The Hill: Surgeon General Tells States Not To Let Priority Guidelines Slow Vaccinations 
U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams on Tuesday urged states to speed up vaccinations by moving down the list of priority groups if supply is outstripping demand from one group. Adams’s comments about a way to increase the pace of vaccination come amid widespread concerns about the slow rollout of vaccines so far. Adams, speaking on NBC’s “Today” show, said states should not be so concerned about vaccinating people in the exact right order that they end up slowing down the process. (Sullivan, 1/5)

The New York Times: The U.S. Surgeon General Warns Not To Let Priority Guidelines Slow Down Vaccinations. 
Acknowledging that coronavirus vaccination around the United States was going slowly, Dr. Jerome Adams, the surgeon general, urged the states on Tuesday not to stick rigidly to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines about whom to vaccinate first. If fewer health care workers are agreeing to be vaccinated, he said, states should “move quickly to other priority groups,” such as people older than 75 and essential workers. (Goodnough, 1/5)

Pharmacists, dentists are being allowed to administer the covid shots —

Politico: Trump Administration Speeds Up Plan To Deliver Covid Shots In Pharmacies 
The Trump administration late Tuesday said it's accelerating a plan to begin offering coronavirus shots in pharmacies — a move that comes after federal officials faced fierce criticism for the slow pace of immunizations. Within the next two weeks, Operation Warp Speed, the federal government’s vaccine accelerator, estimates 3,000 to 6,000 pharmacies could begin administering Covid-19 shots, according to a senior HHS official. The administration announced in November that it would work with major pharmacy chains and independent community pharmacies to distribute vaccines but didn't lay out a timetable. (Roubein, 1/5)

Fox News: Coronavirus Vaccines Now Can Be Administered By Dentists In California
In an effort to speed California’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout, dentists in the state have been given the green light to administer the jab. On Monday, the California Department of Consumer Affairs approved a public health emergency waiver that will officially allow dentists to administer the vaccines to patients 16 years of age or older. "Dentists acting within the scope of this Order may independently initiate and administer to persons 16 years of age or older any COVID-19 vaccines that are approved or authorized by the FDA, as specified, and may also initiate and administer epinephrine or diphenhydramine by injection for the treatment of a severe allergic reaction," the order reads. (Farber, 1/5)

Federal health officials say they expect the pace to pick up soon —

Stat: Messonnier Predicts The Slow Vaccine Rollout Will Soon Speed Up
Nancy Messonnier, a top federal health official involved in the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, predicted on Tuesday that delays in the administration of the shots would improve soon, even as public health experts have piled up complaints about the slow rollout and about the gap between the number of doses distributed versus those actually going into people’s arms. (Joseph, 1/5)

AP: Fauci: US Could Soon Give 1 Million Vaccinations A Day
The U.S. could soon be giving at least a million COVID-19 vaccinations a day despite the sluggish start, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday, even as he warned of a dangerous next few weeks as the coronavirus surges. The slow pace is frustrating health officials and a desperate public alike, with only about a third of the first supplies shipped to states used as of Tuesday morning, just over three weeks into the vaccination campaign. “Any time you start a big program, there’s always glitches. I think the glitches have been worked out,” the nation’s top infectious disease expert told The Associated Press. (Neergaard, 1/5)

NPR: COVID-19 Vaccine May Not Get To Long-Term Care Facilities Quickly Enough
Long-term care facilities — places that care for the most vulnerable, high-risk populations — now account for close to 40% of all U.S. deaths due to the virus. "It is an American tragedy," said Elaine Ryan, vice president for state advocacy and strategy at AARP. "The states need to redouble their efforts to make sure that vaccines are being administered as quickly as possible." Only about 14% of the first shots distributed to long-term care facilities have gone into someone's arms via the federal pharmacy partnership, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Stone, 1/5)

USA Today: Delay In COVID-19 Vaccinations Could Prolong The Pandemic In America
Doses have been distributed behind the government's initial schedule – 15 million, instead of the 20 million doses promised to be delivered by the end of 2020. About 70% of those doses are sitting on pharmacy shelves, according to government data, and only about 14% of doses destined for nursing home residents and caregivers have been injected. Although vaccination is off to a rough start, it's not too late to turn the situation around, according to experts such as Kelly Moore, deputy director of the Immunization Action Coalition, an education and advocacy group. To do so will require a host of improvements, including more money, additional staffing and greater experience with vaccines that have been shown to be safe and effective but not so easy to use. (Weintraub, 1/5)

The New York Times: Warning Of Shortages, Researchers Look To Stretch Vaccine Supply 
Federal officials and drugmakers, faced with a slower-than-expected rollout of the coronavirus vaccine, are racing to find ways to expand the supply, looking at lowering the required dosage and extracting more doses from the supplies they have. Just weeks into the vaccine program, scientists at the National Institutes of Health and the drugmaker Moderna are analyzing data to see if they can double the supply of the company’s coronavirus vaccine by cutting doses in half. The study, though long planned, is increasingly urgent in the face of looming shortages as the country tries to fight off a surging pandemic. (Stolberg and LaFraniere, 1/5)

From state vaccination programs —

The Hill: Maryland Takes Steps To Speed Coronavirus Vaccine Rollout 
Maryland is taking steps to speed up the slow pace of vaccination rollout by adding additional people into the top tiers of its coronavirus vaccine priority groups and ensuring hospitals use every available dose, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said Tuesday. Phase 1A, which is ongoing, will now include all licensed and certified health providers, as well as first responders like firefighters, police and EMS. (Weixel, 1/5)

Chicago Tribune: Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Says ‘Exponential Increase’ Of COVID-19 Vaccines Needed To Fight Spread Of Coronavirus 
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Tuesday called on President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming administration to exponentially increase the number of COVID-19 vaccines given to cities, saying the current distribution is not enough. “If you want to have us bend this curve, and give people confidence that they can resume their normal lives, there must be an exponential increase in the amount of vaccine that’s available to cities and towns all over the country,” Lightfoot said. (Pratt, Buckley, Yin and Munks, 1/5)

How does your state compare to others? —

Becker's Hospital Review: States Ranked By Percentage Of COVID-19 Vaccines Administered
South Dakota has administered the highest percentage of COVID-19 vaccines it has received, according to the CDC's COVID-19 vaccine distribution and administration data tracker. ... Here are the states ranked by the percentage of COVID-19 vaccines they've administered of those that have been distributed to them, based on data updated Jan. 5. (Adams, 1/5)

USA Today: These States Are The Most Behind In Giving COVID-19 Vaccines. Is Yours On The List?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data Monday tracking the progress made by states to administer COVID-19 vaccine. (Bajak and Rodriguez, 1/5)

The Washington Post: Native American Tribes Prioritize Vaccinations For Speakers Of Endangered Languages
Following decades of concerted attempts to stamp out Native American languages, the number of fluent Cherokee speakers has dwindled to about 2,000 people, most of them tribal elders. And since the pandemic hit the Cherokee Nation, at least 20 of those last remaining speakers have died of the coronavirus. So when the Oklahoma-based tribe began deciding who should be first in line to receive the vaccine, Cherokee speakers were at the top of the list. (Noori Farzan, 1/6)

The Washington Post: Maryland Places Disabled Adults In Group Homes High On Vaccine Priority List
Thousands of Marylanders with intellectual disabilities who live in group homes, and those who care for them, learned Tuesday that they would soon be eligible for the coronavirus vaccine, putting an end to weeks of lobbying and worry. In what came as a surprise announcement to providers, advocates and relatives of the disabled, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said residents and staff of “special-needs group homes” will be included in Phase 1B of the state’s vaccination plan, along with individuals over 75, teachers and child-care workers. This group, which totals about 860,000 residents, could start receiving doses of the vaccine by late January, Hogan said. (Tan, 1/5)

Bangor Daily News: Maine Health Care Workers Don’t Have To Get COVID-19 Vaccine, But The Vast Majority Are
The vast majority of Maine’s health care workers are accepting early coronavirus vaccines as their employers pursue an opt-in approach that seems to be working better in hospitals than in long-term care facilities for now, according to early reports. Maine has been one of the leading states in vaccinating residents since the December rollout began, with 2.5 percent of people here getting initial doses by Tuesday, according to a Bloomberg News tracker. Only three states have vaccinated a larger share of residents so far. (Andrews, 1/6)

NBC News: 'There Was No Plan': Private Health Care Workers Shortchanged By Vaccine Distribution
Independent doctors say big hospitals are "hogging" Covid-19 vaccine and inoculating management and other workers ahead of front-line physicians. (Siemaszko, 1/5)

Stateline: Prioritizing Prisoners For Vaccines Stirs Controversy
“The fact that people in prison have been convicted of a crime should not deprioritize their need for an important public health measure like the vaccine,” said Jennifer Scaife, executive director of the Correctional Association of New York, a nonprofit authorized to investigate conditions inside the New York prison system. Scaife and other advocates say the vaccines are desperately needed inside prisons and jails. Approximately 20% of all inmates in state and federal prisons have been infected, a rate more than four times as high as that in the general population, according to a recent analysis by the Associated Press and the Marshall Project. Nationwide, at least 275,000 prisoners have been infected and more than 1,700 have died, according to the report. (Montgomery, 1/5)

Also —

AP: Hank Aaron, Civil Rights Leaders Get Vaccinated In Georgia
Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, former U.N. Ambassador and civil rights leader Andrew Young and former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Louis Sullivan got vaccinated against COVID-19 in Georgia on Tuesday, hoping to send a message to Black Americans that the shots are safe. Getting vaccinated “makes me feel wonderful,” Aaron told The Associated Press. “I don’t have any qualms about it at all, you know. I feel quite proud of myself for doing something like this. ... It’s just a small thing that can help zillions of people in this country.” (Warren and Harris, 1/5)

And Tennessee rolls out a new online tool —

AP: Tennessee Announces COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility Tool
Tennessee officials have set up an online tool that helps people figure out when they will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. Gov. Bill Lee’s office announced the initiative Tuesday as the state reported more than 169,000 Tennesseans have been vaccinated with their first dose so far. (1/6)

Boston Globe: Hundreds Have Tried To Cut To The Front Of The COVID-19 Vaccine Line
With only enough doses available to vaccinate about 1.5 percent of the state’s population against COVID-19 each week, Rhode Island health officials have been working to prioritize vaccinating those at highest risk first. Several hundred people have already tried to cut in line anyway. The line-jumpers were caught this week, after health officials realized that a special link given to employers for their workers to register for vaccinations was shared with others, said Alysia Mihalakos, the co-lead of the state’s COVID-19 mass vaccination workgroup and chief of Health’s Center for Emergency Preparedness and Response. She didn’t identify the employers. (Milkovits, 1/5)

The Washington Post: MorseLife In West Palm Beach Provided Coronavirus Vaccine To Donors And Country Club Members 
MorseLife Health System, a high-end nursing home and assisted-living facility in West Palm Beach, Fla., has made scarce coronavirus vaccines — provided through a federal program intended for residents and staff of long-term-care facilities — available not just to its residents but to board members and those who made generous donations to the facility, including members of the Palm Beach Country Club, according to multiple people who were offered access, some of whom accepted it. The precise number of invitations, and how many may have also gone to non-donors, could not be learned. (Stanley-Becker and Boburg, 1/5)

Chicago Tribune: Some Early Doses Of COVID-19 Vaccine Meant For Health Care Workers Go To Researchers Working From Home
University of Chicago researcher Sarah Cobey has spent nearly a year studying the spread of COVID-19, but she was still surprised when her employer offered to vaccinate her against the virus. An associate professor of ecology and evolution, Cobey does not work in a clinical setting and has no exposure to patients. But University of Chicago Medicine has included her and several thousand other remote or off-site employees in its distribution of vaccines intended for health care workers. (Mahr, 1/6)

In other news —

Chicago Tribune: Doctors Face Threats For Sharing Vaccine Information, Advice 
The first troll Dr. Shikha Jain encountered was angry about vaccines. The person responded a few years ago to Jain’s tweet about getting a flu vaccine with a message criticizing her appearance and telling the doctor she obviously didn’t know anything about medicine. (Bowen, 1/6)

USA Today: FBI Warns Of COVID-Related Fraud Schemes As Vaccines Distributed Across The Country
For the past year, federal law enforcement agencies have received tens of thousands of complaints of fraud tied to the coronavirus pandemic. More than 100 cases have been prosecuted, and authorities are expecting this number to rise as states continue to rollout vaccines. "We've been concerned about fraud schemes regarding the vaccine as soon as the vaccine went from an idea to reality … The one thing that we've learned throughout this pandemic is that when there's money to be made, criminals will figure out how to do it," said FBI Financial Crimes Section Chief Steven Merrill. (Phillips, 1/4)

CNN: When A Freezer Broke In A California Hospital, Officials Jumped To Action To Administer More Than 800 Vaccines In Just About 2 Hours 
When a freezer that was used to store the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine at a Northern California hospital broke, officials soon realized they only had about two hours to administer the more than 800 doses that were inside. And they took on the challenge. (Chan and Maxouris, 1/6)

Santa Rosa Press Democrat: Ukiah Valley Med Center Discovers Thawing Vaccine Vials
A refrigerator holding vials of coronavirus vaccine failed at Ukiah Valley Medical Center on Monday, prompting a frantic effort to inoculate hundreds of people in less than three hours before the medicine expired. By the time staff discovered the problem, 830 doses of the Moderna vaccine had been thawing for more than nine hours, Ukiah Valley Medical Center chief medical officer Dr. Bessant Parker said. The medical center had little choice but to distribute the vaccine freely and rapidly, including members of the general public who heard about the emergency and lined up outside the medical center in hopes of getting a shot. (Barber, 1/4)

New York Post: NY Nursing Home Says COVID-19 Vaccines Spoiled By Defrosting
An upstate nursing home that was expecting all residents and some staff to get the coronavirus vaccine on Monday says many had to go without — because CVS had “lost” doses due to “temperature control issues.” (Hogan, 1/5)

Also —

The Washington Post: Website Crashes And Other Tech Problems Plague Early Coronavirus Vaccine Rollout 
Technical problems are already hampering the early rollout of the coronavirus vaccine. Websites in multiple large Florida counties buckled from a surge of traffic in recent days as seniors attempted to book appointments for their vaccinations. Many were instead met with error messages. Outages were reported in Broward, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. (Zakrzewski, 1/5)

The Hill: Website Crashes Mar Early Coronavirus Vaccine Rollouts 
Website crashes and tech glitches are afflicting the U.S. coronavirus vaccine rollout that is already behind schedule based on the goals the Trump administration set out. Several counties in Florida experienced delays and website crashes on Monday, and the largest county in Texas had to take its website down as ineligible residents tried to book slots. (Klar, 1/5)

Fort Myers News-Press: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Spars With CNN Reporter Over Vaccine Rollout
During a tense exchange with a CNN reporter on Monday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blamed the largest hospital operator in Southwest Florida for causing seniors in one county to wait in long lines and even camp overnight for access to COVID-19 vaccinations. (Gluck and Greenockle, 1/5)

CIDRAP: Study: US COVID Cases, Deaths Far Higher Than Reported 
An estimated 14.3% of the US population had antibodies against COVID-19 by mid-November 2020, suggesting that that the virus has infected vastly more people than reported—but still not enough to come close to the proportion needed for herd immunity, according to a study published today in JAMA Network Open. After adjusting for underreporting, the analysis revealed an estimated 46,910,006 infections with SARS-CoV-2 [and] 304,915 deaths from April to mid-November. ... In contrast, the CDC reported 10,846,373 COVID-19 cases and 244,810 deaths in that same time span. (Van Beusekom, 1/5)

CNN: As US Hits Daily Covid-19 Death Toll Record, States Call In National Guard And Train Volunteers To Help Boost Pace Of Vaccinations 
The US reported its highest daily Covid-19 death count ever Tuesday -- a grim milestone that comes as state leaders work urgently to combat a slow pace of vaccinations. More than 3,770 American deaths were reported in one day -- more than two dozen above the country's previous record, set less than a week ago. (Maxouris, 1/6)

CNN: US Passes 21 Million Coronavirus Cases And More Than 130,000 People Are In Hospitals
On a day the United States registered another record for Covid-19 patients in hospitals, the country passed 21 million cases of the coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University. The US, with 21,007,694 cases as of Tuesday evening, has almost as many as the next three nations -- India, Brazil and Russia -- have combined. The US has added 1 million cases in the past four days. (Maxouris, Hanna and Almasy, 1/5)

In related news about the covid crisis —

NBC News: These Three States Have The Worst Covid Infection Rates Of Anywhere In The World
Arizona, California and Rhode Island are among the hardest-hit places in the world at this stage of the pandemic, with the highest rates of Covid-19 infections per capita, according to a data analysis by NBC News. The sobering figures, reflected as rolling seven-day averages of new reported cases, highlight just how dire the situation is in the U.S., particularly as a new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus has emerged in several states. (Chow and Murphy, 1/5)

FierceHealthcare: Study: Hospitals At Or Near Full COVID-19 ICU Capacity Increase By 90% Over Past Few Months
A new study found a 90% increase in hospitals reaching intensive care unit (ICU) capacity from July through December, with rural hospitals facing the biggest capacity issues. The study released Tuesday by the Epic Health Network looked at ICU occupancy rates at 809 hospitals in rural, suburban and metro areas from July through December. The study also explored the increase in nursing staff demand. The number of hospitals that reached 80% to 100% ICU capacity increased from 200 in July to nearly 400 in the middle of November. (King, 1/5)

AP: California Hospital, In Midst Of COVID-19 Crisis, Maxes Out
The crush of patients with coronavirus is so severe in Los Angeles that on Tuesday they exceeded the normal capacity at Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital, which serves many Blacks and Latinos in America’s largest county. The hospital in the south part of the city, which has a capacity of 131 patients, was treating 215 patients, 135 of them with COVID-19, said Jeff Stout, the interim chief nursing and operating officer. (Melley, 1/6)

Dallas Morning News: Amid Latest COVID Surge, Texas Health Resources Suspends Elective Surgeries At 14 Hospitals In D-FW
As coronavirus cases continue to climb, hospitals in North Texas are suspending or rescheduling elective surgeries in order to preserve staff and equipment for COVID-19 patients. Texas Health Resources, one of the region’s largest hospital operators, said it would suspend elective and nonessential surgeries and procedures at its 14 wholly owned hospitals, including major facilities in Dallas, Fort Worth and Plano. The suspension begins on Thursday and will continue “until further notice,” the company said. (Schnurman, 1/5)

CNN: From His Hospital Bed In Florida, A Former Covid Skeptic Posts Videos On Social Media Urging Others To Wear Their Masks 
A man who tested positive for the coronavirus after Christmas has posted several videos on social media warning others to wear their masks and learn from his mistake. "I didn't think masks would make that much of a difference," Chuck Stacey told CNN on Tuesday. "I was wrong." (Jackson, 1/5)

Science: Viral Mutations May Cause Another ‘Very, Very Bad’ COVID-19 Wave, Scientists Warn 
For COVID-19 researchers, the new year brings a strong sense of déjà vu. As in early 2020, the world is anxiously watching a virus spread in one country and trying to parse the risk for everyone else. This time it is not a completely new threat, but a rapidly spreading variant of SARS-CoV-2. In southeastern England, where the B.1.1.7 variant first caught scientists’ attention last month, it has quickly replaced other variants, and it may be the harbinger of a new, particularly perilous phase of the pandemic. “One concern is that B.1.1.7 will now become the dominant global variant with its higher transmission and it will drive another very, very bad wave,” says Jeremy Farrar, an infectious disease expert who heads the Wellcome Trust. Whereas the pandemic’s trajectory in 2020 was fairly predictable, “I think we’re going into an unpredictable phase now,” as a result the virus’ evolution, Farrar says. (Kupferschmidt, 1/5)

Fox News: UK Coronavirus Variant Most Likely To Spread Among This Age Group, Study Suggests 
A new study suggests who may be most at risk for contracting B.1.1.7: Those under 20 years of age. The study, which was conducted by researchers at Imperial College London and others and has not yet been peer-reviewed, found that those under 20 years of age are more likely to make up a higher percentage of B.1.1.7 cases — or what is identified in the study as the "Variant of Concern" or VOC. (Farber, 1/5)

Will the vaccine work on variants? —

CNN: How Mutations Could Help Coronavirus Evade Vaccines
Two new variants of the coronavirus have emerged that seem to make the virus more easily transmitted. But will they stymie vaccination efforts? ... It has to do with where the changes are, and how they affect the shape and function of the virus. All the current vaccines target what is known as the spike protein -- the structure the virus uses to get into the cells it attacks. (Fox, 1/6)

Fox News: South African Coronavirus Variant ‘Unlikely To Completely Negate’ COVID-19 Vaccines: Scientist
A scientist studying the new coronavirus variant identified in South Africa attempted to assuage concerns that existing COVID-19 vaccines will be rendered totally ineffective by the variant known as 501.V2. At least 20 mutations have been identified within the 501.V2 variant, including mutations in the much-studied spike protein that researchers have determined that the virus uses to infect human cells, per Reuters. Though these mutations "may have some effect," said Richard Lessells, an infectious diseases expert with the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform, which helped to first identify the variant in South Africa, "they are very unlikely to completely negate the effect of the vaccines." (Farber, 1/5)

And from the states —

Business Insider: Coronavirus Variant In UK Was Likely In US By Early December 
None of the infected people have recently traveled outside the US. Charles Chiu, an infectious-disease expert at the University of California, San Francisco, told Business Insider that's "worrisome because it suggests the virus is circulating in our community now." Chiu thinks the variant was introduced into the US in early December or shortly afterwards. "It's very likely that it's in every state," he said. (Woodward, 1/5)

Atlanta Journal Constitution: Georgia Reports First U.K. COVID-19 Strain; State Now 9th In New Cases
As hospitals struggled with a record surge in hospitalizations Tuesday, Georgia announced its first confirmed case of the new coronavirus strain that has overwhelmed the medical system in the United Kingdom. The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) said the case was discovered in an 18-year-old man with no travel history. The teen, who was not identified, is isolating at his home, and state officials are working to identify, monitor and test the teen’s close contacts. (Scott Trubey and Hart, 1/5)

Fox News: New Coronavirus Variant Eyed As Possible Culprit Behind Outbreak At Washington State Hospital
A new variant of the novel coronavirus that’s thought to be more transmissible is now being eyed as the possible culprit behind a coronavirus outbreak at a hospital in Vancouver, Wash., that has sickened dozens. A coronavirus outbreak at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in December began with one patient who initially tested negative upon admission before testing positive days later, The Oregonian reported. Since then, at least 30 coronavirus cases have been reported among patients and staff at the hospital. As of Monday, 56 health care workers remained quarantined because of 11 confirmed cases among staffers. (Farber, 1/5)

Politico: Congress Using Covid Test That FDA Warns May Be Faulty 
The House and Senate are screening members and staff with a Covid-19 test that the Food and Drug Administration says is prone to false results — complicating the already difficult task of stemming coronavirus outbreaks on Capitol Hill. The Office of the Attending Physician has been offering the test, made by Curative, to members, staff and reporters on Capitol Hill since at least November. The service, which typically offers results within 12 hours, is used by dozens, if not hundreds, of people a day when Congress is in session. (Lim and Ferris, 1/5)

NBC News: FDA Warns Congress About Covid Test That May Give False Results
On Monday night during the week in which most of the 535 lawmakers are expected to gather in one chamber to certify the Electoral College results, the Food and Drug Administration had a message for Congress — the tests available yield an alarmingly high rate of false negatives. After a monthslong delay on Capitol Hill to implement Covid-19 testing for the members and staff, thousands of those who work in the building have become reliant on the system due to increased holiday travel and exposure. ... For the first time since the pandemic began, almost the entire House gathered on the floor Sunday with less-than-ideal social distancing and mask wearing. Rep. Kay Granger, R-TX, was on the floor voting and mingling with members, and promptly tested positive for coronavirus the following day. (Talbot and Tsirkin, 1/5)

Texas Tribune: Texas Congresswoman Kay Granger Tests Positive For Coronavirus 
U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, a high-ranking member of Texas’ congressional delegation, has tested positive for the coronavirus, her office announced Monday afternoon. Granger, who was on the U.S. House floor during swearing-in proceedings in Congress on Sunday, is a ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee. (Samuels, 1/4)

NPR: Texas Republican Rep. Kevin Brady Tests Positive For Coronavirus
Texas Rep. Kevin Brady, the top Republican on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, has tested positive for the coronavirus. He announced on Twitter Tuesday that was going into quarantine. Brady received the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Dec. 18 and tested negative for COVID-19 as recently as New Year's Day. Brady, who was on the House floor this week and interacted with fellow members, said he would "begin treatment" Wednesday. (Diaz, 1/6)

Modern Healthcare: Congress Recalibrates Medicare Physician Fee Schedule After Lobbying
After a lobbying frenzy that pitted primary care providers against specialty physicians, Congress decided to recalibrate the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule in its latest stimulus and government funding bill. CMS decided to give primary care providers a pay boost in the 2021 physician fee schedule through changes to pay for evaluation and management services and creating an additional add-on code for serving patients with multiple chronic conditions. Because of budget neutrality requirements, the pay increases to primary care had to be offset with cuts to other specialties. (Cohrs, 1/5)

Modern Healthcare: Providers Want More Time To Understand Prior Authorization Changes
Healthcare insiders are pressing the Trump administration to extend the public comment period for a proposed rule that aims to reform prior authorization and improve patient and provider access to medical records, according to comments on the proposed rule due Monday. CMS on Dec. 10 unveiled its plan to require payers—including Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program and exchange plans—to build application program interfaces to support data exchange and prior authorization. It said the changes would allow providers to know in advance what documentation each payer would require, streamline documentation processes and make it easier for providers to send and receive prior authorization information requests and responses electronically. (Brady, 1/5)

Modern Healthcare: Democrats Blast Trump Plan To Privatize State-Based ACA Exchanges
Several Democratic lawmakers recently called on the Trump administration not to move forward with a last-minute proposal allowing states to privatize their Affordable Care Act exchanges. Democratic leaders of key healthcare committees in the Senate and House wrote to CMS, HHS and Treasury Department on Dec. 30, saying consumers will pay higher premiums for less comprehensive coverage if private brokers are in charge of state-based exchanges. That would also result in more people not having insurance coverage, the lawmakers said. The Trump administration could issue the final rule before leaving office. (Tepper, 1/5)

In Texas Medicaid news —

The Texas Tribune: Texas Gives Medicaid Recipients On Planned Parenthood Until Feb. 3 To Find New Provider
Thousands of low-income Medicaid recipients who rely on Planned Parenthood for non-abortion services like cancer screenings and birth control will have until Feb. 3 to find new health care providers, according to a letter sent from the state’s Health and Human Services Commission to the women’s health provider Monday. The extension comes after the conservative U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in November sided with Texas officials who have long tried to block Planned Parenthood from participating in Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance program for the poor and disabled. To qualify, a single woman in Texas with two children must make less than $230 a month. (Najmabadi, 1/5)

The Washington Post: Large-Scale Global Study To Investigate Links Between Covid And Cognitive Decline
There is compelling evidence that covid-19 will have long-term effects on the brains and nervous systems of survivors as they age, and researchers on Tuesday announced a large international study to investigate the correlation between the coronavirus and cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia in later life. Decades of evidence from other respiratory viruses, along with observations of patients in recent months, suggests such infections may increase a person’s risk for Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and other brain disorders, according to a paper announcing the study, published Tuesday in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association. (Bahrampour, 1/5)

NPR: How COVID-19 Attacks The Brain And May, In Severe Cases, Cause Lasting Damage
Early in the pandemic, people with COVID-19 began reporting an odd symptom: the loss of smell and taste. The reason wasn't congestion. Somehow, the SARS-CoV-2 virus appeared to be affecting nerves that carry information from the nose to the brain. That worried neurologists. "We were afraid that SARS CoV-2 was going to invade the brain," says Dr. Gabriel de Erausquin, an investigator at the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. (Hamilton, 1/5)

In other science and research news —

The Baltimore Sun: Henrietta Lacks Enhancing Cancer Research Act, Backed By Maryland Lawmakers, Is Signed By President Trump 
President Donald Trump signed a bill Tuesday inspired by the late Henrietta Lacks, a Baltimore County woman whose cells were used for medical research without her consent. The Henrietta Lacks Enhancing Cancer Research Act requires the federal government to publish a report on government-funded cancer research trials, including the amount of participation by underrepresented populations and the barriers to participation. (Oxenden, 1/5)

The Washington Post: U.S. Airlines Push To Slash International Travel Restrictions, Implement Universal Testing
The country’s biggest airlines are asking the Trump administration to institute a “global program to require testing for travelers to the United States” — and to scrap many travel restrictions. In a letter to Vice President Pence on Monday, the advocacy group Airlines for America said it was supporting a proposal by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to implement the universal testing. The organization, which represents airlines including American, Delta, United and Southwest, said it also urged the administration to eliminate entry restrictions on people traveling “from Europe, the United Kingdom and Brazil.” (Sampson, 1/5)

The Washington Post: Emotional Support Animals Will No Longer Be Permitted, Airlines Warn 
New federal rules set to go into effect next week significantly narrow the definition of service animals. As a result, emotional support animals are no longer considered service animals, and airlines — which previously had to make accommodations for them — will no longer be required to do so. (Aratani, 1/5)

In other public health news —

The Wall Street Journal: As Covid-19 Surges, Colleges Make Last-Minute Changes To Spring Calendars 
Syracuse University laid out its plan for the spring semester back in September, scheduling classes to start Jan. 25 and eliminating spring break to minimize potential travel-related exposure to Covid-19. On Monday, the school scrapped that calendar and said it would start and end the spring term two weeks later than anticipated, in the hopes of staving off further outbreaks as case numbers surge nationwide. (Korn, 1/5)

The Washington Post: Boston University, Holy Cross Basketball Teams Are First To Both Wear Masks 
Boston University’s mask mandate is meant to help protect the health of the school’s basketball teams, as well as that of their opponents, during the coronavirus pandemic. The mandate — and its impact on the competition — was on display for the first time Tuesday, when the Terriers fell, 68-66, to Holy Cross in their home opener, believed to be the first men’s college basketball game this season in which both teams wore masks on the court. (Hill, 1/5)

CNBC: Red Cross Raffles Super Bowl Tickets To Solicit Convalescent Plasma Donors
The Red Cross is teaming up with the NFL to urge people to donate blood and plasma, especially from those who have recovered from Covid-19 to combat a convalescent plasma shortage. In return, donors will be entered to win two tickets to next year’s Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles. (Bhattacharjee, 1/5)

The Wall Street Journal: Grammy Awards Postponed Amid Covid-19 Concerns 
The Grammy Awards ceremony has been postponed for two months, as concerns surge over the spread of Covid-19, according to the Recording Academy, which hosts the annual music-industry awards show. The ceremony was originally set to take place on Jan. 31 in Los Angeles, with “The Daily Show” host and comedian Trevor Noah as host. Grammy organizers have pushed the event to March 14. The academy’s website earlier Tuesday showed the date had been pushed back to March 21. (Shah, 1/5)

KHN: Children’s Hospitals Grapple With Wave Of Mental Illness
Krissy Williams, 15, had attempted suicide before, but never with pills. The teen was diagnosed with schizophrenia when she was 9. People with this chronic mental health condition perceive reality differently and often experience hallucinations and delusions. She learned to manage these symptoms with a variety of services offered at home and at school. But the pandemic upended those lifelines. She lost much of the support offered at school. She also lost regular contact with her peers. Her mother lost access to respite care — which allowed her to take a break. (Heredia Rodriguez, 1/6)

KHN: Black Women Find Healing (But Sometimes Racism, Too) In The Outdoors 
It would be the last hike of the season, Jessica Newton had excitedly posted on her social media platforms. With mild weather forecast and Colorado’s breathtaking fall foliage as a backdrop, she was convinced an excursion at Beaver Ranch Park would be the quintessential way to close out months of warm-weather hikes with her “sister friends.” Still, when that Sunday morning in 2018 arrived, she was shocked when her usual crew of about 15 had mushroomed into about 70 Black women. There’s a first time for everything, she thought as they broke into smaller groups and headed toward the nature trail. What a sight they were, she recalled, as the women — in sneakers and hiking boots, a virtual sea of colorful headwraps, flowy braids and dreadlocks, poufy twists and long, flowy locks — trekked peacefully across the craggy terrain in the crisp mountain air. (Thomas Whitfield, 1/6)

KHN: ‘An Arm And A Leg’: A Look Back At 2020 — What We Learned And Where We’re Headed
This episode turns the tables: Host Dan Weissmann gets interviewed about what he learned in 2020 and what’s ahead for the show — with T.K. Dutes, a radio host and podcast-maker who is also a former nurse, so she knows a thing or two about the health care system. She chronicled her career transition in an episode of NPR’s “Life Kit.” During their conversation, Dutes shared stories about life before and after health insurance. She coins what could be a new tagline for “An Arm and a Leg”: “Where there’s money, there’ll be scams.” (Weissmann, 1/6)

AP: 1 Dead, 3 Hospitalized In Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak
An outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease at a North Portland apartment complex has killed one person and sickened three others, county health officials said. Multnomah County health officials said Tuesday they told more than 100 residents of Rosemont Court on Dekum Street to leave after residents contracted pneumonia, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. (1/5)

FiercePharma: Goodbye Pill, Hello Science: Pfizer Debuts Redesigned Logo With Double Helix 
Pfizer’s got a new blue. Two new blues in fact, with the company’s rebrand and new logo design. Gone is the staid blue oval pill background, replaced by a two-tone blue double helix spiral. It’s the first significant visual redesign for Pfizer in 70 years since the company began using the blue oval background. The tagline outlining Pfizer’s purpose, “Breakthroughs that change patients' lives,” remains the same. (Snyder Bulik, 1/5)

In other pharmaceutical and biotech news —

Becker's Hospital Review: FDA Updates Medical Device Shortage List
The FDA recently added new supplies, including pipette tips and micro pipettes, to its medical device shortage list. The agency also changed some of the categories for the list, which includes the reason the supply is in shortage and gives an estimate on how long the shortage is expected to last. (Anderson, 1/5)

FiercePharma: Becton Dickinson, Ramping Up Syringe Capacity, Set To Turn Out 1B COVID-19 Vaccine Devices By Year-End
As Pfizer, BioNTech, Moderna and now AstraZeneca rack up emergency authorizations for their COVID-19 vaccines, the world is racing to get shots shipped out and into patients’ arms. A slew of injection device deals—inked early during the pandemic’s spread—are obviously key to that effort. Becton Dickinson, for one, last month surpassed 1 billion pandemic injection device orders globally. Now, as more than 300 million devices arrive in North America, Europe and the Middle East—with the rest slated for delivery by the end of the year—BD is leveraging some pandemic know-how gained with the 2009 swine flu, Elizabeth Woody, SVP of public affairs, said in an interview. (Kansteiner, 1/4)

FiercePharma: Pharma Ads Got Animated In 2020—But COVID's Not The Only Reason They'll Stay That Way 
One of the most obvious adaptations to the “new normal” of the COVID-19 pandemic—when filming on a set was well nigh impossible—was the move to animation in advertising. And pharma joined right in. As stay-at-home orders and social distancing made it difficult to get people together for TV and video ad production, pharma came up with some clever workarounds. Intra-Cellular Therapies hired actors and their real-life families to act out scenes for its schizophrenia drug Caplyta. Merck & Co. used existing footage for its awareness spot reminding parents to keep up on their preteen children's wellness exams after nearly everything went online. (Klahr Coey, 12/29)

The New York Times: One Hospital System Sued 2,500 Patients After Pandemic Hit 
When the coronavirus began spreading through New York, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo ordered state-run hospitals to stop suing patients over unpaid medical bills, and almost all of the major private hospitals in the state voluntarily followed suit by suspending their claims. But one chain of hospitals plowed ahead with thousands of lawsuits: Northwell Health, which is the state’s largest health system and is run by one of Mr. Cuomo’s closest allies. (Rosenthal, 1/5)

Becker's Hospital Review: Northwell Rescinds 2,500 Suits Filed Against Patients To Collect Unpaid Debt
New York City-based Northwell Health will rescind thousands of lawsuits filed against patients for unpaid medical bills amid the pandemic, the system told Becker's Hospital Review. Vice President of Public Relations Barbara Osborn told Becker's that during the height of the pandemic in the spring of 2020, Northwell eased some patient collection activities and put a six-month pause on legal filings to collect unpaid debts. The pause took place from April through September. However, the lawsuits resumed in October. (Paavola, 1/5)

In other health industry news —

FierceHealthcare: UnitedHealthcare Cuts Envision From Its Provider Network 
UnitedHealthcare is continuing a trend of pressuring physician staffing firms by cutting Envision Healthcare from its network. Envision said in a statement that its clinicians would no longer be in-network for UnitedHealth plans as of Jan. 1. Envision boasts 25,000 clinicians working in hospitals across 45 states and D.C. (Minemyer, 1/5)

Becker's Hospital Review: Renovations Prompt Los Angeles Hospital To Suspend Patient Care Services
Olympia Medical Center, an Alecto Healthcare hospital in Los Angeles, said it will suspend all patient care services, including the emergency department and emergency medical services, so it can complete substantial renovations. According to the facility's website, the emergency department won't provide services after 11:59 p.m. March 31, and some supplemental services may be suspended after Jan. 31. (Gooch, 1/5)

Becker's Hospital Review: Hospital Employees Report Pest Issue In Florida Hospital Kitchen
Two employees at Jacksonville, Fla.-based Memorial Hospital say roaches have been roaming the hospital's kitchen for about a month, local CBS and FOX affiliate Action News Jax reports. One of the employees, who requested to remain anonymous for fear of losing their job, sent the station pictures and videos showing roaches crawling around the hospital kitchen. (Carbajal, 1/5)

Also —

Becker's Hospital Review: Safety Protocol Reduces Self-Harm For At-Risk Emergency Room Patients
The implementation of a safety protocol helped to reduce self-harm for high-risk patients in the emergency department, according to findings published in the January issue of The Joint Commision Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. A research team from Boston-based Massachusetts General Hospital developed the following safety precautions: created safe bathrooms, increased the number and training of observers, managed access to belongings, managed clothing search or removal, and implemented additional interventions for particularly high-risk patients. ... Before the protocol, there were 13 instances of attempted self-harm among 4,408 high-risk patients and six that resulted in actual self-harm. After the protocol was enacted, there were six episodes of self-harm among 4,523 high-risk patients, with one resulting in actual self-harm. (Carbajal, 1/5)

Chicago Tribune: University Of Illinois’ COVID-19 Saliva Test Moves Closer To FDA Approval, But Not Fast Enough To Meet The Demand: ‘Every School District In Illinois Would Love To Have This’ 
The University of Illinois has completed a critical step toward obtaining federal approval for its saliva-based COVID-19 test, but some lawmakers worry it’s taking too long to help other state colleges, school districts and companies struggling to operate amid the pandemic. (Cherney, 1/5)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Pa. Lags Nation In People Tested Per Day, Is Nowhere Near Level Needed To Suppress The Virus
Pennsylvania has greatly increased the amount of daily coronavirus testing it conducts since the pandemic began last spring, but still falls short of many states and lags far behind what some experts say is needed to actually suppress the spread. Over the last week, the state has reported an average of 17,859 new PCR test results per day — or roughly 143 tests per 100,000 people, according to Spotlight PA’s coronavirus tracker. That’s fewer than all but four states and Puerto Rico, according to Johns Hopkins University’s testing tracker. (Piper, 1/6)

Charlotte Observer: COVID-19 In Charlotte: Positive Tests Record After Christmas 
The average COVID-19 positivity rate in Mecklenburg County soared to 15.6% in the week after Christmas, according to new data released Tuesday by health officials. It’s a new high for the Charlotte area, which has seen dramatic increases in the number of coronavirus infections and hospitalizations over the last two months. (Kuznitz, 1/5)

AP: South Dakota COVID-19 Update Shows No Deaths For 2nd Day
South Dakota’s COVID-19 update released Tuesday showed no new deaths for a second straight day, although the state Department of Corrections on Monday reported that a sixth prison inmate has died due to the coronavirus. State health officials confirmed 444 positive tests in the past day, increasing the total number to 101,076 since the start of the pandemic. The death toll remained at 1,513. (1/5)

CNN: WHO Covid Team Blocked From Entering China To Study Origins Of Coronavirus 
The World Health Organization said that China has blocked the arrival of a team investigating the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, in a rare rebuke from the UN agency. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said two scientists on the United Nations team had already left their home countries for Wuhan when they were told that Chinese officials had not approved the necessary permissions to enter the country. (Regan and Sidhu, 1/6)

In other global developments —

AP: EU Agency Ponders Approval For Moderna's COVID-19 Vaccine
The European Union’s medicines agency was meeting Wednesday to consider giving the green light to Moderna Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine, a decision that would give the 27-nation bloc a second vaccine to use in the desperate battle to tame the virus rampaging across the continent. The meeting of the European Medicines Agency’s human medicines committee (CHMP) comes amid high rates of infections in many EU countries and strong criticism of the slow pace of vaccinations across the region of some 450 million people. (Furtula and Corder, 1/6)

AP: Dutch Begin COVID-19 Vaccinations; Last EU Nation To Do So
Nearly two weeks after most other European Union nations, the Netherlands on Wednesday began its COVID-19 vaccination program, with nursing home staff and frontline workers in hospitals first in line for the shot. Sanna Elkadiri, a nurse at a nursing home for people with dementia, was the first to receive a shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at a mass vaccination center in Veghel, 120 kilometers (75 miles) southeast of the capital, Amsterdam. (Corder, 1/6)

Politico: As Cases Spike, Europe Mulls Delaying 2nd Coronavirus Vaccine Shot
Faced with surging coronavirus cases, some European countries are considering whether to change tack and join the U.K. in vaccinating as many people as possible with just one dose rather than the two administered during clinical trials so far. This issue has been live since December 30, when the U.K. announced its decision to delay second doses by up to 12 weeks when it approved the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine for emergency use. The switch also applied to the BioNTech/Pfizer jab. Just this week, Denmark announced its decision to delay the second dose of both the Pfizer and forthcoming Moderna jabs by up to six weeks. The German health ministry has also confirmed looking into widening vaccination coverage by similar delays between doses. (Collis, 1/5)

The Wall Street Journal: How Did President Duterte’s Guards Get Smuggled Covid Vaccines? Philippine Lawmakers Ask 
Opposition lawmakers in the Philippines want to know how members of President Rodrigo Duterte’s security detail and potentially other officials received Covid-19 vaccines, when the country hasn’t approved any. The scandal emerged after Mr. Duterte said last month that several members of a military unit tasked with his personal protection had been vaccinated without his knowing. Brig. Gen. Jesus Durante III, the unit’s commander, later said “a handful” of guards got the shots in September and October to protect the president from exposure to the virus. (Solomon, 1/6)

The New York Times: Did Oxygen Outage Kill Covid Patients In Egypt? Government Says No 
Hoping to quell growing outrage over a video from inside an Egyptian hospital purportedly showing a number of Covid-19 patients dying after an interruption in oxygen supply, the country’s authorities insisted that neither shortages nor negligence caused the deaths. The wrenching footage, posted on social media this weekend, was shot on a cellphone by a visiting relative who appeared to be in a frantic state as he paced from bed to bed repeating the phrase “Everyone in the intensive care unit has died.” (El-Naggar, 1/5)

AP: Trump Plan To Curb Drug Costs Dealt Setback In Court
A late-term maneuver by President Donald Trump to use lower drug prices paid overseas to limit some of Medicare's own costs suffered a legal setback Wednesday that appears likely to keep the policy from taking effect before the president leaves office. U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake in Baltimore issued a nationwide injunction that prevents the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, from carrying out the so-called "most favored nations" rule as scheduled on Jan. 1. The judge wrote in her temporary order that CMS had failed to follow required procedures for notice and comment before imposing such sweeping changes. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 12/23)

FiercePharma: Judge Blocks Trump's 'Most Favored Nation' Drug Pricing Rule 
While the holiday season often brings a lull in action in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere, 2020's was quite different. On the drug pricing front, a major effort by the Trump administration to cut Medicare prices has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge. The president's "most favored nation" clause, which aims to tie drug prices in Medicare to lower prices abroad, has hit an early setback as a federal judge in Maryland ruled the administration didn't give the public a chance to weigh in, Reuters reports. The new rule was set to start on January 1, but Judge Catherine Blake ruled the executive order was rushed unlawfully, according to the news service. (Saganowsky, 1/4)

Also —

Detroit Free Press: Trump Rule Forcing Michigan Hospitals To Reveal Secret Prices
Michigan hospitals have started revealing the once-secret prices they negotiate with insurance companies to comply with a new Trump administration rule aimed at making health care more affordable and prices more transparent. The rules took effect Jan. 1 and require all hospitals nationwide to immediately publish their negotiated rates with insurers in two formats: a "consumer-friendly" list or online cost estimator with at least 300 common services and procedures, and a giant data file with rates for nearly all procedures and insurance plans. Hospitals that fail to comply with both disclosures can be fined up to $300 per day. As of Tuesday, many, although not all, southeast Michigan hospitals appear to be in compliance. (Reindl, 1/6)

Reuters: Drugmakers To Hike Prices For 2021 Amid COVID, Political Pressures
Drugmakers including Pfizer, Sanofi, and GlaxoSmithKline plan to raise US prices on more than 300 drugs in the United States on Jan. 1, according to drugmakers and data analyzed by healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors. The hikes come as drugmakers are reeling from effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has reduced doctor visits and demand for some drugs. They are also fighting new drug price cutting rules from the Trump administration, which would reduce the industry’s profitability. (12/31)

Forbes: The Challenges Of Prescription Pricing For Seniors In The U.S.
Whether paying full price or using a Medicare prescription plan, many seniors are living with a medical condition that requires maintenance medications. This means their monthly budget is forever impacted. How drug companies price medications then becomes inherently important. However, when it comes to prescription drug prices, things are not always what they seem. Drug manufacturers incorporate a few practices consumers should be aware of when it comes to medications. (Gurbikian and Forbes Finance Council, 12/29)

Healio: Branded Glaucoma Medication Prices Increased Over 7 Years
Prices of branded glaucoma medications increased in the U.S. over the past 7 years, according to a study published in the Journal of Glaucoma. “Reducing IOP is the only proven method to treat glaucoma, and the most common way to achieve this is with topical drugs,” Edward Barayev, MD, MHA, Rabin Medical Center, and colleagues wrote. “Previous studies have found that patients with lower adherence rates had a higher risk of developing severe visual field changes. ... High costs could result in less frequent medication purchases and lead to lower medication adherence.” (Burba, 1/4)

CNBC: Some Medicare Costs Will Be Higher In 2021. Here's How To Cut Them
As happens every time the calendar flips to a new year, Medicare cost adjustments are about to take effect. This generally means paying more for some parts of your coverage, effective Jan. 1.For Medicare’s 63 million beneficiaries — most of whom are 65 or older — certain costs change year to year and can affect premiums, deductibles and other cost-sharing. While the upward adjustments don’t necessarily involve huge dollar amounts, they can add up. (O'Brien, 12/25)

Boston Herald: AARP's Support For Drug Price Controls Hurts Seniors
After the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently unveiled its finalized proposal to lower prescription drug costs by passing on rebate discounts directly to Medicare patients, seniors would rightly expect the AARP to be supportive. According to the HHS, under the current rebate system: “Drug companies pay rebates and other payments to PBMs (pharmacy benefits managers), but these payments are not reflected in patient out-of-pocket drug costs.” (Jon Decker, 1/1)

Northwest Indiana Times: Trump's Final Act On Drug Prices Put Foreign IP Thieves Before American Patients
More than any other president in recent memory, President Trump defended American innovators against attacks by foreign governments. But sadly, in one of his last moves as president, he put foreign price controls on U.S. drugs. The Trump administration just announced new regulations that change how Medicare pays for prescription drugs. Up until now, this massive government health insurer paid for drugs in a free market setting. But under President Trump's new regulations, Medicare payments will be set based on prices paid by a group of other industrialized countries. All these countries have price controls in their national health care systems. (Adam Mossoff, 1/3)

Ncnewsonline.Com: Medicare Under A Biden Presidency 
Now that the 2020 election is over (sort of) and the transition is taking place, the federal government is about to get much more involved in health care and the COVID-19 pandemic response. ... [President-elect Joe] Biden wants to reduce what Medicare beneficiaries pay for prescription drugs, notably by allowing the government to negotiate drug prices, currently prohibited by law. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated such a move would save $456 billion from 2023 through 2029. At the same time, though, the budget office report noted that negative effects may include reduced spending on research and development. Biden also would prohibit most drug prices from rising faster than inflation. (Joel Mekler, 1/4)

Pagosa Daily Post: A Prescription For US Health Care
Most would agree that 2020 was a year of grief, loss, and a long overdue reckoning with our nation’s history of racial injustice. But the year ended on a hopeful note: in the final weeks of the year, the Food and Drug Administration authorized two COVID-19 vaccines and the immunization of the American public began. The incoming Biden–Harris administration has pledged to provide the federal pandemic leadership that has been desperately needed since COVID-19 emerged. The administration also brings renewed hope for expanding access to affordable health care, which is critical to controlling the pandemic and restoring the economy. (David Blumenthal, Elizabeth Fowler and Rachel Nuzum, 1/4)

Stat: 5 Ways To Contain The Pandemic And Return To An Open Economy 
“When will this pandemic be over so we can return to normal life and an open economy?” As researchers who have been carefully following this global health crisis, that’s a question we are often asked by friends, family, and colleagues. (Menachem Fromer, Sarah Poole and Robert M. Califf, 1/6)

The New York Times: Why Is It Taking So Long To Get Americans Vaccinated?
When a nurse named Sandra Lindsay became the first person in the United States to receive a vaccine for the coronavirus on Dec. 14, federal officials were saying they hoped to vaccinate 20 million Americans before the month was out. But five days into the new year, just 17 million doses have been shipped, and only 4.8 million of those have been administered, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “We are at a pace right now to deliver vaccines in L.A. over five years, instead of over half a year,” Eric Garcetti, the mayor of Los Angeles, said on the CBS program “Face the Nation.” What problems are causing the vaccination drive to lag so far behind expectations, and how can they be solved? (Spencer Bokat-Lindell, 1/5)

The Washington Post: Our Vaccination Need Is More Urgent Than Ever. You Wouldn’t Know It From State Efforts. 
Here in America, where covid-19 infections and deaths have recently been setting ever higher records, thousands are dying every day. Meanwhile, Britain has closed schools and locked down nationwide (again) to contain the spread of a new, more contagious strain that threatens to capsize its health-care system. South Africa’s hospitals are also struggling to cope with another more contagious mutation, and there are concerns that existing vaccines may not be effective against their variant. The British strain is known to be circulating in the United States, and the other variant may be here as well. Which means that our vaccination program is more urgent than ever. You wouldn’t know that, however, from state vaccination efforts. (Megan McArdle, 1/5)

Miami Herald: Still Can’t Get COVID Vaccine? Sure, Blame President Trump, But Blame President Reagan, too
But like so many problems afflicting America, Trump might be the bleeding get-to-the-emergency-room symptom, but he’s not the disease. The United States so far is failing at the task of administering doses for the same reason it didn’t know how to create the testing-and-tracing regimes that have largely worked across Asia, or avoid the embarrassing shortages of protective gear that had some nurses wearing trash bags. This country has been waging war on the very concept of good government for 40 years, and public health has been in the front trench taking World War I-level casualties. Trump might be finishing the job, but the president who created this mess was Ronald Reagan, who assured a similarly anxious nation upon taking office in 1981 that “(i)n this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem — government is the problem” and then put a lack of money where his mouth was. (Will Bunch, 1/5)

Bloomberg: Covid-19 Vaccine Rollout Is Being Slowed By Too Many Government Rules
For too many people, it’s a knee-jerk reaction: Blame the slow U.S. rollout of Covid-19 vaccines on too little central planning by the administration of President Donald Trump. Demand tighter control from the incoming administration of President Joe Biden. Limit the number of vaccination sites! Bring in the military! Put somebody in charge! But the problem with the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines isn’t that no one is in charge. Far from the answer, tighter federal control would probably be a disaster. It would only amplify the problem. (Virginia Postrel, 1/5)

The Washington Post: It’s Time To Consider Delaying The Second Dose Of Coronavirus Vaccine
Until recently, we supported the strict vaccine regimen, requiring two doses within a month. Both the Pfizer and Moderna clinical trials were carried out this way, and the much-touted 95 percent efficacy rates were drawn from those trials. But as Mike Tyson famously said, “Everybody has a plan until they’ve been punched in the mouth.” When it comes to covid-19, we’re being punched in the mouth over and over again. It’s time to change the plan; namely, we should give people a single vaccination now and defer their second shot until more doses of vaccine become available. (Robert M. Wachter and Ashish K. Jha, 1/3)

Stat: The FDA Needs To Apply Its Covid-19 Flexibility To Pediatric Cancer 
One of the few bright spots in the Covid-19 pandemic has been the swift development of therapies and vaccines that — beyond all odds — made it to patients in mere months versus years. The government, specifically the Food and Drug Administration, has played an essential role, flexing to expedite activities and prioritizing speed without sacrificing safety. I applaud their efforts and hope they won’t stop there. (Julie Guillot, 1/6)

The Washington Post: Covid-19 Poses Special Risks To People Like My Brother-In-Law. They Need Vaccines Now. 
In mid-November, my wife Veronica got a phone call she’d been dreading. Her brother Vincent was very sick, and had been taken by ambulance to our local hospital. Veronica raced there, where she found Vincent febrile and groggy, complaining of abdominal and chest pain. He was placed in the covid-19 unit and given oxygen while we awaited definitive test results. Vincent is one of an estimated 7.4 million Americans with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Like roughly 600,000 others, he lives in a Community Integrated Living Arrangement, or CILA for short. Residents and the staff who care for them are at high risk during this pandemic. They should be given correspondingly high priority for covid-19 vaccines. (Harold Pollack, 1/5)

North Carolina Health News: The Bumpy Road To Vaccine Trial Participation 
When I first became interested in taking part in a coronavirus vaccine trial, I assumed all I had to do was step forward. I believed that the same characteristics that raised my coronavirus risk — Black, over 60, type 2 diabetic — also made me highly sought-after as a volunteer. But it wasn’t nearly that easy. (Melba Newsome, 1/6)

The Wall Street Journal: California’s Covid Woes
California has been celebrated as a Covid-19 model, but these days it’s the country’s biggest Covid hot spot. Politicians believed their strict lockdowns and mask mandates would defeat the virus, but they didn’t, and the latest infection surge has exposed deep problems. Hospitalizations in California have increased seven-fold since early November and are nearly three times higher than at the summer peak. California Gov. Gavin Newsom justified reimposing a lockdown in mid-November based on projections that the state’s health-care system would be overwhelmed by virus cases. Yet state and local officials failed to prepare hospitals for the surge that their models predicted. (1/5)

New York Post: Quit The Excuses — And Get New Yorkers Vaccinated
Amid their bungling of the vaccine rollout, Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio are proving great at two other things: making excuses — and passing the buck. “This was a much more aggressive undertaking than anyone thought,” Cuomo whined Monday. The nation “was not prepared.” Huh? Cuomo’s had nine months to plan. People sometimes refuse to take the vaccine, he added — including 30 percent of hospital workers. Yet he himself cast doubts on the shot before the November election. (1/5)

New York Post: Cuomo And De Blasio's Deadly COVID Failure Vaccine
In the beginning, the fall-back position for New York politicians was as predictable as it was successful. As the coronavirus ripped through the city and state and fear spread like wildfire, all they had to do was blame President Trump and they were heroes. Trump didn’t provide enough safety gear or ventilators or help with hospital beds, Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio insisted. Soon the federal government sent planeloads of equipment and invoked the Defense Production Act to build tens of thousands of ventilators. It sent a naval hospital ship and built a new hospital inside the cavernous Javits Center. (Michael Goodwin, 1/5)