Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has tested positive for COVID-19, the CDC said Saturday.
Why it matters: Walensky has tested positive as White House officials have expressed concerns about rising COVID-19 variants that could fuel a winter surge of cases.
Pfizer plans to charge $110 to $130 per dose for its COVID-19 vaccine once government purchases end next year, the drugmaker's U.S. president said on an investor call Thursday.
The big picture: Weak demand for the shots and private market pressures were expected to cost manufacturers billions once government purchases end. Price increases, while expected, could lead to higher insurance premiums.
Respiratory illnesses in children are overwhelming hospitals across the United States right now.
The big picture: The unseasonably high numbers of respiratory illness in kids has put a strain on hospitals that are already preparing for the typical wintertime surge of patients ill from viruses.
The next phase of the Biden administration's bid to curb rising drug costs is in the hands of an under-the-radar federal office called the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI).
Driving the news: The center will publish a report within three months on how it can use new payment and delivery models to lower drug costs and boost access to treatments for beneficiaries of the two government health programs, per a recent executive order from President Biden.
Democrats are intent on making abortion a defining issue of the midterm election cycle and painting Republican opponents of the procedure as extremists. But it's unclear whether that intense focus will keep them in control of the Senate.
The Affordable Care Act, a trigger point in political campaigns for more than a decade, has been conspicuously absent from debates and campaign rhetoric this year. The question is how much that's depriving Democrats of a valuable talking point.
The big picture: After multiple failed attempts to scrap the health law in Congress and the courts, Republicans by and large accept that the ACA is here to stay and are reluctant to touch the tripwire again.
