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The White House has allocated $300 million for the accelerated development of next-generation coronavirus tests, the National Institutes of Health announced Thursday. Two new funding opportunities are available for diagnostic test manufacturers as part of the incentive program. The first opportunity is to develop accessible over-the-counter tests that can be used by people with disabilities, while the second seeks to improve the performance of over-the-counter tests to ensure ease of use. (Vaziri and Buchmann, 9/8)

The pandemic may not be over. But there’s a growing sense among officials inside the White House that their days on the front lines of the Covid fight may be numbered. Even as it braces for a perilous winter, the Biden administration is planning a restructuring of its approach to major elements of the coronavirus response — a gradual shift that some administration officials now speculate could begin the phaseout of the White House Covid team as soon as the middle of next year. (Cancryn, 9/8)

Researchers in Taiwan have discovered a new mutation in the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2.3.7 subvariant that they suggest may be responsible for severe neurologic complications observed in young children on the island. Their study was published yesterday in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases. ...Whole-genome sequencing revealed that all viruses were Omicron BA.2.3.7 and that they had a previously unidentified K97E mutation on the spike protein that differed from other BA.2.3.7 strains. (9/8)

Findings from two large clinical trials published yesterday in BMJ discount the notion that vitamin D supplements protect against COVID-19 or other respiratory-tract infections, although both had notable limitations. (Van Beusekom, 9/8)

Drug and biotechnology firms, academics, investors and former government officials are launching a new lobbying group that hopes to improve long-term support for technology and products to combat future pandemics and other biological threats. (Griffin, 9/7)

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced Thursday that the state of emergency sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic will end Oct. 31, nearly three years after the Democratic governor first issued the order. “I’m confident now that we have reached a significant milestone in the Covid effort,” Inslee said at a news conference at the Capitol. “We are now in a position to be able to continue our efforts against Covid in multiple ways without the necessity of an emergency order.” (La Corte, 9/8)

Massachusetts residents say their top health concern is not the COVID-19 pandemic or the quality of care they receive but the cost of health care in the state, according to a new survey. The findings underscore the financial pressures facing patients, just as providers are pushing for higher reimbursements and as the government plans to stop purchasing and providing COVID vaccinations, tests and treatments next year. (Bartlett, 9/8)