<bi-shortcode id="summary-shortcode" data-type="summary-shortcode" class="mceNonEditable" contenteditable="false">Summary List Placement</bi-shortcode><p>Hello,</p><p>It's snowy again here in Denver, just in time for the East Coast to get a break. My dog is loving it, and I wish I was tech-savvy enough to include videos in emails. You'll have to just imagine a 70-pound pup bounding through a foot of snow. </p><p>This week, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jj-covid-19-vaccine-efficacy-shown-chart-2021-2">we've gotten promising news about vaccines</a> and taken a closer look at <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/modern-health-messy-cofounder-breakup-2021-2">when founder relationships fall apart </a>and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/comcast-ventures-kingmaker-of-healthcare-startups-fell-apart-2021-2">one-time kingmakers' futures become more uncertain</a>. We also took stock of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/future-telemedicine-maven-ginger-prescriptions-delivery-pharmacy-challengers-2021-2">what's coming next for virtual-care providers</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gene-therapy-companies-that-could-be-at-the-center-of-biotech-ma-2021-2">gene therapy companies</a>. </p><p><strong><em>Are you new to this newsletter' <a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/4np/newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/4np/insider-healthcare">Subscribe here for daily updates from the healthcare team at Insider</a>. </em></strong></p><hr><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jj-covid-19-vaccine-efficacy-shown-chart-2021-2"><img src="https://static5.businessinsider.com/image/601575776dfbe10018e00ecc-1885/johnson and johnson covid vaccine.jpg" border="0" alt="johnson and johnson covid vaccine" data-mce-source="Thiago Prudncio/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine is delivered as a single shot, while both Pfizer and Moderna's require two jabs."></a></p><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jj-covid-19-vaccine-efficacy-shown-chart-2021-2">We're on the brink of another vaccine authorization</a></h3><p>There's a lot of vaccine news to be optimistic about this week. </p><p>As <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/aylin-woodward">Aylin Woodward</a> reported, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vaccines-reduce-coronavirus-transmission-early-research-2021-2">the more data we get, the more it seems vaccinated people aren't spreading the coronavirus</a>. That's been a big unanswered question, since clinical trials have focused on whether vaccines prevent people from getting sick with COVID-19 rather than whether they're transmitting it. </p><p>There's also more data in the debate over delaying second vaccine doses, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-data-calls-into-question-delaying-2nd-coronavirus-vaccine-dose-2021-2">Andrew Dunn</a> reports.</p><p>He spoke with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-data-calls-into-question-delaying-2nd-coronavirus-vaccine-dose-2021-2">experts this week about data out of Scotland's vaccine rollout showing that protection starts to drop after five weeks of receiving the first dose.</a> That suggests delaying second doses is a bad idea.</p><p>"I think delaying the second dose for a considerable period of time is a mistake," Dr. Paul Offit, the director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-data-calls-into-question-delaying-2nd-coronavirus-vaccine-dose-2021-2">told Andrew</a>.</p><p>Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moderna-nih-test-booster-shots-covid-19-variants-2021-2">Moderna</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pfizer-testing-3rd-booster-shot-for-covid-19-vaccine-variants-2021-2">Pfizer</a> are both gearing up to test booster shots to combat variants.</p><p>Finally, we're preparing for another vaccine authorization in the US as Johnson & Johnson's one-dose shot goes up for review. </p><p>A Food and Drug Administration <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/watch-fda-panel-reviews-one-dose-coronavirus-vaccine-2021-2">expert panel is meeting today to hash out the evidence on the safety and effectiveness of the shot.</a> </p><p>If authorized, the US would have three vaccines at its disposal, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/johnson-coronavirus-shot-speed-up-us-vaccine-timeline-2021-2">speeding up the time it might take to get the country vaccinated</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/aria-bendix">Aria Bendix</a> reports. </p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/hilary-brueck">Hilary Brueck</a> has a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-vaccines-compared-pfizer-moderna-johnson-and-johnson-2021-1">closer look at how the three shotsModerna's, Pfizer/BioNTech's, and J&J'scompare</a>. </p><p>Want a closer look at the evidence presented for J&J's coronavirus vaccine' Andrew <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jj-single-dose-covid-19-vaccine-full-study-results-2021-2">took a deep dive into FDA documents released Wednesday</a>.</p><p>Of note, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jj-covid-19-vaccine-efficacy-shown-chart-2021-2">here's</a> a chart of how well the vaccine works. </p><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jj-covid-19-vaccine-efficacy-shown-chart-2021-2">Read the full story here>></a></h3><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jj-covid-19-vaccine-efficacy-shown-chart-2021-2">One simple chart shows how well J&J's single-dose coronavirus vaccine works, with protection starting after 2 weeks</a></h3><hr><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/comcast-ventures-kingmaker-of-healthcare-startups-fell-apart-2021-2"><img src="https://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5fcfaad1240ebd00126bdad1-2400/comcast building.jpg" border="0" alt="comcast building" data-mce-source="Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Comcast sign logo in the wall of a building at Universal Studios."></a></h3><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/comcast-ventures-kingmaker-of-healthcare-startups-fell-apart-2021-2">When things fall apart</a></h3><p>This week, our colleague <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/melia-russell">Melia Russell</a> published an important look at what happened between mental health startup Modern Health's cofounders. </p><p>It's a look at what happens when founder relationships go south, but also the pressure that can face young companies looking to strike big deals in healthcare. </p><p><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/modern-health-messy-cofounder-breakup-2021-2">You can read the full investigation here>></a></strong></p><p>In the vein of when things start to unravel, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/megan-hernbroth">Megan Hernbroth</a> has the story of one-time healthcare benefits kingmaker Comcast Ventures.</p><p>Its future in healthcare is uncertain, she learned. </p><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/comcast-ventures-kingmaker-of-healthcare-startups-fell-apart-2021-2">Read the full story here>></a></h3><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/comcast-ventures-kingmaker-of-healthcare-startups-fell-apart-2021-2">Comcast Ventures became an unlikely benefits-startup kingmaker with a prescient bet on Accolade. Now, the fund's healthcare future is uncertain after investing-team members exited.</a></h3><hr><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-top-8-vcs-backing-health-startups-that-want-to-end-fee-for-service-2021-2"><img src="https://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5c7831e82628983d333d3c68-2400/gettyimages-872228220.jpg" border="0" alt="Oscar Health CEO Mario Schlosser" data-mce-source="Photo by Amber De Vos/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Oscar Health CEO Mario Schlosser"></a></h3><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-top-8-vcs-backing-health-startups-that-want-to-end-fee-for-service-2021-2">Money is pouring into upstarts trying to change the way healthcare is paid for</a></h3><p>It's a good time to be a company looking to change how healthcare is paid for. </p><p>In 2020, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-top-8-vcs-backing-health-startups-that-want-to-end-fee-for-service-2021-2">investors poured $3.6 billion into companies focused on new ways to pay for care</a>both insurers and providers.</p><p>Included among the funding total<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/devoted-health-raised-380-million-in-2020-2021-2">a fresh $380 million Devoted Health quietly raised</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/blake-dodge">Blake Dodge</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/shelby-livingston">Shelby Livingston</a> report. </p><p>Also included is Oscar Health, which is set to go public. In an update to its IPO filing, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oscar-health-ipo-key-takeaways-form-its-s-1-2021-2">the company said it's looking to raise roughly $1 billion at a valuation of $8.2 billion. </a></p><p>But it's not all smooth sailing. Dr. Atul Gawande, the one-time CEO of now-shuttered Haven, spoke candidly about his experience in a February interview with the UCSF School of Medicine. </p><p>In it, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/atul-gawande-spells-out-havens-problems-in-first-detailed-interview-2021-2">he offered the most detailed remarks to date on why Amazon's health venture with JPMorgan and Berkshire Hathaway fell apart.</a> A system of employer-funded healthcare here in the US is at the center of it. </p><p>Blake took a look at the biggest backers involved in the record funding year for so-called "value-based care" startups. </p><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-top-8-vcs-backing-health-startups-that-want-to-end-fee-for-service-2021-2">Read the full story here>></a></h3><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-top-8-vcs-backing-health-startups-that-want-to-end-fee-for-service-2021-2">Startups trying to change the way healthcare is paid for pulled in a record $3.6 billion in 2020. Meet the top 8 VC firms that placed the most bets.</a></h3><hr><h3>What's coming next</h3><p>I'll leave you with a few notable trends our team picked up on this week. </p><ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/allison-deangelis">Allison DeAngelis</a> has been keeping tabs on the safety issues plaguing gene therapy companies. She spoke with analysts about how biotechs might need M&A to get out of those issues. <strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gene-therapy-companies-that-could-be-at-the-center-of-biotech-ma-2021-2">Here are the 8 companies analysts are watching.</a></strong></li><li>While <a href="https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/payer/cigna-s-evernorth-to-acquire-telehealth-company-mdlive">Cigna's buying MDLIVE</a>, other virtual care companies like Maven and Ginger are striking up their own deals to provide prescriptions. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/future-telemedicine-maven-ginger-prescriptions-delivery-pharmacy-challengers-2021-2"><strong>Megan explains why that could be the future of telemedicine. </strong></a></li><li>Blake spoke with the team behind Truveta, a startup created by 14 health systems.<strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/14-health-systems-truveta-health-data-without-big-tech-2021-2">The group wants to build a data startup that doesn't just rely on big tech.</a></strong> </li></ul><hr><p>Thoughts' Tips' Reach me at <a href="mailto:lramsey@businessinsider.com" data-analytics-module="body_link" data-analytics-post-depth="100" data-uri="8fdba505fd238198c3c1a5e6f49fa126">lramsey@businessinsider.com,</a> and you can reach the whole healthcare team at <a href="mailto:healthcare@businessinsider.com" data-analytics-module="body_link" data-analytics-post-depth="100" data-uri="3c74520881675a8d378937278eb5644e">healthcare@businessinsider.com</a>. </p><p>- Lydia</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/insiders-top-healthcare-stories-for-february-26-2021-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story »</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/worlds-most-expensive-liquid-thoroughbred-horse-semen-2020-3">Why thoroughbred horse semen is the world's most expensive liquid</a></p>
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