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'We Want Them Infected'; Extra Vax Doses; Tom Cruise, Distancing Enforcer

— A daily roundup of news on COVID-19 and the rest of medicine

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COVID-19 UPDATE and Other News over a background of illustrated coronaviruses

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Former HHS adviser Paul Alexander urged exposing most Americans to COVID-19: "" in order to achieve herd immunity. (Politico)

As of 8:00 a.m. ET Thursday, the unofficial U.S. tally stood at 16,981,302 cases and 307,512 deaths -- up 256,263 and 3,645, respectively, from the same time a day ago. That death toll is higher than the daily average for heart disease and cancer combined.

The FDA said are safe to use, which could expand the national supply by 40%. (Politico)

Abbott won emergency use authorization for its , though it requires a prescription and a telehealth service to interpret results.

A healthcare worker in Alaska was after getting the COVID-19 vaccine. (New York Times)

Houston doctor tells NPR that for "political reasons."

Can nursing home residents with cognitive impairment to receive COVID-19 vaccines? (Kaiser Health News)

After she received death threats for backing a mask mandate, a Kansas mayor . (Dodge City Daily Globe)

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, under fire for hosting a series of indoor holiday parties, and after being exposed to the virus. (CNBC, Washington Post)

More suspicions that Florida . (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

French President Emmanuel Macron . (CNN)

While shooting his latest "Mission: Impossible" movie in London, actor Tom Cruise . (CBS News)

In other news:

  • CMS reported that U.S. healthcare spending .
  • A relies on a radioactive tag targeting a cellular biomarker. (New York Times)
  • Paul Farmer, MD, PhD, the physician, anthropologist, and author who co-founded Partners Health, for Philosophy and Culture. (Boston Globe)
  • Amanda D'Ambrosio is a reporter on 51˶’s enterprise & investigative team. She covers obstetrics-gynecology and other clinical news, and writes features about the U.S. healthcare system.