Meet the 34 startups investors say will take off in 2022

Hello,

Welcome to Insider Healthcare. I'm healthcare editor Leah Rosenbaum.

Before we begin, some newsletter news: Tomorrow will be our last edition before the newsletter goes on hiatus. We'll share some more details tomorrow, but for now, please fill out this quick survey to help us improve our newsletters.

Now let's get to today's stories:

• We asked top healthcare VCs which startups are poised to take off in 2022;
• Oracle is in talks to acquire medical-records giant Cerner;
• A phenomenon called exponential growth could explain why Omicron is skyrocketing;

If you're new to this newsletter, sign up here. Comments, tips? Email me at lrosenbaum@insider.com or tweet @leah_rosenbaum. Let's get to it...

34 healthcare and biotech startups that are set to take off in 2022, according to top investors

• We asked top healthcare and biotech investors to name the startups most likely to take off in 2022.
• The investors named startups they have invested in as well as ones with which they have no financial ties.
• The startups range in size from a handful to hundreds of employees, and span gene therapies to new virtual-care ideas.

See the full list now>>

Oracle is reportedly in talks to acquire a medical-records giant, challenging big tech rivals looking to healthcare for growth

• The software giant Oracle is reportedly in talks to acquire Cerner, a medical records company.
• That would dwarf some of the progress made by other big tech companies to expand in health.
• But investors and analysts were skeptical about how disruptive the deal could be.

Check it out>>

Exponential growth may explain why Omicron cases are skyrocketing in parts of the US

• In pandemic terms, "exponential growth" means infections accelerate over time.
• In New York City, the percentage of people testing positive for COVID-19 doubled over three days.
• Exponential growth causes huge outbreaks in short time periods. But we know how to stop the virus from spreading.

Dive in>>

More stories we're reading:

• New York reports 21,027 new COVID-19 cases in a single day, the highest the state has ever recorded (Insider)
• Despite the wave of the Omicron variant, hospitalizations in South Africa are down (Bloomberg)
• Pfizer says kids under 5 may not get shots until mid-2022 after trial found low-dose vaccine didn't work in kids aged 2-5 (Insider)
• The CDC is now recommending that people not get the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine if others are available instead (NBC News)

-Leah