Coronavirus
Trump’s Easter Restart Undone by His Experts’ Dire Virus Models
Justin Sink et al., Bloomberg
As President Donald Trump’s coronavirus response team gathered at the White House Sunday to discuss re-opening the U.S. for business by Easter, his top health experts painted a troubling picture of what lay ahead.
Judges block 3 states from enforcing abortion bans pegged to pandemic
Alice Miranda Ollstein, Politico
Ohio, Iowa, Mississippi, Alabama and Oklahoma are among the other states that recently moved to suspend access.
Pelosi Floats New Stimulus Plan: Rolling Back SALT Cap
Jim Tankersley and Emily Cochrane, The New York Times
A proposal to retroactively lift a limit on state and local tax deductions would largely funnel money to relatively high earners in high-tax states.
Hospitalizations spike as California tries to slow coronavirus spread
Melody Gutierrez et al., Los Angeles Times
While Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an urgent call Monday for retired healthcare workers and students nearing graduation to join in caring for an expected surge of coronavirus patients, officials scrambled to contain a rash of outbreaks in nursing homes and find space for thousands of new hospital beds.
‘A Darwinian approach to federalism’: States confront new reality under Trump
Nancy Cook and Dan Diamond, Politico
State governors are getting more power from Trump, while fearing they lack the federal tools needed to fight the coronavirus crisis.
China’s Coronavirus Count Excluded Infected People With No Symptoms
Chong Koh Ping, The Wall Street Journal
Top Chinese health official says country will start reporting the number of asymptomatic carriers.
Taxpayers Paid Millions to Design a Low-Cost Ventilator for a Pandemic. Instead, the Company Is Selling Versions of It Overseas.
Patricia Callahan et al., ProPublica
As coronavirus sweeps the globe, there is not a single Trilogy Evo Universal ventilator — developed with government funds — in the U.S. stockpile. Meanwhile, Royal Philips N.V. has sold higher-priced versions to clients around the world.
The Social-Distancing Culture War Has Begun
McKay Coppins, The Atlantic
Across the country, social distancing is morphing from a public-health to political act. The consequences could be disastrous.
FEMA sends refrigerated trucks to New York City to hold bodies
Erin Durkin, Politico
FEMA is sending refrigerated trucks to New York City to serve as temporary morgues as the death toll from the coronavirus grows.
CDC considering recommending general public wear face coverings in public
Joel Achenbach et al., The Washington Post
Should we all be wearing masks? That simple question is under review by officials in the U.S. government and has sparked a grass-roots pro-mask movement.
Payers
Some Insurers Waive Patients’ Share Of Costs For COVID-19 Treatment
Selena Simmons-Duffin, NPR News
Three major health insurance providers have now pledged to shield patients from high medical bills if they need treatment for COVID-19.
Pressure Mounts on Insurance Companies to Pay Out for Coronavirus
Leslie Scism, The Wall Street Journal
Lawmakers and regulators are pressuring insurers to go beyond the legal language of policies to get cash to Americans amid the mounting cost of shutdowns from the coronavirus pandemic.
Providers
As coronavirus spreads, doctors in the ER warn ‘the worst of it has not hit us yet’
Helen Branswell, Stat News
Streets in cities and towns across the country are eerily quiet. Car traffic has dropped so substantially air pollution is abating. In many places, people are hunkered down indoors, trying to avoid contracting Covid-19.
More Than 5,000 Surgery Centers Can Now Serve As Makeshift Hospitals During COVID-19 Crisis
Liz Szabo and Cara Anthony, Kaiser Health News
The Trump administration cleared the way Monday to immediately use outpatient surgery centers, inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, hotels and even dormitories as makeshift hospitals, health care centers or quarantine sites during the coronavirus crisis.
Hospitals redeploy specialists to COVID-19 front lines
Tara Bannow and Maria Castellucci, Modern Healthcare
What used to be the heart team at Manhattan’s Mount Sinai Morningside—its cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, intensivists, cardiovascular nurses—is now a COVID-19 team.
Number of long-term care facilities with COVID-19 cases tops 400 nationwide
Laura Strickler, NBC News
Signs from multiple states point to a rapid increase in cases in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
Pharma, Biotech and Devices
Test makers are moving fast, but the coronavirus may be moving faster
Matthew Herper, Stat News
In Lake Success, a village on the border of suburban Long Island and the New York City borough of Queens, there is a building that was erected to house defense engineers during World War II. It was designed to withstand enemy bombing, with a pool of water on the roof to help camouflage it in the event of airstrikes.
Amarin loses legal fight over heart drug patent; shares sink
Adam Feuerstein, Stat News
Amarin shares fell sharply Monday evening after a federal judge ruled that key patents covering its heart drug Vascepa were invalid.
Health IT
VA COVID-19 response plan stresses telehealth, virtual care services
Nathan Eddy, HealthcareITNews
Telehealth was singled out as a way to reduce the number of cases entering medical facilities, and to provide a mechanism to monitor and track patients under care in home quarantine.
FCC chief proposes $200M telehealth program to fight coronavirus
Chris Mills Rodrigo, The Hill
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai is proposing using $200 million from the government stimulus package for a telehealth program to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives
Former CDC head on coronavirus testing: What went wrong and how we proceed
Tom Frieden, USA Today
Who should seek a test? Should we test everyone? How much will that even help? Let’s clear a few things up.
Research Reports
Social distancing and mobility reductions have reduced COVID-19 transmission in King County, WA
Niket Thakkar et al., Institute for Disease Modeling and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
In this report, we quantify the impact of the mid-March policies on reducing COVID-19 transmission in King County, Washington. Our main result is that the epidemic has slowed, but that more progress is necessary.
Comparison of US Federal and Foundation Funding of Research for Sickle Cell Disease and Cystic Fibrosis and Factors Associated With Research Productivity
Faheem Farooq et al., JAMA
This cross-sectional study of research funding and outputs for cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease found that both federal funding and foundation expenditures were greater for cystic fibrosis compared with sickle cell disease. Significantly more research articles and drug approvals were found for cystic fibrosis compared with sickle cell disease, but the total numbers of clinical trials were similar.
General
Biden’s National Lead Over Trump Shrinks as Coronavirus Crisis Continues
Eli Yokley, Morning Consult
Former Vice President Joe Biden’s lead in a head-to-head matchup against President Donald Trump has shrunk as the coronavirus pandemic has largely sidelined his campaign and given rise to near-daily unfettered appearances by the commander-in-chief on national television.
U.S. Futures Fluctuate; Dollar, Treasuries Climb: Markets Wrap
Todd White and Andreea Papuc, Bloomberg
U.S. index futures fluctuated on Tuesday while European stocks headed for a fifth increase in six sessions amid debate over whether the market meltdown has ended given the continued spread of the coronavirus. Treasuries and the dollar advanced.
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