Stat: Sensing An Advantage, Democrats Dare Trump To Talk Drug Prices During State Of The Union
While both parties have highlighted the importance of lowering drug prices, Democrats who spoke with STAT are convinced that Trump’s decision to bring up the issue in a nationally televised speech will only remind voters how little the White House has accomplished. Trump’s nod to high pharmaceutical costs, which the White House hinted at in a call with reporters last week, will play out far better for their party than for Republicans in large part because when in comes to health care, voters trust Democrats over the GOP by double-digit margins, they said. (Facher and Florko, 2/4)

USA Today: Trump's State Of The Union Comes Amid Impeachment And Election Frenzy
While touting proposals on on drug pricing and medical billing, Trump is also expected to brand Democratic health care plans as "socialist," a claim he has also made on the campaign trail. While failing to repeal Obama's health care law, Trump has said he wants to promote plans to reduce drug prices, make medical billing more transparent, and give people more flexibility in choosing doctors and health plans. (Jackson, 2/4)

The Washington Post: What Trump Will Say In The State Of The Union Address
In a briefing with reporters to preview the speech, a senior administration official said Trump would focus on five issue areas: a “blue-collar boom” for which he credits his trade negotiations with China, Mexico and Canada; domestic policies to help working families, including paid family leave; health care; illegal immigration; and national security. (Rucker and Kim, 2/3)

Stat: To Highlight Prices, Dems Will Bring Insulin Advocates To State Of The Union
No fewer than 13 members of Congress, from the ultra-progressive Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) to the moderate, once-Republican Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Fla.), are planning to bring insulin affordability advocates as their guests for Tuesday’s State of the Union address, congressional staffers confirmed to STAT. It’s the latest sign that insulin, above all else, has become Democrats’ signature drug pricing talking point. The lawmakers are likely to use the advocates’ stories not only to push for comprehensive drug pricing reform, but to bludgeon President Trump and his party over their spotty progress in tackling high drug prices over the past year. (Florko, 2/4)

Kaiser Health News: Watch: Let’s Talk About Trump’s Health Care Policies
Polls say health care is consistently at the top of voters’ minds in this election cycle. And President Donald Trump clearly wants to own the issue, often talking about the “wins” stemming from his administration’s policies. In this video explainer, KHN correspondent Shefali Luthra examines the president’s talking points on a range of topics — from insurance coverage, access to care and affordability issues to preexisting condition protections and prescription drug costs. (2/4)

The Washington Post: Most Iowa Democratic Caucus-Goers Support A Single-Payer Health Care Plan
About 6 in 10 Democrats at the Iowa caucuses on Monday reported that they support eliminating private health insurance as part of establishing a single-payer health-care system, according to preliminary poll results, suggesting that most of the party’s voters agree with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on the divisive issue. Sanders has campaigned on a Medicare-for-all health-care system in which every American would be placed with a single government insurer, regardless of whether they want it or not. (Stein, 2/3)

CNN: Health Care Is The Top Issue For Iowa Caucusgoers, Entrance Polls Show
Caucusgoers for whom health care is the top issue in choosing a nominee were split between Sanders and Buttigieg, with around a quarter supporting each. Almost 2 in 5 support Warren while 1 in 6 support Biden and the same for Klobuchar. Among caucusgoers who oppose replacing private insurance with a government plan, 3 in 10 supported Biden, and another 3 in 10 went for Buttigieg. About 1 in 6 in this group supported Klobuchar. (Struyk and Sparks, 2/4)

CBS News: Health Care Looms Over the Iowa Caucus for Female Farmers 
Billie Wilson, Chris Henning, Ellen Walsh-Rosmann and LaVon Griffieon are all farmers with a passion for politics. Each will caucus for a Democrat in Iowa."I think all of them can beat Donald Trump," said 33-year-old Walsh-Rosmann.She's a mother of two who thinks Elizabeth Warren can revitalize farm country. "I want to make sure that people my age and peers are coming back and they have a reason to come back to rural America," she said.Henning, 72, has only decided she's not supporting Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders. "My issues are their age, their health and their stamina," Henning said. "They're older than me and— and I think I'm too old to run for office." Like many of her rural neighbors, healthcare is an issue for 66-year-old Wilson."In small towns, most people don't have anybody that pays their insurance. Even, you know, even the small businesses don't provide insurance," Wilson said. "So everybody is in the same boat." (Shamlian, 2/3)

The Wall Street Journal: Iowa Caucus Results Delayed Amid Counting Issues
An election debacle unfolded Monday night as the Iowa Democratic Party failed to release the results of the state’s presidential caucuses, saying it had found “inconsistencies in the reporting” as the nation awaited the outcome of the first-in-the-nation nominating contest. (McCormick and Thomas, 2/4)

In other election news —

Politico: Democratic Candidates Vow To Cover Islanders Who Lost Medicaid
Four leading candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination said that their health care plans would cover tens of thousands of Pacific Islanders who were promised Medicaid coverage after U.S. nuclear-weapons testing but lost coverage in a 1996 welfare reform bill. Spokespeople for the campaigns of Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), former Vice President Joe Biden and businessman Andrew Yang all vowed that their candidates would provide coverage for residents of the Marshall Islands, a population profiled by POLITICO last week, as well as cover residents of Palau and Micronesia. (Diamond, 2/3)

The New York Times: U.S. Officials Promise ‘Aggressive Measures’ To Contain Coronavirus
Four military bases in Texas, California and Colorado were preparing to house American citizens for up to two weeks as part of a highly unusual federal effort aimed at slowing the spread of the deadly coronavirus. As of late Monday, though, expectations that a large number of Americans who had traveled to parts of China might quickly be held under quarantine had not come to pass. No new travelers from China had been brought to the military bases, federal officials said. The only people under federal quarantine were fewer than 200 people who had been in Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, and were flown to a base in Riverside, Calif., last week. (Bosman and Grady, 2/3)

NBC News: Aggressive Action Necessary To Counter The 'Unprecedented Threat' Of Coronavirus, CDC Says
The characterization comes as the agency is working to provide state and local health departments with the tools needed to diagnose the virus themselves. Currently, the CDC headquarters in Atlanta is the only place in the country with a test for the new coronavirus. That means lab results take at least 24 to 36 hours, including the time it takes to send samples overnight to Atlanta, plus four to six hours to perform the actual test. (Edwards, 2/3)

CNN: US Coronavirus: There Are 11 Confirmed Cases Of The Virus That Has Killed More Than 420 People In China
CDC officials said they're trying to expedite the "emergency use authorization" for tests so more parts of the United States can test for and diagnose the Wuhan coronavirus. "The process is extremely expedited, and our colleagues at (the US Food and Drug Administration) have been working with us closely ever since we made the plan that we were going to do this in this way," said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. (Maxouris and Yan, 2/3)

The Hill: American Experts To Join WHO Delegation In China To Study Coronavirus
The World Health Organization (WHO) could send a delegation of international health experts to China as soon as this week to work on the coronavirus outbreak.China will allow American experts to join the delegation despite frustrations expressed by WHO and the Chinese government over the U.S. response to the coronavirus. “China has accepted the United States’ offer to incorporate a group of experts into a World Health Organization mission to China to learn more about and combat the virus,” a spokesperson with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) told The Hill. (Hellmann, 2/3)

The Washington Post: Spread Of Coronavirus Threatens To Strain U.S.-China Relations Along With Global Health System
China on Monday accused the United States of contributing to public hysteria over the deadly novel coronavirus, as the struggle to contain the illness adds further strain to diplomatic relations that have grown more distrustful under the Trump administration. The rapid spread of the virus has put Beijing on the defensive for what critics have called a slow initial response to contain it and a lack of transparency over the scale of the outbreak. In a briefing for reporters, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman attempted to deflect blame by citing an “overreaction” from the U.S. government that has “spread fear” and set a “bad example” for other nations. (Nakamura and Fifield, 2/3)

The Washington Post: White House Coronavirus Response Could Require $136 Million In Additional Funds
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services notified Congress on Sunday it may need to transfer up to $136 million to help combat the fast-moving coronavirus epidemic, a new sign of how the White House has increased its response in recent days. The notification came as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is quickly burning through $105 million that was set aside for emergency public-health responses to things such as the coronavirus. (Abutaleb and Werner, 2/3)

The Hill: HHS Tells Congress It May Transfer Millions Of Dollars In Funding To Respond To Coronavirus
The CDC has already dipped into a $105 million fund created by Congress last year to help federal agencies respond to public health emergencies. That funding was used to enhance laboratory capacity, communication and education efforts and to provide a surge in support for ports of entry and CDC technical assistance. The CDC is performing enhanced entry screenings at five U.S. airports where passengers from Wuhan will arrive. (Hellmann, 2/3)

Los Angeles Times: CDC Warns Coronavirus Cases Will Continue To Spread
After a steady increase in the last week in the number of coronavirus cases in California and across the U.S., officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday the virus is likely to spread. “We expect to find other cases in the United States,” said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. (Shalby, 2/3)

Reuters: U.S. Evacuees From China Placed On 72-Hour 'Hold' At California Military Base For Medical Evaluation
Nearly 200 Americans airlifted from China in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak arrived on Wednesday at a U.S. military base in California, where they will remain isolated for at least 72 hours of medical evaluation, public health officials said. The group, mostly U.S. diplomats and their families, were evacuated from Wuhan at the epicenter of the outbreak aboard a U.S. government-chartered cargo jet that stopped to refuel in Alaska on Tuesday night before flying on to March Air Reserve Base, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles. (Younis, 2/3)

The Associated Press: 1st US Patient With New Virus Leaves Hospital, Is Recovering
The man who became the first U.S. patient infected with the new virus from China has left the hospital and said in a statement that he is getting better and looking forward to life returning to normal, according to a statement from the man provided to The Associated Press on Monday. The 35-year-old man thanked his doctors, nurses and other staff at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, Washington, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of Seattle, according to the statement from the unidentified man given to the AP by hospital officials. (Johnson, 2/3)

The Hill: First US Patient Infected With Coronavirus Leaves Hospital
“I am at home and continuing to get better,” the man said in a statement obtained by the AP. “I ask that the media please respect my privacy and my desire not to be in the public eye.” “I appreciate all of the concern expressed by members of the public, and I look forward to returning to my normal life," he continued. (Bowden, 2/3)

NBC News: 1st Patient Diagnosed With Coronavirus In U.S. Released From Hospital
Health officials are closely monitoring 56 close contacts of the patient for any signs of the illness, which has the ability to spread from person to person. (Edwards, 2/3)

NPR: U.S. Coronavirus Quarantine And Travel Limits: Needed Protection Or Overreaction?
The Trump administration's aggressive efforts to protect Americans from the coronavirus are drawing both praise and criticism. On Friday, the federal government temporarily banned entry into the United States for anyone traveling from China who isn't a U.S. citizen, permanent resident or an immediate family member of either. In addition, any Americans returning to the U.S. from China's Hubei Province, which is the epicenter of the outbreak, will be quarantined for 14 days. (Stein, 2/3)

CNN: Travel Restrictions Go Into Effect To Combat Coronavirus Spread In US
The plan, which went into effect at 5 p.m. ET, includes temporarily denying entry to foreign nationals who visited China in the 14 days prior to their arrival to the United States, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Friday. Restrictions also apply to US citizens who have been in China's Hubei province, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, in the two weeks prior to their return to the United States. Upon their return, those citizens will be subject to a mandatory quarantine of up to 14 days, he said.US citizens returning from the rest of mainland China in the 14 days prior will undergo health screenings at selected ports of entry and face up to 14 days of self-monitored quarantine. Azar outlined the restrictions Friday as he declared the coronavirus a public health emergency in the United States, stressing that "the risk to the American public remains low at this time, and we are working to keep this risk low." (Andone, 2/3)

Roll Call: US Health System Could Face Strain If Coronavirus Spreads Here
The coronavirus outbreak spreading in China could expose vulnerabilities in the U.S.  health care system if transmission became widespread here, experts warn. Among the challenges the U.S. could face in a coronavirus outbreak are health care workforce and medical supply shortages, a lack of hospital beds if the disease symptoms prove severe, and a financial strain on health departments that have seen waning support from the federal government over the years. (Siddons, 1/31)

The Hill: Tech Companies Feel Growing Impact Of Coronavirus Outbreak
But the effects could be particularly felt by the U.S. tech industry, which has depended on China both as a major market for its goods and as a critical supplier of components for a number of consumer products. Financial analysts at Goldman Sachs on Monday predicted Chinese gross domestic product growth would drop 1.6 percentage points compared to first quarter last year, which they estimate would slow growth 1 percentage point globally over the same period. Producers of smartphones and other consumer electronics could face steeper hits from the loss of revenue and productivity, according to the firm’s equity research team. Beyond the factories in Wuhan, where the disease originated, manufacturing throughout China could be affected. The outbreak coincided with the Chinese Lunar New Year, which sees millions traveling throughout the country. (Rodrigo, 2/3)

The Washington Post: States Scramble To Carry Out Trump’s Coronavirus Travel Order
After a weekend of panicked calls and emergency meetings, federal and state officials were still struggling Monday with how to carry out stringent new travel restrictions ordered by the Trump administration and where to quarantine passengers arriving from China to control the spread of the coronavirus in the United States. In interviews, state officials said the order came on Friday with no advance notice and little planning. (Sun, Aratani, Wan and Olivo, 2/3)

NPR: Poll: Americans' Views On Coronavirus Outbreak
Two-thirds of Americans say the novel coronavirus poses a "real threat" and has not been "blown out of proportion." And, though the majority of Americans are concerned about the potential spread of the virus within the U.S., 61% also say U.S. government officials are doing enough to prevent it. (Aubrey, 2/4)

PBS NewsHour: Most Americans Think Novel Coronavirus Is A Real Threat, Poll Says
Among U.S. adults younger than age 45, that number dropped to 57 percent. Among those age 45 or older, the number rose to 72 percent. That difference may reflect what has been reported so far about the virus, which belongs to the same family of viruses as the common cold, SARS and MERS — that older age and underlying health conditions appear to contribute to a more serious prognosis. (Santhanam, 2/4)

Reuters: U.S. Universities Set Up Front-Line Defenses To Keep Coronavirus At Bay
On its sprawling campus in America's heartland, thousands of miles from China, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has taken aggressive steps to keep the fast-spreading coronavirus away from its classrooms and students. The school, with one of the highest percentages of Chinese students among U.S. universities, has suspended academic programs in China for the spring semester and banned students from traveling to the country for academic-related matters. (2/3)

The Wall Street Journal: Gov. Murphy Sets Up New Jersey Coronavirus Task Force
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy established a coronavirus task force to coordinate the state’s response to the outbreak as Newark Liberty International Airport began accepting rerouted flights from China that require enhanced health screenings. New Jersey health, human-services, education and homeland-security officials will staff the task force and manage the state’s preparedness and response to the deadly virus, Mr. Murphy said on Monday. (de Avila and West, 2/3)

Boston Globe: Amid Coronavirus Outbreak, Mass. Businesses Face Uncertainty
The coronavirus that has sparked panic across the world since emerging in Central China at the end of December has added an element to businesses that their executives absolutely hate — uncertainty. ...China has gone from the sixth-largest economy at the start of this century to second largest. And Massachusetts employers — from high-tech manufacturers to high-end hotels to institutions of higher education — are more tightly linked to China’s than ever before. (Edelman, 2/3)

San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area Officials Scramble To Contain Coronavirus As UCSF Accepts Two Patients
Federal and local public health authorities are expanding efforts to contain the new coronavirus that has blown up across China in the hopes of preventing it from getting a foothold in the United States. There are now 11 cases of the new coronavirus in the U.S., including four people being treated in the Bay Area: two patients in Santa Clara County and a husband and wife from San Benito County who were moved to UCSF for treatment on Monday. (Allday and Ho, 2/3)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Coronavirus Panic In Philly And Beyond Taps Into Fears Of Immigration, Globalization, Bioterrorism
When a Chinese exchange student developed symptoms suggestive of the coronavirus that emerged in December in his native country, Philadelphia’s William Penn Charter School did the right thing. It worked with health officials to test and quarantine the teenager.But reaction to the suspected case turned the esteemed Quaker school — dedicated to principles of “mutual respect, equality, community” — into a microcosm of the growing global panic over the new upper respiratory illness. Penn Charter students stayed home in droves. Local schools canceled athletic events with Penn Charter teams. A school bus driver tried to deny rides to Penn Charter, while a medical professional canceled an appointment with a student. The 18 Chinese exchange students, meanwhile, felt like outcasts.

ABC News: US Plans More Coronavirus Evacuation Flights From Wuhan, China, This Week
At Princeton University, more than 100 students self-quarantined on Sunday because they'd recently traveled to China, a university spokesperson confirmed. That figure is now down to fewer than 20, according to a statement from the university Monday night. The school directed students, faculty and staff who traveled to mainland China to self-isolate for 14 days after their return. Depending on their housing situation, students in self-quarantine have had dining services bring them food and laundry arranged by the university. The university is also working to video conference quarantined students into class. The number of students in self-quarantine is expected to fall in the coming days, the spokesperson said. (Winsor and Schumaker, 2/3)

The Associated Press: Experts Prepare But New China Virus Not A Pandemic Yet
Health authorities are preparing for a possible pandemic as they work to contain a respiratory illness in China that's caused by a new virus. Governments are limiting travel, isolating sick people and keeping travelers returning from the affected region under quarantine to watch for symptoms. In the United States, the scope and cost of the government response is increasing. U.S. health officials already have tapped into a $105 million rapid response fund and notified Congress that they may need $136 million more. (Johnson, 2/3)

CBS News: China Admits 'Shortcomings' As Coronavirus Infects More Than 20,500
Speaking Tuesday at WHO headquarters in Geneva, the organization's chief of infectious disease control, Dr. Sylvie Briand, said she and her colleagues were confident a global pandemic could still be avoided. "I'm not saying it's easy but we believe it can be done," Briand said. "Currently we are not in a pandemic; we are at the phase where it's an epidemic with multiple sites and we will try to establish the condition in each of these sites." A pandemic is defined as a disease with significant outbreaks in multiple regions or continents. The new coronavirus outbreak has been strongly concentrated in China's Hubei province, with less than 200 cases spread across about two dozen other countries. (CBS News, 2/4)

Stat: Experts Envision Two Scenarios If New Coronavirus Isn't Contained
Researchers are therefore asking what seems like a defeatist question but whose answer has huge implications for public policy: What will a world with endemic 2019-nCoV — circulating permanently in the human population — be like? “It’s not too soon to talk about this,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease specialist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “We know that respiratory viruses are especially difficult to control, so I think it’s very possible that the current outbreak ends with the virus becoming endemic.” (Begley, 2/4)

The Wall Street Journal: Health Officials Err On Side Of Caution To Contain Viral Outbreak
Amid the fast-moving coronavirus outbreak emanating from China, companies, governments and schools are developing policies on the fly to try to halt the spread, creating a live global public-health experiment in containment. In the U.S., some businesses and universities have told people who had recently returned from the epicenter of the outbreak or from mainland China to stay home for as long as two weeks after returning. The U.S. government also said on Friday that it would deny entry to foreign citizens who had traveled to China within the past 14 days and imposed a maximum two-week quarantine on Americans returning from Hubei province where the outbreak started. (Abbott, 2/3)

Reuters: As Coronavirus Misinformation Spreads On Social Media, Facebook Removes Posts
Facebook Inc said it will take down misinformation about China's fast-spreading coronavirus, in a rare departure from its usual approach to dubious health content that is presenting a fresh challenge for social media companies. The coronavirus outbreak has stoked a wave of anti-China sentiment around the globe. Hoaxes have spread widely online, promoted by conspiracy theorists and exacerbated by a dearth of information from the cordoned-off zone around China's central city of Wuhan, where the outbreak began. (Paul, 2/3)

Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus Symptoms: What To Look For If You Think You Might Be Sick
Feeling sick? You may be wondering whether you could be infected with the new strain of coronavirus that has spread from China to more than two dozen countries and territories around the world. If you live in the United States, chances are good that it’s not the coronavirus that ails you. The Centers for Disease Control has confirmed 11 cases of novel coronavirus infection in the U.S., including six in California. The CDC also determined that 167 people who had symptoms consistent with the coronavirus were not actually infected. (Kaplan, 2/3)

The Washington Post: How Effective Are Face Masks Amid Coronavirus Concerns?
The new coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is now responsible for 17,228 confirmed cases in China, reported by the country’s National Health Commission on Monday, and confirmed cases of the strain in 23 countries outside China, according to the World Health Organization. As with any outbreak, global travelers have the risk of exposure on their minds — as evidenced by masks on their faces. (Japhe, 2/3)

Reuters: China Virus Triggers Global Rush For Protective Masks
From South Korea to the Czech Republic, China's coronavirus outbreak has triggered a massive surge in demand for protective masks, with factories scrambling to fill orders and shops selling out. The virus, which first appeared in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has killed 170 people and infected more than 8,000. It spreads through droplets from coughs and sneezes. (Lee and Zhang, 2/3)

The Hill: Vatican Sends More Than Half-Million Masks To China Amid Coronavirus Outbreak
The Vatican reportedly sent hundreds of thousands of masks to China amid the outbreak of a coronavirus that has infected thousands in China after spreading from the city of Wuhan. The Vatican confirmed it sent the masks to China in an email to the Catholics News Service on Monday. "The masks are destined to the provinces of Hubei, Zhejiang and Fujian," the press office told the news service. "It is a joint initiative of the Office of Papal Charities and the Chinese Church in Italy, in collaboration with the Vatican pharmacy." (Klar, 2/3)

Bloomberg: Where Did Coronavirus Come From? Why Bats May Be To Blame
Somewhere in China, perhaps in the southern Yunnan province, there’s a cave that may hold the mysterious origins of the deadly coronavirus that’s infected thousands, cut off millions of Chinese from their jobs and families and wreaked havoc in global financial markets.Peter Daszak, a disease ecologist at nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance, would know. He and his team have suited up and ventured into caves all over China and the rest of world in search of bats and the pathogens they carry. “We go into caves,” said Daszak. “We don’t just walk in. We wear a full-body suit: breathing masks, gloves and all the correct equipment.” What he and other scientists around the globe are concluding is that the rapid spread of human settlements in once-remote regions have put people in ever-closer proximity to virus-carrying animals. (Langreth, 2/3)

Bloomberg: Fosun Pharma Jumps For Second Day After Unveiling Virus Test Kit
Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) Co. said it has developed a testing kit for the deadly coronavirus, helping its shares to their biggest two-day gain in more than five months. The arm of Fosun Group, one of China’s largest conglomerates, is applying for National Medical Products Administration approval to provide the test equipment, it said Monday in a statement. The stock jumped 4% Tuesday, bringing its two-day gain to 5.5%, the most since Aug. 26. China’s health system is racing to treat patients and contain a virus that has infected more than 20,000 people and claimed 425 lives. As of last week, health authorities had approved six types of test kits for the virus, according to Xinhua News Agency. As the outbreak has spread, some health care providers have said they face shortages of tests. (Zhao, 2/4)

Stat: Quick Retraction Of Coronavirus Paper Was Good Moment For Science 
Titled “Uncanny similarity of unique inserts in the 2019-nCoV spike protein to HIV-1 gp120 and Gag,” the paper claimed to find similarities between the new coronavirus and HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The use of the word “uncanny” in the title, together with “unlikely to be fortuitous” in the abstract, led some to think that the authors were suggesting the virus had somehow been engineered by humans.The paper, from academic institutions in New Delhi, India, was critical and alarming, if true. Except that it wasn’t. The paper was almost immediately withdrawn, but not before plenty of handwringing from researchers who complained that the appearance of such shoddy work on a preprint server without vetting by peer reviewers is precisely why the hoary old model of science publishing is better at keeping junk science out of the literature. (Oransky and Marcus, 2/3)

The New York Times: Beijing Sees ‘Major Test’ As Doors To China Close And Coronavirus Deaths Surpass SARS
China’s Communist Party leadership called the month-old coronavirus epidemic a “major test” on Monday as other nations escalated efforts to isolate China, unnerving China’s stock market, depressing global oil prices and raising new anxiety about the world’s most populous country. The growing global move to effectively cut off China’s 1.4 billion people came as government officials reported the new coronavirus strain had killed more in mainland China, 425 as of Tuesday morning, than the SARS outbreak in 2002 and 2003, confirming it as one of the deadliest epidemics in recent Chinese history. (Wee, 2/3)

The Wall Street Journal: Coronavirus Outbreak A Major Test Of China’s System, Says Xi Jinping
Chinese leader Xi Jinping described the coronavirus outbreak rampaging through central China as a major test of the country’s system of governance, and vowed consequences for officials who shirk responsibility in tackling the crisis. The first virus-related death in Hong Kong was confirmed Tuesday, hours after the special Chinese territory announced it was tightening its borders with the mainland. City Chief Executive Carrie Lam has stopped short of a full border closure. (Li, Abbott, and Wang, 2/3)

Bloomberg: Xi Warns Virus May Impact China’s Stability At Rare Meeting
Chinese President Xi Jinping called on all officials to quickly work together to contain a deadly new virus at a rare meeting of top leaders, saying the outcome would directly impact social stability in the country. The effort to contain the virus directly affects people’s health, China’s economic and social stability, and the country’s process of opening up, he told a meeting of the Communist Party’s powerful Politburo Standing Committee on Monday. Leaders also urged officials “to achieve the targets of economic and social development this year” and “promote stable consumer spending.” (Marlow and Li, 2/3)

South China Morning Post: Coronavirus: China Says U.S. Action ‘Spreading Fear’ As Mainland Death Toll Hits 361
China has blamed the United States for spreading fears about the coronavirus and accused Washington of doing nothing to help contain the outbreak. The Chinese foreign ministry made the accusation on Monday, as the number of deaths in mainland China attributed to the coronavirus overtook the Sars epidemic of 2003. Mainland health officials also called on people to pay more attention to personal hygiene after traces of the coronavirus were found on surfaces such as a door handle. (Zhou, Wu, Pinchui and Wong, 2/3)

The New York Times: China, Desperate To Stop Coronavirus, Turns Neighbor Against Neighbor 
One person was turned away by hotel after hotel after he showed his ID card. Another was expelled by fearful local villagers. A third found his most sensitive personal information leaked online after registering with the authorities. These outcasts are from Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, where a rapidly spreading viral outbreak has killed more than 420 people in China and sent fear rippling around the world. They are pariahs in China, among the millions unable to go home and feared as potential carriers of the mysterious coronavirus. (Mozur, 2/3)

CNN: Chinese Doctor Who Was Silenced Now Has Coronavirus
Li, a 34-year-old doctor working in Wuhan, the central Chinese city at the epicenter of the deadly coronavirus outbreak, told his friends to warn their loved ones privately. But within hours screenshots of his messages had gone viral -- without his name being blurred. "When I saw them circulating online, I realized that it was out of my control and I would probably be punished," Li said. He was right. Soon after he posted the message, Li was accused of rumor-mongering by the Wuhan police. He was one of several medics targeted by police for trying to blow the whistle on the deadly virus in the early weeks of the outbreak. The virus has since claimed at least 425 lives and sickened more than 20,000 people globally -- including Li. (Xiong and Gan, 2/4)

The Wall Street Journal: Coronavirus Cases Rise Above 20,000 In China As Hong Kong Reports First Death
Macau moved to shut its casinos and China injected more cash into its banking system on Tuesday, as the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus rose above 20,000 and Hong Kong reported its first death from the quickly spreading pathogen. Gambling center Macau, whose casinos rack up revenues that are more than six times that of the Las Vegas Strip, is closing casinos for two weeks because of the coronavirus, Chief Executive Ho Iat-seng said Tuesday. (Yang, 2/4)

CNN: Wuhan Coronavirus: Confirmed Cases Top 20,000 As China Marks Deadliest Day
China's National Health Commission said Tuesday that the death rate from the virus stands at 2.1% nationwide. The figure is higher for Hubei province, of which Wuhan is the capital, at 3.1%. A spokeswoman for the commission said 80% of victims were over the age of 60 and 75% had some form of underlying condition. (Griffiths, 2/4)

The New York Times: Hong Kong Reports First Death From Coronavirus Outbreak
A 39-year-old man in Hong Kong died Tuesday from the new coronavirus, the city’s Hospital Authority said. The death from the outbreak was the first in Hong Kong, a semiautonomous Chinese territory that has had 15 confirmed cases, and the second outside mainland China. A man in the Philippines who was from Wuhan, China — the epicenter of the outbreak — also died from the coronavirus, Philippine officials said Sunday. (2/3)

The New York Times: Hong Kong Tightens Border As Medical Workers Call For Shutdown
Hong Kong’s government said Monday that it would close more border checkpoints, as some medical workers went on strike to demand a complete ban on entries from mainland China to limit the outbreak of the new coronavirus. Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s top official, has faced increasing calls from hospital employees, the business community and even some pro-government lawmakers to further tighten border controls with mainland China, where the virus emerged in December. (Ramzy and May, 2/3)

The Associated Press: North Korea Making 'All-Out Efforts' To Guard Against Virus
North Korea said Tuesday it was mobilizing 30,000 health workers everyday in its “all-out efforts” to guard against the spread of a virus from neighboring China. North Korea hasn’t reported any case of the new coronavirus, but some experts say an epidemic in North Korea could be dire because of its chronic lack of medical supplies and poor health care infrastructure. (2/4)

The Hill: Russia Warns Foreigners With Coronavirus Could Be Deported
Russia is warning that foreigners confirmed to have coronavirus may be deported from the country. Russian officials are determining the procedure for deportation of foreigners infected with the new mysterious virus, Russian news agency Tass reported Monday. "We are determining the place [of deportation] currently," Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova told reporters Monday, according to Tass. (Klar, 2/3)

The Hill: Hong Kong Reports Second Coronavirus Death Outside Mainland China
Hong Kong has reported the second death caused by the new coronavirus outside of mainland China. The death comes as the number of confirmed cases of the deadly virus continues to climb rapidly in China and as countries around the world grapple with how to contain the disease. In announcing a public health emergency of "international concern" late last week, the World Health Organization said that the virus had spread to more than a dozen countries, including the United States. A 39-year-old patient died on Tuesday morning in Hong Kong from sudden heart failure after being diagnosed with the virus, the South China Morning Post reported. (Wise, 2/3)

The New York Times: China Pledged To Build A New Hospital In 10 Days. It’s Close.
People desperate for treatment started descending on a new hospital that was mostly built in just 10 days to help cope with the outbreak of the new coronavirus in the central city of Wuhan on Monday. Construction workers in hard hats, medical staff in hazmat suits, and men and women in army fatigues scrambled around the dusty site on Monday afternoon, dodging moving trucks, excavators and cranes. (Qin, 2/3)

The Washington Post: Hospital In Wuhan, China, Built In Days Amid Coronavirus Outbreak
Dubbed the “super-fast hospital” by the state-owned China Daily newspaper, construction of the 1,000-bed Huoshenshan facility began formally on Jan. 25. Officials hope the facility will relieve pressure on Wuhan’s overcrowded medical institutions, where some seeking care have been turned away because of a shortage of beds and basic supplies. It comes as the World Health Organization has cautioned against panic about the outbreak and praised China’s efforts to contain it, even as fears of transmission have continued to grow. (Brice-Saddler, 2/3)

The Wall Street Journal: How China Built A Coronavirus Hospital In 10 Days
The Huoshenshan hospital spans about eight acres and includes an intensive care unit, patient wards, consultation rooms, medical equipment rooms and more. Separate quarantine wards were built to minimize cross-infection risks, according to state broadcaster China Central Television. The hospital is a two-story building consisting of prefabricated units, according to China State Construction Engineering Corp.’s website. Videos and images of construction at the Huoshenshan site began appearing online on Jan. 24, showing dozens of excavators, bulldozers and other earthmoving equipment rushing to level the ground. The construction companies then added several layers of matting and poured concrete. The hospital units are on pillars to keep them off the ground. The units are made of flat boards that hook together. (Wang, Zhu and Umlauf, 2/3)

The Wall Street Journal: The Flu Is Hitting Children Especially Hard This Season
Every day for the past few months, children have appeared in Ari Brown’s pediatric office in Austin, Texas, and tested positive for influenza. “About 10% of the patients we’re seeing every day have the flu,” says Dr. Brown. “We’ve had five this morning.” Public attention is fixated on the coronavirus. But the far more widespread flu virus is infecting people across the country—and hitting children particularly hard. (Reddy, 2/3)

The Associated Press: Some Hospitals Wary As New Liver Transplant Rules Begin
Long-delayed rules that will more broadly share scarce donated livers go into effect Tuesday, to the dismay of some hospitals in Tennessee, Kansas and other states that fear their patients may lose out. Where you live makes a difference in how sick you have to be to get an organ transplant, and wealthier patients sometimes travel to other states to get on shorter waiting lists. The new rules are an attempt to ease that geographic disparity by giving the sickest patients first chance at a donated liver even if it has to be flown about 500 miles to reach them. (2/3)

Stat: Brain 'Hot Spot' May Explain Why African Americans Feel Greater Pain
Despite the persistence of the slavery-era myth that African Americans are less sensitive to pain than people of other backgrounds (as a large fraction of white laypeople, medical students, and hospital residents in a 2016 study believed), the science is unambiguous. African Americans, and in some studies Latinxs, report more pain from the identical stimulus (being touched with something very hot, for instance) than non-Hispanic white people. Yet somewhat surprisingly, when it seems that every mental and emotional experience has been analyzed with brain imaging, the neurobiological mechanisms for that heightened pain sensitivity have been unclear. (Begley, 2/3)

NPR: Study Links Autism To 'Insulation' That Coats Brain Cells And Speeds Signals
Scientists have found a clue to how autism spectrum disorder disrupts the brain's information highways. The problem involves cells that help keep the traffic of signals moving smoothly through brain circuits, a team reported Monday in the journal Nature Neuroscience. The team found that in both mouse and human brains affected by autism, there's an abnormality in cells that produce a substance called myelin. (Hamilton, 2/3)

NPR: U.S. Sees Sharp Drop In Visit To Primary Care Providers, As Costs Rise
Efforts across the U.S. in recent years to encourage medical students, nurse practitioners and others to go into primary care, especially in underserved areas, are built on a consensus in research: Primary care is good for patients. "It's the foundation of the health care system," says Dr. Ishani Ganguli, Harvard assistant professor of medicine and physician in general internal medicine and primary care at Brigham and Women's Hospital. (Renken, 2/3)

The New York Times: Why Fruits And Vegetables May Lower Alzheimer’s Risk
Flavonols, a large class of compounds found in most fruits and vegetables, may be associated with a reduced risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Flavonols are known to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, and animal studies have suggested they may improve memory and learning. A study in Neurology involved 921 men and women, average age 81 and free of dementia, who reported their diet using well-validated food questionnaires. During an average follow-up of six years, 220 developed Alzheimer’s disease. (Bakalar, 2/4)

Kaiser Health News: Beyond Burnout: Docs Decry ‘Moral Injury’ From Financial Pressures Of Health Care
Dr. Keith Corl was working in a Las Vegas emergency room when a patient arrived with chest pain. The patient, wearing his street clothes, had a two-minute exam in the triage area with a doctor, who ordered an X-ray and several other tests. But later, in the treatment area, when Corl met the man and lifted his shirt, it was clear the patient had shingles. Corl didn’t need any tests to diagnose the viral infection that causes a rash and searing pain. All those tests? They turned out to be unnecessary and left the patient with over $1,000 in extra charges. (Bailey, 2/4)

The New York Times: Deputy Secretary Of Veterans Affairs Is Abruptly Dismissed
In a sign of continuing turmoil at the Department of Veterans Affairs, a deputy secretary in charge of key initiatives was dismissed on Monday, just as the agency rolls out complex changes to its health care system and a plan to address veterans suicide. “Today, I dismissed V.A. deputy secretary James Byrne due to loss of confidence in Mr. Byrne’s ability to carry out his duties,” Robert L. Wilkie, the secretary of veterans affairs, said in a statement. “This decision is effective immediately.” (Steinhauer, 2/3)

Axios: Veterans Affairs Deputy Secretary James Byrne Fired
Between the lines: The VA has come under fire after a House staff member said she was sexually assaulted at the VA hospital in Washington. The White House was disappointed by the way Wilkie and the VA handled the situation, according to three sources close to the situation. (Swan, Kight and Treene, 2/3)

CNBC: Veterans Affairs Deputy Secretary James Byrne Fired
Byrne’s firing came as the VA continued to be criticized for its treatment of an allegation by Andrea Goldstein, an advisor to the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Goldstein, who is also a Navy veteran, has said she was sexually harassed and assaulted last September by an unidentified man when she was waiting for a drink in a cafe at the VA Medical Center in Washington. The man “slammed her below the waist and told her that ‘you look like you could use a good time,’ ” Goldstein told The New York Times a week after the incident. “He pressed his entire body against mine.” (Macias and Mangan, 2/3)

Modern Healthcare: VA Secretary Fires Chief Deputy Amid Sexual Assault Controversy
Congressional Republican and Democratic leaders on veterans issues issued statements of confidence in Wilkie's leadership. "There is no question that this is a critical time for the VA and that Secretary Wilkie must have a leadership team that he can trust supporting him as he works to transform the VA and better serve veterans and their families," said Rep. Phil Roe, the ranking Republican on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee. (Meyer, 2/3)

The Wall Street Journal: VA’s Deputy Secretary Dismissed By Department’s Top Official
Mr. Byrne was asked to resign earlier in the day but declined to do so, people familiar with the matter said. Mr. Wilkie then fired him. Messrs. Byrne and Wilkie recently clashed over the department’s handling of allegations of sexual assault at a Washington, D.C., VA medical center, people familiar with the matter said. No charges were filed after an investigation begun after allegations made in September and whose findings were released in January by the VA Office of Inspector General. The report wasn’t made public, and the people familiar with the matter didn’t provide details about the allegations. (Kesling, 2/3)

Politico: Deputy VA Secretary Fired After Less Than 5 Months On The Job
Byrne was only confirmed in the Senate on Sept. 11 by an 81-11 vote. His departure continues a trend of leadership turmoil at President Donald Trump’s Department of Veterans Affairs. The president’s first VA Secretary, David Shulkin, was forced out after questions emerged about taxpayer-funded travels, and his pick to replace Shulkin, then-White House physician Ronny Jackson, withdrew from consideration amid reports of misconduct on the job. (Oprysko, 2/3)

Stars and Stripes: VA's Deputy Secretary Fired; Report Cites Frustration Over Agency’s Handling Of Sex Assault Investigation
The VA’s top leadership has been in turmoil in recent years. President Donald Trump’s administration has gone through four deputy secretaries at the VA, with two of them in temporary acting positions. The Obama, Bush and Clinton administrations all had two deputy VA secretaries across both of their terms. (Beynon, 2/3)

Military Times: VA Deputy Secretary Fired After ‘Loss Of Confidence’
Byrne’s predecessor, Thomas Bowman, was pressured out of the job a few months after the firing of former VA Secretary David Shulkin in March 2018. The department has had four different secretaries and four more acting secretaries in the last five years. VA’s top health official post has been vacant since President Donald Trump took office. (Shane, 2/3)

Politico: Indicted Parnas Associate Was Set To Partner With VA On Cannabis Research
A businessman facing federal charges over an alleged plot to trade political donations for help obtaining marijuana licenses around the country was working on a medical cannabis research deal with the Department of Veterans Affairs just weeks before his indictment. Andrey Kukushkin, a Ukraine-born cannabis investor whose multistate marijuana projects and political donations were allegedly illegally funded by a Russian national, was set to partner with the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center in September on a five-year research and development agreement to study medical cannabis therapies for cancer, according to a copy of the proposed agreement reviewed by POLITICO. (Bertrand and Zhang, 2/3)

CNN: Trump Administration And GOP-Led States Ask Supreme Court To Hold Off On Deciding Obamacare's Fate
Supporters of Obamacare want the justices to step in -- before the 2020 election -- to hear the case, arguing the lower court opinion would result in a "profound destabilization of the health care system." The Supreme Court last month rejected one attempt to fast track the issue but could meet by the end of February for further discussions. Critics of the law argue that it should eventually be struck entirely, but they do not want the hot-button issue impacting millions of Americans to come before the justices until after the election. In Monday's filings, the government and the states led by Texas said it would be premature for the Supreme Court to weigh in on the law especially because it will remain in place while the appeals process plays out. (de Vogue, 2/3)

The Hill: GOP States Tell Supreme Court To Wait On Reviewing ObamaCare Case
“This Court should not allow petitioners to leapfrog lower-court consideration,” Paxton wrote. Paxton noted that the law will remain in place while the appeals process unfolds, so the case is not “ripe” for review. The Trump administration, which declined to defend ObamaCare in court, is expected make a similar argument today. (Weixel, 2/3)

The Washington Post: Trial Of Promising HIV Vaccine Fails In South Africa
A broad study of a promising vaccine for HIV has ended in failure after an interim analysis showed it was no more effective than a placebo, researchers announced Monday. Vaccinations were halted after an independent monitoring panel for the “Uhambo” study in South Africa determined on Jan. 23 that 129 people who received the vaccine developed HIV while 123 who were given a placebo contracted the infection. (Bernstein, 2/3)

CNN: HIV Vaccine Trial Ends In 'Deep Disappointment'
"An HIV vaccine is essential to end the global pandemic, and we hoped this vaccine candidate would work. Regrettably, it does not," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the NIAID, said in a written statement on Monday. "Research continues on other approaches to a safe and effective HIV vaccine, which I still believe can be achieved," he said. (Howard, 2/3)

The Hill: Promising HIV Vaccine Trial In South Africa Fails
Late last month, an interim analysis found 129 HIV infections occurred among the vaccine recipients and 123 HIV infections occurred among the placebo recipients. There were no safety concerns, but the NIH said it agreed with an independent safety board that since the vaccines did not work, the study should stop. (Weixel, 2/3)

In other pharmaceutical news —

The Wall Street Journal: Patients Often Get Antibiotics Without A Doctor Visit, Study Finds
Patients widely received antibiotics with no record of seeing a doctor, a nationwide study found, despite recommendations that doctors physically screen patients to prevent unnecessary prescriptions that could contribute to superbugs. Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Northwestern University looked through a decade of medical bills for 53 million people nationwide. They found nearly 83 million antibiotic prescriptions that were filled with no record of an associated doctor visit that could have verified that the antibiotics were necessary. (Evans, 2/3)

Stat: Andreessen Horowitz Launching Its Third Life Sciences Fund
Marc Andreessen, famous for proclaiming that software was “eating the world,” said in 2009 that the one place his eponymous Silicon Valley venture capital firm would never invest was health care. How things have changed. On Tuesday, Andreessen Horowitz launched its third fund dedicated exclusively to health and biology. Biofund III, as the $750 million investment vessel is called, will be directed at startups looking to do everything from design better drugs to improve the way people deliver and receive health care. (Brodwin, 2/4)

The Wall Street Journal: CVS Sloughs Off Key Player In Aetna Deal
CVS Health Corp. announcement Monday that former Aetna Inc. Chief Executive Mark Bertolini will leave the CVS board exposed tensions underlying one of the biggest U.S. health-care mergers. Mr. Bertolini joined the board after the pharmacy operator paid nearly $70 billion to buy the health insurer in 2018. The two companies promised an ambitious health-care transformation, melding their varied businesses of filling prescriptions, managing drug benefits and providing health insurance to reduce costs and improve customer experience. (Wilde Mathews, 2/3)

Bloomberg: CVS Shrinks Board, Drops Ex-Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini As Director
CVS Health Corp. will drop three directors from its 16-member board, including Mark Bertolini, the former chief executive of Aetna, the health insurer it bought in a transformative $68 billion deal in 2018. The changes, which will shrink the board to 13 members, are being made to “further align with corporate governance best practices,” Woonsocket, Rhode Island-based CVS said in a statement Monday. (Armstrong, 2/3)

In other news on the health industry —

The Hill: Pelosi Enters Fight Over Surprise Medical Bills
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is entering a contentious battle over protecting patients from getting “surprise” medical bills, trying to overcome a rift between two Democratic chairmen and allow a bipartisan priority to move forward. Pelosi met with House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) on Wednesday and urged them to figure out a way to bridge the gap between their rival approaches, according to people familiar with the meeting. (Sullivan, 2/4)

Kaiser Health News: What To Do If Your Home Health Care Agency Ditches You
Craig Holly was determined to fight when the home health agency caring for his wife decided to cut off services Jan. 18. The reason he was given by an agency nurse? His wife was disabled but stable, and Medicare was changing its payment system for home health. Euphrosyne “Effie” Costas-Holly, 67, has advanced multiple sclerosis. She can’t walk or stand and relies on an overhead lift system to move from room to room in their house. (Graham, 2/4)

Miami Herald: Florida Bill Restricts Treatment For Transgender Youth
After lively and emotional debate on both sides of the issue, a bill that would make it a felony for doctors to provide minors with hormone therapy or to perform sex reassignment surgery will likely not see its first hearing. The bill would have carried a maximum penalty of a $10,000 fine or 15 years in prison. (Gross, 2/3)

The Associated Press: Mississippi Has At Least 15th Inmate Death In Recent Weeks
Another inmate has died in Mississippi, bringing the total to at least 15 in the state prison system since late December. Jesus Garcia, 39, was found unresponsive in his cell Saturday at the Wilkinson County Correctional Facility, according to a statement from Management & Training Corporation, the private company that operates the prison. (2/3)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: EPA Grant Addresses Lead In School Drinking Water
Georgia schools have received a grant of $1.1 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to identify sources of lead in drinking water at schools or child care facilities. The Georgia Department of Education will use the funds for testing in high-risk communities across the state. (Rhone, 2/3)

Georgia Health News: Transparency Legislation Seeks To Boost Patients’ Buying Power
Consumers often have no idea about what they will pay for a medical procedure – or about the quality of care they can expect to receive. But under a bill discussed Monday in state Senate committee hearing, more Georgia patients with insurance could get access to such information. (Miller, 2/3)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgians Can Comment On Kemp’s Medicaid Waiver Proposal Through Friday
Big changes are on deck for Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for poor children and some poor adults. In Georgia, people have four more days to comment on an especially big change being sought for the state. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is accepting public comment until Friday on Gov. Brian Kemp’s Medicaid waiver proposal. (Hart, 2/3)

The Baltimore Sun: Mental Health And Addiction Providers For Medicaid Patients Go Unpaid In Maryland
Doctors and others who provide mental health and addiction services in Maryland under the Medicaid program have had millions of dollars in bills go unpaid this year because a new state payment system is malfunctioning, which some providers say could jeopardize care during the ongoing drug overdose crisis. The Maryland Health Department, which oversees the payments, notified providers last week that it planned to begin sending estimated payments that total about $32 million a week as it works to fix the system serving more than a quarter-million people. The estimated payments will be based on past billing. (Cohn, 2/4)

The Baltimore Sun: ‘Why Didn’t They Know?’ Maryland Senate Committee Postpones Confirmation Votes On UMMS Board Members
A Maryland Senate committee on Monday postponed confirmation votes of nearly 20 nominees to the University of Maryland Medical System board ― citing an unfinished audit into the self-dealing scandal that rocked the hospital network last year. Members of the Senate’s Executive Nominations Committee are considering 18 appointees to the board, most of whom were nominated by Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, after the General Assembly last year passed sweeping reform legislation that forced all the board members to resign and reapply for their posts. Sen. Ronald N. Young, a Frederick County Democrat who is chairman of the Executive Nominations Committee, said members were particularly concerned about three returning members who were nominated to return to the board despite the scandal. (Broadwater, 2/3)

The Washington Post: Poppy Seed Defense: Rebecca Hernandez’s Newborn Was Taken Away After False-Positive Opiate Test
An Alabama mother is calling for institutional changes after she lost custody of her baby within hours of giving birth Tuesday. Citing a same-day drug screening, health officials said they had detected traces of opiates in her system. But she was clean. Rebecca Hernandez was forced to spend three days apart from her newborn boy as she awaited a confirmatory test. By then, her doctor had already theorized a likely culprit behind the false-positive result: the poppy seed bread Hernandez ate Monday. (Brice-Saddler, 2/3)

The Capital Gazette: ‘Invisible Wounds’: Navy SEAL’s Family Pushes For Recognition Of Traumatic Brain Injuries After Son’s Death
As a decorated Navy SEAL operator and explosives breacher, Ryan Larkin was regularly exposed to high-impact blast waves throughout his 10 years of service. Struggling with the psychological effects of serving in four combat tours and an undiagnosed brain injury, Larkin died by suicide on a Sunday morning in 2017 dressed in a SEAL Team shirt with the medals he earned in service next to him. “Ryan died from combat injuries, just not right away,” Frank Larkin, Ryan’s father, said. Ryan Larkin’s repeated exposure to blast waves severely damaged his brain by causing microscopic tears in the tissue, internal lining and blood vessels. (Price, 2/3)

The CT Mirror: Lamont Touts Federal Funding For Child Care Ahead Of His Budget Address
State leaders on Monday rallied around her [Soba] at a day care in Bridgeport to announce they have implemented a partial solution: increase how much income families receiving child care subsidies can earn before losing the benefit. And as families earn more, their share of covering the day care payments will also increase. The shift – first announced four months ago – means parents can earn up to 65% of the area’s average income and not lose the subsidy, compared to the earlier 50% threshold. (Thomas, 2/3)

The Baltimore Sun: With Nowhere To Go, Foster Children Staying On In Maryland Hospitals And Psychiatric Units After Treatment
Dozens of Maryland children who have been removed from their families have languished in hospitals instead of settling in with foster parents or at group homes. These children have been in medical hospitals or on psychiatric units, often for weeks at a time, even though they are not sick, injured or mentally ill. One such child was kept in a hospital for 636 days, according to a report from the Maryland Department of Human Services, which is charged with ensuring the well-being of the children. (Wood, 2/3)

The CT Mirror: State Religious Leaders Are Pushing Lawmakers On Health Care Equity
As lawmakers wade into the thorny issue of health reform, Anderson’s five-year-old organization – the Ministerial Health Fellowship – is encouraging them to add those perspectives to the debate. And with the General Assembly convening on Wednesday, the health fellowship has outlined a series of recommendations for tackling pervasive issues, including access to care, the affordability of insurance and changing the way the state collects health data. (Carlesso, 2/4)

Miami Herald: 3 Rompe Pecho Medicines Recalled For Microbial Contamination
Miami-Dade company Efficient Laboratories has recalled three lots of three kinds of Rompe Pecho cold and flu symptom medications after a microbial contamination was found. "In rare circumstances, consumption of Rompe Pecho from these lots could result in vomiting and diarrhea,” the company-written, FDA-posted recall notice said. “Efficient Laboratories has not received any reports of adverse events to date.” (Neal, 2/3)

CNN: Walgreens Will Pay $7.5 Million To Settle With California Authorities After Employing Unlicensed Pharmacist
Walgreens has agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle a consumer protection lawsuit brought by California authorities who said the company employed an unlicensed pharmacist for more than a decade. Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley announced the settlement Monday. The action is in response to a complaint filed by the district attorneys of Alameda and Santa Clara counties that alleges Kim Thien Le worked as a pharmacist in multiple Walgreens locations in the Bay Area for more than 10 years though she was not licensed by the Board of Pharmacy. While working as a pharmacist, Le participated in filling more than 745,000 prescriptions, including more than 100,000 for controlled substances, O'Malley's office said in a news release. (Moon and Silverman, 2/4)

Texas Tribune: Austin's Homeless Residents Consider Abbott's Camp Helpful But Say His Tweets Still Stigmatize Them
Homeless Austin residents say life at the shelter in the southeast Austin neighborhood of Montopolis is an improvement for them — but still an incomplete solution to life without steady shelter. And some still feel stigmatized and targeted by the governor’s claims of increased crime involving homeless people and routine clearings of homeless communities elsewhere in the state’s capital. (Tatum, 2/4)

Boston Globe: Two Very Different Pictures Of Justina Pelletier’s Months In Locked Psych Ward
Two strikingly different accounts of Justina Pelletier’s health during her 2013 stay in a locked psychiatric ward at Boston Children’s Hospital emerged in Suffolk Superior Court Monday.A lawyer for the hospital asserted that Pelletier, then 14, was able at times to stand on her own to bake cookies. The lawyer said she also learned to move her own wheelchair and master other physical tasks without constant help. But the young woman’s father, Louis Pelletier, insisted on the witness stand that it was clear to anyone who saw his daughter during that stay: Her health had been “declining.” (Lazar, 2/3)

ABC News: Toddler With Rare Disorder Gets New Oxygen Tank Holders Designed By 6th Graders
A toddler who had trouble getting around with her oxygen tank is now getting help from a kind group of sixth grade students. Emmett Hightshoe was diagnosed with Kabuki syndrome in utero. It’s a rare genetic disorder impacting organ development, as well as her physical and cognitive abilities. But Emmett's health obstacles doesn’t stop her from being a typical 2-year-old. "She’s certainly sassy and strong-willed," mom Maleigh Hightshoe of Charlotte, North Carolina, told "Good Morning America." "She's so happy, loved, very much a people-person which is great because it helps us know if something isn't going well." (Pelletiere, 2/4)

Miami Herald: Feds Send Texas Man To Prison Over Tricare Fraud
A Texas man was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison last week for his role in a complex, $9.6 million scheme that tricked U.S. military service members into ordering unnecessary prescriptions and testing at the expense of two U.S. government healthcare programs, prosecutors from the U.S. Southern District of Florida said. Senthil Ramamurthy, 38, orchestrated a fraud on a national scale in a scheme starting in 2014, when Ramamurthy targeted Tricare, the U.S. military’s health insurance program, according to prosecutors. (Conarck, 2/3)

The Associated Press: Prince Doctor To Pay $4K Civil Penalty For Prescription
A Minnesota medical board has disciplined a doctor who treated Prince for prescribing pain medication for the pop megastar in another person's name. The Minnesota Board of Medical Practice last month reprimanded Dr. Michael Schulenberg and ordered him to pay a civil penalty of $4,648. The board did not name Prince, but the Star Tribune reports he was identified as “Patient No. 1” and his longtime friend and bodyguard Kirk Johnson as “Patient No. 2.” (2/3)

Boston Globe: Marijuana Host Community Bill On Mass. House Agenda
The Massachusetts House appears poised Wednesday to take up legislation giving state cannabis regulators the authority to review and regulate the agreements marijuana businesses are legally required to enter into with their host municipalities. Marijuana advocates and regulators have been wrestling with the issue of host community agreements (HCAs) for more than a year as entrepreneurs, lawyers, and lobbyists have shared stories about cities or towns demanding more from businesses than the state’s marijuana laws allow. (Young, 2/3)

The Washington Post: On Health Care, Is Trump Malicious Or Just Incompetent? Yes.
Is the problem incompetence or malice? When it comes to the Trump administration’s terrible health-care agenda, the answer appears to be both. At least, that’s the takeaway from Vice President Pence’s comments at an Iowa diner last week, when he appeared to not know that his administration is working to cut, rather than expand, health coverage for the poor. (Catherine Rampell, 2/3)

The Wall Street Journal: Trump’s Medicaid Benefit
Democrats are rolling out their old health-scare playbook to attack the Trump Administration’s Medicaid block-grant proposal last week that would give states more flexibility in exchange for limits on federal funds. Irony alert: The biggest beneficiaries could be Democratic states and low-income Americans. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in a letter last week invited state Medicaid directors to apply for block grants under Section 1115 of the Social Security Act. That law allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services to approve state “demonstration projects” to experiment with plan designs, payment models and delivery. (2/3)

The Hill: As Long As Our Children Suffer, The State Of Our Union Should Embarrass Us All
A society should be judged by how it treats its most vulnerable and most valuable members: its children. By that measure, we do not need this week’s State of the Union address from the president to tell us what is abundantly clear: The state of our union is shamefully inadequate. A new report released Monday by our research team at the Children’s Defense Fund reveals how seriously America is failing its children. (Max Lesko, 2/3)

The Wall Street Journal: The Truth About The ‘Public Charge’ Immigration Rule
The Supreme Court last week lifted a nationwide injunction against Trump administration regulations imposing tougher standards for aliens attempting to prove that they won’t become “public charges.” Under the old guidelines, established during the Clinton era, only cash assistance or long-term institutional care could be considered strikes against applicants. Only a few hundred applicants were refused under the public charge provision world-wide each year. (Dave Seminara, 2/3)

The Hill: The FDA Must Do More To Ensure Our Food Is Safe
When we order a salad out at a restaurant, we assume it's safe to eat. At the very least, we don't expect it to put our health or even our life at risk. But that's precisely what happened to William Whit one day when he went out to lunch with friends and opted for what seemed like the healthy route at a pizza place. Whit ordered a salad and, soon after, began experiencing severe stomach discomfort. Eventually, after his condition worsened, he ended up in the hospital. The doctors spent days trying to figure out how an otherwise-healthy man became sick so quickly, before finally realizing that the lettuce he consumed was contaminated with E. coli. (Dylan Robb, 2/3)

Boston Globe: The Deadliest Virus We Face Is Complacency
When I was 11, I was scarred for life by the BBC. It was 1975 and the show was called “Survivors.”The title sequence began with a masked Chinese scientist dropping a glass flask. It smashes. We then see him boarding a plane to Moscow, where he starts to feel unwell. Suddenly, a naked arm falls lifeless across the screen. We see passport stamps for Berlin, Singapore, New York . . . finally London. And then a ghastly red stain spreads across the screen. The genius of the series was that it was set in middle-class England — a serene Herefordshire of tennis courts, boarding schools, and stay-at-home wives. Within 10 minutes of episode one, however, that England was spiraling back to the 14th century. For the Chinese scientist’s flask contained a bacterium even more deadly than Yersinia pestis, which is now generally recognized to have caused the Black Death. (Niall Ferguson, 2/3)

Los Angeles Times: China Media Censorship Making Wuhan Coronavirus More Lethal
As reports of new coronavirus infections soar, it’s becoming clear that Chinese government leaders have been putting their political interests ahead of public health. This is not a surprise but a long-established pattern. In recent days, medical experts have found evidence that the origin of the outbreak was not a seafood market in Wuhan, as the Chinese government initially reported. That evidence also suggests that the first human infections occurred in November, if not earlier, rather than in early December. (Sarah Cook, 2/3)

Stat: Sustained Research On Neglected Diseases Will Have A Big Payoff
In recent weeks, scientists have raced to understand the deadly new coronavirus and develop new tools to diagnose and contain it. As with past emerging threats, I’ve been impressed to see how this novel virus has mobilized collective action that transcends borders, sectors, and individual interests over such a short period.During those same few weeks, more familiar pathogens have been quietly exacting a far heavier toll on human health and prosperity. Neglected diseases like diarrheal illnesses, tuberculosis, malaria, and pneumonia kill thousands of people every day. But because they have been doing so for decades, they simply don’t catalyze the same urgency we see in the face of a novel, fast-moving outbreak. (Nick Chapman, 2/4)

The New York Times: Why You May Never Learn The Truth About ICE
Last month the National Archives found itself in the middle of a firestorm after it put a doctored photograph of the Women’s March on Washington on display. Even if the photo was not part of the National Archives’ own collection, the exhibit distorted history, and David S. Ferriero, the archivist of the United States, soon apologized. This was only the latest example — and hardly the most important — of a great and growing threat to our nation’s capacity to protect and learn from history. (Matthew Connelly, 2/4)

The Washington Post: It’s Not Enough To Remember The Parkland Shooting
“Are we going to die today?”That was the last question a student ever asked me in my classroom at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. I taught about the Holocaust in room 1214, a fact that was obvious from just one glance around it. The back of the room was adorned with a yellow banner that read: “We will never forget,” donated to the class by a Holocaust survivor. The walls were lined with a painting of barbed wire that students had done the year before. (Ivy, 2/3)

WBUR: How Our Assisted Dying Laws Exclude Some People Who Suffer The Most
No matter where you stand on the right to die, the recent New York Times feature on Marieke Vervoort’s life or death decision likely touched a chord. After years of blinding pain brought on by a degenerative muscle disease, the Paralympic Belgian medalist opted for a medically assisted death. Though Vervoort’s struggles transcend borders, her ability to die this way does not. (Anita Hannig, 2/4)

Los Angeles Times: Homeless Can't Park On Malibu Coast For Weeks At A Time
The fabled coastline of Malibu beckons residents, tourists, swimmers, surfers — and, now, homeless people. In the last few years, homeless people living in their vehicles, mostly RVs, have essentially taken up residence along parts of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. In a way, their presence is proof that access to the coast is, indeed, guaranteed to all the public by the state’s landmark Coastal Act. But does public access mean someone can stake out a parking spot on Pacific Coast Highway overlooking the beach indefinitely? That’s as gnarly a question as some of the waves offshore. (2/4)