First Edition: Oct. 9, 2020

KHN: As Trump Touts His ‘Great’ COVID Drugs, The Pharma Cash Flows To Biden, Not Him 
Pharmaceutical giants Regeneron and Gilead Sciences got the kind of publicity money can’t buy this week after President Donald Trump took their experimental drugs for his coronavirus infection, left the hospital and pronounced himself fully recovered. “It was, like, unbelievable. I felt good immediately,” Trump said Wednesday in a tweeted video. “I call that a cure.” He praised Regeneron’s monoclonal antibody cocktail, which mimics elements of the immune system, and mentioned a similar drug under investigation by Eli Lilly and Co. The president also took Gilead’s remdesivir, an antiviral that has shortened recovery times for COVID-19 patients in early research. (Hancock, 10/9)

KHN: Pandemic Erects Barriers For Prized Bloc Of Voters In Nursing Homes, Senior Facilities
The convergence of the coronavirus pandemic and election season has complicated this year’s voting for residents of nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other long-term care centers. Many seniors who need help to get or fill out their ballots may be stymied by shifting rules about family visits. Voting procedures — whether in person or by mail — are under increased scrutiny, adding to the confusion. Facilities that used to host voting precincts likely won’t do so this year because of concerns about the spread of COVID-19. (Bluth, 10/9)

KHN: Stigma Against D.O.s Had Been Dissipating Until Trump’s Doctor Took The Spotlight 
Dr. Katherine Pannel was initially thrilled to see President Donald Trump’s physician is a doctor of osteopathic medicine. A practicing D.O. herself, she loved seeing another glass ceiling broken for the type of doctor representing 11% of practicing physicians in the U.S. and now 1 in 4 medical students in the country. But then, as Dr. Sean Conley issued public updates on his treatment of Trump’s COVID-19, the questions and the insults about his qualifications rolled in. (Weber, 10/9)

KHN: KHN On The Air This Week 
KHN reporter Victoria Knight discussed this week’s vice presidential debate with Newsy’s “Morning Rush” on Thursday. (10/9)

Scientific American: COVID-19 Is Now The Third Leading Cause Of Death In The U.S. 
COVID-19 became the third biggest cause of deaths in the week of March 30 to April 4, trailing heart disease and cancer. It killed more people than stroke, chronic lower respiratory disease, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, kidney disease or influenza. In that week, close to 10,000 people died of the illness caused by the coronavirus. The flu, which Trump and others have invoked when discussing COVID-19, led to 1,870 deaths (a figure that includes pneumonia) over the same time frame. A spike in the week-by-week accounting came in mid-April, when COVID-19 cases became the leading cause of death. The disease returned to the third deadliest spot in the week of May 4 to 9 and has stayed there since. (10/8)

Politico: Trump Makes Bold Claims About His Health As He Returns To The Fox Interview Circuit
President Donald Trump returned to form on Thursday morning, engaging in a freewheeling, 55-minute interview on Fox Business in which he made bold claims about his health and coronavirus in general just days after announcing he had contracted the deadly disease. The president, his voice steady but slightly raspy, even boasted that he was in shape to stage one of his marathon political rallies — if he was allowed to hold one. ... Using a joking tone, he claimed he was a “perfect physical specimen, adding “I’m lucky in that way.” (Niedzwiadek, 10/8)

AP: Trump Says He's Ready For Rallies But Details Slim On Health
While Trump said he believes he’s no longer contagious, concerns about infection appeared to scuttle plans for next week’s presidential debate. “I’m feeling good. Really good. I think perfect,” Trump said during a telephone interview with Fox Business, his first since he was released from a three-day hospital stay Monday. “I think I’m better to the point where I’d love to do a rally tonight,” Trump said. He added, “I don’t think I’m contagious at all.” (Miller, Colvin and Lemire, 10/9)

Politico: Trump Signals Rallies Will Resume This Weekend, After Doctor Issues Upbeat Health Report 
President Donald Trump said late Thursday that he hoped to resume in-person rallies this weekend, citing a note from his doctor that anticipated he’d be fit to do so. Speaking with Fox News‘ Sean Hannity, Trump said his team would try to arrange a rally in Florida, depending on logistics. “I think I'm going to try doing a rally on Saturday night if we have enough time to put it together, but we want to do a rally probably in Florida on Saturday night,” he said. “I might come back and do one in Pennsylvania the following night, and it's incredible what's going on. I feel so good." (Choi, 10/8)

The Hill: White House Doctor Says Trump Safe To Return To Public Events On Saturday 
White House physician Sean Conley said Thursday that President Trump would be able to make a “safe return” to public events on Saturday, less than two weeks after being diagnosed with the novel coronavirus. Conley issued a memo Thursday evening stating that Trump had completed his therapy for COVID-19 and that he has responded “extremely well” to treatment overall. The update came just three days after Trump returned to the White House from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he received treatment for 72 hours. (Chalfant, 10/8)

The New York Times: As Trump Pushes For In-Person Debate, Doctor Gives Him Green Light
President Trump’s doctor said on Thursday that he’s completed his treatments to alleviate the symptoms of the coronavirus and that he anticipates that the president will be able to resume “public engagements” on Saturday. The forecast about Mr. Trump’s condition came from the White House physician, Dr. Sean Conley, in a note updating people on his health. Mr. Trump announced shortly before 1 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 2, that he and the first lady, Melania Trump, had tested positive for the virus; White House officials have declined to say when he last tested negative. (10/9)

AP: Trump Still Contagious? Experts Say It's Impossible To Know
President Donald Trump said Thursday he doesn’t think he’s contagious anymore, but medical experts say that’s impossible to know a week after his diagnosis with COVID-19. Most people with COVID-19 can stop isolating and be around others about 10 days after they first showed symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s provided their symptoms have improved, they have not had a fever for 24 hours and are no longer on any medication to reduce a high temperature. But there’s no way to know for certain that someone is no longer contagious so soon after falling ill, experts say. (Renault, 10/9)

Politico: Few Covid Safeguards As Trump Campaign Restarts Rallies
The Trump campaign is hitting the road after being sidelined by the coronavirus for a week, while taking few precautions to ensure the rallies don’t become new hot spots. While President Donald Trump recovers at the White House, Vice President Mike Pence, members of Trump’s family and other proxies are fanning out to battlegrounds like Arizona, Florida, Nevada and North Carolina. Trump’s campaign manager, Bill Stepien, also currently infected, is floating the idea of having the president hold a live rally next Thursday instead of participating in a virtual debate with Joe Biden. (Goldberg, Miranda Ollstein and Roubein, 10/8)

The Washington Post: Senior Marine Tests Positive For Coronavirus, Second High-Ranking Uniformed Official This Week 
A senior military official who was quarantining following interaction with another uniformed leader who contracted covid-19 has tested positive for the coronavirus, the Marine Corps said on Wednesday. Gen. Gary Thomas, the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, received the positive test a day after he began quarantining, the service said in a statement. “In accordance with established Marine Corps COVID policies, General Thomas will continue to quarantine at home. He is experiencing mild symptoms, but otherwise is feeling well,” the statement said. Thomas is the second senior uniformed official whose covid-19 diagnosis was announced this week, following news that Adm. Charles Ray, the vice commandant of the Coast Guard, tested positive on Monday. (Ryan, 10/7)

The Washington Post: Trump Suggests Coronavirus Infection Came From Interaction With Gold Star Families 
President Trump suggested he contracted the coronavirus from families of fallen service members at a White House event, but the president didn’t offer any proof from contact tracing or genetic analysis and the White House later backed away from his remarks amid criticism. Trump made the comments during a Thursday interview with the Fox Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo. The event with the Gold Star families took place on Sept. 27, the day after more than a hundred people also gathered at the White House, many without masks, to mark Trump’s nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. (Sonne, 10/8)

Politico: Democrats Rip Trump For Suggesting Gold Star Families Could Have Given Him Covid-19 
Top congressional Democrats condemned President Donald Trump on Thursday after the commander in chief suggested that he might have contracted Covid-19 from Gold Star family members who were too close to him when telling stories of their loved ones who died in the line of duty. Democrats said Trump's comments, made in an interview with Fox Business Thursday morning, disrespected military families and shifted blame for his administration's shortcomings on the coronavirus. (Forgey and O'Brien, 10/8)

The Washington Post: Antibody Treatment Trump Touts Relied On Testing With Fetal Tissue He Opposes 
President Trump received an experimental antibody cocktail as part of a treatment regimen for covid-19 he has extolled as “miracles coming down from God,” even though its development relied on cells derived from human fetal tissue, a material his administration opposes. The effectiveness of the antibody therapy was tested by employing a fetal tissue cell line from the 1980s widely used in biomedical research, according to Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, its manufacturer. The cell line is old enough that it would fall outside restrictions on federal funding of fetal tissue research the Trump administration imposed last year, according to National Institutes of Health guidelines. (Goldstein, 10/8)

The New York Times: Trump’s Covid Treatments Were Tested In Cells Derived From Fetal Tissue 
Some scientists saw a double standard in the president’s endorsement. “Hypocrisy has never bothered the man, as near as I can tell,” Lawrence Goldstein, a neuroscientist at the University of California, San Diego, who has used fetal tissue in his research, said of Mr. Trump. Dr. Deepak Srivastava, a pediatric cardiologist who led the International Society for Stem Cell Research until July, said, “If they oppose this research, they should be willing to not take a drug that was developed using that.” (Mandavilli and Holt, 10/8)

The Hill: COVID-19 Treatment Touted By Trump Was Tested With Cells Drawn From Fetal Tissue 
A COVID-19 treatment used by President Trump during his illness was tested using a cell line derived from a human fetus, even though his administration opposes the use of aborted fetuses for scientific purposes. Regeneron’s antibody cocktail, touted by Trump as a “cure” for COVID-19, was tested using a cell line originally derived from human embryonic kidney cells from an abortion performed in the Netherlands in the 1970s. (Hellmann, 10/8)

The Washington Post: Trump Pushes FDA To Quickly Clear Coronavirus Antibody Treatments, Erroneously Calling Them A ‘Cure’ 
President Trump and a top aide are pushing the Food and Drug Administration to quickly grant emergency clearance for a promising but unproven covid-19 therapy that the president received nearly a week ago and has credited with his rapid recovery, according to two senior administration officials. Trump and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows have called FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn to urge him to accelerate the agency’s review of the drug, a cocktail of laboratory-made antibodies made by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, according to the two officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the efforts. (Johnson, McGinley and Dawsey, 10/8)

NPR: FDA Weighs COVID-19 Antibody Drugs For Emergency Use 
President Trump continues to tout an experimental treatment he received for COVID-19 as a cure for the disease despite an absence of evidence to back up that claim. To be sure, some medical experts have high hopes that the kind of treatment Trump received could end up being an important element in the fight against the pandemic. Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, recently told The Washington Post these antibody-based drugs are "a real best chance of being a game changer." But we aren't there yet. And there is no telling whether these medications are responsible for the president's apparent recovery. He received early and close medical attention, which included two other powerful medications that could also have played a significant role. (Harris, 10/8)

AP: Antibody Drugs Are No Cure But Seem Promising For COVID-19
They’re not cures and it’s not likely that everyone will be able to get them as President Donald Trump has suggested. But experimental antibody drugs like the one Trump was given are among the most promising therapies being tested for treating and preventing coronavirus infections. Eli Lilly and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. are asking the U.S. government to allow emergency use of their antibody drugs, which aim to help the immune system clear the virus. The medicines are still in testing; their safety and effectiveness are not yet known. (Marchione and Perrone, 10/8)

The Washington Post: Supreme Court Puts On Hold Trump Administration Request To Reimpose Medication Abortion Restrictions 
The court’s unusual and unsigned disposition of the petition came after six weeks of consideration, and brought a rebuke from two of the court’s conservatives for their colleagues, and for U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang. “While COVID-19 has provided the ground for restrictions on First Amendment rights, the District Court saw the pandemic as a ground for expanding the abortion right recognized in Roe v. Wade,” wrote Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., who was joined by Justice Clarence Thomas. (Barnes, 10/8)

Politico: Supreme Court Refuses To Restore Abortion Pill Restrictions, For Now 
The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to grant the Trump administration's bid to restrict access to medication abortions during the pandemic, in the first reproductive rights decision since the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Justices sidestepped an emergency stay that would have restored requirements for patients to see a medical provider before obtaining medication to end a pregnancy, saying lower courts should continue hearing arguments on the policy. (Miranda Ollstein, 10/8)

AP: Justices Say Women Can Get Abortion Pill By Mail, For Now
The Supreme Court on Thursday said it would for now continue to allow women to obtain an abortion pill by mail during the COVID-19 pandemic. The action came over the dissent of two conservative justices who would have immediately granted a Trump administration request to reinstate the requirement that women must visit a hospital, clinic or medical office to obtain a pill. (10/8)

The Washington Post: Citing 25th Amendment, Pelosi, Raskin Move To Create Panel That Could Rule On President’s Fitness For Office 
The panel would be called the Commission on Presidential Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of Office, “the body and process called for in the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” the offices of Pelosi and Raskin said in a statement announcing the move. The 25th Amendment formalizes that the vice president takes over the duties of the presidency in the event of a president’s death, inability to perform his duties or resignation from office. It also lays out a process by which a sitting president may be removed from office. Congress’s role in this, however, is limited.(Sonmez, 10/8)

AP: In 25th Amendment Bid, Pelosi Mulls Trump's Fitness To Serve
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is questioning President Donald Trump’s fitness to serve, announcing legislation Thursday that would create a commission to allow Congress to intervene under the 25th Amendment to the Constitution and remove the president from executive duties. Just weeks before the Nov. 3 election, Pelosi said Trump needs to disclose more about his health after his COVID-19 diagnosis. She noted Trump’s “strange tweet” halting talks on a new coronavirus aid package — he subsequently tried to reverse course — and said Americans need to know when, exactly, he first contracted COVID as others in the White House became infected. On Friday, she plans to roll out the legislation that would launch the commission for review. (Mascaro, 10/8)

The Washington Post: White House, Congress Continue Pressing On Economic Relief Package But Pelosi Bristles Over Trump Approach 
The White House sent mixed signals Thursday about the direction of renewed stimulus talks, resulting in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi confronting Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin over who speaks for the president. The developments occurred two days after President Trump ordered Mnuchin to stop negotiating with Pelosi, only to announce Thursday that talks were back on. Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Democrats were still ready to deal. (Werner and Stein, 10/8)

Politico: Pelosi Signals No Relief For Airlines Without Bigger Covid Deal
Speaker Nancy Pelosi is refusing to move a standalone coronavirus bailout for airlines unless the administration also agrees to a broader stimulus package, sowing further confusion in the already tangled talks that have dragged on since early summer. “I have been very open to having a single standalone bill for the airlines or part of a bigger bill. But there is no standalone bill without a bigger bill,” Pelosi told reporters Thursday at her weekly news conference. (Caygle, Ferris and Mintz, 10/8)

The Hill: Harrison Calls On Graham To Take A COVID-19 Test Before Debate 
South Carolina Senate candidate Jaime Harrison called on Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to take a COVID-19 test before their debate on Friday. Harrison, the Democratic candidate, tweeted on Thursday that he and the debate moderators committed to taking a coronavirus test before the debate, adding that his test is scheduled. (Coleman, 10/8)

The Washington Post: White House Now Has Two CDC Epidemiologists Helping With Contact Tracing 
A week after a cluster of coronavirus cases emerged following a White House event, the Trump administration is now working on a limited basis with the federal government’s elite cadre of disease detectives to control further spread. Two epidemiologists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are assisting the White House in tracking down people who may have been exposed to the coronavirus, CDC spokesman Jason McDonald said Thursday. One epidemiologist has been detailed to the White House since March and the second arrived recently. (Sun, Abutaleb and Dawsey, 10/8)

The Guardian: Activists At Amy Coney Barrett Super-Spreader Event Launch US Bus Tour 
Two conservative activists who were at the White House’s Rose Garden event to announce the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the supreme court – now believed to be a super-spreader of the coronavirus – have launched a nationwide bus tour to promote the judge. The tour, led by a group called Concerned Women for America, has so far included stops in Georgia and South Carolina in which participants can be seen in close quarters and without wearing face masks. (Kirchgaessner, 10/8)

AP: Next Trump-Biden Debates Uncertain, Though Oct. 22 Is Likely
The campaign’s final debates between President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden were thrown into uncertainty Thursday as the rival camps offered dueling proposals for the remaining faceoffs that have been upended by the president’s coronavirus infection. The chair of the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates told The Associated Press that the final debate, scheduled for Oct. 22, was still slated to go on with both candidates present as planned. But next Thursday’s debate seemed to be gone, after the Trump team objected to the commission’s format change. (Miller and Weissert, 10/9)

Reuters: Trump's Handling Of Coronavirus Pandemic Hits Record Low Approval
Americans are steadily losing confidence in President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, with his net approval on the issue that has dominated the U.S. election hitting a record low in a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. The poll taken Tuesday through Thursday, after Trump’s COVID-19 infection and weekend hospitalization, found 37% of American adults approved of the president’s handling of the pandemic and 59% disapproved. (Whitesides, 10/8)

Reuters: More Than 6.6 Million Americans Have Already Voted, Suggesting Record Turnout
Americans are rushing to cast ballots ahead of the Nov. 3 election at an unprecedented pace, early voting numbers show, indicating a possible record turnout for the showdown between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden. With less than four weeks to go before Election Day, more than 6.6 million Americans already have voted, more than ten times the number who had at this time in 2016, according to the United States Elections Project, which compiles early voting data. (Whitesides, 10/8)

Politico: What Caused Mike Pence’s Bloody Eye 
Vice President Mike Pence ignited speculation about his health when he arrived at the only vice presidential debate Wednesday night with a bloody left eye, but a senior administration official on Thursday said there’s no reason to be concerned. White House doctors have cleared the vice president of a conjunctivitis infection, commonly known as pink eye, and believe Pence suffered from a broken blood vessel instead, according to the official. (Orr, 10/8)

Vox: Mike Pence’s Pink-Looking Eye In The Debate Is More Than A Meme, As Covid-19 Infects The White House 
Vice President Mike Pence’s florid pink eye — similar to that of Joe Biden’s bloody debate eye last year — led to frenzied online speculation about his health and whether the eye condition could be linked to the coronavirus. For its post-debate coverage, ABC News kicked off by bringing on its chief medical correspondent Jennifer Ashton, who was unable to confirm whether Pence’s pink-colored eye was in fact the condition pink eye and whether it signified anything. “Anywhere from 11 to 30 percent of Covid patients can have pink eye. It can be an early sign,” Ashton said. “But he can just have some makeup in his eye.” (Nguyen, 10/8)

Los Angeles Times: Is Pink Eye A COVID-19 Symptom? 
Is pink eye a symptom of COVID-19? A lot of people have been wondering this since noticing that Mike Pence’s left eye looked decidedly pink at the vice presidential debate Wednesday night, even though the vice president has said he tested negative for a coronavirus infection. The short answer is: Pink eye can be caused by COVID-19, but only rarely. (Netburn, 10/8)

NPR: Nobel Peace Prize Awarded To World Food Programme 
The 2020 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the World Food Programme. The citation said the humanitarian organization, a part of the United Nations, is receiving the prize "for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict." The announcement was made by Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, who said in this time of pandemic "multilateral cooperation is more important than ever." (Katkov, 10/9)

The New York Times: 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Awarded To U.N. World Food Program 
The World Food Program, a United Nations agency, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for its efforts to combat hunger globally and lay the foundations for peace in nations devastated by war, the Nobel committee announced. The organization was recognized for its work during a coronavirus pandemic that has “contributed to a strong upsurge in the number of victims of hunger in the world,” the committee said in a statement. The United Nations body — the largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger and promoting food security internationally — last year provided assistance to nearly one million people in 88 countries. (Specia, 10/9)

The Washington Post: Nobel Peace Prize Goes To World Food Program For Efforts To Combat Hunger
The award is an acknowledgment of the central role the Rome-based organization plays in dealing with impoverished people caught in or fleeing from conflict. The WFP, which was established in 1961, has become the primary international organization for people dealing with hunger — at a time when climate change and prolonged conflicts in the Middle East and Africa are exacerbating the challenge. Millions in Syria and Yemen depend each month on the WFP for survival. The organization says that more than 800 million people are chronically hungry, most of them living in conflict-stricken areas. (Birnbaum and Harlan, 10/9)

CNN: How You Can Help Fight The Hunger Crisis Resulting From The Covid-19 Pandemic
The coronavirus is leading to a secondary pandemic -- hunger. The need for emergency food has exploded since March of 2020. According to an Oxfam report, this hunger crisis could soon kill more people each day than the infection itself. (Lee, 10/6)

CIDRAP: FDA Head: Outside Pressures Won't Rush COVID Vaccine 
The decision to authorize and approve a COVID-19 vaccine will be based on data and science—not politics, Stephen Hahn, MD, commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said today in a Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) webinar. "We will use science and data to drive those decisions, we will be transparent about those decisions, and we will do everything in our power to prevent anything other than science and data from being involved in those decisions," Hahn said. "That is the promise that we as the FDA, that I as the commissioner of food and drugs, make to the American people." (Van Beusekom, 10/8)

The Hill: NIH Launches Trial Of New COVID-19 Treatment 
The National Institutes of Health on Thursday launched a late-stage trial testing a new, blood-based COVID-19 treatment with Gilead Sciences’ remdesivir. The Inpatient Treatment with Anti-Coronavirus Immunoglobulin (ITAC) trial will pair remdesivir with anti-coronavirus hyperimmune intravenous immunoglobulin (hIVIG) to see if it will work as a treatment for hospitalized COVID-19 patients. (Williams, 10/8)

Stat: FDA Probing Whether Intercept Pharma Drug Is Tied To Risk Of Liver Injury
The Food and Drug Administration is evaluating a potential risk of liver injury in patients who take the Intercept Pharmaceuticals drug Ocaliva to treat a certain type of liver disease. The FDA’s inquiry into Ocaliva began in May and could take one year to complete, Intercept spokesperson Christopher Frates told STAT. Intercept is cooperating with the FDA’s safety regulators, and “based on our work to date, we remain confident in the positive benefit-risk profile of Ocaliva when used as directed,” Frates said. (Feuerstein, 10/8)

The New York Times: People With This Mutation Can’t Smell Stinky Fish 
Researchers in Iceland have identified a new mutant superpower — but the genetic trait probably won’t be granting anyone admission to the X-Men. A small contingent of the world’s population carries a mutation that makes them immune to the odious funk that wafts off fish, according to a study of some 11,000 people published Thursday in the journal Current Biology. The trait is rare, but potent: When faced with a synthetic odor that would put many people off their lunch, some test subjects smelled only the pleasant aroma of caramel, potato or rose. (Wu, 10/8)

WCCO - CBS Minnesota: School Nurses Take On A New Role As They Juggle COVID Symptoms And Other Illnesses  
For weeks, Minnesota school nurses have been on the virus front lines as most students are back in their buildings.  The COVID-19 pandemic is proving to be a challenge while still juggling other illnesses and symptoms.  Two school nurses gave WCCO some insight into an unprecedented year. From the sniffles to sore throats, Anoka-Hennepin’s Director of Nursing Cynthia Hiltz explains how symptoms are examined much more closely this school year. “People don’t come in with I have COVID across my head it’s really hard to determine what’s going on,” Hiltz said. “It’s not a road map where you start here and go here. There are a lot of variables to look at.” (Collin, 10/8)

CIDRAP: Study Reveals Prolonged COVID-19 Symptoms In Pregnant Women
Most pregnant women with COVID-19 experience mild disease, but many have prolonged symptoms lasting weeks after infection, according to a large nationwide study yesterday in Obstetrics & Gynecology. Pregnant women have a higher risk of severe disease with other respiratory viruses, leading to concerns that COVID-19 infection during pregnancy may represent an increased risk. Recent reports show higher rates of intensive care unit (ICU) admission and ventilation among pregnant COVID-19 patients, but the clinical presentation and morbidity for pregnant patients is not fully understood. (10/8)

Modern Healthcare: The Toll Pandemic Isolation Is Taking On The Nation's Elderly
Nursing homes have put in place some of the strictest safeguards to protect the nation's older population from COVID-19. But those regulations are taking a toll, creating a bigger chasm between residents and the outside world and their family, friends and loved ones. (Christ, 10/7)

The Hill: Airbnb To Require Hosts To Adhere To Enhanced Cleaning Protocols Or Risk Being Booted Off The Platform 
Home-sharing company Airbnb announced Thursday that its hosts will now be required to follow the company’s enhanced cleaning requirements in order to address safety concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic. The global company outlined its “Airbnb Enhanced Clean” standards on its website, which includes a “five-step process” based on “Airbnb’s cleaning handbook, which was developed in partnership with former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy and backed by global health and hospitality experts.” (Castronuovo, 10/8)

Tampa Bay Times: A ‘Golden-Hearted Young Man’: Another Florida Corrections Officer Dies Of COVID-19
Londell Woodbury, a correctional officer who worked at Reception and Medical Center in Lake Butler, died from complications related to COVID-19, Warden Joseph Edwards wrote in an email to prison employees in Northeast Florida. Woodbury was 23. ... Florida Department of Corrections officials on Thursday declined to comment on Woodbury’s cause of death, citing “privacy laws.” His death is not reflected on the state’s COVID-19 prison death report, which is updated every Wednesday and shows three COVID-19 deaths of workers statewide. The lack of transparency mirrors past instances in which the department either delayed or failed to reveal key information about COVID-19, including deaths, as the virus tore through the state’s prison system. (Ceballos, 10/9)

Burlington Free Press: Vermont Is Restarting Criminal Trials. How Will It Keep The Public Safe?
Jury trials in Vermont's state criminal courts are poised to restart soon after months of delay during the COVID-19 pandemic. The courts canceled non-essential hearings, including trials, in March when the pandemic began affecting Vermont. Since then, the courts have begun slowly reopening operations, according to the Vermont Judiciary. (Murray, 10/7)

Politico: Covid-19 Cases Rising In New Jersey As Officials Prepare For Second Wave
New Jersey officials say they are bracing for a second wave of the coronavirus, with the state recording 1,301 new Covid-19 cases, the highest amount in a single day since May. In a briefing on Thursday, Gov. Phil Murphy described the number as “sobering” and pleaded with residents to practice social distancing and wear masks. (Landergan, 10/8)

AP: Tensions Rise As Virus Cases Surge In Wisconsin, Dakotas
A surge of coronavirus cases in Wisconsin and the Dakotas is forcing a scramble for hospital beds and raising political tensions, as the Upper Midwest and Plains emerge as one of the nation’s most troubling hot spots. ... “It’s an emotional roller coaster,” said Melissa Resch, a nurse at Wisconsin’s Aspirus Wausau Hospital, which is working to add beds and reassign staff to keep up with a rising caseload of virus patients, many gravely ill. “Just yesterday I had a patient say, ’It’s OK, you guys took good care of me, but it’s OK to let me go,’” Resch said. “I’ve cried with the respiratory unit, I’ve cried with managers. I cry at home. I’ve seen nurses crying openly in the hallway.” (Geller and Groves, 10/8)

San Francisco Chronicle: S.F.-Marin Food Bank Ratifies Union Contract After Yearlong Battle Where Workers Alleged Institutional Racism 
The San Francisco-Marin Food Bank, one of the Bay Area’s most prominent hunger relief nonprofits, was thrust into the spotlight this year, as long lines formed at food pantries and the need for food swelled. But behind the scenes, there’s been a yearlong battle going on after workers voted to unionize — something they finalized just recently. After simmering discontent about institutional racism and lack of worker protections, the food bank and its staff have agreed on a new contract. (Bitker, 10/7)

The Washington Post: Covid-19 Outbreak At Fairfax Juvenile Detention Center 
Officials said a coronavirus outbreak has sickened more than a dozen workers and residents at Fairfax County’s Juvenile Detention Center, prompting questions from staff members about the precautions taken against the virus and how its spread was handled. Eight workers and six juveniles have tested positive for the coronavirus at the Fairfax City facility since Sept. 29, officials said, making it one of the worst known outbreaks at a local youth center since March. (Jouvenal, 10/8)

The New York Times: As New York City’s Covid-19 Lockdown Nears, Confusion And Anger Reign 
As New York officials on Thursday hurriedly launched a targeted lockdown to stamp out rising rates of positive coronavirus test results, chaos, confusion and tension erupted over restrictions that are closing schools and businesses and greatly limiting attendance at places of worship. There were competing hot-spot maps, issued by Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City and then by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, which overlapped and contradicted each other. Schools and businesses that were to be shut down on one map were not on the other. The city, where the rules took effect on Thursday in parts of Brooklyn and Queens, made a searchable online database of addresses available so New Yorkers could determine which zone they were in. (10/9)

Reuters: Eli Lilly In Deal To Supply COVID-19 Drugs To Low-Income Countries
Eli Lilly and Co LLY.N said on Thursday it had entered into an agreement with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for potential supply of its experimental antibody treatments for COVID-19 to low and middle-income countries. As part of the deal, Lilly said it will make antibody therapies available to lower-income countries prior to April 2021, but did not elaborate on the number of doses. Separately, Fujifilm Holdings Corp 4901.T said its facility in Denmark would manufacture treatments next year. (10/8)

Reuters: Australia Records Second Day Without COVID-19 Death For First Time In Three Months
Australia reported its second straight day without any COVID-19 deaths on Friday, the longest stretch without any fatalities from the virus in three months. Australian states and territories reported 16 cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, down from 28 on Thursday, and no deaths for two days, the first time Australia has gone 48 hours without a COVID-19 death since July 11. (Packham, 10/8)

AP: China Joins COVAX Coronavirus Vaccine Alliance
China, which has at least four coronavirus vaccine candidates in the last stage of clinical trials, said Friday it is joining the COVID-19 vaccine alliance known as COVAX. The country signed an agreement with Gavi, the co-leader of the alliance, on Thursday, China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Initially, China did not agree to join the alliance, missing the deadline to join in September. (Wu, 10/9)