8 digital health unicorns to watch in 2021

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Two Democrats have won their Senate races in Georgia, giving the party control of the Senate. That means Democrats will have full control of the legislative branch when Joe Biden takes office.

Our politics team has a great breakdown of what that means for key issues on Biden's agenda, including healthcare.

Also today in healthcare news: 8 newly minted digital-health unicorns, Amazon's sleep-tracking plans, and a vaccine loophole.

The 8 digital health startups to watch that are changing healthcare in 2021

• VC funding for healthcare startups hit record levels in 2020 even before the year ended, according to data from analytics firm CB Insights.
• With such a favorable fundraising environment, many healthcare startups may have been able to raise funding more than once in less than a year, as was the case with healthcare AI startup Olive.
• In all, eight digital health startups achieved the $1 billion valuation milestone in 2020, according to Pitchbook data.

Read the full list from Megan Hernbroth here>>

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon is quietly building a new Alexa device to help you sleep better

• Amazon is working on a new Alexa-enabled device that can track and monitor sleep apnea, Business Insider has learned.
• The device is expected to be contactless and use radar technology to track sleeping and breathing patterns, people familiar with the product said.
• Amazon's plans for a sleep-tracking device show the company continues to take a scattershot approach to its devices unit as it looks to make its Alexa voice assistant as ubiquitous as possible.

Read the full story from Eugene Kim here>>

Young, healthy people have figured out a loophole to get the COVID vaccine without skipping the line

• Under state and government rules, a small subset of people, including healthcare workers and people living in nursing homes are first in line to get coronavirus vaccines.
• But pharmacies and hospitals are finding they have leftover shots at the end of the day, and the choice is either to toss them or give them to the next person who asks for them.
• Some health officials say leftover doses that'll otherwise expire can go to anyone who wants them.

Read the full story from Kimberly Leonard here>>

More stories we're reading:

• Northwell Health sued 2,500 patients after the pandemic hit New York (The New York Times)
• I'm a neurologist who happily volunteered for the AstraZeneca vaccine trials. Here's what people are getting wrong about the process. (Business Insider)
• Pfizer has a new logo (The Wall Street Journal)
• A California hospital administered 600 coronavirus vaccine shots within 2 hours after discovering its freezer had broken (Business Insider)
• Virtual physical therapy company Hinge Health hits a $3 billion valuation (The Information)

- Lydia