• The Department of Veterans Affairs became the first federal agency to require COVID-19 vaccinations for its workers, while California and New York City also announced mandates for their employees but provided exemptions for those who agree to undergo regular testing. The decisions come as the delta variant drives up infections across the country, and prompted criticism from some unions as well as questions about whether the mandates are legally enforceable. (The Wall Street Journal)
• Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE and Moderna Inc. are expanding clinical trials testing their COVID-19 vaccines among children ages 5 to 11 at the request of the Food and Drug Administration, multiple people familiar with the studies said, a precaution meant to help the drugmakers detect any rare side effects from the shots, including heart inflammation reported among some vaccinated people under 30. Regulators indicated that the size and scope of the initially planned pediatric studies were too small to detect rare side effects. (The New York Times)
• Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.), chair of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, is broadening the panel’s investigation into political interference at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the Trump administration, citing new details about political appointees’ efforts to alter the agency’s scientific reports. The subcommittee is requesting interviews with eight current and former career staffers and three Trump appointees at the CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services. (The Washington Post)
• The Biden administration said that long COVID-19, a syndrome where previously infected people experience long-term symptoms, could be considered a disability under a civil rights law that protects disabled people from discrimination. In a Rose Garden address, President Joe Biden said his administration is working to ensure long-haulers with a disability “have access to the rights and resources that are due under the disability law,” including accommodations at work, school and in health care settings. (Politico)

Regulators Want to Extend Some Pandemic Telehealth Flexibilities. Virtual Care Companies Still Have Questions

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Medical groups call for mandatory vaccination of U.S. health care workers.

Emily Anthes, The New York Times

A group of nearly 60 major medical organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association, called on Monday for mandatory vaccination of health care workers. As the highly contagious Delta variant drives a new surge of coronavirus cases, vaccination is an ethical obligation for health care workers, the groups said in a joint statement.

Biden team weighs return to mask mandates in some states

Erin Banco et al., Politico

The high-level conversations underscore the extent to which the administration is working to find new and more efficient ways to safeguard Americans living in communities with rising infection rates.

U.S. to Keep Covid-19 Travel Restrictions Due to Delta Variant, Official Says

Sabrina Siddiqui, The Wall Street Journal

The U.S. won’t lift restrictions on international travel at this point, a White House official said Monday, citing rising coronavirus cases at home and abroad caused by the Delta variant.

Americans are ‘mixing and matching’ Covid vaccines over concerns about the delta variant

Berkeley Lovelace Jr., CNBC

Some Americans say they are finding ways to get additional doses of the Covid vaccines, with some even going as far as receiving the extra shots from different companies.

How AstraZeneca threw away its shot

Jillian Deutsch and Ashleigh Furlong, Politico

AstraZeneca and the EU might have ruined Africa’s best chance out of the pandemic.

US vaccine diplomat urges producers to back low-cost jab hubs abroad

Kiran Stacey, Financial Times

Joe Biden’s top vaccine diplomat has urged Covid-19 vaccine makers in the US to support the development of low-cost manufacturing hubs overseas to boost the production of cheaper jabs for developing countries.

White House says current vaccination rates show positive trend

Trevor Hunnicutt and Steve Holland, Reuters

A surge in new coronavirus cases related to the Delta variant is prompting health experts to discuss mitigation strategies such as updated guidance on wearing masks, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Monday.

Covid Treatment Options Remain Elusive, Despite Months of Effort and Rising Delta Cases

Joseph Walker, The Wall Street Journal

Researchers have been held back by a lack of relevant research, a scattered array of clinical trials and a fragmented U.S. healthcare system.

Cuomo Takes Victory Lap After DOJ Drops N.Y. Nursing Home Probe

Emma Kinery, Bloomberg Law

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the U.S. Department of Justice’s decision to drop an investigation into whether he mishandled Covid-19 outbreaks in nursing homes vindicated his administration and that he is “eager” for the results of other probes into his alleged misconduct.

Billionaire Soon-Shiong Sees His Covid Shot as Universal Booster

Janice Kew and Antony Sguazzin, Bloomberg

U.S. biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong is backing a Covid-19 vaccine candidate that he sees as having potential as a universal booster of other pandemic shots.

How a Doctor Breaks Norms to Treat Refugees and Recent Immigrants

Markian Hawryluk, Kaiser Health News

Although it’s not part of the formal U.S. refugee resettlement program, Mango House is in many ways emblematic of refugee health care in the U.S. It’s a less-than-lucrative field of medicine that often relies on individual physicians willing to eke out a living caring for an underserved and under-resourced population.

Anthem, Humana drop nearly $140 million to launch new PBM

Nona Tepper, Modern Healthcare

Anthem and Humana have invested nearly $140 million to form a new pharmacy benefit manager, as criticism over traditional PBMs’ operations kickstarts business at startups that promise transparency.

Medicare eligibility erases many healthcare disparities in US

Ron Shinkman, Healthcare Dive

Black and Latino people are far more likely to benefit from becoming Medicare eligible than any other demographic group in the U.S., according to a study published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine.

CommonSpirit tinkers with SNF at home in Nebraska

Samantha Liss, Healthcare Dive

As COVID-19 ravaged skilled nursing facilities around the country, patients pushed back against being discharged to a SNF, spurring hospital leaders to come up with a solution.

Four senators call on Becerra to back importation of prescription drugs from Canada

Justine Coleman, The Hill

A bipartisan group of four senators requested Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra’s support to allow less costly prescription drugs to be imported from Canada.

How Biogen found a believer: At the FDA, a hard-nosed regulator was won over on controversial Alzheimer’s drug

Nicholas Florko et al., Stat News

When the drug maker Biogen pitched its Alzheimer’s treatment to a panel of independent experts last November, most saw muddled, confusing data that raised doubts about whether it would benefit patients. Billy Dunn saw a “home run.”

Companies won’t stress to find opioids settlement cash

Bob Herman, Axios

Since 2016, the four companies involved in the latest opioid settlement — Johnson & Johnson, McKesson, AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health — have funneled a combined $100 billion to shareholders through stock buybacks and dividends. If that’s any indication, those companies won’t have much trouble paying off a combined $26 billion settlement agreement.

U.S. FDA approves Merck’s Keytruda combo for early breast cancer treatment

Manas Mishra, Reuters

Merck & Co Inc said on Tuesday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its immunotherapy Keytruda as a treatment for an early form of a tough-to-treat breast cancer in combination with chemotherapy.

Big Pharma Quietly Pushes Back on Global Tax Deal, Citing Covid-19 Role

Jenny Strasburg and Laura Cooper, The Wall Street Journal

Big drug companies and their lobbyists have a message for Congress: Don’t raise taxes on the industry that brought you fast-tracked Covid-19 vaccines.

KFF: Nearly 3M Part D enrollees reached catastrophic drug price threshold over five-year period

Robert King, Fierce Healthcare

Nearly 3 million enrollees in Medicare Part D spent above the catastrophic threshold at least once over a five-year period, according to a new study that comes as Congress is debating installing a Part D out-of-pocket cap.

PerkinElmer Buying Antibodies Maker BioLegend for $5.25 Billion

Chris Wack, The Wall Street Journal

PerkinElmer Inc. said it is buying BioLegend, which provides life science antibodies and reagents, for $5.25 billion in a combination of cash and stock.

BioNTech aims to develop mRNA-based malaria vaccine

Caroline Copley and Patricia Weiss, Reuters

BioNTech wants to build on its success in COVID-19 by developing the first vaccine for malaria based on mRNA technology and aims to start clinical testing by the end on 2022, in an attempt to eradicate the mosquito-borne illness.

430 groups demand Congressional action on permanently expanding telehealth flexibilities

Robert King, Fierce Healthcare

More than 400 advocacy groups are calling for Congress to act quickly to permanently expand flexibilities for telehealth that could go away after the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency expected to run through 2021.

Technology Adoption Is Critical to Keeping Up With the Future of Specialty Medication

Andrew Mellin (VP, Chief Medical Information Officer, Surescripts), Morning Consult

The process of filling a prescription for a specialty medication is much more complex than filling a regular prescription. In my more than 20 years in health IT and 15 years of experience as a provider, this is the most complicated process I’ve ever seen to start a patient on a therapy.