CNN: White House Considers Covid Testing Requirement For Travelers From UK
The White House is considering requiring travelers from the United Kingdom to present proof of a negative coronavirus test before arriving in the United States, two administration officials tell CNN. The discussions come amid the discovery of a new variant of coronavirus discovered in the UK and as a slew of countries have suspended travel. US public health officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, have said they do not believe the situation currently warrants suspending travel from the UK. (Diamond, 12/21)

Reuters: U.S. Could Require Negative COVID-19 Tests For Passengers From Britain - Sources
Airline and U.S. officials said requiring testing for UK arrivals won backing among task force members. The White House has yet to make a final decision on the matter, they said. Earlier, airlines operating flights from London to John F. Kennedy International Airport voluntarily agreed to a request from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo that they only allow passengers who test negative to fly. (Shepardson and Rucinski, 12/21)

Politico: Cuomo Wants Pre-Flight Testing For Travel From U.K. To New York
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is asking airlines transporting passengers from the United Kingdom to New York to require a negative Covid-19 test before boarding. Cuomo announced the request during a virtual briefing on Monday in response to reports of a new mutated variant of the coronavirus that appears to be spreading rapidly and has prompted new lockdowns in Britain. (Gronewold, 12/21)

The New York Times: Concerns About Coronavirus Variant Cut Off U.K. From Europe
Britain was all but cut off from the rest of Europe on Monday, with flights and trains banned by some 40 countries and freight deliveries halted at French ports, as its neighbors tried desperately to stop a fast-spreading variant of the coronavirus from leaping across the English Channel. The sudden disruption left Britain isolated and unnerved, its people stranded at airports or quarantined at home. It aroused fears of panic buying in British supermarkets, as a nation already rattled by a mysterious new strain of the virus now had to worry about running out of fresh food in the days before Christmas. (Landler and Castle, 12/21)

CNN: Pfizer And Moderna Test Vaccines Against UK Coronavirus Variant 
Pfizer and Moderna are testing their coronavirus vaccines to see if they work against the new mutated version of the virus that's recently been found in the United Kingdom and other countries, according to company statements. "Based on the data to date, we expect that the Moderna vaccine-induced immunity would be protective against the variants recently described in the UK; we will be performing additional tests in the coming weeks to confirm this expectation," according to the Moderna statement. (Levenson and Cohen, 12/22)

AP: BioNTech CEO Confident Vaccine Will Work On UK Variant
German pharmaceutical company BioNTech is confident that its coronavirus vaccine works against the new UK variant, but further studies are need to be completely sure, its chief executive said Tuesday. The variant, detected mainly in London and the southeast of England in recent weeks, has sparked concern worldwide because of signs that it may spread more easily. While there is no indication it causes more serious illness, numerous countries in Europe and beyond have restricted travel from the UK as a result. (12/22)

The Washington Post: BioNTech Can Create Vaccine For New Variant In Six Weeks If Needed, CEO Says
BioNTech said Tuesday that its coronavirus vaccine will likely be effective against the new variant identified in Britain, but that a new version could be developed within six weeks if necessary. Whether regulators would be willing to quickly approve a slightly-modified version of the vaccine that has been cleared for distribution in the United States, Britain and European Union is another story, CEO Ugur Sahin told reporters at a news conference. But from a technical perspective, tweaking the vaccine co-developed with Pfizer would simply be a matter of replacing one mutation with another while the “messenger” molecule remains the same. (Noori Farzan, 12/22)

Health experts advise people not to overreact —

The Hill: White House Testing Czar: Coronavirus Vaccines 'Effective' Against New Strains 
Vaccines are effective against many variants of the coronavirus, and the public shouldn't be worried about it "mutating," the Trump administration's top testing official said Monday." We have every reason to believe that the vaccine will be effective against any variant that we've seen, including the new variant in the U.K.,” Assistant Secretary for Health Adm. Brett Giroir said on CNN's "New Day." (Weixel, 12/21)

The Hill: Fauci Warns Against 'Overreacting' To New Strain, Advises Against Banning UK Flights 
Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, said Monday that he would not recommend suspending flights from the United Kingdom over a more infectious coronavirus strain detected in southern England. The U.S. should “without a doubt keep an eye on it,” but “we don’t want to overreact,” Fauci told CNN. (Budryk, 12/21)

The Hill: Warp Speed Official: 'No Hard Evidence' New Coronavirus Strain Is More Transmissible 
There is no "hard evidence" that a new coronavirus variant found in the United Kingdom is more transmissible or more infectious, a top Operation Warp Speed official said Monday. Moncef Slaoui, chief science adviser for the initiative, told reporters that conclusive laboratory studies of the new variant will take at least several weeks. (Weixel, 12/21)

What do we know about the mutation? —

CNN: UK Coronavirus Variant: What We Know And What We Don't 
The United Kingdom has identified a new, potentially more contagious coronavirus variant linked to a recent surge in cases in England. The new variant is being called VUI-202012/01 -- the first "Variant Under Investigation" in the UK in December 2020. While scientists hunt for more information about the variant, its impact is already being felt. (Rahim, 12/21)

The New York Times: The New Covid Strain In The UK: Questions And Answers 
It’s just one variation among many that have arisen as the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has spread around the world. Mutations arise as the virus replicates, and this variant — known as B.1.1.7 — has acquired its own distinctive set of them. ... When researchers took a close look at its genome, they were struck by the relatively large number of mutations — 23, all told — that it had acquired. Most mutations that arise in the coronavirus are either harmful to the virus or have no effect one way or another. But a number of the mutations in B.1.1.7 looked as if they could potentially affect how the virus spread. (Zimmer and Carey, 12/21)

Bloomberg: Why The U.K.’s Mutated Coronavirus Is Fanning Worries
Dubbed the “B.1.1.7 lineage,” the strain has acquired 17 mutations compared to its most recent ancestor. That’s a faster rate of genetic change than scientists typically observe. Some of the changes are in key areas of the virus involved in its ability to infect cells. Preliminary analysis in the U.K. suggests it may be as much as 70% more transmissible than other circulating SARS-CoV-2 strains and may be contributing to a spike in cases in the country. Maria van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization’s technical lead on Covid-19, told the BBC on Dec. 20 that the WHO is working to understand the extent to which the virus may spread more easily, along with other human behavioral factors that may be driving transmission. It’s also looking at whether the mutation causes more severe illness and can evade the antibodies generated by vaccination. (Gale, 12/21)

Stat: The Big, Looming Questions About The New Variant Of The Coronavirus
A variant of the coronavirus that emerged in the United Kingdom has forced London to shut down, led some countries to ban travel to and from the U.K., and set off a global manhunt to find out where else this version has arrived. So what comes next? (Joseph, 12/21)

AP: California Desperately Searches For More Nurses And Doctors
Since the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the U.S., Sara Houze has been on the road — going from one hospital to another to care for COVID-19 patients on the brink of death. A cardiac intensive care nurse from Washington, D.C., with expertise in heart rhythm, airway and pain management, her skills are in great demand as infections and hospitalizations skyrocket nationwide. Houze is among more than 500 nurses, doctors and other medical staff California has brought in and deployed to hospitals that are running out of capacity to treat the most severe COVID-19 cases. (Nguyen, 12/22)

San Francisco Chronicle: California Opens Field Hospitals To Cope With Crush Of Coronavirus Cases
With intensive care capacity buckling under an unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases, California has opened four field hospitals where dozens of patients are being treated and the state is bringing in hundreds of additional health care providers. The majority of the state — all of Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley — continued to be at, or far past, intensive care capacity as of Monday as COVID-19 hospitalizations hit new peaks. Statewide, intensive care availability was 2.5%. (Allday, 12/21)

The Hill: More Than 150 California Children Have Been Diagnosed With Coronavirus-Related Syndrome 
More than 150 California children have been diagnosed with a coronavirus-related multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) throughout the pandemic. The state Department of Public Health has reported that as of Dec. 14, at least 152 children have been diagnosed with MIS-C, a rare and sometimes deadly inflammatory illness that scientists believe can infect children who have been exposed to the coronavirus. (Coleman, 12/21)

In other news about the COVID surge —

NPR: Vaccines Are Coming, But The U.S. Still Needs More Testing To Stop The Surge
The nation is at a pivotal moment in the fight against the pandemic. Vaccines are finally starting to roll out, but the virus is spreading faster than ever — and killing thousands of Americans daily. And it will be months before enough people get inoculated to stop it. That means it's critical to continue the measures that can limit the toll: mask-wearing, hunkering down, hand-washing and testing and contact tracing. (Stein, 12/22)

Philadelphia Inquirer: The Coronavirus Pandemic Is Killing People With Diabetes Or Alzheimer’s Who Didn’t Even Contract The Virus
The coronavirus has so far killed about 325,000 people in this country, but that staggering toll does not include the multitudes who have died because of disruptions, isolation, and destitution related to the pandemic. People with diabetes or Alzheimer’s disease are particularly vulnerable. An Inquirer analysis of federal data found that from mid-March through November, Pennsylvania had 753 more deaths attributed to Alzheimer’s and diabetes than would be expected based on the last four years, a 14% increase for each cause. In New Jersey, there were 634 more deaths than expected for the two causes, an increase of 11% for Alzheimer’s and 33% for diabetes. (McCullough, Burling and Williams, 12/22)

Georgia Health News: Kids’ COVID Cases Rising; More Vaccine On The Way 
Georgia’s recent spike in COVID-19 cases includes a comparable rise in the number of children getting the disease. “These aren’t necessarily cases linked to a [school] setting, but rather cases among children who are in these age groups,’’ said Amber Schmidtke, who tracks Georgia COVID trends in the Daily Digest. College-aged adult and young adults have a similar case rate increase over the past two weeks, Schmidtke said. (Miller, 12/21)

The New York Times: How Full Are Hospital I.C.U.s Near You? 
Almost one-fifth of U.S. hospitals with intensive care units reported that at least 95 percent of their I.C.U. beds were full in the week ending Dec. 17, as the coronavirus pandemic surged to alarming highs. Nationwide, 78 percent of intensive care hospital beds were occupied. See how the pandemic has affected recent hospital capacity in the map below, which shows data reported by individual hospitals. Health officials said that the data should not discourage sick people from seeking care. (Conlen, Keefe, Leatherby and Smart, 12/21)

The Washington Post: Why Americans Are Numb To The Staggering Coronavirus Death Toll 
When Todd Klindt buried his dad, he was stunned. Some of the mourners arrived not wearing masks — for the funeral of a man killed by the coronavirus .Just days earlier, Klindt had held his father’s hand in a hospital intensive care unit. Now, watching people at the funeral — acting as if the world was not on fire, as if people were not dying by the dozen every hour of every day — he wanted to shout, “He’s right here!” “I’m like, ‘Are you paying attention at all? Is any of this sinking in?’ ” said Klindt, who lives in Ames, Iowa. (Wan and Shammas, 12/21)

The New York Times: E.U. Agency Approves Pfizer Covid Vaccine 
From Stockholm to Athens and from Lisbon to Warsaw, European Union governments are gearing up to receive a coronavirus vaccine later this week, even as cases keep rising in some parts of the continent. The bloc formally approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Monday, setting off a logistical marathon the likes of which most of the authorities in the region have not had to contend with before. (Stevis-Gridneff, 12/21)

NPR: EU Regulator Clears Way For Use Of Pfizer's COVID-19 Vaccine
"Our thorough evaluation means that we can confidently assure EU citizens of the safety and efficacy of this vaccine and that it meets necessary quality standards," Emer Cooke, executive director of the European Medicines Agency, said in a statement. The European regulator is recommending the use of the vaccine in people 16 or older as U.S. federal officials did earlier this month. The U.K., no longer a member of the EU, is also already carrying out inoculations with the Pfizer vaccine. (Kennedy and Wamsley, 12/21)

AP: EU Greenlights COVID-19 Vaccine After Agency Gives Safety OK
Deliveries of the vaccine are expected to start this coming Saturday, with inoculations beginning across the EU between Dec. 27 and Dec. 29. Health care workers and other high-risk populations already have started receiving the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine in Britain and the United States, prompting pressure from European governments for EU regulators to act more quickly than they originally planned. (Jordans and Cook, 12/21)

The Hill: EU Drug Regulator Approves Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine 
The EMA’s approval will allow the 27 EU member nations as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to get access to vaccinations starting between Dec. 27 and 29. Countries including Germany, France, Austria and Italy said they intend to start vaccinations Dec. 27, Reuters reported. (Coleman, 12/21)

CNN: The Moderna Vaccine Is Now In Some Americans' Arms As Covid-19 Cases In The US Pass 18 Million
As the number of Covid-19 cases reported in the United States passed 18 million, the second vaccine given emergency authorization was being administered Monday for the first time outside of clinical trials. One of the first people to get a public dose of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine was a doctor in Texas who has gone to work, fighting the virus for 277 consecutive days.

The New York Times: Moderna’s Coronavirus Vaccine Begins Arriving At Strained Hospitals Across The U.S. 
Just one week after the first doses of a coronavirus vaccine were administered in the United States, a new batch of vaccines fanned out across the country on Monday, an urgently needed expansion of a vaccination effort that is expected to reach vulnerable populations and rural areas where hospitals are strained as soon as this week. ... Roughly six million doses of the newly authorized Moderna vaccine are being shipped to more than 3,700 locations around the country this week, adding to the nearly three million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine that were dispatched mostly to health care workers starting last week. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 614,117 doses had been administered as of Monday morning. (12/22)

Bloomberg: BioNTech To Boost Vaccine Capacity, Sees Shot Beating New Strain
Pfizer Inc. partner BioNTech SE is pursuing all its options to make more Covid-19 vaccine doses than the 1.3 billion the companies have promised to produce next year, according to the German firm’s chief executive officer. The companies will probably know by January or February whether and how many additional doses can be produced, Ugur Sahin said late Monday in an interview. “I am confident that we will be able to increase our network capacity, but we don’t have numbers yet.” Sahin also said the vaccine will probably work against the new SARS-CoV-2 strain that has emerged in the U.K. Lab tests of the vaccine’s performance have already been done against 20 mutant versions; the same tests will now be run against the new U.K. version, and should take about two weeks, he said. (Kresge, 12/21)

CNN: When Can YOU Get The Vaccine? It Depends On Your Health, Occupation And Where You Live
With two Covid-19 vaccines approved for emergency use and politicians, health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities rolling up their sleeves, it's a natural question: What about me and my loved ones? A lot of factors play into the answer, and it depends on each person's health, what they do for a living and where they live. (McLaughlin, 12/22)

KHN: Inside The First Chaotic Days Of The Effort To Vaccinate America
One tray of COVID-19 vaccine from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer contains 975 doses — way too many for a rural hospital in Arkansas. But with the logistical gymnastics required to safely get the Pfizer vaccine to rural health care workers, splitting the trays into smaller shipments has its own dangers. Once out of the freezer that keeps it at 94 degrees below zero, the vaccine lasts only five days and must be refrigerated in transit. (Pradhan, Weber and Hancock, 12/22)

In news from New York, Texas, Kentucky and California —

Fox News: Cuomo Announces COVID-19 'Vaccine Equity Task Force'
New York has formed a task force to ensure fairness and equity in COVID-19 vaccine distribution, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Monday. The "Vaccine Equity Task Force" will work to "break down barriers to vaccination & ensure a fair distribution," Cuomo said on Twitter. "NYers must have trust, confidence & access to the vaccine," he added. The task force will be co-chaired by New York Secretary of State Rossana Rosado, New York Attorney General Letitia James, President and CEO of National Urban League Marc Morial and President and CEO of Healthfirst Inc. Pat Wang. (Hein, 12/21)

Houston Chronicle: 300,000 Texas Care Home Residents And Staff Among First Wave Of Vaccine Recipients
Next week, pharmacy teams will begin fanning out across Texas for one of the most cumbersome and critical phases of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign: inoculating staff and residents at the thousands of long-term care facilities that span the state. Nursing homes and state-run living facilities have been especially hard hit by the pandemic, accounting for more than a quarter of the state’s 25,855 COVID-19 deaths. Getting vaccines to their residents, many of whom are older, have underlying health conditions and can’t advocate for themselves, will be a huge endeavor. (Blackman and Foxhall, 12/22)

Houston Chronicle: Rio Grande Hospital Workers Turned Down The Vaccine. A Senator And A Sheriff’s Deputy Lined Up
So many workers at a hospital in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley declined the new COVID-19 vaccine that the facility offered doses to other medical workers in the region. Many showed up, but so did a state lawmaker, a police officer and a sheriff’s deputy who weren’t on the state’s priority list for vaccination. Hospitals across Texas began to receive the first batches of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine over the last several days. Doctors Hospital at Renaissance in Edinburg, one of the Texas facilities hardest hit by the virus this year, received 5,850 doses of the vaccine. (Davila and Brooks Harper, 12/21)

Courier-Journal: Kentucky COVID-19 Vaccinations: Pharmacists, Students In Demand
As the first shots of COVID-19 vaccines went into the arms of health care workers last week, pharmacists and pharmacy students were among those helping inject the new drug. And starting this week, even more pharmacists and those in training will spread out across the region to administer vaccinations in nursing homes, with drugstore chains CVS and Walgreens in charge of the effort to immunize thousands of residents and staff. (Yetter and Ladd, 12/21)

Stat: 3 Lessons From Stanford’s Covid-19 Vaccine Algorithm Debacle
Stanford found itself in hot water last week after deploying a faulty Covid-19 vaccine distribution algorithm. But the fiasco offers a cautionary tale that extends far beyond Stanford’s own doors — and holds crucial lessons as the country prepares to confront complex decisions about who gets the vaccine, when, and why. (Ross and Brodwin, 12/21)

NPR: 'There's Nothing To Worry About,' Biden Says As He Receives COVID-19 Vaccine
President-elect Joe Biden publicly received his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Monday as the death toll from the disease nears 320,000 in the United States. Rolling up his sleeve at Christiana Hospital in Newark, Del., Biden told nurse practitioner Tabe Mase, "I'm ready!" and thanked her for her work with COVID-19 patients. "We owe you big, we really do," Biden said. Biden said his wife, Jill, also received her first vaccine shot Monday. (Sprunt and Wise, 12/21)

The Hill: Fauci, Azar To Receive COVID-19 Vaccine Tuesday 
Top infectious diseases doctor Anthony Fauci, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and other Trump administration health officials will receive the coronavirus vaccine Tuesday. Along with Fauci and Azar, National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins, as well as front-line NIH medical workers, will receive a dose of Moderna's coronavirus vaccine. The event will take place at the NIH in Bethesda, Md. (Weixel, 12/21)

NBC News: Fauci Tells Kids Not To Worry, He Gave Santa Claus The Covid-19 Vaccine
Worried children can rest easy after the nation’s leading infectious disease expert assured them on Saturday that Santa Claus has gotten a Covid-19 vaccine. ... “Will Santa still be able to visit me in coronavirus this season?” 6-year-old Paxton from Illinois asked. “What if he can’t go to anyone’s house or near his reindeer?” Fauci assured good children that he wouldn’t let them be disappointed after making the nice list in a very tough year. The coronavirus expert anticipated Santa’s essential worker status and took matters into his own hands. “I took a trip up there to the North Pole,” Fauci said. “I went there and I vaccinated Santa Claus myself. I measured his level of immunity, and he is good to go. ... Santa Claus is good to go.” (Madhani, 12/20)

Also —

CNN: Republican Lawmakers Who Downplayed Coronavirus Concerns Face Backlash Over Early Vaccinations 
A slate of GOP lawmakers who downplayed different concerns about the coronavirus pandemic or ignored public health advice are now facing a wave of backlash for being among the first to receive a vaccine. With only limited doses available across the US, members of Congress have been prioritized for inoculation in an effort to maintain governmental continuity on Capitol Hill. (LeBlanc, 12/21)

The Hill: Ilhan Omar Says She Won't Get Vaccine: 'People Who Need It Most, Should Get It' 
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) broke with other members of "the squad" on Monday by deciding to not get a coronavirus vaccine available to members of Congress, saying it was “shameful” that political leaders got the vaccine due to their “importance.” (Choi, 12/21)

In updates on allergic reactions —

The Hill: NIH Seeking Individuals For Study On Severe Allergic Reactions To Pfizer Vaccine 
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is searching for participants in a study of rare but severe allergic reactions to Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine. Daniel Rotrosen, director of the Division of Allergy, Immunology and Transplantation at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told The Washington Post that researchers need people who have a history of severe anaphylaxis. (Mastrangelo, 12/21)

AP: Vaccine Injury Claims Could Face Bureaucratic 'Black Hole'
Lost in the U.S. launch of the coronavirus vaccine is a fact most don’t know when they roll up their sleeves: In rare cases of serious illness from the shots, the injured are blocked from suing and steered instead to an obscure federal bureaucracy with a record of seldom paying claims. Housed in a nondescript building in a Washington, D.C., suburb, the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program has just four employees and few hallmarks of an ordinary court. Decisions are made in secret by government officials, claimants can’t appeal to a judge and payments in most death cases are capped at $370,376. (Condon and Sedensky, 12/22)

USA Today: Congress Approves COVID Relief, Sends Bill To Trump
After weeks of painstaking negotiation and months of partisan finger-pointing, the Senate resoundingly passed a sweeping COVID-19 relief package Monday, sending a bill to President Donald Trump to sign that will send millions of Americans direct payments and rescue thousands of small businesses nationwide struggling to stay open in the face of the pandemic's suffocating grip. The roughly $900 billion measure was attached to a $1.4 trillion spending bill to fund the federal government through Sept. 30, 2021 (the end of the fiscal year) to form a nearly 5,600 page-bill that is one of the largest pieces of legislation Congress has ever tackled. It also includes bipartisan provisions like the end of surprise medical billing and legislation creating Smithsonian museums for women and Latinos. (King and Wu, 12/21)

The New York Times: Congress Rushes To Pass Huge Coronavirus Relief Bill 
Congress on Monday night overwhelmingly approved a $900 billion stimulus package that would send billions of dollars to American households and businesses grappling with the economic and health toll of the pandemic. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said hundreds of dollars in direct payments could begin reaching individual Americans as early as next week. (Cochrane, 12/21)

The Washington Post: Stimulus Check: Calculate How Much You Will Receive From The New Stimulus Package 
A bipartisan deal reached Sunday will provide $600 payments to adults with annual incomes up to $75,000, plus another $600 per child. Some Americans earning more than $75,000 will also receive money if they meet certain qualifications outlined below. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he hopes to start sending out payments the last week in December. Use the calculator below to see how much you should receive. Under that, see answers to frequently asked questions. (Long, Still and Shapiro, 12/21)

In related news on the stimulus bill —

The Washington Post: Biden's Push For More Covid Relief Sets Up Like Clash With GOP 
Republicans brimmed with pride over the $900 billion stimulus package taken up by Congress on Monday, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell calling it “a historic bipartisan rescue package” and Sen. Dan Sullivan (Alaska) predicting it would be remembered when “the history of this challenging year is written.” President-elect Joe Biden saw it differently, calling the deal merely a “down payment.” Biden’s assessment, made repeatedly in recent weeks, echoes the view of many Democrats who see the bill as the beginning of a negotiation, not the end. The notion that more aid is necessary — Biden at times has said talks should start as early as January — sets up perhaps the first major legislative test for the new president and his self-proclaimed negotiating skills. (Linskey and DeBonis, 12/21)

The Hill: Massive Relief Bill Leaves Some Industries Happy, Others Disappointed 
The unveiling of a massive coronavirus relief package on Monday drew praise from some business groups, while others criticized Congress for not including their top priorities as the pandemic stretches into 2021. Travel and entertainment companies secured sought-after provisions, but public sector unions and independent restaurants were largely left out of the $900 billion bill. (Gangitano, 12/21)

KHN: Surprise! Congress Takes Steps To Curb Unexpected Medical Bills 
Most Americans tell pollsters they’re worried about being able to afford an unexpected medical bill. Late Monday, Congress passed a bill to allay some of those fears. The measure is included in a nearly 5,600-page package providing coronavirus economic relief and government funding for the rest of the fiscal year. (Appleby, 12/22)

The Hill: House Panel Subpoenas For Azar, Redfield CDC Documents 
"The subpoenas were necessary because the Select Subcommittee’s investigation has revealed that efforts to interfere with scientific work at CDC were far more extensive and dangerous than previously known," Clyburn said in a letter sent to Azar and Redfield along with the subpoenas. An HHS spokesperson pushed back on the committee's claims and insisted the department has cooperated with the subcommittee's probe. (Weixel, 12/21)

USA Today: House Panel Subpoenas HHS Sec. Azar And CDC's Redfield: 'Extensive' Political Meddling In COVID-19 Policies Alleged
"The subpoenas were necessary because the Select Subcommittee’s investigation has revealed that efforts to interfere with scientific work at CDC were far more extensive and dangerous than previously known," Clyburn said in a letter sent to Azar and Redfield along with the subpoenas. An HHS spokesperson pushed back on the committee's claims and insisted the department has cooperated with the subcommittee's probe.  (Subramanian, 12/21)

CNN: House Democrats Subpoena HHS And CDC Directors For Documents In Political Interference Investigation 
House Democrats on the committee allege that according to an interview they conducted with a career staffer at CDC, both HHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Michael Caputo and Paul Alexander, a senior adviser, attempted to exert political influence over the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports, which were intended to give the public a clear view of what was happening with the coronavirus. The editor and chief of those reports, Charlotte Kent, told committee staff that Alexander "contacted her directly on numerous occasions to pressure her to make changes to Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports and to seek a larger role in the review process, in violation of longtime CDC and HHS policy to maintain the independence of these reports." (Fox and Raju, 12/21)

The Wall Street Journal: House Panel Subpoenas HHS, CDC Heads In Coronavirus Probe 
An HHS spokesperson disputed the committee’s allegations of political interference. “While the administration is focused on vaccination shots, the subcommittee is focused on cheap shots to create headlines and mislead the American people.” Representatives for the CDC didn’t return a request for comment. (Hackman, 12/21)

USA Today: Monoclonal Antibodies May Have Helped Donald Trump Recover From COVID-19, But Many Others Aren't Getting Them
President Donald Trump, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani all received monoclonal antibodies when they were treated for COVID-19. And despite having risk factors such as age and weight that put them at risk of getting really sick, they recovered quickly, although Christie spent a week in intensive care. They all credit monoclonal antibodies. But only a fraction of those doses have reached the people who could benefit from them, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Monday. (Weintraub, 12/21)

The Hill: CDC Questioned EPA Rule Declining To Impose Tougher Soot Regulations 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) rationale for freezing air quality regulations was “not scientifically defensible” before the agency finalized the rule earlier this month. The EPA opted to keep Obama-era standards on particulate matter, or soot, in a move critics argued failed to take into account a growing body of evidence showing even low levels of air pollution can be harmful to human health. (Beitsch, 12/21)

In other news related to the Trump administration —

The Washington Post: Young Conservatives Mingled Maskless At Mar-A-Lago And Partied With A Money Cannon
Conservative student group Turning Point USA held two large events in Florida this weekend, including one at Mar-a-Lago, President Trump’s private club, allegedly violating local coronavirus restrictions and disregarding authorities’ pleas to avoid such massive gatherings. Turning Point on Friday night held its annual winter gala at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach. The party was attended by hundreds of students, organizers and GOP notables such as South Dakota Gov. Kristi L. Noem, Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.), White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and Mike Lindell, otherwise known as the “MyPillow Guy.” (Villegas and Fahrenthold, 12/21)

KHN: Democrats Are Running Hard On Health Care In Georgia’s Senate Runoffs. Republicans? Not So Much. 
Vice President Mike Pence was the clear celebrity draw at a Nov. 20 campaign event for Georgia’s two incumbent U.S. senators, Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue. Both Republicans are fighting to keep their seats against two Democratic challengers in the runoff election set for Jan. 5. People were so eager to see Pence at the rally in Canton, Georgia, that parking spots were scarce and a long line of cars snaked through the parking lot of a community college. Some drivers jumped the curb and parked in the grass. (Whitehead, 12/22)

Fox News: Surgeon General Calls On Coronavirus Survivors To Donate Convalescent Plasma
The U.S. surgeon general is calling on Americans who have recovered from coronavirus to donate plasma in order to help those who are still battling the illness. Surgeon General Jerome Adams sad current ongoing research shows that convalescent plasma is "safe and, when it’s given early and contains a high concentration of antibodies, it can help improve a patient’s chance of recovery." "If you are among the millions of Americans who have had COVID-19, you may have a precious resource that can help save other lives," Adams said, in a statement released Monday. "Plasma donated by people who have recovered from COVID-19 may contain antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the disease. These antibodies may help suppress the virus and provide patients with clinical benefit." (Hein, 12/21)

In other science and research news about the coronavirus —

The Wall Street Journal: Long-Haul Covid Patients Put Hope In Experimental Drugs 
Some pharmaceutical companies and researchers are moving to launch the first clinical trials for drugs intended to treat long-term Covid. So far, these drugs are experimental, and aren’t FDA-approved for any condition, whether Covid or any other disease they were originally developed to treat. The enthusiasm for them among patients reflects a hope for anything that might give them some relief. (Reddy, 12/21)

The Atlantic: The Mysterious Link Between COVID-19 And Sleep
The newly discovered coronavirus had killed only a few dozen people when Feixiong Cheng started looking for a treatment. He knew time was of the essence: Cheng, a data analyst at the Cleveland Clinic, had seen similar coronaviruses tear through China and Saudi Arabia before, sickening thousands and shaking the global economy. So, in January, his lab used artificial intelligence to search for hidden clues in the structure of the virus to predict how it invaded human cells, and what might stop it. One observation stood out: The virus could potentially be blocked by melatonin. (Hamblin, 12/21)

The Washington Post: Headaches, Migraines Are Getting Worse During The Pandemic 
The familiar, all-consuming pain hit Kate Sosin in early May: a migraine. As a chronic migraine sufferer who typically experienced full-blown attacks a couple of times a month, Sosin simply thought: “Here we go again.” But the intense migraine attacks started coming more frequently, and are “eating me alive,” said Sosin, a 35-year-old reporter for the 19th, an online news organization. The Los Angeles resident, who uses they/them pronouns, now has three to four bad days a week — despite an increase in medication and regular treatment through a headache clinic. (Chiu, 12/21)

CIDRAP: Pigs Susceptible To SARS-CoV-2, Researchers Discover
In a study in Emerging Infectious Diseases late last week, Canadian and US researchers found that pigs are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, highlighting the need for additional livestock assessment to determine the potential role of domestic animals in the pandemic. Previous studies indicated that swine are not susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, but they did not measure seroconversion (antibody production), the authors note. (12/21)

Also —

CIDRAP: Higher Pandemic Death Rate Found In Hispanics, Older Adults, Less Educated
A study of pandemic deaths in California in JAMA Internal Medicine today found the highest excess mortality in older adults, black and Hispanic residents, and those without college degrees. Excess death rates for Hispanic residents and those without a high school degree more than tripled after reopening, likely due to increased COVID-19 risk faced by low-wage, essential workers. Researchers evaluated mortality data across population subgroups in California from Mar 1 to Aug 22, finding 19,806 deaths in excess of those predicted by historical trends (95% prediction interval, 16,364 to 23,210). California has a population of 39 million, about 12% of the total US population. (12/21)

KQED: UCSF Doctor Challenges Reports Of High COVID-19 Rates In Black Community
When UCSF wanted to look into COVID-19 disparities in the Black community, they tapped Dr. Kim Rhoads. Rhoads is an epidemiologist and biostatistician at UCSF who has done extensive outreach in the Bay Area’s Black community. Most current research points to higher COVID-19 infection rates among Black people in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Black Americans are 1.4 times more likely to catch the virus compared to their white counterparts. (That rate was at 2.6 times more likely when KQED checked on Nov. 21.) And according to the state public health department, Black people make up approximately 4% of positive cases in California but only 6% of the total population in the state. But according to Rhoads, those statistics don't tell the full story. (Chang, 12/21)

USA Today: US C-Section Rates Are High: The Joint Commission To Publicize Data
The Joint Commission, the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care, plans to start publicly reporting next year on hospitals with high cesarean section birth rates. “We are trying to identify hospitals that have high cesarean section rates as they work to improve,” said Dr. David Baker, executive vice president for Healthcare Quality Evaluation at TJC. “We want to encourage organizations to reduce their C-sections and encourage leaders to do that in a safe way.” (Rodriguez, 12/21)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Approves Rule To Encourage Value-Based Drug Pricing
CMS approved its plan to make it easier for private insurers, state Medicaid programs and prescription drug manufacturers to create value-based payment arrangements tied to clinical outcomes. The agency overhauled regulations that get in the way of those arrangements, with the goal of expanding access to new, high-cost drugs, including gene therapies. The rule allows private insurers to create value-based arrangements with pharmaceutical companies and drugmakers to report multiple best prices for specific value-based arrangements. Insurers and drugmakers can create bundled contracts, among other changes. (Brady, 12/21)

The New York Times: Don't Postpone Children's Health Care In The Pandemic 
Last May, the American Academy of Pediatrics launched a campaign named #CallYourPediatrician. There were humorous visuals, to-do lists with “call pediatrician” right above “learn 3rd grade math,” informational graphics about safe visits in the time of Covid, and adorable videos (watch the baby panda getting his checkup). But there’s still concern out there that parents aren’t calling, that children aren’t getting looked at. And there are some pediatric concerns that just shouldn’t wait. (Klass, 12/21)

Modern Healthcare: Mayo Returns Almost Half Of Its COVID-19 Relief Grants
Mayo Clinic said Monday it has given back to the federal government nearly half of the COVID-19 stimulus grants it received because it recovered faster than expected. The Rochester, Minn.-based health system said it has returned $156 million of its $338 million worth of Provider Relief Fund grants, effective Dec. 21. The money was part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or the CARES Act. (Bannow, 12/21)

Also —

Burlington Free Press: Should UVMMC Staff Have An Absolute Right To Opt Out On Religious Or Moral Grounds?
Should the staff at the University of Vermont Medical Center have an absolute right to opt out of procedures they object to on moral or religious grounds, such as abortion? The federal Department of Health and Human Services thinks they should. The hospital disagrees and now is the subject of a lawsuit by HHS in an effort to force it to change its policy. Dr. Stephen Leffler, president and chief executive officer of the medical center, says UVMMC staff do have the right to opt out — unless a patient's health and safety is at risk. Then, a staff member may be required to help out with a procedure he or she objects to. (D'Ambrosio, 12/22)

The Baltimore Sun: When History Is A Fable: Distorted Accounts Of The Lives Of Johns Hopkins And Other Famous Men Have Consequences, Historians Say 
When Kobi Little was an undergraduate at Johns Hopkins University, he was curious to learn what events the school had planned to commemorate Black History Month. The possible subjects, he says, were many... The only event Little heard of that February in 1993 was a library exhibit about the Birneys, a white family that freed its slaves during the 19th century. (Pitts, 12/22)

Modern Healthcare: How Will Labs Use Expanded Molecular Testing Capacities Post-COVID-19?
With COVID-19 vaccinations beginning this week in the US, the country is entering a new stage of the pandemic that could ultimately end in widespread suppression of the virus. The implications of this development for the lab industry are not entirely clear, but after almost a year spent building out molecular capacities to meet COVID-19 test demand, the question of what to do with that capacity in a post-COVID-19 environment looms on the horizon. (Bonislawski, 12/21)

Stat: Uniqure's Hemophilia B Gene Therapy Program Put On Hold
UniQure, the Dutch gene therapy company, said Monday that it had temporarily halted the clinical development of its hemophilia B treatment after a patient was diagnosed with liver cancer. The clinical hold, mandated by the Food and Drug Administration, encompasses three ongoing studies of Uniqure’s hemophilia B gene therapy called etranacogene dezaparvovec. Patient dosing in all three studies had already been completed and there is no plan to enroll or treat new patients, the company said. (Feuerstein, 12/21)

Stat: Agios Sells Cancer Business To French Drug Maker For Up To $2 Billion
Agios Pharmaceuticals said Monday that it is selling its cancer business to the French drug maker Servier — a decision that will narrow the biotech’s focus to developing medicines for inherited diseases and enable a shareholder-friendly stock repurchase program. (Feuerstein, 12/21)

Also —

Stat: Vioxx, Drug Safety, And The Legacy Of Sen. Michael Enzi 
The prescription painkiller originally known as Vioxx may be making a comeback after its maker, Merck, abruptly pulled it from the market in 2004 following studies that showed the drug roughly doubled patients’ risks of heart attack and stroke and may have contributed to an estimated 60,000 deaths. According to STAT, Tremeau Pharmaceuticals, a privately held Massachusetts drug company, is about to begin clinical trials of rofecoxib (the generic name for Vioxx) as a treatment for hemophilic arthropathy, a persistent joint disease for which doctors often prescribed Vioxx off-label. (Northrup, 12/21)

Stat: Health Tech's Newest Unicorn Is Running Toward Medicaid Patients
It has become a business imperative in American medicine to marginalize patients on Medicaid. Their health problems can be costly and complicated — often, the product of other structural barriers that stand in the way of good health — and lower government reimbursement means doctors typically lose money on their care. (Ross, 12/22)

Stat: The Most Impressive Biotech VCs Of 2020 
Behind almost every biotech IPO, every merger, and every buyout are a set of venture investors who stand to profit. In 2020, thanks to an extraordinary stock market and increased attention on the biopharma industry, those investors found themselves in a valuable spot. (Sheridan, 12/22)

The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Deaths To Reverse U.S. Life-Expectancy Gains 
U.S. life expectancy inched up last year but in 2020 could decline by the largest amount since World War II, as Covid-19 becomes the nation’s third-leading cause of death. Data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Tuesday showed that life expectancy rose to 78.8 years in 2019, an increase of one-tenth of a year, marking the second consecutive year of progress on the key measure of national well-being. (Adamy, 12/22)

US News and World Report: Life Expectancy Increased In 2019, But COVID Deaths Loom Large
Life expectancy in the U.S. increased for a second consecutive year in 2019 – notable progress that could be derailed by the devastating COVID-19 pandemic. A report released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics shows that life expectancy at birth for the U.S. population in 2019 was 78.8 years, an increase from 78.7 years in 2018. For males, life expectancy increased from 76.2 years in 2018 to 76.3 years in 2019, while it increased from 81.2 years in 2018 to 81.4 years in 2019 for females. (Cirruzzo, 12/22)

PBS NewsHour: Before COVID-19, U.S. Life Expectancy Was Making A Slight Rebound 
The new report released Tuesday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, through the National Center for Health Statistics, paints a picture of how Americans were living and dying before COVID-19 emerged in the U.S. and killed at least 320,000 in this country so far. To get that picture, researchers for the federal government gathered details from millions of death certificates. 2019’s small rebound doesn’t mean that drug overdoses became a thing of the past last year. Despite life expectancy beginning to stabilize after years of decline, tens of thousands of American deaths were linked to drug use in 2019, and early data from the CDC suggests those deaths have increased amid the challenges posed by COVID-19. (Santhanam, 12/22)

The Wall Street Journal: Covid Spurs Families To Shun Nursing Homes, A Shift That Appears Long Lasting
The pandemic is reshaping the way Americans care for their elderly, prompting family decisions to avoid nursing homes and keep loved ones in their own homes for rehabilitation and other care. Americans have long relied on institutions to care for the frailest seniors. The U.S. has the largest number of nursing-home residents in the world. But families and some doctors have been reluctant to send patients to such facilities, fearing infection and isolation in places ravaged by Covid-19, which has caused more than 115,000 deaths linked to U.S. long-term-care institutions. (Wilde Mathews and McGinty, 12/21)

AP: Farm Company Fined $2 Million After 2 Workers Die Of Virus
An agricultural company in Washington state where two workers died from COVID-19 was fined more than $2 million for repeatedly violating coronavirus virus safety procedures. “It’s unacceptable to chose to ignore health and safety rules,” Joel Sacks, the director of state Department of Labor & Industries, told reporters Monday. Labor & Industries launched an investigation in July after being contacted by an employee of Gebbers Farm Operations in Brewster, Washington. (12/21)

Politico: Why Social Media Hasn’t Been Able To Shut Down Vaccine Misinformation 
False claims about the dangers of coronavirus vaccines were running rampant on social media even before Americans began receiving their first shots last week — and now the months-long rollout to the entire population is giving bad information even more room to fester. It started with baseless rumors that the inoculations would kill or sterilize the recipients, alter people’s DNA or fail to keep up with virus mutations. Now it is expanding to more elaborate conspiracy theories in an era already rife with mistrust of government and other institutions. Social media companies are trying to keep up, but in many ways they’re already behind, given the monumental task of combating misinformation about a massive, first-of-its-kind public health campaign. (Levine, 12/21)

AP: US Public School Enrollment Dips As Virus Disrupts Education
An analysis of data from 33 states obtained by Chalkbeat and The Associated Press shows that public K-12 enrollment this fall has dropped across those states by more than 500,000 students, or 2%, since the same time last year. That is a significant shift considering that enrollment overall in those states has typically gone up by around half a percent in recent years. And the decline is only likely to become more pronounced, as several large states have yet to release information. Chalkbeat and AP surveyed all 50 states, but 17 have not released comparable enrollment numbers yet. (Belsha, LaMarr LeMee, Willingham and Fenn, 12/22)

Philadelphia Inquirer: A Byproduct Of The Pandemic? Colleges See Soaring Interest In Health Fields
Entry to medical school has always been extremely competitive and the higher numbers mean it will be even more competitive this year. Not all of the increase is due to the pandemic, officials say. In times of economic downturn, enrollments tend to rise as students who may have taken a few years off to work decide instead to continue their education. More students are applying to a larger number of schools. And numbers had been on the rise anyway, with a shortage of physicians projected by 2032. But that Anthony Fauci, the benevolent doctor who leads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has become a household name and that everyone’s life has been altered by the coronavirus have certainly stoked interest. (Snyder, 12/21)

In mental health news —

The Baltimore Sun: No, It’s Not Weird To Talk To Yourself. Baltimore Mental Health Experts Point To Pandemic, Unrest As Possible Reasons 
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to keep much of the population in their homes for most of the day, it’s taking a toll on our collective mental health. In Baltimore, calls to the city’s crisis hotline have doubled during the pandemic and Sheppard Pratt Health System, one of the nation’s leading mental health care providers, has created a virtual walk-in clinic to help meet the demand for services. (Davis, 12/22)

North Carolina Health News: NC Didn’t Track The Data On Mental Health Commitments, So Some Advocates Did It Instead
Advocates found the state had a big problem, but because no one was counting, no one was aware of how many psychiatric patients were being treated against their will. This is the second story in a series about how more people in mental health crisis end up involuntarily committed for treatment and why that’s a problem. (Knopf, 12/21)

The Wall Street Journal: Feeling Depressed? Bacteria In Your Gut May Be To Blame 
Scientists are exploring evidence that major depression may in part be a gut feeling, orchestrated by the microbiome—trillions of microorganisms living in and around our bodies, which influence our health and well-being. In a series of studies, researchers are discovering that the microbial menagerie living in our digestive tract may help regulate brain function, including mental health. Recent findings by scientists in the U.S., Europe and China are linking our feelings of stress, anxiety and severe depression to disturbances among hundreds of microbe species living in our gut that some researchers have started calling the psychobiome. (Hotz, 12/21)

KHN: Health Officials Fear Pandemic-Related Suicide Spike Among Native Youth 
Fallen pine cones covered 16-year-old Leslie Keiser’s fresh grave at the edge of Wolf Point, a small community on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation on the eastern Montana plains. Leslie, whose father is a member of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, is one of at least two teenagers on the reservation who died by suicide this summer. A third teen’s death is under investigation, authorities said. (Reardon, 12/22)

In news about homelessness —

Los Angeles Times: Attorneys Decry 'Cleanups' Of Homeless Encampments During Pandemic
As the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged communities, public health experts worried about the deadly consequences for homeless people sleeping on the streets. It’s a group rife with other health problems that could make it especially susceptible to the easily transmissible coronavirus. In the spring, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cautioned against disruptions such as clearing encampments, which could increase the potential for spreading the disease. On Monday, a coalition of lawyers and advocates for homeless people complained that the city of Los Angeles was ignoring that advice by cleaning camps, putting people in encampments throughout the city at heightened risk. (Oreskes, 12/21)

Bangor Daily News: Deaths Among Homeless People Up 60 Percent In Portland This Year
At least 64 people have died this year while experiencing homelessness in Portland through Dec. 20. That figure is the highest on record and more than 60 percent higher totals for each of the past five years, according to data released Sunday by Preble Street, a nonprofit social services agency that provides shelter and resources to those in need of housing. The agency found that between 34 and 43 people died each year from 2015 to 2019. (Schroeder, 12/21)

Indianapolis Star: Homelessness Coalition Honors Those Who Died In Marion County In 2020
The Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention holds the Annual Homeless Persons’ Memorial Service each Winter Solstice in recognition of those who were actively or had recently experienced homelessness at the time of their death. However, due to COVID-19, this year's ceremony was held virtually, and rather than tolling the downtown church's bell, mourners sat together in silence. Eighty-seven people were honored Monday, the highest number recorded in the last five years. Fifty-eight individuals were honored in 2019, 70 in 2018, 59 in 2017 and 45 in 2016. (Hays, 12/21)

The Baltimore Sun: Autopsies In Maryland Show Much Higher Rate Of COVID-19 Than Expected 
A new study suggests that far more Marylanders have been infected with COVID-19 than previously thought, a proportion higher than what was reported in any area except for New York City. Johns Hopkins University researchers reported Monday that their look at 500 autopsy reports from several weeks in May and June in the state found 10% had antibodies for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. (Cohn, 12/21)

In news from Louisiana, Georgia, North Carolina and Arkansas —

The Advocate: Why One State Auditor Says Louisiana's Coronavirus Data For Positivity Rates May Be Incomplete
The legislative auditor says Gov. John Bel Edwards may not be getting complete-enough information on COVID testing to accurately determine the positivity rates used to decide when masks need to be worn, what businesses can open when and visitation to nursing homes. Numbers of positive tests and deaths are not being overreported on the Louisiana Department of Health online COVID dashboard, Auditor Daryl Purpera said Monday. But a substantial number of labs, whose results were tested in September-October, are not submitting how many tests are being taken and are turning in results late, which impacts the daily “positivity” rate calculations – how many positive tests among how many tests taken – upon which a number of state decisions are made as requested by the White House. (Ballard, 12/21)

The Hill: Georgia Megachurch Pastor Tests Positive For COVID-19 
A Georgia megachurch pastor has tested positive for the coronavirus, his fellow pastor announced on Sunday. Pastor Jentezen Franklin “is doing perfectly fine. He’s doing great,” pastor Javon Ruff said during a livestreamed service at Free Chapel in Gainesville. “He went and got tested, his test came back positive, and so he’s doing the right thing to do to quarantine and continue to be distant.” (Budryk, 12/21)

North Carolina Health News: Rise In Demand For Adult Diapers In Rural NC 
John Henry Jeter remembers a time when his agency’s adult diaper cache gathered dust on the shelf. But then the pandemic started, that’s when incontinence and hygiene products started flying off the shelves. (Engel-Smith, 12/22)

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: Abortion Laws Set For Return To Court Today
"Access to abortion care is already severely limited in Arkansas, and these laws would push reproductive care even further out of reach," said Holly Dickson, executive director of the ACLU of Arkansas, in a statement. "We won't stand by while politicians try to punish, stigmatize, or deny people the freedom to make their own personal decisions about their families and their health." The plaintiffs represented by the ACLU are seeking a temporary restraining order and will seek a preliminary injunction, Dickson said, both of which would block the laws from taking effect. Today's hearing comes a week after the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals cleared the way for those laws to take effect, dissolving a Baker ruling that had blocked their implementation. (Earley, 12/22)

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: Medical Marijuana Sales Remain Brisk
Medical marijuana sales in Arkansas have topped $200 million since the state's first legal sale of the drug in May 2019, the state revenue agency said Thursday. The sales report the Department of Finance and Administration released Thursday reported $200.7 million in sales on 30,648 pounds sold through Wednesday. Daily sales averaged $622,727 during the 22-day reporting period that ended Wednesday, beating the $562,500 reported during the 16-day reporting period that ended Nov. 24. (Showers, 12/21)

In news from Ohio, Michigan, New Mexico and California —

Cincinnati Enquirer: Lung Cancer Screenings Down In Region, UC College Of Medicine Study Finds
Another chilling insight into the cost of the medical shutdown in the spring comes in a new local study: Fewer people are getting screened for lung cancer, even since services resumed, and the tests done now are finding more lung nodules that could be malignant. The study from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, was published online by the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. The findings contribute to a growing body of knowledge that other medical complications of the new coronavirus pandemic are rippling through communities. In October, The Enquirer reported that breast-cancer screening, also paused for six weeks in March and April, was down 40% below 2019 four months after doors reopened. (Saker, 12/21)

Detroit Free Press: Judge Promises To Listen To Flint Residents On Proposed Settlement
A federal judge promised Monday she will hear from all Flint residents with something to say about a proposed $600-million-plus payment to partially settle claims arising from the 2014 lead poisoning of the city's drinking water supply — even if it requires a court hearing that stretches over several days. U.S. District Judge Judith Levy said after a two-hour hearing that she hopes to issue a written opinion by mid-January on whether to give preliminary approval to the proposed settlement. The proposed settlement with the state of Michigan, McLaren hospitals and Rowe Professional Services Co. grew to $641.25 million early Tuesday when the Flint City Council voted to join the settlement during a lengthy meeting, using $20 million in city insurance funds, after earlier twice postponing a decision. (Egan, 12/21)

Albuquerque Journal: Veterans Home Administrator Put On Leave
The administrator of the New Mexico State Veterans Home has been placed on administrative leave while the state investigates whether proper procedures were followed before COVID-19 swept through the state-run home and turned deadly over the past two months. Juliet Sullivan, administrator of the state’s only nursing home for military veterans and their spouses, in Truth or Consequences, was placed on administrative leave Friday as a new leadership team deals with an outbreak of the coronavirus that has taken the lives of at least 21 residents. (Heild, 12/21)

KHN: California’s COVID Enforcement Strategy: Education Over Citations
Nearly six months since Gov. Gavin Newsom promised to target businesses that are flagrantly violating public health orders to control the spread of COVID-19, California regulators have issued just 424 citations and suspended two business licenses as of Monday, according to data from 10 state regulatory and law enforcement agencies. Instead of strictly penalizing businesses for violations, the Democratic governor and businessman with a portfolio of wineries, bars and restaurants under the brand name PlumpJack, has relied on educating owners about infectious disease mandates. State agencies have contacted establishments primarily by email, sending them 1.3 million messages since July 1 to urge them to comply with state and local public health rules. (Hart, 12/22)

The Hill: China's COVID-19 Vaccine Effective In Late-Stage Trials In Brazil: Report 
Late-stage trials in Brazil for China’s Sinovac Biotech COVID-19 vaccine have shown promising results, positioning it for public use, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. The vaccine, CoronaVac, has reached phase three trials in Brazil, the first country to complete the third trial stage for Sinovac’s vaccine, according to the newspaper. The experimental vaccine is also being tested in Indonesia and Turkey. (Choi, 12/21)

AP: Russia, AstraZeneca To Test Combination Of COVID-19 Shots
Developers of the Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V on Monday announced signing an agreement with AstraZeneca to test a combination of the British drugmaker’s COVID-19 shots and a component of the vaccine created in Moscow. The developers of Sputnik V proposed the approach to AstraZeneca last month, suggesting it could increase the effectiveness of the British vaccine. The company announced on Dec. 11 a study to test the combination, and on Monday signed a memorandum of cooperation with Moscow-based medical research facility the Gamaleya Institute, the Russian Direct Investment Fund and Russian drugmaker R-Pharm. (Litvinova, 12/21)

NPR: Vatican OKs Receiving COVID-19 Vaccines, Even If Research Involved Fetal Tissue
The Vatican says that it's "morally acceptable" to receive a vaccination for COVID-19, even if the vaccine's research or production involved using cell lines derived from aborted fetuses, given the "grave danger" of the pandemic. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican office charged with promoting and defending church morals and traditions, said in a document released Monday that "when ethically irreproachable Covid-19 vaccines are not available ... it is morally acceptable to receive Covid-19 vaccines that have used cell lines from aborted fetuses in their research and production process." Pope Francis approved the text on Thursday, Vatican News reported. (Wamsley, 12/21)

Also —

Bloomberg: Japanese Citizens Urged To Wear Masks At Home As Cases Swell
Japan’s struggle to contain the coronavirus ahead of the holiday season has prompted some local leaders to ask residents to embrace a more extreme precaution: wearing masks at home. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and her counterparts in three neighboring prefectures on Monday wrote a joint message urging the elderly and people with underlying health issues -- and those living with them -- to don masks at home during the New Year break. Some other prefectures, including Fukushima and Niigata, have made similar requests. (Suga, 12/22)

The Washington Post: U.S. Olympic Officials Have Yet To Decide If Vaccinations Will Be Mandatory For Tokyo 
The International Olympic Committee won’t require coronavirus vaccines of athletes competing at the Tokyo Games next summer, but the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee is working on a plan to educate American athletes and possibly facilitate immunization for its Olympic hopefuls. USOPC officials said on a conference call with reporters Monday that the organization would encourage Team USA athletes to take the vaccine when it becomes available. When asked whether the organization would mandate a vaccine for its athletes, Sarah Hirshland, the USOPC’s chief executive, said a full plan had not yet been developed. (Maese, 12/21)

Bloomberg: Mexico’s Excess Deaths Pass 250,000 Amid Covid Outbreak
Mexico has recorded 40% more deaths than expected this year, according to a report on excess mortality in the country. The country has recorded 254,625 more deaths -- from all causes -- than expected through late November, the report said. The amount is more than double the 118,598 confirmed Covid-19 deaths in the country. Excess deaths include those who died because they couldn’t get treatment at overloaded hospitals or were never tested even though they had the virus. The country’s management of the virus and the clarity of its data has been criticized because of the excess deaths. (Quinn, 12/22)

Politico: Canada's Largest Province To Impose Holiday Lockdown To Avoid 'Catastrophic' Covid Fallout 
Canada's holiday season will be even quieter this year as Ontario, by far the country’s most-populous province, announces weeks of stricter coronavirus lock-downs starting Dec. 26. Ontario Premier Doug Ford made the announcement Monday as his province — and much of Canada — deals with a stubborn resurgence of Covid-19. The province is home to nearly 39 percent of all Canadians. (Blatchford, 12/21)

Bloomberg: Virus Surge Puts South African Hospitals Under Severe Strain
In four of South Africa’s most populous provinces, “we have noted a substantial resurgence in Covid-19 patients and the health-care system is under significant pressure,” said Charl van Loggerenberg, Life Healthcare’s general manager of emergency medicine. Intensive care and high-care units are “particularly under severe strain” in the KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape and Eastern Cape regions, he said. Besides admitting more Covid-19 patients, the hospitals are also having to administer additional treatment. “We are seeing a significantly higher demand for oxygenation of sick patients versus the first wave,” Netcare’s Chief Executive Officer Richard Friedland said in an emailed response to questions. “We have seen more cases in both the Eastern Cape and Western Cape, and expect to exceed the number of cases seen in the first wave in KwaZulu-Natal this week.” (Kew, 12/21)

Stat: Let The Ultra-Rich And Influential Skip The Line For Covid-19 Vaccines? Hear Me Out 
It’s one thing to talk about vaccinating the majority of people living in the United States to stop the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s another thing to do it — and pay for it. Epidemiologists tell us we need 75% or more of Americans to be immune to Covid-19 to create herd immunity. Much of that immunity will come from vaccinations. Recent polls show only about 60% of Americans are willing to take the vaccine. Visualize a line of people willing to take the shots: As of now, it’s much too short. (Alan Levine, 12/22)

The Detroit News: Are Some People 'Too White' To Get COVID-19 Vaccine?
Are teachers “too white” to get early, priority access to the COVID-19 vaccine? In a New York Times article Friday, several medical professionals suggested that decisions over distributing the limited doses of COVID-19 vaccines are not based on the most efficient way to prevent deaths, but on consideration of social justice. For example, older Americans are at much higher risk of dying from the coronavirus than the general population. But front-line workers should be prioritized over the elderly and vulnerable in part because “older populations are whiter,” says Harald Schmidt of the University of Pennsylvania’s Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics. (Michael Graham, 12/21)

Sacramento Bee: As CA COVID-19 Rates Surge, Sacramento Doctor Speaks Out: Please Stay Home
Dear Sacramento: Please, stay home for the holidays. I am making this plea because I’ve seen what can happen if you don’t. I’m a Sacramento Emergency Medicine doctor who volunteered in New York City after COVID-19 devastated that city. Now I’m watching the cases in Sacramento double every two weeks as our healthcare infrastructure nears a breaking point. I’m asking you to stay home because I don’t want to see any more preventable death. I care about you and your loved ones, and I know healthcare providers like myself need your help. (Alex Schmalz, 12/20)

Louisville Courier-Journal: COVID-19 Vaccine Safety: We Must Set Aside Our Fears And Dispel Myths
COVID-19 has paralyzed all of humanity regardless of race, religion, gender, socioeconomic status or sexual orientation. It has reminded us that our lives on planet Earth are intertwined and our survival as a species is dependent on one another. I am a physician who has worked on the front lines of health care from the outset of this global pandemic. Daily, I bear witness to the catastrophe of this deadly virus in long-term care facilities and acute care hospitals. (Muhammad Babar, 12/22)

The Hill: COVID-19 Vaccines: A 'D-Day' Moment In The War On A Pandemic 
This past Monday was a historic day, a literal shot in the arm in the human war against a devastating virus. It is appropriate to call it “V-Day” in America, a comparison made by four-star Gen. Gus Perna, the chief operating officer of Operation Warp Speed in charge of vaccine deployment, to D-Day, when we landed on the beaches of Normandy during World War II to begin the liberation of Europe. (Marc Siegel, 12/21)

CNN: I Got The Vaccine And I'm Telling My Friends
This week, I received the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. As a frontline health care worker, I was one of the fortunate few in the first wave of eligibility. I was so excited -- it was as if Christmas had come early. (Janice Blanchard, 12/21)

The New York Times: The Pandemic's Inhuman Demands
The journalist Anne Helen Petersen recently asked, on Twitter, for articles about the “long-term psychological effects” of the pandemic. She soon noticed that many of the replies were about the damage it was doing to children. Seeing this crystallized something I’d been dimly aware of. The strange politics of the coronavirus have created a taboo, at least in certain progressive circles, in talking too much about the emotional suffering wrought by nine months of purgatorial isolation. It’s easier to discuss what it’s doing to our kids, because we feel justified in trying to spare them pain. (Michelle Goldberg, 12/21)

The Wall Street Journal: A Pandemic Of Misinformation
America has been paralyzed by death and fear for nearly a year, and the politicization of the pandemic has made things worse by adding misinformation and vitriol to the mix. With vaccines finally being administered, we should be entering a joyous phase. Instead we endure still more inflammatory rhetoric and media distortion. Americans need to understand three realities. First, all 50 states independently directed and implemented their own pandemic policies. In every case, governors and local officials were responsible for on-the-ground choices—every business limit, school closing, shelter-in-place order and mask requirement. No policy on any of these issues was set by the federal government, except those involving federal property and employees. (President Trump's former special adviser Scott W. Atlas, 12/21)

The Washington Post: The Covid-19 Bill Shows Washington Can Still Work, Occasionally
As the nation closes out a gloomy 2020, there have been a few signs that its political system still can work. First was an orderly presidential election, perhaps the cleanest and most secure ever, that has resisted concerted attempts by President Trump to overturn the result. Second is the compromise covid-19 relief bill that lawmakers raced to pass on Monday, following months of legislative stalemate. Yes, it is imperfect. But it is nevertheless an indication that lawmakers are still capable of shaking hands on big legislation when national prosperity is at stake. (12/21)

The Wall Street Journal: Covid Political Relief 
Congressional leaders reached agreement on a $900 billion Covid-19 relief bill Sunday evening, but please don’t call this economic stimulus. With some exceptions, the main relief here is for the politicians who want to take credit for doling out more cash to constituents. The best provision in the bill is the limit on potential abuse by the Biden Treasury and Federal Reserve. Credit here to Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey, who held firm on limiting the Fed’s maneuvering room without a new act of Congress. Democrats are claiming victory, but that’s face-saving spin. (12/20)

Los Angeles Times: Stimulus Checks: Too Little For Some, Too Much For Many
Close to one-fifth of the $908 billion proposed in Congress’ long-awaited coronavirus relief bill will be sent directly to American taxpayers in the form of “Economic Impact Payments” — checks of up to $600 per person. The $166 billion devoted to these payments is the second-largest line item in the bill, trailing only the $325 billion for loans to help struggling small businesses. And yet, in the view of some critics, the amount isn’t nearly enough. "$600 is not ‘a lot’ for families,” author Don Winslow said in a tweet that typified the pushback, “and ... the people who said it was ‘a lot’ are detached from the pain of millions of Americans. It will not help them in any real or meaningful way.” (12/22)

The New York Times: The Stimulus Deal Is Good Enough, For Now
The $900 billion pandemic aid package that emerged Sunday from months of on-and-off negotiations between House Democrats and Senate Republicans is a necessary measure that will ease the suffering of millions of Americans. It will help unemployed workers to feed their families and to avoid eviction. It will help small businesses avoid bankruptcy. It will help to keep the trains and buses running in cities across the country. Congress should have acted months ago, and the delay has caused a lot of unnecessary pain. Even now, Congress is not doing enough to meet the full measure of the need. But the relevant question is whether this agreement will help — and the clear answer is yes. (12/20)

CNN: Congress' Pandemic Relief Deal Buys Time But Seeds Bitter Battles Ahead 
At last. The belated $900 billion pandemic relief deal that Congress announced Sunday offers some rare good news during the holiday season of a brutal year and a measure of short-term help to laid-off workers and shuttered businesses hammered by twin health and economic crises. The most optimistic interpretation of the agreement is that despite a tortured process, a deeply divided Capitol Hill finally navigated a way to consensus, pushed by a core of more moderate bipartisan senators who catalyzed compromise in a time-honored fashion. (Stephen Collinson, 12/21)

The Hill: Unjust Mask Mandates Distract From Real Pandemic Priorities 
In his campaign for president, Joe Biden called for a national mask mandate to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Since then, Biden has walked back his call, recognizing that the president has no real constitutional power to implement a nationwide health order; he can only require masks on federal property. (Ben Bayer, 12/21)

Fox News: If Biden Pursues Open-Border Policy It Will Pose Grave Public Health Risk During Pandemic
On the campaign trail, Joe Biden promised to be President Trump’s antithesis on border and immigration issues. Basically, Biden — whose victory was declared Monday by the Electoral College — pledged to do the opposite of everything Trump did regarding illegal immigration.  So let’s play out what that would actually look like, assuming Trump’s continuing efforts to overturn former Vice President Biden’s election as president don’t succeed. Spoiler alert: It would be like dousing a fire with gasoline. Even in normal times, there’s lots not to like about open border policies. But in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, open borders present another problem: a catastrophic public health risk of the spread of the deadly disease COVID-19. (James Carafano, 12/21)

The Washington Post: Even By Florida Standards, Gov. Ron DeSantis Is A Covid-19 Catastrophe
Earlier this month, just as Florida neared its 20,000th covid-19 death, a bit of good cheer popped into the inboxes of 160 state lawmakers: an invitation (plus one!) to Gov. Ron DeSantis’s holiday bash at his Tallahassee mansion. No masks or social distancing required; any devotion to science or reality could be checked at the door. The event narrowly avoided superspreader status: The state senate’s president regretted his absence only hours before the soiree when a coronavirus test came back positive. Welcome to Florida — America’s sun-drenched State of Suspended Disbelief. From the pandemic’s infancy, DeSantis has conveniently, even diabolically, airbrushed covid-19 out of public life here. (Lizette Alvarez, 12/21)

The Wall Street Journal: New York City’s Worst Slumlord
Mayor Bill de Blasio and the New York City Housing Authority (Nycha) are the worst landlords in the Big Apple, according to a watch list released last week by the city’s public advocate. A new report by the New York City Department of Investigation offers some supporting evidence. Nycha is supposed to clean up lead paint in apartments where young children live, and a supervisor certified by the Environmental Protection Agency is supposed to ensure the job gets done right. Instead, Nycha’s managers resorted to fraud and forgery, the Department of Investigation found. The probe revealed that “at least since 2013, none of NYCHA’s lead abatement jobs were ever supervised by an EPA-certified lead supervisor,” the department said in a news release. Instead, “the manager of the Lead Unit pressured employees to falsely sign paperwork stating that these jobs were supervised.” (12/21)