• In a 7-2 ruling that included liberal Justices Elena Kagan and Stephen G. Breyer, the Supreme Court upheld a Trump administration mandate that allows employers to limit birth control coverage under the Affordable Care Act on the grounds of religious or moral objections. Kagan wrote in a concurring opinion that the ACA granted regulators the authority to establish exemptions for employers with religious objections and noted that the Obama administration had created a similar exemption for places of worship. (The New York Times)

• Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. said it will open between 500 and 700 doctors’ clinics in its drugstores over the next five years in more than 30 markets. Walgreens will also invest $1 billion in VillageMD over the next three years, which comes after the pharmacy chain started a partnership with the primary care provider last year with five clinics in Houston. (Bloomberg)

• Federal officials released details on the Covid-19 Prevention Network and unveiled a website for volunteers to sign up for clinical trials at more than 100 sites in hospitals and medical clinics to help researchers test potential coronavirus vaccines and treatments. The first late-stage trial will include 30,000 people to help test Moderna Inc.’s experimental COVID-19 vaccine beginning later this month. (The Washington Post)

Wait Times Grow for Covid-19 Test Results as Infections Rise Sharply
Sarah Krouse et al., The Wall Street Journal

The surge in U.S. coronavirus cases and growing demand for Covid-19 tests are straining the ability of pharmacies and labs to deliver timely results to consumers, causing delays that hamper efforts to contain the spread of the virus.

CDC to issue more guidance on school openings amid Trump criticism
Brett Samuels and Jessie Hellmann, The Hill

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will issue additional guidance next week on reopening schools, Vice President Pence said Wednesday, hours after President Trump criticized the agency’s current guidelines as “very tough and expensive.”

Worsening U.S. outbreak prompts tough actions as new coronavirus cases hit record
Peter Szekely and Barbara Goldberg, Reuters

New Jersey adopted a stringent coronavirus face-mask order on Wednesday, and New York City unveiled a plan to allow public school students back into classrooms for just two or three days a week, as newly confirmed U.S. COVID-19 cases soared to a daily global record.

Study of 17 Million Identifies Crucial Risk Factors for Coronavirus Deaths
Katherine J. Wu, The New York Times

The paper, published Wednesday in Nature, echoes reports from other countries that identify older people, men, racial and ethnic minorities, and those with underlying health conditions among the more vulnerable populations.

68% Have Antibodies in This Clinic. Can Neighborhood Beat a Next Wave?
Joseph Goldstein, The New York Times

According to antibody test results from CityMD that were shared with The New York Times, some neighborhoods were so exposed to the virus during the peak of the epidemic in March and April that they might have some protection during a second wave.

‘People can’t ignore it anymore’: Across the country, minorities hit hardest by pandemic
Laura Barrón-López et al., Politico

As the virus has shifted from coastal big cities to conservative states, political pundits and analysts have declared that “Trump country” is under siege. But the politicization of the pandemic hides an enduring reality: It’s Black, Latino and Native American populations that are bearing the brunt of the disease.

A flawed Covid-19 study gets the White House’s attention — and the FDA may pay the price
Matthew Herper, Stat News

Studies in thousands of people on multiple continents now show the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine does not help patients hospitalized with Covid-19 live longer. But on Tuesday the White House, based on a new study that outsiders greeted with deep skepticism, disagreed.

Walmart makes new push into healthcare with insurance business
Aditi Sebastian, Reuters

The world’s largest retailer has created an insurance agency under the name “Walmart Insurance Services LLC” and is looking to hire agents in the Dallas area to sell Medicare insurance, starting in August, according to a post on its careers page.

Many hospitals aren’t pausing procedures as coronavirus cases rise
Bob Herman, Axios

Hospitals in coronavirus hotspots are not scaling back their elective procedures, even as their intensive-care units are filling up with coronavirus patients.

U.S. Weighs Early Vaccine Access for Minorities and Others at Risk
Megan Twohey, The New York Times

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and an advisory committee of outside health experts in April began working on a ranking system for what may be an extended rollout in the United States. According to a preliminary plan, any approved vaccines would be offered to vital medical and national security officials first, and then to other essential workers and those considered at high risk — the elderly instead of children, people with underlying conditions instead of the relatively healthy.

Gilead begins testing inhalable form of remdesivir for COVID-19
Dania Nadeem, Reuters

Gilead Sciences Inc said on Wednesday it has started an early-stage study of its antiviral COVID-19 treatment remdesivir that can be inhaled, for use outside of hospitals.

US investing $42M to help company ramp up syringe, needle production ahead of vaccination push
Justine Coleman, The Hill

The U.S. government is investing $42 million to help Becton, Dickinson and Company, known as BD, ramp up its production of syringes and needles ahead of the future coronavirus vaccination push.

Emergent to partner with Mount Sinai for potential plasma-derived COVID-19 therapy
Shivani Singh, Reuters

Emergent BioSolutions Inc said on Wednesday it would jointly develop and run trials for its antibody product derived from plasma of recovered COVID-19 patients as a potential treatment with the Mount Sinai Health System.

In race to bring vaccine to market, big pharma struggles to protect its intellectual property rights
Saheli Roy Choudhury, CNBC

As the race to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus speeds up, the pharmaceutical industry is being careful to not set any dangerous precedent that may weaken their future intellectual property rights, a senior executive at IHS Markit said Thursday. 

VA awards 10-year tele-ICU contract to Philips
Jessica Kim Cohen, Modern Healthcare

The Veterans Affairs Department has inked a 10-year contract with Royal Philips to expand its telemedicine program for critical care, the health technology company announced Wednesday.

Some states cement COVID-19 telehealth expansions
Shelby Livingston, Modern Healthcare

Some states that expanded telehealth access and coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic are moving to make those changes permanent.

Looming Medicare Cut Threatens Doctors, Health Care and Our Economy
Ronald Giffler, Morning Consult

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services acted swiftly to direct emergency relief funds to health care providers. However, an upcoming pay cut directed by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services poses a new threat to doctors and our health care system at large.

The Roberts Court Curtails Birth Control Access. Again.
The Editorial Board, The New York Times

Only days after surprising the nation by striking down a strict anti-abortion law in Louisiana, the Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts reminded Americans once again that it is no friend to reproductive rights, or to the vast majority of women who will use some form of birth control in their lifetime.

OpenSAFELY: factors associated with COVID-19 death in 17 million patients
Elizabeth J. Williamson et al., Nature

COVID-19-related death was associated with: being male (hazard ratio (HR) 1.59, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.53–1.65); older age and deprivation (both with a strong gradient); diabetes; severe asthma; and various other medical conditions. Compared with people with white ethnicity, Black and South Asian people were at higher risk even after adjustment for other factors (HR 1.48, 1.30–1.69 and 1.44, 1.32–1.58, respectively).

Nonprofits urge Johnson & Johnson to halt sales of Baby Powder globally
Carl O’Donnell, Reuters

More than 170 nonprofit groups on Wednesday called for Johnson & Johnson to stop selling its talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder world-wide, citing concerns that it contains cancer-causing asbestos, according to a statement from advocacy group Black Women for Wellness.

Safe injection sites may curb opioid deaths, report suggests
Marilynn Marchione, The Associated Press

A safe haven in the U.S. where people can give themselves heroin and other drugs has observed more than 10,500 injections over five years and treated 33 overdoses with none proving fatal, researchers reported Wednesday.

One Federal Agency Was Suing Him for Fraud. Another Paid His Company Millions for Masks.
J. David McSwane, ProPublica

Desperate to acquire masks to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, two federal agencies gave nearly $20 million in contracts to a newly formed California company without realizing it was partly run by a man whose business activities were under sanction by the Federal Trade Commission, court records show.

U.S. Futures Slip Before Jobs Data; Dollar Steady: Markets Wrap
Michael Hunter, Bloomberg

U.S. equity futures edged lower ahead of American jobs data that will offer key insights into the recovery of the world’s biggest economy amid rising coronavirus infection rates. The dollar was steady.