Axios

Approximately 60 million U.S. households have ordered free, at-home rapid COVID-19 tests, White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Friday.

State of play: People are allowed to order four tests per household, meaning that around 240 million tests have been ordered so far.

Virginia's new Republican attorney general said Friday that public colleges in the state can't mandate COVID-19 vaccines for students as a requirement for admission or in-person attendance.

Why it matters: State Attorney General Jason Miyares' ruling came from a requested review of the mandate by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who promised to end the state's mask mandate and vaccination requirements during his campaign for governor.

This year might be a bit of a drag, technically speaking. The explosive economic growth that we saw in 2021 won't likely continue into 2022 because of "fiscal drag," where there's less money from the federal government going out to regular folks.

Why it matters: Less fiscal stimulus could mean less inflation, as Fed chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday.

In news that will surprise those that didn't know Uber Health was a thing, the company recently picked up Michael Cantor as its first chief medical officer.

Why it matters: Uber made its name shuttling people from bars and restaurants, but the company sees a future in connecting parts of the health care ecosystem.

States across the country are scaling back their contact tracing efforts, often focusing on vulnerable communities and relying more on Americans to alert close contacts themselves after testing positive for COVID.

Why it matters: As vaccines have become available, the virus has become more infectious and life has slowly headed more toward normal, health officials have come to view contact tracing as a relatively inefficient use of resources.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Friday a AU$1 billion ($703 million) investment plan for the Great Barrier Reef.

Why it matters: The nine-year plan for projects including water quality improvement, reef conservation and supporting some 64,000 tourism jobs comes months ahead of this year's federal election. It has been criticized by scientists and environmental groups for failing to tackle climate change.

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) has joined Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's (R) lawsuit to block President Biden and the Department of Defense from enforcing a vaccine mandate for the National Guard, his office announced Thursday.

Why it matters: The lawsuit argues that when national guardsmen are serving the state, the federal government does not have authority over them.

The presence of certain autoantibodies or high amounts of coronavirus RNA in the blood could be indicators a patient has a higher chance of developing long COVID, according to a new study in the journal Cell.

• Other factors include a person having Type 2 diabetes or the reactivation of the Epstein-Barr virus.

The White House said Thursday that a record 14.5 million Americans have signed up for health insurance through Obamacare marketplaces since Nov. 1, including more than 10 million enrollments through HealthCare.gov.

Why it matters: Last year's stimulus bill contained substantial investments in the program, including increased subsidies for people who don't receive health insurance from an employer or through Medicare or Medicaid.

The number of Medicare accountable care organizations — groups of hospitals and doctors who care for specific groups of Medicare patients — has flat-lined since 2018, new data from the federal government shows.

Why it matters: The Affordable Care Act created ACOs with the intent of both improving quality of care for patients and cutting costs, and then sharing savings with those care providers.

• But industry interest stagnated after Medicare cracked down on models that made it too easy for providers to collect money.

New COVID infections are declining in the U.S. — a sign that the Omicron wave has likely peaked.

Yes, but: Deaths are rising, and the U.S. still has a lot of COVID — a reminder that even this milder variant is still a very real threat to unvaccinated Americans.

In recent months, subscription health care service businesses have attracted significant attention from venture capitalists, according to a recent PitchBook report.

Why it matters: Venture capitalists have been pouring money into subscription startups, including Crossover Health, Tia Clinic and Oak Street Health. Like One Medical and Forward, these companies promise to save users under the assumption that their models will save on downstream medical costs by connecting patients to more consistent care.

Asian American and Pacific Islander groups, led by Tongan Americans, wrote to President Biden Wednesday to urge his administration to ramp up aid assistance to Tonga and follow through on climate action to address root causes.

The big picture: The call came as British and Australian navy ships arrived in Tonga to deliver aid without making contact with anyone on the coronavirus-free Pacific Island nation that's been devastated by the deadly Jan. 15 volcanic eruption and tsunami.

The U.S. Navy announced Wednesday it has discharged 45 service members for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, including 23 active-duty sailors.

Why it matters: This is the first time the Navy has announced that it's kicked out sailors for not getting inoculated against the coronavirus since the military's Nov. 28 vaccine mandate expired, per the Navy Times.