White House shifts to biweekly calls with governors on coronavirus The White House is reducing the frequency of its weekly calls with governors to discuss the response to the coronavirus pandemic, multiple sources confirmed on Tuesday. Brett Samuels TheHill

The White House is reducing the frequency of its weekly calls with governors to discuss the response to the coronavirus pandemic, multiple sources confirmed on Tuesday.

Today, CommuniVax, a group led by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Department of Anthropology at Texas State University released a new report, Carrying Equity in COVID-19 Vaccination Forward: Guidance Informed by Communities of Color, that outlines findings from local research within Black and Hispanic/Latino communities in Alabama, California, Idaho, Maryland, and Virginia and provides specific guidance to government officials on adapting COVID-19 vaccination efforts to achieve greater vaccine coverage in underserved populations and, through this, to develop sustainable, locally appropriate mechanisms to advance equity in health.

Key findings of the local research are:

Superspreader 'explosions' continue to plague pandemic efforts New coronavirus strains are a risk, but experts say human behavior and social interactions that lead to superspreader events remain the most serious threat. NBC News

Superspreader events that first seeded the coronavirus in the United States are keeping the pandemic smoldering, with experts pointing to human behavior and social circles as the main drivers.

Here’s a map showing where low vaccination rates meet high case counts as U.S. Covid infections surge

‘The pandemic is not over’: Chicago reinstates COVID-19 travel order for 2 states CHICAGO —  The Chicago Department of Public Health announced Tuesday that two states have been added back to its emergency travel order. Missouri and Arkansas are the only states where unvacci… Marisa Rodriguez WGN-TV

CHICAGO —  The Chicago Department of Public Health announced Tuesday that two states have been added back to its emergency travel order.

States and insurers resurrect barriers to telehealth, straining patients As emergency provisions end, patients are scrambling — in some cases, driving across state lines — to keep their telehealth appointments. Katie Palmer STAT

Telemedicine is here to stay. But its free-for-all era may be coming to an end.

COVID-19 case count spikes hit almost every state Most areas of the country are seeing a new surge in COVID-19 cases as variants of the virus serve as a painful reminder that the pandemic is not over despite eased restrictions. Justine Coleman TheHill

Most areas of the country are seeing a new surge in COVID-19 cases as variants of the virus serve as a painful reminder that the pandemic is not over despite eased restrictions.