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Today's Rundown

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WHO, global partners launch $18B COVID-19 vaccine initiative

As wealthy countries race to secure supplies of potential COVID-19 vaccines, the World Health Organization unveiled an ambitious effort with global partners to provide billions of doses worldwide.

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Pence blames COVID-19 spikes on increase in testing and younger, asymptomatic infections

The White House blamed massive spikes of COVID-19 cases in several states on more testing and infections among individuals under 35, as hospitalizations remain a concern.

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DIY vaccine maker aims to beat pharma to a COVID-19 shot—and he'll start by injecting himself

While governments inject cash into a COVID shot, one DIY vaccine maker thinks he can beat biopharma to the punch—and he'll start by injecting himself. Nevermind that companies like Moderna and AstraZeneca are racing vaccine candidates into and through the clinic at unprecedented speeds with plans to bring vaccines to Americans this year.

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Study: Primary care practices could lose $15B in 2020 due to COVID-19

A new study found that the COVID-19 pandemic could leave primary care practices with a $15 billion revenue loss this year, but the amount could double if telehealth payments decline.

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Healthcare roundup: HHS extends funding for Texas testing sites after outcry

Follow along with the latest COVID-19 news straight from the Fierce Healthcare team.

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Biopharma roundup: WHO launches $18B bid for fair access to vaccines; White House eyes pool testing for COVID-19

The White House may roll out pool testing to screen multiple COVID-19 patients at once. Meanwhile, the CDC warns the American case count could be higher than thought. Plus, the WHO launched an $18B bid to fairly distribute global vaccine supplies. And a "biohacker" is making his own COVID shot.

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AstraZeneca, Daiichi Sankyo working on Japanese supply deal for COVID-19 vaccine hopeful

AstraZeneca has picked up manufacturing partners at a rapid clip with a goal to produce 2 billion doses per year of the University of Oxford's COVID-19 vaccine candidate. And it may be close to adding to that partner list: The British drugmaker and Daiichi Sankyo are in talks to knock together a supply deal for Japan. 

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CMS: Upcoming Medicare payment rule to include permanent telehealth expansions

An upcoming Medicare payment rule will include proposals outlining how the Trump administration plans to permanently expand reimbursement for telehealth services, a CMS official said Thursday.

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FDA's on the air: Agency puts coronavirus front and center in podcast debut

The FDA inaugurated its first podcast this week with an episode focused—not surprisingly—on coronavirus. Commissioner Stephen Hahn, M.D., joined host Anand Shah, M.D., the agency's deputy commissioner for medical and scientific affairs, to talk about development of drugs for COVID-19.

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Humana, University of Houston started a pop-health-focused med school 2 years ago. Then COVID-19 hit

Two years ago, Humana invested $15 million into a new medical school at the University of Houston focused integrating population into medical education. Now, it’s seeing some of the early fruits of that labor, according to a new report.  

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EMA picks WHO's Cooke to replace Rasi as executive director

The European Medicines Agency management board has nominated Emer Cook to be the next executive director of the agency. Cooke, who works at the World Health Organization, will replace Guido Rasi later in the year if she comes through the remaining steps in the hiring process.

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