| Rand Paul clashes with Fauci over coronavirus origins Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has clashed repeatedly with Anthony Fauci, the government's top infectious diseases expert and director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases. During a Senate hearing Tuesday, Paul echoed right-wing disinformation that Fauci and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are somehow linked to the virus's origins in Wuhan, China. Paul alleged that the NIH had been sending funding to a Wuhan lab, which then "juiced up" a virus that was originally found in bats to create a super-virus that can infect human cells. Paul pressed Fauci on the theory that the novel coronavirus was created in the Wuhan lab, and then somehow escaped, either because of an accident or because it was deliberately released. The "lab leak" theory is not new, and there isn't any evidence that the virus was engineered in a lab. But in recent days, conservative media outlets such as Newsmax and influential right wing media figures including Tucker Carlson have floated the idea that the NIH and Fauci funded the Wuhan Institute of Virology in order to conduct the research that led to the creation of the novel coronavirus. Fauci tried to shut it down. "Sen. Paul, with all due respect, you are entirely, entirely and completely incorrect," he said. "The NIH has not ever, and does not now, fund 'gain of function research' in the Wuhan Institute." Gain of function research is a controversial form of study that involves boosting the infectivity and lethality of a pathogen. Fauci has advocated for the research in the past, but he denied that the NIH was funding it in China. "We have not funded gain of function research on this virus in the Wuhan Institute of Virology. No matter how many times you say it, it didn't happen," Fauci said. U.S. health agencies did at one point fund the Wuhan Institute of Virology, in the form of a grant given to a group called EcoHealth Alliance, which hired the lab to conduct genetic analyses of bat coronaviruses and examine how they spread to humans. Even though there's no evidence that money was used for gain of function research, or that it was illegal, or that it somehow helped cause the pandemic, that didn't stop Paul's line of questioning. Read more here. New rule: Medicare requiring nursing homes to report weekly vaccination count Federal health officials will require long-term care facilities residents and staff to report COVID-19 vaccinations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) every week. The rule will take effect beginning in two weeks. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the requirement on Tuesday, as officials aim to use the information to help track vaccinations in these congregate care settings and determine which might need more resources during the pandemic. The move comes as an initial effort to get shots to nursing homes across the country, as part of a federal pharmacy partnership, has wound down. The rule to submit the data to the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) applies to long-term care facilities, including nursing homes, and residential facilities for those with intellectual disabilities. Long-term care facilities already have to report COVID-19 testing, case and death data. But COVID-19 vaccination statistics have not previously been mandated, despite requirements to report influenza and pneumococcal vaccines. Why it’s important: The rule intends to limit the amount of severe illness and deaths occurring in these facilities after nursing homes became breeding grounds for the virus, leading to many deaths among the vulnerable residents. Quote: "Reporting vaccination rates is critical to facilitating in-person visitations in nursing homes, tracking the effectiveness of the vaccines, and helping ensure the industry meets our goal to vaccinate 75 percent of staff by the end of June," David Gifford, the chief medical officer of American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living, said, although the group said results should not be used to “judge” nursing homes with low vaccine rates. What’s next: CMS said it is looking into extending the policies to psychiatric residential treatment facilities, group homes and assisted living facilities. Read more here. Biden vows to get 'more aggressive' on lifestyle benefits of vaccines President Biden on Tuesday said his administration would soon offer a more "aggressive effort" to model the freedoms that people have once they are vaccinated, as a way to encourage more people to get shots. "We're just getting there now to the degree that I think you're going to see a more aggressive effort on our part to lay out that once vaccinated, it's not only you can hug your grandchildren. You can do a lot more," Biden said. He made the comments during a conversation with six governors, in which Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) asked the White House to do more to increase people’s motivation to get vaccinated. What Cox said: "That's one area where we could use some help from the White House and others, and that is modeling what a fully vaccinated person can do. I like to state: We have fully vaccinated people; we should start acting like it." Follows criticism: Some experts have criticized the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Biden administration for moving too slowly or offering confusing guidance around what vaccinated people can do. What’s next: Biden hinted that guidance on unmasking even indoors could be coming soon and acknowledged the slow pace so far. White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients emphasized that guidance would come from the CDC. Read more here. | 
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