J&J Vax Doses on the Move; ‘Normal Summer’? Britain Hunts Possible P.1 Spreader

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Shortly after Johnson & Johnson’s COVID vaccine won authorization from both the FDA and CDC, the first doses started shipping on Sunday night. (AP)

As of Monday at 8:00 a.m. EST, the unofficial COVID-19 toll in the U.S. is 28,606,177 cases and 513,092 deaths, up more than 471,000 cases and more than 14,000 deaths from a week ago.

As of Sunday, the most recent CDC data indicates more than 96 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been distributed, and 78% have been administered.

CMS and other government agencies released new guidance strengthening requirements that plans and issuers cover COVID-19 diagnostic testing without cost sharing.

A look at how mass vaccination sites are becoming more commonplace around the country. (New York Times)

Can we get back to normal in the summer? If enough people are vaccinated, maybe, experts say. (Washington Post)

A Missouri girl, age 11, found both her parents dead of COVID-19. Authorities said they were likely trying to quarantine. (ABC 7 Chicago)

British officials are searching for a “mystery individual” on the loose with the highly transmissible P.1 Brazilian virus variant. (Reuters)

Flashback: A year ago on Feb. 29, MedPage Today reported on the first instance of U.S. community spread of COVID-19, as well as the first U.S. COVID-19 death and the first U.S. healthcare professional infected.

In other news:

• FDA approved Nulibry (fosdenopterin), the first specific treatment for molybdenum cofactor deficiency type A, to reduce risk of death from the rare disease.
• A California doctor showed up for his video traffic court appearance in an operating room, masked and gowned, where he appeared to be performing a surgery. (Sacramento Bee)
• “Bar stool” gets new meaning: To promote colorectal cancer awareness, the Give a Crap Challenge asks participants to enter a drawing where completing and submitting a fecal immunochemical test could win them free beer.
• In light of the Ebola outbreak in Guinea and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the U.S. government will funnel incoming travelers from those countries to six U.S. airports.
• CDC expanded its recall alert for a Listeria outbreak linked to queso fresco cheeses, adding two more brands to the list.
• And a Darwin Award goes to … a man in India killed by his own rooster during a cockfight. (BBC News)