• International air passengers to the United States will be required to show proof of a recent negative COVID-19 test before boarding their flights, regardless of vaccination status, according to a new policy from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that goes into effect Jan. 26. Airlines must refuse boarding to passengers who don’t comply with the order, which expands on a similar rule implemented last month that required proof of a negative test result for travelers from the United Kingdom. (The New York Times)

• Advisers to President-elect Joe Biden are pushing back against the Trump administration’s decision to urge states to begin vaccinating tens of millions of people 65 and older as well as those with high-risk health conditions, two transition officials said, out of concern that broader vaccine eligibility could stretch states’ resources and lead to confusion about when most people can get a shot. One senior official said the changes to the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, which would also see doses redirected from states that have been slow to vaccinate their populations, could place “an extreme responsibility on states without necessarily giving them the support to execute.” (The Washington Post)

• The federal government will spend about $2.63 billion to buy 1.25 million additional doses of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s COVID-19 antibody cocktail, set to be delivered in the first half of 2021. The order brings the total U.S. supply to more than 1.5 million doses, though health care systems have been slow to adopt the treatment, which is used for high-risk COVID-19 patients who have not been hospitalized. (Reuters)

• The Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration on a requirement that women seeking medication abortions pick up their prescriptions in person, a move that excludes the drug mifepristone, which is used to induce abortions, from looser in-person dispensing requirements during the pandemic. Health care groups, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, argued that the rule exposed patients to unnecessary risks during the COVID-19 crisis. (The Wall Street Journal)

The US has suffered its worst day ever for Covid-19 deaths
Christina Maxouris, CNN

The US reported its highest daily number of Covid-19 deaths on Tuesday with more than 4,320 fatalities attributed to the virus.

Johnson & Johnson Expects Vaccine Results Soon but Lags in Production
Carl Zimmer et al., The New York Times

The U.S. needs J.&J.’s one-shot vaccine more than ever. But the company is behind on manufacturing promises made in its Operation Warp Speed contract.

Hospitals to Report Covid-19 Vaccination Data
Melanie Evans, The Wall Street Journal

The Health and Human Services Department will start collecting hospital data on how many health-care personnel and patients have gotten Covid-19 vaccines amid a faltering national push to widely and quickly immunize the public.

COVID-19 vaccines sit at hospitals as doctors, pharmacies await doses
Emily Kopp, Roll Call

Public health departments say it’s difficult to ramp up vaccinations amid a surge in hospitalizations.

Feeling Left Out: Private Practice Doctors, Patients Wonder When It’s Their Turn for Vaccine
Julie Appleby, Kaiser Health News

Not only are doctors having trouble getting vaccine for patients, but many of the community-based physicians and medical staff that aren’t employed by hospitals or health systems also report mixed results in getting inoculated.

Chinese Covid-19 vaccine far less effective than initially claimed in Brazil, sparking concerns
Nectar Gan and Tatiana Arias, CNN

A leading Chinese Covid-19 vaccine developed by Sinovac Biotech was just 50.38% effective in late-stage trials in Brazil, significantly lower than earlier results showed, according to a statement published by the government of Sao Paulo Tuesday.

Chinese Covid-19 Tests Were Pushed by Federal Agencies Despite Security Warnings
Warren P. Strobel et al., The Wall Street Journal

At least two federal agencies worked to distribute Covid-19 tests from a Chinese genetics company, despite warnings about security risks from U.S. intelligence and security officials, according to interviews and documents obtained by The Wall Street Journal.

Operation Warp Speed chief resigns at Biden team’s request, will stay through transition, sources say
Meg Tirrell, CNBC

Operation Warp Speed Chief Adviser Dr. Moncef Slaoui has submitted his resignation at the request of the incoming Biden team, under a plan that would see him stay in the role for a month to help with the transition, according to two people familiar with the situation.

The Future of the Coronavirus? An Annoying Childhood Infection
Apoorva Mandavilli, The New York Times

Once immunity is widespread in adults, the virus rampaging across the world will come to resemble the common cold, scientists predict.

Coronavirus shutdowns have quashed nearly all other common viruses. But scientists say a rebound is coming.
Dan Hurley, The Washington Post

Veteran virus trackers say they are chronicling something never before seen — the suppression of virtually every common respiratory and gastrointestinal virus besides the novel coronavirus.

Doctor’s Death After Covid Vaccine Is Being Investigated
Denise Grady and Patricia Mazzei, The New York Times

A Florida physician developed an unusual blood disorder shortly after he received the Pfizer vaccine. It is not yet known if the shot is linked to the illness.

COVID-19 still a big uncertainty for insurers in 2021
Nona Tepper, Modern Healthcare

Political uncertainty and rising costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic will drive health insurers to set prices conservatively and invest in new business lines this year.

Healthcare CFOs see fresh wave of M&A in 2021, BDO survey shows
Susan Kelly, Healthcare Dive

While hospitals and health systems in particular saw fewer merger transactions in 2020 compared to the year before (79 deals versus 92), the number still is in the historic range of the past 10 years, according to Kaufman Hall.

JPM21: Tenet aims to acquire 25 to 40 surgical centers in 2021 as pivot away from urgent care continues
Robert King, Fierce Healthcare

Tenet Healthcare plans to spend $150 million to acquire between 25 to 40 ambulatory surgery centers in 2021 as the hospital system continues its pivot to more higher acuity facilities and away from urgent care.

Middlemen sue to block a signature Trump drug pricing proposal
Nicholas Florko, Stat News

The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, which represents drug middlemen in Washington, filed a lawsuit Tuesday to block implementation of one of President Trump’s signature drug pricing policies.

FDA fights for independence in Trump administration’s final days
Sarah Owermohle and Adam Cancryn, Politico

FDA was blindsided Monday when HHS Secretary Alex Azar approved rules designed to reduce scrutiny of drugs and medical devices before they reach market, four senior FDA officials and a person familiar with discussions said.

AstraZeneca Sues HHS Over Advisory Opinion on Drug Discounts
Ian Lopez, Bloomberg Law

AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP is suing the Department of Health and Human Services over a policy push for drugmakers to provide discounts to pharmacies that contract with low-income health centers and hospitals, arguing the approach misrepresents the point of a federal drug pricing program.

After repeated FDA rejections, key investor writes down stake in former diabetes unicorn Intarcia Therapeutics
Katie Sheridan and Adam Feuerstein, Stat News

Intarcia Therapeutics, a one-time biotech unicorn that has been unable to secure approval for a diabetes implant, has lost the support of a major Chinese investor and is being forced to auction lab equipment for the cash it needs to remain in business.

Gilead, Biogen Lead Biotechs That ‘Need to Do Deals’ for Growth
Bailey Lipschultz, Bloomberg

Biotech mergers should pick up steam this year as cash-rich companies whose shares stumbled through 2020 — like Amgen Inc. and Gilead Sciences Inc. — look to replenish wavering pipelines.

The prices of 7 drugs were hiked without proof of new benefits, costing the U.S. $1.2 billion in 2019
Ed Silverman, Stat News

During 2019, drug makers raised prices on seven widely used medicines by substantial amounts without any new clinical evidence to justify the increases, leading patients and insurers in the U.S. to spend an added $1.2 billion that year, according to a new analysis.

Health tech experts explain why trust is crucial for clinical AI tools
Erin Brodwin, Stat News

The field of clinical AI tools, including those that predict hospitalized patients’ risk of death or sudden deterioration, is developing at such a rapid clip that regulation has fallen behind.

Rep. Watson Coleman: I’m 75. I had cancer. I got covid-19 because my GOP colleagues dismiss facts.
Bonnie Watson Coleman, The Washington Post

I am angry that after I spent months carefully isolating myself, a single chaotic day likely got me sick.

Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome and Maternal Opioid-Related Diagnoses in the US, 2010-2017
Ashley H. Hirai et al., JAMA

The national estimated rate of neonatal abstinence syndrome was 7.3 per 1,000 births, and the rate of maternal opioid-related diagnoses was 8.2 per 1,000 delivery hospitalizations in 2017. From 2010 to 2017, estimated rates significantly increased nationally and for the majority of states, with substantial state-level variation.

Cancer Death Rate in U.S. Falls by Largest Yearly Amount on Record
Brianna Abbott, The Wall Street Journal

The death rate from cancer in the U.S. dropped 2.4% from 2017 to 2018, the biggest single-year decline on record and a sign of the impact of new treatments on lung cancer especially, the American Cancer Society said.

Philadelphia ‘Safe Injection’ Site Barred by Federal Drug Law
Mary Anne Pazanowski, Bloomberg Law

A nonprofit that favors a public health response to drug addiction is prohibited from operating a “safe injection” site in Philadelphia manned by people trained to spot and treat overdoses because it’s a federal crime to open a property for drug use by others, the Third Circuit said Tuesday.