• A study published in Nature Communications reports that doctors in France identified what is believed to be the first proven case of the coronavirus being passed from a pregnant mother to her baby in the womb, rather than the infant being infected during or soon after delivery as has been hypothesized in previous cases of newborns with COVID-19. The baby in the French case developed inflammation in the brain days after being born but has since made a good recovery. (The Guardian)

• Pharmaceutical companies working with the Trump administration through its Operation Warp Speed program are poised to start manufacturing potential COVID-19 vaccines by the end of the summer, according to a senior administration official. The Trump administration is also currently helping drugmakers to prepare manufacturing facilities and obtain raw materials, the official said. (Reuters)

• In a letter expected to be sent to governors soon, the Trump administration will recommend that states deploy the National Guard to hospitals to help them improve data collection about COVID-19 patients, supplies and capacity, according to draft letters, internal emails and officials familiar with the plans. The idea to recruit the National Guard to help with data collection was first proposed at a June meeting by White House coronavirus task force response coordinator Deborah Birx, according to two hospital industry officials who were in attendance, but such a plan has received pushback from provider officials who say the data issues stem primarily from the Health and Human Services Department and regular changes in federal instructions. (The Washington Post)

As U.S. Surge in Coronavirus Cases Continues, Some States Tighten Rules
Adam Martin, The Wall Street Journal

Coronavirus cases in the U.S. continued to surge Monday, with some states instituting new measures to stem transmission, while some countries where the virus once appeared to be contained imposed new restrictions to combat fresh outbreaks.

Fauci Back at the White House, a Day After Trump Aides Tried to Undermine Him
Michael D. Shear and Noah Weiland, The New York Times

A day after President Trump’s press office tried to undermine the reputation of the nation’s top infectious disease expert with an anonymously attributed list of what it said were his misjudgments in the early days of the coronavirus, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci returned to the White House on Monday. The visit underscored a reality for both men: They are stuck with each other.

Why We’re Losing the Battle With Covid-19
Jeneen Interlandi, The New York Times Magazine

In the United States, decades of near-total neglect had left the entire public-health apparatus too weak and uncoordinated to mount even a fraction of that response. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the nation’s leading public-health department, had stopped holding its own news conferences in early March.

White House renews argument that increased cases come from increased testing
Cassidy Morrison, Washington Examiner

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany reiterated that spikes in coronavirus cases are a function of increased access to testing, an argument that public health officials have debunked.

Study predicts surge in HIV, TB and malaria deaths amid COVID-19 pandemic
Kate Kelland, Reuters

Deaths from HIV, tuberculosis and malaria could surge in poor and middle-income countries as already weak health systems grapple with severe disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a predictive study published on Monday.

Smoking habits double number of young people vulnerable to severe COVID-19: study
James Bikales, The Hill

A new study finds that smoking is doubling the number of young adults at high risk of severe COVID-19.

Providers, payers hint they will sue CMS over proposed IPPS rule
Michael Brady, Modern Healthcare

Hospitals and insurers are fuming over the Trump administration’s latest idea to lower healthcare costs by changing how CMS calculates Medicare severity DRG payments.

Patients are still delaying essential care out of fear of coronavirus
Laurie McGinley, The Washington Post

The virus’s refusal to go quietly is the latest challenge for medical facilities grappling with new safety protocols, huge backlogs and public anxieties surging along with the virus. Doctors say “elective procedures,” including for cancer, can’t be delayed indefinitely without ill effects.

Hospitals Stock Up on Covid-19 Drugs to Prepare for Second Wave in Fall
Jared S. Hopkins, The Wall Street Journal

Hospitals across the country are stocking up on drugs for treating Covid-19, hoping to avoid another scramble for critical medications should a second wave of the virus threaten new drug shortages.

IRS: For-profit providers have to pay taxes on COVID-19 relief grants
Rachel Cohrs, Modern Healthcare

The IRS clarified that for-profit healthcare providers will have to pay taxes on the grants they received from the COVID-19 Provider Relief Fund.

Trump Reduced Fines For Nursing Homes That Put Residents At Risk. Then Covid-19 Happened.
Dylan Matthews, Vox

A CDC report found that, as of July 1, more than 80 percent of COVID-19 deaths were among people 65 and over. But investigations have since revealed that the conditions at too many nursing homes were conducive to the coronavirus’s spread, abetted by both state and federal policies.

Roche gene testing key to $1.7 billion deal for Blueprint cancer drug
John Miller, Reuters

Roche has struck a $1.7 billion cancer drug pact with Blueprint Medicines, it said on Tuesday, as advances in genetic testing for rare mutations drive lucrative deals for expensive treatments.

Vaccine makers’ ‘no profit’ pledge stirs doubts in Congress
Zachary Brennan, Politico

Some of the pharmaceutical companies developing Covid-19 vaccine candidates have pledged to not take a profit. But neither the companies nor the U.S. government bankrolling a great deal of the vaccine research has defined precisely what forgoing a profit means or how long that will last.

Pharmas restart drug trials after pandemic-related declines, Medidata finds
Michael Erman and Carl O’Donnell, Reuters

Pharmaceutical companies have ramped up clinical trials in the past month, rebounding from a steep decline in activity following the start of the coronavirus outbreak, though activity remains below pre-pandemic levels, according to new research shared with Reuters.

Pharma trade group scolds Gilead again for misleading information about a rival HIV drug
Ed Silverman, Stat News

For the second time in less than two years, Gilead Sciences (GILD) has been reprimanded by a U.K. pharmaceutical industry trade group for disseminating information that unfairly compared one of its HIV drugs with a rival medicine sold by ViiV Healthcare. But this time, the drug maker was slammed for being a repeat offender and discrediting the entire industry.

In Astounding Test, Scientists Revive Damaged Lungs for Transplant
Gina Kolata, The New York Times

The results, reported on Monday in Nature Medicine, seem like pure science fiction: Within 24 hours, the lungs looked viable, and lab tests confirmed they had been resuscitated.

EHR companies partnering with big tech for cloud services
Jessica Kim Cohen, Modern Healthcare

Some of the biggest electronic health record developers are signing new agreements with tech giants as their clients look to shift workloads to the cloud.

Growing Body of Data on Important Drug Cost Questions
Robert Popovian, Morning Consult

Since the beginning of 2019, researchers and states continue to release important data that helps explain how the world of drug pricing, spending and affordability really works. The findings address key policy and economic considerations that have occupied the debate among policymakers for the past decade.

We still have a coronavirus ‘testing problem in this country’
Mick Mulvaney, CNBC

My son was tested recently; we had to wait 5 to 7 days for results. My daughter wanted to get tested before visiting her grandparents, but was told she didn’t qualify. That is simply inexcusable at this point in the pandemic.

Xenogeneic cross-circulation for extracorporeal recovery of injured human lungs
Ahmed E. Hozain et al., Nature Medicine

Although ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) is able to recover marginal quality donor lungs, extension of normothermic support beyond 6 h has been challenging. Here we demonstrate that acutely injured human lungs declined for transplantation, including a lung that failed to recover on EVLP, can be recovered by cross-circulation of whole blood between explanted human lungs and a Yorkshire swine.

Medical Vulnerability of Young Adults to Severe COVID-19 Illness — Data From the National Health Interview Survey
Sally H. Adams et al., Journal of Adolescent Health

COVID-19 morbidity and mortality reports in the U.S. have not included findings specific to young adults. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides a list of conditions and associated behaviors, including smoking, conferring risk of severe COVID-19 illness regardless of age. This study examines young adults’ medical vulnerability to severe COVID-19 illness, focusing on smoking-related behavior.

Federal judges block abortion ban laws in Tennessee, Georgia
Nathaniel Weixel, The Hill

A federal court in Georgia on Monday permanently blocked the state’s “heartbeat” law that banned physicians from performing an abortion once a fetus’s “heartbeat” can be detected — usually about six weeks into a pregnancy and before many women know they’re pregnant. Meanwhile, a federal judge in Tennessee issued a temporary restraining order to block a law that would have essentially banned abortion at nearly every stage of pregnancy, less than an hour after Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed it.

HHS approves substance abuse care coordination rule
Michael Brady, Modern Healthcare

HHS on Monday signed off on a final rule to improve care coordination for substance use disorder, despite concerns that it might make people less willing to seek treatment.

At college health centers, students battle misdiagnoses and inaccessible care
Jenn Abelson et al., The Washington Post

To assess the landscape of student health services at roughly 1,700 four-year residential campuses, The Post interviewed more than 200 students, parents and health officials and examined thousands of pages of medical records and court documents and 5,500 reviews of student health centers posted on Google.

Flossie Wong-Staal, pioneering HIV/AIDS researcher, dies at 73
Emily Langer, The Washington Post

Flossie Wong-Staal, a molecular virologist who led research that helped produce seminal findings about HIV — its genetic structure, the insidious manner in which it invades the immune system, and ways of detecting and treating it, died July 8 at a hospital in La Jolla, Calif. She was 73.

U.S. Futures Point to Rebound; Stocks, Copper Fall: Markets Wrap
Anchalee Worrachate and Andreea Papuc, Bloomberg

U.S. equity futures climbed after yesterday’s retreat, while European stocks slid as investors weighed earnings season and the economic hit of rising virus cases.