The CDC’s COVID-19 cases in the U.S. website, which the FEHBlog tracks, added age demographic information this week. The basic infection mortality rate stabilized then dropped slightly then stabilized again over the past two weeks. That has to be good news. The CDC’s weekly COVIDview supports the FEHBlog’s layman analysis.

MedPage Today offers an interesting story about the downswing of the illness from the perspective of New York City clinicians who have been on the front line.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services finalized today a subset of proposed Medicare Advantage and Part D changes that the agency proposed earlier this year. CMS is releasing the final rule in two installments so that Medicare Advantage and Part D plans are not overwhelmed. That’s considerate.

OPM released additional COVID-19 guidance for federal agencies today. The guidance concerns the Families First Coronavirus Response Act’s paid leave program for employees affected by COVID-19.