NPR: White House Announces $10 Billion For COVID-19 Testing In Schools
The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it will spend $10 billion to expand testing for schools, to aid in the president's goal to get schools open once again. The funds will come from the American Rescue Plan, the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package President Biden signed last week. "With this funding for testing, every state in America will have access to millions of dollars to set up screening testing programs, to add a layer of protection for schools, teachers and students," Carole Johnson, the White House COVID-19 Testing Coordinator, said at a news briefing. (Wamsley, 3/17)

Politico: Biden Admin Unveils $10B School Testing Plan For Covid-19 
The Biden administration will spend $10 billion to screen schoolchildren for Covid-19 to help hasten their return to in-person learning. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will administer the school-screening program, announced Wednesday. The agency is giving $10 billion in American Rescue Plan funds to states and certain cities to set up testing, with the aim of reopening schools in the final months of the school year. (Lim, 3/17)

AP: Expanded Testing Part Of Biden Administration School Plans 
Most public schools haven't been able to afford the robust testing seen as critical to reopening safely, said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. “With this investment, help truly is on the way to aid school systems in implementing a testing system that will help keep students, educators and staff safe inside school buildings,” she said in a statement. (Thompson, 3/17)

In related news about teacher vaccinations —

The Hill: Biden Education Chief: Vaccines Will Likely Not Be Mandatory For Teachers
President Biden’s Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said Wednesday that vaccines will likely not be mandatory for teachers in order to reopen schools. “I think we've seen examples where schools can open safely and be effective. But we know that prioritizing vaccinations will only assist with that,” Cardona told Lester Holt on NBC Nightly News. (Lonas, 3/17)

NBC News: Education Secretary Cardona Says Expanding Testing, Vaccines Will Help Keep Schools Open
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said Wednesday that making sure educators are vaccinated is the top priority to keep schools open for children and teens. "We've seen examples where schools can open safely and be effective, but we know that prioritizing vaccinations will only assist with that," Cardona said in an interview with NBC Nightly News' Lester Holt. (Clark and Richardson, 3/17)

And more on covid testing —

NBC News: Critics Say Regulatory Holdup Is Delaying Key Weapon In Coronavirus Fight
Federal protocols and other regulatory hurdles are compromising a tool critical to containing the ever-evolving coronavirus: cheap, rapid antigen tests growing in use across Europe to safely reopen schools, public health officials and some members of Congress say. With variants multiplying, "this virus could get ahead of our vaccines" and "we haven't seen the same push" on testing as there has been on vaccines, Rep. Kim Schrier, D-Wash., said in a hearing with Dr. Peter Marks, the Food and Drug Administration's research director; Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government's top infectious disease expert; and Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Przybyla, 3/18)

The Washington Post: CDC Set To Revisit Advice On Spacing Between Students Amid New Evidence
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that her agency would “soon” revisit its guidelines encouraging schools to keep six feet of distance between people, saying new evidence has emerged that three feet may be enough. The six-foot guideline has discouraged many school leaders from reopening their classrooms full-time. Instead, to reduce the number of students in classrooms at any given time, many school systems teach students part-time in school and part-time from home. (Meckler, 3/17)

NBC News: Is 3 Feet Enough For Social Distancing In Schools? CDC Looking Into Relaxing Guidelines
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is looking into whether 6 feet of distance is necessary to keep students safe at school — or if 3 feet will suffice. The debate carries major implications for school reopenings: The current CDC guidance recommends maintaining 6 feet of distance between students, severely limiting the number of people who can safely fit into each classroom. (Edwards, 3/17)

The New York Times: A New Study Suggests Students Can Be Just 3 Feet Apart Safely 
School shutdowns have been a divisive topic since the pandemic erupted, and a new study has ignited debate over the six-foot rule of social distancing and whether it can be relaxed in classroom settings, which would ease the way for children to return to schools. The new study, published last week in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, suggests public schools may be able to reopen safely for in-person instruction as long as children maintain three feet of distance between them, and with other mitigation measures maintained, such as wearing masks. (Rabin, 3/14)

In related news about school ventilation —

Axios: Better Ventilation May Help Schools Beyond The Pandemic 
Improving schools' ventilation systems won't only help keep kids safe from COVID-19, but may also improve their academic performance in the process. As schools figure out what they need to do to safely resume in-person classes, some experts are advocating for options — like better air filtration — that would yield added benefits beyond the pandemic. (Fernandez, 3/18)

Bloomberg: Biden Considers Expanding Obamacare Enrollment Window Past May
The Biden administration is considering extending the special enrollment window for Americans to purchase Affordable Care Act health plans beyond its current expiration date of May 15, according to an administration official familiar with the situation. President Joe Biden ordered a new enrollment period from Feb. 15 to May 15, giving Americans a chance to purchase Obamacare health plans outside the usual year-end window. Meanwhile, the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan enacted last week includes subsidies to offset costs for buying the plans. (Wingrove and Tozzi, 3/17)

In news about the stimulus legislation —

Roll Call: Ohio Files Suit Over COVID Relief Package 
Ohio filed a lawsuit Wednesday that questions congressional power to put certain conditions on federal assistance money in the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief that President Joe Biden signed into law last week. The state argues the law means it can claim about $5.5 billion, but only if officials agree that they won’t use that money to “directly or indirectly” offset revenue loss from tax reductions. That amount is about 7 percent of the state’s $74.6 billion in spending in 2020. (Ruger, 3/17)

Politico: Poll: 72 Percent Approve Of Covid Relief Law 
The coronavirus relief and stimulus legislation signed into law by President Joe Biden last week is earning high marks from voters, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll. More than seven in 10 voters, 72 percent, support the new law, the poll shows — far greater than the paltry 21 percent who oppose it. (Shepard, 3/17)

KHN: Landmark Covid Relief Law Pumps More Than $100 Billion Into Public Health 
Acknowledging that chronic underfunding of public health contributed significantly to the nation’s fragmented response to the coronavirus pandemic, Democrats included more than $100 billion in the recently enacted relief package to address urgent needs and enhance future efforts. “The pandemic has given us possibly the best chance we’ve ever had of getting on the right track to shore up our public health resources,” said Jeffrey Levi, a professor of health management at the George Washington University School of Public Health. “Tens of millions of us have directly experienced what happens when our country is not prepared.” (Findlay, 3/18)

In vaccine news from the Biden administration —

Bloomberg: Biden To Reach 100 Million Vaccinations Goal Six Weeks Early
President Joe Biden is poised to meet his goal of delivering 100 million Covid-19 vaccine shots in his first 100 days in office as soon as Thursday, reaching the milestone more than a month ahead of time. As of Wednesday, his 57th day in office, the U.S. had vaccinated nearly 98 million people since Biden’s inauguration. The pace of shots has risen to an average of nearly 2.5 million per day for the last week. (Wingrove, 3/18)

Politico: Vaccine Passports Pose Ethical Thicket For Biden Administration 
States, airlines and tech companies are pressuring the Biden administration to develop a federal standard for vaccine passports — a policy that could speed the economic recovery but might also discriminate against disadvantaged groups and jeopardize privacy. Digital credentials showing proof of a person's Covid-19 test results and vaccination status are rapidly being embraced as a tool to redesign workplaces and jump start travel and tourism. New York State is trying out an “Excelsior Pass” to fast track reopening theaters and venues like Madison Square Garden. Hawai'i is developing a version that would let visitors skip the state's mandatory 10-day quarantine. (Tahir, 3/17)

ABC News: Amazon Jumps Into Health Care With Telemedicine Initiative
Amazon is making its first foray into providing health care services, announcing Wednesday that it will be offering its Amazon Care telemedicine program to employers nationwide. Currently available to the company's employees in Washington state, Amazon Care is an app that connects users virtually with doctors, nurse practitioners and nurses who can provide services and treatment over the phone 24 hours a day. In the Seattle area, it's supplemented with in-person services such as pharmacy delivery and house-call services from nurses who can take blood work and provide similar services. (Barakat, 3/17)

The Washington Post: Amazon Expands Its In-House, On-Demand Health-Care Service, Care, To Other Companies 
Amazon said Wednesday it will offer its on-demand health-care service to other companies, a step forward in tech giants’ ambitions to play a larger role in the space. For years, Amazon, Google, Apple and others have been slowly creeping into health care, prompting privacy concerns because of the large amount of data the companies already have on users — from searches on health conditions to monitoring info from wearable devices. (Lerman, 3/17)

USA Today: Amazon's Telehealth Program Will Be Available Across U.S. This Summer
Amazon's virtual health care service, Amazon Care, will be available to all U.S. companies and Amazon employees starting this summer, according to a statement published by the retail giant. The telehealth service is currently available to Amazon employees and employees of companies in Washington who supply Amazon Care. The app, available for iOS and Android, virtually connects employees and their families to medical professionals allowing patients to live chat with a nurse or doctor via in-app messaging or video. (Murphy Marcos, 3/17)

Also —

Stat: What Amazon Care’s Expansion Means For The Telehealth Industry
Amazon is officially starting its ascent to the national telehealth stage — and its nationwide expansion is putting the rest of the telemedicine industry on notice. The company announced a sweeping expansion on Wednesday of Amazon Care, its virtual and in-person health care platform. Amazon will offer telehealth services to its own employees nationwide this summer and will also make in-person care available in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. (Brodwin, 3/18)

Stat: Backed By Amazon, New Coalition Lobbies For Home Care Policy Changes
The telehealth boom has made one thing clear: The era of health care provided exclusively within the confines of a clinic or hospital is over. In the hopes of making the shift to virtual care more permanent, Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm Sirona Strategies formed a coalition earlier this month called Moving Health Home. (Brodwin, 3/18)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Ends Policy Allowing Some Part D Plans To Cover Fewer Drugs
The Biden administration on Tuesday ended a Trump-era policy that would have allowed Medicare Part D plans to cover fewer drugs under a new pay model. When CMS' Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation requested Part D Payment Modernization applications for 2022 in January, it said that plans participating in the model wouldn't have to cover all drugs in five of the six protected drug classes: anticonvulsants, immunosuppressants, antidepressants, antipsychotics and antineoplastics. It also allowed Part D plans to only include one drug per class in their formulary instead of two drugs, as currently required, and paused the 10% downside risk requirement for model participants during the 2022 plan year. (Brady, 3/17)

Modern Healthcare: Nephrologists Frustrated Over CMS' Delay Of Kidney Program
Providers caring for patients with chronic kidney disease are scrambling to update their operations after the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation delayed starting a new value-based payment program just weeks before it was set to go live. CMS was unable to respond to an interview request about how many nephrologists and other providers will be impacted by the delay in the Kidney Care Choices program. But the program received more applications than expected, according to Mark Gooding, an associate principal at the Avalere consultancy. (Tepper, 3/17)

In more CMS news as well as Medicaid —

Georgia Health News: Georgia Vows To Continue Fight If Feds Kill State’s Medicaid Waiver Plan 
Georgia officials, as expected, have appealed the new federal position on the state’s Medicaid waiver plan, saying its possible revocation by the Biden administration would be ‘‘an arbitrary and unlawful bait-and-switch.’’ The commissioner of the state’s Department of Community Health, in a letter dated March 12, noted that federal health officials last year approved Georgia’s approach to require low-income adults to meet work or other eligibility standards to get Medicaid coverage. Those requirements were at the center of the Biden administration’s criticism last month of the Georgia plan, which is scheduled to begin July 1. (Miller, 3/17)

Modern Healthcare: Two States Could Be Next Medicaid Expansion Battlegrounds
Advocates say they see new political momentum for expanding Medicaid in some conservative states after Congress recently offered them billions of dollars in additional funding to do what 38 states have already done: extend insurance coverage to millions of low-income Americans. Under the most recently passed COVID-19 relief bill, the 12 states that have not yet expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act would get even more money from the federal government to do so, prompting hope among advocates including hospitals and providers that the tide could be turning. (Hellmann, 3/17)

North Carolina Health News: Big Medicaid Expansion Incentives In Pandemic Relief Bill 
For the third year in a row, leaders from rural parts of North Carolina came out to say that they believe the state should move to close the health care coverage gap that’s only widened since the start of the pandemic. In a statement released on March 4, the five rural members of Gov. Roy Cooper’s Council on Health Care Coverage, which met throughout the winter, said they believed the answer was “obvious.” That answer was to expand Medicaid. (3/18)

CIDRAP: Race, Medicaid Status Tied To Higher COVID-19 Rates In US Nursing Homes
Among 3,008 US nursing homes in counties in the top quartile of COVID-19 prevalence, those with larger proportions of racial minority residents, Medicaid participants, and fewer direct patient care hours experienced more coronavirus infections amid the pandemic, according to a research letter published yesterday in JAMA Network Open. The study, led by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, involved analysis of data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Nursing Home COVID-19 Public File, the 2017 Long-term Care: Facts on Care in the US database, the USAFacts website, and the 2017 American Community Survey. (3/17)

The Hill: House Passes Bill To Renew Violence Against Women Act 
The House passed legislation on Wednesday to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), a law originally authored by President Biden that lapsed in 2019. Lawmakers voted largely along party lines 244-172 to approve the measure, with only 29 Republicans joining all Democrats in support. The legislation, which was reintroduced by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), would provide grants to state and local governments for programs addressing domestic abuse, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking. (Marcos and Brufke, 3/17)

Roll Call: House Votes To Reauthorize, Expand Violence Against Women Act
First passed in 1994, VAWA enshrines legal protections for victims of domestic and sexual violence. The original bill was championed by then-Sen. Joe Biden, and was reauthorized and updated in 2000, 2005 and 2013. The House bill would expand victim services and reauthorize for five years grant programs for the criminal justice response to domestic and sexual violence. It also includes provisions that would expand housing options for survivors, and allow tribal jurisdiction over non-Native perpetrators of sexual violence on tribal lands. (Macagnone and Tully-McManus, 3/17)

ABC News: Daniel Dae Kim, Members Of Congress To Testify On Discrimination And Violence Against Asian Americans
Prominent Asian American lawmakers, scholars and advocates, including actor and producer Daniel Dae Kim, will testify Thursday on the rise in hate crimes and discrimination against Asian Americans before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. The hearing follows a string of hate crimes against Asian Americans, as well as three shootings at Atlanta-area spas on Tuesday in which eight people were killed. Six of the victims were Asian women. (Robinson, 3/18)

In other news from Capitol Hill —

The Washington Post: A Quarter Of House Members Have Not Received The Coronavirus Vaccine 
Three months after vaccinations were made available to all members of Congress, about 1 in 4 members of the House have not received the shots to inoculate themselves against the deadly coronavirus, disregarding the advice of their own physician and missing an opportunity to promote public acceptance of the drugs. Democrats have rejected the notion from Republicans that a 75 percent vaccination rate is a sufficient level to reopen the House of Representatives, which has operated since last March under more restrictive rules, and urged GOP leaders to better encourage their rank-and-file to get the shots. (Sotomayor and Kane, 3/17)

Politico: The Capitol’s New Covid Divide: Getting Back To Normal
House GOP leaders are running trips to the border. Regular fundraising dinners are back at the Capitol Hill Club and the Capital Grille. And the House GOP Conference is hosting its annual retreat in Florida next month. After 12 long months in a mostly deserted Capitol, a sense of normalcy is returning much more quickly in GOP offices than Democratic ones as lawmakers and staffers embrace the post-Covid vaccine life — or choose to flout health guidance altogether. All the while, the coronavirus remains active and less than 15 percent of Americans are fully vaccinated against it. (Ferris and Zanona, 3/17)

In updates on alleged election fraud —

The Washington Post: USPS: ‘No Evidence’ In Mail Ballot Fraud Case Cited By Republicans 
U.S. Postal Service investigators found no evidence to support a Pennsylvania postal worker’s claim that his supervisors had tampered with mail-in ballots, according to an inspector general’s report — allegations cited by top Republicans to press baseless claims of fraud in the presidential election. Richard Hopkins, a mail carrier in Erie, alleged in November that he overheard the local postmaster discussing plans to backdate ballots received after the Nov. 3 vote and pass them off to election officials as legitimate. Working with Project Veritas, a nonprofit entity that seeks to expose what it says is bias in the mainstream news media, Hopkins publicly released a sworn affidavit recounting those allegations. (Bogage and Boburg, 3/17)

Axios: FEMA To Reimburse Funeral Costs For COVID Victims 
The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Wednesday it will reimburse the families of COVID-19 victims for funeral expenses incurred after Jan. 20, 2020. The coronavirus has killed more than 537,000 people in the United States, inflicting emotional and financial pain on thousands of families across the country. (Knutson, 3/17)

In other news about the spread of the coronavirus —

CNN: US Could Be On The Cusp Of Covid-19 Infection Surge Officials Have Been Dreading, Expert Warns
The US may be on the cusp of another Covid-19 case surge, one expert says -- a surge that health officials have repeatedly warned about as state leaders eased restrictions and several lifted mask mandates. "I think we are going to see a surge in the number of infections," emergency physician Dr. Leana Wen told CNN on Wednesday night. "I think what helps this time though is that the most vulnerable -- particularly nursing home residents, people who are older -- are now vaccinated. And so we may prevent a spike in hospitalizations and deaths." (Maxouris, 3/18)

Axios: The Coronavirus Is Holding Steady As America Gets Vaccinated 
The U.S. is now adding about 55,000 new cases per day. The pace of new infections got better over the past week in 13 states, got worse in another 13, and held steady everywhere else. Michigan saw the biggest jump in new cases, at 53%. The biggest improvements came in Alabama, Arizona, California and Georgia, each of which saw a decline of over 30% in new cases per day. Nationwide, that averaged out to a 5% drop from the week before. (Baker, 3/18)

Fox News: Daily Coronavirus Cases In Michigan Climbing Amid Vaccination Efforts
Coronavirus cases in Michigan are climbing amid the state’s recent vaccination efforts, data shows. On Tuesday, the state saw some 2,048 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19, with the majority of counties in the state reporting new cases, according to official data. To date, Michigan has recorded more than 676,000 cases of the novel disease and some 16,805 deaths, with 27 new deaths recorded on Tuesday alone. The state’s positivity rate is around 8.6%, the highest since early January, data shows. (Farber, 3/14)

WUSF Public Media: Florida Surpasses 33,000 COVID-19 Deaths, Nears 2 Million Cases 
As Florida inched closer to 2 million COVID-19 cases, the state's death toll related to the disease has surpassed 33,000. The Florida Department of Health on Tuesday reported 4,791 more people tested positive for the coronavirus since the previous day. (Colombini, 3/17)

CNBC: Covid Reinfection More Common For The Over-65s: Study Finds
Most people who have had Covid-19 are protected from catching it again for at least six months, but elderly patients are more prone to reinfection, according to peer-reviewed research published in The Lancet medical journal Wednesday evening. The first large-scale study on coronavirus reinfection rates was carried out in Denmark in 2020 with the findings confirming that only a small proportion of people (0.65%) returned a positive PCR test twice. PCR tests are seen as the gold standard and tell you if you currently have the virus. (Ellyatt, 3/17)

CIDRAP: Household Income Associated With COVID-19 Risk, Hospitalization
Household income was the most associated with COVID-19 risk and hospitalization when compared with population density and household size, according to a study published this week in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society. While it has been well documented that the COVID-19 burden is higher in minorities, the researchers wanted to look at some of the socioeconomic factors that may be driving this. In two retrospective cohorts, the researchers looked at 15,473 adults tested for COVID-19 from Mar 1 through Jul 23, 2020, at University of Miami hospitals and clinics. Overall, 8.1% were positive, and 1.9% were hospitalized, leading to 47 deaths. While the researchers did not find any racial or ethnic associations with mortality or ventilation needs, they did find correlation with infection and hospitalization rates. (3/17)

Also —

Axios: Disneyland Set To Reopen April 30 
After a more than yearlong closure, Disneyland's two California theme parks will reopen their doors to the general public on April 30, Disney announced in a statement Wednesday. As Axios' Sara Fischer previously noted, Disney said in February that it did not expect to reopen its California parks until the end of Q2 2021. The April 3o reopening reflects a growing confidence in safety due to dropping COVID-19 cases and increased vaccinations. (Saric, 3/17)

Axios: All Iowans Will Soon Be Eligible For COVID-19 Vaccine 
All Iowans will be eligible to be vaccinated starting Monday April 5, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced today. That's dependent on Iowa’s vaccine allocation being increased — and Reynolds expressed confidence that it would. (Clayworth, 3/17)

Boston Globe: Massachusetts Will Allow General Public To Get COVID-19 Vaccines Starting April 19 Under New Schedule
Confident that the state will soon see a surge in available COVID-19 vaccines, Governor Charlie Baker on Wednesday announced plans to expand eligibility for highly coveted appointments to more groups starting Monday, and opening them to all residents age 16 and over by April 19. Until now, the state has focused on vaccinating its currently eligible population, which includes all people 65 and over, teachers and educators, and residents who have two or more chronic health conditions. (Vaccaro and Andersen, 3/17)

The Oregonian: All Oregonians 16 And Older Will Be Eligible For COVID Vaccine May 1, State Health Leader Confirms 
Oregon’s top health official said Wednesday the state would comply with a federal order and make all residents 16 and older eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine May 1. Patrick Allen, director of the Oregon Health Authority, made that commitment Wednesday during an interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting’s Think Out Loud. (Theen, 3/17)

KHN: ‘Super-Sized’ Vaccine Clinic Offers Food Workers Some Relief 
Cristina Davila wasn’t used to being happy about waiting in line. As a server at the Navy Proof Restaurant and Bar, the specter of covid has weighed heavily on her mind for the past several months. Davila has been especially worried about the possibility of bringing the virus home to her young son and diabetic mother. And here she was, standing outside the Long Beach Convention Center with hundreds of other Long Beach residents and workers, about to receive a coveted covid vaccine — even though she’s only 31. (Basheda, 3/18)

Axios: Cherokee Nation Previews New Vaccine Problem: Supply Is Outstripping Demand 
The Cherokee Nation is now facing the issue that the rest of America will have to deal with in the coming months: demand for coronavirus vaccines has dried up, the New York Times reports. So far, demand for vaccines has outstripped supply in the U.S. But at some point the vaccination effort's biggest challenge will be finding the unvaccinated and convincing them they should get a shot. (Owens, 3/17)

Also —

Bleacher Report: NBA, NBPA Agree To Relax COVID-19 Restrictions For Fully Vaccinated People
As vaccines ramp up across the country and within the NBA in an effort to counter the COVID-19 pandemic, the league has reportedly agreed to ease certain restrictions.  According to Baxter Holmes of ESPN, the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association decided they will relax restrictions for those in the league who have been fully vaccinated. Teams were informed via a memo sent out Wednesday night. (Polacek, 3/18)

New York Post: Needle-Free COVID-19 Vaccines In The Works, WHO Scientist Says
COVID-19 vaccines that don’t require a needle may be available later this year or next year, a top scientist said. Six to eight new immunizations may be ready for regulatory review by the end of the year — some of which don’t require needles and can be stored at room temperature, Soumya Swaminathan, the World Health Organization’s chief scientist said over the weekend, according to Bloomberg News. The experimental vaccines in production use alternative technologies and delivery systems, including oral and nasal administration, and skin patches — methods that are better suited to some groups like pregnant women, Swaminathan said. (O'Neill, 3/17)

The Washington Post: Blood Donation After Covid Vaccine: Experts Encourage Giving Blood 
The year-long coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact on the nation’s blood supply as blood drives have been canceled and facilities used as collection centers were forced to shut their doors. But with safety measures now in place to help protect donors from the virus, organizations such as the Red Cross are accepting — even urging — donations by appointment. (Bever, 3/17)

Roll Call: COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters Could Present Equity, Pricing Issues 
Convincing Americans to take COVID-19 vaccines, distributing the shots, equitably prioritizing people for vaccinations and negotiating fair prices has been a herculean task. The federal government and states may need to do it all again for booster shots to stop the spread of contagious mutations — but the Biden administration has not yet released a plan, and experts warn that the United States could repeat past mistakes unless the country starts planning now. (Cohen, 3/17)

The Baltimore Sun: There Was A Time When Baltimoreans Could Be Jailed For Refusing Vaccination 
As Baltimoreans scramble to chase down COVID-19 vaccine appointments, it’s worth looking back on vaccination campaigns of previous eras. More than 100 years ago, Baltimore health officials went door to door vaccinating city residents for smallpox. Those who refused to get “scraped,” or inoculated, could face fines, or even jail time. (3/18)

Stat: Models Will Let Scientists Study Earliest Stages Of Embryonic Development
A pair of research teams unveiled two new ways to replicate a key structure from the earliest days of embryonic development — an advance that could provide important new insight into human development and pregnancy loss, but which also raise thorny questions about research with embryo-like models. (Joseph, 3/17)

NPR: Researchers Create 'Model Embryos' To Study Human Fertility
For decades, science has been trying to unlock the mysteries of how a single cell becomes a fully formed human being and what goes wrong to cause genetic diseases, miscarriages and infertility. Now, scientists have created living entities in their labs that resemble human embryos; the results of two new experiments are the most complete such "model embryos" developed to date. The goal of the experiments is to gain important insights into early human development and find new ways to prevent birth defects and miscarriages and treat fertility problems. (Stein, 3/17)

In other research and pharmaceutical news —

Stat: Translate Bio Suffers Setback With MRNA-Based Treatment For Cystic Fibrosis
An inhaled mRNA-based treatment for patients with cystic fibrosis from Translate Bio failed to produce meaningful improvements in lung function, the company said Wednesday. The new clinical trial results, while still preliminary, are a setback for Translate’s effort to develop its first drug based on messenger RNA — the same protein-making technology powering a pair of effective Covid-19 vaccines. (Feuerstein, 3/17)

Stat: Pharma Wins A Round In A Battle With HHS Over A Drug Discount Program
In a victory for the pharmaceutical industry, a federal judge temporarily blocked the federal government from imposing a hotly contested rule for handling disputes over a program that provides discounted drugs to hospitals and clinics serving mostly low-income populations. The ruling granted a preliminary injunction sought by Eli Lilly (LLY), which filed a lawsuit arguing the Department of Health and Human Services improperly implemented a rule in attempting to settle a clash between several drug makers and hospitals. (Silverman, 3/17)

The New York Times: Advanced Cancers Are Emerging, Doctors Warn, Citing Pandemic Drop In Screenings 
Months of lockdowns and waves of surging Covid cases throughout last year shuttered clinics and testing labs, or reduced hours at other places, resulting in steep declines in the number of screenings, including for breast and colorectal cancers, experts have said. Numerous studies showed that the number of patients screened or given a diagnosis of cancer fell during the early months of the pandemic. By mid-June, the rate of screenings for breast, colon and cervical cancers were still 29 percent to 36 percent lower than their prepandemic levels, according to an analysis of data by the Epic Health Research Network. Hundreds of thousands fewer screenings were performed last year than in 2019, according to the network data. (Abelson, 3/17)

In other public health news —

The Washington Post: Ford Announces Work-From-Home Policy For Employees 
Ford Motor Co. says it will begin phasing in a new remote-office work model, one of the first in the auto industry, giving tens of thousands of employees the option to continue doing their jobs from home indefinitely. The Dearborn, Mich.-based carmaker announced the new policy during a virtual town hall meeting Wednesday — one year after it sent workers home to wait out the pandemic — and said it would apply to all non-place-dependent workers. The balance between remote and in-person work will depend on the individual employee’s needs and those of their manager, said David Dubensky, chairman and chief executive of Ford Land, the company’s real estate subsidiary. (Denham, 3/17)

ABC News: Michelle Obama Launches 'Pass The Love' Campaign To Donate 1 Million Meals 
The former first lady is leading a new effort to fight hunger and food insecurity in the U.S. In tandem with the debut of Michelle Obama's new kid's food series "Waffles + Mochi" that began streaming Tuesday, she kicked off a new nonprofit campaign with Partnership for a Healthier America. (McCarthy, 3/17)

KHN: Need Amid Plenty: Richest US Counties Are Overwhelmed By Surge In Child Hunger 
Alexandra Sierra carried boxes of food to her kitchen counter, where her 7-year-old daughter, Rachell, stirred a pitcher of lemonade. “Oh, my God, it smells so good!” Sierra, 39, said of the bounty she’d just picked up at a food pantry, pulling out a ready-made salad and a container of soup. Sierra unpacked the donated food and planned lunch for Rachell and her siblings, ages 9 and 2, as a reporter watched through FaceTime. She said she doesn’t know what they’d do without the help. (Ungar, 3/18)

The New York Times: How The U.S. Reopening Might Affect Anxiety Patients 
When the pandemic narrowed the world, Jonathan Hirshon stopped traveling, eating out, going to cocktail parties and commuting to the office. What a relief. Mr. Hirshon suffers from severe social anxiety. In the past, casual get-togethers and meetings came with a rapid heartbeat and clenched fists. He preferred to interact virtually, and welcomed the Zoom meetings that others merely tolerated. Even as he grieved the pandemic’s toll, he found lockdown life to be a respite. “There is cognitive dissonance to feeling good in the middle of the pandemic,” he said. Now with normalcy about to return, Mr. Hirshon, a public relations consultant, finds himself with decidedly mixed feelings — “anticipation, dread and hope.” (Richtel, 3/17)

The Washington Post: Boston Marathon Icon Dick Hoyt, Renowned For Pushing His Disabled Son, Dies At 80
Dick Hoyt was such an iconic figure at the Boston Marathon that in 2013, a statue was erected in his honor near the starting line in Hopkinton, Mass. The statue shows two people: Hoyt and his son Rick, in a wheelchair being pushed, as he was for tens of thousands of miles over hundreds of endurance events, by his devoted father. Dick Hoyt died Wednesday at age 80, leaving organizers of the Boston Marathon and many others “tremendously saddened.” (Bieler, 3/17)

In news about masks —

The Washington Post: FAA Proposes Fines Over Refusal To Wear Face Masks 
The Federal Aviation Administration announced Wednesday that two passengers could face tens of thousands of dollars in fines for refusing orders from flight attendants to wear masks and, in one case, shouting obscenities. A woman on a Dec. 27 JetBlue flight from Boston to Puerto Rico refused multiple requests to wear her mask and remain seated with her seat belt fastened, authorities said. The woman allegedly shoved a flight attendant multiple times, shouted obscenities at her and then threatened to have her fired. (Aratani, 3/17)

AP: Woman Refuses To Wear Mask In Texas, Again, Gets Arrested 
An Oregon woman who was recorded on police body camera video refusing to wear a mask at a Texas bank last week was arrested Wednesday after declining to wear a mask inside another Texas business. Terry Wright, 65, already had a warrant out for her arrest after she refused to wear a mask in a Bank of America branch in Galveston, Texas, last Thursday. On the video, she taunts the officer, asking if he's going to arrest her. (3/17)

USA Today: Indiana Nursing Home Nurse Under Investigation For Unhooking Oxygen
The nurse had watched the nursing home resident suffering with breathing complications due to COVID-19. She saw him repeatedly try to remove his oxygen mask and asked him if he "wanted to let go and go to Heaven" so he could "fly with the angels." She then removed his oxygen mask without a doctor's order. The man died. The alleged incident inside Wedgewood Healthcare Center in southern Indiana is detailed in a state health inspection report reviewed by IndyStar, part of the USA TODAY Network. Local police and the nursing home operator, Ohio-based Communicare, confirmed to IndyStar that the attorney general is investigating. (Hopkins, Evans and Cook, 3/18)

In other news from Washington, West Virginia and Virginia —

Stat: Washington May Become Second State To Distribute Its Own Generic Drugs
A bill moving through the Washington legislature may make the state only the second in the U.S. with hopes of distributing its own line of generic drugs, an idea hatched last year in California as a way to combat the rising cost of prescription medicines that are straining government budgets. The legislation would authorize the state Health Care Authority to form partnerships with other state agencies or nonprofits to distribute generics and insulin. However, any drug must be made or distributed by a pharmaceutical company that is registered with the Food and Drug Administration. (Silverman, 3/17)

AP: CDC: West Virginia HIV Wave Could Be 'Tip Of The Iceberg'
For years, West Virginia has had the nation’s highest rate of opioid drug addictions and drug overdose deaths. Now the state is wrestling with another, not entirely unrelated health emergency: one of the nation’s highest spikes in HIV cases related to intravenous drug use. The surge, clustered primarily around the capital of Charleston and the city of Huntington, is being attributed at least in part to the cancellation in 2018 of a needle exchange program that offered clean syringes to injection drug users not able to quit the habit altogether. (Raby, 3/17)

Axios: Va. Candidate Brags About Raising 5x More For Charity Than Disclosed To IRS 
Virginia gubernatorial candidate Pete Snyder boasted about a cash haul for his COVID-19 relief nonprofit last year that was more than five times what it had estimated raising in a sworn statement to the IRS, Axios has learned. The Virginia 30 Day Fund's mission is central to Snyder's political brand. It's a calling card for the Republican in a crowded primary in a bellwether off-year race. But early, apparently erroneous disclosures to the IRS allowed the group to shield from public view key information about its operators, operations and finances. (Markay, 3/17)

In updates from Florida —

WUSF Public Media: Florida Nursing Home Visitors See Slight Changes Under New Federal Guidelines 
For the first time since September, federal health officials are recommending that nursing home residents be allowed to see visitors in person. But in Florida, where visitation has been allowed for months, the new federal guidelines will only make slight changes to the state’s current procedures, established to protect vulnerable residents of long-term care facilities. (Wentz, 3/17)

Health News Florida: Florida Senate Expected To Take Up COVID Liability Bill On Thursday 
The Senate on Thursday will take up a high-profile bill that would help shield businesses and health care providers from lawsuits related to COVID-19. The proposal (SB 72), sponsored by Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, was one of 14 bills included Monday on what is known as a special order calendar to go to the Senate floor. (3/17)

Health News Florida: Florida Lawmakers Consider PPE Stockpile Plan 
Florida could set up a stockpile of life-saving personal protective equipment and sell it to health-care practitioners at cost, under proposals now moving in the Legislature. Despite some concern from one lawmaker who cautioned the measure could turn a “government agency into an Amazon,” the House Pandemics & Public Emergencies Committee on Tuesday unanimously approved its version of the proposal (HB 1353), sponsored by Rep. Clay Yarborough, R-Jacksonville. (Sexton, 3/17)

WJCT 89.9 FM: Florida Could Get Share Of Purdue Pharma Money 
Florida could get a share of a $7 billion bankruptcy plan filed late Monday by Purdue Pharma to dissolve the company and steer its assets toward abating the nation’s opioid epidemic. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody hailed the proposal, saying in a prepared statement Tuesday that it would secure additional funding “for Florida communities plagued by the national opioid crisis.” (3/17)

The New York Times: John Magufuli, Tanzania Leader Who Played Down Covid, Dies At 61 
President John Magufuli of Tanzania, a populist leader who played down the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic and steered his country away from democratic ideals, died on Wednesday in the port city of Dar es Salaam. He was 61. Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan said in a brief televised address that Mr. Magufuli had died of heart complications while being treated at Mzena Hospital. The announcement followed more than a week of intense speculation that Mr. Magufuli was critically ill with Covid-19 — reports that senior government officials had repeatedly denied. (Dahir, 3/17)

Bloomberg: Tanzania’s Next Leader To Face Predecessor’s Covid Denialism
Tanzania’s response to the coronavirus will be one of the key issues facing the successor to deceased President John Magufuli, whose unorthodox response to the disease ilicited international consternation. Under Tanzania’s constitution, 61-year-old Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan is set to take over from Magufuli and serve out his term, which was due to end in 2025. Magufuli, who died on Wednesday, dominated policy making in the southeast African nation after taking office in 2015, centralizing control in his office and appointing allies to key government posts. His death could create a power vacuum in the ruling party, delay or scupper key projects and foreshadow a rethink on the government’s handling of the pandemic. (Ng'Wanakilala, 3/18)

In updates on the global rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine —

CNN: Biden Administration Is Considering Sending Some AstraZeneca Vaccine Doses To Canada And Mexico 
The Biden administration is considering sending some AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine doses stockpiled and waiting for official usage approval in the US over the border to Mexico and Canada, according to a senior administration official. Intense discussions are taking place following a request for doses from both countries and, for Mexico at least, an agreement could be announced as soon as Friday, according to the Mexican Foreign Minister. (Atwood, 3/17)

New York Post: Will The US Approve The AstraZeneca Vaccine Amid Europe Suspensions?
AstraZeneca plans to file for US emergency use authorization next month for its COVID-19 vaccine — but the process could be under intense scrutiny with several European countries pausing its use over concerns about blood clots. The British pharmaceutical company has directed an independent review of data from its study of more than 32,000 volunteers in the US. If the results are promising, the vaccine could start the emergency approval process with Food and Drug Administration sometime in April. (Salo, 3/17)

CNBC: U.S. Health Experts Try To Ease Covid Vaccine Fears As AstraZeneca's Shot Faces EU Review
Medical experts in the United States are trying to assuage fears that Covid-19 vaccines may be unsafe after several European countries suspended AstraZeneca’s shot following reports of blood clots among some recipients. On Tuesday, Sweden, Latvia and Lithuania became the latest countries to join a growing list of nations suspending the use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford shot over blood clot concerns. Germany, France, Italy and Spain all said on Monday they would also stop administering the shot. (Higgins-Dunn, 3/17)

CNBC: Indonesia Will Restart AstraZeneca Vaccines When Regulators Give The Go Ahead, Health Minister Says
Indonesia will resume its use of the AstraZeneca vaccine as soon as regulators give the go ahead that it’s safe, the country’s health minister said. Southeast Asia’s largest economy halted the use of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine — co-developed with the University of Oxford — after more than a dozen countries in Europe suspended the vaccine due to blood clot concerns that affected recipients. (Bala, 3/18)

CIDRAP: Study: SARS-CoV-2 Was Evolutionarily Poised To Jump From Bats To Humans
SARS-CoV-2 has undergone few adaptations since it jumped from bats to humans, sparking the COVID-19 pandemic, a study published late last week in PLOS Biology shows.UK, US, and Belgian researchers sequenced 133,741 human SARS-CoV-2 genomes from December 2019 to October 2020 and 69 coronavirus genomes from horseshoe bats to identify novel adaptations to the human host. Lead author Oscar MacLean, PhD, of the University of Glasgow, said in a PLOS news release that the findings don't mean that there have been no changes, only that they have not been evolutionarily significant. (3/15)

CIDRAP: Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections Rise During Pandemic
A new study from researchers with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a significant increase in central line–associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) in US acute care hospitals during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Published yesterday in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the study analyzed 13,136 inpatient units from 2,986 acute care hospitals and found that the standardized infection ratio (SIR) for CLABSI's in April, May, and June of 2020 climbed by 28% compared with the same months in 2019, from 0.68 to 0.87. Critical care units saw the greatest percentage increase (39%) in SIR, from 0.75 in 2019 to 1.04 in 2020, and ward locations experienced the second highest increase (13%). Critical care locations had the highest number of CLABSIs in the second quarter of 2020, with 1,911. (3/16)

American Academy Of Pediatrics: Factors Associated With Severe SARS-CoV-2 Infection 
Initial reports on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in children suggested that very young age and comorbidities may increase risk of severe evolution, but these findings remained to be confirmed. We aimed to analyze the clinical spectrum of hospitalized pediatric SARS-CoV-2 infection and predictors of severe disease evolution. (Ouldali et al, 3/1)

Also —

CIDRAP: VA Study Links Contact Precautions With Reduced MRSA Transmission
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals that conducted contact precautions for patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) had a nearly 50% reduction in MRSA transmission, researchers reported this week in JAMA Network Open. In the study, researchers from the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System and the University of Utah School of Medicine applied mathematical models to data from patients admitted to VA acute care hospitals from January 2008 through December 2017 to determine whether contact precautions for MRSA carriers had any impact on patient-to-patient transmission. Contact precautions, which involve the use of gloves and gowns by healthcare staff when interacting with MRSA carriers and their environment, are one element of the MRSA Prevention Initiative introduced by the VA in 2007, but their effectiveness has been questioned. Other elements include surveillance and hand hygiene. (3/15)

CIDRAP: Randomized Trial Supports Shorter Antibiotic Course For Kids' Pneumonia
The results of a randomized clinical trial suggest a shorter course of antibiotics in children who have community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is as effective as a longer course, Canadian researchers reported this week in JAMA Pediatrics. The noninferiority trial, involving children at two Canadian hospitals who had CAP that did not require hospitalization, found that clinical cure rates were similar in children treated with 5 days of amoxicillin versus those treated with 10 days. (Dall, 3/12)

New England Journal of Medicine: Donanemab In Early Alzheimer’s Disease 
A hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease is the accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide. Donanemab, an antibody that targets a modified form of deposited Aβ, is being investigated for the treatment of early Alzheimer’s disease. (Mintun et al, 3/13)

JAMA Network: Deficits In Advance Care Planning For Patients With Decompensated Cirrhosis At Liver Transplant Centers
How is advance care planning experienced by patients with decompensated cirrhosis and clinicians at liver transplant centers? In this qualitative study of 46 transplant center clinicians and 42 patients with decompensated cirrhosis, semistructured interviews found that despite patient interest in discussing end-of-life issues, few such conversations occurred between patients and clinicians. Conversations focused on the need for liver transplant rather than on end-of-life decision-making, with which surrogate decision makers often struggled. (Patel et al, 3/15)

Modern Healthcare: Improving Healthcare After COVID-19
One year ago, we all entered the unimaginable. As healthcare leaders, none of us could have anticipated the severe illness, loss of life and acute loneliness created by the pandemic. The pandemic alone was enough to make us ask ourselves, "How can we do this better?" But on top of the pandemic and its economic impact, we also faced the magnification of health inequities, as well as a national reckoning on systemic racism. With all of this change and uncertainty, a yearning for stability and sense of normalcy is completely understandable. But as we move forward, let's push the boundaries of the old "normal." We should set our sights, our vision, on a better normal, and a better world for all. (Tina Freese Decker, 3/16)

Los Angeles Times: There's No Such Thing As A Second-Class COVID Vaccine 
Dr. Mark Ghaly, California’s Health and Human Services secretary, rolled up his shirt sleeve before TV cameras and reporters Thursday at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza to get inoculated with the newest COVID-19 vaccine authorized for use in the U.S., a one-shot version made by Johnson & Johnson. In Oakland, the state’s surgeon general, and public health director and other top health officials did the same. The events were convened in largely non-white communities as part of an effort to assure people hesitant to get vaccinated that the shots are safe — and that this one in particular is not an inferior version, despite having less impressive results in clinical trials than the other two vaccines available in the U.S. (3/16)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: I’m An Essential Worker And I Still Can’t Get A Vaccine. When Is It Our Turn? 
Essential. This is a word that many have heard in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our health-care heroes have worked tirelessly in the battle against COVID-19 on the front lines at hospitals, nursing homes, and community clinics. These workers have saved many lives and keep communities safe. They truly have endured hardship for access to vaccines for their health and safety, and that of their patients and families. (Dairyn Ortiz and Yecika Ramirez, 3/17)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: How Are The Kids Doing? Wellness Is Especially Important In Pandemic Conditions 
As law enforcement leaders in Illinois and Missouri, respectively, we have seen firsthand how our communities prosper when kids get a good start in life. Every child who has the benefit of a healthy, supported upbringing is more likely to grow into a thriving, law-abiding adult. Right now, however, the physical and mental health of our youngest children is at risk due to the coronavirus pandemic. Regularly scheduled appointments with medical professionals are an important component of maintaining kids’ health. Over the last year, the frequency of these well-visits has decreased. (Rick Watson and Jason Armstrong, 3/17)

USA Today: Why Losing The Sense Of Smell Deserves More Attention
One of the most common, yet remarkable, symptoms of COVID-19 is the sudden loss of smell. Roses are no longer fragrant. Coffee tastes like bitter water, bread like cardboard. You don’t notice the burning roast until the kitchen fills with smoke. Although most patients recover their ability to smell in days or weeks, for a significant number of people this loss may be long-term, or even permanent. Unfortunately, we currently lack effective therapies, let alone cures, for smell disorders. (Steven Munger, 3/17)

Stat: Make Residency More Equitable By Scrapping The Match 
At the stroke of noon on Friday, March 19, more than 30,000 doctors-to-be across the country and around the world will learn their professional fates in residency programs for the next three to seven years. At that moment, graduating medical students receive their results in The Match, officially known as the National Resident Matching Program, which uses a much-feted computer algorithm to pair medical students with the next part of their training — residency programs in hospitals and health systems. (Clifford M. Marks, 3/18)

Dallas Morning News: Lack Of Data On Female Veterans Makes Seeking Care Challenging
Even before the pandemic, female veterans — the fastest-growing segment of the veteran population — were two times more likely to die by suicide than their civilian counterparts, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Throw the pandemic into the mix, and the challenges facing those veterans become even more worrying. Women overall are projected to face worse mental health outcomes from COVID-19 than physical. We know that women are dropping out of the workforce at alarming rates and single mothers in particular are at risk from isolation. Women have already reported facing harassment and discomfort when they try to tap into veterans’ resources, making them less likely to ask for help. (Kacie Kelly, 3/18)

Houston Chronicle: Most Folks Over 50 Would Be Dead Without Vaccines
In the time of the Roman Empire, over 2,000 years ago, worldwide longevity for humans was about 35 years of age. That did not change until the 1850s. Since 1850, the increase in longevity of humans has been at a rate of about three years each decade. So what happened? Science entered medical practice. (Paul Klotman, 3/17)