COVID-19 vaccines

• It’s “plausible” that the COVID-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca PLC is tied to rare but potentially fatal blood clots, European regulators said, which could further complicate the rollout of the shot globally.

• Production of Moderna Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine will nearly double after the company reached an agreement with contract manufacturer Catalent Inc. to increase vaccine output to about 400 vials per minute at its Bloomington, Ind., plant, people familiar with the decision said.

• Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. said it will change its scheduling system for the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE COVID-19 vaccine after federal health officials discovered the pharmacy chain was automatically booking people’s first and second dose four weeks apart, rather than the recommended three weeks, for scheduling ease.

COVID-19 response

• President Joe Biden said all U.S. adults should be made eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine by April 19, nearly two weeks earlier than the original May 1 deadline.

• A more contagious coronavirus variant first identified in the United Kingdom is now the primary source of new infections in the United States, said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

• A rheumatoid arthritis drug from Eli Lilly and Co. and Incyte Corp. failed to keep COVID-19 patients from progressing to ventilation in a late-stage study, the companies said. U.S. regulators had previously authorized the drug, called baricitinib, for emergency use in combination with remdesivir for COVID-19 patients who need supplemental oxygen.

Health and Human Services

• About 528,000 people have signed up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act during the Biden administration’s special enrollment period, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Officials expect sign-ups to continue rising in the coming months, given millions of people are newly eligible for increased premium subsidies under the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill.

• The CDC declared racism a “serious public health threat” and added a section to its website to highlight racism and health. Walensky said the CDC would take steps to address the issue, including using COVID-19 funding to address health disparities and invest in groups disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

• The state of Florida sued U.S. health authorities to force them to allow cruise ships to resume voyages out of the United States after more than a year of dormancy, with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis saying he doesn’t think the federal government “has the right to mothball a major industry for over a year.”

• The Senate and the House are both in session.

• The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s health subcommittee will hold a hearing at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday titled: “An Epidemic within a Pandemic: Understanding Substance Use and Misuse in America.”

• The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing at 9:30 a.m. Thursday on Chiquita Brooks-LaSure’s nomination to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

• The House Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing at 10 a.m. Thursday on the 2022 fiscal year budget request from the Department of Health and Human Services.

• UnitedHealth Inc. will report quarterly earnings Thursday.