Startups want to help vaccinate

Hello,

Today in healthcare news: Startups want in on vaccination efforts, the potential of an intranasal vaccine, and what's in the stimulus bill the Senate passed this weekend.

Digital health startups like Ro and Zocdoc want in on the US vaccination effort. They're wading into a complex vaccine distribution puzzle.

• Digital health startup Ro said Wednesday that it was offering in-home COVID-19 vaccinations to currently eligible residents of Yonkers, New York.
• The effort is fully funded by donations and corporate sponsorships.
• Other startups like Zocdoc have similarly expressed interest in helping local governments roll out vaccination efforts to patients that are otherwise hard to reach.

Read the full story from Megan Hernbroth here>>

A future COVID-19 vaccine could be squirted up the nose. The nasal spray could stop transmission, especially in kids.

• A US company called Altimmune is developing a COVID-19 vaccine that gets sprayed up the nose.
• Such intranasal vaccines may reduce coronavirus transmission better than shots do.
• Boosters designed to protect against variants could also be delivered intranasally, experts say.

Read the full story from Aylin Woodward and Allison DeAngelis here>>

11 things you need to know about the revised COVID stimulus bill Senate Democrats just passed

• The Senate passed Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus package.
• They've made several changes since the House passed the bill last week.
• Biden's proposal to raise the hourly minimum wage to $15 didn't make the cut.

Read the full story from Kimberly Leonard here>>

More stories we're reading:

• Detroit's mayor reportedly said J&J's vaccines aren't as good, so he said declined the city's first shipment (Insider)
• UnitedHealth is scooping up doctors that have been hit hard by the pandemic (Bloomberg)
• Real COVID-19 vaccine shots are being sold on the black market for up to $1,200 a dose, a study finds (Insider)
• Amazon's medical provider has filed paperwork in 21 states now (Seattle Times)

- Lydia