard of a home. Metal shrapnel hit Mr. Silva, three parked cars and the garage where the shower was being held, the police said. (Paybarah, 2/7)

NPR: Supreme Court Rules Against California Ban On In-Person Worship
A deeply divided Supreme Court doubled down on religious rights late Friday, ruling that California can no longer continue with a ban on indoor church services put in place to fight to the coronavirus pandemic. But the court said that the state, for now, can keep in place restrictions on singing and chanting inside. The two cases at the center of Friday's ruling marked a test of how far states can go to safeguard public health before running afoul of constitutional protections for the free exercise of religion. In response to suits brought by the South Bay United Pentecostal Church in Chula Vista and the Harvest Rock Church in Pasadena, the court said California cannot bar in-person services altogether, but can limit attendance to 25% of capacity. (Breslow and Totenberg, 2/6)

AP: Some California Churches Hold Indoor Services After Ruling
Some California churches opened their doors to worshippers on Sunday, after the state revised its guidelines for houses of prayer following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that lifted a ban on indoor services during the coronavirus pandemic. “This morning we declare that this house will be a house of freedom,” announced Pastor Brittany Koopman at Harvest Rock Church near Los Angeles, one of the churches that sued the state over the ban. She led a socially distanced indoor crowd in prayer before Sunday’s service, which was also streamed online. (Weber, 2/4)

Bloomberg: U.K. Plans Annual Vaccinations To Fight New Coronavirus Strains
The U.K. is on track to vaccinate all people over age 50 by May and is already planning for a program of top-up immunizations to fight new variants of coronavirus from the autumn, officials said. Health Minister Nadhim Zahawi predicted annual vaccination drives similar to the program of injections given for influenza each year. Work is already under way to develop a shot that will offer better protection against the South Africa variant, after a study suggested the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine had limited effect on mild Covid-19. The government expects “probably an annual or a booster in the autumn and then an annual” dose of vaccines to be given “in the way we do with flu vaccinations,” Zahawi told the BBC on Sunday. (Ross, 2/8)

Politico: Production Snags Likely To Leave EU Lagging In Vaccinations For Months To Come 
Rather than shooting citizens in the arm, European countries might be shooting themselves in the foot. Increasing numbers of European public health authorities and scientists say they will restrict the use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine to younger populations, citing the fact that current data doesn't show the jab is effective in people over the age of 55. Some British experts say EU countries are setting age restrictions only because of limited supplies. (Deutsch, 2/5)

Los Angeles Times: In Mexico, Covid-19 Vaccine Rollout Stalls, Despair Grows
The vaccine pipeline is clogged, hospitals are overflowing, oxygen tanks for the ill are scarce — and the toll of dead and infected keeps spiking. Meanwhile, restaurant workers and others have taken to the streets protesting shutdowns as Mexico’s coronavirus-ravaged economy continues to crater absent any significant stimulus package from the government. “It feels like a horror film that never ends,” said Evelyn Beltrán, 39, a nurse in the city of Puebla. “What an awful sense of hopelessness and desperation.” (McDonnell and Sánchez, 2/7)

Reuters: China Reports No New Local COVID-19 Infection For First Time In Nearly Two Months 
China reported no new locally transmitted mainland COVID-19 case for the first time in nearly two months, official data showed on Monday, adding to signs that it has managed to stamp out the latest wave of the disease. The total number of COVID-19 cases rose slightly to 14 on Feb. 7 from 12 a day earlier, the National Health Commission said in a statement, but all were imported infections from overseas. Seven of the cases were in Shanghai, the rest in the southeastern Guangdong province. (2/7)

In other global developments —

Stat: WTO Urged To Ease Trade Rules To Boost Global Access To Drugs, Vaccines
More than 100 advocacy groups from dozens of countries are urging the World Trade Organization council to extend an exemption in a trade deal governing intellectual property rights so that low-income countries can more easily obtain drugs and vaccines, a concern that has been magnified by the Covid-19 pandemic. (Silverman, 2/5)

Bloomberg: Ebola Resurfaces In Previous Epidemic Zone Of Congo, WHO Says
A deceased woman was found to have been infected with Ebola in an area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where an outbreak was declared over in June, the World Health Organization said. The woman, the wife of an Ebola survivor, had sought treatment in a health center in Butembo, in North Kivu province, for Ebola-like symptoms, the WHO said in a statement Sunday. Butembo was one of the epicenters of the world’s second-largest Ebola outbreak that lasted almost two years in eastern Congo, causing 3,481 cases and 2,299 deaths. More than 70 contacts have been identified amid a WHO investigation, and sites visited by the patient are being disinfected, the agency said. “It is not unusual for sporadic cases to occur following a major outbreak,” WHO said. (Gale, 2/7)

Politico: If We Want To Defeat Covid, We Need To Boost Medicaid
Of all the tools the government has to combat Covid-19, Medicaid is arguably one of the most important. Medicaid provides health insurance for millions of Americans in low-paid service jobs, the essential workers who are among those most vulnerable to contracting and spreading the virus. Medicaid also pays the bills for millions of nursing home residents, whose lives are most at risk, and provides a critical link to primary care physicians for millions more families who will need to be vaccinated in coming months. But if Medicaid is more important now than ever, it is also at its most vulnerable. Medicaid is inherently countercyclical — its enrollment and spending increase during economic downturns. Unfortunately, economic recessions are also when state revenues decrease, meaning that just when it’s needed most, states may be forced to slash Medicaid spending. (Nisarg Patel, Daniel Liebman and Smitha Ganeshan, 2/8)

The New York Times: Fighting Covid Is Like Fighting A War
There has been some pushback from progressive pundits — most notably Larry Summers, but he’s not alone — against President Biden’s proposal for a very large Covid relief package. Before I get into the reasons I believe this pushback is misguided, let me say that it’s refreshing to discuss good-faith criticism coming from people who actually have some idea what they’re talking about, as opposed to the cynical, know-nothing obstructionism that has become the Republican norm.Nonetheless, the critics are wrong. No, the Biden plan isn’t too big. While the pundits’ concern that the size of the package might produce some economic stresses isn’t silly, it’s probably overwrought. And they have the implications of an expansive plan for the future completely backward: Going big now will enhance, not reduce, our ability to do more later. (Paul Krugman, 2/7)

The Washington Post: China Is Sitting On The Answers To The Pandemic’s Origins
What is China trying to hide about the origins of the pandemic — and why? In Wuhan, a World Health Organization team has launched its investigation into the origins of the virus that has infected 105 million people worldwide and cost 2.2 million lives over the past year. The terms of reference for the investigation say it will be “open-minded” and “not excluding any hypothesis” about the origins of the virus. Many scientists have speculated that the virus leaped from animals, such as bats, to humans, perhaps with an intermediate stop in another animal. This kind of zoonotic spillover has occurred before, such as in the West Africa Ebola outbreak in 2014. But there is another pathway, also plausible, that must be investigated. (2/5)

The Washington Post: My City In Australia Locked Down For A Single Covid-19 Case. We Welcome The Restrictions. 
Government officials from Western Australia announced on Sunday that millions of people in the southwest part of our state would plunge into a strict, five-day lockdown after the first case of community transmission in 10 months was detected in a hotel quarantine security guard. The guard had unfortunately contracted the new strain of the coronavirus first identified in Britain. It may seem strange to act so aggressively for a single case, but we Australians complied. There were no complaints of infringing on freedoms. No marches against masks. My city of Perth came to a standstill. The roads were quiet, and our beaches were deserted. A trip to the supermarket for essential groceries saw everyone wearing a mask — for the first time. Other states restricted travel of West Australians, desperate to keep the virus out. (Nikki Stamp, 2/4)

The Washington Post: The Pandemic Is Devastating A Generation Of Working Women
We can call Drisana Rios, a San Diego mom and former insurance executive, the patient zero of the current women’s employment crisis. Rios broke into headlines last summer when she filed a lawsuit alleging her employer fired her when she couldn’t keep the noise of her toddler children off Zoom meetings. Her employer, she says, complained she had “time-management issues.” (The employer disputes this and told The Post it denies all the allegations.) I reached out to Rios and her attorney this week to get an update. She’s interviewing for new positions but, Rios’s attorney, Daphne Delvaux, told me via an email she is “not yet employed.” (Helaine Olen, 2/5)

Stat: Industry And The FDA Must Collaborate On Alzheimer's Drugs 
As the Food and Drug Administration moves closer to a decision about whether to approve a promising new Alzheimer’s treatment, the collaboration between scientists, regulators, and business leaders that produced this encouraging drug has come under fire as a “black eye” for the FDA that “dangerously compromised” its objectivity. This unfortunate charge misconstrues the drug development process and the indispensable partnerships that are needed to deliver new treatments. (George Vradenburg and Jeffrey Cummings, 2/8)

Boston Globe: The Racial Vaccination Gap Is A Scandal
In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, just as racial data on COVID-19 started to become available, the United States had to confront an ugly truth: Black and brown Americans were becoming infected at alarmingly higher rates than their white neighbors, a reality that underscored the racial inequality that has long plagued the country’s health care system. As the crisis wore on, structural racism became all the more visible: Black and brown people are more likely to die of COVID-19, more likely to lose their jobs, and more likely to fall into poverty. Yet despite all the warning signs that the pandemic would take its harshest toll on the most marginalized communities, states and the federal government are continuing to exacerbate these inequalities in the distribution of vaccines. (Abdallah Fayyad, 2/8)

The New York Times: 60 Black Health Experts Urge Black Americans To Get The Covid Vaccine
We are among 60 Black members of the National Academy of Medicine, the premier health science organization in the United States. Together we are scientists, doctors, nurses, other health care professionals and public health experts. We feel compelled to make the case that all Black Americans should get vaccinated to protect themselves from a pandemic that has disproportionately killed them at a rate 1.5 times as high as white Americans in cases in which race is known — a rate that is most likely very conservative. (Thomas A. LaVeist and Georges C. Benjamin, 2/7)

Stat: The U.S. Needs A National Vaccine Day 
Vaccines don’t save lives. Vaccinations do. That is an essential lesson we have learned from working at the forefront of vaccine development and health communication. One of us (S.P.) helped develop vaccines for rubella, rabies, and rotavirus, that have played an essential role in reducing preventable childhood deaths in the United States and around the world — but only because of public health campaigns that built trust in vaccination and made vaccines easily accessible to people from every walk of life. (Stanley Plotkin, Norman Baylor and Keona Jeane Wynne, 2/7)

CNN: Americans Are Wondering: Will  I Get The Vaccine Or Virus First?
"It's a black hole." That's how one reader described the process of trying to sign her elderly parents up to receive the Covid-19 vaccine. In the past year, this virus has changed everyone's life. Death, in an instant, became a constant worry for many. Schools closed and parents looked for ways to explain this new normal to their children. Industries shuttered, savings dried up and many families suddenly found themselves having to decide between paying rent or buying food. Quarantining and social distancing made holidays and celebrations look different. (Jhodie-Ann Williams and Jane Greenway Carr, 2/6)

The New York Times: We Know Very Little About America’s Vaccine Debacle
A few weeks into her part-time job vaccinating nursing home staff members and residents against the coronavirus, Katherine, a pharmacist, noticed a problem: Roughly 15 to 20 vaccines were being thrown away at the end of each vaccination session. That’s because the number of doses that she and her co-workers had prepared — per the protocol established by Katherine’s manager at CVS, the pharmacy she works for — exceeded the number of people who showed up to be inoculated, often significantly. (2/7)

The Wall Street Journal: What To Do When There’s A Covid-19 Vaccine Glut 
The Food and Drug Administration announced new steps last week to help ensure that Covid-19 tests, treatments and vaccines stay ahead of new, potentially more transmissible and virulent, variants, whose emergence makes widespread vaccination even more urgent. The longer it takes to get the virus under control, the harder it may become. And soon, the problem may be a vaccine glut if demand is weaker than expected. After early challenges, vaccine delivery is keeping up with supply. But by the end of March, the monthly vaccine supply may reach 100 million doses. To keep pace, the vaccination rate would have to double and then some. This will require an all-of-the-above approach to administering vaccines, tapping substantial capacity in pharmacies, primary-care practices and other trusted health-care providers. Especially with improved delivery, at some point, perhaps in April, supply will start exceeding demand. (Scott Gottlieb and Mark McClellan, 2/7)

The Washington Post: The Crucial Result In Vaccine Trials: Very Few Hospitalizations
Here’s my best-case scenario for the coronavirus pandemic: With existing vaccines, we turn covid-19 into an illness akin to the seasonal flu. The virus might still be around and infect people. Some who get it might still end up sick. But covid-19 no longer leads to overwhelmed hospitals and terrifying death tolls, and by the end of 2021, we can resume much of our pre-pandemic lives. I’m optimistic that this can happen because of a specific result in the vaccine trials that, so far, has received little attention. Much has been made of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines being 95 percent efficacious in preventing symptomatic illness. That’s a terrific result, but it’s not the most important one. I’m not so impressed if a vaccine can prevent someone from developing a sore throat or runny nose. I care about whether vaccination means that people won’t become severely ill — to the point that they require hospitalization. (Leana S. Wen, 2/4)