Senate confirms Biden FDA pick Califf, despite objections to drug industry ties The Senate narrowly confirmed Dr. Robert Califf, a prominent cardiologist, as FDA commissioner, over objections to his pharmaceutical industry ties. Spencer Kimball CNBC

The Senate narrowly confirmed Dr. Robert Califf as Food and Drug Administration commissioner on Tuesday, over objections to his pharmaceutical industry ties and concerns he would not act aggressively enough to stem the opioid epidemic.

The extraordinary success of Covid-19 vaccines, in two charts Deaths tell one story of the pandemic. The lives saved tell another. Umair Irfan Vox

There are several ways to look at the Covid-19 pandemic. One is that a cataclysm we weren’t prepared for — worsened by policy mistakes, misinformation, and global inequity — claimed more than 5 million souls and stalled the lives and livelihoods of billions of people around the world. As the pandemic drags into its third year, it’s hard to see it any other way.