Coronavirus
Experts and Trump’s advisers doubt White House’s 240,000 coronavirus deaths estimate William Wan et al., The Washington Post
Inside the White House’s effort to create a projected death toll.
Google Offers User Location Data to Health Officials Tackling Coronavirus Rob Copeland, The Wall Street Journal
Search giant to produce reports on traffic into places such as grocery stores and parks.
Trump Touted Abbott’s Quick COVID-19 Test. HHS Document Shows Only 5,500 Are On Way For Entire U.S. Rachana Pradhan, Kaiser Health News
A coronavirus test made by Abbott Laboratories and introduced with considerable fanfare by President Donald Trump in a Rose Garden news conference this week is giving state and local health officials very little added capacity to perform speedy tests needed to control the COVID-19 pandemic.
U.S. Navy relieves aircraft carrier commander who wrote letter urging coronavirus action Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart, Reuters
The U.S. Navy relieved the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt’s captain of his command on Thursday, punishing him for the leak of a scathing letter he sent to superiors that sought stronger measures for curbing a coronavirus outbreak aboard the ship.
Inside America’s mask crunch: A slow government reaction and an industry wary of liability Jeanne Whalen et al., The Washington Post
On March 5, as the deadly novel coronavirus was racing through the United States, Vice President Pence paid a visit to the Minnesota headquarters of 3M, the manufacturing giant that produces protective respiratory masks.
Ventilator Shortages Loom As States Ponder Rules For Rationing Martin Kaste and Rebecca Hersher, NPR News
Medical rationing is not something Americans are accustomed to, but COVID-19 may soon change that.
Coronavirus stimulus payments begin April 9, but some won’t receive checks until September Rick Noack et al., The Washington Post
The Internal Revenue Service plans to send electronic payments April 9, as part of the $2 trillion coronavirus law, which is a week sooner than expected, according to a plan circulated internally on Wednesday.
Pelosi to Form Committee to Track Coronavirus Response, $2 Trillion Stimulus Natalie Andrews, The Wall Street Journal
Democratic Whip Jim Clyburn to lead panel, which will have subpoena power. ‘This is not an investigation of the administration.’
Global Coronavirus Cases Top One Million, as Economic Toll Mounts Jennifer Calfas, The Wall Street Journal
U.S., with more than 230,000 reported infections, has just under a quarter of the global total.
In Desperation, New York State Pays Up to 15 Times the Normal Prices for Medical Equipment Lydia DePillis and Lisa Song, ProPublica
State data shows that New York is paying enormous markups for vital supplies, including almost $250,000 for an X-ray machine. Laws against price gouging usually don’t apply.
Payers
Utah suspends Medicaid work requirement due to COVID-19 Harris Meyer, Modern Healthcare
Utah on Thursday suspended its Medicaid work requirement due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Medicaid Nearing ‘Eye Of The Storm’ As Newly Unemployed Look For Coverage Shefali Luthra et al., Kaiser Health News
As the coronavirus roils the economy and throws millions of Americans out of work, Medicaid is emerging as a default insurance plan for many of the newly unemployed. That could produce unprecedented strains on the vital health insurance program, according to state officials and policy researchers.
Providers
The 1,000-Bed Comfort Was Supposed to Aid New York. It Has 20 Patients. Michael Schwirtz, The New York Times
“It’s a joke,” said a top hospital executive, whose facilities are packed with coronavirus patients.
Military personnel to handle coronavirus patients at facilities in NYC, New Orleans and Dallas Brett Samuels, The Hill
Military personnel will begin treating coronavirus patients at new medical facilities that have popped up in the cities of New York, New Orleans and Dallas, the White House said Thursday, marking a shift in policy for how the Pentagon is aiding in the medical response to the pandemic.
Tenet announces furloughs, plans to raise cash Tara Bannow, Modern Healthcare
Tenet Healthcare Corp. has scrapped its 2020 guidance, furloughed about 500 full-time positions and plans to issue another $500 million in debt to boost liquidity amid the coronavirus pandemic that’s plunged hospitals nationwide into financial uncertainty.
Pandemic-Stricken Cities Have Empty Hospitals, But Reopening Them Is Difficult Nina Feldman, WHYY
As city leaders across the country scramble to find space for the expected surge of COVID-19 patients, some are looking at a seemingly obvious choice: former hospital buildings, sitting empty, right downtown.
Pharma, Biotech and Devices
FEMA tells lawmakers most new ventilators won’t be ready until June Kyle Cheney, Politico
The agency provided the news at briefings for the House Oversight Committee.
3M CEO on N95 Masks: ‘Demand Exceeds Our Production Capacity’ Austen Hufford, The Wall Street Journal
As coronavirus crisis mounts, manufacturers ramp up to meet huge demand for protective equipment.
UPMC doctors in Pa. say they’ve developed a coronavirus vaccine David Wenner, PennLive.com
Doctors and researchers at UPMC in Pittsburgh said Thursday they have created a vaccine to protect against COVID-19 and are seeking federal permission to begin testing it for safety.
Essential Drug Supplies for Virus Patients Are Running Low Knvul Sheikh, The New York Times
Medicines to alleviate breathing difficulty, relieve pain and sedate coronavirus patients are in very high demand, depleting stock around the country.
Unproven Stem Cell Therapy Gets OK for Testing in Coronavirus Patients Katie Thomas, The New York Times
The treatment, which has been promoted by President Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, will begin early-stage clinical trials.
Large employers could have saved money if more biosimilars had been prescribed Ed Silverman, Stat News
If some of the largest U.S. employers had used biosimilar versions of a pair of widely used brand-name biologic medicines two years ago, they could have saved an average of $1.5 million and their employees would also have spent hundreds of dollars less, according to a new study.
The latest failure in Alzheimer’s casts doubt on Biogen’s ostensible success Damian Garde, Stat News
The prevailing theory of how to treat Alzheimer’s disease endured its 1,001st cut on Thursday, as results from a lengthy clinical trial showed that reducing toxic plaques in the brain had no effect on slowing cognitive decline.
Health IT
3D printers forge face shields for fight against the coronavirus Nathan Frandino, Reuters
Oscar Valera likes to use 3D printers to build an assortment of crafts, but he is now turning his hobby toward the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives
The Coronavirus Is Catapulting American Health Care Into the 21st Century Cynthia Fisher, Morning Consult
Crises precipitate change. Nowhere is that more evident than how the coronavirus pandemic is breaking down the calcified American health care system and catapulting it into the 21st century.
How the Bayh-Dole Act Facilitates Development of Coronavirus Therapies Stephen Ezell, Morning Consult
As the urgency of finding a treatment and vaccine for the coronavirus accelerates, dozens of American biomedical companies, startups and universities are rushing to develop COVID-19 therapeutics. There’s a good chance the Bayh-Dole Act will play a critical behind-the-scenes role in facilitating these efforts.
Research Reports
Quantifying SARS-CoV-2 transmission suggests epidemic control with digital contact tracing Luca Ferretti et al., Science Magazine
The newly emergent human virus SARS-CoV-2 is resulting in high fatality rates and incapacitated health systems. Preventing further transmission is a priority. We analyzed key parameters of epidemic spread to estimate the contribution of different transmission routes and determine requirements for case isolation and contact-tracing needed to stop the epidemic.
3.5 million workers likely lost their employer-provided health insurance in the past two weeks Ben Zipperer and Josh Bivens, Economic Policy Institute
We estimate that 3.5 million workers were at high risk of losing their employer-provided health insurance in the past two weeks. Because the United States is unique among rich countries in tying health insurance benefits to employment—roughly half of all U.S. workers receive health insurance through their own employer’s provided coverage—many of the newly unemployed will suddenly face prohibitively costly insurance options.
General
Female scientists allege discrimination, neglect of research on women at NIH’s child health institute Meredith Wadman, Science Magazine
In November 2014, nine senior female scientists at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) requested a meeting with their director.
Kirkland nursing home fined $611,000 over deadly coronavirus outbreak KOMO News Staff
Federal regulators have assessed a $611,000 fine against a coronavirus-ravaged Kirkland nursing home after an inspection found critical problems that contributed to the outbreak there, resulting in at least 37 deaths and dozens of confirmed cases.
U.S. Futures Pare Losses; Dollar Extends Gain: Markets Wrap Yakob Peterseil, Bloomberg
U.S. equity futures pared an earlier loss on Friday as investors weighed the latest corporate and economic turmoil caused by the pandemic that has infected more than a million people worldwide. Oil rallied and the dollar strengthened.
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