First Edition: April 12, 2021

KHN: Biden Seeks $400 Billion To Buttress Long-Term Care. A Look At What’s At Stake. 
There’s widespread agreement that it’s important to help older adults and people with disabilities remain independent as long as possible. But are we prepared to do what’s necessary, as a nation, to make this possible? That’s the challenge President Joe Biden has put forward with his bold proposal to spend $400 billion over eight years on home and community-based services, a major part of his $2 trillion infrastructure plan. (Graham, 4/12)

KHN: The Gender Vaccine Gap: More Women Than Men Are Getting Covid Shots
Mary Ann Steiner drove 2½ hours from her home in the St. Louis suburb of University City to the tiny Ozark town of Centerville, Missouri, to get vaccinated against covid-19. After pulling into the drive-thru line in a church parking lot, she noticed that the others waiting for shots had something in common with her. “Everyone in the very short line was a woman,” said Steiner, 70. (Ungar, 4/12)

KHN: ‘Explained By KHN’: Health Insurance Help In Covid Relief Law
The twists and turns of the American health system can sometimes leave people lost, confused and looking for answers. We’ve created a new video series — “Explained by KHN” — in which our correspondents and editors answer common health care and health policy questions. The $1.9 trillion covid relief package that President Joe Biden signed into law in March includes more money to help Americans pay their health insurance premiums for the next two years. KHN correspondent Emmarie Huetteman explains some of the changes that could help consumers.  (4/12)

KHN: Readers And Tweeters Give Tips On Treating Diabetes And Long Covid
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories. (4/12)

The New York Times: Governor Of Michigan, Battling Virus Surge, Again Calls For More Vaccine Supplies 
With her state fighting a huge coronavirus surge, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan renewed her appeal to the Biden administration on Sunday to send the state much larger supplies of vaccine, an idea that the White House has rebuffed. Michigan has recently become a major Covid hot spot in the United States. Average daily reports of new cases have risen sevenfold since a low point in February, and nine of the 10 U.S. metropolitan areas with the most new cases per capita lately are in Michigan. Hospitals are filling up. (Tompkins, 4/12)

USA Today: Biden Administration Won't Surge Vaccines To Virus Hotspots
President Joe Biden's administration said Friday additional vaccine doses will not be delivered to states seeing surges in COVID-19 cases, despite appeals from local leaders and some health experts. The administration says its current rollout plan, based on state adult population, is "fair and equitable." "We're not even halfway through our vaccination program so now is not the time to change course on vaccine allocation," said Jeff Zients, coordinator of the White House COVID-19 task force, during Friday's briefing. (Kiggins and Iyer, 4/10)

CNN: Michigan's Covid-19 Crisis Could Be A Sign Of What's To Come For The US, Expert Says 
As the US races to vaccinate more Americans, Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations are rising, predominantly among younger people who haven't yet gotten a shot. Some experts worry this might only be the start of what's to come in the next weeks. Michigan is already in the middle of a violent surge, and one epidemiologist says other states should be paying close attention. (Maxouris, 4/12)

Detroit Free Press: Workers Weary, Patients Angry As COVID-19 Fills Michigan Hospitals
By Friday — even as the state administered its 5 millionth vaccine — some hospitals had returned to banning visitors, halting nonemergency procedures and implementing pandemic surge plans. Nearly two dozen hospitals had reached 90% capacity, according to data compiled by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. More than 15% of Michigan hospital beds held COVID-19 patients. Six metro Detroit counties were reporting the most patients since the pandemic’s first, terrifying wave last spring. That meant there are fewer hospital beds available now then when 90-year-old Dean Jensen waited for hours in Trenton. (His family was able to get him treated at the Detroit Medical Center, where he received 18 stitches.) (Erb and Jordan Shamus, 4/10)

Fox News: Coronavirus Cases, Hospitalizations Rising In Pennsylvania
Coronavirus cases and related hospitalizations are rising in Pennsylvania, according to state health data. The state on Thursday saw some 4,746 additional cases of the novel virus, marking the third day in a row daily new cases have surpassed 4,000, according to estimates from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The 7-day average of new cases in the state is also on the incline, rising to 4,328 on Thursday, representing a roughly 6% increase from a week prior. Overall, 1,064,092 positive COVID-19 cases have been reported in the state to date. (Farber, 4/10)

Los Angeles Times: California's COVID-19 Death Toll Surpasses 60,000 Even As Conditions Improve
The COVID-19 death toll in California has exceeded 60,000, an alarming statistic that comes even as conditions in the state continue to improve. The state’s toll represents 10.7% of COVID-19 deaths nationwide. California is home to about 12% of Americans. Although California’s death toll was lower per capita than in the other most populous states, COVID-19 has hit some communities particularly hard. The state’s lower-income Latino communities — home to many essential workers who often live in crowded housing — saw disproportionately high numbers of deaths while affluent areas saw lower numbers. (Lin II and Money, 4/11)

USA Today: COVID: California, Illinois, Washington Lift Vaccine Restrictions
With the majority of states having already lifted vaccine restrictions to all adults in recent weeks, the United States grows ever closer to President Joe Biden's two vaccine goals. Three more will join them this week: First, Illinois will open up vaccine eligibility to those 16 and older Monday, and following close behind are Washington state and California on Thursday. It all comes nearly a week before Biden's goal for states to make all adults in the U.S. eligible for coronavirus vaccines, which is Monday, April 19. The six remaining states after this week will open up at or before that date. (Aspegren, 4/12)

New York Post: Georgia Site Is Fourth In US To Pause Johnson & Johnson Vaccine
A coronavirus vaccine site in Georgia became the fourth US location this week to pause its administration of the Johnson & Johnson jab after concerns over possible adverse reactions, a report said. Eight people experienced lightheadedness after getting the shot Wednesday at the Cumming Fairgrounds, though health officials believe that could have simply been caused by the hot weather, WSB-TV reported. (Garger, 4/11)

The Washington Post: Emergent Solutions CEO Received 51 Percent Compensation Boost In 2020
Emergent BioSolutions, the troubled manufacturer at the heart of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine production problems, gave its chief executive officer a 51 percent increase in total compensation in 2020, to $5.6 million, according to a public filing Friday. The annual proxy disclosure by the publicly traded company said CEO Robert Kramer received $893,000 in salary, a $1.2 million bonus, $2.1 million in stock awards, and $1.4 million in stock options. (Rowland, 4/10)

Modern Healthcare: White House Budget Proposes Billions Of Dollars For Cancer Research, Opioid Crisis Response
President Joe Biden's budget request to Congress proposes the creation of a new agency dedicated to cancer research, billions of dollars in funding to help end the opioid epidemic and an investment in the rural health workforce. As Biden's first budget request to Congress as president, it offers a look at his priorities on healthcare and education, with increases in discretionary—or optional spending—across the board. A proposal detailing mandatory spending requests—which includes Medicaid and Medicare—will come later, White House officials said Friday. (Hellmann, 4/9)

Stat: Biden Pushes Congress To Boost Pandemic Preparedness Funding
The Biden administration is asking Congress to bolster public health funding yet again — a call the White House says is necessary to prepare the country for the next pandemic and address public health crises that have been pushed amid Covid-19. Biden called for a $1.6 billion funding increase for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — a boost that represents almost a quarter of the agency’s current budget — to help increase core public health capacity at the federal and state level. The money could also be used to help build out public health data infrastructure and train new public health experts. (Cohrs, 4/9)

Stat: Biden Pushes For A New, $6.5 Billion Agency Aimed At Curing Cancer 
The Biden administration on Friday proposed the creation of a $6.5 billion medical research agency with an audacious goal: quickly developing cures for diseases including cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes. If the agency is established, it could mark a fundamental shift in how the U.S. government funds research, steering the emphasis from basic science to higher-risk projects more directly aimed at major medical breakthroughs. (Facher, 4/9)

Politico: How Biden Hopes To Fix The Thorniest Problem In Housing 
President Joe Biden is proposing a historic infusion of federal money into housing as part of his $2 trillion infrastructure package, but the plan is already running into doubts about whether it’s enough and resistance from the very people he needs to make it a reality. A key element of Biden’s $213 billion proposal is offering cities federal dollars to encourage them to ease zoning rules that drive up housing costs, impede the construction of affordable homes and often prevent people of color from moving in. But housing advocates and economists say Biden’s decision to rely solely on financial incentives without including more punitive actions to force changes could dampen the plan’s effect on one of the major drivers of the affordable housing crisis in the U.S., particularly in the largest metro areas. (O'Donnell, 4/10)

The Washington Post: Fed’s Powell Says Reopening Economy Too Quickly Could Cause New Coronavirus Spike 
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell warned in an interview broadcast Sunday that reopening the economy too quickly could lead to another worrisome jump in coronavirus cases, arguing that the country has not completely turned the corner and that the pandemic continues to pose major risks to any recovery. Powell, speaking in a “60 Minutes” interview, also said that the coronavirus pandemic had exacerbated economic disparities in the United States and that this could take time to address during an uneven recovery. (Siegel, 4/11)

The Wall Street Journal: The Other Reason The Labor Force Is Shrunken: Fear Of Covid-19
A little over a year ago, Chanee McLaurin was a few weeks into a new job selling insurance when she began to hear coughing in her office. Co-workers, one after another, stopped showing up. Then she overheard a colleague whispering into her phone that she had been diagnosed with flu-like symptoms. “I was like, ‘You know what? I’m going to go home. And I’m probably not going to come back,’” said Ms. McLaurin, who is 29 and lives in a suburb of Dallas. (Guilford, 4/11)

The New York Times: Pfizer Requests Authorization To Use Vaccine In Young Teens 
More than 2,000 young adolescents participated in the vaccine trial’s third phase. Among those who received it, none developed symptomatic coronavirus infections or exhibited serious side effects, the companies said last month. The vaccinated 12- to 15-year-olds also produced higher levels of antibodies, on average, than older adolescents and young adults did. The trial results have not yet been published in a scientific journal. ... Moderna is also testing its vaccine in children. Results from its study of 12- to 17-year olds, which began in December, are expected soon. A separate trial consisting of children under 12 began last month. (Anthes, 4/9)

Politico: Pfizer Asks To OK Covid Vaccine For Younger Teens 
Pfizer and its partner BioNTech on Friday asked the Food and Drug Administration to greenlight its coronavirus vaccine for use in children 12 to 15 years old, just one week after the companies said a late-stage trial showed the vaccine was highly effective in this age group. If U.S. regulators clear the request, it would make Pfizer's shot the first to become available to younger teens. The move could also speed the timeline for getting more students back into school and curb costly safety measures being considered by education systems. (Owermohle, 4/9)

CNBC: Covid: Regeneron To Request FDA Clearance For Antibody Drug As Preventative Treatment
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals said Monday it will ask the Food and Drug Administration to allow its Covid-19 antibody therapy to be used as a preventative treatment. The therapy, which was given to former President Donald Trump shortly after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 last year, has already been authorized by the FDA to treat adults with mild-to-moderate Covid-19 and pediatric patients at least 12 years of age who have tested positive for the virus and are at high risk of severe disease. (Lovelace Jr., 4/12)

Stat: Regeneron Says Its Antibody Cocktail Injection Prevents Covid
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals said Monday that a single shot of its monoclonal antibody cocktail reduced the risk that volunteers exposed to Covid-19 would develop the disease by 81%. The study enrolled 1,500 healthy volunteers, each of whom shared a home with someone who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, and randomized them to receive a single dose of its antibody treatment, given subcutaneously, or placebo. After 29 days, 11 patients in the treatment group developed Covid-19 compared to 59 on placebo. (Herper, 4/12)

Fox News: ‘Patient 16’ Recovers From COVID-19 Infection During Defense Department Study
A military spouse who was hospitalized due to COVID-19 was able to fight off the infection after taking part in a Defense Department study that involved a filter attached to a dialysis machine to rid her blood of the virus. Retired Col. Matt Hepburn, a physician who worked for years in the defense advanced research projects agency, or DARPA, told "60 Minutes" that the military is working on several moonshot projects to help prevent the next pandemic and assist in the current one. One included a sensor that would be placed underneath your skin in order to detect chemical reactions that may be occurring due to an infection. The sensor is still being developed but Hepburn likened it to a "check-engine light." (DeMarche, 4/12)

The Hill: Pentagon Insists Vaccine Rollout A Success Despite Spotty Data
The Pentagon is touting its rollout of coronavirus vaccines even as it is unable to say how many service members have actually received COVID-19 vaccinations. Defense Department (DOD) officials say they have delivered more than 2 million shots, but a lack of hard numbers has made it difficult to determine how many of those have gone into the arms of troops versus military families and civilian employees. (Mitchell, 4/11)

CBS News: Military Programs Aiming To End Pandemics Forever
It might surprise you to learn that many of the innovations deployed to counter the coronavirus were once obscure Pentagon-funded projects to defend soldiers from contagious diseases and biological weapons. The life-saving vaccine developed in record time owes a debt to these programs. To learn more, we met the man who has been leading the rapid vaccine effort, retired Colonel Matt Hepburn. An army infectious disease physician, he spent years with the secretive defense advanced research projects agency or DARPA, working on technology he hopes will ensure COVID-19 is the last pandemic. (Whitaker, 4/11)

Capital & Main: New COVID Variants May Complicate School Reopenings
After weeks of watching COVID-19 case numbers fall, federal health officials this week provided an unambiguous update: That trend has been reversed. New cases of the disease are up 2.3% nationally, based on a seven-day average, and hospital admissions are up 2.7%, according to Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Perhaps more worrisome than the raw numbers, though, are the demographics. “Across the country, we are hearing reports of clusters of cases associated with daycare centers and youth sports,” Walensky said at a White House press briefing Wednesday. “Hospitals are seeing more and more young adults — those in their 30s and 40s — admitted with severe disease.” (Kreidler, 4/9)

Bay Area News Group: Nearly Half Of California Adults Have Received A Vaccine Shot
Nearly half of Californians 18 and older have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot, an encouraging metric as some experts watch with concern spiking case rates in Michigan, New Jersey and elsewhere in the country. So far, 46.8 percent of adults in California have received at least one vaccine shot, and 25.5 percent have been fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among residents 65 and older, 81.5 percent have received at least one shot, and 57.4 percent are fully vaccinated. (Castañeda, 4/10)

AP: Wisconsin Reports Almost 25% Of Population Fully Vaccinated
Wisconsin health officials reported nearly a quarter of the state’s population has completed COVID-19 vaccination on Sunday. Over 1.4 million people — making up 24.3% of the state’s population — have been completely vaccinated by either receiving the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine or two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. (4/11)

The Washington Post: Gov. Abbott Falsely Says Texas Is Close To Coronavirus Herd Immunity 
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said “simple math” is behind the recent decline of coronavirus cases in his state: Take the number of people who have been vaccinated and combine it with the number who have been infected. The result, he argued, is something “very close” to herd immunity — the point at which enough of the population is immune that the virus can no longer easily spread. “We remain very vigilant and guarded and proactive in our response, but there is simple math behind the reason why we continue to have success,” Abbott, a Republican, said on “Fox News Sunday.” The equation “means, very simply, it’s a whole lot more difficult for covid-19 to be spreading to other people in the state of Texas.” (Thebault, 4/11)

NPR: More Colleges Say They'll Require Students To Have COVID Vaccines For Fall
Duke University in North Carolina has announced that it will require students to have a COVID-19 vaccine when they return this fall. And the list of campuses with such policies is growing. Rutgers University in New Jersey was the first, and since then more than a dozen residential colleges have followed. The University of Notre Dame; two Ivy League universities, Brown and Cornell; and Northeastern University in Massachusetts are among those requiring the vaccine for the fall. Cleveland State University will do so for all students living on campus. (Nadworny, 4/11)

Bloomberg: Vaccine Requirements Spread In U.S., Sowing Concern On Overreach
Covid-19 vaccination requirements are fast becoming facts of life in the U.S., spreading business by business even as politicians and privacy advocates rail against them. Brown, Notre Dame and Rutgers are among universities warning students and staff they’ll need shots in order to return to campus this fall. Some sports teams are demanding proof of vaccination or a negative test from fans as arenas reopen. Want to see your favorite band play indoors in California? At bigger venues, the same rules apply. A Houston hospital chain recently ordered its 26,000 employees to get vaccinated. (Baker, 4/10)

Philadelphia Inquirer: COVID-19 Vaccination Response Reduced In Blood Cancer Patients, Pitt Study Finds
All 70 elderly volunteers had measurable, although varied, levels of disease-fighting antibodies, the researchers said Friday during a Zoom news conference. In contrast, almost half of the 67 patients with blood cancers did not produce any antibodies. The response rate was even worse in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a slow-progressing malignancy of the blood and bone marrow. Only 3 out of 13 made antibodies, even though most of them were not undergoing cancer therapy that could suppress or damage their immune systems. (McCullough, 4/9)

CIDRAP: Reports Detail High COVID-19 Burden In Native Americans 
During the pandemic, Native Americans have had 2.2 times greater COVID-19 case incidence and almost quadruple the death rate of White people in Montana, according to a study today in Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). A separate MMWR report looked at COVID-19 cases and response on a 10,000-member tribal reservation in Montana, while a third detailed control efforts taken on a North Dakota reservation. (McLernon, 4/9)

Crain's Detroit Business: Diabetes Patients At High Risk From COVID-19 Are Managing Conditions More Effectively
Diabetes is one of the health risk factors—along with such conditions as lung, kidney, liver and heart disease, obesity and a weakened immune system—that experts cite as reasons Detroit's COVID-19 positive cases and death rates were initially much higher than other areas. Since March 2020, Detroit has recorded 50,623 positive tests of COVID-19 and 1,890 deaths, representing 7% and 12%, respectively, of Michigan's total of 715,478 cases and 16,327 confirmed deaths as of April 7. During the first COVID-19 surge last spring, Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties represented 38% of the state's total positive cases and 49% of the deaths by April 30, according to a Crain's analysis. (Greene, 4/11)

The Wall Street Journal: Soaring Costs Of Nurses During Covid-19 Pandemic Are At Center Of Lawsuits
Hospital chain Steward Health Care Systems LLC and staffing firm Aya Healthcare Inc. are suing each other over outstanding bills in a dispute over soaring wages for nurses in the pandemic. Aya, based in San Diego, claims the Dallas-based hospital chain owes it more than $40 million including overdue bills, according to a lawsuit Aya filed Tuesday in Massachusetts Superior Court. Steward last month sued Aya in the same court, alleging price gouging and seeking to stop the staffing firm from canceling work for its nurses scheduled at the hospital chain. (Evans and Carlton, 4/8)

Stat: Lilly’s Retevmo Shows Success In Rare Tumors With Key Genetic Mutation
Retevmo, a drug developed by Eli Lilly’s Loxo Oncology unit, shows efficacy in tumors beyond the lung and thyroid cancers where it is approved so long as those tumors bear a key genetic alteration, the company said. Full data were released Sunday at a presentation at the virtual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. (Herper, 4/11)

Stat: Clinical Study Reports Hold More Details About Cancer Drug
For years, researchers have urged regulators to release clinical study reports that are generated during clinical trials in order to support further research and improve care. Now, a new study offers evidence why this is a good idea: There were more harmful side effects found in clinical study reports than listings in corresponding trial registries or published studies. (Silverman, 4/9)

Stat: Natural Killer Cells Induce Remissions In Patients With Blood Cancer
Two patients with advanced Hodgkin lymphoma were told their tumors were so resistant to treatment that hospice was their best option. Then, they were enrolled in a clinical trial of a novel immunotherapy involving so-called natural killer cells. After treatment, they saw complete remission. (Feuerstein, 4/9)

Stat: Google Is Exploring A Health Record Tool For Patients
After 13 years, Google is coming back for patient health records. The tech giant has launched an early user feedback program aimed at exploring how patients might want to see, organize, and share their own medical record data. The work could inform the creation of a consumer-facing medical records tool along the lines of Apple’s Health Records app. It also follows an early attempt by Google — later panned by medical experts — at creating a new version of the electronic medical record in 2008. (Brodwin, 4/9)

Bloomberg: Microsoft Makes Big Bet On Health-Care AI Technology With Nuance
Microsoft Corp. is making a massive bet on health-care artificial intelligence. The software giant is set to buy Nuance Communications Inc., tapping the company tied to the Siri voice technology to overhaul solutions that free doctors from note-taking and better predict a patient’s needs. Microsoft may announce the deal as soon as Monday if talks are successful, according to people familiar with the matter. The price being discussed could value Nuance at about $56 a share, a 23% premium to Friday’s close, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Set to be Microsoft’s largest acquisition since LinkedIn Corp., the purchase would give Nuance an equity value of about $16 billion, data compiled by Bloomberg show. (Bass, Baker and Porter, 4/12)

Becker's Hospital Review: How Scripps Health And Monarch Healthcare Used Analytics To Optimize Physician Resources And Avoid Burnout
Over the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the rate of burnout among physicians, who were already feeling bogged down by growing administrative workloads and additional challenges. During a Feb. 24 webinar hosted by Becker's Hospital Review and sponsored by Ingenious Med, industry experts discussed best practices to minimize physician burnout and described how analytics and tools can help healthcare organizations tackle burnout factors before they impact clinician well-being and care quality. (4/11)

The Washington Post: Are MRNA Flu Shots In The Works? Yes, But Not For The Upcoming Flu Season. 
The technology used in two of the coronavirus vaccines authorized by the Food and Drug Administration may enable scientists to develop flu shots in record time, but also make inoculations that could be more effective and protect against numerous flu strains for years at a time. The messenger-RNA technology — used in the Pfizer and Moderna coronavirus vaccines — would be a leap forward for flu shots, some of which still rely on a process developed in the 1950s involving chickens, petri dishes and dead viruses. Researchers are hopeful that the success of those coronavirus vaccines will grease the wheels for mRNA flu shots and help expedite what is typically a lengthy process involving years of research, clinical trials and regulatory review and approval. (Bever, 4/11)

Stat: Trial Shows Promise Aiming A Cold-Sore Virus At Children's Brain Tumors
A therapy that sends a modified cold-sore virus to selectively kill tumor cells and spark an immune response to a particularly deadly brain cancer in children showed promise in an early clinical trial, scientists reported Saturday. They hope their approach to high-grade gliomas will pave the way toward a combination treatment with immunotherapy that could spare children the harsh toxicities of current therapies. (Cooney, 4/10)

USA Today: USDA Issues Public Health Alert For More Than 211,000 Pounds Of Ground Turkey For Possible Salmonella Risk
A public health alert has been issued for approximately 211,406 pounds of raw ground turkey products potentially linked to salmonella hadar illness. The Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service issued the alert Saturday night for the products that were produced by Plainville Brands, LLC, which is based in New Oxford, Pennsylvania. The affected products were shipped to stores nationwide and have January "use by/freeze/sell by" dates. The health alert said there were concerns that "some product may be frozen and in consumers’ freezers." (Tyko, 4/11)

The Washington Post: Ex-NFL Player Phillip Adams’s Brain To Be Examined For CTE 
The brain of Phillip Adams, the former NFL player identified as the gunman who fatally shot six people Wednesday in Rock Hill, S.C., will be examined for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a brain disease found in dozens of former players. Forensic autopsies typically do not identify CTE, but York County Coroner Sabrina Gast said her office will work with Boston University, whose CTE center has studied the disease for more than a decade, to determine whether Adams had the disease, she said in a statement. (Hill, 4/10)

San Francisco Chronicle: Is Premature Graying A Pandemic Thing? Experts Explain Possible Links
“In certain people, gray hair is kind of a telltale sign, of stress,” said Dr. Natasha Mekinsova, a dermatologist at UC Irvine who is an expert on hair conditions. “It’s probably going to depend on how we all process stress.” Though there hasn’t been a large-scale study of graying during the pandemic, studies have already found promising links. A team of researchers at Harvard found that in mice, stress activated nerves that triggered the fight-or-flight response, which then caused damage to stem cells that differentiate to create specialized cells called melanocytes, which produce the color we see in our hair. The study, published in Nature, found that stress caused those cells to deplete, and the effect was permanent — and resulted in gray. (Vainshtein, 4/11)

NPR: Supreme Court Rules For Worshippers And Against California COVID Restrictions
For the fifth time, the U.S. Supreme Court has sided with religious adherents and against California's COVID-19 restrictions. This time, the court barred the state from enforcing a rule that for now limits both religious and non-religious gatherings in homes to no more than three households. The court's unsigned order came on a 5-4 vote. Chief Justice John Roberts cast his lot with the dissenters, but failed to join their opinion. He noted simply that he would have left the lower court order intact. (Totenberg, 4/10)

Boston Globe: TelAbortion, With Medication Through The Mail, Comes To Massachusetts
Is Massachusetts ready for abortion through the mail? Reproductive rights advocates certainly are. They note that medication abortions — safe and FDA-approved in the first 10 weeks of gestation — already make up 40 percent of abortions in Massachusetts. People have been ending pregnancies at home, on their own, for years. But the Food and Drug Administration requires a patient to pick up the medication in person from a health provider — a requirement the Trump administration upheld even during the pandemic. During last year’s lockdown, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists sued and got the requirement lifted temporarily in July. But the Trump administration appealed, and the Supreme Court reversed that decision in January. (Ebert, 4/11)

AP: Some GOP-Led States Target Abortions Done Through Medication
About 40% of all abortions in the U.S. are now done through medication — rather than surgery — and that option has become all the more pivotal during the COVID-19 pandemic. Abortion rights advocates say the pandemic has demonstrated the value of medical care provided virtually, including the privacy and convenience of abortions taking place in a woman’s home, instead of a clinic. Abortion opponents, worried the method will become increasingly prevalent, are pushing legislation in several Republican-led states to restrict it and in some cases, ban providers from prescribing abortion medication via telemedicine. (Crary and Samuels, 4/11)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 1 In 3 Wisconsin Nursing Homes Violated COVID-19 Safety Rules
In one of the most comprehensive looks at nursing home safety during the pandemic, a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation has found that 1 in 3 Wisconsin facilities violated coronavirus protocols, including by asking COVID-positive staff to keep working, not screening visitors for symptoms and not isolating infected residents. Even when inspectors were present, employees at several facilities didn't always wear face masks. Two homes substituted flannel shirts or plastic aprons for gowns, despite having an ample supply. At least five nursing homes didn’t tell residents or their families about coronavirus cases for days or weeks. (Chen, Volpenhein and Cohen, 4/9)

Modern Healthcare: Ohio Expects To Save $240 Million In Medicaid Drug Costs By Running Its Own PBM
Ohio officials expect that consolidating the seven private pharmacy benefit managers that run its Medicaid managed-care system into a single, state-regulated PBM will save more than $240 million every year. The change will go in effect starting in early 2022. Officials will administer PBM services through Gainwell Technologies, a state-regulated PBM that will replace the seven PBMs currently operating in the managed-care system. A pharmacy pricing and audit consultant will help state officials make decisions with regard to in-network providers, pharmacy reimbursement and more. (Tepper, 4/9)

The Washington Post: Maskless Florida Woman Who Coughed On Pier 1 Customer Gets 30 Days In Jail
A Florida woman who, without wearing a mask, purposefully coughed on another customer in a Pier 1 store last year has been sentenced to 30 days in jail. Debra Hunter, 53, will serve time in Duval County jail, followed by six months of probation, an anger management course and a $500 fine for second-degree assault, a misdemeanor. (Beachum, 4/10)

AP: West Virginia Lawmakers Approve Needle Exchange Regulations
A West Virginia bill that would regulate needle exchange programs gained final approval in the Republican-controlled legislature on Saturday amid a spike in HIV cases in the state. Critics have said its more stringent requirements for the programs will constrain the number of providers who give clean syringes to injection drug users not able to quit the habit. The legislation would also require participants show an identification card to get a syringe. (Dil, 4/11)

AP: China Admits Its Vaccines Aren't Very Good 
In a rare admission of the weakness of Chinese coronavirus vaccines, the country’s top disease control official says their effectiveness is low and the government is considering mixing them to get a boost. Chinese vaccines “don’t have very high protection rates,” said the director of the China Centers for Disease Control, Gao Fu, at a conference Saturday in the southwestern city of Chengdu. (4/11)

CIDRAP: Studies Suggest Link Between Blood Clots, AstraZeneca COVID Vaccine 
Two studies today in the New England Journal of Medicine describe 11 patients in Austria and Germany and 5 in Norway who developed an unusual blood clotting disorder after receiving their first dose of the AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine. The first study, led by researchers at the Institute for Immunology and Transfusion Medicine in Greifswald, Germany, involved 11 patients who had abnormal blood clots or thrombocytopenia (low platelet counts) 5 to 16 days after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine. (Van Beusekom, 4/9)

AP: India Overtakes Brazil As 2nd-Worst Hit Country
India reported another record daily surge in coronavirus infections Monday to overtake Brazil as the second-worst hit country. The 168,912 cases added in the last 24 hours pushed India’s total to 13.5 million, while Brazil has 13.4 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. India also reported 904 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking its total to 170,179, which is the fourth highest toll, behind the United States, Brazil and Mexico. (4/12)

Fox News: Israel COVID-19 Study Finds South Africa Variant Able To 'break Through' Pfizer Vaccine
A new study from Israel indicates the South Africa variant of the coronavirus can "break through" the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to some degree. A team from Tel Aviv University and Clalit Health Services found that the prevalence of the South Africa variant among patients who received both doses of the vaccine was around eight times higher than those unvaccinated – 5.4% versus 0.7%. The study compared over 400 people who received at least one shot of the vaccine and contracted the coronavirus with the same number who were infected and unvaccinated. (Aitken, 4/11)

AP: Small But Quick: Bhutan Vaccinates 93% Of Adults In 16 Days
When plotted on a graph, the curve of Bhutan’s COVID-19 vaccination drive shoots upwards from the very first day, crossing Israel, United States, Bahrain and other countries known for vaccinating people rapidly. Those countries took months to reach where they are, painstakingly strengthening their vaccination campaigns in the face of rising coronavirus cases. But the story of Bhutan’s vaccination campaign is nearly finished — just 16 days after it began. (4/12)

CNN: Losing A Long-Term Spouse Can Be Deadly, Studies Show
The world has joined Queen Elizabeth II in sorrow over the loss Friday of her husband of seven decades, Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh, just two months shy of his 100th birthday. The duo was a loving and close-knit couple. The Queen told guests at a luncheon on their 50th wedding anniversary that Phillip had "quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years."... Studies have shown that surviving spouses can suffer from sleep disruption, depressive episodes, anxiety, impaired immune function, and overall poorer physical health. (LaMotte, 4/11)