The past year has been marked by an uptick in anti-Asian racism and violence, and it’s weighed heavily on these communities: 58 percent of Asian adults say reports of these types of incidents have impacted their mental health, including increased feelings of anxiety, sadness or depression.

Read more about the mental health toll on Asian Americans here. My colleagues also have stories worth your time: Joanna Piacenza dissected Asian adults’ experiences with racism in the past year — including who they blame for the increased hostility — while Sam Sabin dug into the role of online harassment.

• About 528,000 people have signed up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act during the Biden administration’s special enrollment period, which opened Feb. 15 and is set to close Aug. 15, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Officials expect sign-ups to continue rising, given millions of people became eligible this month for increased premium subsidies under the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill. (The Associated Press)

• It’s “plausible” that the COVID-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca PLC is tied to rare but potentially fatal blood clots, European regulators said, which could further complicate the rollout of the shot globally. The European Medicines Agency said the benefits of vaccination still outweigh the risks, while British officials advised that adults under 30 be offered other vaccines, joining other European countries that have limited the use of AstraZeneca’s shot. (The Washington Post)

• A more contagious coronavirus variant first identified in the United Kingdom is now the primary source of new infections in the United States, said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The development comes as new cases and hospitalizations increase again after falling from a January peak and plateauing for several weeks. (The New York Times)

• A rheumatoid arthritis drug from Eli Lilly and Co. and Incyte Corp. failed to keep COVID-19 patients from progressing to ventilation in a late-stage study, the companies said. U.S. regulators had previously authorized the drug, called baricitinib, for emergency use in combination with remdesivir for COVID-19 patients who need supplemental oxygen. (Reuters)

Top Official Warned That Covid Vaccine Plant Had to Be ‘Monitored Closely’
Sheryl Gay Stolberg et al., The New York Times

An Operation Warp Speed report last June flagged staffing and quality control concerns at Emergent BioSolutions’ factory in Baltimore. The troubled plant recently had to throw out up to 15 million doses.

Biden Opens Up Vaccine Program to Community Health Centers
Josh Wingrove, Bloomberg

President Joe Biden will offer Covid-19 vaccine shipments to all of the nation’s community health centers, adding 2,500 delivery sites in a program aimed at closing the racial gap in inoculations.

Biden officials rebuff appeals to surge Covid-19 vaccine to Michigan amid growing crisis
Lev Facher, Stat News

Amid Michigan’s worst-in-the-nation coronavirus surge, scientists and public health officials are urging the Biden administration to flood the state with additional vaccine doses. So far, though, their plea has fallen on deaf ears.

U.S. begins studying risk of allergic reactions to Moderna, Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines
Manas Mishra, Reuters

The U.S. National Institutes of Health said on Wednesday it had begun a mid-stage study to determine the risk of allergic reactions to COVID-19 vaccines made by Moderna Inc and Pfizer Inc.

AstraZeneca Worries Complicate Bid to Vaccinate the World
James Paton, Bloomberg

Growing worries that AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid-19 vaccine causes rare blood clots could hinder immunization campaigns across the world, from London to Seoul.

With Virus Origins Still Obscure, W.H.O. and Critics Look to Next Steps
James Gorman, The New York Times

A scientific mission to China proposed further study for a number of topics. Critics and the director of the W.H.O. have weighed in as well.

‘A moment of peril’: Biden sees infections climb on his watch
Dan Diamond and Fenit Nirappil, The Washington Post

For the first two months, all the coronavirus numbers broke in the Biden administration’s favor. But the Biden White House is seeing new infections climb on its own watch — a potential crisis that could erase many of the hard-won gains of the president’s first 75 days, should the numbers keep rising.

The big hole in America’s plan to fight Covid-19 variants
Sarah Owermohle, Politico

The global scramble to produce enough Covid-19 vaccine for 7 billion people is about to get even tougher, as drugmakers and countries ready a second round of shots to combat the growing threat of virus variants.

Cruise Industry Spars With CDC Over How to Restart Sailings
Dave Sebastian, The Wall Street Journal

Cruise operators are pushing federal health authorities to let voyages begin in July, but the two sides are clashing on how to restart voyages.

In the Covid-19 vaccine push, no one is speaking Gen Z’s language
Nicholas Florko, Stat News

Useful Covid-19 information isn’t reaching the Instagram generation. There’s almost no messaging specifically tailored to them from federal or state public health officials.

Medicaid Work Requirement Waivers Revoked in Michigan, Wisconsin
Christopher Brown, Bloomberg Law

The Department of Health and Human Services broadened its attack on work requirements in state Medicaid programs, informing Michigan and Wisconsin that it is withdrawing approval for must-work provisions approved during the Trump administration.

Brian Thompson named CEO of UnitedHealthcare
Rebecca Pifer, Healthcare Dive

UnitedHealth Group has named longtime executive Brian Thompson as the new chief executive officer of its health benefits business, UnitedHealthcare, the biggest private payer in the U.S.

Laid-Off Employees Get Aid to Keep Job-Related Health Coverage
Sara Hansard, Bloomberg Law

People who lose their employer-sponsored health insurance due to a layoff or reduction in hours may be able to get back that coverage for free, according to Labor Department guidance released Wednesday.

Big Hospitals vs. Big Pharma: Which industry is most to blame for soaring health care costs?
Geoff Colvin, Fortune

As talk of reform grows in D.C., the two sides are gearing up for an epic clash.

Healthcare workers say they need mental health services, but many aren’t getting them
Hailey Mensik, Healthcare Dive

The stress from COVID-19 has been particularly hard on female providers and those in critical care and infectious disease specialties.

Judge rules Purdue must answer questions about documents showing any link between OxyContin, birth defects
Ed Silverman, Stat News

A federal judge has given a green light to lawyers representing children with birth defects — allegedly due to exposure to opioids in utero — to question Purdue Pharma over efforts to provide documents concerning any links to its addictive painkiller and birth defects.

Pharmacies Face Peril Without Opioid Settlements, Judge Says
Jef Feeley, Bloomberg

CVS Health Corp., Walgreens Boots Alliance and other pharmacy chains face mounting pressure to settle thousands of government lawsuits over their role in the U.S. opioid epidemic, after a federal judge warned the companies they risk financial peril.

The Billionaire Who Controls Your Medical Records
Katie Jennings, Forbes

Epic Systems founder Judy Faulkner built an empire pioneering—and later dominating—electronic medical records. For decades, she’s kept them walled off from competitors, but now the pandemic is fueling a digital health care race that might finally topple her from the throne.

Health care leads the way for top private AI firms
Bryan Walsh, Axios

A new list of the top 100 private AI companies shows that health is driving investment in the industry.

Better Therapeutics Agrees to Go Public Via Mountain Crest SPAC
Crystal Tse and Michelle F Davis, Bloomberg

Better Therapeutics Inc., a company that helps treat patients with smartphone apps, agreed to go public through a merger with a blank-check company Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp II.

‘Here to stay’: How the pandemic helped build a burgeoning home testing industry
Erin Brodwin, Stat News

Home diagnostics have long been considered a kind of holy grail in telehealth: While a majority of virtual care can now be conducted remotely, the process of identifying a condition typically requires a physical visit.

Stop calling them ‘vaccine passports’ and instead define what we need to reach normalcy
Leana S. Wen, The Washington Post

We need to stop using the phrase “vaccine passport.” The term is inflammatory and divisive, and runs the real risk of triggering a lasting backlash against vaccinations.

Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies: Hospital Performance on Leapfrog’s Maternity Care Standards Based on Results of the 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Survey
The Leapfrog Group

Not all hospitals provide the same quality of maternity care for expectant mothers. The survey measures key areas of maternity care important to purchasers and consumers including cesarean sections, episiotomies, and early elective deliveries.

You Probably Have an Asymptomatic Infection Right Now
Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic

No, not COVID-19. Many, many viruses can infect humans without making us sick, and how they do that is one of biology’s deepest mysteries.

Biden Plans to Release Initial 2022 U.S. Budget Outline Friday
Justin Sink and Erik Wasson, Bloomberg

The upcoming budget is the first time in a decade lawmakers will be operating without spending caps that were put in place by an agreement between the Obama administration and congressional Republicans. White House officials have described the elimination of those constraints as an opportunity to pursue investments in areas like education, clean energy and public health.