• The Trump administration plans to unveil new COVID-19 vaccination guidelines today that would make shots available to adults older than 65  and adults of all ages with pre-existing conditions, include more pharmacies and community health centers as vaccination sites and distribute all available doses now, rather than holding some back to ensure people who got their first shot can get their second dose, a senior administration official said. The changes reflect a shift in strategy from prioritizing shots for high-risk groups to getting more people vaccinated as quickly as possible. (Axios)

• Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) said they tested positive for COVID-19 after sheltering in place with other lawmakers during last week’s attack on the Capitol, with Jayapal pointing to Republican colleagues who refused to wear masks while lawmakers and aides were in close proximity. Coleman, a breast cancer survivor who has received her first dose of the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE vaccine, said she was experiencing mild symptoms and would receive a monoclonal antibody treatment at a local hospital. (CBS News)

• Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced a new acting chief counsel at the Food and Drug Administration just hours after Commissioner Stephen Hahn revealed the agency’s pick for the role, prompting both concern over HHS interference at the FDA and insistence that the move was a misunderstanding over which agency is responsible for appointing the FDA’s top lawyer, according to senior agency officials and staffers. The new chief counsel will likely only hold the job until President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20. (Stat News)

• Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the World Health Organization’s chief scientist, said herd immunity to COVID-19 is unlikely this year, despite millions of people being vaccinated in wealthier countries like the United States, and said it would be critical to maintain outbreak mitigation strategies for the foreseeable future. WHO officials said the agency hopes people in poorer countries could begin receiving shots later this month or in February, and called on the global community to do more to ensure all countries have vaccine access. (The Associated Press)

Biden to unveil vaccination plan this week
Adam Cancryn and Tyler Pager, Politico

The plan will serve as a roadmap to quickly vaccinating millions of Americans amid frustration over the slow rollout of the initial doses.

Vaccines were a chance to redeem failures in the U.S. coronavirus response. What went wrong?
Lena H. Sun et al., The Washington Post

Health departments and hospital executives are struggling to compensate for decentralized planning, complaining that they were not given enough money to prepare for missions that are becoming increasingly urgent as the coronavirus pandemic reaches new peaks.

Governors’ red tape blamed as vaccine doses pile up
Susannah Luthi et al., Politico

Governors face a growing outcry over inflexible vaccine policies that are now being blamed for leaving millions of doses to pile up in freezers — and some to land in the trash.

Going big: US dispensing shots at stadiums and fairgrounds
Lisa Marie Pane et al., The Associated Press

The U.S. is entering the second month of the biggest vaccination drive in history with a major expansion of the campaign, opening football stadiums, major league ballparks, fairgrounds and convention centers to inoculate a larger and more diverse pool of people.

Vaccination Campaign to Be ‘Chaotic’ for Weeks, Rite Aid CEO Says
Angelica LaVito, Bloomberg

Rolling out Covid-19 vaccines nationally will be hectic as providers navigate a myriad of rules that vary across states and counties, Rite Aid Corp. Chief Executive Officer Heyward Donigan said Monday.

Tracking Down Antibody Treatment Is A Challenge For COVID-19 Patients
Richard Harris, NPR News

Monoclonal antibody drugs are supposed to help people with mild to moderate COVID-19 avoid the hospital, but it can be a challenge to find out where the treatment is offered.

CDC: No sign of homegrown U.S. coronavirus variant, but scientists need to look harder
Joel Achenbach et al., The Washington Post

Mutations in the novel coronavirus and the sudden appearance of the highly contagious United Kingdom variant have become a top concern of scientists and public health officials in the United States, who are vowing to improve the spotty surveillance of the pathogen as it adapts to its human host and potentially becomes a more elusive target for vaccines.

Biden publicly receives second dose of coronavirus vaccine
Morgan Chalfant, The Hill

President-elect Joe Biden publicly received his second dose of the vaccine for the novel coronavirus on Monday in a continued bid to bolster public confidence in the inoculation.

Northeast Sees Signs That Covid Hospitalization’s Pace Is Easing
Jonathan Levin, Bloomberg

The pace of Covid-19 hospitalizations in the Northeast is showing some preliminary signs of easing, adding to hopeful indicators in the Midwest, where the latest viral wave began.

Tribal Elders Are Dying From the Pandemic, Causing a Cultural Crisis for American Indians
Jack Healy, The New York Times

The virus has killed American Indians at especially high rates, robbing tribes of precious bonds and repositories of language and tradition.

JPM21: Centene’s Neidorff says insurer planning for a ‘different mix’ of care utilization due to COVID-19
Paige Minemyer, Fierce Healthcare

Centene Corporation CEO Michael Neidorff said the company is expecting care utilization to normalize but is planning for a different mix of services as COVID-19 cases surge.

Health Workers Unions See Surge in Interest Amid Covid
Aneri Pattani, Kaiser Health News

For months now, front-line health workers across the country have faced a perpetual lack of personal protective equipment, or PPE, and inconsistent safety measures. Many workers say employers and government systems that are meant to protect them have failed.

CMS audits small slice of hospitals for price transparency, probes complaints
Samantha Liss, Healthcare Dive

Researchers closely following the issue said it appears noncompliance is common in their spot checking of hospitals’ websites.

Gilead’s remdesivir sales are surging, but investors aren’t impressed
Adam Feuerstein and Matthew Herper, Stat News

A lot more Covid-19 patients in the U.S. are being treated with Gilead Sciences’ remdesivir because of the accelerating case counts. But even with sales of the medicine surging, investors are not impressed.

A Colonoscopy Alternative Comes Home
Paula Span, The New York Times

An at-home test for colon cancer is as reliable as the traditional screening, health experts say, and more agreeable.

Genetic Testing Firm Pays $2.5 Million for Kickback Allegations
Christopher Brown, Bloomberg Law

A California-based genetic testing company will pay $2.5 million to settle allegations it paid kickbacks in return for patient referrals, the Justice Department said.

Wall Street paints rosy 2021 for medtech as electives snap back
Ricky Zipp, Healthcare Dive

While the coronavirus pandemic continues to put pressure on health systems across the globe as cases continue to climb, Wall Street analysts see a recovery in sight for the medtech industry and believe that the sector can still outperform 2021 expectations.

Suppliers of Medical Equipment in Talks to Merge
Cara Lombardo, The Wall Street Journal

Steris PLC is in talks to combine with Cantel Medical Corp. , according to people familiar with the matter, in a deal that would bring together two big providers of sterilization products.

JPM21: Teladoc projects 2020 revenue to reach $1.1B as it expands virtual primary care
Heather Landi, Fierce Healthcare

Teladoc expects 2020 revenue to reach $1.1 billion, doubling its 2019 revenue of $553 million, driven by surging demand for virtual care solutions.

Feds to Invest $8 Million in Broadband for Telehealth Access
Shira Stein, Bloomberg Law

Two organizations will get $8 million to improve broadband access for rural telehealth services, the Department of Health and Human Services said Monday.

Who’s First for Vaccines, and What’s Missed Along the Way
Michael O. Ball, Morning Consult

The extremely disappointing performance in the rate of actual vaccine delivery has made clear that a fundamental element has been left out of this discussion: the throughput of the system.

As the New C.D.C. Chief, I’ll Tell You the Truth
Rochelle P. Walensky, The New York Times

I acknowledge that our team of scientists will have to work very hard to restore public trust in the C.D.C., at home and abroad, because it has been undermined over the last year.

The COVID-19 “Vaccination Line”: An Update on State Prioritization Plans
Jennifer Kates et al., Kaiser Family Foundation

With COVID-19 vaccine rollout already underway, states are still refining their priority groups, making updates based on new guidance, vaccine supply or distribution issues, and other factors.

Democrats Weigh Nullifying a Select Few Trump Health Regulations
Shira Stein and Alex Ruoff, Bloomberg Law

Democrats are considering which Health and Human Services Department regulations they may want to overturn in the early days of the Biden administration, although there are few candidates and other avenues to do so.

Major health companies and trade groups suspend campaign contributions after Capitol riot
Lev Facher, Stat News

Following last week’s riot here, several major health care corporations are re-evaluating their support for the 147 Republican lawmakers who voted against certifying the results of November’s presidential election.