RBC lays out its top digital health stock picks

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Today in healthcare news: RBC's top digital health picks for 2021, the 26 healthcare and biotech unicorns to keep an eye on, and one reporter's account of how she was offered a COVID-19 vaccine even though she's young and healthy.

RBC shared its top 6 digital health picks for 2021 as Wall Street anticipates accelerated growth for the industry

• RBC Capital Markets released its outlook on digital health and healthcare information technology on January 6, predicting the industry's continued growth in 2021.
• Compared to traditional tech, digital health and healthcare IT stocks trade at a significant discount, the analysts noted, but increased in value in 2020 as healthcare shifted online due to the pandemic.
• Analyst Sean Dodge predicts accelerated venture funding and going-public activity as the US healthcare system more fully adopts telemedicine.

Read the full story by Patricia Kelly Yeo here>>

The 26 billion-dollar startups to watch that are revolutionizing healthcare in 2021

• The financial fallout of the coronavirus pandemic did little to stem interest in healthcare startups. Many new investors flocked to the industry for a recession-proof investment.
• Healthcare startups raised $17 billion in 2020, a 57% increase over 2019's record, according to a new report from Silicon Valley Bank.
• There are 26 startups that achieved unicorn status in 2020 with valuations at or above $1 billion, according to Pitchbook data and Business Insider's reporting.

Read the full list here>>

I was offered a covid vaccine even though I'm young and healthy. Here's how I did it.

• A loophole in the US vaccine rollout has made it possible for young and healthy people to get shots without having to skip the line.
• I tried to get one at DC pharmacies, a process that took days and at some point coincided with the attack on the Capitol by violent pro-Trump supporters objecting to the certification of Joe Biden's electoral win.
• The coronavirus vaccine rollout has been slow and messy. And at the end of some days, healthcare facilities are finding themselves with extra doses that have a short shelf life and could end up in the trash.
• It's one of those leftover doses that I was chasing, but I also wanted to ensure that any elderly or more vulnerable people waiting for them got them first. I learned it was possible, with careful planning and good luck, to get vaccinated early.

Read the full story from Kimberly Leonard here>>

More stories we're reading:

• New York expands its COVID-19 vaccine pool by 3.2 million people after a lack of eligible candidates forced healthcare workers to toss spare doses (Business Insider)
• Eli Lilly says its experimental Alzheimer's medicine appeared to slow decline in a small study of 272 patients (Stat News)
• When should people who've already gotten COVID-19 get the vaccine? Doctors say it depends on whether they still have symptoms. (Business Insider)
• Biden has been critical of his COVID-19 team as it prepares to carry out on its promise of 100 million vaccines in 100 days (Politico)

- Lydia