• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its mask-wearing guidance to recommend that vaccinated people in COVID-19 hot spots and those with vulnerable household members resume wearing them in indoor public settings, a reversal from the agency’s decision to loosen restrictions in May. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said the decision was due to the summer surge in infections, and described the delta variant as an “opportunist in areas where we have not shown a fortified response against it.” (The Washington Post)
• President Joe Biden plans to announce a requirement tomorrow that all federal employees and contractors either get a COVID-19 shot or submit to regular testing, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said. (CNN) Labor unions are split on vaccine mandates, with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka saying he would support the requirement but other leaders calling the move premature. (Politico)
• The Biden administration is proposing strengthening a “Buy American” rule that would increase the share of American-made products that are bought for the federal government, and officials said it would give priority to medical equipment and other supply chain goods that saw shortages during the pandemic. (The Wall Street Journal)
• Purdue Pharma LP’s creditors endorsed the drugmaker’s bankruptcy plan, which would see the Sackler family relinquish control of the company and funnel profits from OxyContin, its blockbuster painkiller, to pay for addiction prevention and treatment programs. A judge is expected to approve the plan next month, which would resolve thousands of lawsuits and start the process of releasing more than $4.5 billion to help pay for the opioid crisis. (The New York Times)

As Delta Variant Adds Urgency to COVID-19 Vaccination Drive, About 3 in 5 Adults Back Vaccine Mandates

Morning Consult

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Pfizer sells $7.8 billion in Covid shots in the Q2, raises 2021 guidance on vaccine sales

Berkeley Lovelace Jr., CNBC

Pfizer said it sold $7.8 billion in Covid-19 shots in the second quarter and is raising its 2021 sales forecast for the vaccine to $33.5 billion from $26 billion as the delta variant spreads and scientists debate whether people will need booster shots.

Moderna Says Foreign Manufacturing Partners Facing Delays

Robert Langreth, Bloomberg

Moderna Inc. said its Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing partners outside the U.S. are “facing delays” due to laboratory testing issues that occurred in recent days.

One Year Later, America’s Mask Supply Chain Is Still Vulnerable

Shira Stein, Bloomberg Businessweek

Even as the delta variant fuels a new wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in the U.S., some domestic manufacturers of N95s and surgical masks are struggling to stay in business.

Israel Begins Pfizer Covid-19 Vaccine for At-Risk Children Under 12 as Delta Cases Surge

Dov Lieber and Rory Jones, The Wall Street Journal

Israel authorized the use of Pfizer Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine for vulnerable children between five and 11 years old, as cases of the highly contagious Delta variant rise sharply.

AstraZeneca Shot Brings No Increased Blood-Clot Risk After Two Doses

Deirdre Hipwell and Suzi Ring, Bloomberg

AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid-19 vaccine doesn’t raise the risk of a rare blood clotting disorder after a second dose, suggesting people shouldn’t hesitate to get another one if they didn’t have trouble after the first.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, Other GOP Lawmakers Sue Pelosi Over Mask Penalties

Siobhan Hughes, The Wall Street Journal

Three House Republican lawmakers filed a lawsuit accusing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) of violating the Constitution when their pay was docked for refusing to wear face coverings on the House floor earlier this year.

‘There is a real cost’: As Covid shows, barring bedside visitors from ICU deprives patients of the best care

Marion Renault, Stat News

A growing body of evidence supports the theory that bedside visitors offer not only comfort, but true clinical value.

Schools Brace for a Chaotic Reopening With Delta Raging

Anna Edney, Bloomberg Businessweek

The beginning of the school year is imminent, and superintendents around the country aren’t sweating bus schedules and bell times but Covid-19 vaccination rates and mask rules as the pandemic threatens to disrupt K-12 education for the third year running.

For the first time ever, Lander’s White House science office will have an entire wing dedicated to health

Lev Facher, Stat News

Eric Lander, the renowned genomics researcher, has kept a low profile in his first months as President Biden’s science adviser. He’s building a new wing, exclusively focused on health and life sciences — a dramatic change for OSTP, which even under President Obama counted just two staffers with the word “health” in their titles. Neither worked in life sciences.

New HHS Program Would Prepare for ‘Disease X’ Under Bill

Jeannie Baumann, Bloomberg Law

The U.S. could have vaccines and other medical countermeasures in place for future, unknown outbreaks under legislation expected to be introduced next week.

WHO leader issues warning on ‘harmful’ e-cigarettes

Celine Castronuovo, The Hill

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday noted that while many countries have made “progress in the fight against” the “tobacco epidemic,” the marketing of e-cigarettes toward young people could have “harmful” health outcomes going forward.

‘OK not to be OK’: Mental health takes top role at Olympics

Jenna Fryer, The Associated Press

Biles might very well have redefined the mental health discussion that’s been coursing through sports for the past year.

‘Pent up demand’ spurs Centene Q2 net loss as more members seek care

Samantha Liss, Healthcare Dive

Centene reported a $535 million loss for the second quarter as more members returned for in-person care following the prior-year period where utilization was drastically lower due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sign-Up Window for Free COBRA Coverage for Many Laid-Off Workers Closes This Week

Michelle Andrews, Kaiser Health News

Under federal COBRA law, people can generally choose to continue their employer health coverage for up to 18 months after being laid off. They usually have 60 days to decide, though that deadline has been extended while the pandemic continues.

Biden’s Sway Seen in Arkansas Medicaid Plan Without Work Mandate

Christopher Brown, Bloomberg Law

An Arkansas plan to revamp its Medicaid program without strict work requirements and to address enrollees’ social needs signals that the Biden administration’s health-care policy priorities are making an impact in red states.

Undocumented Californians Over 50 Eligible for Medicaid in 2022

Tiffany Stecker, Bloomberg Law

California’s undocumented immigrants over 50 will be eligible to sign up for Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program, starting next year.

Hospital Groups Sue HHS Over Graduate Medical Education Pay

Mary Anne Pazanowski, Bloomberg Law

A coalition of hospitals sued HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra in federal court to force him to recalculate their Medicare reimbursements for doctor training programs.

UHS posts Q2 profit, but executives warn delta variant could stress labor challenges

Hailey Mensik, Healthcare Dive

Universal Health Services posted a $325 million profit in the second quarter of this year, up from $251.9 million during the same time last year, according to financial results released Monday.

Providers scramble to prevent Congress from using COVID-19 relief monies to pay for infrastructure

Robert King, Fierce Healthcare

Several major hospital groups are ramping up efforts to prevent the Senate from using unspent COVID-19 relief funding to help pay for infrastructure.

US hospitals struggle to reduce health disparities: Minority patients underrepresented in 4 of 5 hospitals

Adrianna Rodriguez, USA Today

Most U.S. hospitals are still disproportionately treating white patients for common services, a report published Tuesday shows, despite serving racially and ethnically diverse communities.

Infrastructure Gang Targets Pharma to Pay for Roads, Bridges

Alex Ruoff, Bloomberg Law

Senators negotiating a bipartisan infrastructure deal are looking to pay for some of their package by curbing unpopular practices by pharmaceutical middlemen and drugmakers, putting industry groups on high alert.

New York Opioid Trial Opens With Emails Joking About Epidemic

Sara Randazzo, The Wall Street Journal

As an opioid epidemic raged across the U.S. a decade ago, employees at a major distributor of prescription drugs sent emails joking about addicts, jurors were told Tuesday during opening statements at a Long Island trial seeking to blame the pharmaceutical industry for a wave of opioid addiction.

Top health official sees various routes to lowering patient costs

Abigail Goldberg-Zelizer, The Hill

Meena Seshamani, director of the Center for Medicare, said drug companies, health care providers and the government need to do more for Americans who struggle to afford prescription drugs.

Endo’s Opioid Tab Could Hit $3 Billion Based on Tennessee Deal

Jef Feeley and Eliza Ronalds-Hannon, Bloomberg

Endo International Plc’s $35 million settlement of a multi-billion-dollar Tennessee opioid lawsuit spares the drugmaker a potentially disastrous blow but leaves other threats to the company in place and shows how the larger legal fight is evolving.

Biogen pulled Aduhelm paper after JAMA demanded edits

Bob Herman, Axios

Biogen recently submitted a paper to JAMA, a top medical research journal, that analyzed results from the clinical trials of its new Alzheimer’s drug, Aduhelm. However, Biogen later withdrew the paper because JAMA considered rejecting it unless edits were made, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

J&J Faces Lawsuit by Black Women Over Baby Powder and Cancer

Jef Feeley, Bloomberg

Johnson & Johnson was sued for allegedly marketing baby powder to Black women even though it knew the product could cause ovarian cancer.

Long-acting HIV-prevention drugs may be key to beating the epidemic in the U.S.

Benjamin Ryan, NBC News

New forms of pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, could be used by groups who find daily preventive medications too burdensome.

Highmark Health launches digital transformation consultancy

Nona Tepper, Modern Healthcare

Integrated health system Highmark Health launched a consulting business on Tuesday aimed at helping healthcare companies and others digitize their operations.

There Are Answers to America’s Mental Health Care Crisis

Annette Guarisco Fildes (President and CEO, The ERISA Industry Committee), Morning Consult

Employers rushed to expand mental health care benefits to their employees and families, but often ran head-first into outdated public policies keeping them from offering essential care. We can modernize these policies and ensure those who need care receive it now and in the future.