Bloomberg: U.S. Hits Pandemic Milestone With More Vaccinated Than Cases
More Americans have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine than have tested positive for the virus, an early but hopeful milestone in the race to end the pandemic. As of Monday afternoon, 26.5 million Americans had received one or both doses of the current vaccines, according to data compiled by the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker. Since the first U.S. patient tested positive outside of Seattle a year ago, 26.3 million people in the country have tested positive for the disease, and 443,000 have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. (Fay Cortez and Court, 2/1)

Also —

The Wall Street Journal: After The Covid Vaccine, People Find Joy In Little Things 
Sergio Tristán, a 65-year-old retired State Department employee, really missed squeezing his own tomatoes at the grocery store. He recently received the first dose of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine and the second is scheduled for early February. Suddenly, life’s little joys, the kind that have been shelved for many people for almost a year, are back on the horizon. “Picking up the tomatoes at the store makes a big difference,” he says. (Bartholomew, 2/1)

CNN: Life After Covid: The People Who Will Re-Enter Society Last 
Danielle Seal likens going for a walk during the pandemic to an extreme sport. "When I go [and walk] the dog I have to ask people to stay two meters away," she told CNN. "And that's what really upsets me. If you try and squeeze past me, you are putting my life in danger. Going for a walk is an adrenaline-seeking extreme sport." (Rahim, 1/31)

The Washington Post: Rapid At-Home Coronavirus Tests Will Soon Be More Widely Available To Americans 
The White House announced Monday it is buying 8.5 million rapid coronavirus tests that can be taken at home without a prescription and that yield immediate results. The $231.8 million contract will allow the Australian company Ellume, which manufacturers the tests, to quickly scale up its production and create a manufacturing facility in the United States. Once running, that factory will be able to produce 19 million tests per month. (Wan, 2/1)

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Reaches Deal For At-Home Covid-19 Tests 
The Food and Drug Administration previously authorized the test. So far, the FDA has cleared three Covid-19 tests that can be processed entirely at home, but Ellume’s is the only one that doesn’t require a prescription. None are widely available at this point. The company is expected to produce 19 million tests a month by the end of the year, Andy Slavitt, senior adviser to the White House Covid-19 response team, said Monday. Based on the agreement, 8.5 million tests will be guaranteed to the U.S. government. (Parti and Abbott, 2/1)

NPR: U.S. Cuts $231 Million Deal To Provide 15-Minute COVID-19 At-Home Tests
In a press release, the company said its contract, with the U.S. Defense Department, will help fund construction of Ellume's first manufacturing plant in the U.S. Once completed, it will produce more than 500,000 tests per day, according to the company. The test uses a relatively short nasal swab to collect a sample. The sample is put into a digital analyzer linked to a smartphone app. In December, the company told NPR that the test would be available for about $30. (Simmons-Duffin and Chappell, 2/1)

Reuters: New U.S. Transit Mask Rules Ordered By Biden Take Effect 
New rules took effect just before midnight Tuesday requiring millions of travelers in the United States to wear masks on airplanes, trains, buses, ferries, taxis and ride-share vehicles and in airports, stations, ports and other transit hubs. ... American Airlines said customers with disabilities unable to wear a mask must notify the airline 72 hours prior to departure to request an exemption and show proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within three days of departure or proof of recovery to board. (Shepardson, 2/2)

The Washington Post: Transportation Agencies Wrestle With New Federal Mask Mandate 
A new federal order requiring masks at airports and aboard trains and buses creates a layer of protection for federal safety screeners while putting added pressure on transit drivers and operators on the front lines to enforce the mandate, transit officials say. Across the Washington region, airports and transportation agencies have required passengers to wear face coverings for months, enforcing those rules to varying degrees. The new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention order, effective at 11:59 p.m. Monday, requires a new level of enforcement, telling drivers and operators to act as gatekeepers, denying entry to riders who try to board without their faces shielded. (Lazo, Aratani and George, 2/1)

The Hill: Airline Employees Applaud New Federal Mask Mandate 
Airline and airport workers are praising a new rule that authorizes the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to fine passengers who refuse to wear masks. Labor unions and airport administrators for months have been calling on the federal government to impose nationwide health policies for air travel. (Gangitano, 2/1)

Politico: Biden Covid Adviser Tells Providers To Stop Stockpiling Vaccine 
The Biden administration is advising health care providers across the country against holding back doses of Covid-19 vaccines, amid reports that hospitals are reserving limited supply to ensure that patients receive doses. Andy Slavitt, a senior adviser to the White House's Covid response team, said providers should be confident that there will be a steady supply of doses and that stockpiling "does not need to happen and should not happen." (Ehley, 2/1)

The Hill: Biden Officials Defend Two-Dose Strategy Amid Fears Of Variants 
Top Biden administration health officials made clear Monday that they are not changing strategy to give people only one dose of vaccine instead of two in an effort to speed the process, but at the same time urged health care providers not to be overly cautious in holding second doses in reserve. (Sullivan, 2/1)

CIDRAP: Experts Tout Delaying 2nd COVID Vaccine Dose As US Deaths Mount
Following record COVID-19 deaths in January, several US experts extolled the benefits of vaccinating as many people as possible with one dose of COVID vaccine before ensuring people receive the recommended second dose. ... "The maximum public health benefit would come from giving a single dose to as many people as possible, and following up with a second dose when supply improves," said Neal Halsey, MD, of Johns Hopkins University, in an interview. Halsey and Stanley Plotkin, MD, co-authored a letter in Clinical Infectious Diseases last week explaining how delaying a second dose of vaccine would accelerate the US vaccine rollout. (Soucheray, 2/1)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Vaccine Phase Panel Takes Break To Wait For Biden Strategy
The state advisory panel recommending when Wisconsin residents should get the COVID-19 vaccine is pausing work while the Evers administration gathers more information on how President Joe Biden's vaccine strategy will affect the state. The hiatus, which could last weeks, also comes while the distribution of vaccine doses is ramping up; it will likely take months to provide shots to everyone already eligible. Wisconsin is in the middle of distributing vaccine doses to residents in the first and second phase of the state's rollout, which includes frontline workers, teachers and people over the age of 65 — more than 1 million people. (Beck, 2/1)

In related news from Moderna —

NPR: Moderna Increases COVID-19 Vaccine Shipments While Pfizer Lags Behind
The federal government has allocated 5.8 million Moderna doses to states this week, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's 1.5 million more doses than the 4.3 million the company supplied the previous week — an increase of about 35%. Meanwhile, Pfizer doses increased only slightly over the previous week — 70,000 doses, or less than 2% — for a total just shy of 4.4 million vaccine doses this week. "Yesterday, we announced a 16% increase in supply flowing to states every week for the next three weeks to a minimum of 10 million doses per week. That's good news," said Andy Slavitt, White House adviser on the COVID-19 response, at a Wednesday press briefing. The projections can help states with planning. (Lupkin, 2/1)

The New York Times: Moderna Could Boost Vaccine Supply By Adding Doses To Vials 
U.S. regulators could decide within a few weeks whether to allow Moderna, the developer of one of the two federally authorized Covid-19 vaccines, to increase the number of doses in its vials — which could accelerate the nation’s vaccination rate. Moderna is hoping to raise the number of doses in its vials to as many as 15 from the current 10 doses, a potential 50 percent increase. The proposal reflects the fact that the company has been ramping up production of its vaccine to the point where the final manufacturing stage, when it is bottled, capped and labeled, has emerged as a roadblock to expanding its distribution. (2/2)

The New York Times: Have You Had Covid-19? Study Says You May Need Only One Vaccine Dose 
In a study posted online on Monday, researchers found that people who had previously been infected with the virus reported fatigue, headache, chills, fever, and muscle and joint pain after the first shot compared more frequently than did those who had never been infected. Covid survivors also had far higher antibody levels after both the first and second doses of the vaccine. (Willyard, 2/1)

And those who have already had covid might be at risk of getting a new strain —

CNN: US Coronavirus: Coronavirus Variants Pose A High Risk Of Infecting People Again If They Become Dominant, Fauci Says 
Even for those who have been infected with Covid-19, there is a "very high rate" of re-infection if the new variants become dominant, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Monday. Health experts have identified at least three coronavirus variants in the US that appeared to originate in the UK, South Africa and Brazil. While the average case rate in the US has declined lately, officials are concerned these variants could fuel another surge. (Holcombe, 2/2)

In other developments about the effects of covid —

The Washington Post: New Diabetes Cases Linked To Covid-19 
Although covid-19 often attacks the lungs, it is increasingly associated with a range of problems including blood clots, neurological disorders, and kidney and heart damage. Researchers say new-onset diabetes may soon be added to those complications — both Type 1, in which people cannot make the insulin needed to regulate their blood sugar, and Type 2, in which they make too little insulin or become resistant to their insulin, causing their blood sugar levels to rise. But scientists do not know whether covid-19 might hasten already developing problems or actually cause them — or both. (Blakemore, 2/1)

The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19’s Effects May Linger In Your Body, Even After Asymptomatic Cases
Even people with asymptomatic Covid cases can have after-effects in their bodies, research indicates, raising questions about possible risks later in life. An estimated one-quarter to one-third of Covid infections are asymptomatic, according to recent studies. Multiple studies have shown asymptomatic patients can have irregular lung scans. A couple of small studies have found cardiac issues in student athletes, including those with asymptomatic infections. And a study looking at asymptomatic and mild cases of Covid in children found signs of possible small blood vessel damage. (Reddy, 2/1)

KHN: Long-Haul Covid Cases Cast New Light On Chronic Fatigue Sufferers 
Four weeks after San Diego pediatric nurse Jennifer Minhas fell ill with covid-19 last March, her cough and fever had resolved, but new symptoms had emerged: chest pain, an elevated heart rate and crushing fatigue. Her primary care physician told her she was just anxious, and that none of her other covid patients had those issues. “That wasn’t what I needed to hear,” Minhas said. At times, she’s been too exhausted to hold up her head. “I was kind of a zombie for months, shuffling around unable to do much of anything.” (Cool, 2/2)

The Washington Post: Race And Ethnicity Data Missing For Nearly Half Of Coronavirus Vaccine Recipients, Federal Study Finds 
Race and ethnicity data was missing for nearly half of all coronavirus vaccine recipients during the first month shots were available, further stymieing efforts to ensure an equitable response to a pandemic that continues to unduly burden communities of color, federal researchers reported Monday. The findings on vaccination data illustrate that a long-standing lack of information on the race and ethnicity of who has been diagnosed with covid-19, the illness caused by the virus, has carried over to who has been inoculated. (Johnson, 2/1)

Fox News: Nearly Half Of US Coronavirus Case, Vaccination Race/Ethnicity Data Is Missing
"These insights from our data are critical for our ability to target and triage our response," Nunez-Smith said at the briefing Monday. "Without good data, we are at a disadvantage in terms of equity planning." "We must address these insufficient data points as an urgent priority," she added. The coronavirus pandemic has emphasized deep-rooted and long-standing inequities; racial minorities suffer a heightened risk of hospitalization and death due to the novel virus compared to white individuals, though the rates vary by race/ethnicity. (Rivas, 2/1)

Politico: New CDC Data Shows Stark Disparities In Coronavirus Shots 
Why it matters: President Joe Biden wants an equitable distribution of the coronavirus vaccine, but preliminary reports showcase just how much ground will need to be made up. (Roubein, 2/1)

More From KHN:

• As Vaccine Rollout Expands, Black Americans Still Left Behind (Weber and Recht, 1/29)
• Black Americans Are Getting Vaccinated at Lower Rates Than White Americans (Weber and Recht, 1/17)

Dallas Morning News: State Proposals To Address COVID-19′S Unequal Effects On Black And Latino Texans Still Months Away
A new state report, released nearly a year into the pandemic, confirms what many experts have known all along: Black and Latino communities are being hit disproportionately by COVID-19. Officials behind the report say it could be another eight months before they identify causes and put forward any policy fixes. By then, state lawmakers will have wrapped up their work in Austin, many Texans will have been vaccinated against the coronavirus and others will have lost their lives. State Rep. Shawn Thierry, who called for a task force early on that could offer fixes in real time, said the findings only reinforce the need to direct resources to communities of color, especially as early data shows white residents getting vaccines at higher rates than Blacks and Latinos. (Morris, 2/1)

USA Today: COVID Vaccine And Pregnant Women: Dr. Fauci Sees 'No Red Flags'
Some pregnant women remain unsure about getting the COVID-19 vaccine because safety data is scarce and health agency guidelines are vague and in some cases contradictory. But Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, said Monday that about 10,000 pregnant women in the U.S. have been vaccinated since the Food and Drug Administration authorized two vaccines, and so far there have been “no red flags.” “We had a lot of pregnant women vaccinated. The FDA followed them and will continue to follow them,” he said during a media roundtable at the IAS COVID-19 Conference: Prevention. “Even though we don’t have good data on it, the data that we’re collecting on it so far has no red flags.” (Rodriguez, 2/1)

The Baltimore Sun: Some Marylanders With Health Conditions Can Get The COVID Vaccine Starting Monday. But Who’s Included? 
Starting Monday, adults in Maryland who are hospitalized with certain health conditions will be eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccines, according to the Maryland Department of Health’s latest clinician guidance. But the list of qualifying conditions is short, and the news comes while vaccine appointments remain difficult to obtain. People who are not hospitalized but are diagnosed with these conditions won’t be able to be vaccinated until Phase 2 of the rollout. (Condon, 2/1)

The Baltimore Sun: Should Marylanders Get Onto Multiple COVID Vaccine Waitlists?
It’s a question on the minds of many Marylanders who are eligible for the coronavirus vaccine: Should I sign up for every waitlist I can find? When that question was posed to the state’s top health official Monday, he didn’t have an answer. (Wood, 2/1)

Stateline: Without A Ride Many In Need Have No Shot At COVID-19 Vaccine
While state and local governments have been busy planning for and distributing vaccines, many have left out an important piece: how to provide transportation to people who can’t get to those sites. Millions of older adults and low-income people of color who are at higher risk of contracting the virus don’t have cars, don’t drive or don’t live near public transit. Some are homebound. Some live in rural areas far from vaccination sites. “It’s incredibly complicated how the vaccine planning played out across the country. Transportation was overlooked,” said Denny Chan, a senior staff attorney at Justice in Aging, a national legal advocacy organization for low-income older adults. (Bergal, 2/1)

Also —

The Washington Post: Anti-Vaccine Protest At Dodger Stadium Was Organized On Facebook, Including Promotion Of Banned ‘Plandemic’ Video 
The anti-vaccine protest that temporarily cut off access to a mass vaccination site at Dodger Stadium was organized on Facebook through a page that promotes debunked claims about the coronavirus pandemic, masks and immunization. The Facebook page, “Shop Mask Free Los Angeles,” issued a call last week to gather Saturday at the baseball park. Health authorities have been administering shots to as many as 8,000 people a day at the site, one of the largest vaccination centers in the country. Such venues form a critical component of the effort to corral the pandemic, which has lashed Los Angeles County so brutally in recent weeks that oxygen for patients has been in short supply. (Stanley-Becker, 2/1)

Stat: Preaching About Vaccines, A Pastor Emphasizes Personal Agency
Terris King is intimately familiar with the Black community’s skepticism about Covid-19 vaccines. The Baltimore pastor — who has also worked for 30 years in federal and other public health programs — has been using his remote pulpit for almost a year to preach about the power and safety of vaccines, weaving together science and religion in a way he may be uniquely qualified to do. (Sokolow, 2/2)

The Washington Post: As Teachers Struggle For Vaccines, A Celebrity SoulCycle Instructor Hopped The Line By Calling Herself An ‘Educator’
After driving an hour to a Staten Island coronavirus vaccination site on Friday, SoulCycle celebrity instructor Stacey Griffith made her case to officials as to why she should receive a first dose of the Moderna vaccine. What qualified Griffith, a spin instructor with a cult following among New York’s wealthy gym-goers, for the hard-to-come-by vaccine? The 52-year-old was an “educator,” she told the Daily Beast this weekend. (Shepherd, 2/2)

KHN: With Demand Far Exceeding Supply, It Matters That People Are Jumping The Vaccine Line 
The Biden administration’s much-needed national strategy to end the covid-19 pandemic includes plans to remedy the chaotic vaccination effort with “more people, more places, more supply.” The Federal Emergency Management Agency will open more vaccination sites, the government will buy more doses, and more people will be immunized. Still, by all estimates, the demand for vaccines will far exceed the supply for months to come. For weeks, Americans have watched those who are well connected, wealthy or crafty “jump the line” to get a vaccine, while others are stuck, endlessly waiting on hold to get an appointment, watching sign-up websites crash or loitering outside clinics in the often-futile hope of getting a shot. (Rosenthal, 2/2)

KHN: When Your Chance For A Covid Shot Comes, Don’t Worry About The Numbers 
When getting vaccinated against covid-19, there’s no sense being picky. You should take the first authorized vaccine that’s offered, experts say. The newest covid vaccine on the horizon, from Johnson & Johnson, is probably a little less effective at preventing sickness than the two shots already being administered around the United States, from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. On Friday, Johnson & Johnson announced that, in a 45,000-person trial, its vaccine was about 66% effective at preventing moderate to severe covid illness. No one who received the vaccine was hospitalized with or died of the disease, according to the company, which said it expected to seek Food and Drug Administration authorization as early as this week. If the agency authorizes use of the vaccine, millions of doses could be shipped out of J&J’s warehouses beginning in late February. (Allen and Szabo, 2/1)

AP: US Won't Make Immigration Arrests At Virus Vaccination Sites
The U.S. government says it won’t be making routine immigration enforcement arrests at COVID-19 vaccination sites. Vaccination sites will be considered “sensitive locations” and generally off limits for enforcement actions, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Monday. (2/1)

The Hill: DHS Encourages Vaccination Regardless Of Immigration Status 
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday said it would not conduct enforcement activities near COVID-19 vaccination sites as a way to encourage immigrants to seek the vaccine regardless of their status. “It is a moral and public health imperative to ensure that all individuals residing in the United States have access to the vaccine,” the agency wrote in a release. “DHS is committed to ensuring that every individual who needs a vaccine can get one, regardless of their immigration status.” (Beitsch, 2/1)

In other updates on the vaccine rollout —

Politico: Blizzard Halts Vaccination Efforts Across Northeast
A sprawling winter storm crippled Covid-19 vaccination sites across the Northeast on Monday, further complicating an undertaking that’s been marred by repeated delays and delivery problems. Officials halted distribution efforts from Washington to Maine as the storm marched up the East Coast, where it’s expected to leave as much as 2 feet of snow in some areas. The delays come just as health officials warn new, more easily transmissible strains of the virus could be identified throughout the region. (Young and Eisenberg, 2/1)

Houston Chronicle: FEMA Is Stepping In To Help With Texas' COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution
As part of President Joe Biden's plan to give 150 million vaccinations over 100 days, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is deploying or supporting vaccination efforts in 11 states, including Texas. Arizona, Nevada, Texas and Washington are currently home to nine federally supported vaccination sites as of Jan. 27, NBC News' Laura Strickler and Dennis Romero reported over the weekend.(Rosenthal, 2/1)

Georgia Health News: Health Agency Freezes Employee Vacations, Citing Pandemic 
The state’s Department of Public Health has told its employees – already stretched from pandemic duty — that they can’t take annual leave or vacation till at least April. In a Jan. 8 memo obtained by Georgia Health News, the state agency described a three-month moratorium on taking leave due to the vaccination rollout. (Miller, 2/1)

Modern Healthcare: Optum Says It Erroneously Billed 249 People For COVID-19 Vaccine
Optum accidentally charged 249 Medicare Advantage enrollees for the COVID-19 vaccine. The New Mexico Superintendent of Insurance Office said that the UnitedHealth Group subsidiary accidentally charged enrollees $34 for the administration of the vaccine and $0.05 for the vaccine itself. An Optum spokesperson said the company is contacting anyone who was sent an invoice to tell them that they do not need to pay any fees associated with the coronavirus vaccine, and all members who have already paid the bill will receive a refund. (Tepper, 2/1)

The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Vaccines To Stress-Test Grocery Stores And Pharmacies 
Some of America’s biggest retailers are preparing to take a central role in administering Covid-19 shots, hoping to avoid logjams and other complications that have slowed the vaccine rollout’s early days. The U.S. fell far short of its initial goal of inoculating 20 million people by the end of 2020, with health departments, hospital systems and long-term-care facilities beset by supply-chain bottlenecks, vaccine hesitancy and confusing, scattershot systems for making appointments. (Terlep and Kang, 2/1)

KHN: Head-Scratching Over Newsom’s Choice Of Blue Shield To Lead Vaccination Push 
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, struggling to salvage a once-bright political future dimmed by his mishandling of the covid crisis, tapped nonprofit health insurer Blue Shield of California last week to allocate the state’s covid vaccine. The company has thus far said little about how it plans to reorganize a gargantuan and complicated vaccination campaign that has befuddled and frustrated public health officials and vaccine seekers alike. (Wolfson, 2/1)

KHN and WHYY: In Philadelphia, A Scandal Erupts Over Vaccination Startup Led By 22-Year-Old 
It started as a group of college friends who wanted to help during the pandemic. They had tech skills, so they used 3D printers to make face shields. Then they organized as a nonprofit, Philly Fighting Covid, and opened a testing site in a Philadelphia neighborhood that didn’t have one yet. The organization’s leader, Andrei Doroshin, had bigger ambitions. Even before the first coronavirus vaccine was authorized, the 22-year-old graduate student at Drexel University planned to get involved, although he has no background in health care. (Feldman, Marin and Yu, 2/2)

AP: Biden Meets Republicans On Virus Aid, But No Quick Deal
President Joe Biden told Republican senators during a two-hour meeting he’s unwilling to settle on an insufficient coronavirus aid package after they pitched their slimmed down $618 billion proposal that’s a fraction of the $1.9 trillion he is seeking. No compromise was reached in the lengthy session Monday night, Biden’s first with lawmakers at the White House, and Democrats in Congress pushed ahead with groundwork for approving his COVID relief plan with or without Republican votes. Despite the Republican group’s appeal for bipartisanship, as part of Biden’s efforts to unify the country, the president made it clear he won’t delay aid in hopes of winning GOP support. (Mascaro, Boak and Lemire, 2/2)

The Washington Post: Biden, Senate Republicans Hold Lengthy Meeting On Coronavirus Relief Bill
A group of Senate Republicans held a nearly two-hour meeting with President Biden on Monday night to discuss coronavirus relief legislation, emerging to sound upbeat notes about continuing to work together — but with no deal in hand. Biden has proposed a $1.9 trillion relief package that Democratic leaders want to move quickly through Congress. The 10-member GOP group led by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) countered with a much narrower $618 billion proposal, and appealed to Biden to make good on his campaign promises to seek bipartisan unity. (Werner Stein and Min Kim, 2/1)

Politico: Biden Takes A Fine-If-We-Get-It Approach To Bipartisanship 
Joe Biden was eager to meet with Republican senators Monday to discuss Covid relief legislation. But the show of bipartisanship is likely to be just that — a show. Advisers to the president say they are mindful of getting bogged down in talks with Republicans, whose offer didn’t even meet the president halfway on his $1.9 trillion package. And current White House aides who served in the Obama administration confess to being particularly wary after Republicans drew out negotiations and stonewalled much of the former president’s agenda. (Pager, Kumar and Barron-Lopez, 2/1)

The Hill: White House Signals It Does Not Expect Breakthrough On COVID-19 Relief At Meeting With GOP 
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday that President Biden would not “make or accept an offer” during a meeting with Republican senators on coronavirus relief later in the day and that he remains committed to a large package. “It’s an exchange of ideas, an opportunity to do that,” Psaki said of the meeting. “What this meeting is not is a forum for the president to make or accept an offer.” (Chalfant, 2/1)

In related news about the covid-relief bill —

The Washington Post: How Biden Could Use Reconciliation To Get Americans Coronavirus Relief Checks 
Two paths have emerged for the next round of coronavirus relief — putting President Biden’s stated desire to reach across the aisle to get legislation passed to an early test, and setting up Democrats to find out how united really is their slim 50-50 Senate majority. Most bills require 60 votes to pass in the Senate; that’s why Biden on Monday is meeting with a group of 10 GOP senators who have a $618 billion counterproposal, a package less than a third of the size he is seeking. (Stevenson, 2/1)

The Hill: West Virginia Governor Urges Congress To 'Go Big' On COVID-19 Relief   
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, a Republican, on Monday argued that fiscal concerns should be set aside as the nation struggles to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, putting pressure on centrist Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) to support a large COVID-19 relief bill. (Bolton, 2/1)

The Hill: Schumer Vows Senate Will Take Up 'Bold' Coronavirus Bill, Rejecting GOP Offer 
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) vowed on Monday that the Senate would take up a "bold" coronavirus relief package, appearing to reject a smaller offer from Republicans. "Congress must pursue a bold and robust course of action. It makes no sense to pinch pennies when so many Americans are struggling," Schumer said from the Senate floor. (Carney, 2/1)

Also —

The Washington Post: CBO: U.S. Unemployment Rate To Remain Above Pre-Pandemic Level Through Decade 
The nation’s unemployment rate will not return to its pre-pandemic levels through the rest of this decade, meaning millions could be out of work even after vaccines are widely distributed, according to a projection released Monday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The nonpartisan budget office also projected a faster-than-expected rebound in economic growth as the nation’s economy recovers more quickly than analysts had initially expected. (Stein and Van Dam, 2/1)

The Washington Post: Judge Throws Out Trump Rule Limiting What Science EPA Can Use
A federal judge on Monday vacated the Trump administration rule limiting which scientific studies the Environmental Protection Agency can use in crafting public health protections, overturning one of the last major actions taken by the agency before President Biden took office. The ruling by Judge Brian Morris, chief judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, Great Falls, marked a victory for environmental groups and public health advocates. Just two weeks before Biden’s inauguration, EPA finalized a rule requiring researchers to disclose the raw data involved in their public health studies before the agency could rely upon their conclusions. (Eilperin, 2/1)

The Hill: Court Tosses Trump EPA's 'Secret Science' Rule  
Trump administration officials had billed it as a transparency measure and a way to combat "secret science." Opponents warned that it could hamstring the use of major health studies that keep their data under wraps for legitimate reasons including privacy. The rule didn’t eliminate the use of all studies with private data but gave preference to those with public data. An EPA spokesperson said in an email that the agency was "pleased" with the decision to vacate the rule. (Frazin, 2/1)

Bloomberg Law: Court Kills Trump ‘Secret Science’ Rule In Win For Biden EPA
The decision saves President Joe Biden’s administration the significant time and resources it would have had to spend to unwind the Trump administration rule through a standard rulemaking process. (Gilmer, 2/1)

Also —

Scientific American: Biden Elevates Science In Week One Actions
Were it not for the pandemic, combating cancer might have been Biden’s key health initiative. In 2016, as vice president, he launched the National Cancer Moonshot after his son Beau Biden died of brain cancer. That program—renamed Cancer Breakthroughs 2020 in 2017—pools resources to develop new therapies for various cancers. “There’s no question that there's going to be opportunities to build on that Cancer Moonshot initiative, especially with President Biden being in the office,” says Jon Retzlaff, chief policy officer and vice president of science policy and government affairs at the American Association for Cancer Research. While Congress has provided “wonderful support” for medical research over the past six years, he adds, the White House has not provided similar backing. “There’s no question that President Biden recognizes the importance of science,” Retzlaff says. “He understands cancer research better than any president we’ve ever had.” (Daley, 1/28)

Stat: Biden Tasks Connected, Controversial Geneticist With ‘Reinvigorating’ Science
Joe Biden’s presence at meetings of the Obama administration’s scientific advisory council sometimes tested his staff’s patience. It wasn’t that the vice president was unwelcome, of course. It was that Biden’s tendency to linger long after the meetings ended invariably caused scheduling hiccups. (Facher, 2/1)

Politico: Trump Pollster's Campaign Autopsy Paints Damning Picture Of Defeat 
Former President Donald Trump has blamed the election results on unfounded claims of fraud and malfeasance. But at the top levels of his campaign, a detailed autopsy report that circulated among his political aides paints a far different — and more critical — portrait of what led to his defeat. The post-mortem, a copy of which was obtained by POLITICO, says the former president suffered from voter perception that he wasn’t honest or trustworthy and that he was crushed by disapproval of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. And while Trump spread baseless accusations of ballot-stuffing in heavily Black cities, the report notes that he was done in by hemorrhaging support from white voters. (Isenstadt, 2/1)

The Washington Post: Poor Handling Of Virus Cost Trump His Reelection, Campaign Autopsy Finds
Former president Donald Trump lost the 2020 election largely due to his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a post-election autopsy completed by Trump campaign pollster Tony Fabrizio. The 27-page document shows that voters in 10 key states rated the pandemic as their top voting issue, and President Biden won higher marks on the topic. The report also indicates that Trump lost ground among key demographic groups he needed. (Dawsey, 2/1)

In other news related to the Trump administration —

NPR: Meatpacking Companies, OSHA Face Investigation Over Coronavirus In Plants
A U.S. House subcommittee is investigating coronavirus outbreaks at meatpacking plants, citing the deaths of more than 250 employees nationwide and accusing the Trump administration of failing to enforce worker safety laws. Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., chairman of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, announced the probe in a press release on Monday. He said he sent letters requesting documents from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, part of the Department of Labor, as well as three of the country's largest meatpacking companies: Tyson Foods, Smithfield Foods and JBS USA. (Treisman, 2/1)

AP: Biden Could Change Course In High Court Health Care Case
The pending Supreme Court case on the fate of the Affordable Care Act could give the Biden administration its first opportunity to chart a new course in front of the justices. The health care case, argued a week after the election in November, is one of several matters, along with immigration and a separate case on Medicaid work requirements, where the new administration could take a different position from the Trump administration at the high court. (Sherman, 1/31)

The New York Times: Alzheimer’s Prediction May Be Found In Writing Tests 
Is it possible to predict who will develop Alzheimer’s disease simply by looking at writing patterns years before there are symptoms? According to a new study by IBM researchers, the answer is yes. And, they and others say that Alzheimer’s is just the beginning. People with a wide variety of neurological illnesses have distinctive language patterns that, investigators suspect, may serve as early warning signs of their diseases. (Kolata, 2/1)

Big Think: How Anti-Tau Immunotherapies May Treat Alzheimer's Disease 
At the Feinstein Institutes, Dr. Philippe Marambaud and his colleagues have been focusing on the lesser-explored Alzheimer's component: abnormal tau. In healthy brains, tau plays several important functions, including stabilizing internal microtubules in neurons. But in the brains of Alzheimer's patients, a process called phosphorylation changes the structure of tau proteins. This blocks synaptic communication. Dr. Marambaud said there are good reasons to think anti-tau therapies may effectively treat Alzheimer's. (Johnson, 2/1)

WTHI Indiana: The Alzheimer's Association Is Pushing For House Bill 1542 To Pass
The Alzheimer's Association is urging lawmakers to pass house bill 1542. This is geared toward strengthening Indiana's approach to Alzheimer's and dementia. House bill 1542 will do three main things: Require the state of Indiana to have a dementia coordinator within state government. Have a revised and updated plan for Alzheimer's dementia diseases for the state and provide basic training for first responders on how to engage with folks who have dementia. (Williams, 2/1)

Singer Tony Bennett has disclosed he is battling Alzheimer's disease —

NPR: Tony Bennett Has Alzheimer's Disease
The family of legendary singer Tony Bennett — a staple presence who introduced generations to the American songbook and pop standards — says he has Alzheimer's disease. The announcement was made in a profile of Bennett published by AARP The Magazine on Monday; his wife, Susan Benedetto, says that he was diagnosed with the debilitating disease in 2016. On Monday morning, Bennett's Twitter account posted a note in the singer's name, writing: "Life is a gift - even with Alzheimer's. Thank you to Susan and my family for their support, and AARP The Magazine for telling my story." (Tsioulcas, 2/1)

CBS Los Angeles: Tony Bennett’s Alzheimer’s Diagnosis Again Puts Spotlight On Link Between Music, Memory 
Despite the debilitating diagnosis, [Tony] Bennett’s wife, Susan, said the 18-time Grammy winner does not need cue cars to sing his classics. The link between music and memory is something scientists and doctors at UC Irvine are continuing to study at UCI Mind — an institute for memory impairments and neurological disorders that’s at the forefront of Alzheimer’s disease research. “It turns out that, not surprisingly, the brain handles different kinds of information differently, and music is different from language, from recognizing words, and other things and things around us,” Dr. David Sultzer, director of clinical research at UCI Mind, said. “So how the brain works with music is different, and it appears to be less affected by the Alzheimer’s process than for example written words or memory for information that we learned yesterday.” (2/1)

Fox 2 Now: Why Some Families Keep An Alzheimer’s Diagnosis A Secret 
Legendary singer Tony Bennett’s family has broken their silence and revealed that he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Sarah Lovegreen of the Alzheimer’s Association Greater Missouri Chapter joined Fox 2’s digital reporter Aprylete Russell to discuss why some families keep an Alzheimer’s diagnosis a secret. She says it is not easy for any family to break the silence around a loved one’s diagnosis with Alzheimer’s disease. (Russell, 2/1)

The Hill: CDC Issues Guidelines On Attending Super Bowl Celebrations Amid Coronavirus Pandemic 
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued guidelines on attending celebrations and watch parties for and ahead of the Super Bowl on Sunday. The CDC advised that “attending large gatherings like the Super Bowl increases your risk of getting and spreading COVID-19,” calling on fans to watch the game at home with the people who live with them instead of hosting or attending a gathering. (Pitofsky, 2/1)

CNN: Super Bowl: Watch At Home With People With Whom You Live, CDC Says 
The pandemic has affected nearly every facet of daily life and the Super Bowl is no exception. The yearly game to settle who is the champion of the NFL is this Sunday. The game, along with its accompanying hype and parties, comes just as health officials are begging Americans to hunker down to help stop the spread of new strains of the coronavirus. (Wood, 2/1)

The New York Times: What To Know About Covid-19 And The 2021 Super Bowl 
But like everything else in the year since the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe, Super Bowl LV in Tampa, Fla., has been adapted to Covid-19 health guidelines and scaled down, despite the excitement over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers becoming the first N.F.L. team to play in the championship game in its home venue — Raymond James Stadium. While the football being played on Sunday will look largely the same as in other years, nearly everything else surrounding the Super Bowl will be different. (Belson, 2/2)

In other public health news —

Philadelphia Inquirer: Pandemic-Weary People Are Still Having Risky Sex, But STD Test Kits Are In Short Supply, Philly Experts Say
Public health experts say their fears about pandemic-related testing supply shortages are coming true as tests for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) decline even as risky sex behavior may be more prevalent. Last summer, sexual health centers sounded the alarm that the pandemic was affecting their ability to screen patients for STDs. The issue is particularly concerning in Philadelphia, where rates of syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia have for years far exceeded national averages. Many centers had to temporarily suspend their walk-in testing services — some of which serve patients who don’t have health insurance — and saw a drop in the number of people getting tested. (Ao, 2/2)

Atlanta Journal Constitution: Pandemic Baby Boom Turned Out To Be Bust Despite Lockdown
The baby boom that many Americans predicted would result from couples being isolated together during the coronavirus pandemic has not panned out so far. Instead, the opposite occurred in 2020, with more than 50,000 fewer births in several U.S. states compared with a year earlier, according to a survey conducted by the Guttmacher Institute. Birth rates in Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii and Ohio saw significant declines in the nine months after COVID-19 was declared a national emergency, Bloomberg News reported. (Lee, 2/1)

The Hill: Violent Crime Spikes, Property Crime Eases In Pandemic 
The number of violent crimes committed in large American cities increased dramatically over the last year as the coronavirus pandemic raged. A new report from the National Commission on Covid-19 and Criminal Justice and Arnold Ventures found homicide rates spiking an average of 30 percent over 2019 levels last year, a rise that meant an additional 1,268 deaths in the 34 major cities the report covered. (Wilson, 2/1)

Stat: Survey: Majority Of Docs Hold Misconceptions About People With Disabilities
A new survey of U.S. doctors finds that more than 80% believe people with a significant disability have a worse quality of life than those who are not disabled, underscoring how physicians’ perceptions across specialties could negatively influence the care of the more than 61 million Americans with disabilities. (Sohn, 2/1)

North Carolina Health News: Fat Bias At The Doctor’s Takes Serious Toll 
Alyssa McCord would rather not see a doctor at all. The upstate New York native who now lives in Jacksonville with her husband and daughter attributes some of her reluctance to upbringing. Her parents only went to the doctor when absolutely necessary, she said. The other part of that reluctance, says the 38 year old, is how providers react to her weight. (Engel-Smith, 2/2)

In other health care industry news —

Bloomberg: Humana To Join Cigna Drug-Buying Group For Some Members
Humana Inc. has agreed to join a purchasing group run by rival Cigna Corp. in a move that the health insurer says will help drive down its drug costs for its commercial members. Beginning April 1, Humana will join a Cigna purchasing organization called Ascent Health Services to give it access to greater discounts from drugmakers, the companies confirmed to Bloomberg News. Ascent manages commercial rebates, the payments that drugmakers make to health plans. The agreement covers drug contracting and negotiations for Humana’s commercial business. (Tozzi, 2/1)

Modern Healthcare: Humana Partners With In-Home Provider For 24/7 Care
Humana has partnered with in-home service provider DispatchHealth to offer in-home emergency and acute care to its 8.4 million Medicare members, as demand for out-of-office treatment rises during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among those living with chronic conditions. The Louisville, Ken.-based insurer will immediately roll out DispatchHealth's services to enrollees in Denver, Colo. and Tacoma, Wash., with plans to expand to cities in Texas, Arizona, and Nevada by the end of the year. The Denver, Colo.-based home healthcare provider offers patients 24/7 remote monitoring by an internal medicine physician specialized in ER training, a physician's assistant and a nurse practitioner, along with daily visits from providers, including bedside nursing. (Tepper, 2/1)

The New York Times: How Rich Hospitals Profit From Patients In Car Crashes 
When Monica Smith was badly hurt in a car accident, she assumed Medicaid would cover the medical bills. Ms. Smith, 45, made sure to show her insurance card after an ambulance took her to Parkview Regional Medical Center in Fort Wayne, Ind. She spent three days in the hospital and weeks in a neck brace. But the hospital never sent her bills to Medicaid, which would have paid for the care in full, and the hospital refused requests to do so. Instead, it pursued an amount five times higher from Ms. Smith directly by placing a lien on her accident settlement. (Kliff and Silver-Greenberg, 2/1)

Stat: PBMs Take Heavy Criticism From A New Source: Local Officials
In what is being described as an unusual move, a Pennsylvania county is openly blaming pharmacy benefit managers for high prices in the opaque pharmaceutical pricing system, a move that suggests more local officials may start scrutinizing these controversial middlemen. (Silverman, 2/1)

Stat: How Training AI To Learn From Patients Could Offer More Insight Into Pain
For years, AI researchers have focused their energy on developing algorithms capable of sharpening or rapidly replicating a doctor’s own judgment. When it comes to pain, though, patients’ own judgement can be just as important, if not more so, in understanding a condition. (Brodwin, 2/2)

San Francisco Chronicle: State Report Details How Botched Inmate Transfers Sparked 'Public Health Disaster' At San Quentin
California prison officials and medical staff sparked a “public health disaster” with their botched handling of prisoner transfers to San Quentin and Corcoran state prisons last year, the state’s Office of Inspector General said in a blistering report Monday. Prison operators also failed to contain the disaster after inmates starting falling sick from coronavirus infections, the report said. The OIG is responsible for oversight and monitoring of the state’s correctional system. The 60-page report said executives from California Correctional Health Care Services pressured officials at the California Institute for Men in Chino to rush the medical screenings of 189 incarcerated people before transferring them to Corcoran State Prison and San Quentin State Prison. (Williams, 2/1)

The New York Times: 9 Top N.Y. Health Officials Have Quit As Cuomo Scorns Expertise 
The deputy commissioner for public health at the New York State Health Department resigned in late summer. Soon after, the director of its bureau of communicable disease control also stepped down. So did the medical director for epidemiology. Last month, the state epidemiologist said she, too, would be leaving. The drumbeat of high-level departures in the middle of the pandemic came as morale plunged in the Health Department and senior health officials expressed alarm to one another over being sidelined and treated disrespectfully, according to five people with direct experience inside the department. Their concern had an almost singular focus: Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. (Goodman, Goldstein and McKinley, 2/1)

AP: Bill Requires North Dakota's Health Officer To Be A Doctor
The North Dakota Legislature is considering a measure that would require the state’s health officer to be a practicing licensed physician .The Republican-backed bill comes after a trio of health officers hand-picked by GOP Gov. Doug Burgum quit while the coronavirus pandemic was worsening in the state. Dirk Wilke, who has no medical training, has been the interim state health officer since September. (MacPherson, 2/1)

Politico: 'F---Ing Livid': Florida Democratic Party Chair Pledges To Fix Insurance Lapse That Blindsided Staff
The cash-strapped Florida Democratic Party allowed health insurance for its employees to lapse late last year, leaving some staff unable to pay medical bills and rattling the already struggling organization anew. Insurance for employees of the state party ended on Nov. 30, according to records and staffers interviewed by POLITICO. The decision left many staff unknowingly without health coverage for weeks. Some had piled up medical bills they'd later be on the hook for as they scheduled post-election procedures and appointments believing they had coverage, according to interviews with seven current and former party staffers and officials. (Dixon, 2/1)

The Wall Street Journal: Chicago Schools Make Progress In Talks With Teachers On Reopening 
City leaders cited progress in its talks with the teachers union over a plan to reopen elementary schools amid the coronavirus pandemic and called for a two-day cooling-off period to resolve remaining issues. The nation’s third-largest school district also said it wouldn’t take away teachers’ access to remote learning software, a step the teacher’s union has said could trigger a strike. (Barrett, 2/1)

Oklahoman: Controversial Quarantine Policy Being Adopted By Some Rural Oklahoma Schools
A controversial policy waiving quarantines for students and school staff is gaining traction in some corners of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma State Department of Health and Gov. Kevin Stitt announced the new guidance Jan. 12 to allow students and staff to skip quarantine entirely. To qualify, an exposure to COVID-19 must occur in a classroom setting where all students and staff are wearing masks. Exposures during after-school activities, including athletics, are still subject to quarantine. (Martinez-Keel, 2/1)

The Hill: Michigan County Prosecutor Dismissing All Charges Related To Violating Whitmer's COVID-19 Orders
The Wayne County, Michigan, prosecutor declared on Monday that she will dismiss all charges related to  the violation of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D) COVID-19 executive orders after a state Supreme Court ruling. Prosecutor Kym Worthy’s office released a statement announcing that the almost 1,700 cases in the county involving violations of Whitmer’s coronavirus restrictions, most of which were in Detroit, would be dismissed. (Coleman, 2/1)

In other news —

AP: Nebraska To Start Issuing Emergency SNAP Benefits On Feb. 9
Nebraska will start issuing emergency supplemental nutrition benefits to people who qualify on Feb. 9, state officials said Monday. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services said recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, will get increased money on their EBT cards. The extra assistance comes from the federal government. (2/1)

Kansas City Star: KS Governor Proposes Medical Marijuana To Fund Medicaid Plan 
Gov. Laura Kelly proposed Monday that Kansas pay for expansion of Medicaid with revenue from the sale and taxation of medical marijuana. The plan would require lawmakers to legalize the sale of marijuana for medical use, which would likely be controversial. Kelly told reporters that the approach eliminates the argument that Kansas cannot afford to expand Medicaid to provide health coverage for an additional 165,000 low-income residents. (Bernard and Hoover, 2/1)

Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis Councilors Vote To Support Ban On 'Conversion Therapy'
The Indianapolis City-County Council passed a special resolution Monday night that supports banning so-called conversion therapy, a move that endorses a similar effort at the statehouse that would ban the practice administered to people in the LGBTQ community. At least 20 states have banned the practice of "conversion therapy," according to the American Psychological Association — one of several professional groups that have opposed the practice. The council's special resolution, which does not wield any actual authority, passed the majority-Democratic council. (Pak-Harvey, 2/1)

Reuters: UK Begins Door-To-Door Testing Of 80,000 People As New COVID Variants Spread 
Britain begins a door-to-door COVID-19 testing of 80,000 people on Tuesday in a bid to stem the spread of a new highly infectious so called South African variant of the novel coronavirus. Public Health England said it had identified a total of 105 cases of the South African variant since Dec. 22, and to contain new outbreaks, residents in eight areas of the country will now be tested whether or not they are showing symptoms, a process known as “surge testing”. (McKay, 2/2)

The Washington Post: Dozens Of Countries Have No Plan To Vaccinate Refugees Against The Coronavirus. That Could Be A Fatal Flaw, Experts Warn
With a few clicks, Rowi Alomur, 38, a Syrian refugee and mother of two living in northwestern Jordan, signed up for a free coronavirus vaccine this month through a national online platform. With the priority set for those 65 and older, or with certain underlying conditions, Alomur told The Washington Post that she is awaiting a text message that will tell her when and where to go for her shot when her turn comes up. Among the world’s millions of refugees, her experience stands out. Jordan is one of the few countries to have begun vaccinating refugees as inoculation programs begin. Millions of others have been excluded from their host countries’ national vaccine programs or face added barriers to access. That could ultimately leave everyone at risk. (Berger, 2/1)

AP: Tanzania Says No Plans In Place To Accept COVID-19 Vaccines
Tanzania’s health ministry says it has no plans in place to accept COVID-19 vaccines, just days after the president of the country of 60 million people expressed doubt about the vaccines without offering evidence. Health Minister Dorothy Gwajima told a press conference in the capital, Dodoma, on Monday that “the ministry has no plans to receive vaccines for COVID-19.” Any vaccines must receive ministry approval. It is not clear when any vaccines might arrive, though Tanzania is eligible for the COVAX global effort aimed at delivering doses to low- and middle-income countries. (2/2)

AP: South Africa Welcomes First Delivery Of COVID-19 Vaccines
South Africa gave a hero’s welcome Monday to the delivery of its first COVID-19 vaccines — 1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa greeted the crates of vaccine that arrived at Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport. The shipment will be followed up later this month by another 500,000 doses. (Meldrum, 2/1)

AP: WHO Team Visits Animal Disease Center In Wuhan, China
World Health Organization experts visited an animal disease center in the Chinese city of Wuhan on Tuesday as part of their investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. Team member Peter Daszak told reporters later they had “excellent facilities, very informative meeting,” and he tweeted the team met with staff in charge of the health of livestock in Hubei province, toured laboratories and had an “in-depth” discussion along with questions and answers. (2/2)

Chicago Tribune: Teachers Stay Home Due To Science, Then Ignore Science When It’s Time To Go Back
Chicago Public Schools have been on the verge of an illegal teachers strike, though Monday evening both sides made progress in talks. Still, without an agreement, thousands of children who already lost so much ground during the pandemic stand to suffer even more as the Chicago Teachers Union, and teacher unions in several suburban districts, prepare for full-blown strikes. Remember that the next time you hear union leaders claim to be a voice for “the children.” Here is some of the actual science that is making it harder for teachers unions to continue to justify staying home: On reopening schools and community spread: “The preponderance of available evidence from the fall school semester has been reassuring,” three researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wrote in an opinion piece published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association. “… there has been little evidence that schools have contributed meaningfully to increased community transmission.” (2/1)

The Washington Post: I’m A Fairfax Teacher, And I Want To Be Back In The Classroom
As a Fairfax County teacher, and after more than 300 days of teaching first grade from home, I am sad and frustrated. It’s infuriating that the Fairfax Education Association and the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers are blocking a return to the classroom. These organizations do not speak for all teachers in Fairfax County, including me, and they certainly do not serve the students of Fairfax County well. More than half of Fairfax County Public Schools-based employees do not belong to a union, yet these associations claim to be the voice of FCPS employees. Private and parochial schools in Fairfax County and other public school systems in the greater metropolitan area have successfully returned to in-person school without community spread. (Lauren Downs, 1/29)

The Washington Post: As An Educator, I Qualified For The Vaccine. Why Did I Feel So Guilty Getting It?
PHOENIX — “Isn’t it great to be here?” the woman asked as I pulled my car up next to her, under one of the white tents dotting the State Farm Stadium parking lot in Glendale, Ariz. I wasn’t so sure. Before the world changed, this had been prime tailgating territory. Now it’s the site of a 24/7 vaccination operation. I barely felt the prick of the needle that injected the covid-19 vaccine. Instead, I felt a swirl of emotions: privileged, blessed and guilty all at once. (Fernanda Santos, 1/26)

The Wall Street Journal: Catholic Schools Are Beating Covid
Amid all the pain and disruption, a year of coronavirus has given Americans a new respect for those working to keep daily life as normal as possible, from the frontline nurse to the Amazon delivery man. Near the top of this honor roll is an especially unsung hero: the Catholic-school teacher. The National Catholic Education Association reports that its schools boast a total enrollment of 1,626,291. In ordinary times their teachers do an extraordinary job, especially for their poor and minority students. As Justice Sonia Sotomayor once said, “Catholic schools have been a pipeline to opportunity” for people like her—poor, Latina, raised by a single mom. Since the Covid-19 outbreak, Catholic-school administrators have moved heaven and earth to keep their classrooms open to new generations of Sotomayors. (William McGurn, 2/1)

The Hill: Finding Common Ground On Stopping The Next Pandemic 
As the new administration takes over pandemic relief efforts, whether continuing to distribute vaccines developed by Operation Warp Speed, or providing new economic relief, thinking about the next global pandemic may seem daunting. Yet there is no better time to confront the fact that the United States remains vulnerable to the next global pandemic. (Jim Richardson, 2/1)

The New York Times: Long-Haul Covid And The Chronic Illness Debate
In this paper’s Sunday Magazine about a week ago, there were two powerful stories about so-called long-haul Covid — a form of the disease that seems to leave certain patients permanently sick, creating a legacy of chronic illness that may be with us long after vaccines have consigned the pandemic’s acute phase to the past. (Ross Douthat, 2/1)

Stat: HHS's 'Sunset Rule' Will Save Money And Lives 
There has been a lot of hand-wringing lately over a new regulation from the Department of Health and Human Services known as the sunset rule. This regulation, which was finalized in the waning days of the Trump administration, is meant to motivate HHS to periodically review its regulations to reduce their burdens on small businesses. It does so by attaching expiration dates — known as sunset provisions — to most rules under HHS authority. (James Broughel, 2/2)

USA Today: COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout Needs A Shot Of Equity
In the rush to get as many people as possible vaccinated against COVID-19, the United States has become obsessed with numbers. How many doses have been distributed? How many people can be inoculated in President Joe Biden’s first 100 days? Is 1 million doses a day too modest, and is 1.5 million too bold? What percentage of people need to be vaccinated to reach herd immunity? Yes, we should work to get shots in as many arms as possible, but we must start by getting shots in the right arms. As two people who have worked in public health for decades — including at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — and have been involved in vaccine distribution strategies at the federal, state and local level, we’re concerned that the most important question of all is one being left out our national conversation: Is America’s vaccination effort reaching all of those who need to be vaccinated now? From what we have seen, the answer is no. (Richard Besser and Julie Morita, 2/2)

The New York Times: How New York’s Vaccine Program Missed Black And Hispanic Residents 
New York’s vaccination program is struggling. Several weeks in, the state still needs significant help from the federal government — millions more vaccine doses, but also money to set up distribution sites, help staff them and other basic infrastructure. Those people currently eligible for vaccines — New Yorkers 65 and older and certain essential workers — also need more help getting them. This includes providing better information about how to sign up, in as many languages as New Yorkers speak; a system for doing so that doesn’t rely primarily on having internet access; vouchers to ensure no lost pay for missed work; more vaccine clinics open late nights and weekends. (2/1)

The Washington Post: How To Fix Racial Inequity In Covid-19 Vaccination 
Black Americans have suffered one of the highest death rates from covid-19, with 1 out of 735 Black Americans dying from the disease, according to the latest data. For White Americans, that figure is 1 in 1,030.Yet White Americans are being vaccinated at rates of up to three times higher than Black Americans, as early data from the 23 states that are reporting racial and ethnic data on vaccinations show. In fact, across the country there are reports of majority-Black areas struggling to deal with nonresident White people traveling to their communities to be vaccinated. (Uché Blackstock and Oni Blackstock, 2/1)

CNN: Undocumented Must Be Covered Under Covid-19 Relief Legislation
Essential workers have kept our nation running during the Covid-19 crisis at extraordinary personal cost, bearing the emotional burden and health risks of potential daily exposure to a deadly virus. Yet nearly a year into this crisis, frontline workers remain under protected and undercompensated -- especially the estimated more than 5 million undocumented workers in essential industries who have endured an additional fear: the possibility of deportation. (Alex Padilla, Elizabeth Warren and Joaquin Castro, 2/1)

The Wall Street Journal: Why Operation Warp Speed Worked 
Every day new questions and criticisms arise about Operation Warp Speed, the public-private vaccine development initiative launched by presidential order in May 2020. Most of that criticism focuses on the distribution bottlenecks that have developed in different states, as Americans are impatient with the slow pace of the rollout. Jen Psaki, President Biden’s press secretary, has claimed to see an “urgent need to address failures of the Trump team approach to vaccine distribution.” Some in the new administration even want to rename the program. Nearly all these claims rest on a misunderstanding both of Operation Warp Speed’s mission and its nature as a government program. (Arthur Herman, 2/1)

CNN: Your Neighborhood Pharmacist Can Help Speed The Vaccine Rollout
Pharmacists have received some bad publicity lately. A Wisconsin pharmacist accused of taking 57 vials of Covid-19 vaccine from cold storage because he believed in unfounded conspiracy theories, has pleaded guilty to trying to make the Covid-19 vaccine ineffective. Big-chain pharmacies have been criticized for their slow vaccine rollouts in nursing homes. And even state boards of pharmacy are accused of putting too many roadblocks in the way of certifying older or non-community pharmacists to administer the vaccines. (Mohamed Jalloh, 2/2)

The New York Times: The Republican Economic Plan Is An Insult 
So 10 Republican senators are proposing an economic package that is supposed to be an alternative to President Biden’s American Rescue Plan. The proposal is only a third of the size of Biden’s plan and would in important ways cut the heart out of economic relief. Republicans, however, want Biden to give in to their wishes in the name of bipartisanship. Should he? No, no, 1.9 trillion times, no. (Paul Krugman, 2/1)

The Hill: If GOP Blocks Biden's COVID Rescue Plan, America's Working Poor Will Suffer 
President Joe Biden’s proposed $1.9 trillion COVID relief proposal, known as the "American Rescue Plan" would prevent millions of working families from falling even deeper into poverty. It is desperately needed, because the COVID-recession has resulted in millions of low-income workers losing their jobs, working fewer hours and having to stay home to care for children out of school due to the pandemic. (Mark Wolfe and Deborah Weinstein, 2/1)

The Wall Street Journal: Biden’s Covid Spending Choice
Americans are about to learn whether President Biden means what he has said so often about governing in a bipartisan fashion. The test is whether he negotiates with Senate Republicans over his $1.9 trillion Covid spending bill, or jams it through using a budget maneuver that requires only 50 votes plus Vice President Kamala Harris. Democratic leaders seem eager to use what’s known as budget reconciliation that dodges the 60-vote filibuster bill for tax and spending measures with certain limitations. After even moderate Republican Senators balked at the gigantic size of the $1.9 trillion Biden Covid-palooza, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said they’ll move soon to pass the bill on a partisan basis using reconciliation. (1/31)

Los Angeles Times: COVID Deniers Aren't Going Away. L.A. Needs A Plan
It was probably inevitable that the COVID-19 deniers would show up at Dodger Stadium. It’s one of the largest vaccination sites in the nation and can deliver up to 7,700 shots a day. And on Saturday that’s what happened. About 50 protesters came to shout misinformation about the coronavirus and wave signs at motorists waiting their turn to get a coveted COVID-19 vaccination. The demonstrators’ message wasn’t focused but rather expressed general opposition to all things COVID: masks, safer-at-home orders, vaccinations and science. (2/2)