Axios

India's government announced Friday that the coronavirus pandemic has killed at least 400,312 people in the country and has infected more than 30 million, though experts believe deaths and cases have been undercounted, according to the Washington Post.

The big picture: India has been attempting to manage a spring surge in new cases driven by the Delta variant of the virus, which is rapidly spreading in Africa, Asia and parts of the United States.

The number of new coronavirus cases in Africa is doubling every three weeks as the continent faces a wave of Delta variant infections, the World Health Organization announced Thursday.

Why it matters: The COVID-19 variant first discovered in India has been reported in 16 African countries and is dominant in South Africa, which accounted for over half of Africa’s cases for the week ending in June 27.

The Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine provides immunity that lasts at least eight months and appears to offer protection against the Delta variant, the company said late Thursday.

Why it matters: The findings come as the highly contagious Delta variant spreads across the U.S., accounting for at least 25% of new COVID-19 cases in the country.

One Democratic defector in the Senate could sink the party's effort to lower prescription drug prices, and a series of new ad campaigns are giving strong hints about who advocates are most worried about.

Driving the news: Two organizations advocating for Medicare to have the authority to negotiate drug prices announced new ad campaigns yesterday.

COVID-19 dropped to the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S. in June, a marked decline from January 2021 when it was No. 1, new Kaiser Family Foundation data shows.

Why it matters: COVID-19 is still wreaking major havoc in the U.S., especially among people who aren't vaccinated. On the other hand: We've come a long way. Let's hope the progress continues.

More states are opening the door to psychedelics, with seven states already passing laws over the last several months to allow research or decriminalize its use and another 11 considering similar measures.

Why it matters: There's a growing body of research suggesting psychedelic compounds with psychotherapy can be effective for anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and substance use disorder where other therapies have failed.

• Amid a national epidemic of opioid abuse and suicides, state legislatures see a greater need to explore new therapeutics.

What's happening: In November, Oregon became the first to legalize psychedelics in licensed, supervised facilities and decrimalize them elsewhere.

In the months following, several states have passed bills to consider allowing the study of the medical risks and benefits of psilocybin, the active ingredient in psychedelic mushrooms.

• Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) allowed a bill authorizing the study of psilocybin to become law without his signature on June 18.
• Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed a bill of health initiatives on June 7 that called for the state's department of mental health and addiction services to report findings by Jan. 1, 2022.
• In New York, a bill was introduced on June 1 that would require the state to establish an institute to investigate the medical potential of substances including “ibogaine, LSD, psilocybin and certain other psychedelic drugs.”
• California's legislature is considering a bill that, if ultimately passed, would make California the second state next to Oregon to decriminalize psilocybin.

The big picture: MDMA and psilocybin have been granted breakthrough therapy status by the Food and Drug Administration, signaling a shift in the potential for incorporating psychedelics into the existing health care infrastructure.

• Psychedelic drug developer ATAI Life Sciences, backed by Peter Thiel, went public last month. It's one of three such psychedelics companies including MindMed and Compass Pathways that have both gone public in the last year.
• More state, federal and even company-sponsored research is beneficial to corroborate early, smaller studies that "show great promise," George Goldsmith, CEO of Compass Pathways, a psychedelic therapy developer that finished its psilocybin therapy IIb clinical trial this week.

The other side: There's a debate between policy advocates on whether state-accelerated research alone could be too slow-moving. And in plenty of other states, the political will isn't there to pass this kind of measure.

• In February, an Iowa lawmaker filed a bill that would allow seriously ill people to use psilocybin mushrooms, MDMA, LSD, DMT or peyote as alternative treatments after they’ve exhausted traditional legal medicines. It died in committee.

Large numbers of COVID-19 hospitalizations and more immunocompromised people in general are fueling a global spread of a different threatening microbe: invasive fungi.

Why it matters: These infections cause more than 1.6 million deaths worldwide every year, and the microorganisms responsible for them are starting to evade the small supply of antifungal drugs.

COVID-19 surge response teams will be sent to areas of the country with low vaccination rates to assist communities amid rising concerns about the Delta variant, COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said Thursday.

Why it matters: Vaccinated Americans have so far been deemed safe from variants, including the Delta variant. But several communities are reporting upticks in new cases and hospitalizations from unvaccinated individuals.

Pharmaceutical and medical device companies paid $9.1 billion in consulting fees, hotel stays, meals and royalties to physicians and teaching hospitals in 2020, a 16% drop from 2019, according to new data released by the federal government.

The big picture: The industry reeled back payments as the pandemic halted travel, speakers' programs and other junkets. But experts say, and data show, that the billions of dollars still may create inappropriate relationships and sway doctors to prescribe those companies' medications and devices.

Walgreens has given out 25 million COVID-19 vaccinations in its stores this year, including 17 million from March through May.

Why it matters: Walgreens executives said the vaccines were the main reason why the company recorded higher foot traffic, sales and profits in the quarter. But this boost may be short-lived, as demand for vaccines has slowed down considerably since late April.

There's no evidence that anyone who's been vaccinated against the coronavirus needs a booster yet. Deciding who needs one — and when — could be complicated.

Driving the news: With vaccination rates plateauing at the same time the more transmissible Delta variant of the virus spread across the U.S., it has raised new fears among Americans, including many vaccinated individuals who worry about how long they'll remain protected against COVID.

Growing nervousness about the Delta variant of COVID-19 is causing some places to consider reinstating mask recommendations. But with conflicting guidance from top health agencies, it's got the potential to create new confusion around masking.

Driving the news: Days after the World Health Organization recommended vaccinated people should still wear their masks to slow the spread of the Delta variant, the CDC reiterated its own guidance allowing individuals to unmask and leaving masking rules to states and counties to decide.