The Covid-19 Death Toll Is Even Worse Than It Looks
Paul Overberg et al., The Wall Street Journal
The recorded death count from the Covid-19 pandemic as of Thursday is nearing 2 million. The true extent is far worse.
Biden’s Vaccination Chief Takes On 100-Million-Dose Mission
John Tozzi, Bloomberg
Amid these dark days, President-elect Joe Biden has set an ambitious goal of administering 100 million shots in his first 100 days in office, even as he acknowledges this will be “one of the hardest and most costly operational challenges in our nation’s history.”
Trump wants billions cut from global Covid vaccine distributor
Caitlin Emma et al., Politico
The White House has asked Congress to cut $27 billion from a recent spending bill. Among the cuts: $4 billion for a group helping with the international Covid fight.
Participants in Moderna’s early clinical trials are being offered a booster shot.
Denise Grady and Katherine J. Wu, The New York Times
People who received two shots of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine in its earliest, Phase 1 clinical trial are being offered a third shot, a so-called booster, as part of a continuing study to determine whether repeated vaccinations are needed and whether they are safe and effective, the company said on Thursday.
CDC Officials Urge Biden Team to Dump Palantir’s COVID Tracker
Erin Banco, The Daily Beast
Officials working on the Trump administration’s data collection efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic have suggested to transition officials for President-elect Joe Biden that the new team get rid of a newly minted system originally designed by the Silicon Valley company Palantir, warning that it is not accurate.
Azar acknowledges a top C.D.C. official was right in her February warning about mass disruption.
Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Javier C. Hernández, The New York Times
The official, Dr. Nancy Messonnier, was muzzled for nine months after issuing the Feb. 25 warning, which threw the stock market into a nosedive and infuriated President Trump, who was on his way back from India at the time.
Companies scramble to expand coronavirus vaccine supply
Carolyn Y. Johnson, The Washington Post
Production of the two coronavirus vaccines authorized in the United States is accelerating, even as companies with experimental vaccines nearing the end of trials struggle to meet ambitious manufacturing targets.
The Real Story On The Vaccine Rollout Is More Complicated Than You’ve Heard
Jonathan Cohn, HuffPost
It turns out the U.S. is faring pretty well, relatively speaking. In fact, shots are getting into arms faster than in most of Western Europe, at least according to the available data.
Some big U.S. pharmacies will not check ID before administering COVID-19 vaccines
Richa Naidu et al., Reuters
Many U.S. pharmacies, including those inside Kroger Co supermarkets and the drugstore chain of CVS Health Corp, say they will not be checking IDs before administering COVID-19 vaccines, leaving the door open to those who do not meet states’ guidelines to jump the line.
Pushed to Give Covid Therapy, Health Centers Await Medicare Cash
Jacquie Lee, Bloomberg Law
Medicare money isn’t coming in fast enough for many health facilities administering monoclonal antibody treatments to Covid-19 patients, federal officials and local hospital leaders said Thursday.
When Covid Deaths Aren’t Counted, Families Pay the Price
Melissa Bailey and Eli Cahan, Kaiser Health News
Omitting covid-19 on death certificates threatens to undercount the toll of the pandemic nationwide.
The U.S. Needs More Covid Testing, and Minnesota Has Found a Way
Susan Berfield and Michelle Fay Cortez, Bloomberg Businessweek
Minnesota isn’t the biggest state or the wealthiest. But it has a progressive governor, a budget surplus that’s allowed it to supplement federal funding and spend about $150 million on testing so far, and a well-functioning pandemic task force.
UnitedHealthcare just became the latest health insurer to encourage patients to see a primary-care doctor online
Shelby Livingston, Business Insider
UnitedHealthcare this week became the latest health insurer to unveil a new telehealth service that allows people to get primary care through a computer or phone screen instead of going to a brick-and-mortar doctor’s office.
States Can Exit Obamacare Exchange in 2022 Under Final Rule
Sara Hansard, Bloomberg Law
States would be able to largely bypass the federal Obamacare exchange under a rule finalized Thursday by the Trump administration.
Trump administration will let nearly all doctors prescribe addiction medicine buprenorphine
Lev Facher, Stat News
The Trump administration announced a major shift in addiction medicine policy Thursday, giving doctors dramatically more flexibility to prescribe a popular and effective drug used to treat opioid use disorder.
Slim Medicare Payment Rate Increase Recommended for Hospitals
Tony Pugh, Bloomberg Law
Hospitals would see a 2% increase in their Medicare base payment rates in 2022, but physicians and other clinicians would see no payment increases under final recommendations to Congress approved Thursday by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.
Medicare Part D spent twice what the VA paid for the same drugs
Ed Silverman, Stat News
Medicare Part D spent more than twice as much on hundreds of prescription drugs than the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2017, largely because the agency representing military veterans was able to negotiate prices directly with drug makers, according to a new report.
Insulin ‘Shadow Pricing’ Boosted Industry Profits, Panel Finds
Alex Ruoff, Bloomberg Law
Drugmakers spent years raising the cost of insulin largely to compete with each other, resulting in higher prices for the uninsured and the underinsured, according to a two-year-long investigation by the Senate Finance Committee.
Aurinia in ‘show-me phase’ as FDA nears approval decision on autoimmune kidney disease drug
Adam Feuerstein, Stat News
If the decision goes Aurinia’s way, the oral drug called voclosporin will be the first commercial product developed successfully by the drug maker, founded in 1993 and based in Victoria, British Columbia, in Canada.
New drug combo may help people fight meth addiction, study shows
Eileen Drage O’Reilly, Axios
Combining two FDA-approved drugs may help stop some people’s use of methamphetamine, a new study shows.
Two ways Fitbit could boost Google’s health ambitions
Erin Brodwin and Mario Aguilar, Stat News
Google’s newly-finalized purchase of Fitbit is poised to provide the tech giant with a potentially lucrative toehold into two competitive markets: clinical trials and employer benefits.
Selling Survival: Marketing Must Support Medicine
Susan Doktor, Morning Consult
We’ll need consistent, compelling messaging to counter the disinformation that runs rampant in the media. And we must deliver an unfailingly positive customer experience to build trust, educate, and — to use an apt marketing term — convert enough people to achieve herd immunity.
‘Vaccine Deserts’ Threaten to Prolong COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout and Widen Disparities
Tori Marsh, GoodRx
According to new research from GoodRx, much of the country is at risk of falling behind in line for the COVID-19 vaccine because they live in a “pharmacy desert,” an area defined by limited access to pharmacies.
FDA Veteran Being Considered to Lead Agency Under Biden
Anna Edney, Bloomberg
Janet Woodcock, a 30-year veteran of the Food and Drug Administration, is being considered by President-elect Joe Biden to serve as commissioner of the agency, according to people familiar with the selection process.
Top Official at Indian Health Service Will Step Down
Mark Walker, The New York Times
The next director of the health service will inherit an agency that has drawn intense criticism for its failures to provide adequate care both before and during the coronavirus pandemic.
