We’re still waiting for President Joe Biden to release the second part of his infrastructure plan, expected to be heavy on health care, but we got a taste of what he wants in the first installment: $400 billion for home- and community-based services for seniors, an effort to shift them away from hospitals and other facilities that have been ravaged during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But is caregiving considered infrastructure? While 2 in 3 Democratic voters say it is, just over 2 in 5 Republicans agree. Our finance reporter, Claire Williams, dug into which pieces of Biden’s plan voters do and don’t consider infrastructure (spoiler: most Democrats say everything counts), and what they think of the proposal overall. Check out her piece here.

• Moderna Inc. said its COVID-19 vaccine remains more than 90 percent effective against illness and more than 95 percent effective against severe disease after six months, results that are similar to Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE’s vaccine in long-term clinical trial follow-ups. (Bloomberg)
• An advisory panel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will meet today to consider whether Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine should continue to be used in the United States, after health authorities paused the shot’s rollout yesterday over reports of exceedingly rare blood-clotting issues. The panel will seek to determine whether the vaccine caused the blood clots, and whether its benefits outweigh the risks. (The Wall Street Journal)
• Jeff Zients, the White House’s COVID-19 response coordinator, said in a statement that the paused J&J vaccine rollout won’t have a “significant impact” on the Biden administration’s vaccination effort, given Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech have provided the lion’s share of shots in arms so far. (Politico)
• The House passed legislation to delay a 2 percent cut to Medicare payments for the rest of 2021, sending the bill to President Joe Biden’s desk. Congress initially paused the cuts last year because of the pandemic’s toll on health care providers’ bottom lines, and the extension represents a win for hospital groups, which say they’re still struggling financially. (Modern Healthcare)

The new vaccine threat is fear itself

Axios

J&J Vaccine and Blood Clots: The Risks, if Any, Are Very Low

Denise Grady and Carl Zimmer, The New York Times

Out of an “abundance of caution,” the F.D.A. is advising doctors to pause the Johnson & Johnson vaccine while it investigates extremely rare blood clots.

Biden’s ‘trust the science’ approach hits a political snag

Natasha Korecki and Burgess Everett, Politico

President Joe Biden pledged to maintain an unwavering fidelity to science since the Covid-19 pandemic first emerged in the United States, again and again citing it as his North Star in navigating the deadly virus. That strategy had mostly gone off without a major snag — until now.

Three Different Futures for the Johnson & Johnson Vaccine

Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic

A pause is just that—a pause—in which health officials can reevaluate the data at hand.

Worry Over 2 Covid Vaccines Deals Fresh Blow to Europe’s Inoculation Push

Matina Stevis-Gridneff and Monika Pronczuk, The New York Times

Confusion over AstraZeneca’s vaccine threatens to hurt the E.U. campaign just as it gathers momentum. And on Tuesday, Johnson & Johnson said it was pausing the rollout of its shot on the continent.

Pfizer says it can deliver 10% more vaccine doses to U.S. by end of May

Oriana Gonzalez, Axios

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla on Tuesday announced the company has ramped up production of its coronavirus vaccine and can deliver 10% more doses to the U.S. by the end of May than it previously agreed to produce.

What Are the Roadblocks to a ‘Vaccine Passport?’

Ceylan Yeginsu, The New York Times

Creating a digital certificate of vaccination against the coronavirus is one of the hottest debates right now. What’s keeping it from happening, and why are some people opposed?

A deathbed double standard: It’s hard to get released on medical parole — unless you’re about to become a Covid-19 statistic

Eric Boodman, Stat News

During his 39 years in prison, the closest Joseph Messere ever came to walking free was when he was intubated, unconscious, and dying of Covid-19.

NFL to require vaccinations for employees, with some exceptions

Jessica Golden, CNBC

The NFL is taking its strongest stance yet when it comes to returning to normal from the pandemic. As part of that directive, the league says that all employees other than players (called Tier 1 and Tier 2 employees) are expected to get vaccinated unless they have an underlying medical or religious reason for not doing so.

Broader vaccine eligibility may exacerbate racial inequities

Ariel Cohen, Roll Call

Minority groups are less likely to get vaccinated due to challenges in distribution, data suggest.

Some Children With Covid-Related Syndrome Develop Neurological Symptoms

Pam Belluck, The New York Times

New research found that half of young patients with the inflammatory condition, MIS-C, in a London hospital experienced confusion, hallucinations and other issues, in addition to physical symptoms.

Don’t Compare Blood Clots After the Johnson and Johnson Vaccine to Birth Control Risk

Chelsea Cirruzzo, U.S. News & World Report

Blood clots seen among people vaccinated with the Johnson and Johnson shot are different from those that can place birth control users in danger.

A Year Into Pandemic, Federal Officials Design New Mask Guidelines to Better Protect More Workers

Christina Jewett, Kaiser Health News

Federal officials announced new measures to help get fresh, new N95 masks to health care workers and expand their use in other industries after scientists argued that the highly protective masks are essential to keep workers safe from covid-19.

White House issues first-ever proclamation on Black maternal health

Shawna Chen, Axios

The White House on Tuesday issued its first-ever presidential proclamation marking Black Maternal Health Week as part of an effort to highlight racial gaps in pregnancy and childbirth-related deaths.

Democrats Demand Lift on Fetal Tissue Research Restrictions

Jacquie Lee, Bloomberg Law

Vital scientific research on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), spinal cord injuries, and Parkinson’s disease are at risk of stalling if the Biden administration doesn’t lift restrictions to use fetal tissue in clinical research, 26 Democrats said in a letter sent to the HHS Tuesday.

Refunds to Obamacare Customers Expected to Surpass $2 Billion

Sara Hansard, Bloomberg Law

Health insurers are expected to pay $2.1 billion in refunds to Obamacare enrollees this fall, the second highest amount ever, the Kaiser Family Foundation reported Tuesday.

When money talks. Why cash pay is becoming more popular

Nona Tepper, Modern Healthcare

Healthcare systems often prefer cash-pay because it cuts the administrative burden of dealing with prior authorization, billing and other bureaucratic aspects of the insurance experience, said Aaron Miri, chief information officer at UT Austin Medical School.

Patients hit with surprise medical bills paid ER docs 10 times more than others

Samantha Liss, Healthcare Dive

Researchers found that ER doctors retained a larger share of what they initially charged, or what is considered the sticker price, when patients were unexpectedly out-of-network compared to those who were not.

Heralding a ‘societal transformation’ in health care, Mayo Clinic launches two companies to harness patient data

Casey Ross, Stat News

Mayo Clinic is forming a pair of companies to collect and analyze data from remote monitoring devices and diagnostic tools, a move that comes as part of a broader bid to harness patient data to deliver continuous care guided by artificial intelligence.

Intermountain buys Utah-based air ambulance company Classic

Rebecca Pifer, Healthcare Dive

Salt Lake City-based Intermountain is acquiring air ambulance company Classic Air Medical in a bid to better coordinate virtual and physical care for rural patients.

Achieving Our Nation’s Best Health Requires a Wider Lens

Richard Ashworth (President and CEO, Tivity Health) and Christopher Ciano (President, Aetna Medicare), Morning Consult

Our health care system is superb at treating the symptoms of illness when they develop, but we require a broader perspective to prevent those symptoms from developing in the first place.

Pausing the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was the right choice

Jerome Adams, The Washington Post

I have no doubt that officials at the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agonized over the decision to halt administration of a highly effective and lifesaving vaccine. Still, I think it was the right choice.