Axios

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said Friday that the company was adding suppliers and expanding it manufacturing capacity to ramp up production of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine.

The big picture: Bourla made the announcement alongside President Biden, who reiterated his earlier comments that the U.S. was on track to have enough vaccine supply for all Americans by the end of July.

A federal judge on Friday temporarily suspended a new South Carolina law that bans most abortions in the state, according to AP.

Why it matters: The 14-day suspension comes a day after South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed the bill into law and Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) released a statement on Friday calling for a "full investigation" into New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's handling of COVID-19 in nursing homes.

Why it matters: Cuomo's handling of nursing home deaths has been under scrutiny for months, but the backlash has become increasingly bipartisan after audio leaked of a top Cuomo aide saying a Democratic request for nursing homes data was rejected because the administration feared it could "be used against us" by federal investigators.

The extreme winter weather this week delayed the delivery of 6 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, but the logistical hurdles are expected to be resolved by next week, the White House coronavirus task force said Friday.

The big picture: Transporters like FedEx, UPS and McKesson and others have faced challenges in all 50 states as the storms snowed in workers and forced roads to be closed. More than 2,000 vaccine sites experienced power outages and were rendered unable to receive doses due to fears of spoilage.

Like many counties, Florida’s Brevard County originally planned to use one system for COVID-19 vaccine appointments, but it didn’t work. Eventbrite is now being used to help schedule vaccinations in 40 states and numerous counties, including Brevard.

Axios Re:Cap goes deeper with Eventbrite co-founder and CEO Julia Hartz to learn how her company has responded to this unexpected use of Eventbrite’s platform.

Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine may be more effective after just one shot than researchers had previously realized, and can be stored for two weeks at standard temperatures typically found in pharmaceutical freezers and refrigerators, according to new data.

Why it matters: The findings about first-dose efficacy, which appear in a new analysis published in The Lancet, appear to support a strategy of delaying second shots in order to make the most of limited supplies. That's what the U.K. has done, and some experts have called for a similar approach in the U.S.

The U.S. supply of coronavirus vaccines is expected to significantly expand over the next few months, with more than enough doses available to vaccinate all U.S. adults before the end of July, Bloomberg reports.

Why it matters: If manufacturing goes according to plan, the intense competition for shots will end relatively soon, and attention will turn instead to increasing vaccine uptake.

The deadly winter storm in Texas has bombarded hospitals throughout the state.

Why it matters: Doctors have been working to conserve resources, pause non-emergency surgeries, evacuate patients and push back coronavirus vaccine shots.

The U.S. is committing $2 billion for the global COVAX vaccine initiative within days (using funds already allocated by Congress), plus an additional $2 billion over the next two years, the White House announced ahead of Friday's virtual G7 summit.

Why it matters: Senior administration officials told reporters Thursday evening that they'll use those commitments to "call on G7 partners Friday both to make good on the pledges that are already out there" and to make further investments in global vaccine manufacturing and distribution.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) signed a bill into law on Thursday banning most abortions in the state.

Driving the news: Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit in response, effectively blocking the measure from going into effect.

Coronavirus vaccine shipments have slowed "to a grinding halt" in some areas affected by a devastating winter storm and freezing temperatures, Anthony Fauci, President Biden's chief medical adviser, told MSNBC on Thursday.

Driving the news: A winter storm is still tracking along the Southeast coast, leaving heavy snow and ice along the mid-Atlantic, the National Weather Service said in an early Thursday morning update. Texas has been hit the hardest by the storm, with just under 500,000 people still without power after several days.

After more than a decade entertaining Portland, Oregon, residents at parades, parties and weddings — and gratefully nibbling the carrots they proffered — Rojo the llama has permanently retired to a display at the Washington State School for the Blind in Vancouver.

Why it matters: Rojo, who died in 2019 at age 17, has 29,000 followers on Instagram and 15,000 on Facebook. Carefully restored by a taxidermist, he will spend his afterlife introducing blind students to what a llama feels like, as part of a museum where blind students can experience animals they've only heard about.

The coronavirus pandemic drove life expectancy in the U.S. to its lowest level since 2006, according to new preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The big picture: Racial disparities in life expectancy also widened in the first half of 2020. White Americans now live an average of six years longer than Black Americans, up from about a four-year difference in 2019.

Government regulations of the hospitals' rates is a much more effective way to reduce costs than relying on competition to do the job, according to a new report by the RAND Corp.

Why it matters: America's health care system is the most expensive in the world, and hospitals account for the largest portion of those costs.

The U.K. plans to intentionally infect healthy volunteers with the coronavirus in the world's first "human challenge trial," the goal being to enhance understanding of the virus, the Washington Post reports.

Why it matters: The effort is controversial, but the government says the study will help with developing new treatments and vaccines for the virus.

The pace of new coronavirus infections continued to plummet over the past week, despite upticks in the already hard-hit Dakotas.

Why it matters: This sustained drop in new cases is unambiguously good news. If the U.S. can keep it going, this progress will save lives, make it easier to safely reopen schools and businesses, and help minimize the threat posed by more contagious variants of COVID-19.

Indonesia's government has made COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for anyone who's eligible and warned of punishments for those who refuse, as authorities move to curb Southeast Asia’s largest coronavirus outbreak, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

The big picture: Sanctions include fines and social assistance program delays. Local authorities will decide on penalties. The government is providing the vaccines for free. Over 1.2 million Indonesians have tested positive for the virus, per Johns Hopkins.

All New Zealand schools will from June provide students with access to free menstrual products following a successful trial, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Thursday.

Why it matters: It's the latest sign a global push to stamp out period poverty by providing menstrual products at no cost or tax-free is gaining momentum.

Life expectancy in the U.S. fell by a full year in the first half of 2020, CDC data published Thursday shows.

Why it matters: The decline from 78.8 years in 2019 to 77.8 years for January through June 2020 marks the biggest fall in longevity since World War II, underscoring the impact of COVID-19 on the U.S. The drop is even larger for Black and Hispanic Americans, who've been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration is under investigation by the FBI and U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn over its handling of COVID-19 nursing home deaths, the Albany Times-Union first reported Wednesday.

Why it matters: The news comes as N.Y. state lawmakers begin efforts to repeal the Democratic governor's pandemic emergency powers after it was revealed his administration delayed releasing data of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes, prompting allegations of a cover-up.