New York City will harness data from thousands of internet-connected smart thermometers to identify future outbreaks days or even weeks before case numbers start rising.
Why it matters: By the time large numbers of sick people start showing up in hospitals, it's often too late to quickly curb a new outbreak. But devices that can instantly alert health officials when unusual fevers are popping up in households can give them time to stop further spread.
Twelve members of Venezuela's national football team, including five players, tested positive for COVID-19 before the team's Sunday opener against Brazil in Brasilia, AP reports.
Why it matters: The South American Football Confederation has not said whether the opening match at Mané Garrincha Stadium will proceed as scheduled or if it will be delayed.
Moscow's mayor ordered some workplaces to take a week off and imposed new restrictions on many other businesses on Saturday to help curb a surge in new coronavirus cases, AP reports.
Why it matters: The city reported 6,701 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, and new cases nationally have more than doubled over the past week.
Saudi Arabia announced Saturday it was barring foreign visitors and limiting this year's hajj pilgrimage to 60,000 people from within the kingdom due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Why it matters: It's the second year the pandemic has forced the country to restrict the annual pilgrimage, which typically draws 2 million Muslims from around the world. The hajj last year was limited to about 1,000 people.
Lawmakers who are fully vaccinated will no longer be required to wear masks on the House floor, the Office of the Attending Physician, Brian Monahan, announced Friday, CNN reports.
Driving the news: A senior Democratic aide told CNN that the rule was changed due to the decrease in transmission and the increase in vaccination rates among lawmakers and staff on Capitol Hill, which has reached 85%.
The Food and Drug Administration said Friday that it's allowing for the release of two batches of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine made at the Emergent BioSolutions facility in Baltimore, where 100 million doses had been set aside for review after an accidental contamination.
Why it matters: The two authorized batches amount to approximately 10 million doses of J&J's single-shot vaccine, according to AP. The doses could end up being used in the U.S. or exported to other countries.
The Group of 7 wealthy nations on Friday pledged to deliver more than 1 billion doses of the coronavirus vaccine to lower-income countries beginning this summer.
Why it matters: The G7 countries have been criticized for not sharing vaccines with nations that have fewer resources and are struggling to contain new waves of the pandemic.
UnitedHealthcare is delaying a new policy that would have declined or limited coverage of an emergency room visit if the visit was found to be non-emergent after the fact.
Driving the news: The largest U.S. health insurer came under fire from provider and hospital groups who said the policy came at a particularly bad time, given that many patients might still be avoiding seeking appropriate care because of lingering COVID fears.
Two Biogen executives said in an interview the company's newly approved Alzheimer's drug is priced fairly, and that it didn't conduct another clinical trial before approval because the FDA didn't push them to do so.
Why it matters: The scientific consensus is the drug, Aduhelm, has not been proven to work. But Biogen and the FDA are content with "hopefully" validating the $56,000 drug's efficacy at some unknown point in the future.
