Michigan officials announced Friday that the state has agreed to pay $300,00 to settle wrongful discharge claims by an employee who lost her job over the Flint water crisis in 2016, AP reports.
Driving the news: An arbitrator said Liane Shekter Smith, who oversaw the state's drinking water division, was wrongly fired by state officials who were likely looking for a "public scapegoat," per AP.
Pfizer's new COVID-19 antiviral is highly effective when given early in the course of an infection — underscoring the importance of cheap, easily accessible COVID-19 tests, including at-home rapid versions.
Driving the news: Pfizer's oral antiviral drug reduced the risk of hospitalization or death from COVID-19 by 89%, according to interim results from a mid-to-late-stage study announced by the company on Friday, my colleague Rebecca Falconer writes.
First lady Jill Biden on Monday will travel to Virginia to start a "nationwide effort" to get children between the ages of 5 and 11 vaccinated, the White House announced Friday.
State of play: Biden will "visit a pediatric COVID-19 vaccination clinic at Franklin Sherman Elementary School in McLean, Virginia, the first school to administer the polio vaccine in 1954," her office said.
The Department of Health and Human Services canceled a long-standing pandemic preparedness contract with Emergent BioSolutions, a pharmaceutical manufacturer that ruined 15 million doses of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine in March, the company disclosed in an earnings report.
Why it matters: The contract, originally worth $650 million, was expanded under Operation Warp Speed to increase the company's capacity to produce materials for COVID-19 vaccines.
More than 15 states across the U.S. have filed lawsuits against the Biden administration over its federal vaccine mandate for companies with at least 100 employees.
Driving the news: Attorneys general in 11 states filed a lawsuit on Friday against the administration, calling the mandate "unconstitutional, unlawful and unwise."
Venture capital firm Flagship Pioneering is best known for creating Moderna Therapeutics on whiteboards in its Cambridge, Massachusetts, office. Now it's seeking to leverage its own portfolio to treat cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that causes persistent lung infections and limited breathing ability.
Driving the news: Flagship secured up to $110 million in commitments from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, via a unique partnership that will seek to develop multiple drug candidates and bring them through human proof of concept.
Pfizer's oral antiviral drug was found to reduce the risk of hospitalization or death from COVID-19 by 89%, according to interim results from a mid-to-late-stage study announced by the company on Friday.
Why it matters: Antiviral drugs can be a key pandemic-fighting tool, as not everyone will get vaccinated against the virus and it may take years to fully inoculate people in certain countries — particularly given current gaps in global vaccine supplies.
COVID-19 has affected each health insurance company differently, but the industry remains mostly insulated from the virus' growing toll.
The big picture: Most of the big insurers have sidestepped massive coronavirus-related costs so far this year, due in large part to people putting off other care. And the companies that have had to pay more medical claims are raising premiums on employers and consumers, exactly as they said they would.
Rival vaccine makers are trying to elbow into the massive COVID-19 market, arguing for federal funding and claiming advantages over the current choices in the U.S.
Why it matters: There's huge remaining demand around the world, and researchers say there should be more support — including money — from the Biden administration to fill it.
Unlike vaccine development, the U.S. rapid testing effort for COVID-19 has been much slower and more expensive than in Europe, and is long overdue for a fix, a new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows.
Driving the news: This could become an even bigger problem after the Biden administration announced Thursday a new federal vaccine rule that would require employees who refuse to get vaccinated to get weekly COVID tests.
Employers who have already been testing their staffs were caught in bidding wars to secure tests, per Reuters.
Here's one wonky but meaningful clarification, at least for us: Democrats' drug pricing bill would allow Medicare to negotiate the prices of up to 20 new drugs a year, but the prices negotiated in previous years would remain in effect until a competitor enters the market.
Why it matters: Which drugs can be negotiated is still much more limited than Democrats' original plan. But this means that, eventually, Medicare will likely be able to negotiate the prices of a lot more than just 20 drugs.
The Federal Aviation Administration announced Thursday that it has referred 37 of the "most egregious" unruly passenger cases to the FBI for potential criminal prosecution.
Europe is "back at the epicenter of the pandemic" and approaching record COVID-19 case numbers as the Delta variant spreads and vaccination efforts stall in several regions, a top World Health Organization official warned Thursday.
The big picture: Germany reported Thursday its highest number of new coronavirus infections in one day since the pandemic began (33,949). New cases across Europe have risen 55% in the past four weeks, per WHO European director Hans Kluge. "We are at another critical point of pandemic resurgence," he warned.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday that the state will file a lawsuit in response to President Biden's vaccine mandate that goes into effect Jan. 4.
Why it matters: Thursday's lawsuit is the Republican governor's latest attempt to undermine the Biden administration's vaccine requirements.
A new survey conducted by Harvard University and The Harris Poll gives Democrats a road map to get back in voters' good graces. The challenge is that Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) stands in the way of two of the most popular routes.
Why it matters: Democrats are feeling immense pressure to turn voter sentiment around after Tuesday's abysmal election results. Yet two of their most popular policy ideas — expanding Medicare benefits and implementing paid leave — are opposed by Manchin.
