What's inside the $500 billion 'skinny' stimulus bill

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The late-stage coronavirus vaccine race hit a snag last night. Stat News reported that AstraZeneca put its trial on hold after there was a suspected serious side effect in one of the trial participants. It's a standard chain of events in a clinical trial, but with the whole world watching, any setback is going to be heavily scrutinized.

Elsewhere in healthcare news: A "skinny" coronavirus stimulus bill might be in our future, why a top Wall Street analyst thinks Moderna's stock is poised to tumble, and a helpful graphic ranking the most protective face masks.

Also: Telemedicine company American Well updated its IPO filing last night, saying that it's looking to price its shares between $14-$16. It would raise $488.5 million at the midpoint of that range. Blake Dodge has all the details here.

Mitch McConnell mask — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) puts on a mask after speaking to the press
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

McConnell is pushing Republicans to vote on a 'skinny' coronavirus stimulus. The $500 billion bill would boost unemployment payments by $300 but doesn't include another round of $1,200 checks.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wants lawmakers to vote on a scaled-down stimulus this week.
He introduced a bill Tuesday that would provide $105 billion to schools, $10 billion to the Postal Service, and $258 billion in loans to small businesses.
The bill isn't likely to become law and instead is supposed to contrast Republicans with Democrats ahead of the election.

Read the full story from Kimberly Leonard here>>

Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel attends a meeting with President Donald Trump, members of the Coronavirus Task Force, and pharmaceutical executives in the Cabinet Room of the White House on March 2, 2020.
Andrew Harnik/AP Images

A top Wall Street analyst just predicted a 'winter of discontent' for Moderna and shared 3 key reasons the coronavirus vaccine frontrunner's stock is poised to tumble 30%

Moderna, one of the frontrunners in developing a coronavirus vaccine, saw its stock fall by about 10% Tuesday morning, as investors weigh the market for a COVID-19 shot.
A top Wall Street analyst expects shares to fall further. SVB Leerink biotech analyst Mani Foroohar downgraded Moderna to underperform with a $41 price target on Tuesday.
While Foroohar expects Moderna's vaccine to succeed in trials, he's not convinced about the commercial opportunity.

Read the full story from Andrew Dunn here>>