CNN: New Covid-19 Cases Are Declining Across The US, Official Says, But That Could Quickly Change If People Aren't Careful
States across the US are now seeing a decline in coronavirus cases, a US top official said this week, though he warned things could quickly change again if Americans aren't careful. US trends are now "going in the right direction," said Adm. Brett Giroir, the Trump administration official overseeing US coronavirus testing, attributing the decline in part to safety protocols like masks and social distancing. (Maxouris, 8/20)

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Coronavirus Deaths Top 173,000
The number of new U.S. coronavirus cases edged up to more than 46,000, while countries including India and South Korea faced a rise in new infections. Total U.S. coronavirus cases passed 5.5 million—just under a quarter of the global tally—as the nation’s death toll topped 173,000, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Johns Hopkins’s data showed California had more than 9,000 new cases, Texas had more than 5,000 and Florida had over 4,000, Georgia and Illinois had more than 2,000 each, while Alabama, North Carolina and Tennessee all exceeded 1,000 each. (Hall, 8/20)

The Hill: Florida Surpasses 10,000 Coronavirus Deaths 
Florida on Wednesday surpassed 10,000 deaths from COVID-19, according to state figures, almost six months since the first case was identified in the state. The state reported 174 new deaths Wednesday, bringing its total since the pandemic began to 10,067. California, New York, Texas and New Jersey are the only other states whose COVID-19 fatalities have reached five digits. (Weixel, 8/19)

In related economic news —

NBC News: Fed Officials Expect That The Coronavirus Will 'Weigh Heavily' On The Economy, Minutes Show
The Federal Open Market Committee expressed concern at their last meeting over the future of the economy, saying that the coronavirus likely would continue to stunt growth and potentially pose dangers to the financial system. At the July 28-29 session, the Federal Reserve’s policymaking arm voted to keep short-term interest rates anchored near zero, citing an economy that was falling short of its pre-pandemic levels. (Cox, 8/19)

USA Today: 'Silent Spreaders' Of COVID-19: Kids Who Seem Healthy May Be More Contagious Than Sick Adults, Study Says
A new study adds to growing evidence that children are not immune to COVID-19 and may even play a larger role in community spread than previously thought. Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and Mass General Hospital for Children found that among 192 children, 49 tested positive for the coronavirus and had significantly higher levels of virus in their airways than hospitalized adults in intensive care units, according to the study published Thursday in the Journal of Pediatrics. (Rodriguez, 8/20)

Harvard Gazette: Children’s Role In Spread Of Virus Bigger Than Thought
In the most comprehensive study of COVID-19 pediatric patients to date, researchers provide critical data showing that children play a larger role in the community spread of COVID-19 than previously thought. In a study of 192 children ages 0-22, 49 children tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, and an additional 18 children had late-onset, COVID-19-related illness. The infected children were shown to have a significantly higher level of virus in their airways than hospitalized adults in ICUs for COVID-19 treatment, according to Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Mass General Hospital for Children (MGHfC). (8/20)

Reuters: As U.S. Schools Reopen, Concerns Grow That Kids Spread Coronavirus 
Dr. [Alessio] Fasano and colleagues at Boston’s Massachusetts General and MassGeneral Hospital for Children found that infected children have a significantly higher level of virus in their airways than adults hospitalized in intensive care units for COVID-19 treatment. The high viral levels were found in infants through young adults, although most of the participants were age 11 to 17. The study, published on Thursday in the Journal of Pediatrics, involved 192 participants ages 0-22 who were seen at urgent care clinics for suspected COVID-19. Forty-nine of them - a quarter of the total - tested positive for the virus. (Beasley, 8/20)

Politico: SCOTUS Sets Hearing On Obamacare For Week After Election 
The Trump administration will have to argue for the dismantling of the Affordable Care Act in the aftermath of the election. As campaign season ramps up, Republican candidates down the ballot could face greater pressure over the party's lack of a viable replacement plan a decade after Obamacare's enactment. Trump's Justice Department already made its case for overturning the law in written briefs filed to the Supreme Court in June. But many Republicans in close races have tried to avoid addressing the lawsuit during election season. (Luthi, 8/19)

The New York Times: The Supreme Court Will Hear A Suit Seeking To Overturn Obamacare A Week After The Election. 
The suit awaiting the Supreme Court argues that when Congress in 2017 zeroed out the law’s penalty for failing to obtain health insurance, it rendered the entire law unconstitutional. The Trump administration sided with the state officials, arguing that the rest of the 2010 law could not survive without the penalty, also called the individual mandate. A federal judge in Texas agreed late in 2018 but postponed the effects of his ruling pending an appeal. An appeals court late last year agreed that the mandate had become unconstitutional but declined to rule on the rest of the health law, asking the lower court to reconsider the question in more detail. (Goodnough, 8/19)

ABA Journal: What Do Women Have To Lose If The Affordable Care Act Is Struck Down?
Jaime Santos, an attorney defending the Affordable Care Act on behalf of several women’s health care groups, knows what it’s like to go without insurance. In the early 1990s, Santos and her family were uninsured and living on welfare in Demotte, Indiana. Their status came sharply into focus during a Fourth of July parade, when Santos was tumbling with her school gymnastics team. A mylar balloon got caught in a power line, showering sparks onto Santos and her teammates. As she nursed a burned hand, the city deployed ambulances and medical staff. They gathered everyone up for treatment. Santos decided to run away. “I remember hiding behind a bush because I knew my family couldn’t afford a hospital visit. I didn’t want any doctors to see me and tell me I should go to the hospital,” she says. “I hid and waited until everyone left and then went and got some ointment and wrapped my hand up.” (Reynolds, 8/18)

The Hill: Harris: There Is No Vaccine For Racism 
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) highlighted the disproportionate impact the coronavirus is having on communities of color, as well as further issues of racial injustice the Democratic vice presidential candidate said can’t be cured with a vaccine. “This virus has no eyes, and yet it knows exactly how we see each other—and how we treat each other,” she said Wednesday night during her convention speech. “And let’s be clear—there is no vaccine for racism. We’ve gotta do the work.” (Klar, 8/19)

The Washington Post: The Four Issues Besides Coronavirus That Democrats Are Hammering In Their Convention 
The slap-you-in-the-face message from the Democratic National Convention is that President Trump has failed Americans on the coronavirus and that Joe Biden can do better. Also that Biden is a good guy. But even though letting Trump struggle to manage the coronavirus pandemic is working for Democrats in the polls, they also need to have other issues to run on, especially in local and congressional races that are more Trump-leaning. So here are four policy issues that Democrats are bringing up in the convention and our analysis on whether they’re smart to be talking about them. (Philips, 8/19)

In other news from the Biden campaign —

Vox: How Joe Biden’s Health Care Plan Would Build On Obamacare 
If Biden beats Trump in the November election and becomes president in January 2021, he will be charged with finishing the project of universal health care started under President Obama. He will likely assume office in the right moment to make big changes — not unlike when he was sworn in as vice president in 2009. The question will be whether he has the will and opportunity to do it. (Scott, 8/20)

ABC News: Biden Campaign Launches COVID-19-Focused Ad As Former VP Set To Formally Accept Democratic Nomination 
On the day he is slated to accept his party’s nomination for President of the United States, Joe Biden’s campaign is rolling out a new television ad on Thursday hammering President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and extolling the former vice president’s leadership in times of crisis. The new ad, entitled “What Happens Now,” lays out a series of fundamental questions facing many Americans grappling with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. (Verhovek, 8/20)

Stat: Bolstered Testing And Daily Briefings: Inside Biden’s Covid-19 Response Plan
No president has ever inherited a pandemic. But if Joe Biden is elected in November, he has made clear that his first moments in office would mark a dramatic shift in the nation’s approach to Covid-19. (Facher, 8/20)

Kaiser Health News and Politifact HealthCheck: Democratic Convention, Night 2: Defending The ACA And Attacking Trump On Pandemic 
The second night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention featured a 17-person keynote speech, past presidents, a roll call vote that doubled as a virtual tour of the United States and an emphasis on health care and national security issues. Ady Barkan, a health care activist paralyzed by ALS, appeared in a video — speaking with a computer-generated voice in support of Joe Biden. “Nearly 100 million Americans do not have sufficient health insurance,” he said. Barkan emerged on the national scene as a backer of “Medicare for All,” an approach Biden does not support. (8/19)

And on voting safety —

Politico: Republicans Quietly Push Mail-In Voting Despite Trump Claims
President Donald Trump may rail against mail-in ballots in public, but state and local Republicans are quietly telling Americans that’s exactly how they should vote. In Iowa, the Republican Party mailed absentee ballot applications to voters without waiting for requests. In Pennsylvania, the GOP’s website promotes voting by mail: "Vote Safe: By mail. From home.” And in Ohio, the Republican Party sent mailers with Trump’s photo saying “Join President Trump and Vote by Absentee Ballot.” (Kumar, 8/19)

The New York Times: Local Officials In China Hid Coronavirus Dangers From Beijing, U.S. Agencies Find 
Trump administration officials have tried taking a political sledgehammer to China over the coronavirus pandemic, asserting that the Chinese Communist Party covered up the initial outbreak and allowed the virus to spread around the globe. But within the United States government, intelligence officials have arrived at a more nuanced and complex finding of what Chinese officials did wrong in January. (Wong, Barnes and Kanno-Youngs, 8/19)

In other news —

AP: Trump, Pence Campaign Events Signal Lax Approach To Virus
Sitting and standing shoulder to shoulder, some without face masks, hundreds of supporters of President Donald Trump jammed into an airplane hangar for an Arizona campaign event this week, ignoring the advice of Trump’s own health experts. Like his boss, Vice President Mike Pence went mask-less in Iowa last week as he reached across a barrier to autograph a half-dozen familiar red Trump campaign hats, literally crossing the line of vulnerability outlined by the coronavirus task force he heads. The episodes, along with similar ones in New Jersey, Florida and Wisconsin, project a confusing message to the public. (Beaumont, 8/19)

CNN: CNN Poll: Most Americans Embarrassed By U.S. Response To Coronavirus
Nearly 7 in 10 Americans say the US response to the coronavirus outbreak makes them feel embarrassed, according to a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS, as 62% of the public says President Donald Trump could be doing more to fight the outbreak. The new poll finds disapproval of Trump's handling of the outbreak at a new high, 58%, as the share who say the worst of the pandemic is yet to come has risen to 55% after dropping through the spring. And as the virus has spread from the nation's cities throughout its countryside, the number who know someone who's been diagnosed with the virus has jumped dramatically to 67%, up from 40% in early June. (Agiesta, 8/19)

Stat: An Expected Blockbuster Drug From Gilead Is Rejected, Imperiling Growth
Back before remdesivir became a household name, Gilead Sciences’ most-discussed drug was filgotinib, a treatment for inflammatory disease expected to deliver billions of dollars in new revenue at a time when the biotech desperately needs it. All that got put in jeopardy on Tuesday night. The FDA rejected Gilead’s application to sell filgotinib as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and said it wouldn’t reconsider until the company can provide more data on the drug’s effect on patients’ sperm counts. (Feuerstein and Garde, 8/19)

Stat: After FDA Rejection Of A Key Drug, Is Gilead Still A Turnaround Story?
The surprise decision by the FDA to reject a Gilead Sciences (GILD) drug for treating inflammatory diseases is clearly a setback for the biotech. The question now, though, is whether Gilead can still be considered a turnaround story that can diversify beyond its core virology business and return to growth levels seen in the past. (Silverman, 8/19)

Stat: In A Shocking Decision, FDA Rejects BioMarin’s Gene Therapy For Hemophilia
The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday rejected a one-time gene therapy for hemophilia A, delaying what would have been a major medical milestone in a decision that upended the expectations of doctors, patients, and Wall Street. The FDA’s move means the gene therapy, which promised to revolutionize the treatment of the bleeding disorder, will be delayed until at least 2022, according to BioMarin, the treatment’s manufacturer. (Garde, 8/19)

Stat: FDA Rejection Signals Potential New Hurdles For Gene Therapies
The Food and Drug Administration’s unexpected rejection of a gene therapy for the bleeding disorder hemophilia has reverberated through the biotech industry, potentially complicating the path to market for these one-time treatments. In deciding not to approve Roctavian, a BioMarin Pharmaceutical gene therapy for hemophilia A, the FDA demanded two additional years of data to strengthen the case that its benefits are durable. (Feuerstein and Garde, 8/20)

The New York Times: Blood Plasma Treatment For Covid-19 Now On Hold At F.D.A. 
Last week, just as the Food and Drug Administration was preparing to issue an emergency authorization for blood plasma as a Covid-19 treatment, a group of top federal health officials including Dr. Francis S. Collins and Dr. Anthony S. Fauci intervened, arguing that emerging data on the treatment was too weak, according to two senior administration officials. The authorization is on hold for now as more data is reviewed, according to H. Clifford Lane, the clinical director at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. An emergency approval could still be issued in the near future, he said. (Weiland, LaFraniere and Fink, 8/19)

Politico: Trump Suggests Government Scientists Held Back Plasma Therapy For Political Reasons 
President Donald Trump on Wednesday accused government scientists of slow-walking a safe but unproven coronavirus therapy, convalescent plasma, for political reasons. “You have lot of people over there that don't want to rush things. They want to do it after November 3rd,” he said in a White House press briefing. (Owermohle and Brenna, 8/19)

In other news about COVID treatments —

CIDRAP: Iranian Clinical Trials Assess Hepatitis C Combo Drug For COVID-19
The results from two randomized, controlled clinical trials published today in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy suggest the hepatitis C combination drug sofosbuvir/daclatasvir has potential as a treatment for COVID-19. In one of the trials, 66 adults with moderate or severe COVID-19 at four university hospitals in Iran were randomized 1:1 into a treatment arm receiving sofosbuvir/daclatasvir plus standard care or a control arm receiving standard care alone from Mar 26 to Apr 26. The primary endpoint was clinical recovery within 14 days of treatment. The results showed that recovery within 14 days was achieved in 29 of 33 patients (88%) in the treatment arm and 22 of 33 patients (67%) in the control arm (P = 0.076). Patients in the treatment arm also had a significantly shorter median duration of hospitalization (6 days) than the control group (8 days). (8/19)

Reuters: Peru To Test China Sinopharm's COVID-19 Vaccine In Phase 3 Trial
Health authorities of the Republic of Peru have approved a Phase 3 clinical trial for a potential COVID-19 vaccine developed by China National Biotec Group (CNBG), the company said on Thursday in Chinese social media platform Weibo. The experimental vaccine of CNBG, a unit of state-owned pharmaceutical giant China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm), has already entered Phase 3 testing in United Arab Emirates. (8/20)

Also —

AP: Pope: Rich Can't Get Priority For Vaccine, Poor Need Help
Pope Francis on Wednesday warned against any prospect that rich people would get priority for a coronavirus vaccine. “The pandemic is a crisis. You don’t come out of it the same — either better or worse,″ Francis said, adding improvised remarks to his planned speech for his weekly public audience. (D'Emilio, 8/19)

NPR: How Feds Decide On Remdesivir Shipments To States Remains Mysterious
NPR attempted to dig into federal data to understand how the government was making its decisions about remdesivir, but only a few of the data points used in the allocation process are public. Still, NPR has learned that some states, such as North Carolina, appear to have at times been allocated insufficient amounts of remdesivir, while others were offered more than they needed. Each week in July and early August, some states and territories were earmarked less remdesivir than they were offered the week before or none at all, even as their number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 was trending upward, an NPR analysis found. Meanwhile, some states were allocated enough remdesivir to treat every hospitalized COVID-19 patient more than once that week.(Lupkin, 8/19)

In other news —

The New York Times: Remdesivir Tests For Covid Treatments Enter New Phase 
A large federal study that found an antiviral drug, remdesivir, can hasten the recovery in hospitalized Covid-19 patients, has begun a new phase of investigation. Now it will examine whether adding another drug, beta interferon — which mainly kills viruses but can also tame inflammation — would improve remdesivir’s effects and speed recovery even more. (Kolata, 8/18)

Modern Healthcare: Drugmakers Crack Down On 340B Discounts, Demand Data
Drugmakers in recent weeks have taken increasingly aggressive actions to crack down on 340B drug discounts through contract pharmacies and demand more data from healthcare providers. Pharmaceutical companies appear to be testing how far they can challenge subregulatory guidance issued by the Health Resources and Services Administration that allows 340B providers to receive discounts for working with multiple contract pharmacies. If the trend continues at its current clip, the limitations on discounts could have a big impact on some covered entities' finances. (Cohrs, 8/19)

In financial news —

Stat: Johnson and Johnson To Buy Momenta Pharma To Bolster Autoimmune Disease Pipeline
Health care giant Johnson & Johnson said Wednesday that it is acquiring Momenta Pharmaceuticals, gaining access to a promising experimental treatment for autoimmune diseases. Momenta is being acquired for $52.50 per share, or a 73% premium to Tuesday’s closing price. The all-cash deal values the company at $6.5 billion. (Feuerstein, 8/19)

Modern Healthcare: Digital Diagnostics Acquires AI Company 3Derm Systems
Artificial-intelligence diagnostics company Digital Diagnostics said Tuesday it has purchased 3Derm Systems, a move to expand its technology to detect more illnesses. Digital Diagnostics, formerly known as IDx, scored Food and Drug Administration approval for its medical device that uses AI to detect diabetic retinopathy without input from a doctor. It's the first such device with that approval. Now, the company hopes to develop 3Derm's AI system, which detect skin cancer. (Cohen, 8/19)

Stat: Turning Point Releases Positive Data For Targeted Cancer Drug 
Turning Point Therapeutics, a San Diego developer of targeted cancer drugs, released positive data Wednesday on repotrectinib, its treatment for non-small cell lung cancer and other cancers, and said the Food and Drug Administration might allow it to file for approval sooner than previously expected. Repotrectinib is a medicine targeted against cancers driven by a rare mutation in which DNA becomes rearranged, called a Ros1-fusion. (Herper, 8/19)

Stat: Otsuka Approved To Buy Bankrupt Smart-Pill Maker Proteus’ Assets
The Japanese drug maker Otsuka has been approved to purchase the assets of bankrupt smart pill maker Proteus Digital Health for $15 million — capping off a spectacular fall for Proteus, which raised close to $500 million and soared to a valuation of $1.5 billion on the promise that its sensor technology could revolutionize how medications are taken and tracked. The sale, approved on Wednesday by a federal bankruptcy court judge in Delaware after a three-day hearing, overcame the fierce objections of a group of Proteus investors that included the pharma giant Novartis. (Robbins, 8/19)

Detroit Free Press: Sources: Imminent Settlement In Flint Drinking Water Cases Could Top $500M
The state of Michigan is close to a settlement totaling hundreds of millions of dollars for civil lawsuits arising from the lead contamination of Flint's drinking water, according to people familiar with the cases. Sources, who asked not to be identified because they are not authorized to speak publicly, said an announcement of a framework for a settlement could be made as soon  as Thursday or Friday, though there could still be many details to be worked out, because of the complexity of the litigation and the large number of cases and defendants. (Egan, 8/19)

The New York Times: Michigan To Pay $600 Million To Victims Of Flint Water Crisis 
The money would largely be designated for children in Flint who were poisoned by lead-tainted tap water after officials changed the city’s water supply six years ago, setting off a crisis that drew national attention and remains a worry for many residents. (Bosman, 8/19)

Mlive.com: Details Expected Soon On Who Can Make A Claim For Part Of $600M Flint Water Settlement 
Young children are particularly vulnerable to the toxic effects of lead and can suffer profound and permanent adverse health effects, particularly to the brain and nervous system, according to the World Health Organization. Lead also causes long-term harm in adults, including increased risk of high blood pressure and kidney damage, and exposure of pregnant women to high levels of lead can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth and low birth weight, the WHO says. The level of lead in Flint water spiked after the city’s source of drinking water was changed in parts of 2014 and 2015 and the switch occurred after a series of decisions by state-appointed emergency managers and state agencies responsible for water safety. (Fonger, 8/20)

Mlive.com: $600M Flint Water Crisis Settlement Is More Than The State Has Paid Out For The Last Decades’ Worth Of Lawsuits Combined 
A $600 million settlement would be a historically large one for the state. According to data from the Senate Fiscal Agency, it’s more than the $546 million the state has paid out in court judgements and settlements for every lawsuit against it, combined, in the last 10 fiscal years for which data is available. The money would need to be appropriated through the state legislature, according to a source briefed on the settlement but not authorized to speak publicly. There is an existing fund the state sends money it wins from lawsuit settlements into and sometimes pays small settlements out of, but it will not cover a settlement of this magnitude, the source said. (Lawler, 8/19)

Politico: Trump Administration Limits FDA Review Of Some Coronavirus Tests
The Trump administration will allow coronavirus tests developed by individual laboratories — including commercial facilities run by Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp — to be used without an FDA review, a decision that public health experts warn could lead to broad use of flawed tests. The Department of Health and Human Services outlined the decision in a notice published Wednesday. (Lim and Brennan, 8/19)

Crain's Chicago Business: University Of Illinois COVID Test Gets Emergency FDA Approval
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency use authorization of the saliva-based COVID-19 test developed and now in use at the University of Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced today during a press conference updating the latest developments in the state's pandemic response.“Expanding our breakthrough, saliva-based testing will be a real game-changer, providing fast and efficient results that will protect lives and livelihoods,” U of I System President Tim Killeen said today. (Asplund, 8/19)

In news from Washington and Hawaii —

AP: Inslee Orders More COVID-19 Testing For Farm Workers
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Wednesday updated his coronavirus proclamation so that it requires agricultural employers to test their workforce broadly when health officials identify an outbreak that passes certain thresholds. Since the governor first issued his proclamation on May 28, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Washington has increased from 21,138 to 67,721, an average of more than 500 new cases per day. (8/19)

AP: Hawaii Governor Blames Virus Spike For Tracer Shortage
Hawaii Gov. David Ige on Wednesday blamed a sharp spike in COVID-19 cases for the state falling short when it comes to tracing the contacts of people with the disease. Ige spoke at a news conference at the Hawaii Convention Center where the state Department of Health has started using empty meeting space to host an expanded team of contact tracers. (McAvoy, 8/20)

In other testing and tracing developments —

Kaiser Health News: Scam Alert: Things A COVID Contact Tracer Wouldn’t Say 
State officials and federal agencies warn there’s a new phone scam circulating: Some callers posing as COVID-19 contact tracers try to pry credit card or bank account information from unsuspecting victims. The grifters apparently are taking advantage of a genuine public health intervention that’s crucial to stopping the spread of the novel coronavirus: contact tracing. (Appleby, 8/20)

Politico: Contact Tracing Apps Have Been A Bust. States Bet College Kids Can Change That
Colleges across the country are testing contact-tracing apps, hoping that tech-savvy students already accustomed to sharing so much of their life online will embrace the digital tool as densely populated campuses try to reopen. The tracing apps, announced with much fanfare early in the coronavirus pandemic, haven’t yet been in widespread use because of bureaucratic hurdles, early tech hiccups and public apprehension about privacy risks. But the contained environment of college campuses may be the ideal testing ground to boost lagging digital efforts to trace infections, say state officials and public health experts behind this push. (Ravindranath and Eisenberg, 8/19)

Center For Public Integrity: On Private Call, White House’s Birx Recommends Robust Testing For Colleges
White House Coronavirus Task Force leader Dr. Deborah Birx, on a private call with state and local leaders Wednesday, recommended that universities test students returning for fall classes as well as set up “surge” testing. “Each university not only has to do entrance testing,” she said, according to a recording of the call obtained by the Center for Public Integrity. “What we talked to every university about is being able to do surge testing. How are you going to do 5,000 samples in one day or 10,000 samples in one day?” (Essley Whyte, 8/19)

The Hill: Trump Pushes For Universities To Reopen Even As Coronavirus Cases Spike On Campuses 
President Trump on Wednesday pushed for universities to reopen for classes in the fall amid coronavirus outbreaks on campuses that have reopened — and in some cases closed — this month. “We have learned one thing, there’s nothing like campus, there’s nothing like being with a teacher as opposed to being on a computer board,” Trump said Wednesday at a briefing. “The iPads are wonderful but you’re not going to learn the same way as being there.” (Klar, 8/19)

AP: Teachers Could Stay In Classroom If Exposed To COVID-19
New guidance from the President Donald Trump’s administration that declares teachers to be “critical infrastructure workers” could give the green light to exempting teachers from quarantine requirements after being exposed to COVID-19 and instead send them back into the classroom. Keeping teachers without symptoms in the classroom, as a handful of school districts in Tennessee and Georgia have already said they may do, raises the risk that they will spread the respiratory illness to students and fellow employees. Experience from schools that reopened for face-to-face instruction in recent weeks shows multiple teachers can be required by public health agencies to quarantine for 14 days during an outbreak. That could stretch a district’s ability to keep providing in-person instruction. (Amy, 8/20)

In more school news from the states —

NBC News: UConn Students Evicted From Dorms For Holding Pandemic Party As Schools Grapple With COVID-19 Crisis
Several University of Connecticut students were looking for new digs Wednesday after the dangers of reopening universities during a pandemic were laid bare in a video that showed undergrads living it up at a packed dorm room party where almost nobody was wearing a mask and there was zero social distancing. While the worst offenders were slapped with eviction notices, UConn officials gave no sign that they intend to follow the lead of other colleges, like the University of Notre Dame and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, that canceled in-class instruction and sent students home for the semester after coronavirus outbreaks on their campuses. (Winter and Siemaszko, 8/19)

Boston Globe: Most Mass. Students Will Be Required To Get The Flu Vaccine This Year
In what is believed to be a first in the nation, Massachusetts on Wednesday mandated that nearly all students under the age of 30 get a flu vaccine by the end of this year amid fears that concurrent outbreaks of influenza and COVID-19 in the fall could overwhelm the state’s health care system. The mandate, hailed by public health experts nationwide, requires the vaccination for anyone 6 months or older in child care centers, preschool, kindergarten, K-12 schools, and colleges and universities, unless they have a religious or medical exemption, are home-schooled, or are a higher education student living off campus and taking remote-only classes. (Lazar, Gans and Stoico, 8/19)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: As Louisiana Schools Balance Coronavirus Safety With Privacy, State Eyes Policy Changes 
Parents of students at St. Martin's Episcopal School in Metairie received what's becoming a more commonplace email Tuesday morning: Because of possible exposure to coronavirus, a handful of students and one faculty member had been told to quarantine off campus. But that note home included a caveat: The Rev. Michael Kuhn, the acting head of the Metairie school, said it would be the last time the school notified all parents of such cases due to medical privacy concerns. (Hasselle, 8/19)

AP: Arizona Close To Meeting Virus Metrics For School Reopenings
Arizona’s downward trend of coronavirus cases means parts of the state could meet all three metrics the state’s health and education departments set for at least a partial reopening of schools by Labor Day, according to a former state health director. And bars and nightclubs in at least some counties could meet the parameters for reopening shortly after that, according to Will Humble, who now leads the Arizona Public Health Association. (Christie, 8/19)

The Washington Post: Pandemic Parents: Why Can Child-Care Open In Schools That Won’t Allow Classes?
Schools in Montgomery County won’t open for traditional classes in the fall, but hundreds, maybe thousands, of elementary schoolchildren may be taking part in “distance learning hubs” in the same buildings that were closed because of the coronavirus pandemic. In programs run by child-care providers long based in county schools, students would take their Chromebooks to school daily and join small cohorts of their peers — akin to parent-organized “pandemic pods” that are popular across the country. Children ages 5 to 12 would follow online learning schedules and participate in activities during free time. (St. George, 8/19)

The Detroit News: Detroit Teachers Authorize Strike Over Safety Fears
Detroit teachers voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to authorize a safety strike over concerns they have about reopening school buildings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Members of the Detroit Federation of Teachers participated in the vote, which was 91% in favor and 9% against a safety strike, DFT president Terrence Martin said. (Chambers, 8/19)

The Washington Post: The New York City Teachers Union Opposes Mayor Bill DeBlasio's Plan To Reopen Schools Sep. 10. 
The union representing New York City’s public-school teachers said its members would not return to classrooms next month unless the city met their health and safety demands — including testing all students and staff for that coronavirus and ensuring all schools have a nurse. The announcement from the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), which represents 75,000 professionals, comes a week after Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that schools would reopen Sept. 10 for in-person classes. UFT President Michael Mulgrew threatened legal action against the city and said teachers would strike if the mayor tried to force them to return to classrooms. (Balingit, 8/19)

AP: Iowa Governor's Push To Reopen Schools Descends Into Chaos
An aggressive push by Iowa’s pro-Trump governor to reopen schools amid a worsening coronavirus outbreak has descended into chaos, with some districts and teachers rebelling and experts calling the scientific benchmarks used by the state arbitrary and unsafe. At issue is Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds’ mandate in July that districts offer at least 50% classroom instruction. The conflict intensified Wednesday when the statewide teachers union announced a lawsuit challenging the governor’s ability to make such decisions for local districts. (Foley, 8/20)

The New York Times: As U.S. Schools Move To Reopen Despite Covid-19, Teachers Threaten To Strike
Educators and families around the United States continued to grapple this week with the complicated realities of opening schools in the middle of a pandemic, as teachers’ unions threatened strikes, colleges rethought reopening plans on the fly, and school districts, discovering new cases, improvised quarantines and classroom cleanings. The voice of teachers in the reopening debate took center stage Wednesday in Michigan, where the Detroit Federation of Teachers voted to authorize their executive committee to call for a strike over plans to open public schools for in-person learning. (8/19)

CNN: The Odds Of Catching Covid-19 On An Airplane Are Slimmer Than You Think, Scientists Say 
Sitting squeezed between a number of strangers on board an aircraft might feel like a risky position during these uncertain times. But according to some experts who point to the very few documented cases of in-flight transmission, the chances of catching Covid-19 while on board a flight are actually relatively slim. (Hardingham-Gill, 8/20)

The New York Times: Bryce Hall, TikTok Influencer, Has Power Shut Off By Los Angeles 
The City of Los Angeles cut the power at a Hollywood Hills mansion rented by the TikTok stars Bryce Hall, Noah Beck and Blake Gray on Wednesday in response to parties held at the residence amid the coronavirus crisis. Mr. Hall hosted a party for his 21st birthday on Friday, Aug. 14; footage from the event posted to Instagram shows dozens of attendees crowded together in one room. After neighbors called in noise complaints, the event was shut down by the Los Angeles Police Department. (Lorenz, 8/19)

Stat: As Covid-19 Cases In Prisons Climb, Data On Race Remain Largely Obscured
By mid-August, jails, prisons, and other detention centers accounted for all of the top 10 Covid-19 clusters in the country. This week, the number of Covid-19 deaths among inmates and correctional officers passed 1,000, with more than 160,000 infected. (Guo, 8/20)

In mental health news —

USA Today: COVID Pandemic Is Taking A Toll On Families With Young Children
Birth to age 5 is a critical time for child development, research shows, and new data from the Rapid Assessment of Pandemic Impact on Development Early Childhood Household Survey Project (RAPID-EC Project) shows caregiver distress is cascading down to young children in ways science shows can be toxic in the short- and long-term. "The national conversation is not focused nearly enough on early childhood and infancy, which is the period that we know is most important for brain development and in which the brain is most effected by what's going on in the world around it," said RAPID project director Phil Fisher. (Dastagir, 8/19)

WBUR: Pandemic Has Taken Mental, Financial Toll On Family Child Care Providers 
Home-based family child care providers in Massachusetts were hit harder, financially and mentally, than other child care providers as the state closed schools and businesses because of the pandemic this spring, according to a new survey. Child care providers reported high levels of stress and anxiety as the pandemic sickened and killed thousands, upended livelihoods and closed physical school and child care facilities, according to a pair of surveys by the Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, with Abt Associates research and consulting firm. (McNerney, 8/19)

Dallas Morning News: ‘Completely Shook’: Support Groups Form For Restaurant Workers Suffering From Pandemic Depression And Anxiety
Food-service workers have the highest rate of substance abuse of all professions and an above-average rate of suicide. That data is from 2015 and 2016, years before the coronavirus pandemic led to the loss of 700,000 restaurant jobs in Texas, with 250,000 of those in Dallas County.Now, many of those workers are managing new stressors with the pandemic. (Albee, 8/19)

The Washington Post: Time To Ditch ‘Toxic Positivity,’ Experts Say: ‘It’s Okay Not To Be Okay’
In the midst of a raging pandemic and widespread social unrest, these days it can feel as if reassuring platitudes are inescapable. “Everything will be fine.” “It could be worse.” “Look on the bright side.” But as well intentioned as those who lean on such phrases may be, experts are cautioning against going overboard with the “good vibes only” trend. Too much forced positivity is not just unhelpful, they say — it’s toxic. (Chiu, 8 /19)

Also —

NBC News: Cleared By Doctors, But Not By The Public: After COVID-19, Survivors Face Stigma
In the three months since Dashauna Ballard of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, recovered from the coronavirus, she has learned to not mention that she was ever sick. Some people give her suspicious looks when they find out she had COVID-19; some assume she got it because she did not take proper hygiene measures; and, recently, an acquaintance from church implied that Ballard, 29, caught the virus as punishment for sins she committed. (Chuck, 8/19)

MarketWatch: Child-Care Duties Forced Working Moms To Take Time Off Work At The Beginning Of The Pandemic — While Dads Weren’t Affected
Working mothers got hit with a one-two punch in the early days of the pandemic. Because child-care demands fell mostly on their shoulders, moms who were lucky enough to keep their jobs were not so lucky in the domestic sphere as shutdown orders kept children home from school, new research by the U.S. Census Bureau and Federal Reserve suggests. In states with early shutdown orders, mothers took one of two paths, both less than ideal: They temporarily took time off their jobs to care for children, or they worked more hours on nights and weekends while balancing domestic duties, research by U.S. Census Bureau principal economist Misty Heggeness and senior researcher Jason Fields found. (Albrecht, 8/20)

The Wall Street Journal: Men Urged To Limit Alcohol To One Drink A Day Amid New Concerns 
Men should consume no more than one alcoholic drink a day, according to a federal committee’s recommendations for new U.S. dietary guidelines. That’s a reduction from the current recommended limit of two drinks a day, and matches the guidance for women. The shift reflects scientists’ evolving thinking on moderate drinking, and comes as a 20-year rise in Americans’ drinking is accelerating during the pandemic. (Reddy, 8/17)

The Washington Post: Child Abuse Victims: 40,000 Fewer Kids Seen By Advocacy Centers During Pandemic 
Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, advocates and educators have warned that the closures of schools would make it terrifyingly difficult to keep a watchful eye on children who are being abused. Child abuse reports began to plummet across the country — not because it wasn’t happening, but because teachers, doctors and others had fewer ways of catching it. Now, a new survey of children’s advocacy centers across the country offers some of the clearest data yet on the scope of this gap in child abuse reporting. (Schmidt, 8/19)

CNN: How To Quit Vaping: The Steps And What To Expect
There is no denying that vaping is popular among teens, with one-third of US high school students reporting they have vaped or used other electronic nicotine products recently, according to a 2019 study. It doesn't stay cool for all of them, with almost half of surveyed teens reporting they seriously thought about quitting, according to new research. Nearly 25% said they tried to quit but failed. (Rogers, 8/19)

Kaiser Health News: We Put Off Planning, Until My Father-In-Law’s Medical Crisis Took Us By Surprise 
Earlier this month, my husband picked up the phone and learned his 92-year-old father had been taken to the hospital that morning, feeling sick and short of breath. We were nearly 2,000 miles away, on a vacation in the mountains of southern Colorado. No, it wasn’t COVID-19. My father-in-law, Mel, who has diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease, was suffering from fluid buildup in his legs and around his lungs and excruciating knee pain. Intravenous medications and steroid injections were administered, and he responded well. (Graham, 8/20)

In food safety news —

CNN: Peaches May Be Linked To Salmonella Outbreak That Has Sickened 68 People In 9 States 
The US Food and Drug Administration is investigating a salmonella outbreak affecting 68 people in nine states that could be linked to tainted peaches. The bagged peaches were sold under the Wawona brand name in 2-pound clear, plastic bags at ALDI stores in 16 states starting on June 1. (Lin Erdman, 8/20)

CIDRAP: Salmonella Outbreak Linked To Onions Grows By More Than 200 Cases
A multistate Salmonella Newport outbreak linked to onions grew in the past week, with 229 new cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to the CDC, officials have confirmed 869 cases in 47 states, including 116 hospitalizations. No deaths have been recorded. Thomson International, Inc. of Bakersfield, California, is the likely source of potentially contaminated red onions, which were used in a variety of food products, according to a list of recalled produces from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In addition to onions, cheese dips, salsa, and pre-diced onions have all been recalled. The products have been sold at retailers throughout the country, including Aldi, Public Super Market, Walmart, and Kroger. (8/19)

AP: Pharmacists Can Give Childhood Shots, U.S. Officials Say
Pharmacists in all 50 states are now allowed to give childhood vaccinations under a new directive aimed at preventing future outbreaks of measles and other preventable diseases. Alex Azar, the head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, took the step using emergency powers he has during the U.S. coronavirus epidemic, which was declared a public health emergency. The directive announced Wednesday will temporarily preempt restrictions in 22 states starting this fall. (Stobbe, 8/19)

GMA: US Will Allow Pharmacists To Administer Vaccines To Kids As Vaccine Rates Drop During Coronavirus Pandemic 
The new guidelines come a few months after a May 2020 report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that found a decrease in routine childhood immunizations because families were following stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pediatricians around the country also reported in May that they were seeing significant drops in visits during the pandemic, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). (Kindelan, 8/19)

In other news on health care personnel —

NBC News: New York City Emergency Medical Workers Prepare For Layoffs
The head of New York City's emergency medical services union said Wednesday that the city is preparing to lay off hundreds of its members as the budget crisis grows during the coronavirus pandemic. Oren Barzilay, president of FDNY EMS Local 257, blamed Mayor Bill de Blasio and his administration for the expected fallout. (Winter, 8/19)

AP: Another North Dakota Health Officer Resigns Amid Pandemic
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum on Wednesday announced another resignation by a top health officer in the midst of a worsening coronavirus pandemic in the state. Burgum said Dr. Andrew Stahl notified him Tuesday that he would be stepping down at the end of the month to join a private practice in Bismarck. Stahl took over as interim health officer in late May for Mylynn Tufte, who resigned without explanation. (MacPherson, 8/19)

AP: Trail Of Bubbles Leads Scientists To New Coronavirus Clue
A doctor checking comatose COVID-19 patients for signs of a stroke instead stumbled onto a new clue about how the virus may harm the lungs -- thanks to a test that used tiny air bubbles and a robot. Dr. Alexandra Reynolds, a neurologist at New York’s Mount Sinai Health System, initially was baffled as she tracked “the cacophony of sound” made by those harmless bubbles passing through the bloodstream of patient after patient. Yet the weird finding excited lung specialists who now are studying if it helps explain why often, the sickest coronavirus patients don’t get enough oxygen despite being on ventilators. (Neergaard, 8/19)

ABC News: Science Shows Coronavirus Can Survive On Plastic, Metal Surfaces, But Does It Matter? 
Yes, the novel coronavirus can survive on surfaces. No, it doesn't seem to matter. Last week, a new coronavirus outbreak in New Zealand -- where cases were originally thought to be linked to frozen food -- again begged the often asked but rarely answered question: Can you catch COVID-19 from a surface contaminated with the virus? (Wood, 8/19)

CNN: Covid-19 And Common Colds Can Both Impair Taste And Smell, But Study Finds Big Difference
Loss of smell and taste is more severe in Covid-19 patients than in patients with common colds and that could be due to the effect the coronavirus has on the brain and nervous system, British researchers reported on Wednesday. Loss of smell and taste is a symptom of Covid-19, but patients infected with coronaviruses that cause the common cold can also lose taste and smell because of congestion. The new research, described in a letter to the editor published in the journal Rhinology, suggests that loss of taste and smell in Covid-19 patients isn't simply due to congestion in the nose. (Mascarenhas and Howard, 8/19)

In cancer research news —

Stat: Natural Byproduct Of Metabolism Seen As A Trigger Of Cancer Spread 
Aging is the biggest risk factor for cancer: The older we get, the more likely it is that a tumor becomes malignant — and lethal. But the biology behind this phenomenon is little understood. A new study, published in Nature, describes a stunning new link between aging and the rapid proliferation of cancer, pinpointing a substance that our bodies naturally produce. (Keshavan, 8/19)

Detroit Free Press: Blue Cross To Give Some Rebates In Fall, Raise Premiums In 2021
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan says it will issue 30% premium refunds in November to people with individual health insurance plans as a result of fewer claims during the coronavirus pandemic, although the insurance giant still plans to raise premiums in 2021 when demand for health care is expected to return. The $21 million in refunds will go to more than 180,000 policy holders of Blue Cross individual and dental plans. The refunds, which are pending approval from state regulators, will be delivered in the form of premium credits for 30% off customers' November invoices. (Reindl, 8/290

Dallas Morning News: Health Care Without Judgment: Why This Nonprofit’s HIV Services Remain As Important As Ever
LGBTQ people face additional barriers to receiving quality health care, stemming in part from a fear of discrimination by health care providers. That’s why Prism Health North Texas says: Come as you are. With clinics in Oak Cliff, South Dallas and Oak Lawn, the nonprofit offers transgender primary care and HIV primary care, among other services for health concerns that are often stigmatized. (Tatum, 8/19)

Modern Healthcare: Mail Delays Highlight Pitfalls Of Prescription Drug Home Delivery
Tracey Gehring, a 51-year-old mother from Greenbush, Mich., typically gets prescription medications delivered to her home about two to three days after she orders them. Recently, her anxiety medication took more than a week to arrive. "I've never had issues getting my prescriptions like this," she said. In danger of running out, she was forced to ask her doctor for an emergency supply and persuaded a local pharmacy to fill it. Gehring's pharmacy benefits are administered by CVS Health, which she said requires her to fill any long-term medications though its mail order service or at a CVS pharmacy location. The nearest CVS store is an hour and a half from her home. (Livingston, 8/19)

The Hill: Democratic Lawmaker Calls Telehealth Expansion The 'Silver Lining' Of Pandemic 
Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) on Wednesday said the COVID-19 pandemic has opened the door to widespread adoption of remote health care. “Telehealth has become the silver lining of the pandemic,” Matsui said at The Hill’s “COVID-19: The Way Forward” event. (Mihaly, 8/19)

In financial news —

Dallas Morning News: Texas Cancer Research Agency Puts Nearly $10 Million More Into Southlake Startup OncoNano
The state’s cancer research agency is putting nearly $10 million more into a Southlake startup that’s developing real-time imaging of tumors during surgery. OncoNano Medicine Inc., a spinout from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, is getting $9,965,273 from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas to support development of its imaging agent, which is in Phase 2 clinical trials. (O'Donnell, 8/19)

Modern Healthcare: Adventist Health Invests In Behavioral Health Startup
Adventist Health has invested in behavioral health startup Synchronous Health as part of a partnership to co-develop behavioral health and well-being programs, the Roseville, Calif.-based not-for-profit health system announced Tuesday. The organizations did not disclose financial details of the investment. (Cohen, 8/19)

AP: California Slammed By Wildfires, Heat, Unhealthy Smoky Air
Northern Californians were confronted with multiple threats as wildfires, unhealthy smoky air, extreme heat, the looming possibility of power outages and an ongoing pandemic forced many to weigh the risks of staying indoors or going outside. Ash sprinkled the ground and smoke from several wildfires cast an eerie glow over much of the San Francisco Bay Area on Wednesday, creating unhealthy air quality and heightening concerns about people most prone to respiratory illnesses. (Nguyen and Borenstein, 8/20)

The New York Times: California Endures Fires, Blackouts, A Heat Wave And A Pandemic
How many things can go wrong at once? On Wednesday millions of California residents were smothered by smoke-filled skies as dozens of wildfires raged out of control. They braced for triple-digit temperatures, the sixth day of a punishing heat wave that included a recent reading of 130 degrees in Death Valley. They braced for possible power outages because the state’s grid is overloaded, the latest sign of an energy crisis. And they continued to fight a virus that is killing 130 Californians a day. Even for a state accustomed to disaster, August has been a terrible month. (Fuller, 8/19)

Kaiser Health News: COVID Plans Put To Test As Firefighters Crowd Camps For Peak Wildfire Season 
Jon Paul was leery entering his first wildfire camp of the year late last month to fight three lightning-caused fires scorching parts of a Northern California forest that hadn’t burned in 40 years. The 54-year-old engine captain from southern Oregon knew from experience that these crowded, grimy camps can be breeding grounds for norovirus and a respiratory illness that firefighters call the “camp crud” in a normal year. He wondered what the coronavirus would do in the tent cities where hundreds of men and women eat, sleep, wash and spend their downtime between shifts. (Volz, 8/20)

In other California news —

Sacramento Bee: Coronavirus CA: Folsom Prison Reports 223 Active Inmate Cases 
A coronavirus outbreak at Folsom State Prison has more than doubled in size in the past week, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, now representing the largest current outbreak among the state’s nearly three dozen prisons. Folsom had 223 inmates with active COVID-19 infections in its custody as of Wednesday afternoon, according to a COVID-19 tracker on the CDCR website. All tested positive in the past two weeks. (McGough, 8/19)

Sacramento Bee: CA Correctional Officers Kept Jobs After Beating Inmate 
Two California corrections officers should have been fired for beating a mentally ill inmate and then lying about it later, according to a new report released by a state watchdog. The Office of the Inspector General released a report Wednesday that criticized the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s handling of the incident, as well as the department’s refusal to allow video of the incident to be released to the public with the new report. (Sheeler, 8/19)

San Francisco Chronicle: If COVID-19 Isn’t Driving A Dramatic Increase In Homeless Deaths In SF, Then What Is? 
As the coronavirus collides with San Francisco’s existing homelessness, mental health and drug crises, Edwards’ story highlights the intractability of dealing with everything at once. Not only has the pandemic disrupted the city’s already fragile ecosystem of social services, but experts say the increased use of stronger opioids, along with loneliness and isolation also have resulted in more overdoses among the city’s most vulnerable. (Thadani, 8/19)

San Francisco Chronicle: What If ‘Nothing Ever Goes Back To Normal’? Depression, Anxiety Mount In Bay Area 
In San Francisco, calls for high-risk suicide situations rose 25% on average from May through July 2020 compared to February through April, according to data from the Felton Institute-SF Suicide Prevention, a nonprofit that handles crisis calls for the city. Behavioral health calls doubled in that same period, with more than 5,500 callers expressing mental health concerns from May through July, according to the same report. (Kramer, 8/19)

ABC News: Georgia Governor Pushes Back Against Reports Of High COVID-19 Infection Rates In State 
Georgia has one of the highest COVID-19 infection rates in the United States, according to recent reports on per capita cases -- a data point Gov. Brian Kemp pushed back against on Wednesday. According to the Harvard Global Health Institute's current model on COVID-19 risk, as of Monday, Georgia had the highest number of daily new cases per 100,000 people in the country. The institute's recommendation at the state's risk level is to implement stay-at-home orders. (Deliso, 8/19)

In news from Massachusetts —

WBUR: Rollins: Suffolk County Sheriff Never Alerted DA Of Inmate’s Death, Despite Protocols 
When an inmate dies in the custody of a Massachusetts sheriff, jail officials typically contact the local district attorney to investigate. But that protocol fell by the wayside for Rodrick Pendleton. The 51-year-old father and former truck driver died in 2015, after allegedly being ignored for days in the medical unit of the Suffolk County House of Correction while he suffered from a painful condition. By the time jail staff sent him to the hospital, it was too late. (Healy and Willmsen, 8/20)

Boston Globe: Boston Cannabis Board Approves Two Marijuana Retailers, Defers Action On Patriot Care
The Boston Cannabis Board has approved two new marijuana retailers hoping to open in the city, including one run by former city councilor and mayoral candidate Tito Jackson, marking the reboot of a permitting process that had been stalled since October. At a virtual meeting Wednesday, the newly convened five-member agency voted unanimously to issue initial recreational pot permits to Verdant Medical in Mattapan and Massachusetts Citizens for Social Equity in Roxbury. (Adams, 8/19)

In news from New York —

AP: Cuomo Brushes Back AP Report Of Care Home Death Undercount
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo responded Wednesday to an Associated Press report that his state’s coronavirus death toll in nursing homes could be a significant undercount, saying it makes sense to include only those residents who died on the home’s property. Unlike the federal government and every other state with major outbreaks, only New York explicitly says that it counts just residents who died on nursing home property and not those who were transported to hospitals and died there. (Condon and Villeneuve, 8/20)

The Hill: Positive COVID-19 Tests Hit Record Low In New York City 
The percentage of COVID-19 tests coming back positive has reached a record low in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said Wednesday, a sign that enough people are being tested and that the city has control of the virus. “This is extraordinary,” de Blasio said during a press conference. (Hellmann, 8/19)

The New York Times: Venezuela Cracks Down Using Security Forces Amid Coronavirus Pandemic 
Venezuelan officials are denouncing people who may have come into contact with the coronavirus as “bioterrorists” and urging their neighbors to report them. The government is detaining and intimidating doctors and experts who question the president’s policies on the virus. And it is corralling thousands of Venezuelans who are streaming home after losing jobs abroad, holding them in makeshift containment centers out of fear that they may be infected. (Kurmanaev, Herrera and Urdaneta, 8/19)

AP: 'Let's Roll': London's Heathrow Urges Testing At UK Airports
London’s Heathrow Airport, the U.K.’s busiest, unveiled a new coronavirus testing facility Wednesday that it says could halve the length of time people have to stay at home after arriving from countries on the British government’s quarantine list. The government said it wasn’t ready to give its backing to the facility but insisted that it was working with airports on how a new testing regime can reduce the 14-day quarantine period that travellers face when arriving from more than 100 countries, including France, Spain and the United States. (Pylas, 8/19)

AP: Iran Surpasses 20,000 Confirmed Deaths From The Coronavirus
Iran surpassed 20,000 confirmed deaths from the coronavirus on Wednesday, the health ministry said — the highest death toll for any Middle East country so far in the pandemic. The announcement came as the Islamic Republic, which has been struggling with both the region’s largest outbreak and the highest number of fatalities, went ahead with university entrance exams for over 1 million students. Iran is also preparing for mass Shiite commemorations later this month. (Karimi, 8/19)

AP: Asia Today: India Has Record High Of 69,000 More Infections
India counted another record high of new coronavirus infections Thursday as it ramped up testing to more than 900,000 a day.The 69,652 new cases pushed India’s total past 2.8 million, of which 2 million have recovered, the Health Ministry said. (8/20)

In other global news —

The New York Times: Aleksei Navalny Hospitalized In Russia In Suspected Poisoning 
Aleksei A. Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition leader, was on a ventilator in intensive care and unconscious in a Siberian hospital on Thursday after suffering symptoms of what his spokeswoman called poisoning. A plane carrying Mr. Navalny, 44, a high-profile critic of President Vladimir V. Putin, made an emergency landing in Omsk while en route to Moscow after he started feeling unwell, the spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, said on Twitter. (Higgins and Joseph, 8/20)

The New York Times: Tokyo Now Has Transparent Public Toilets. Let Us Explain. 
Public toilets around the globe have a reputation for being dark, dirty and dangerous. Tokyo recently unveiled new restrooms in two public parks that aim to address those concerns. For one thing, they are brightly lit and colorful. For another, they are transparent. (May, 8/19)

European Journal Of Medical Research: Face Masks: Benefits And Risks During The COVID-19 Crisis
Epidemiologists currently emphasize that wearing MNC will effectively interrupt airborne infections in the community. The government and the politicians have followed these recommendations and used them to both advise and, in some cases, mandate the general population to wear MNC in public locations. Overall, the results seem to suggest that there are some clinically relevant scenarios where the use of MNC necessitates more defined recommendations. Our critical evaluation of the literature both highlights the protective effects of certain types of face masks in defined risk groups, and emphasizes their potential risks. (Matuschek et al, 8/12)

New England Journal of Medicine: A Randomized Trial Of Hydroxychloroquine As Postexposure Prophylaxis For Covid-19 
After high-risk or moderate-risk exposure to Covid-19, hydroxychloroquine did not prevent illness compatible with Covid-19 or confirmed infection when used as postexposure prophylaxis within 4 days after exposure. (Boulware et al, 8/6)

European Journal Of Medical Research: Laboratory Features Of Severe Vs. Non-Severe COVID-19 Patients In Asian Populations: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis 
More severe cases of COVID- 19 are more likely to be hospitalized and around one-fifth, needing ICU admission. Understanding the common laboratory features of COVID-19 in more severe cases versus non-severe patients could be quite useful for clinicians and might help to predict the model of disease progression. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to compare the laboratory test findings in severe vs. non-severe confirmed infected cases of COVID-19. (Ghahramani et al, 8/3)

The American Journal Of Medicine: Major Lipids And Future Risk Of Pneumonia: 20 Year Observation Of The Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities (ARIC) Study Cohort 
Circulating lipids have been implicated as important modulators of immune response and altered lipid levels correlate with the severity of infection. However, long-term prognostic implications of lipid levels regarding future infection risk remain unclear. The current project aims to explore whether baseline lipid levels are associated with risk of future serious infection, measured by hospitalization for pneumonia. (Bae et al, 8/15)

American Academy Of Pediatrics: Body Mass Index From Early To Late Childhood And Cardiometabolic Measurements At 11 To 12 Years 
High early-childhood BMI is already silently associated with the development of cardiometabolic risk by 11 to 12 years, highlighting the urgent need for effective action to reduce overweight and obesity in early childhood. (Lycett et al, 8/01)

Bloomberg: Pelosi, McConnell Can Make Deal On Coronavirus Relief
Split the difference. That’s what Republicans and Democrats should do on Covid-19 relief.Compromise doesn’t always work. If one group wants to build a bridge and another doesn’t, there’s no point in trying to make everyone happy by building half a bridge.In the case of the stalled negotiations over “phase four” of the federal response to the pandemic, though, meeting in the middle is exactly what ought to happen. The biggest sticking points concern unemployment benefits and aid to state and local governments. In both cases, the Republicans are being too stingy and the Democrats too generous. Reaching an agreement should not be beyond their wits. (Ramesh Ponnuru, 8/19)

USA Today: Coronavirus Unemployment Relief: Congress Needs To Get Back To Work
For the estimated 30 million out-of-work Americans struggling to make ends meet during a virus-fueled economic collapse, Friday will mark four weeks of living on little more than a few hundred dollars a week in state unemployment compensation. That average income of $370 per week falls shamefully short of what the jobless need to survive, and it's why Congress and President Donald Trump agreed in March to add $600 a week in federal benefits.But the federal supplement ended in late July, and Americans — millions of whom lost their health coverage along with their jobs — have started making hard choices on spending for food, rent or medical bills. "It’s just about life or death in some situations," said Melissa Rusk, an unemployed resident of Bradenton, Florida. (8/19)

The Hill: Medicaid Expansion Is The Shot In The Arm America Needs 
Amid the deadliest pandemic to afflict America in a century and surging unemployment, Medicaid expansion is having a moment. In recent months, two deeply conservative states— Oklahoma and Missouri — voted to expand Medicaid despite opposition from Republican state leaders. With the majority of voters in both political parties recognizing the value of Medicaid expansion, now is the time for the remaining 12 states to take this action. (Dr. Marisa K Dowling, Dr. Janice Blanchard and Dr. Jennifer Lee, 8/19)

New England Journal of Medicine: Insurance Coverage After Job Loss — The Importance Of The ACA During The Covid-Associated Recession
During the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. unemployment rate reached 14.7%, the highest level since the Great Depression. More than 40 million people filed for unemployment insurance between March and May 2020, and official statistics may understate the true extent of job disruptions. Widespread layoffs amid the pandemic threaten to cut off millions of people from their employer-sponsored health insurance plans. Concurrently, health insurance has increased in importance because of the need for coverage of Covid-19 diagnostic testing and treatment. As restrictions are lifted and the economy begins its slow recovery, some people who had been laid off will be able to reclaim their jobs and health benefits. But the economy is unlikely to recover to prepandemic levels in the near future, meaning that the Covid-associated recession will leave many people without jobs and without their usual source of health insurance.Before the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was implemented, people who lost their jobs had limited choices for health insurance. (Sumit D. Agarwal and Benjamin D. Sommers, 8/19)

Stat: Even Imperfect Covid-19 Tests Can Help Control The Pandemic 
A key component to managing the Covid-19 pandemic is frequent, rapid, and routine testing of a large number of Americans — including those without symptoms. With public discussion of this issue has come increased scrutiny of the accuracy of Covid-19 tests, especially the rapid point-of-care tests whose results can come back in a matter of minutes. (Jeffrey L. Schnipper and Paul E. Sax, 8/20)

Bloomberg: The Coronavirus Testing News We've Been Salivating For 
Ever since this horrible stupid pandemic began, it’s been clear testing was the key to stopping it. Way back in March, the WHO’s director-general said fighting the disease without testing was like trying to “fight a fire blindfolded.” Unlike some other countries that tested aggressively from the start, the U.S. has been wearing blinders for months. Finally, there’s some hope they may come off soon. The FDA just approved a thing called SalivaDirect, which sounds like the world’s worst delivery service but is in fact a cheap, easy, spit-based test for SARS-CoV-2. (Mark Gongloff, 8/19)

USA Today: Tammy Duckworth: Republicans Gut ADA In Coronavirus Relief Bill
First, we need to save lives by preventing mass institutionalization. Placing individuals with disabilities into congregate care facilities where the risks of serious illness and death are high is reckless and unacceptable. Yet the GOP refused to provide the urgently needed 10% increase in funding for Medicaid Home and Community Based Services — despite that we know that Americans with intellectual and developmental disabilities are killed at staggering rates when infected with COVID-19, and despite that Republican and Democratic governors alike desperately need us to pass this commonsense policy that would save lives. Second, Senate Republicans must abandon efforts to gut the ADA, once and for all. (Sen. Tammy Duckworth, 8/20)

The New York Times: Democratic Convention: Best And Worst Moments Of Night 3 
Wajahat Ali : Democrats revealed their values and policies through the real stories of women: Gabby Giffords, a gun violence survivor, playing “America (My Country, ’Tis of Thee)” on the French horn; and an undocumented mother sitting with her daughters. ... Nicole Hemmer: Gabby Giffords has toiled for years to regain her ability to speak after being shot. As she said in her short, powerful speech, “I struggle to speak, but I have not lost my voice.” Thank god she hasn’t — every word testified to what gun violence took from her and what she’s taken back. (8/19)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: GOP Convention Taps The McCloskeys To Speak. A Celebration Of Recklessness.
No, it’s not the setup of a Saturday Night Live skit. Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple who recklessly waved guns at protesters marching past their home in June, are actually slated to speak at the Republican National Convention next week. What does it say about today’s GOP that leaders would elevate this couple as representative of Republican values? Once, Republicans cared about things like law and order, and free expression. By putting the McCloskeys on the national stage, convention organizers are embracing a reactionary, armed-vigilante message that even staunch gun-rights activists have called into question. (8/18)

Tampa Bay Times: President Trump Gets New Zealand’s ‘Big Surge’ All Wrong
On the day the president made this claim, New Zealand had a “big surge” of nine new coronavirus cases. Maybe Trump was presciently looking ahead to what would happen the next day, when New Zealand would report 13 new cases, but he probably wasn’t thinking of Wednesday, when it reported six new cases. How ridiculous was the president’s assertion? On Wednesday, Pinellas County reported 12 new deaths in a single day, and Hillsborough counted 18. As for cases? Well, Hillsborough had 246 new ones, and Pinellas had 118. It was a sad day for the Sunshine State, as it crossed the threshold of 10,000 deaths. The United States has surpassed 171,000 deaths. How many have died in New Zealand? Twenty-two. Total. (8/19)

The Washington Post: There’s No Covid-19 In Syria’s Worst Refugee Camp. That May Be About To Change.
Just 10 miles away from a U.S. military base in Syria, 8,000 people are starving to death, besieged on all sides, and cut off from any food or medicine or other aid, in a camp called Rukban. Yet this isolation had one benefit: It protected them from the added calamity of a covid-19 outbreak. Now, however, Jordan is deporting its Syrian refugees directly into Rukban, some of whom could be bringing the virus back to their homeland with them. There are lots of tragic stories in Syria, but few match the sheer horror and hopelessness of the internally displaced civilians in this southeast Syrian camp, which is protected by a nearby U.S. military outpost from the Bashar al-Assad regime as well as Russian and Iranian forces. There are no roads out and no roads in. (Josh Rogin, 8/20)

The Washington Post: To Save Education, We Must Fight The Broader Pandemic
Today, there are about 56.6 million primary and secondary school students in the United States, and about 20 million students are enrolled in colleges and universities. As the fall semester begins, they all stand at a precipice. We share the conviction of many educators, parents and public health experts that education must not be allowed to fall apart during the pandemic. But hopes are fast colliding with reality. Outbreaks at several universities suggest that schools everywhere must use extreme caution before going ahead with in-classroom schooling. The experience of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is instructive. The university, with nearly 30,000 students, started classes Aug. 10. (8/19)

Charlotte Observer: Political Meddling Caused A COVID Mess At UNC
Kevin Guskiewicz, chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, appeared on the CBS news show “60 Minutes” in June to discuss the university’s plan to bring thousands of undergraduates back to campus amid a pandemic. “There certainly is some risk,” he said, “but we believe we’re putting in place the right measures to mitigate that risk.” It was a plan as ambitious as it was naive. Only a week into the start of the school year, Guskiewicz – confronted with clusters of coronavirus infections in student residence halls and a rising mutiny among faculty – on Monday announced that most students living on campus would be sent home and the rest of the fall semester would be conducted with remote instruction. The chancellor is the face of the decision, but it was the UNC Board of Governors that is to blame for the turmoil caused by the abrupt reversal. (8/18)

The Virginian-Pilot: Students Share Responsibility For College’s COVID Fate 
That students arrived in Chapel Hill with a less-than-perfect understanding of the world-as-it-is says something and it’s disheartening to ponder what that “something” might be. Maybe they all took a six-month trip to another planet, is that possible? Students, faculty and administrators fail to acquire “situational awareness” at great peril. The business model for all these colleges and universities is grounded in the word, “residential.” You can temporarily make it work otherwise, but you must account for an on-line half-life. (8/19)

Des Moines Register: Iowa State Student Parties In Ames Threaten To Spread COVID-19
It looks to me like parallel universes exist among ISU students. Up on campus, we have people in masks, people keeping their distance from each other, people all concerned about the virus. But as soon as they get off campus, down on Welch, on a warm day … watch out. All that teaching and those warnings are for naught. (Dick Haws, 8/18)

Detroit News: COVID-19 Pandemic Despair Fuels Opioid Epidemic In Appalachia
Long before the pandemic came along, the nation, especially Appalachia, was in the throes of a deadly epidemic: opioid and meth addiction. It was a crisis that tore apart families, devastated communities and destroyed lives. As the pandemic continues, so does the opioid epidemic, with the pandemic's widespread effects causing opioid addiction to escalate at alarming numbers. The Overdose Data Mapping Application Program report published in May showed fatal overdoses rose by almost 11.4% from January to April, compared with the same period last year. In July, the American Medical Association warned about an increase of reports from across the country showing a dramatic increase in opioid-related mortality during the pandemic. (Salena Zito, 8/19)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Feeling Off? Some Tips To Take Care Of Your Mental Health
It was heartening to learn that rapper and now presidential candidate Kanye West suffers from bipolar disorder because finally there was a way to explain his behavior.At the same time, I was saddened for him, for his family. Coping with mental illness can be hard for a lot of reasons. There’s always the nagging question of why me? The fear of what it means. And the biggie ― the unwarranted shame one may feel. (Gracie Bonds Staples, 8/20)

Los Angeles Times: Mentally Ill People Often Don't Get Treatment Because Of An Antiquated Law 
You can’t spend time on the streets of any large city in California and not ask this question: Why do so many of our most vulnerable, severely mentally ill Californians not get the care they so urgently need? We hoped this critically important public policy question, and others, would be answered when we asked California’s state auditor last year to closely examine the laws governing involuntary treatment of those with a serious mental illness. Jonathan Sherin and Darrell Steinberg, 8/20)

Bloomberg: Do I Need To Wear A Mask Outside? Biden's Confusing Covid Mask Mandate
Depending on where you live, you might be seeing masked joggers and cyclists on the streets of your neighborhood. Or you might have gone for a run yourself, mask-free, and been heckled to mask up. At this point, most thoughtful people wear masks indoors in public and outdoors in crowded situations, but wearing a mask when you’re outdoors and alone — or far away from anyone else — has become a frontier of intense debate.Presidential candidate Joe Biden added to the confusion when he called for a national mask mandate last week. In no uncertain terms, he said it could save 40,000 lives over the next three months if everyone wore a mask “outside.” But that’s not what the experts say. (Faye Flam, 8/19)