The New York Times: Dropping Mask Mandates, Even As Vaccinations Speed Up, Is ‘Risky Business,’ Dr. Fauci Warns.
With millions of Americans vaccinated and states dropping mask and dining restrictions at the one-year mark of the pandemic, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci warned on Sunday against loosening restrictions prematurely, despite the recent week-over-week decreases in new coronavirus cases. “Even though the decline was steep, we absolutely need to avoid the urge to say ‘Oh, everything is going great,’” said Dr. Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, on the NBC program “Meet the Press.” (3/15)

Politico: Fauci: Pulling Back Covid Measures Could Endanger Biden's July 4th Prediction 
[Dr.] Fauci expressed concerns that plateaus in levels of infection are often followed by surges. "When you see [infections] plateauing at a level of anywhere between 50,000 and 65,000 cases a day, that is absolutely no time to declare victory, because we know from previous surges that we've had over the year that when you see that leveling off at a high level, there's always the risk of a surge back up," Fauci said. "And in fact, unfortunately, that is exactly what's happening in Europe right now." (Parthasarathy, 3/14)

CNN: Fauci Says Guidelines 'Will Be Much More Liberal' By July 4 If US Cases Drop 
Federal Covid-19 guidelines "will be much more liberal" by the Fourth of July if US cases drop as more Americans are vaccinated, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday. "If by the time we get to the Fourth of July, with the rollout of the vaccine, we get the level of infection so low -- I'm not going to be able to tell you exactly what the specific guidelines of the (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) are, but I can tell you for sure (guidelines) will be much more liberal than they are right now about what you can do," the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union." (Cole, 3/14)

CNBC: Fauci Says Europe Covid Surge Is Warning As U.S. Lifts Restrictions
On Fox News, Fauci explained that the recent spike in cases throughout Europe was due in part to a relaxation of safety measures. “When you see that leveling off at a high level, there is always a risk of a surge back up and in fact, unfortunately, that is exactly what is happening in Europe right now,” Fauci said on “Fox News Sunday.” “They [Europeans] thought they were home free and they weren’t and now they are seeing an increase,” he added. “If you wait just a bit longer to give the vaccine program a chance to increase the protection in the community, then it makes pulling back much less risky.” (Macias, 3/14)

In related developments from Italy —

Axios: Italy Imposes Easter Lockdown Amid COVID-19 Spike 
Italy will be placed under lockdown from March 15 through at least Easter weekend as coronavirus cases continue to rise across the country, Italian health officials announced on Friday. This is the second year the country has needed to impose lockdown measures over the Easter holiday due to COVID-19. Italy was the first in the world to implement a nationwide lockdown last year, CBS News reports. (Gonzalez, 3/13)

New York Post: Fauci: Trump COVID Vaccine Endorsement Would Be 'Game-Changer'
Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday that it would be a “game-changer” for President Trump to encourage his supporters to get the jab — after a poll found many GOP voters indicated that they’re reluctant. “I think it would make all the difference in the world. He’s a very wildly popular person among Republicans,” Fauci told anchor Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday.” (Salo, 3/14)

The Washington Post: Anthony Fauci Says Trump Should Urge His Supporters To Get The Coronavirus Vaccine
An NPR-PBS NewsHour-Marist poll released last week showed that nearly half of Republican men and 47 percent of those who supported Trump in the 2020 election said they would not choose to be vaccinated, even if the coronavirus vaccines were made available to them. By contrast, only 10 percent of supporters of President Biden said they would not choose to be vaccinated if offered one, the poll found. [Dr. Anthony] Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, called the poll results “so disturbing” when presented with them Sunday on NBC News’s “Meet the Press.” (Wang, 3/14)

Reuters: Fauci Hopes Trump Will Push His Supporters To Get COVID-19 Vaccine
Trump told attendees at a conservative conference last month to get vaccinated - saying, “everybody, go get your shot” - the first time he had encouraged people to do so. Fauci said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program: “How such a large proportion of a certain group of people would not want to get vaccinated merely because of political considerations ... it makes absolutely no sense,” Fauci said. (3/14)

In related news —

Axios: 25% Of House Not Vaccinated As Some Members Refuse To Get Shot 
Uncertainty about why only 75% of the House is confirmed as vaccinated against the coronavirus is fueling a debate about when the chamber can return to its normal rules of operation. The other 25% of members have either refused to get the vaccine, have not reported getting it at home or are avoiding it because of medical conditions. Until the Office of Attending Physician is clear about this, it can't make recommendations "regarding the modification or relaxation of existing social distancing guidelines." (Goba, 3/14)

Axios: Concern About Republican Coronavirus Vaccine Hesitancy Is Growing 
Polling and public officials are increasingly sounding the alarm about one group of Americans that remains stubbornly resistant to the idea of receiving a coronavirus vaccine: Republicans. Vaccine enthusiasm has increased over the last few months, but a giant partisan gap remains. Nearly half of Republican men — 49% — say they won't choose to be vaccinated if a vaccine is available to them, according to a recent NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist survey. (Owens, 3/15)

NBC News: How Biden, Republicans And Public Health Leaders Are Trying To Persuade GOP Skeptics To Get Their Covid Vaccinations
Vaccine holdouts could end up being the last obstacle to defeating the pandemic, and a growing effort is aimed at convincing one substantial group of skeptics: Republicans. While efforts to combat vaccine hesitancy and access have so far been mostly focused on African Americans and Latinos, recent polls suggest the largest group of Americans either hesitant about the Covid-19 vaccine or outright opposed to it are Republicans, and efforts to reach them are only in their infancy. (Smith and Seitz-Wald, 3/14)

Stat: White House Set To Unveil Sweeping Vaccine-Confidence Campaign
The White House this week will unveil a wide-reaching, $1.5 billion public relations campaign aimed at boosting vaccine confidence and uptake across the U.S., Biden administration aides told STAT. This television, radio, and digital advertising blitz, set to kick off within weeks, will focus on Americans outright skeptical of vaccines’ safety or effectiveness as well as those who are potentially more willing to seek a Covid-19 immunization but don’t yet know where, when, or how. Specifically, the campaign will target three groups in which access, apathy, or outright skepticism may pose a barrier to vaccinations: young people, people of color, and conservatives, according to a Biden aide. (Facher, 3/15)

Politico: Biden Vaccine Website Pledge Invokes The Ghosts Of Obamacare 
Almost a decade ago, Jeff Zients was asked to rescue Obamacare's online sign-up system — a task that proved pivotal to the presidency. Now the head of the White House Covid response team has six weeks to roll out another website to help millions of people sign up for coronavirus vaccines and make good on President Joe Biden's pledge to get life back to something close to normal by midsummer. (Kenen, Cancryn and Tahir, 3/12)

In updates on the Biden administration's plans for economic relief —

Politico: Biden Eyes Gene Sperling To Serve As Covid Rescue Plan Czar 
President Joe Biden is eyeing Gene Sperling for a role to oversee the implementation of the administration’s coronavirus relief plan, according to two sources with knowledge of the plans. The White House could announce the role for Sperling as early as Monday, the sources said. Sperling, who served on the economic teams in both the Obama and Clinton administrations, was under consideration to serve as Biden’s director of the Office of Management and Budget after the president’s first pick, Neera Tanden, failed to secure enough support in the Senate. Instead of that post, he is being strongly considered for a position within the White House where he will be tasked with overseeing the enactment of the recently signed $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill. (Barron-Lopez and White, 3/14)

Politico: Beyond Covid Relief: Biden Invokes LBJ As Democrats Aim To Expand Welfare State 
Democratic leaders are banking on some of the aid provisions being so popular that letting them expire would be a political nightmare, painful enough for Americans that even Republicans couldn’t stand in the way. At the top of the list is making permanent the expanded child tax credit, a move supporters believe could generate bipartisan backing and which analysts say would cut child poverty nearly in half. But some lawmakers and outside experts expect Democrats will also fight to keep the expansions of the earned income tax credit and a second program for child and dependent care, while further extensions of food assistance and boosted unemployment benefits are also likely. (Cassella, 3/14)

CNBC: Unemployment Benefits Jeopardized For Americans Stranded Abroad
Justin Samuels was living abroad in Malaga, a Spanish port city in the country’s south, along the Costa del Sol, when the pandemic chaos began to unfurl. It has led to a lengthy battle for unemployment benefits — a situation facing many Americans stuck overseas in the early days of the health crisis. (Iacurci, 3/13)

KHN: Journalists Explore Covid Relief Bill And Vaccine Issues
Chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner discussed how the $1.9 trillion covid relief bill will help bolster the Affordable Care Act with “PBS NewsHour” on Wednesday. Colorado correspondent Rae Ellen Bichell spoke with KUNC’s “Colorado Edition” on Wednesday about what childhood vaccine rates can tell us about public acceptance of the covid vaccines. (3/13)

In other news about the Biden administration —

The Washington Post: A Border Community, ICE At Odds Over Release Of Detainees With Covid
In a border area that has suffered from ongoing covid-19 outbreaks, advocates for immigrants and ICE are at odds over the agency’s treatment of infected detainees. Advocates and county officials say they had no idea ICE was dropping detainees with covid off at the bus stop, while ICE says it is the agency’s protocol to notify local authorities ahead of time. While the advocates agree that detainees diagnosed with covid-19 should be released from detention so they can seek better medical care, failing to coordinate those transfers with health officials and nonprofits is a danger to public health, they said. (Gerberg and Sacchetti, 3/14)

Stat: Former FDA Commissioners Push For Strong Tobacco Regulation
A bipartisan cadre of FDA commissioners urged the Biden administration to get tough on regulating tobacco and to finalize a Trump-era regulation that would render cigarettes non-addictive. “I hope that this administration will have the courage to fight what will be tough battles,” said Robert Calif, who served under President Obama. “I have never seen more capable or nastier lawyers than what I experienced in trying to deal with the tobacco industry.” (Florko, 3/12)

Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting: DOL Watchdog: OSHA’s Virtual Inspections During Pandemic Likely Led To Dangerous Workplaces 
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s decision during the COVID-19 pandemic to conduct many inspections virtually — instead of onsite — risked worker safety, the U.S. Department of Labor’s inspector general concluded in an audit report released Tuesday. The report does not specifically mention OSHA’s enforcement at meatpacking plants, which quickly became COVID-19 hotspots last year, but the problems the report details have plagued the agency’s response to the industry. (Chadde, 3/14)

CNN: CDC Updates Its Covid-19 Guidance For Childcare Programs 
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday updated its guidance for childcare programs during the pandemic, emphasizing the importance of mask-wearing for everyone 2 years of age and older, as well as air ventilation and other strategies. "Early last year, CDC released initial guidance for childcare programs during Covid-19. As we learn more about the virus, CDC experts updated that guidance several times throughout 2020," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a White House briefing on Friday. Today, CDC is again releasing updated guidance based on the most recent science," Walensky said. "That science includes additional evidence showing that, when used consistently and correctly, prevention strategies such as mask-wearing, staying home when sick, and good hand hygiene can allow childcare programs to operate safely and reduce the spread of Covid-19." (Howard, 3/12)

Fox News: CDC Updates Coronavirus Guidance For Child Care Centers
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated guidance for operating child care programs in several areas including expanded background on what is known about COVID-19 and transmission in child care settings, recommendations for mask use and information for children with special needs and disabilities. The new guidance, which is intended for all types of child care programs, including child care centers, family child care homes, Head Start programs and other pre-kindergarten programs, marks the first update since July. (Hein, 3/12)

Axios: CDC Updates Coronavirus Guidance For Child Care Providers 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday updated its coronavirus guidance for child care providers, which stresses the importance of mask use for anyone aged 2 years and older. The updated guidance comes as some states begin to reopen and relax COVID-19 restrictions, including lifting masks mandates. (3/13)

And in related news about children and covid —

Axios: Fauci: CDC "Analyzing" Data That Could Modify Social Distancing Guidance To 3 Feet 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is looking at data that suggests "3 feet are okay under certain circumstances," for social distancing guidelines, NIAID Director Anthony Fauci said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday. One of the biggest hurdles for school administrators and a barrier to reopening is making sure students stay the recommended 6 feet apart. Fauci said "it won't be very long" for the CDC to potentially adjust official guidelines on social distancing policies, if the data suggests 3 feet of distance won't negatively affect people's safety. (Arias, 3/14)

ABC News: College Students Celebrating Spring Break Despite Continuation Of COVID-19 Pandemic 
College students are continuing to flock to beaches to celebrate spring break despite the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although universities around the country either scaled back the traditional holiday week or canceled it altogether, the Sunshine State saw an influx of traveling students over the weekend. (Jacobo, 3/14)

WMFE: Central Florida Counties Plan For Spring Break Amid COVID-19
Spring break could bring an increase in visitors to the Central Florida region, from the Orlando-area tourism corridor to the beaches, which raises the question: Are counties trying to prevent a possible COVID-19 surge? An Orange County spokesperson said the county will continue to enforce its mask mandate throughout spring break, as it has through most of the pandemic. Volusia and Brevard counties will not have additional regulations. (Hernandez Caraballo, 3/15)

USA Today: Spring Break And COVID-19: Experts Worry About Crowded Beaches
Pandemic or not, spring break is here. Florida’s beaches and bars are already seeing the first throngs of college students on break, crowding beaches and bars – and worrying public health experts around the country who see the weeks of partying as a potential for another spike in coronavirus cases. The primary concern, experts say, is that partying is occurring at a crucial moment in the fight against the coronavirus: More vaccines are being administered each day, yet more cases of variants – which are highly transmissible – are being reported. Making matters worse, they say, is that students will be enjoying their break as more states relax restrictions they had in place, such as mask mandates. (Hayes, 3/12)

In related news —

Atlanta Journal Constitution: Atlanta Schools Urge Tests, Quarantine After Spring Break Trips
Atlanta Public Schools is urging employees and students who travel during spring break to get tested for COVID-19 when they return and follow other health guidelines. Superintendent Lisa Herring sent letters to APS families and employees recently announcing the district would switch to online-only learning for April 12-16, the week after spring break. The precautionary step is intended to curb the spread of the coronavirus in schools since many employees indicated in a district survey that they planned to travel over the break. (McCray, 3/15)

NBC News: Duke Students On Covid-19 Lockdown For A Week Because Of 'rapidly Escalating' Outbreak
Administrators at Duke University ordered all undergraduate students to stay in place for one week to contain a growing coronavirus outbreak connected to "recruitment parties for selective living groups," according to an all-campus communication. "Over the past week more than 180 students are in isolation for a positive COVID 19 test, and an additional 200 students are in quarantine as a result of contact tracing," wrote administrators of the school in Durham, North Carolina. "This is by far the largest one-week number of positive tests and quarantines since the start of the pandemic." (Fitzsimons, 3/14)

USA Today: COVID Spread Outside: What To Know About Safety, Masks In Warm Weather
A new tool to fight COVID-19 is on the rise across the United States: warm, fresh air. Spring and summer weather will provide opportunities for people – vaccinated or not – to enjoy low-risk outdoor activities to better their physical and mental health, experts say. It's a development in the fight against COVID-19 because experts are now confident that it's much harder for the virus to spread in outdoor conditions – especially when people wear masks and keep their distance. (Shannon, 3/13)

CNN: This Was Texas' First Weekend Without Covid-19 Limits. Here's How It Went For Business Owners 
For about a year, Texas businesses have done whatever they could to stay afloat. As Covid-19 ravaged the state and the country, they pivoted to takeout service, operated their dining rooms at reduced capacities and required masks for their employees and their customers, all according to state rules. Last week they were finally given the chance to return to normal, after the governor issued an executive order lifting the state's mask mandate and allowing businesses to reopen at 100% capacity. But their approaches vary: While some have relaxed their rules a bit, others chose to continue requiring masks and restricted the occupancy of their dining rooms. (Andone, 3/15)

AP: Texas Health Department Reports Virus Increase Of 4,638
The number of newly confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases in Texas rose by 4,638 on Saturday, down from a one-day increase of 6,078 reported Friday, according to the state health department. The department reported a total of more than 2.7 million total cases since the pandemic began and 45,474 deaths due to COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, 156 more than Friday. (3/14)

AP: Average Number Of New COVID-19 Cases In Texas Decreasing
Over the past two weeks, the rolling average number of daily new cases of the coronavirus in Texas has decreased by 42.5%, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Last week, Gov. Greg Abbott ended the state’s COVID-19 restrictions, including the state mask mandate. (3/14)

The Hill: Texas Restaurant Covered In Racist Graffiti After Owner Speaks Out Against Lifting Coronavirus Restrictions
A Texas ramen restaurant was covered in racist graffiti after its owner spoke out on CNN last week against Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) decision to lift coronavirus restrictions in the state. Mike Nguyen told ABC affiliate KSAT 12 that he found red graffiti Sunday on the windows of his San Antonio restaurant, called Noodle Tree. Photos of the vandalism show several phrases written on the windows, including “no mask,” “kung flu,” “commie,” “hope u die” and “ramen noodle flu.” (Coleman, 3/14)

In other updates on the spread of the coronavirus —

The Wall Street Journal: States Are Finding More Unreported Covid-19 Deaths 
While Covid-19 deaths head lower, raising hopes that the U.S. is turning a corner as vaccinations continue, states around the country are steadily finding previously unreported deaths that are causing data confusion. The issues largely involve systems that states are using to try to report Covid-19 data in near real time, and not deaths reported more slowly through death certificates. These front-line numbers are the ones that fuel state dashboards and data trackers, like the closely watched one created by Johns Hopkins University, which help policy makers and the public closely monitor pandemic trends. (Kamp, 3/14)

Salt Lake Tribune: Utah Cases Plateau As State Reaches Milestone Of 1 Million COVID-19 Vaccines Administered
The rate of daily COVID-19 cases has held steady recently, following an encouraging decline in recent weeks. Over the past seven days, Utah saw 3,529 new coronavirus cases. That’s down slightly compared to the week before, when the state health department reported 3,615 new cases. Over those two weeks, the daily average of new cases is 510.25. The state’s own tracking dashboard indicates that since March 8, Utah has seen cases level out after two months of decline. The last time the state reported a plateau in cases before this one was Jan. 10. (Vejar, 3/14)

Los Angeles Times: Los Angeles County Coronavirus Figures Continue To Decline On Eve Of Reopening
Coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths continue to decline in Los Angeles County as the hard-hit and heavily populated region prepared to reopen businesses — including indoor restaurants, gyms and movie theaters — for the first time in months. With the caveat that the figures may be artificially low due to lags in weekend reporting, county health officials on Sunday reported 644 new coronavirus cases. There were 28 deaths in the county, compared with 250 deaths a day during the winter peak in January. (Rector, 3/14)

Axios: Infectious Diseases Expert: COVID Variants Are A "Whole New Ballgame" 
The U.S. is playing a "whole new ballgame" in terms of controlling the coronavirus now that variants are spreading across the country, Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, told CBS News on Friday. Osterholm said the U.S. could face another surge from the B.1.1.7 variant, which was first identified in the United Kingdom and has since been detected throughout the U.S. Multiple studies have suggested that it likely spreads more easily than the original strain of the virus. (Knutson, 3/13)

ABC News: New York City Marks Anniversary Of 1st COVID-19 Death With Memorial Services 
On March 14, 2020, New York City recorded its first death from the coronavirus, and in one year, that toll skyrocketed to over 30,000 lives lost -- more than 10 times the number of people killed on Sept. 11, 2001. On Sunday, New Yorkers of all walks of life marked this grim anniversary with several events to honor and memorialize their fallen neighbors on some of the city's iconic locations. (Pereira, 3/14)

Also —

Genomeweb: FDA Warns Of Potential False Positive Results With Roche Cobas Rapid Coronavirus, Flu Test
The US Food and Drug Administration released a letter on Friday warning clinical laboratory and point-of-care staff, as well as healthcare providers, that false positive results for Roche's test for SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A/B may occur. The false positives for the Cobas SARS-CoV-2 & Influenza A/B Nucleic Acid Test, which is used on Roche's Cobas Liat system, could be related to two different issues raised by Roche, the FDA said. One is that the assay tubes might sporadically leak and cause an obstructed optical path in the Cobas Liat analyzer, resulting in abnormal PCR growth curves. This could cause invalid or incorrect positives, specifically for influenza B tests. FDA added that if a tube does leak, subsequent testing could have an increased likelihood of false positive results for Type B flu. (3/12)

Reuters: Facebook To Label All Posts About COVID-19 Vaccines 
Facebook Inc, which has been criticized by lawmakers and researchers for allowing vaccine misinformation to spread on its platforms, said on Monday it has started adding labels to posts that discuss the safety of the shots and will soon label all posts about the vaccines. The social media company said in a blog post it is also launching a tool in the United States to give people information about where to get COVID-19 vaccines and adding a COVID-19 information area to its photo-sharing site Instagram. (Culliford, 3/15)

Axios: Zuckerberg Unveils Facebook Vaccination Information Tool 
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Monday that Facebook is building a tool to connect people to information about where and when to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Facebook has been blamed for the spread of anti-vaccination misinformation during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond. (Fischer, 3/15)

The Washington Post: Massive Facebook Study On Users’ Doubt In Vaccines Finds A Small Group Appears To Play A Big Role In Pushing The Skepticism
The research effort discovered early evidence of significant overlap between communities that are skeptical of vaccines and those affiliated with QAnon, a sprawling set of baseless claims that has radicalized its followers and been associated with violent crimes, according to the documents. (Dwoskin, 3/14)

NBC News: The Vaccines Are Working. That's Why We Shouldn't Panic About Variants.
Several new coronavirus variants have been identified in the United States in recent weeks, and scientists are grappling with whether these strains threaten the country — and, if so, how. One thing experts agree on, though, is that the available vaccines have outperformed expectations — even when it comes to what are known as the "variants of concern." "This virus is not invincible, and despite all these variants, the vaccines are working great," said Jeremy Kamil, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology at Louisiana State University Health Shreveport. "That is really outstanding and people should be celebrating that." (Chow, 3/9)

Stat: For The First Time In Decades, Vaccines Are Having A Moment. Will It Last?
Rupali Limaye got her first dose of Covid-19 vaccine a couple of weeks ago. “I bawled,” she admitted without the slightest hint of embarrassment. It so happens that Limaye is a staunch proponent of vaccination; she works at the International Vaccine Access Center at Johns Hopkins University. But her reaction is not uncommon. Talk to anyone working in or volunteering at Covid vaccination clinics, and you’ll hear tales about the joy, the relief, the shedding of the cloak of dread that has weighed people down during our difficult period of pandemic isolation. (Branswell, 3/15)

Reuters: Regular Booster Vaccines Are The Future In Battle With COVID-19 Virus, Expert Says
Regular booster vaccines against the novel coronavirus will be needed because of mutations that make it more transmissible and better able to evade human immunity, the head of Britain’s effort to sequence the virus’s genomes told Reuters. The novel coronavirus, which has killed 2.65 million people globally since it emerged in China in late 2019, mutates around once every two weeks, slower than influenza or HIV, but enough to require tweaks to vaccines. (Gaulconbridge, 3/15)

The Washington Post: Covid Vaccine Is Safe And Effective For Heart Disease Patients 
More than 30 million people in the United States have heart disease, which alone kills hundreds of thousands each year. It’s also a significant risk factor for developing serious complications from another major threat right now: covid-19.That’s because the disease caused by the coronavirus often attacks the lungs, forcing the already injured heart to fight that much harder. (Bever, 3/13)

In other updates on the vaccine rollout —

Axios: Michigan To Expand Vaccine Eligibility To All Residents Ages 16 And Up 
Michigan will allow all residents ages 50 and up as of March 22 to receive a coronavirus vaccine and will expand eligibility for every Michigander 16 years and older starting April 5, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) announced Friday. For now, only residents 65 and older or those over 50 with health conditions that increases their risk of serious complications from the virus are eligible for vaccination. (Knutson, 3/12)

Health News Florida: Florida Residents 60 And Older Eligible For COVID Vaccine
Florida lowers the age to qualify for a coronavirus vaccine for residents from 65 to 60 on Monday. Gov. Ron DeSantis said this past week that vaccinating ages 60 to 64 may go quicker than expected because of the increase in the weekly vaccine supply the state is receiving. DeSantis cited softened demand statewide as his reason for expanding eligibility. (3/14)

The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Opens Online Preregistration Portal For COVID Mass Vaccination Sites. Here’s How To Sign Up. 
Maryland residents eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine can now preregister for an immunization appointment at one of the state’s five regional mass vaccination sites by putting their information into one online portal. Gov. Larry Hogan’s office announced Saturday that it launched its single sign-up website for the mass vaccination sites in Prince George’s County, Baltimore, Southern Maryland, the Eastern Shore and Western Maryland. (Mann, 3/13)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Facing Lagging Vaccination Rates, Kemp Wants Providers To Think ‘Outside The Box’
As Georgia grapples with rock-bottom vaccination rates, Gov. Brian Kemp is encouraging more health care providers to think “outside the box.” At a pop-up vaccine clinic at the St. Philip AME Church in east Atlanta, the governor encouraged other providers to follow the lead of Walgreens, which launched three events through the Metro Atlanta Ministerial Alliance across the city. Uber teamed up with the pharmacy chain to provide free rides to the clinics. (Bluestein, 3/13)

Gwinnett Daily Post: Gwinnett Health Officials Won't Require Documentation, Will Use Honor System For Newly Expanded Vaccine Categories
Gwinnett residents who have chronic health conditions won’t need a doctor’s note to prove they are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine if they get the shot from the county’s health department, a spokesman for the Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale Health Departments has confirmed. Georgia is expanding the eligibility to get vaccinated, starting on Monday, to include people with a wide range of chronic health conditions, such as diabetes, cancer, heart conditions, sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis or kidney or liver disease. The minimum age to get the vaccine will also drop from 65 to 55 on Monday, and adults with disabilities will be eligible as well. (Yeomans, 3/13)

Yahoo Sports: 'I Feel Lucky': Hope As First NBA Team Gets COVID-19 Vaccine
The New Orleans Pelicans are the first NBA team to have received COVID-19 vaccinations, with the team announcing eligible players and staff had gotten their first shots. In welcome news for the NBA, which has battled disruptions caused by players contracting the virus, leading to games being postponed and stars sitting out either due to quarantine or mandatory contact tracing, it could mean the league will eventually be able to return to more normal operation by the beginning of the 2021/2022 season. (Young, 3/14)

CBS News: Yo-Yo Ma Brought His Cello With Him To Get His COVID-19 Shot — And Then Played A Surprise Concert 
World-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma gave an impromptu concert in the waiting area of a Massachusetts vaccination site after receiving his 2nd COVID-19 dose. During the customary 15-minute observation period that follows each dose, Ma performed Franz Schubert's "Ave Maria" and the prelude to Bach's "Cello Suite No. 1" on his cello, which he'd brought with him. (Goel, 3/14)

In other news on the vaccination effort —

The New York Times: Clergy Preach Faith In The Covid Vaccine To Doubters 
During a recent Sunday service at the Gathering Place, an evangelical church in Orlando, Fla., the Rev. Gabriel Salguero focused his sermon on the Covid-19 vaccine, and the fear and suspicion that his largely Latino congregation clutches so tightly. He turned to the New Testament: the parable of the good Samaritan, about the importance of aiding the stranger. “In getting yourself vaccinated, you are helping your neighbor,” he preached to about 300 masked and socially distanced worshipers. “God wants you to be whole so you can care for your community. So think of vaccines as part of God’s plan.” (Hoffman, 3/14)

ABC News: Blessing By Way Of Medicine: These Pastors Preach COVID-19 Vaccination As God's Healing Power
Across the nation, vaccine hesitancy is not just a matter of race; it's also a spiritual issue that's running widespread in many faith-based communities. According to a recent Pew study, nearly 50% of white evangelicals say they won't take the coronavirus vaccine, as do more than 30% of African-American Protestants. At the 3,000-member Life Tabernacle Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, it's not uncommon to see many Sunday worshipers streaming into the church without masks. (Vann, Folmer, Hosenball and Jung, 3/15)

The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore-Area School Districts Say They’re Making Progress Vaccinating Teachers, But Don’t Know How Many Educators Still Need Shots 
Baltimore-area school districts say that most teachers who have requested a COVID-19 vaccine through the district have been inoculated or scheduled an appointment to do so, but that it’s difficult to know how many teachers have yet to receive — or don’t want — a vaccine. School system officials say thousands of employees have not responded to their offers of help to get shots as federal, state and county officials emphasize educator vaccinations. (Bowie, 3/15)

The Washington Post: These People Got Coronavirus Just As The Vaccine Arrived 
For those infected in recent weeks, as vaccinations became available and experts began talking of an impending return to normalcy, the bad timing is the pandemic’s latest cruel twist. “It’s kind of like running the race and getting to the last 15 yards and tripping and falling,” said Bill Moore, 68, a guitarist and government contractor who tested positive for the virus in early March. “I’m just irritated,” he said as he recovered at his home in Bowie, Md. “Everyone likes to win.” (Schwartzman, 3/12)

Axios: Wealthy People Are Jumping The Line COVID-19 Vaccines 
America's wealthiest are finding ways to access the vaccine ahead of those who qualify for it. The pandemic has already widened existing health inequities and underserved communities continue to lag in vaccinations compared to the white and rich. (Chen, 3/13)

CIDRAP: Study Notes Moderate Depression, Anxiety In Health Workers During COVID
In a review of 65 studies from around the world, pooled data indicate that one in five healthcare workers (HCWs) have experienced moderate depression, anxiety, and/or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study published this week in PLOS One. The study covered patients in 21 countries, most commonly in East Asia (46 studies, with 43 in China), the Middle East (7), and Europe (5). More than 97,000 HCWs were included, of whom 45% were nurses, 27% were physicians, 11% were other medical workers, and 1% were administration and support staff. (3/12)

Gainesville Times: One Year Later, What NGHS Professionals Have Learned After COVID 'War Zone' 
Walking through the COVID-19 critical care unit, Cheryl Bittel thought back to what the last year has been like. The word that kept coming up: a war zone. “We went through a war zone chaos, just supplies everywhere, to being so much better,” said Bittel, a clinical nurse specialist and interim nurse manager, about the ways they’ve adapted through lessons learned. (Watson, 3/13)

KHN: Covid Cases Plummet 83% Among Nursing Home Staffers Despite Vaccine Hesitancy
Joan Phillips, a certified nursing assistant in a Florida nursing home, loved her job but dreaded the danger of going to work in the pandemic. When vaccines became available in December, she jumped at the chance to get one. Months later, it appears that danger has faded. After the rollout of covid vaccines, the number of new covid cases among nursing home staff members fell 83% — from 28,802 for the week ending Dec. 20 to 4,764 for the week ending Feb. 14, data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services shows. (Bailey and Dubnow, 3/15)

In other health care industry news —

Modern Healthcare: 1.1M Patients Had Data Compromised In February-Reported Breaches
More than 1.1 million patients had data exposed in healthcare data breaches reported to the federal government last month. Nearly 6.9 million patients have had data exposed in breaches reported so far in 2021. Healthcare providers, insurers and their business associates reported 74 breaches in January and February combined, marking the second-highest number of breaches reported in the first two months of the year since HHS' Office for Civil Rights began maintaining its breach database in 2010. It follows 2020, when organizations reported 96 breaches in the same period. (Kim Cohen, 3/12)

Modern Healthcare: Providers, Payers Face Intense Negotiations After COVID-19
Providers and payers that expanded their cooperative efforts since COVID-19 struck are likely to continue on that path, and so are those who pulled back from each other in the past year. That in turn is shaping how payers and providers approach upcoming contract negotiations, experts say. “The payers who really stepped up and were willing to help and form a partnership this past year will be included in ongoing discussions around how we best manage both longitudinal care and acute needs across the country and potentially around the world,” said Wesley Wolfe, senior director of payer contracting at Cleveland Clinic. “Those payers who were very transactional may have less influence,” he said. (Wild, 3/13)

Stat: Hospitals’ Push To Boost Medicare Pay Through December Faces Uncertain Fate In The Senate
Hospitals successfully lobbied to get a House vote next week to prolong a temporary boost in Medicare payments through December, though the measure’s fate in the Senate is unclear. Congress voted last year to increase health care providers’ Medicare payments by 2% to help cushion their bottom lines during the Covid-19 pandemic, but that relief is set to expire at the end of March. Hospitals have been aggressively lobbying for an extension. (Cohrs, 3/12)

KHN: The Boom In Out-Of-State Telehealth Threatens In-State Providers
When the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation began offering telehealth services in Montana in early February, the nation’s largest nonprofit addiction treatment provider promised quality care for far-flung residents without their even having to leave home. That promise was what Montana and more than 40 other states had in mind when they temporarily relaxed rules restricting telehealth services and allowed out-of-state providers to hold remote patient visits for the duration of the covid-19 pandemic. (Volz, 3/15)

Health News Florida: Optometrist 'Scope Of Practice' Discussion Heats Up In Florida Senate 
Jump-starting an annual tug-of-war over who can treat patients, a Senate panel has approved a bill that would authorize optometrists to perform some laser surgeries and prescribe opioids for patients. The vote, however, came amid heavy opposition from physicians and suggestions from some Republican lawmakers that they were only voting for the bill out of deference to bill sponsor Manny Diaz Jr., a Hialeah Republican who is chairman of the Senate Health Policy Committee. (Sexton, 3/13)

Health News Florida: Senate Panels Support More Money To Help Build New Moffitt Campus 
With supporters saying the proposal would help fund a new campus to treat cancer patients, a Senate committee Thursday unanimously approved a measure that would provide millions of additional dollars each year to Moffitt Cancer Center. The bill (SB 866), sponsored by Sen. Ed Hooper, R-Clearwater, would change a formula for distributing cigarette tax revenues. (3/13)

Modern Healthcare: Why Commercial Insurers See New Opportunity In ACA Exchanges
After a rocky start marked by losses, legal challenges and a general feeling of uncertainty, health insurers are increasingly expanding their footprint on Affordable Care Act exchanges. During its investors day on March 8, Cigna announced that it plans to double its geographic coverage on the individual market to 20 states by 2025. UnitedHealthcare and Aetna are also reentering the space. While a few regional insurers entered the ACA for the first time in 2021, the majority of payers getting back into the exchange are larger and for-profit insurers, according to Ceci Connolly, president of the Alliance for Community Health Plans, adding competition to the long-time regional holdouts. (Tepper, 3/12)

Axios: More States Are Battling An Increase In Drug Overdoses During The Pandemic 
States and cities are facing a rising number of drug overdoses that health officials say have increased during the coronavirus pandemic. Roughly 81,000 people died from a drug overdose between June 2019 and May 2020, the highest number ever recorded in a 12-month period, according to provisional data in the CDC's December report. (Rummier, 3/14)

The Washington Post: Fewer Smokers Seem To Be Trying To Quit During Pandemic, Report Finds
Several health-related organizations held a news conference Friday to raise alarm about the significant effect the coronavirus pandemic is having on Americans’ efforts to quit smoking. Smoking is one of the underlying medical conditions that could increase people’s risk of developing severe cases of covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In fact, some states, such as New Jersey, are prioritizing smokers among those eligible to receive coronavirus vaccines. (Chiu, 3/12)

In other public health news —

CIDRAP: Half Of COVID Survivors Note Lingering Signs Of Depression 
More than half of a sample of US COVID-19 survivors reported symptoms of major depressive disorder months after recovery, a research letter today in JAMA Network Open reports. A team led by researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University analyzed internet-based nonprobability survey and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) responses from 82,319 adult coronavirus survivors delivered in eight waves from June 2020 to January 2021. (Van Beusekom, 3/12)

Today: How To Get Over Fear Of Needles Before Getting COVID-19 Shot
One of the most common treatments for trypanophobia, which is the medical term for extreme fear of needles or injections, is exposure therapy. That's exactly what it sounds like: being exposed to the phobia — in this case, needles — over and over again. "We may start out with cartoons or pictures and then work up to something a little more live action, maybe someone sticking a syringe into an orange," said Cheryl Carmin, Ph.D., the director of clinical psychology training at The Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center in Columbus. (Murray, 3/12)

KHN: A Year Into The Pandemic, Three Huge Losses In One Family
In the year since the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic, millions of families have endured the excruciating rise and fall of the U.S. outbreak — waves of sickness that leave untold wounds long after hospitalizations ebb and infections subside. Some have borne the tragedy more than others, with multiple family members lost to covid-19 in a matter of months. (Stone, 3/15)

Axios: America's Unequal Return To Classrooms 
Most American kids have returned to some form of in-person school by now — but low-income school districts are paying a higher price for it. Preparing for testing, infrastructure improvements and distancing has cost school districts tens of millions of dollars. And poorer districts have had to freeze hiring and cut entire programs to make it work. (Pandey and Nather, 3/15)

Politico: Reports: Cuomo 'Vaccine Czar' Called Local Officials To Gauge Loyalty
An aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo who is heading up the state’s vaccine rollout has called local officials to gauge their loyalty to the beleaguered governor, according to multiple reports on Sunday. Larry Schwartz, who has filled several supportive roles for the Cuomo administration over the years, has rattled local leaders across the state with his outreach, according to The Washington Post and The New York Times. (Gronewold, 3/14)

In other news from the states —

Axios: Many In Jackson, Mississippi Without Water A Month After Weather Outage 
A winter storm has revealed issues in Jackson, Miss.' aging water supply system, leaving thousands of residents without water service since mid-February, NBC News reports. While water supply has been a recurring challenge for Jackson residents, "this year’s outage is one of the worst in recent history," NBC writes. It would take hundreds of millions of dollars to restructure the system to make it resilient enough to withstand harsh climate, mayor Chokwe Lumumba told the outlet. (Arias, 3/14)

Albuquerque Journal: Aid-In-Dying Legislation Heads To Full Senate
New Mexico lawmakers on Sunday moved closer than ever to passage of a bill that would allow terminally ill patients to seek medical aid to end their lives. The legislation, House Bill 47, cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 5-3 vote and heads next to the Senate floor. It won House approval last month, the first time medical aid-in-dying legislation has ever passed a chamber of the state Legislature. In Sunday’s hearing, Rep. Deborah Armstrong, an Albuquerque Democrat and co-sponsor of the bill, highlighted her daughter Erin’s own story as she urged lawmakers to pass the bill. Erin has an inoperable brain tumor, she said, and has faced excruciating pain at times while undergoing treatment. (McKay, 3/14)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Philadelphia-Area Mental Health Crisis Centers And Hospitals Grapple With Shortage Of Inpatient Beds During COVID
Crisis centers and emergency departments at hospitals in the Philadelphia area are feeling the crunch as they are often the first stop for people in a mental health crisis. The next step is an inpatient mental health program for additional treatment or discharge if the patients are judged not to pose a danger to themselves or others. The wait for a bed often took days even before the pandemic, particularly for children and adolescents. COVID-19 requirements and precautions, such as testing and quarantining, have made placements even harder. Plus, having to spend a lot of time in an emergency room can be especially overwhelming for someone in crisis, experts said, making it more difficult to treat the mental health symptoms. (Ao, 3/15)

AP: COVID-19 Leads To Burst Of Info, But Some Data Blocked In NJ
While New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has pledged to be transparent throughout the coronavirus pandemic, his administration has denied or slowly responded to requests for records related to spending, communications and decision-making. Sunshine Week, an annual focus on press freedoms and the fight for government transparency, comes a year after the state marked its first positive case and, soon after that, the first death from the virus. (Catalini, 3/15)

Boston Globe: Teachers Union Leaders Back Emergency Legislation Delaying Students’ Return To School Buildings
The leaders of three Massachusetts teachers unions are backing emergency legislation filed by state lawmakers that would require the education commissioner to give districts more time to prepare for the full-time return of elementary school students to classrooms. Officials with the Massachusetts Teachers Association, the American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts, and the Boston Teachers Union also said the legislation would allow more school workers — who became eligible for vaccines last Thursday — to be able to receive doses if they choose. “Rushing this without proper planning would be unsafe and unwise — both for safety and instruction,” said Jessica Tang, president of the Boston Teachers Union. (Hilliard and Tziperman Lotan, 3/14)

North Carolina Health News: Advocates Eye Details As Nursing Homes Open To Visitors 
Appalled when he saw blood mixed with the waste in his mother’s nursing home toilet, Tim Wall called 911 emergency workers as well as quizzing staff at her Kernersville facility to try to get answers. The information he got from EMTs and care providers during the Jan. 5, 2021 incident shocked Wall even more, he said in a phone interview. He quoted a care worker who said, “See, your mom’s incontinent and we’ve been changing her all day and we haven’t seen any blood. That must have been from yesterday. ”Wall said, “You mean she was bleeding like that yesterday?” (Goldsmith, 3/15)

NPR: High Obesity Rates In South Magnify COVID-19 Threat 
The sheer prevalence of obesity in the nation was a public health concern long before the coronavirus pandemic — 2 in 3 Americans exceed what is considered a healthy weight, with 42% falling into the obesity range, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But COVID-19 dramatically fast-tracked the discussion from warnings about the long-term damage that excess fat tissue can pose to heart, lung and metabolic functions to far more immediate threats. (3/13)

The Washington Post: AstraZeneca Asserts No Link Between Its Vaccine And Blood Clots As More Countries Suspend Use
Drugmaker AstraZeneca said late Sunday that there is no scientific evidence of any link between its coronavirus vaccine and recent deaths in Europe from blood clots, even as more countries have temporarily halted the use of the shot. In a statement, AstraZeneca said that of the 17 million people so far inoculated with its vaccine, there have only been 15 cases of deep vein thrombosis and 22 pulmonary embolisms. “This is is much lower than would be expected to occur naturally in a general population of this size and is similar across other licensed covid-19 vaccines,” the company said. (Cunningham and Schemm, 3/15)

Axios: AstraZeneca On COVID Vaccine: "No Evidence" Of Increased Blood Clot Risk 
AstraZeneca announced Sunday a comprehensive review has found "no evidence" that its COVID-19 vaccine causes an increased risk of blood clots. Authorities in Ireland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Iceland have paused administering the vaccine because of clotting concerns, per Reuters. (Falconer, 3/14)

CNBC: Covid: Ireland, Netherlands Suspend AstraZeneca Vaccine Amid Blood Clot Fears
Ireland and the Netherlands have joined the growing list of countries that have suspended the use of the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford over blood clot concerns. The Dutch government said on Sunday that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine would not be used until at least March 29, while Ireland said earlier in the day that it had temporarily suspended the shot as a precautionary step. (Meredith, 3/15)

In other global vaccine news —

Reuters: Unthinkable? EU Considers Getting A Vaccine Boost From Russia's Sputnik 
Publicly, the European Union has dismissed Russia’s global coronavirus vaccine supply campaign as a propaganda stunt by an undesirable regime. Behind the scenes, the bloc is turning to Moscow’s Sputnik V shot as it tries to get its stuttering efforts to vaccinate its 450 million people back on track, EU diplomatic and official sources told Reuters. An EU official who negotiates with vaccine makers on behalf of the bloc told Reuters that EU governments were considering launching talks with Sputnik V developers and it would take requests from four EU states to start the process. (Guarascio, Chalmers and Parodi, 3/15)

AP: Mexico's President Knocks US Over Vaccines
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took a dig at the U.S. government Sunday, saying the United States has not helped Mexico with coronavirus vaccines. López Obrador thanked India and Russia, which have each sent small amounts of vaccines, and China, whose firms have promised millions of doses. López Obrador said “I hope that soon I will be able to say thanks to the U.S. government, because I am sure they are going to help too, it is just that that haven’t done so so far.” (3/15)

The New York Times: Ebola Survivor Infected Years Ago May Have Started New Outbreak 
An Ebola outbreak now occurring in Guinea was almost certainly started by someone who survived West Africa’s historic 2014-16 epidemic, harbored the virus for at least five years and then transmitted it via semen to a sex partner, researchers reported on Friday. The finding, based on genetic sequencing of virus samples taken from patients in the current outbreak, shocked researchers. Until now, the longest the virus had been known to persist in a survivor was 500 days. “It’s a stunner,” Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious-disease expert at Vanderbilt University who was not involved in the research, said in an interview. “This is an extraordinary phenomenon.” (Grady, 3/12)

Stat: Stunning Analysis Traces New Ebola Outbreak To Survivor Of W. Africa Crisis
A survivor of the massive 2014-2016 West African Ebola outbreak almost certainly triggered an outbreak currently underway in Guinea, according to a new genetic analysis, news that has landed like a bombshell in the community of researchers who study the dangerous virus. The analysis suggests that a survivor of the historic Ebola outbreak continued harboring the virus at least five years after being infected, eventually transmitting it to someone. Previously, the longest an Ebola survivor was believed to have shed the virus was about 500 days. (Branswell, 3/12)

Axios: Ebola Outbreak In Guinea May Be Linked To 2014 Epidemic
The virus driving the recent Ebola outbreak in Guinea is genetically similar to the virus that ravaged West Africa during the 2014 epidemic, World Health Organization emergencies chief Michael Ryan said at a press briefing on Friday, according to AP. It suggests the current Ebola outbreak sickening people in Guinea may have been caused by a survivor of the epidemic that ended roughly five years ago. (Knutson, 3/13)

In other global news —

Bloomberg: Covid's End Could Be Deadly Beginning For New Measles Outbreaks
Here’s a worrying statistic: We’re just a few months into 2021, and in the U.K., public-health authorities have yet to detect any cases of flu. The reason, experts believe, is that the mask wearing, social distancing and lockdowns designed to slow the spread of coronavirus have essentially wiped out the flu virus. Flu numbers are down all over the world. This is good news, of course. So why is it also worrying? If these measures have also kept the flu at bay, they may have kept other infectious agents under control as well, including some that are far more dangerous. And when we emerge from the Covid crisis and start to relax public-health measures — in particular, allowing international air travel to resume — these more dangerous agents could surprise us with a violent resurgence. (Buchanan, 3/13)

Bloomberg: Global Baby Drought Of Covid-19 Crisis Risks Population Crunch
Major economies from Italy to Singapore, already afflicted by dire demographics, are seeing that phenomenon accelerate after measures limiting social contacts and the worst growth crisis in generations combined to prevent or dissuade people from having babies. While workplace closures and forced isolation might have encouraged couples to spend time together productively, the number of newborns has been dwarfed by plunging fertility emerging in national data for 2020. They range from France’s lowest birth rate since World War II, to Chinese authorities receiving 15% fewer registrations for babies. (Bosley and Jamrisko, 3/14)

The Washington Post: Congress Just Brought The Country Closer To Universal Health-Care Coverage 
Tucked into the covid-19 relief bill that President Biden signed Thursday was perhaps the most significant health-care reform policy to pass Congress since the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA). It is a major down payment on Mr. Biden’s promise to build on that law, also known as Obamacare, and move the nation closer to universal coverage without excessive cost or disruption. The ACA was supposed to cover people with very low incomes through the Medicaid program, and to cover everyone else who lacked employer-based insurance through private marketplaces, which would be regulated to guarantee a basic level of coverage and to protect people with preexisting conditions. People with moderately low incomes would get federal subsidies to help them buy private plans on these marketplaces. But problems emerged. (3/14)

CNN: Where The Scariest Covid-19 Story Is Playing Out 
Right now, a year into the pandemic, the scariest Covid-19 story is not in Texas, where the gloomy governor is still pretending he can ignore the pandemic into oblivion. Nor is it the news from Brazil where its frustrated president, Jair Bolsonaro, has told citizens to quit whining about the unchecked death and illness that surrounds them. Rather the most alarming situation is in Europe. There, for unclear reasons, the pandemic appears to be in the earliest stages of resurgence. The World Health Organization in Europe announced on March 4 that after six weeks of decline, cases in the continent rose by a staggering 9% compared to the previous week — putting the continent again over 1 million cases weekly. (Kent Sepkowitz, 3/13)

Los Angeles Times: Can Government Mandate COVID Vaccine? Law Needs Clarification
Right now, people eager for protection against COVID-19 are desperately logging onto websites over and over to try to find a place with vaccines on hand. But as the supply of vaccines increases enough in the coming months to provide all adults the necessary doses, the question will shift from “How many people will be protected soon?” to “Does everybody have to get vaccinated? ”That’s a question that Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and other federal health officials are wisely dodging for the moment. It’s better to persuade people to come in for their shots than to try to force them in. Despite the more than half a million fatalities and innumerable serious, long-lasting side effects inflicted by COVID-19 in this country, people often are leery of new vaccines and want to see how they play out in general use. There also are people who are stubbornly and unreasonably anti-vaccine. (3/14)

Stat: Addiction Care Workers Should Have Access To Covid-19 Testing, Vaccines
At the beginning of the pandemic, the U.S. government and private organizations rushed to support health care workers — and rightfully so — with massive ramp-ups in making available personal protective equipment and testing supplies to ensure that frontline workers had the resources they needed to keep themselves, their patients, and their families as safe as possible. These providers have been now been given priority to get the Covid-19 vaccines that are being rolled out across the country. But one group of health care workers has been excluded from these efforts: those who work in behavioral health and addiction treatment centers. (Jeff Turiczek, 3/15)

Also —

Chicago Tribune: Changing The Clocks Is No Help When COVID Anxiety Is Already Disrupting Our Sleep 
The clock sprung forward one hour on Sunday morning for most people in the U.S. That is not an appealing thought for those who have suffered sleep problems because of the pandemic. Sleep this past year has been affected by a variety of factors, including anxiety, inconsistent schedules and increased screen time. This affects our health, as getting adequate sleep is important to assure our immune system can fend off and fight infections. (Michael S. Jaffe, 3/14)

Boston Globe: Telemedicine Can Address Historic Structural Inequities 
America’s response to the coronavirus pandemic is showing that we can begin to address racism’s impact on Americans’ health by changing how we access primary care —and telemedicine is pointing the way. The pandemic underscores deep health care inequities resulting from decades of structural racism and, as a result, COVID-19 kills Black and brown Americans at much higher rates than white Americans. Residents of low-income communities, many of whom are essential workers, face greater impediments to health care access than those with more means. Many can’t easily take time off from work, drive to doctors’ offices, or line up child care in order to make in-person appointments; they risk being fired and having their families go hungry. (Christina Severin and Michael Curry, 3/13)