• President Joe Biden made his latest effort to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates by requiring federal employees to get vaccinated and also calling on state and local governments to offer a $100 incentive to those who receive a vaccine voluntarily. The Defense Department followed suit a few hours later by requiring its nearly 1.5 million service members to get a COVID-19 vaccine or submit to regular testing, social distancing and mask-wearing. (The New York Times)
• The Food and Drug Administration said the biosimilar insulin product Semglee, developed by Viatris Inc. and Biocon Biologics Ltd., is interchangeable with Sanofi SA’s Lantus, marking the first time that the agency has permitted pharmacists to automatically prescribe a biosimilar in lieu of its biologic treatment. (The Wall Street Journal)
• A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention internal document obtained by The Washington Post states that the coronavirus delta variant appears to cause more severe illness compared to earlier variants and is as contagious as chickenpox. (The Washington Post)
• The CDC said 69.3 percent of U.S. counties have COVID-19 transmission rates high enough to justify indoor mask wearing in public places and urged officials to implement such policies immediately. (Reuters)

New Vaccinations Are Rebounding in the U.S.’s Covid Hot Spots
Bloomberg

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South leads surge of hospitalizations
Marisa Fernandez, Axios

Coronavirus hospitalizations in the South are once again surging — in some cases to levels near or above their previous records.

Biden’s Power Over Shots Hits a Wall in Fight to Curb Delta
Jenny Leonard and Skylar Woodhouse, Bloomberg

President Joe Biden made his best effort to juice vaccinations on Thursday, as the delta variant of coronavirus sweeps the U.S., ordering federal employees to get shots or face strict public health precautions and offering ordinary American holdouts $100 for a jab. But his latest announcement showed the limit of his powers, and what happens next in the pandemic is largely out of the president’s hands.

Covid-19 could lead to cognitive decline, especially among older adults, new research suggests
Angela Haupt, The Washington Post

Preliminary research presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Denver this week suggests that coronavirus infections might lead to lasting cognitive impairment, especially among older people.

States race to use COVID-19 vaccines before they expire
Mike Catalini, The Associated Press

Hundreds of thousands of COVID-19 vaccine doses have been saved from the trash after U.S. regulators extended their expiration date for a second time, part of a nationwide effort to salvage expiring shots to battle the nation’s summer surge in infections.

Mask sales rise 24 percent after weeks of decline
Lexi Lonas, The Hill

Mask sales have risen 24 percent after weeks of decline, data from the Adobe Digital Economy Index shows.

U.S. FDA allows Lilly’s COVID-19 drug to be taken without remdesivir
Reuters

The U.S. health regulator expanded the emergency use authorization for Eli Lilly’s COVID-19 drug baricitinib, saying it could now be used without taking Gilead’s drug remdesivir along with it, Lilly said on Thursday.

Israel’s president gets third COVID-19 shot, urges boosters for over-60s
Stephen Farrell, Reuters

Israeli President Isaac Herzog received a third shot of coronavirus vaccine on Friday, kicking off a campaign to give booster doses to people aged over 60 as part of efforts to slow the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.

Mixing Russia’s Sputnik V, AstraZeneca shots proves safe in small trial -RDIF
Reuters

Trials mixing a first dose of the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine with AstraZeneca’s shot revealed no serious side effects and no subsequent cases of coronavirus among volunteers, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said on Friday.

What Makes the Delta Variant of Covid-19 So Dangerous for Unvaccinated People
Josh Ulick and Alberto Cervantes, The Wall Street Journal

Delta’s increased infectiousness is driven by a unique combination of mutations, changes to the virus’s genetic code that affect its structure and function. Some of Delta’s most pernicious mutations affect its spike protein, which the virus uses to latch onto and infect human cells.

Some Are Chasing Extra Vaccine Shots, While Scientists Debate
Maria Cramer and Jenny Gross, The New York Times

Many scientists say that vaccinated people probably won’t need booster shots anytime soon. Some are getting them anyway.

As new school year looms, debates over mask mandates stir anger and confusion
Moriah Balingit et al., The Washington Post

New federal guidelines prompted by a surge in coronavirus cases have left school leaders across the country embroiled in debates over whether to require masks in schools, muddling a long-sought return to normalcy for millions of children.

Here’s how countries around the world have approached vaccine mandates
Claire Parker, The Washington Post

The vaccination rules for federal workers mark an escalation in efforts to incentivize vaccination as a new covid-19 wave mounts. They are part of a growing trend around the world to require — or nearly require — vaccinations for certain categories of people to stem the tide of variant-fueled infections and get the pandemic under control.

Bus Stop by Bus Stop, Denver-Area Officials Microtarget Vaccine Hesitancy
Markian Hawryluk, Kaiser Health News

The mobile clinic in the East Colfax neighborhood is part of a new push by Denver-area public health officials to find the neighborhoods where vaccinations lag behind state or county averages. Using detailed maps that show vaccines given by ZIP code or census tract, the health departments highlight underperforming areas being masked by a county’s overall vaccination rate.

Procter & Gamble CEO David Taylor to Step Aside
Sharon Terlep, The Wall Street Journal

Procter & Gamble Co. said David Taylor would step down as chief executive after a six-year run atop the consumer- products company, where he battled with an activist investor, revived sales and navigated through a pandemic.

A dozen GOP governors urge Supreme Court to let states regulate abortion
John Kruzel, The Hill

A dozen Republican governors on Thursday urged the Supreme Court to eliminate federal protections for abortion and instead allow states to regulate the procedure.

Democrats approve spending bill that would fund abortions for first time in 45 years
Cassidy Morrison, Washington Examiner

The Democratic-led House of Representatives passed a spending bill on Thursday that would eliminate a 45-year-old stipulation included in spending packages that prohibits taxpayer money from funding abortions. The bill passed with a 219-208 vote.

So Close to Returning to Offices, Companies Upend Plans Again
Michael Corkery et al., The New York Times

For many companies, September was supposed to mark a triumphant return to dormant offices, a time to crank up productivity and reboot in-person corporate cultures that have withered during 18 months of Zoom calls. Now those return-to-office plans, like so many others during this long, tortuous pandemic, are changing yet again.

Urban landscaping to blame in prolonged, crippling allergy season
Marisa Fernandez, Axios

Allergy season in North America has been the lengthiest and the most severe in decades, and experts say the millions of disproportionately male trees planted in urban areas are partly to blame for high pollen counts.

UnitedHealthcare, Cigna, Aetna all unveil new policies restricting biologics use
Nona Tepper, Modern Healthcare

Six months ago, Angela Simmons Alvarez got a letter in the mail from her insurer, asking her to please stop taking a drug she has relied on for nearly 20 years. She’s not alone.

Dying MA customers are switching to traditional Medicare
Michael Brady, Modern Healthcare

Medicare Advantage beneficiaries can’t access the care they need as they get sicker, a new report from federal watchdogs suggests.

Workers Miss Out as Employers See Rare Savings on Health Costs
Sara Hansard, Bloomberg Law

For the first time in decades, health-care costs for large employers went down in 2020—albeit modestly. But neither employees nor smaller companies benefited from the reduction in costs that resulted from fewer elective procedures and fewer visits to the doctor during the height of the pandemic.

Diabetes Drug’s New Weight Loss Formula Fuels Cost-Benefit Debate
Julie Appleby, Kaiser Health News

Wegovy’s monthly wholesale price tag — set at $1,349 — is about 58% more than Ozempic’s, although, the company points out, the drug’s injector pens contain more than twice as much of the active ingredient. Studies so far show that patients may need to take it indefinitely to maintain weight loss, translating to a tab that could top $323,000 over 20 years at the current price.

CMS announces Medicare pay hikes for providers
Michael Brady, Modern Healthcare

The latest Medicare payment rules for inpatient rehabilitation, inpatient psychiatric, hospices and skilled nursing facilities are out, and there’s good news for those healthcare providers.

U.S. Doctors Lose Patience as They Confront Vaccine Hesitancy
Rebecca Torrence, Bloomberg

The pandemic, these professionals say, is entering a dark new phase. Nearly half the nation rejects vaccines, goes maskless and sees virus restrictions as an assault on liberty.

Amid Covid Booster Debate, West Virginia to Check Immunity of Vaccinated Nursing Home Residents
Phil Galewitz, Kaiser Health News

Starting in August, the state plans to begin measuring the levels of disease-fighting antibodies in the blood of vaccinated nursing home residents, which could help indicate whether they need a booster shot. The process will be voluntary and the data will be shared with federal health agencies evaluating the need for boosters.

Pharma CEO Faces Personal Fight for a New Breed of Organ Donors
Adam Piore, Bloomberg Businessweek

Today, Rothblatt’s biotech company, United Therapeutics Corp., is worth about $8 billion. More than 100,000 people around the world rely on it to produce the lifesaving medicine, called Remodulin, and Rothblatt is the highest-paid female executive in the U.S.

FDA threatens to fine another drug maker for failing to report clinical trial results
Ed Silverman, Stat News

For only the second time, the Food and Drug Administration is threatening to fine a drug maker for failing to submit required information about a clinical trial to a U.S. government registry.

States could get billions from opioid lawsuits. They have to decide how to spend it
Andrew Joseph, Stat News

The endgame of the sprawling mass of opioid lawsuits is starting to come into focus: Already, a settlement with Johnson & Johnson and three major drug distributors will pour billions of dollars into communities to combat the addiction crisis, with more to come. But what that looks like, exactly, will vary from place to place.

Biden Patent Office Pick Will Shape Fight Over High Drug Prices
Ian Lopez, Bloomberg Law

The path toward lower drug prices could hinge on who President Joe Biden picks as the next director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Avera Health sells eCare telehealth business to PE firm
Jessica Kim Cohen, Modern Healthcare

Avera Health is selling its clinician-to-clinician telehealth business Avera eCare to a private-equity firm in a deal expected to close this year.

Biopharmaceutical Price Regulation: No Panacea for Patients
Michael Ciarametaro (Vice President of Research, National Pharmaceutical Council) and Brian Sils (Senior Research Associate, National Pharmaceutical Council), Morning Consult

The spirited debate about how to make medicines more affordable for patients sometimes masks the fact that, in the United States, the link between drug prices and what patients pay is not as straightforward as many might believe. Before Congress passes legislation to impose federal price controls, it should consider how effective these policies will be in bringing actual costs down for patients.

If We Must Wear Masks Again, We Need a Smart Approach
Jennifer B. Nuzzo and Beth Blauer, The New York Times

Health officials spent months assuring vaccinated Americans that they didn’t need to mask up against Covid-19 because they were protected from illness and were unlikely to spread infections to others. A return to masking for everyone could be interpreted as moving the goal posts or as a signal that experts are no longer as confident as they were in the vaccines — especially if new masking rules are not tied to specific metrics like vaccinations or if masking rules are in effect in places where hospitals are not dealing with crisis-level admissions.

My Family’s Covid Tragedy May Save Your Life
Julia Letlow, The Wall Street Journal

Covid-19 has had a profound impact on my life. I lost my husband, Luke, on Dec. 29, five days before he was set to be sworn in to Congress. I want to share our story in hope that it will encourage unvaccinated Americans to get vaccinated before it’s too late.