• The Department of Health and Human Services has awarded $1.6 billion to Novavax Inc. of Gaithersburg, Md., to support the company’s late-stage clinical trials and manufacturing capacity of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate under Operation Warp Speed. HHS would acquire 100 million doses of the vaccine under the agreement, treating about 50 million people starting later this year if Novavax’s vaccine is proven to be safe and effective. (Stat News)

• A group of 57 former federal scientists and public health officials from the Trump, Obama and George W. Bush administrations released a statement criticizing the Trump administration for “sidelining science” in its efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic and recommended using research and data to make decisions concerning the production and distribution of medical supplies like personal protective equipment and ventilators. The group didn’t scrutinize specific administration policies but said the lack of a science-based approach to the pandemic has “cost lives, imperiled the safety of our loved ones” and hindered the ability to safely reopen businesses, schools and places of worship. (The Washington Post)

• The World Health Organization said it is reviewing a published letter by 239 scientists from 32 countries asking the agency to update its COVID-19 guidance to state that smaller, floating particles from the virus can likely infect those who breathe them in. The WHO has said COVID-19 primarily spreads through surface transmission and airborne respiratory particles that quickly sink to the ground. (Reuters)

States mandate masks, begin to shut down again as coronavirus cases soar and hospitalizations rise
Joshua Partlow and Nick Miroff, The Washington Post

The pandemic map of the United States burned bright red Monday, with the number of new coronavirus infections during the first six days of July nearing 300,000 as more states and cities moved to reimpose shutdown orders.

Fauci: State of US coronavirus outbreak ‘really not good’
Peter Sullivan, The Hill

Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, warned Monday that the state of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States is “really not good” and that action is needed to stop the resurgence.

Dr. Anthony Fauci says the average age of U.S. coronavirus patients has dropped by 15 years as Sun Belt states gets hit
Noah Higgins-Dunn and Will Feuer, CNBC

The average age of new coronavirus patients has dropped by roughly 15 years compared with only a few months ago as the virus reignites in America’s Sun Belt, White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Monday.

Medical community urges public to wear masks
Bob Herman, Axios

The main trade groups representing hospitals, nurses and doctors issued a public letter today that urges “the American public to take the simple steps we know will help stop the spread of the virus: wearing a face mask, maintaining physical distancing, and washing hands.”

U.S. FDA alerts on false positive result from Becton Dickinson COVID-19 test
Dania Nadeem, Reuters

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration alerted clinical laboratories and healthcare providers on Monday about false positive results from one of Becton Dickinson and Co’s COVID-19 molecular diagnostic tests.

A New Generation of Fast Coronavirus Tests Is Coming
Katherine J. Wu, The New York Times

Researchers around the world are working on the next generation of coronavirus tests that give answers in less than an hour, without onerous equipment or highly trained personnel.

Months Into Virus Crisis, U.S. Cities Still Lack Testing Capacity
Sarah Mervosh and Manny Fernandez, The New York Times

Lines for coronavirus tests have stretched around city blocks and tests ran out altogether in at least one site on Monday, new evidence that the country is still struggling to create a sufficient testing system months into its battle with Covid-19.

When one pandemic disrupts another: The story of the coronavirus and HIV
Lenny Bernstein, The Washington Post

More than 20,000 HIV specialists, patients and activists convened Monday for their worldwide conference, a meeting held this year in the shadow of another virus that causes a deadly new disease with global reach. The novel coronavirus has disrupted two years of planning. 

Medicare nursing home COVID-19 site leaves users in the dark
Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, The Associated Press

When the Trump administration required nursing homes to report their COVID-19 cases, it also promised to make the data available to residents, families and the public in a user-friendly way. But some facilities that have had coronavirus cases and deaths turn up as having none on Medicare’s COVID-19 nursing home website.

COVID Catch-22: They Got A Big ER Bill Because Hospitals Couldn’t Test For Virus
Julie Appleby, Kaiser Health News

While most insurers have promised to cover the costs of testing and related services — and Congress passed legislation in mid-March enshrining that requirement — there’s a catch: The law requires the waiver of patient cost sharing only when a test is ordered or administered.

Hospitals, doctors are major recipients of PPP loans
Bob Herman, Axios

Small hospitals, physician clinics, surgery centers, dental offices and other health care businesses were among the most common recipients of loans under the Paycheck Protection Program, according to data released by the federal government on Monday.

In a new hospital ranking, doing good counts nearly as much as doing well
Sharon Begley, Stat News

You won’t find the usual suspects like Massachusetts General Hospital or the Mayo Clinic at the top of a new ranking of U.S. hospitals. That’s because the rating system relies not just on traditional quality measures, but also on a hospital’s community-minded policies and avoidance of unnecessary care.

Nurses Who Battled Virus in New York Confront Friends Back Home Who Say It’s a Hoax
Jenny Gross, The New York Times

They rushed patients to overcrowded intensive care units, monitored oxygen levels and held the hands of the sickest ones as they slipped away. But now that many of the nurses have returned home to states in the South and the West, they’re facing a new challenge: persuading friends and family to take the virus seriously.

Life-saving HIV drugs risk running out as COVID-19 hits supplies: WHO
Kate Kelland, Reuters

More than a third of the world’s countries say they are at risk of running out of life-saving AIDS drugs because of disruptions to supply lines and other problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization said on Monday.

Venter Institute, Yumanity, and other biopharma companies among recipients of PPP loans
Kate Sheridan, Stat News

The J. Craig Venter Institute got a more than $2 million loan that covered more than 150 employees. Neurodegeneration-focused startup Yumanity Therapeutics received more than $1 million through the program.

Jonathan Sackler, co-owner of Purdue Pharma, dies
The Associated Press

Jonathan Sackler, one of the owners of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, has died, the company confirmed.

Tech giants are well-positioned to help close racial gaps in health. They have little to show for it
Erin Brodwin, Stat News

STAT asked spokespeople at five big tech companies working in health — Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft — whether they have any health projects dedicated to addressing inequality. Only Alphabet provided concrete examples, including an effort by Google to map health disparities in Atlanta with the Morehouse School of Medicine and an initiative by Verily to enroll more women and people of color in clinical trials. 

When Brain Injury Strikes, Air Ambulances Save Lives
Susan Connors and Christina Kanmaz, Morning Consult

When a brain injury occurs, every second counts to save a life and preserve brain function. That is why air ambulances are critical to individuals who sustain brain injuries – they transport these patients to the care they desperately need as quickly as possible while treating them in the air. This immediate action can lead to improved outcomes.

Estimating Probabilities of Success of Vaccine and Other Anti-Infective Therapeutic Development Programs
Andrew W. Lo et al., The National Bureau of Economic Research

We estimate the probabilities of success (PoSs) of clinical trials for vaccines and other anti-infective therapeutics using 43,414 unique triplets of clinical trial, drug, and disease between January 1, 2000, and January 7, 2020, yielding 2,544 vaccine programs and 6,829 nonvaccine programs targeting infectious diseases. The overall estimated PoS for an industry-sponsored vaccine program is 39.6%, and 16.3% for an industry-sponsored anti-infective therapeutic. 

WHO doesn’t see bubonic plague in China as high risk: spokeswoman
Emma Farge and Stephanie Nebehay, Reuters

An apparent outbreak of bubonic plague in China is being “well managed” and is not considered to represent a high risk, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said on Tuesday.

Bayer’s Roundup-Cancer Settlement Plan Hits Snag
Jef Feeley and Tim Loh, Bloomberg

Bayer AG’s plan for moving on from its Roundup legal woes hit a snag barely two weeks after it announced a settlement of claims against the weedkiller when a judge expressed skepticism over part of the proposal.

House spending bill counters Trump threat to cut WHO funding
Niv Elis, The Hill

A spending bill released by House Democrats on Sunday would provide funding to the World Health Organization following President Trump’s threat to withhold U.S. contributions.

Global Stock Rally Pauses as Dollar Edges Higher: Markets Wrap
Cormac Mullen and Yakob Peterseil, Bloomberg

The global equity rally paused on Tuesday after a strong start to the week, with European shares slipping alongside U.S. stock futures. The dollar snapped a five-day losing streak.