AP: Scientists Say Hong Kong Man Got Coronavirus A Second Time
University of Hong Kong scientists claim to have the first evidence of someone being reinfected with the virus that causes COVID-19. Genetic tests revealed that a 33-year-old man returning to Hong Kong from a trip to Spain in mid-August had a different strain of the coronavirus than the one he’d previously been infected with in March, said Dr. Kelvin Kai-Wang To, the microbiologist who led the work. (Marchione, 8/24)

Stat: First Covid-19 Reinfection Documented In Hong Kong, Researchers Say
The case raises questions about the durability of immune protection from the coronavirus. But it was also met with caution by other scientists, who questioned the extent to which the case pointed to broader concerns about reinfection. There have been scattered reports of cases of Covid-19 reinfection. Those reports, though, have been based on anecdotal evidence and largely attributed to flaws in testing. (Joseph, 8/24)

The Washington Post: First Coronavirus Reinfection Documented In Hong Kong, Researchers Say 
The fact that the man had no symptoms the second time suggests his immune system protected him from disease, although it did not stop the reinfection. The fact that the man had no symptoms the second time suggests his immune system protected him from disease, although it did not stop the reinfection. Study author Kwok-Yung Yuen and his colleagues suggest in their paper that herd immunity is unlikely to eliminate covid-19 on its own and that a potential covid-19 vaccine may not provide lifelong immunity to the disease.(Taylor and Eunjung Cha, 8/24)

The New York Times: First Documented Coronavirus Reinfection Reported In Hong Kong 
Doctors have reported several cases of presumed reinfection in the United States and elsewhere, but none of those cases have been confirmed with rigorous testing. Recovered people are known to carry viral fragments for weeks, which can lead to positive test results in the absence of live virus. But the Hong Kong researchers sequenced the virus from both of the man’s infections and found significant differences, suggesting that the patient had been infected a second time. (Mandavilli, 8/24)

Reuters: Hong Kong Researchers Report First Documented Coronavirus Re-Infection
The finding does not mean taking vaccines will be useless, Dr. Kai-Wang To, one of the leading authors of the paper, told Reuters. “Immunity induced by vaccination can be different from those induced by natural infection,” To said. “[We] will need to wait for the results of the vaccine trials to see if how effective vaccines are.” (8/24)

Science Magazine: Some People Can Get The Pandemic Virus Twice, A Study Suggests. That Is No Reason To Panic
Exactly what that finding means is unclear, however. To and his colleagues make some sweeping statements in their paper, parts of which Science has seen. “It is unlikely that herd immunity can eliminate SARS-CoV-2,” the authors write, referring to the idea that the epidemic will peter out once enough people have been infected and become immune. “Second, vaccines may not be able to provide life-long protection against COVID-19.” But it’s too early to draw those conclusions, says Columbia University virologist Angela Rasmussen. “I disagree that this has huge implications across the board for vaccines and immunity,” she wrote in an email, because the patient described in the study may be a rare example of people not mounting a good immune response to the first infection. (Kupferschmidt, 8/24)

Vox: What The Hong Kong Covid-19 Reinfection Case Tells Us About Coronavirus Immunity 
The report, if corroborated, is in line with what immunity experts have been telling us is possible with this virus. The most important detail: The man was not symptomatic during his second infection, which shows that his immune system did respond to the virus. “This is no cause for alarm,” Yale immunologist Akiko Iwasaki tweeted about the new results from Hong Kong. “This is a textbook example of how immunity should work.” (Also, as this is a report on a single patient, it can’t tell us how common reinfections like this are.) (Resnick, 8/24)

The Wall Street Journal: New Covid-19 Cases In U.S. Fall To Lowest Level In More Than Two Months
The number of new coronavirus infections in the U.S. declined from a day before, as states in the South and West also confronted natural disasters, and school officials wrestled with how best to open safely. The nation reported 34,567 new cases on Sunday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, reaching the lowest level in more than two months and marking the ninth straight day with fewer than 50,000 new cases. That is down from 44,572 on Saturday and the lowest since June 22, when the U.S. reported 30,536 new cases. Case counts, however, often dip at the start of the week. (Prang and Korn, 8/24)

CNN: While Nationwide Surge May Be Slowing, Officials Warn Of Troubling Covid-19 Signs Across US Heartland 
New Covid-19 cases in the US may be on the decline but some officials across the country's heartland reported worrisome news this week. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said Monday the state had reached an "unfortunate milestone" by reporting at least one case of the virus in every county. The state's infection rate, she said, "continues an alarming trend in the wrong direction." ... In Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear warned cases could spike again as the state reported more deaths last week than "in any other week battling the virus." (Maxouris, 8/25)

The Hill: FDA Chief Says Criticism For Misrepresenting Convalescent Plasma Stats Is Warranted
The head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday said criticism for his praise of convalescent plasma treatment was warranted, but denied the decision to authorize the emergency use of the treatment for COVID-19 patients was politically motivated. "I have been criticized for remarks I made Sunday night about the benefits of convalescent plasma. The criticism is entirely justified. What I should have said better is that the data show a relative risk reduction not an absolute risk reduction," Stephen Hahn said in a lengthy Twitter post. (Weixel, 8/24)

CNN: Trump's Aggressive Stance On Virus Treatments Raises Concerns About Putting Politics Ahead Of Safety 
As President Donald Trump races to reassure Americans that good news is on the way before the November election, there are concerns that efforts to fast-track coronavirus therapeutics and a vaccine are putting politics before health and safety. Trump is set to lay out his vision for four more years amid a global pandemic and staggering unemployment at the Republican National Convention starting Monday -- and key to that vision will be overcoming the spread of coronavirus. (Klein, 8/24)

Boston Globe: FDA’s Plasma Decision May Hamper ‘Gold Standard’ Research, Experts Say
The FDA’s decision this week to allow convalescent plasma as a treatment for COVID-19 will make it harder to conduct rigorous studies of its effectiveness, because patients will demand the therapy rather than agreeing to studies in which they might get a placebo, experts said Monday. The “emergency use authorization” issued by the Food and Drug Administration on Sunday allows doctors to infuse COVID-19 patients with plasma from people who have recovered, even if the treatment is not part of a study. The theory is that the recovered person’s antibodies can help a sick person fight off the illness. (Freyer, 8/24)

NBC News: Why Did The FDA Authorize Convalescent Plasma, A Potential Treatment For COVID-19?
The Trump administration's announcement Sunday of an emergency use authorization for convalescent plasma left critical questions about the potential COVID-19 treatment unanswered. Which patients will benefit? When should doctors administer the plasma? What is the correct dosage? And perhaps most crucial: Does it even work? (Edwards, 8/24)

AP: UN Cautions That Virus Plasma Treatment Still Experimental
The World Health Organization on Monday cautioned that using blood plasma from COVID-19 survivors to treat other patients is still considered an experimental therapy, voicing the concern as a U.S. boost for the treatment has many scientists afraid formal studies will be derailed. On Sunday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized what’s called “emergency use” of the treatment under its special powers to speed the availability of promising experimental drugs during a public health crisis. The action isn’t the same as approving plasma as safe and effective, and numerous rigorous studies are underway to find out if it really works. (Cheng, 8/25)

The Hill: Science Inconclusive On Use Of Convalescent Plasma In COVID-19 Patients 
President Trump’s announcement that his administration would approve the emergency use of convalescent plasma in patients suffering from COVID-19 has put the government out of step with scientists who say there is no firm indication yet that such treatment actually works. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) late Sunday issued an emergency use authorization for convalescent plasma, allowing it to be administered to those hospitalized with COVID-19. In a letter, FDA chief scientist Denise Hinton said the agency had concluded “that it is reasonable to believe that COVID-19 convalescent plasma may be effective for the treatment” of those in the hospital. (Wilson, 8/24)

The New York Times: F.D.A. ‘Grossly Misrepresented’ Blood Plasma Data, Scientists Say 
At a news conference on Sunday announcing the emergency approval of blood plasma for hospitalized Covid-19 patients, President Trump and two of his top health officials cited the same statistic: that the treatment had reduced deaths by 35 percent. ... But scientists were taken aback by the way the administration framed this data, which appeared to have been calculated based on a small subgroup of hospitalized Covid-19 patients in a Mayo Clinic study: those who were under 80 years old, not on ventilators and received plasma known to contain high levels of virus-fighting antibodies within three days of diagnosis. (Thomas and Fink, 8/24)

The Washington Post: Administration Claims On Effectiveness Of Convalescent Plasma Wrong, Misleading, Scientists Say 
The assertion was breathtaking: Out of 100 people who suffered from the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, 35 were saved by the injection of antibody-rich plasma from people who had survived the disease. That’s how Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn described the blood product’s effectiveness on Sunday at a news conference at the White House. ... But the 35-out-of-100 claim wasn’t accurate, scientists said Monday. The FDA commissioner appeared to have mixed up absolute risk and relative risk, which are basic concepts in economics and in the presentation of data from clinical trials. “I’m absolutely incredulous,” said Peter Lurie, a former top FDA official and now the president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. (McGinley, Abutaleb and Bernstein, 8/24)

Politico: Navarro’s Push For Plasma Treatment Goes Further Than FDA Scientists
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro on Monday exaggerated the efficacy of blood plasma as a coronavirus treatment, urging Americans to disregard any skepticism of the controversial therapy. The remarks from Navarro — who has previously promoted dubious coronavirus treatments, including hydroxychloroquine — came after the Food and Drug Administration on Sunday issued an emergency use authorization for convalescent plasma to treat Covid-19 patients. (Forgey, 8/24)

Reuters: Exclusive: FDA Commissioner Disputes Trump, Says No 'Deep State' Thwarting Vaccine 
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not harbor “deep state” elements, the agency’s head told Reuters on Monday, rejecting criticism from President Donald Trump that staff there were trying to delay a coronavirus vaccine. Dr. Stephen Hahn said he was completely confident that FDA workers were focused solely on the interests of the American people during the coronavirus pandemic. Without evidence, Trump on Saturday accused members of the so-called “deep state” working within the FDA of complicating efforts to test COVID-19 vaccines in order to delay results until after the Nov. 3 presidential election. (Mason, 8/24)

CNN: Fauci Warns Against Premature Authorization Of Coronavirus Vaccine
Dr. Anthony Fauci on Monday warned against the notion of early emergency use authorization for a potential coronavirus vaccine, explaining that such a step could damage efforts to develop other vaccines. His comments come as White House officials have raised the possibility of an early emergency authorization before late-stage trials are finished, two sources have told CNN. Michael Caputo, the assistant secretary for public affairs at the US Department of Health and Human Services, has denied that there was any effort to fast-track vaccine development for political purposes. (LeBlanc, 8/25)

Reuters: Exclusive: Fauci Says Rushing Out A Vaccine Could Jeopardize Testing Of Others
“The one thing that you would not want to see with a vaccine is getting an EUA (emergency use authorization) before you have a signal of efficacy,” Fauci told Reuters in a phone interview. “One of the potential dangers if you prematurely let a vaccine out is that it would make it difficult, if not impossible, for the other vaccines to enroll people in their trial,” Fauci said. (Steenhuysen and O'Donnell, 8/24)

Politico: AstraZeneca Denies White House Is Fast-Tracking Its Covid-19 Vaccine 
AstraZeneca says it hasn’t talked to the U.S. government about an emergency use authorization for its coronavirus vaccine — a day after news reports that the Trump administration may greenlight the vaccine's use before the election. “It would be premature to speculate on that possibility,” the pharmaceutical company said in a statement. (Roubein, 8/24)

Politico: How Trump’s Win-At-All-Costs Vaccine Strategy Could Backfire
President Donald Trump’s blunt demands that the Food and Drug Administration speed the approval of coronavirus vaccines — before it's clear whether any now in development are effective — threaten to undermine the country’s best hope for ending the pandemic. Rushing out a vaccine without solid proof it works could lead many people to refuse to take it, public health experts warn. Worse still would be cutting corners to distribute a shot that then turns out not to work, leaving people unknowingly vulnerable to the deadly virus. (Owermohle, 8/24)

Stat: Political Newcomer Stephen Hahn Struggles To Protect An FDA Under Siege
Stephen Hahn, a political novice who moved here in December to take over the Food and Drug Administration, has found himself steering his agency through the most tumultuous time in its history. But with almost no institutional knowledge behind him, FDA experts worry he’s flying blind, leaving the agency flailing despite its vital role in the effort to control the spread of Covid-19. (Florko and Facher, 8/24)

Scientific American: 'Warp Speed' COVID-19 Vaccine Efforts Aim For Diverse Volunteers And Long-Lasting Protection
Experts say such trials should also include adequate representation from vulnerable subgroups at high risk from COVID-19, including the elderly, minority racial groups and individuals with underlying health problems. Adding to the challenge, a growing number of people have shown skepticism toward an eventual vaccine. And the trials have to answer key questions about how well human immune systems protect against SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus behind the disease. (Schmidt, 8/25)

The Washington Post: These Are The Top Coronavirus Vaccines To Watch
The worldwide effort to create a vaccine for the novel coronavirus kicked off in January, soon after scientists in China posted online the genome of a virus causing a mysterious pneumonia. Vaccine development usually takes years and unfolds step by step. Experimental vaccine candidates are created in the laboratory and tested in animals before moving into progressively larger human clinical trials. These steps are now overlapping in the race to find a vaccine for a global disease that has killed hundreds of thousands of people. Human testing began in some cases before animal studies were finished. As companies launch small Phase 1 trials intended to establish the correct dose, they already are planning the Phase 3 trials that evaluate whether the vaccines are effective and safe. (Steckelberg, Johnson, Florit and Alcantara, 8/24)

Kaiser Health News: Rather Than Give Away Its COVID Vaccine, Oxford Makes A Deal With Drugmaker
In a business driven by profit, vaccines have a problem. They’re not very profitable — at least not without government subsidies. Pharma companies favor expensive medicines that must be taken repeatedly and generate revenue for years or decades. Vaccines are often given only once or twice. In many parts of the world, established vaccines cost a few dollars per dose or less. Last year only four companies were making vaccines for the U.S. market, down from more than 20 in the 1970s. As recently as Feb. 11, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, complained that no major drug company had committed to “step up” to make a coronavirus vaccine, calling the situation “very difficult and frustrating.” (Hancock, 8/25)

The Washington Post: EPA Approves Cleanser For Use Against Covid19 
The Environmental Protection Agency gave emergency approval Monday for the application of a cleanser intended to kill the novel coronavirus on surfaces for up to seven days, and the state of Texas said it would allow American Airlines and two branches of Total Orthopedics Sports & Spine to start using the new product. The agency said it hoped the product — called SurfaceWise2 and made by Allied BioScience — would provide longer-lasting protection in public spaces and increase consumer confidence in air travel, which has suffered a big hit during the covid-19 pandemic. (Mufson, 8/24)

ABC News: American To Spray Some Planes With EPA-Approved 'Long-Lasting' COVID-19 Disinfectant 
The EPA granted emergency authorization for the Allied BioScience product, Surfacewise 2, on Monday. It is effective against the SARS-CoV2 virus for up to 7 days after a single application, according to testing by the agency. Texas had requested the authorization. “SurfaceWise2 creates an invisible barrier on surfaces, which physically breaks down and kills virus cells,” said Dr. Charles Gerba, an infectious disease expert who works with Allied BioScience. (Ebbs and Kaji, 8/24)

In other travel safety news —

MarketWatch: Report Card: Which Hotel Brands Have Adapted Best To COVID-19? 
The COVID-19 pandemic has turned travel upside down, and the hotel industry has been forced to cope with a constantly changing landscape of traveler expectations. From new cancellation policies to improved cleaning and social distancing procedures, major hotel brands have scrambled to adapt to the new reality. But which hotel brands have adapted best? Which have offered the most customer-friendly policies and been willing to sacrifice bottom-line concerns for the sake of guest safety? (Kemmis, 8/25)

Modern Healthcare: 2020 Census Holds Fate Of Trillions In Health-Related Spending
For each person that went uncounted in the 2010 Census, Vermont lost more than $2,300 in 2015 federal grants for Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program, foster care and adoption assistance, and child care for low-income families. It's a similar story for 36 other states.In 2017 alone, census data helped direct $1.1 trillion in Medicaid and CHIP spending, according to the Counting for Dollars initiative at the George Washington University Institute for Public Policy. Another $400 billion was allocated for housing choice vouchers, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, social services block grants, Head Start, school lunch programs and the Women, Infants and Children nutrition program. (Brady, 8/25)

Stateline: This Rural Town Swelled With Immigrants. But Will Census Count Them? 
The October chill hit Gabriel Elias like a truck when he reached the airport parking lot in Minneapolis. He recalls surveying the cold, unfamiliar landscape. The trees looked near death. As his uncle drove nearly three hours across the Minnesota prairie, Elias began to worry. Why did his family live so far from the city? Century-old farmhouses stood in for the one-story tin-roofed houses common in the land of his birth. (Simpson, 8/25)

Politico: RNC Tries To Rewrite Pandemic History, Casting Trump As Decisive Leader 
The Republican National Convention put President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic front and center on opening night, depicting him as a decisive leader who marshaled resources, forcefully responded to the deadly threat, and “moved mountains” to save American lives. What it didn’t say is that the United States, with more than 5 million cases and more than 175,000 dead, with schools and businesses still closed and millions unemployed, has had one of the worst records on the pandemic in the world. (Kenen, 8/25)

The New York Times: Republicans Nominate Trump At RNC, Who Flings Baseless Attacks At Biden 
At times, the speakers and prerecorded videos appeared to be describing an alternate reality: one in which the nation was not nearing 180,000 deaths from the coronavirus; in which Mr. Trump had not consistently ignored serious warnings about the disease; in which the president had not spent much of his term appealing openly to xenophobia and racial animus; and in which someone other than Mr. Trump had presided over an economy that began crumbling in the spring. (Martin, Burns and Karni, 8/24)

The Washington Post: Takeaways From Republican National Convention Night 1 
The novel coronavirus is the issue Trump would rather not have looming over him. ... But the convention began its prime hours Monday night by focusing on the unavoidable topic — and in one major way attempting to rewrite history. The convention played a video featuring Democrats and others who, at one point or another, downplayed the severity of the outbreak. “From the very beginning, Democrats, the media and the World Health Organization got coronavirus wrong,” the narrator said. “The World Health Organization said authorities have found no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission.” (Blake, 8/25)

Politico: Republicans Warn Of Chaos If Biden Wins: Key Moments From The Convention's First Night 
Amy Johnson Ford, a nurse from rural Virginia, and Dr. G.E. Ghali, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, touted Trump as having acting decisively on defeating the pandemic. Ford praised Trump for expanding telehealth in rural areas, while Ghali applauded Trump for pushing treatments and testing through normally lengthy regulatory timelines. “Let me be clear, as a health care professional, I can tell you without hesitation Donald Trump's quick action and leadership saved thousands of lives during Covid-19,” Ford said. (Oprysko, Choi, Feldscher and Mintz, 8/24)

The Hill: Trump Thanks Front-Line Workers At Night One Of Convention 
President Trump met with front-line workers in his first appearance during the first night of the Republican National Convention on Monday. Trump appeared on video with a group of front-line workers — including two nurses, a postal worker, a truck driver, a custodian and a police officer — in the East Room of the White House. “These are the incredible workers that helped us so much with [COVID-19],” Trump told the group of individuals. “These are great, great people, doctors, nurses, firemen, policemen. We want to thank you.” (Chalfant, 8/24)

The Hill: Trump's Biggest Roadblock To Reelection Is COVID-19 
President Trump’s biggest obstacle to winning a second term in office is the coronavirus pandemic, which has dramatically altered the course of the presidential race and raised serious questions about his leadership. Trump and his campaign have sought to contend with criticism by arguing that China is to blame for the global spread of the virus and that the U.S. government has done everything in its power to steer resources to states. (Easley, 8/24)

AP Fact Check: Trump, GOP Distort On Health Care, Vote Fraud
President Donald Trump made a dizzying array of misleading claims about voting fraud and health care as fellow Republicans opened their convention with speeches distorting the agenda of his Democratic rival, Joe Biden. Trump falsely asserted that he was the one who ensured that people with preexisting medical problems will be covered by health insurance; actually that was Democratic President Barack Obama. Several speakers accused Biden of proposing to defund police, ban fracking, take over health care and open borders — none of that true. (Yen, Seitz and Woodward, 8/25)

The New York Times: DeJoy Defends Postal Changes As Trump Continues To Attack Voting By Mail 
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told Congress on Monday that the Postal Service could be trusted to carry out the largest vote-by-mail program in American history without political bias, even as President Trump repeated baseless accusations that mail-in voting would be used by his rivals to rig the November election against him. Under tough questioning by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, Mr. DeJoy, a major donor to Mr. Trump and other Republicans, mounted an outraged defense of the modifications he has made at the Postal Service that have thrust the agency into a political firestorm, denying that they were motivated by partisanship. He refused to commit to reversing the changes, which he characterized as vital cost-cutting measures for a cash-strapped agency badly in need of an overhaul, and scolded Congress for failing for years to attend to the post office’s financial woes. (Edmondson, 8/24)

USA Today: Trump's Postmaster General DeJoy Commits To Delivering Election Mail On Time, Slams 'False Narrative'
DeJoy acknowledged delays in service were in part caused by changes at the Postal Service but defended his agency's actions and committed to delivering election mail on time. ... The postmaster general told lawmakers some of the service delays were caused by inadequate staffing, and the COVID-19 pandemic continued to affect operations. He said 83 workers have died from COVID-19. Asked by Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., about who ordered the organizational changes, DeJoy said he did not know, nor did he commit to reversing the changes. (Hayes and Wu, 8/24)

The Washington Post: D.C. Residents Can Vote At Nationals Park This Fall, Elections Board Says 
For the first time, D.C. voters will be able to cast their ballots at Nationals Park during election week, D.C. Board of Elections Chair Michael Bennett told The Washington Post on Monday — the latest move in the District’s effort to mitigate delays with in-person voting. Bennett said the board was still working with Washington Nationals officials Monday to fine-tune details of the agreement, including where voters would enter the park. (Brice-Saddler, 8/24)

In other elections news —

AP: Biden, Harris To Get Routine Virus Testing, A Notable Change
In a notable change, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris, will now be regularly tested for the coronavirus as the race heats up, a campaign aide confirmed Monday. “This announcement is another step demonstrating Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ commitment to turn the page on Trump’s catastrophic mismanagement during the worst public health crisis in 100 years,” said Biden spokesperson Andrew Bates. (Jaffe, 8/24)

NBC News: AstraZeneca Begins Early-Stage Trial Of COVID-19 Antibody Treatment
British drugmaker AstraZeneca said on Tuesday it had started early testing of an antibody-based treatment for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. In a statement sent to NBC News, the company said a Phase 1 clinical trial has begun for an monoclonal antibody combination, and will include up to 48 healthy participants to evaluate its safety and tolerability in human beings. (Gardiner, Talmazan and Reuters, 8/25)

Reuters: AstraZeneca Starts Trial Of COVID-19 Antibody Treatment 
British drugmaker AstraZeneca has begun testing an antibody-based cocktail for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, adding to recent signs of progress on possible medical solutions to the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The London-listed firm, already among the leading players in the global race to develop a successful vaccine, said the study would evaluate if AZD7442, a combination of two monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), was safe and tolerable in up to 48 healthy participants between the ages of 18 and 55 years. (Aripaka and Aakash B, 8/25)

Stat: NIH Will Study Gilead's Remdesivir-Like Compound Against Covid-19
The National Institutes of Health plans to independently explore whether a Gilead Sciences (GILD) compound, which some academics maintain is highly similar to remdesivir, but which the company has deemphasized in its efforts, may be useful in combating Covid-19. The compound, called GS-441524, works in the same way as remdesivir to inhibit viruses, according to research that was conducted partly by the company (more here). But the compound has not been tested in humans and, for the past few months, a pair of researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has argued publicly that Gilead ought to run tests. (Silverman, 8/24)

CIDRAP: Remdesivir Of Scant Benefit In Hospitalized COVID Patients, Study Finds 
The antiviral drug remdesivir had little effect in patients with moderate COVID-19 in 105 hospitals in the United States, Europe, and Asia in a randomized, controlled, open-label trial published late last week in JAMA, adding to a mixed picture of the drug in randomized clinical trials (RCTs), which are considered the gold standard for gauging interventions. Researchers compared the clinical status of 533 coronavirus patients who had moderate pneumonia and were randomly assigned to receive remdesivir for 5 or 10 days or standard care from Mar 15 to Apr 18. Remdesivir was given in a 200-milligram (mg) intravenous dose on the first day, followed by 100 mg a day. (Van Beusekom, 8/24)

The New York Times: Oleandrin, Covid-19 Treatment Pitched To Trump, Could Be Dangerous 
A plant extract trumpeted last week as a “cure” for Covid-19 by the leader of a pillow company is untested and potentially dangerous, scientists say. Mike Lindell, the chief executive of My Pillow and a big donor to President Trump, told Axios that the president was enthusiastic about the drug, called oleandrin, when he heard about it at a White House meeting last month. ... The unsubstantiated claims alarmed scientists. No studies have shown that oleandrin is safe or effective as a coronavirus treatment. It’s unclear what dose the purported treatment would have, but ingesting even a tiny bit of the toxic shrub the compound comes from could kill you, experts say. (Murphy, 8/20)

The New York Times: Trump Keeps Promoting A Drug Order That No One Has Seen 
President Trump has made his executive order tying prescription drug prices in the United States to the prices paid in Europe and other developed nations — and the ensuing war that has broken out with the pharmaceutical industry — a centerpiece of his campaign for re-election. The problem: No such executive order has been released. (Gay Stolberg and Sanger-Katz, 8/24)

Stat: Pharmacists Say They Tell Patients About Pill Changes, But Patients Say Otherwise
Most consumers say they aren’t notified of physical changes in their prescription pills, even though most pharmacists report they do alert their customers, a disconnect that is contributing to a lack of patient adherence, according to a new analysis. At issue are the occasional variations in shape, size, or color of medicines that manufacturers make for different reasons. Half of 1,000 consumers who were surveyed reported such a change in the past year, and 29% thought they received the wrong pill. As a result, 1 in 8 either took their pills less frequently or stopped taking them altogether. (Silverman, 8/24)

Stat: Sun Pharma Unit To Pay $21M For Giving False Instructions For Acne Treatmnt
A unit of Sun Pharmaceuticals agreed to pay nearly $21 million to settle allegations of providing false instructions to doctors for an acne treatment and, in turn, causing federal health care programs such as Medicare to overpay for the medication.At issue is a product called Levulan Kerastick, an acne ointment that is used in conjunction with an illuminated blue light. (Silverman, 8/24)

Houston Chronicle: Out-Of-Work Patients, Families Eye Direct Primary Care As Their Best Healthcare Options In The Pandemic 
Dr. Rebecca Berens is like any other primary care physician. She takes the temperatures of toddlers, jots down prescriptions for antibiotics and recommends lab work to diagnose what’s wrong with a patient. But unlike most doctors, she doesn’t take health insurance, and she doesn’t pack her schedule to see as many patients as possible. (Wu, 8/25)

Politico: ‘Not Just A Low-Wage Recession’: White-Collar Workers Feel Coronavirus Squeeze
Lower-paid workers are losing their jobs at about three times the rate of higher-wage employees. But the drop in overall employment that white-collar industries like real estate, information and professional and technology services have seen in five months is already on par with or worse than the hits they took during the Great Recession — underscoring how even highly paid workers with the ability to telework are vulnerable now. (Cassella, 8/23)

The Guardian: ‘I Am Beside Myself’: Millions In The US Face Evictions Amid Looming Crisis
Housing advocates have warned of a looming eviction crisis after federal programs to help the 30 million unemployed Americans and to prevent evictions during the pandemic expired in late July. ... It is impossible to calculate exactly how many evictions have taken place during the pandemic because the government doesn’t track that data. The closest thing to a national database, Princeton University’s Eviction Lab, has not yet found a sustained spike in evictions, though some states have seen spikes after local eviction moratoriums ended. (Holpuch, 8/25)

Modern Healthcare: Insurers' Record Profits Likely To Deflate, Analysts Say
The record profits that health insurers reported in the second quarter of 2020 will likely subside over the next several months as they return excess income to plan members, according to credit ratings agency Moody's Investors Service. "We expect earnings to be substantially lower in the second half of the year," Moody's analysts wrote in a report published Monday. Seven large publicly traded insurers reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $26.2 billion in the three months ended June 30, an increase of 87% over the same quarter in 2019. Those results, which were driven by low healthcare utilization amid the COVID-19 pandemic, are unlikely to repeat in the third quarter. (Livingston, 8/24)

Modern Healthcare: Humana Sues Fla. Telehealth Firm Over Allegedly Fraudulent Prescriptions
Humana sued a Florda-based telemedicine company and several physicians for posing [as] insurer representatives and running a prescription drug scheme that allegedly cost Humana millions of dollars. Boca Raton, Fla-based QuivvyTech, Reliable Document Solutions, Reliable Medical Supplies and six doctors allegedly ran an "organized, elaborate telemedicine scheme" where they cold-called Humana plan members and asked them questions about their health. Humana also listed eight pharmacies in the federal lawsuit as co-conspirators, but did not sue them. (Cohen, 8/24)

Modern Healthcare: Google Invests $100M Into Amwell As It Goes Public
Telemedicine company Amwell on Monday filed a registration statement for a proposed initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission and applied to list its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "AMWL." The company plans to raise up to $100 million in the IPO, according to its S-1 filing. ... Amwell this weekend entered into a stock purchase agreement with Google under which Google invested $100 million into the company. As part of the agreement, Amwell will migrate its video performance capabilities onto Google Cloud and the companies say they'll work together to develop new capabilities with Google Cloud's artificial-intelligence tools. (Cohen, 8/24)

Kaiser Health News: Veteran’s Appendectomy Launches Excruciating Months-Long Battle Over Bill 
In late August 2019, Shannon Harness awoke to serious pain in the lower right side of his abdomen — a telltale sign of appendicitis. He booked it to the emergency room of the only hospital in the county: Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center in Salida, Colorado. After a CT scan, doctors told Harness he had acute appendicitis and required immediate surgery. (Lawrence, 8/25)

Stat: Four Scenarios On How We Might Develop Immunity To Covid-19
As the world wearies of trying to suppress the SARS-CoV-2 virus, many of us are wondering what the future will look like as we try to learn to live with it. Will it always have the capacity to make us so sick? Will our immune systems learn — and remember — how to cope with the new threat? Will vaccines be protective and long-lasting? (Branswell, 8/25)

CIDRAP: Study Suggests Limited Diagnostic Value For Repeat COVID-19 Testing
Of 10,165 patients tested for COVID-19 at a large Los Angeles health system, 6.2% were positive, and only 1.9% tested positive after an initial negative result—calling into question the diagnostic value of repeat testing amid limited testing resources, according to a retrospective study published late last week in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases. Researchers analyzed all test results for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, at the UCLA Health System from Mar 9 to Apr 29 to understand the diagnostic yield of repeat testing in view of scarce test supplies and personal protective equipment. (8/24)

Kaiser Health News: Analysis: You’ve Checked For Fever. Now, What’s Your Risk Tolerance? 
As some parts of America gingerly begin to open up after months of near-total lockdown, people have questions. Will it be safe to take a train? A plane? Visit the hair salon? An indoor restaurant? There are many knowable parameters in the equation: your health; the prevalence of cases where you live; the safety precautions being taken anyplace you want to visit. But the final answer may depend on your individual risk tolerance for exposure to infectious disease. (Rosenthal, 8/25)

The Wall Street Journal: As Child Covid Cases Rise, Doctors Watch For Potential Long-Term Effects 
As more children become infected with Covid-19, doctors are paying closer attention to potential long-term effects. In adults, one of Covid’s most troubling effects has been so-called long-haul cases, in which people whose illness initially seemed moderate end up having symptoms for months, sometimes getting worse over time. Now as doctors warn that children may be more vulnerable to the virus than initially believed, researchers are looking more closely at longer-term symptoms in kids, too. (Reddy, 8/24)

AP: WHO: Children Aged 6-To-11 Should Wear Masks At Times, Too
Just as millions of children are heading back to school, the World Health Organization says those aged 6 to 11 should wear masks in some cases to help fight the spread of coronavirus. The recommendations presented Monday follow the widespread belief that children under 12 are not considered as likely to propagate the virus as much as adults. Children in general face less severe virus symptoms than do adults, with the elderly the most vulnerable to severe infection and death. (Keaten, 8/24)

CIDRAP: 40 Million Adults Who Work Or Live With Children At Risk For Severe COVID-19
A research letter published late last week in the Annals of Internal Medicine has found that about 40 million US adults who work or live with school-aged children have definite or possible risk factors for severe COVID-19, carrying implications for fall school reopenings. Researchers from Harvard Medical School and City University of New York at Hunter College who analyzed representative data from the 2018 National Health Interview Survey showed that 2.9 million of 5.8 million K-12 teachers (50.6%) had definite or possible risk factors for serious coronavirus illness, including obesity (32.1%), heart conditions (8.0%), and cancer (0.7%). Of nonteaching staff, 55.8% had definite or possible risk factors. (8/24)

ABC News: Between COVID-19 And Shootings, A Question Emerges: What To Do With Classroom Doors? 
As schools reopen with in-person learning, there are scores of questions about what that will look like. One in particular educators have been anticipating: Between COVID-19 and concerns about school shootings, what do we do with classroom doors? Recommended protocols for the coronavirus may be at odds with active shooters policies. Where the former advises opening doors to increase ventilation, the latter typically recommends keeping them closed and locked to protect students from potential intruders. (Deliso, 8/24)

NPR: Florida Judge Rules State Order Requiring Schools To Reopen 'Unconstitutional' 
A Florida judge on Monday ruled against the state's order requiring schools to open for in-person instruction by the end of August, calling parts of it "unconstitutional." He granted a temporary injunction, putting the decision-making power in the hands of individual districts. The emergency order was issued by Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran in early July as the state's coronavirus cases surged, and mandated that all districts open "brick and mortar schools" at least five days a week for families who want to send their students back, or else risk losing already-allocated funding. (Treisman, 8/24)

CNN: US Coronavirus: Florida Judge Blocks State Requirement That Public Schools Open For In-Class Education 
A Florida judge on Monday blocked the state's requirement that all brick-and-mortar public schools must offer in-class education by August 31. In his temporary injunction, 2nd Judicial Circuit Court Judge Charles Dodson said Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran "arbitrarily prioritized reopening schools statewide in August over safety, and over the advice of health experts and that all districts complied in order to avoid loss of state funding." (Ellis, Kaye and Shepherd, 8/24)

NBC News: Florida Teachers Opposed To Returning To Classroom Win Lawsuit With Gov. DeSantis
Florida teachers worried about returning to the classroom during the coronavirus pandemic won a legal battle Monday with Gov. Ron DeSantis, who wants to reopen schools by the end of the month. Declaring that the state "essentially ignored the requirement for school safety" by insisting that teachers resume in-person education, Leon County Circuit Judge Charles Dodson issued a temporary injunction blocking the order, ruling in favor of the Florida Education Association. (Siemaszko, 8/24)

San Jose Mercury News: Lack Of Nurses Another Worry For Bay Area Schools
For the first time, the Bay Area’s K-12 students are beginning the school year on computer screens rather than in classrooms. And if students finally return to school this year, the minutes before the morning bell won’t be spent on the playground or chatting with friends. Instead, students will be standing in line for their daily temperature checks. A minor cough that last year would have gone unnoticed will earn a trip to an isolated room, a speedy return home and a mandated test for COVID-19. (Kathan, 8/24)

Albuquerque Journal: ‘We Don’t Want To Be A Well-Kept Secret’ 
Schools may be keeping their doors closed, but school-based health centers are not. While Albuquerque Public Schools students are attending school remotely, health centers are still seeing the district’s students on site and through telemedicine visits. The centers see all APS and APS-authorized charter school students. (Perea, 8/24)

Dallas Morning News: ‘Let Us Play': Dallas ISD Students, Parents Use Protest To Send Message That Delaying Sports Isn’t Fair
Dallas ISD athletes and parents wasted no time making their message clear during a peaceful protest Monday. They want sports seasons to start as soon as possible amid the coronavirus pandemic, rather than waiting at least two to three more weeks, as DISD superintendent Michael Hinojosa said would be the case. (Riddle, 8/24)

The Washington Post: College Counseling Centers Plan To Help Students Returning Virtually Or In-Person 
As colleges begin on-campus and virtual returns by students, counseling center directors hope “even students not previously engaged with the centers will drop by, tune in, check out websites or at least open email messages of support and suggestions the centers will be sending out to everyone,” said Micky M. Sharma, director of the Office of Student Life Counseling and Consultation Service at Ohio State University in Columbus. (Kritz, 8/24)

The Associated Press: Can Mosquitoes Spread The Coronavirus?
Can mosquitoes spread the coronavirus? No. While mosquitoes can spread some diseases, most notably malaria, experts say COVID-19 is not among them. (8/25)

GMA: Fresh Peaches Recalled For Possible Multistate Salmonella Outbreak, FDA Says 
Peaches may be a perfect stone fruit for summer, but one California-based purveyor has pulled its products due to a multistate Salmonella outbreak. Prima Wawona issued a voluntary recall of peaches distributed and sold from June 1 through August 3 as a precaution in connection with a Salmonella outbreak under investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that is suspected to have caused the illness. (McCarthy, 8/24)

GMA: This Employee Got Walmart To Expand Breastfeeding Stations In Stores Across The Country 
Nearly three years after a Walmart employee brought a proposal to the company to provide private spaces for moms to breastfeed in its stores, the retail chain is announcing plans to place breastfeeding pods in 100 more stores, with the hope of placing pods in nearly all of its U.S. stores in the coming years. "At times I get a little emotional about the impact this is going to have on nursing mothers," said Tennille Webb, the Walmart employee who proposed the pods. "The scope of the impact that this can have for our associates and customers makes this a really exciting development." (Kindelan, 8/25)

The New York Times: Cartilage Is Grown In The Arthritic Joints Of Mice 
The painful knees and hips experienced by so many people with osteoarthritis result from a loss of cartilage, which serves as a sort of cushioning in the joints. It had long been thought that cartilage, once gone, cannot grow back. Now researchers at Stanford University have grown new cartilage in the joints of arthritic mice. Primitive cells that can be transformed into new cartilage lie dormant at the ends of bones, the researchers reported in Nature Medicine. The cells just have to be awakened and stimulated to grow. (Kolata, 8/22)

The Associated Press: California Wildfires: Prepare To Be Away From Home For Days
California fire officials are cautiously optimistic after dodging a major lightning storm, but they are pleading with residents to stay out of evacuation zones and prepare for days away from home as three massive San Francisco Bay Area wildfires rage on, suffocating the region with smoky air. (Har, 8/25)

Kaiser Health News: Wildfires Provide Another Reason To Mask Up 
If you have declined to wear a face mask during the COVID-19 crisis, you might want to reconsider, as the smoke from over 300 wildfires chokes people across central and Northern California. But you are going to have to think a little more about what kind of mask is best. (Wolfson, 8/25)

Sacramento Bee: California Nursing Home Inspectors Balk At New State Mandate 
California is asking nursing home inspectors to take a more cooperative approach with the hundreds of facilities they regulate — something akin to a consultant role to help the disease-battered industry comply with health and safety laws, according to interviews and documents reviewed by The Sacramento Bee. (Sabalow and Pohl, 8/24)

San Jose Mercury News: Newsom: 'Progress' On Coronavirus; 3 More Counties Off Watchlist
With near-record wildfires momentarily replacing the coronavirus pandemic in the headlines, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday noted encouraging signs of improvement in the state’s pandemic battle but warned the virus remains a dangerous threat. “Progress is being made,” Newsom said in a noon news conference as the number of new daily cases fell below 5,000 to 4,946 after averaging 7,622 over the last two weeks. The new tally brought the state’s cumulative total to 668,615 cases. “We’re continuing to trend in a very encouraging direction.” (Woolfolk, 8/24)

San Francisco Chronicle: Instacart Settles With San Francisco Over Health Care Benefits For Gig Workers 
San Francisco has reached a settlement with grocery-shopping company Instacart to pay almost three-quarters of a million dollars to 985 Instacart gig workers in lieu of health care contributions and paid sick leave benefits that the city requires companies provide for employees — even though Instacart classified the workers as independent contractors. While the case does not set a precedent and Instacart did not admit wrongdoing, it’s still a significant development in the battle over classifying gig workers. (Said, 8/24)

The Associated Press: Revved By Sturgis Rally, COVID-19 Infections Move Fast, Far
The hundreds of thousands of bikers who attended the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally may have departed western South Dakota, but public health departments in multiple states are trying to measure how much and how quickly the coronavirus spread in bars, tattoo shops and gatherings before people traveled home to nearly every state in the country. From the city of Sturgis, which is conducting mass testing for its roughly 7,000 residents, to health departments in at least six states, health officials are trying to track outbreaks from the 10-day rally which ended on Aug. 16. They face the task of tracking an invisible virus that spread among bar-hoppers and rallygoers, who then traveled to over half of the counties in the United States. (Groves, 8/24)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Low-Category Storms Can Still Be Life-Threatening, Louisiana Medical Experts Say 
Categories that classify storms and trigger evacuations take into account wind, but what emergency medicine veterans in Louisiana’s coastal cities worry about is the prolonged conditions a storm leaves in its wake: flooded roads and vulnerable people without power. (Woodruff, 8/24)

Dallas Morning News: Blacks And Latinos More Likely Than Whites To Think Texas Opened Up Too Soon For COVID-19, Poll Says
Texans are widely divided over whether the state opened up too quickly during COVID-19, but Blacks and Latinos are more likely to think the restrictions were relaxed too early compared to whites, according to a new poll. The poll by the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation found that 44% of registered voters in Texas thought the state opened up too quickly, compared to 28% who thought it opened at the right pace and another 28% who thought it opened too slowly. (Barragan, 8/24)

The Washington Post: Kenosha Police Shooting: Hundreds Protest Jacob Blake's Shooting In Wisconsin 
What started as a peaceful demonstration on Monday evening in Kenosha, Wis., over the police shooting of Jacob Blake swiftly evolved into chaos. Officers shot the 29-year-old Black man multiple times in the back on Sunday as he entered a car with his children inside, a videotaped incident that has sparked national protests. Kenosha police on Monday used tear gas and fired small beanbags at a crowd that threw firecrackers, tore down street signs, smashed storefronts and set fires around the city. By early Tuesday morning, the National Guard rolled through the streets as multiple buildings burned to the ground and looters ransacked stores. (Peiser and Guarino, 8/25)

Detroit Free Press: Report: Coronavirus Has Not Hurt Michigan Revenues As Much As Feared
Michigan tax revenues have been significantly stronger than what officials projected in May, when the state was still in the relatively early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, according to revised estimates agreed to Monday by state financial officials. As a result, the budget shortfall for the 2021 fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 is expected to be less than $1 billion, down from the $3.1 billion shortfall forecast in May, said Budget Director Chris Kolb. (Egan, 8/24)

The Oklahoman: Public Frustrated After Oklahoma County Jail Trust Approves Hazard Pay
The Oklahoma County Jail Trust on Monday approved giving $3 million in “hero pay” to county jail employees who continue to go to work during the pandemic.The money will allow eligible employees to receive $1,000 bonuses in the coming weeks. The jail is experiencing a staffing shortage because of employees that need to quarantine due to COVID-19, and jail administrator Greg Williams said the bonus will be an incentive for employees to stay healthy and cautious. (Branch, 8/24)

NBC News: A Michigan Woman Was Declared Dead By Paramedics. The Funeral Home Found She Was Alive.
Paramedics declared a Michigan woman dead before her remains were taken to a funeral home — where staff found she was very much alive, authorities said Monday. The bizarre mishap unfolded on Sunday morning in Southfield, when local paramedics rushed to the aid of an unresponsive 20-year-old woman, officials said. (Li, 8/24)

Houston Chronicle: ‘My Whole Life Flashed Before Me’: Fitness Instructor Recounts COVID Experience 
The 2020 SilverSneakers Instructor of the Year can barely complete one pushup now. Known for his shapely calves and strong build, Eliot Perez has lost 20 pounds — mostly muscles — since he contracted COVID-19 in early July and spent nearly four weeks, over two separate stays, in the hospital. When he was first admitted, his symptoms were flu-like and he couldn’t catch a breath. His second hospital stay was because of blood clots that formed quickly during his illness. (Garcia, 8/24)

Boston Globe: Lynn Emerges As A New Center Of Coronavirus In The State 
As COVID-19 ravaged Massachusetts in the spring and summer, a blue-collar city north of Boston emerged as the state’s worst outbreak. Today, Chelsea continues to contend with high rates of infection. But state statistics suggest another diverse, working class city to the north has surpassed it. By some measure, the city held most tightly in the clutches of COVID-19 is now Lynn. (Moore, 8/24)

NBC News: 1 Death Among 53 Coronavirus Cases Linked To Maine Wedding Reception
At least 53 cases of the coronavirus have been traced back to an Aug. 7 wedding and reception in Maine that violated attendance limits, state health officials said. A local hospital said Friday one person whose infection has been linked to the event has died. (Griffith, 8/24)

Billings Gazette: 36th COVID-19 Death Reported In Yellowstone County 
A 36th person has died in Yellowstone County as a result of COVID-19, RiverStone Health announced Monday. The county also reported a 35th death over the weekend. Additional information about that death was included in a press release issued Monday morning about the two deaths. One of the people was a woman in her 70s who died Aug. 6 at a Yellowstone County hospital. The other death was a woman in her 60s who died at an area hospital. (Kordenbrock, 8/24)

Reuters: South Korea Closes Most Schools In Seoul Area To Battle Resurgent Coronavirus
South Korea on Tuesday ordered most schools in Seoul and surrounding areas to close and move classes back online, the latest in a series of precautionary measures aimed at heading off a resurgence in coronavirus cases. (8/24)

Politico: Germany Issues Travel Warning For Paris Area, French Riviera 
Germany issued a travel warning for the region that includes Paris as well as for the French Riviera on Monday evening due to high numbers of coronavirus cases. A statement from the government’s Robert Koch Institute said the regions of Île-de-France and Provence-Alpes-Côte d‘Azur are now classified as “risk areas,” along with other places where there is an “increased risk of infection” of the virus. (Anderson, 8/24)

The Washington Post: Brazil Coronavirus: Retreat Of Covid-19 In Amazon's Manaus Raises Questions Of Herd Immunity 
Hospitalizations of coronavirus patients plummeted in the Brazilian city of Manaus from a peak of more than 1,300 in May to fewer than 300 in August. Excess deaths in Manaus fell from around 120 per day to practically zero. The city closed its field hospital. In a country devastated by the novel coronavirus, where more than 3.6 million people have been infected and over 114,000 killed, the reversal has stunned front-line doctors. Manaus never imposed a lockdown or other strict containment measures employed successfully in Asia and Europe. And what policies did exist, many people ignored. (McCoy and Traiano, 8/24)

Reuters: Gaza In Lockdown To Try To Contain Its First COVID-19 Outbreak 
A lockdown took hold in Gaza on Tuesday after confirmation of the first cases of COVID-19 in the general population of the Palestinian enclave, whose restricted borders have spared it from wide infection. Health authorities in the Hamas Islamist-run territory of two million people are concerned over the potentially disastrous combination of poverty, densely populated refugee camps and limited hospital facilities in dealing with an outbreak. (al-Mughrabi, 8/25)

Reuters: Pandemic Pace Slows Worldwide Except For Southeast Asia, Eastern Mediterranean: WHO 
The COVID-19 pandemic is still expanding, but the rise in cases and deaths has slowed globally, except for southeast Asia and the eastern Mediterranean regions, the World Health Organization (WHO) said. In its latest epidemiological update, issued on Monday night, it said that the Americas remains the hardest-hit region, accounting for half of newly reported cases and 62% of the 39,240 deaths worldwide in the past week. (Nebehay, 8/25)

The Guardian: Xinjiang Residents Handcuffed To Their Homes In Covid Lockdown 
Residents in the capital of Xinjiang are being forced to take traditional Chinese medicine, being handcuffed to buildings and ordered to stay inside for weeks as part of a harsh range of measures to tackle coronavirus, according to posts online. Urumqi, the capital of the semi-autonomous region known for its draconian security measures, has been in a “wartime state” of lockdown for more than a month after a cluster of cases emerged in July, when the outbreak had been mostly contained elsewhere in China. (Kuo, 8/25)

The Guardian: Spain Warned Of Dire Impact Of Second Coronavirus Lockdown
As officials across Spain wrestle with a surge in coronavirus cases, a chorus of voices is warning that another lockdown could have dire consequences for a country that just months ago emerged from one of Europe’s strictest confinements. While cases of the virus have climbed across Europe, Spain has led the pack in recent days. More than 78,000 cases have been detected in the past two weeks, pushing the 14-day infection rate to 166 per 100,000, compared with 67 in France and 22 in the UK. (Kassam, 8/25)

The Associated Press: Scotland's Handling Of Virus Boosts Support For Independence
There is wide agreement that Britain’s devastating coronavirus outbreak has been met by strong, effective political leadership. Just not from Prime Minister Boris Johnson. While Johnson has often seemed to flounder and flip-flop his way through the biggest national crisis in decades, Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon has won praise for her sober, straight-talking response. (Lawless, 8/25)

Reuters: Australia Reaches 25,000 Coronavirus Cases, Officials Urge More Testing 
Australia surpassed 25,000 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, tipped over the milestone by the recent outbreak in Victoria state and prompting a warning from authorities about declining test numbers. Australia recorded 151 new infections over the past 24 hours, up from 121 a day earlier, with Victoria responsible for the bulk of the cases and New South Wales accounting for the remainder. (Packham, 8/24)

Reuters: Singapore Reports Fewest Daily COVID-19 Cases In Five Months 
Singapore reported 31 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, its lowest daily count in more than five months. The city-state, which saw its COVID-19 cases jump sharply after mass outbreaks in migrant worker dormitories earlier in the year, has recently seen steady declines as those dormitories have been cleared of the coronavirus. (8/25)

The Wall Street Journal: The FDA’s Good Plasma Decision
Here we go again. President Trump hypes a Covid-19 therapy that has shown potential based on early studies. The Food and Drug Administration approves the treatment for emergency use and gets lambasted for letting politics influence the science. This is what occurred with the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine and now is happening with convalescent plasma, which the FDA on Sunday granted “emergency use authorization” (EUA). Mr. Trump was wrong to tweet over the weekend that “the deep state” at the FDA was thwarting development of therapies and vaccines to sabotage his re-election. (8/24)

Stat: Trump Opened The Floodgates For Convalescent Plasma Too Soon 
Convalescent plasma has been used to fight many infectious diseases, from scarlet fever in the 1930s to whooping cough and measles and, in more recent times, swine flu, Ebola, and Middle East respiratory syndrome. The idea seems to make sense: The plasma of people who survive these diseases contains antibodies that may have helped them survive. When their plasma is donated and the antibodies are isolated from it and transfused, it could perhaps help newly infected people survive as well. (Arthur Caplan, 8/24)

The Wall Street Journal: Trump’s Second-Term Opening
Republicans are destined to play defense on health care after failing to replace the Affordable Care Act. But Mr. Trump can tout his Administration’s incremental moves to expand choice and lower the cost of health insurance, and he can promise to do more to create a competitive market. He can also talk up the huge expansion of telemedicine in recent months and promise to continue it. (8/23)

Fox News: GOP Health Care Alternatives – Convention A Chance To Present These Smart Options
This week’s Republican National Convention offers the GOP an opportunity to detail its governing agenda to a relatively captive audience of voters before November. That's especially important for health care, which voters rank as their number-two issue for this fall's presidential election. The GOP needs to shift the debate away from the quixotic quest for universal coverage – and instead explain how they'll create a health insurance market characterized by affordability, access, choice and portability. (Sally Pipes, 8/25)

The New York Times: Republican Convention: Best And Worst Moments From Night 1
Michelle Cottle: President Trump’s East Room chat with essential workers on the front lines of the pandemic. Yes, he looked super-awkward, and he wandered off on odd tangents, like how much truckers love him and how mean people have been about hydroxychloroquine. But it was a rare — very rare — attempt to show appreciation of other people. Good for him! Linda Chavez: The McCloskeys — the gun-toting couple who threatened peaceful protesters in their gated community — were introduced by a disingenuous film showing looting, arson and a broken gate. They referred to the protesters as a mob “that descended on our neighborhood.” In their speech, the couple doubled down on the message, saying that Biden will “abolish the suburbs.” It’s a canard borne of desperation as suburban voters flee the G.P. (8/25)

WBUR: Joe Biden Will Address Ted Kennedy’s 'Greatest Regret' On Health Care
History is made by actions taken — and by those left undone. Sen. Edward Kennedy died on this day 11 years ago, having left a legacy as  “one of the greatest legislators of all time.” Yet he forfeited by inaction the chance to achieve perhaps his signature legislative passion. The Massachusetts senator often said his greatest regret was failing to work with President Nixon when the latter proposed massively expanding private health insurance, along with federal subsidies for the poor to buy it. Teddy wanted the government to be the nation’s single-payer for health care, and he bowed to labor allies urging him to hold out for a new administration and a better deal. But when the next Democratic president, Jimmy Carter, proposed reforming and extending private insurance, Kennedy blocked that, too (in Carter’s bitter view, to deny the president a triumph as Kennedy geared up to challenge him for the 1980 nomination). (Rich Barlow, 8/25)

The New York Times: QAnon Is Trump’s Last, Best Chance 
Then came Covid-19 — which, by the way, has already killed far more Americans than were murdered in the decade that preceded Trump’s inauguration. And the administration’s response, aside from the occasional promotion of quack remedies, has consisted of little but denial and insistence that the whole thing will miraculously go away. Trump, in other words, can’t devise policies that respond to the nation’s actual needs, nor is he willing to listen to those who can. He won’t even try. And at some level both he and those around him seem aware of his basic inadequacy for the job of being president. What he and they can do, however, is conjure up imaginary threats that play into his supporters’ prejudices, coupled with conspiracy theories that resonate with their fear and envy of know-it-all “elites.” QAnon is only the most ludicrous example of this genre, all of which portrays Trump as the hero defending us from invisible evil. (Paul Krugman, 8/24)

Stat: Personalized Risk Data Can Depolarize Clashing Covid-19 Narratives 
In these stridently partisan times, the U.S. has coalesced around two polarized default narratives about Covid-19: avoid infection at all cost to drive transmission down to the lowest possible levels via national or state lockdowns versus open the economy and normalize most activities while absorbing the health consequences. In our politically fractured country, neither of these policy narratives will gain enough public support to have a realistic chance of broad implementation. (Phillips, 8/25)

The Wall Street Journal: Georgia’s Pandemic Progress
Remember when the national press corps portrayed Georgia Governor Brian Kemp as a villain for reopening the state’s economy too soon? Well, more than a few states would like to be in the Peach State’s pandemic and fiscal position now. Start with the state’s economy, which had a relatively low jobless rate of 7.6% in July. Construction was never shut down, and schools in much of the state are opening for classroom instruction. The state expected a budget shortfall of $1 billion for the year but the actual deficit was $210 million. Mr. Kemp says sales tax revenue is rebounding and the state hasn’t exhausted its $700 million reserve fund. Mr. Kemp says he’d like Congress to allow him more flexibility to spend the money left from the first state rescue. But he doesn’t need another federal bailout. (8/24)

The New York Times: Are We Looking For The Wrong Coronavirus Vaccines?
Not long after the new coronavirus first surfaced last December, an ambitious prediction was made: A vaccine would be available within 12 to 18 months, and it would stop the pandemic. Despite serious challenges — how to mass manufacture, supply and deliver a vaccine worldwide — the first prong of that wish could well be fulfilled. Eight vaccine candidates are undergoing large-scale efficacy tests, so-called Phase 3 trials, and results are expected by the end of this year or early 2021. But even if one, or more, of those efforts succeeds, a vaccine might not end the pandemic. This is partly because we seem to be focused at the moment on developing the kind of vaccine that may well prevent Covid-19, the disease, but that wouldn’t do enough to stop the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. (Adam Finn and Richard Malley, 8/24)

Los Angeles Times: Why College Students Have A Hard Time Living By Pandemic Rules
As a college professor, I am very worried about more colleges and universities opening around the country over the next few weeks. If campus communities can’t comply with social distancing requirements, thousands of students could contract COVID-19, forcing schools to scramble to shut down again and go fully remote. Quite a few schools that have opened — with safety protocols in place — have already either closed or are struggling to deal with coronavirus spikes. Cases have been reported at colleges and universities in 36 states, including Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Iowa, Alabama, Massachusetts and Mississippi. And fingers are being pointed at students for being irresponsible and dangerous for violating social distancing rules in the midst of this pandemic. (Samuel J. Abrams, 8/25)

Bloomberg: Covid-19 Has Long-Term Effects For Health And Wealth 
Many Covid-19 patients keep feeling sick for months after infection. Known as “long haulers,” there may be hundreds of thousands of such people in the U.S. But in a way, we’re all at risk of being pandemic long-haulers. The coronavirus and its obliteration of normalcy have led to a separate pandemic of depression and despair, writes Andreas Kluth, particularly among young people and those perpetually unlucky millennials. These effects can weigh on people for a lifetime and can be deadly in their own right, constituting a second health-care crisis policy makers must confront. (Mark Gongloff, 8/24)

NBC News: Back To School? COVID-19 Advice For American Parents And Teachers Amid A Pandemic
As states around the United States weighed whether schools should reopen, children began testing positive for the coronavirus in alarming numbers. Across the country, there was a 40 percent increase in pediatric cases, according to a study looking at the last two weeks in July. Florida, a COVID-19 epicenter, reported a 137 percent rise in school-age children in July, including a 105 percent uptick in hospitalizations. (Dr. Valda Crowder, 8/24)

Tampa Bay Times: Judge Correctly Gives Power Back To Local School Boards 
Local school boards have rightly regained the power to decide when schools can safely reopen classrooms during this pandemic. Local boards can weigh the best medical evidence, not worry about financial penalties wielded by the state, in making such important steps. That’s thanks to Leon County Circuit Judge Charles Dodson, who ruled Monday in favor of the Florida Education Association’s legal challenge to the state’s forced reopening of schools before the end of August. (8/24)

Stat: Use Lifetime Risk To Visualize Deaths From Firearms, Drug Overdoses 
Shortly before the coronavirus shuttered schools last spring, I toured a new elementary school in my community in Ohio. But I had a hard time concentrating on the gleaming whiteboards, the new computers, or the cheerfully decorated walls. A new way I had recently devised to put into context deaths from firearms and overdoses kept distracting me. (Ashwini Sehgal, 8/25)

KQED: Let's Talk About Wildfires And Prisons
When officials ordered local residents to be evacuated because of the fire, the evacuation area originally outlined by the Vacaville Police Department contained the two prisons. But the people in both prisons were never evacuated, and instead given masks. Soon after, the facilities were removed from the mandatory evacuation listing, with a CDCR spokesperson giving the reason that "they were not in immediate danger." At the same time, the Mercury News reported that as firefighters approached Cherry Hill Road, just over the ridge from the prisons, they radioed to each other, “do not worry about any firefighting.” Instead, they scrambled to assist in the evacuation of local residents. (Pendarvis Harshaw, 8/24)

Stat: Hospital CEOs, Med School Heads Shouldn't Sit On Company Boards 
In late July, Dr. Elizabeth Nabel, president of Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital, came under intense scrutiny for activities she undertook outside her role at the hospital. The focus was on her sitting on the boards of directors of two publicly traded companies: Medtronic, a medical device company, and Moderna, a Boston-based biotech whose Covid-19 vaccine is now in clinical trials — and the Brigham is one of the testing sites for it. (Jeffrey S. Flier, 8/24)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: Another Brutal Police Attack On An Unarmed Black Man. Did They Not Get The Message?
Americans are bracing for a new round of protests after white officers in Kenosha, Wisconsin, unleashed a barrage of gunfire at an unarmed Black man who appeared to pose no threat to them. In a video of the shooting, the man had his back turned to the officers when at least one opened fire at point-blank range. Considering that seven rounds were fired into Jacob Blake’s back, he was lucky to have survived. Defenders of the police action can try all they want to portray Blake as the perpetrator of his own troubles. He failed to follow orders. He walked away when commanded to stop. He tried to get into his car where his three sons sat. Maybe, from the officers’ perspective, those constituted super-bad crimes. But under no law we know of can such infractions be construed as capital offenses worthy of attempting Blake’s immediate execution on the street. (8/24)