• Microsoft Corp. is preparing to buy Nuance Communications Inc. after two years working together on artificial intelligence software that helps physicians record conversations with patients and integrate them into electronic health records, and could announce the deal as soon as today, people familiar with the matter said. Microsoft has been looking to expand its health care reach, and as AI software advances, the companies could seek to develop technology that makes better recommendations about patient care to doctors. (Bloomberg)
• Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. said its COVID-19 antibody drug reduced the risk of developing symptomatic disease by 81 percent among people living with someone recently diagnosed with the disease, indicating the drug, which is already used to treat COVID-19 patients, could also play a role in preventing illness. Regeneron said it will seek emergency authorization for the treatment’s use among unvaccinated people who have been exposed to the virus. (The Wall Street Journal)
• The White House is facing pressure from powerful members of Congress over how to approach its health care priorities in the upcoming spending package, with the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) pushing to make permanent the expansion of Affordable Care Act premium subsidies included in the last relief bill, according to a senior Democratic aide, and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) arguing to lower the Medicare eligibility age to 55 or 60 and expand program offerings for seniors. (The Washington Post)

Incarcerated and Infected: How the Virus Tore Through the U.S. Prison System

The New York Times

Pfizer and BioNTech requested the F.D.A.’s authorization to use their vaccine in 12- to 15-year-olds.

Emily Anthes, The New York Times

Pfizer and BioNTech requested on Friday that the Food and Drug Administration expand the emergency use authorization for their coronavirus vaccine to permit its use in children ages 12 to 15. If broadened, young adolescents could start getting vaccinated before going back to school in the fall.

CDC ramps up scrutiny of rare post-vaccination ‘breakthrough infections’

Lena H. Sun and Joel Achenbach, The Washington Post

As tens of millions of people in the United States reach the coronavirus vaccination finish line, a small fraction have had “breakthrough infections,” testing positive for the virus after being inoculated and in rare cases requiring hospitalization, according to data from state health departments.

Eli Lilly to focus on selling COVID-19 antibody drug combination

Manas Mishra, Reuters

Eli Lilly and Co said on Monday it had a revised agreement with the U.S. government for its COVID-19 antibody drug, bamlanivimab, which will now be sold in combination with another therapy.

Trump officials celebrated efforts to change CDC reports on coronavirus, emails show

Dan Diamond, The Washington Post

Trump appointees in the Department of Health and Human Services last year privately touted their efforts to block or alter scientists’ reports on the coronavirus to more closely align with President Donald Trump’s more optimistic messages about the outbreak, according to newly released documents from congressional investigators.’

AstraZeneca Vaccine and Blood Clots: What Is Known So Far

Benjamin Mueller and Denise Grady, The New York Times

In rare cases, an immune reaction has led to antibodies that caused a serious clotting disorder. But public health experts maintain the vaccine’s benefits far outweigh the risks for most people.

Top Chinese official admits vaccines have low effectiveness

Joe McDonald and Huizhong Wu, The Associated Press

China’s top disease control official, in a rare acknowledgement, said current vaccines offer low protection against the coronavirus and mixing them is among strategies being considered to boost their effectiveness.

China hasn’t been forthright on Covid, Blinken says

David Cohen, Politico

The world still needs “to get to the bottom of” the origins of Covid-19, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday, and that means China still owes the world some answers.

States have been slow to order allotted vaccine doses, spurring calls for new approach

Isaac Stanley-Becker, The Washington Post

States have delayed ordering hundreds of thousands of vaccine doses available to them even as coronavirus outbreaks escalate — a sign the nation is moving past its supply pinch and now faces more acute challenges related to demand, staffing and inoculation of hard-to-reach populations.

To Speed Vaccination, Some Call for Delaying Second Shots

Carl Zimmer, The New York Times

Stretching the time between the first and second doses would greatly accelerate the rate at which people get at least partial protection. But some experts fear it could also lead to new variants.

Coronavirus vaccine technology is paving the way for a whole new approach to flu shots

Lindsey Bever, The Washington Post

The technology used in two of the coronavirus vaccines authorized by the Food and Drug Administration may enable scientists to develop flu shots in record time, but also make inoculations that could be more effective and protect against numerous flu strains for years at a time.

Biden pushes Congress to boost public health, pandemic preparedness funding

Rachel Cohrs, Stat News

The Biden administration is asking Congress to bolster public health funding yet again — a call the White House says is necessary to prepare the country for the next pandemic and address public health crises that have been pushed amid Covid-19.

Biden’s ambitious expansion of long-term care sparks debate

Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, The Associated Press

President Joe Biden is proposing a major expansion of the government’s role in long-term care, but questions are being raised over his using the low-income Medicaid program and piggybacking the whole idea on an infrastructure bill.

Some GOP-led states target abortions done through medication

David Crary and Iris Samuels, The Associated Press

About 40% of all abortions in the U.S. are now done through medication — rather than surgery — and that option has become all the more pivotal during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Medicaid Expansion Funding in Missouri Likely Despite GOP Clash

Christopher Brown, Bloomberg Law

An effort by Republicans in the Missouri House to scuttle Medicaid expansion appears destined to fail, and the deliverers of their defeat could well be members of their own party in the Senate.

In a change, patients can now read the clinical notes written by their physicians

Corey Meador, The Washington Post

This spring, new federal rules went into effect that will allow patients to see the clinic notes physicians write, which advocates say will improve patients’ knowledge of their own health.

When a cardiologist flagged the lack of diversity at premier medical journals, the silence was telling

Usha Lee McFarling, Stat News

At the time of his analysis in late October, Givens found that of 51 editors at the New England Journal of Medicine, just one was Black and one was Hispanic. Of 49 editors at JAMA, two were Black and two were Hispanic.

On a limb: Despite resistance, a group of researchers is investigating the possibility of a new mental health disorder

Rebecca Sohn, Stat News

The leading advocate for SCT, clinical psychologist Russell Barkley of Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, has been working for years to get the construct recognized and investigated by other psychologists.

Google is exploring a health record tool for patients

Erin Brodwin, Stat News

After 13 years, Google is coming back for patient health records. The tech giant has launched an early user feedback program aimed at exploring how patients might want to see, organize, and share their own medical record data.

Warp Speed Lessons to Cut Clinical Trial Paperwork: Woodcock

Jeannie Baumann, Bloomberg Law

Physicians running clinical trials may have less paperwork in the future by relying more on electronic health records and telemedicine, acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said.

Congress Should Act Quickly to Permanently Repeal the Rebate Rule

JC Scott (President and CEO, Pharmaceutical Care Management Association), Morning Consult

While Congress and the Biden administration, as well as stakeholders across the prescription drug supply chain, examine policy options for addressing high drug prices, pharmacy benefit managers continue to create access to affordable medications for patients. But Medicare’s rebate rule is threatening to unwind PBMs’ ability to lower prescription drug costs.

The Case for Vaccine ‘Passports’

Scott Gottlieb, The Wall Street Journal

Digital proof would allow Americans to visit family in the hospital, not keep folks out of restaurants.

The Time For Change: Prioritizing Health And Economic Equity In The 117th Congress And Beyond
Richard E. Neal, Health Affairs

As we reach the anniversary of our first COVID-19-related lockdowns, I continue to reflect on the crisis and what we have collectively learned. From my position as chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, I can see clearly that we must address the interconnected issues of health, economic, and racial inequities.