Cerebral Reneges | FDA Greenlights Pfizer’s Covid Pill | Israel Approves Fourth Dose

Plus: WHO director says booster shot programs ‘will likely prolong the pandemic’

We head into the holiday break with a cautionary tale for founders and executives: it’s not a good look to express gratitude for benefits you’ve taken away from your own employees. As Forbes exclusively reported last week, mental health startup Cerebral, which raised $300 million at a $4.8 billion valuation led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 in December, changed the contract status of more than 200 of its employees from salaried to hourly workers over the summer and switched eligibility for medical, vision and dental benefits to be contingent on hitting certain quotas. After the change was announced internally, Cerebral cofounder and CEO Kyle Robertson posted a message on LinkedIn about how “lucky” he felt to have health insurance following a hospital stay, since he knew how difficult it was to be uninsured as a “cash-strapped first time founder” when he was getting the company off the ground. While Cerebral ultimately extended health benefits for affected employees through December 31, come January their benefits will be tied to monthly quotas to be reviewed every 90 days. Robertson did not respond to a follow-up question asking to explain how, given his personal experience, he justified taking health insurance away from some of his own employees. 

In more positive news, the Biden administration announced today that 13.6 million Americans have already signed up for individual health insurance coverage for 2022 under the federal and state marketplaces established by the Affordable Care Act, Forbes senior contributor Bruce Japsen reports. It’s a record high enrollment for Obamacare plans and there’s nearly a month left to go, as people can sign up through January 15. Many health insurers have expanded their Obamacare plan offerings this year, as premiums have stabilized thanks in part to increased and expanded subsidies included in the American Rescue Plan. 

A housekeeping note: We’ll be taking next week off and will return with your weekly digest of healthcare news on Wednesday, January 5. The last edition of our daily coronavirus newsletter will go out tomorrow and will return to your inboxes on Monday, January 3. Wishing all of our readers a safe and happy holidays. See you in 2022!

Celebrity charities have a decidedly mixed track record. But the New York City-based Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research demonstrates how the power of celebrity, when combined with disciplined and steady management, can do good on a sustained basis. In 2020, the Fox foundation received a record $200 million in donations—thanks in large part to two large gifts from Google co-founder Sergey Brin. That earned the charity its first-ever spot (No. 84) on the Forbes annual list of the U.S.’s 100 top charities. 

Noteworthy

Tasso, a manufacturer of home blood-draw kits, raises $100 million led by RA Capital. 

Rite Aid said it will close more than 60 stores in a cost-cutting move designed to help the pharmacy chain be more competitive.

UnitedHealth Group’s Optum business is extending the deadline for its $13 billion acquisition of the software and data analytics firm Change Healthcare to April 2022. 

Here’s four predictions from top venture capitalists for women’s health in 2022. 

Coronavirus Updates

Today the FDA granted emergency use authorization for Pfizer’s Paxlovid, the first at-home oral antiviral treatment for Covid-19. The pills are authorized for coronavirus patients ages 12 and older who are at higher risk of developing complications from the disease. Clinical trial data released last week showed Paxlovid to be 89% effective at preventing hospitalizations and deaths in high-risk patients if treatment begins within three days of the onset of symptoms. The authorization is welcome news as omicron variant cases surge throughout the U.S. New York City hospitals are running low on GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology’s monoclonal antibody sotrovimab, which is thought to be the only one that appears to still be effective against the variant, according to news reports. Also, France’s health minister on Wednesday said the country had canceled its order for Merck’s molnupiravir Covid-19 antiviral pill, following its underwhelming performance in clinical trials. The country expects to get access to Pfizer’s Paxlovid before the end of January.

The ongoing pandemic has caused the steepest decline in life expectancy since World War II, according to CDC data. Average life expectancy in the United States fell to 77 years in 2020, which was nearly two years lower than in 2019. The one silver lining in the federal report was the infant mortality rate, which dropped to a record low of nearly 542 deaths per 100,000 live births. There was also good news out of South Africa this morning, where a new study found that people infected with omicron are 80% less likely to be hospitalized compared to previous variants.

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In other coronavirus news:

The omicron variant raises the risk of infection on board an airplane by two or even three-fold, according to the airline industry’s biggest trade body. 

National Hockey League players will not be participating in the 2022 Beijing Olympics, according to news reports. 

AstraZeneca will work with scientists at Oxford University to create a Covid-19 vaccine targeting the omicron variant.

Scientists in the U.S. Army are developing a Covid-19 vaccine designed to protect against current and future variants.

The Biden administration extended the pause on student loan payments again through May 1 as Covid-19 cases skyrocket.

Amazon reintroduced its mask mandate for all U.S. warehouse employees effective Wednesday.

Amazon and Walmart are the latest retailers to say they’re limiting purchases of at-home Covid-19 test kits amid supply constraints.

Across Forbes

• 2022 Will Be One Of Earth’s Hottest Years, U.K. Climatologists Predict

• Meet the Blue Origin Auction Winner And Travel With Him To Space

• Why Is December 21 The Shortest Day Of The Year?

What Else We Are Reading

• This Scientist Created a Rapid Test Just Weeks Into the Pandemic. Here’s Why You Still Can’t Get It. (ProPublica)

• New Parents Slapped With Surprise Bills for Treating Newborns (Kaiser Health News)

• Claims of vaccine hesitancy in African countries are at odds with the reality on the ground (STAT)