Plus, Mark Cuban's new venture | Tuesday, January 25, 2022
| | | | | | | Presented By the Healthcare Distribution Alliance | | | | Axios Vitals | | By Tina Reed ·Jan 25, 2022 | | Good morning, Vitals readers. Today's newsletter is 711 words or a 3-minute read. | | | | | | 1 big thing: Public likes Biden's latest moves |  Data: Axios/Ipsos poll; Chart: Kavya Beheraj/Axios Two new Biden administration initiatives — mailing at-home COVID-19 tests to those who ask and making free N95 masks available — are hugely popular, Axios' Margaret Talev writes on the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index. Yes, but: But even with each backed by 84% of Americans, those who may need these most — the unvaccinated — are less likely to take advantage of the offerings, the survey found. - Our poll also found that Americans who have gotten the vaccine are mostly satisfied with their protection — but less satisfied with their ability to return to their lives.
What we're watching: 13% of U.S. adults in our latest survey either said they tested positive for, or believe they got, the virus in the past month. - That's important because it's about twice the share in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, says Ipsos pollster and senior vice president Chris Jackson.
- While officials know there are people getting COVID who haven't been tested, the true number is difficult to pinpoint. This 13% finding is up from 10% measured in our last poll, two weeks ago. We'll ask the question again in our next poll in early February.
- If the numbers hold up, it "shows just how widespread the Omicron variant of the pandemic has become" and "just how fast it's burned through the country," Jackson said. "That's like one in eight Americans, over a month."
Go deeper. |     | | | | | | 2. Who wore it better? |  Data: Axios-Ipsos poll; Chart: Baidi Wang/Axios Most Americans are wearing cloth or surgical masks, according to the Axios/Ipsos poll. But studies have found fitted particle-filtering masks like N95s are up to 75 times more effective at preventing COVID infection. - Older respondents, married respondents and Black respondents were more likely to wear a higher-quality mask.
| | | | | | | | 3. Another wave of death |  Data: Our World in Data; Chart: Will Chase/Axios Omicron infections are trending down nationally, but the number of deaths is as high now as it was during the summer's Delta wave, Axios' Bob Herman writes. The big picture: Deaths are a lagging indicator of the virus' spread, so even though mortality rates are relatively low when compared with the Delta variant, the massive number of COVID cases means a large number of people will still die. - "There's just so many people infected — that mortality is still coming," said Cameron Wolfe, an infectious disease physician at Duke University. "How high, sadly, remains to be seen."
By the numbers: More than 2,000 people are dying from COVID every day right now, and that number has been rising for the past week, according to the latest seven-day rolling averages. - Roughly three out of four deaths are people who are 65 or older, according to the CDC.
- Unvaccinated people are 100 times more likely to die from COVID than people who have gotten three doses of an mRNA vaccine.
| | | | | | | | A message from the Healthcare Distribution Alliance | | Why healthcare distributors are key partners in fighting COVID-19 | | |  | | | | Distributors work with federal, state and local governments to deliver vaccines, treatments and supplies where they are needed. What this means: While navigating the demands of COVID-19, we ensure healthcare products get to providers and patients. Health Delivered. | | | | | | 4. Mark Cuban launches digital pharmacy |  | | | Mark Cuban. Photo: Luka Dakskobler/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images | | | | Consumer-facing digital pharmacies face fresh competition in the form of Mark Cuban's drug company, which recently launched an online pharmacy promising steep discounts on 100 generic medications, Axios' Erin Brodwin reports. Why it matters: The new offering is likely to put increased pressure on existing digital pharmacies, such as Ro and Amazon Pharmacy. Details: The Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company (MCCPDC) only accepts cash and uses Truepill's platform to fill and deliver prescriptions. - The company is pitching its approach as a way to curb drug costs by working both as a retailer and its own PBM.
- For example, the company will charge $47 a month for Imatinib, a common leukemia medication that retails for more than $9,600 monthly and costs roughly $120 per month with a typical voucher.
What they're saying: "Not everyone sets the goal of being the lowest cost producer and provider," Cuban told Axios in an email. "My goal is to make a profit while maximizing impact." Erin is a co-author of the Axios Pro newsletter on health tech deals. Subscribe at AxiosPro.com. | | | | | | | | 5. Catch up quick | - It appears immune protection against Omicron persists at least four months after a Pfizer-BioNTech booster, according to a new pre-print study. (Washington Post)
- The babies of women who received cash stipends had somewhat higher brain functioning, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences. (Forbes)
- Even though he was ultimately cleared of wrongdoing, an MIT researcher said he's unsure he'll ever feel comfortable applying for U.S. funds for research ever again. (New York Times)
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