First Edition: Nov. 30, 2020

KHN: OSHA Let Employers Decide Whether To Report Health Care Worker Deaths. Many Didn’t. 
As Walter Veal cared for residents at the Ludeman Developmental Center in suburban Chicago, he saw the potential future of his grandson, who has autism. So he took it on himself not just to bathe and feed the residents, which was part of the job, but also to cut their hair, run to the store to buy their favorite body wash and barbecue for them on holidays. “They were his second family,” said his wife, Carlene Veal. (Pattani, Lewis and Jewett, 11/30)

KHN: How Pharma Money Colors Operation Warp Speed’s Quest To Defeat COVID 
April 16 was a big day for Moderna, a Massachusetts biotech company on the verge of becoming a front-runner in the U.S. government’s race for a coronavirus vaccine. It had received roughly half a billion dollars in federal funding to develop a COVID shot that might be used on millions of Americans. Thirteen days after the massive infusion of federal cash — which triggered a jump in the company’s stock price — Moncef Slaoui, a Moderna board member and longtime drug industry executive, was awarded options to buy 18,270 shares in the company, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The award added to 137,168 options he’d accumulated since 2018, the filings show. (Pradhan, 11/30)

KHN: Thousands Of Doctors’ Offices Buckle Under Financial Stress Of COVID 
Cormay Caine misses a full day of work and drives more than 130 miles round trip to take five of her children to their pediatrician. The Sartell, Minnesota, clinic where their doctor used to work closed in August. Caine is one of several parents who followed Dr. Heather Decker to her new location on the outskirts of Minneapolis, an hour and a half away. Many couldn’t get appointments for months with swamped nearby doctors. (Ungar, 11/30)

KHN: ‘An Arm And A Leg’: How To Avoid A Big Bill For Your COVID Test 
Tests for the coronavirus are supposed to be free. And, usually, they are. But sometimes … things happen. Here’s how to keep those things from happening to you. New York Times reporter Sarah Kliff has been asking readers to send in their COVID-testing bills. She’s now seen hundreds of them, and she ran down for us the most common ways things can go sideways, and how to avoid them. (Weissmann, 11/30)

The Hill: Biden Diagnosed With Fractured Foot After Slipping While Playing With Dog 
President-elect Joe Biden suffered hairline fractures in his right foot while playing with his dog and will wear an orthopedic walking boot, Biden's transition team said Sunday. Biden slipped and twisted his ankle on Saturday while he was playing with Major, one of his two German shepherds, and he was seen by a doctor on Sunday. (Coleman and Bowden, 11/29)

The New York Times: Biden Fractures Foot Playing With His Dog, Putting Him In A Boot 
Although initial X-rays showed no obvious fracture, a “follow-up CT scan confirmed hairline (small) fractures of President-elect Biden’s lateral and intermediate cuneiform bones, which are in the midfoot,” Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the director of executive medicine at GW Medical Faculty Associates, said in a statement distributed by Mr. Biden’s office. (Karni, 11/29)

Politico: Biden To Require Walking Boot After Fracturing His Foot 
President-elect Joe Biden will need a walking boot after sustaining small fractures to his right foot while playing with one of his dogs, according to his doctor. Biden was injured Saturday and visited an orthopedist at Delaware Orthopaedic Specialists in Newark, Del., for an examination Sunday afternoon, according to a pool report. (Genota, 11/29)

The Wall Street Journal: Thanksgiving Draws Travel To A Pandemic Peak
The weekend after Thanksgiving met expectations that it would be the busiest travel period in the U.S. since the coronavirus pandemic began, aided by clement weather and lower gas prices that encouraged some to drive rather than fly. Almost 50 million people were expected to have made a journey during the Thanksgiving holidays, said AAA, despite tightening local clampdowns and warnings from federal health officials. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Nov. 19 recommended people not travel over Thanksgiving. (Cameron and Sider, 11/29)

Stat: How Much Did Thanksgiving Contribute To Covid-19 Spread? It’s Wait And See For Now
And now we wait. Thanksgiving is over, and public health officials’ persistent warnings that large celebrations and travel could douse accelerant on out-of-control Covid-19 spread have passed. But whether their warnings were heeded — and what kind of impact Americans’ decisions might have had — won’t be clear for a few weeks. (Joseph, 11/29)

Fox News: Biden Coronavirus Adviser Makes Grim Prediction After Thanksgiving Holiday
A member of President-elect Joe Biden's COVID-19 advisory board on Saturday made a grim prediction about U.S. coronavirus cases in the coming weeks after millions of Americans traveled for Thanksgiving, despite warnings from public health officials. “We fully expect that in about a week or two after Thanksgiving we will see an increase in cases first, then about a week or two later you’ll start to see an increase in hospitalizations, and then another week or two after that you’ll start to see deaths,” Dr. Celine Gounder told CBS News. (Betz, 11/29)

The Washington Post: Bracing For A ‘Superimposed’ Holiday Surge, Top Health Experts Urge Americans To Take Restrictive Measures
America’s top infectious-disease expert sounded the alarm Sunday, warning of a “surge superimposed upon” a surge of coronavirus cases over the coming weeks due to Thanksgiving travel and celebrations. Anthony S. Fauci and other experts urged Americans to take aggressive action as the December holidays loom to mitigate the surge overwhelming hospitals across the country. As the number of coronavirus-related deaths per day rose to its highest point since April, Fauci and others highlighted the importance of complying with mask mandates and physical distancing. (Alemany, 11/29)

AP: Fauci: US May See 'Surge Upon Surge' Of Virus In Weeks Ahead
The nation’s top infectious disease expert said Sunday that the U.S. may see “surge upon a surge” of the coronavirus in the weeks after Thanksgiving, and he does not expect current recommendations around social distancing to be relaxed before Christmas. Meanwhile, in a major reversal, New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio said the nation’s largest school system will reopen to in-person learning and increase the number of days a week many children attend class. The announcement came just 11 days after the Democratic mayor said schools would shut down because of rising COVID-19 cases. “We feel confident that we can keep schools safe,” he said. (Lush, 11/29)

The Hill: Fauci: There Will 'Almost Certainly' Be An Uptick In COVID-19 Cases After Thanksgiving Travel 
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, said on Sunday that there will “almost certainly” be an uptick in coronavirus cases after Americans traveled for the Thanksgiving holiday despite public health officials' warnings. “The travel that has been done has been done,” said Fauci on ABC’s "This Week." (Choi, 11/29)

USA Today: Fauci: Christmas Could Look A Lot Like Thanksgiving Amid COVID Surge
Dr. Anthony Fauci suggested Thanksgiving may be the beginning of a dark holiday season as the surge in coronavirus cases is likely to persist, or even get worse, through December, January and February. “If the surge takes a turn of continuing to go up and you have the sustained greater than 100,000 infections a day and 1,300 deaths per day and the count keeps going up and up ... I don’t see it being any different during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays than during Thanksgiving,” he said in an interview with USA TODAY last week. (Rodriguez, 11/27)

The Hill: Surgeon General: Pandemic Is 'Going To Get Worse,' Actions Now 'Will Determine How Bad It Is' 
U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said Sunday that the coronavirus pandemic will "get worse" in the weeks ahead, but noted that the first vaccines would likely be available to vulnerable populations by mid-December. “I want to be straight with the American people, it’s going to get worse over the next several weeks, but the actions that we take in the next several days will determine how bad it is or whether or not we continue to flatten our curve,” Adams told guest host Bret Baier on “Fox News Sunday.” (Budryk, 11/29)

USA Today: FAA Confirms First 'Mass Air Shipment' Of Pfizer's COVID-19 Vaccine From Belgium As US Preps For Distribution
Charter flights bringing Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine to the United States from Belgium began on Friday, the start of what the Federal Aviation Administration calls the first "mass air shipment" of a coronavirus vaccine. There are no authorized coronavirus vaccines in the U.S. yet, but preparations for distribution are ramping up. Under FDA rules, vaccine cannot be shipped to actual administration sites until it was been either licensed or authorized by FDA. (Weise and Aspegren, 11/29)

Bloomberg: Covid Task Force Promises Rapid December Vaccine Rollout
Members of President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force fanned out across Sunday talk shows to promise a rapid rollout of coronavirus vaccines to millions of Americans by year-end. U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said the federal government hopes to quickly review and approve requests from two drugmakers for emergency approval of their Covid-19 vaccines. (Condon and Yang, 11/29)

Bloomberg: Canada To Prevent Distribution Of Some Drugs Ahead Of U.S. Rule
Canada has imposed measures to limit the distribution of some drugs, a move that’s largely aimed at the U.S. The Canadian government is putting the new guidelines in place to protect its drug supply from bulk sales across the border that could worsen the current deficit, Health Minister Patty Hajdu said in a statement. Companies will now be required to provide information to assess existing or potential shortages, and within 24 hours in serious cases. (Balji, 11/28)

NPR: Canada Blocks Export Of Medications In Short Supply In Response To Trump Plan
Ahead of an expected surge in U.S. demand for prescription drugs, the Canadian government has blocked the distribution of certain medications outside Canada in order to avoid a shortage within the country. The Canadian health minister signed an order Friday to limit bulk exports, saying it would help safeguard the country's drug supply. The move comes in response to a new U.S. rule that would let pharmacists or wholesalers import certain prescription drugs in bulk. (Schwartz, 11/29)

The Hill: Canada Moves To Limit Prescription Drug Exports After Trump Order 
Canadian officials, responding to a move by President Trump allowing Americans to import some prescription drugs, blocked bulk exportation of drugs in cases in which a domestic shortage would be created. The order took effect Friday ahead of the U.S. rule, which drug suppliers have warned could lead to shortages within Canada, Reuters reported. (Budryk, 11/29)

Tampa Bay Times: Trump’s Plan To Import Drugs Into U.S. And Florida Faces Legal Challenge
An influential pharmaceutical lobbying group is suing to end the Trump administration’s plan to allow prescription drugs to be imported from Canada into the United States. That could have major implications for Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis and President Donald Trump have highlighted state and federal efforts to lower the cost of prescriptions. DeSantis announced last week that Florida’s importation plan had been submitted to the federal government. (Wilson, 11/27)

The Hill: Pa. Lawmaker Was Informed Of Positive Coronavirus Test While Meeting With Trump: Report 
A Republican lawmaker from Pennsylvania abruptly left a White House meeting with President Trump after he was informed that he had tested positive for COVID-19, The Associated Press reported Sunday. Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano (R) was informed during the Wednesday meeting with Trump about the president's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results that he had tested positive for the virus and was led away by White House medical staff, one source at the meeting told the AP. (Bowden, 11/29)

AP: Pa. Lawmaker Gets A Positive Test At Trump Meeting
A Pennsylvania state senator abruptly left a West Wing meeting with President Donald Trump after being informed he had tested positive for the coronavirus, a person with direct knowledge of the meeting told The Associated Press on Sunday. Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano had gone to the White House last Wednesday with like-minded Republican state lawmakers shortly after a four-hour-plus public meeting that Mastriano helped host in Gettysburg — maskless — to discuss efforts to overturn president-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the state. (Scolforo, 11/29)

AP: Congress Returns With Virus Aid, Federal Funding Unresolved
After months of shadowboxing amid a tense and toxic campaign, Capitol Hill’s main players are returning for one final, perhaps futile, attempt at deal-making on a challenging menu of year-end business. COVID-19 relief, a $1.4 trillion catchall spending package, and defense policy — and a final burst of judicial nominees — dominate a truncated two- or three-week session occurring as the coronavirus pandemic rockets out of control in President Donald Trump’s final weeks in office. (Taylor, 11/30)

Politico: Major Shift At Supreme Court On Covid-19 Orders 
The Supreme Court signaled a major shift in its approach to coronavirus-related restrictions late Wednesday, voting 5-4 to bar New York state from reimposing limits on religious gatherings. The emergency rulings, issued just before midnight, were the first significant indication of a rightward shift in the court since President Donald Trump’s newest appointee — Justice Amy Coney Barrett — last month filled the seat occupied by liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died in September. (Gerstein, 11/26)

Politico: Biden’s Plan For An Army Of Disease Trackers Faces Long Odds 
A raging pandemic and a gridlocked Congress could upend President-elect Joe Biden’s plan to hire 100,000 public health workers to trace Covid-19’s spread, despite widespread agreement it’s needed to finally end the crisis. Contact tracing will be essential even after Covid-19 vaccines become widely available, because not everyone will get shots and scattered outbreaks will continue to ripple across the country. Quickly identifying who’s been exposed to people with infections can guide efforts to stamp out new hot spots and break chains of transmission. (Ollstein and Goldberg, 11/26)

Politico: Biden’s Other Health Crisis: A Resurgent Drug Epidemic
President-elect Joe Biden, long viewed as a drug policy hawk during his four decades in the Senate, is signaling a different approach to confronting a still-raging drug addiction epidemic made worse by the pandemic. Biden, who has stocked his team with addiction experts with extensive backgrounds in public health, will emphasize new funding for substance abuse treatment and prevention, while calling to eliminate jail time for drug use. It’s a departure from his tough-on-crime approach as a senator — and from President Donald Trump’s frequent focus on a law enforcement response to the drug crisis, which experts said undercut necessary public health measures. (Goldberg and Ehley, 11/28)

FierceHealthcare: CMS Releases Proposed Regulations For 2022 ACA Insurance Exchange Issuers, Including Lower User Fees 
The Trump administration proposed lowering the user fee for Affordable Care Act insurers from 3% to 2.25% of the premium for the 2022 coverage year. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released late Wednesday the proposed Notice of Benefit Payment Parameters for the 2022 coverage year. The rule also proposes enabling states to partner with the private sector to create a website that competes with the state-run exchange website or HealthCare.gov. (King, 11/25)

Modern Healthcare: Little Change In Regional Medicare Spending Differences, Despite Attention
Just over a decade ago, celebrated surgeon and writer Dr. Atul Gawande penned a New Yorker article that called out certain areas of the country for their high Medicare spending. But despite the public lashing some regions endured, the most recent data from the Dartmouth Atlas show little has changed since then with respect to the communities atop the Medicare spending tower and those at the bottom. Miami was highest among hospital referral regions in the latest price-adjusted data, from 2017, followed by two smaller cities that were also near the top in 2010: Munster, Ind., and Monroe, La. Grand Junction, Colo., Anchorage, Alaska, and Honolulu had among the lowest spending in both years. (Bannow, 11/28)

AP: CDC Panel Meets Tuesday To Vote On COVID-19 Vaccine Priority
A panel of U.S. advisers will meet Tuesday to vote on how scarce, initial supplies of a COVID-19 vaccine will be given out once one has been approved. Experts have proposed giving the vaccine to health workers first. High priority also may be given to workers in essential industries, people with certain medical conditions and people age 65 and older. (11/28)

CIDRAP: Less Than 10% Of Americans Had COVID By September, Study Finds 
Large-scale seroprevalence studies conducted over the summer show that, through September, less than 1 in 10 of Americans had evidence of previous coronavirus infection, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported yesterday in JAMA Internal Medicine. In the nationwide seroprevalence survey, researchers from the CDC's COVID-19 Response Team tested blood serum samples from people in 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico during four periods from July through September, looking for the presence of detectable antibodies for SARS-CoV-2, (the virus that causes COVID-19. (Dall, 11/25)

The Washington Post: Months After Contracting Coronavirus, Singaporean Woman Gives Birth To Child With Antibodies
Celine Ng-Chan, 31, is part of an ongoing study taking place at several public hospitals in Singapore that seeks to better understand the impacts of covid-19 on pregnant women and their babies. She told the paper that she and several family members all got sick in March after returning from a vacation in Europe, and that she experienced relatively mild symptoms while her mother spent nearly a month on life support. At the time, Ng-Chan was 10 weeks pregnant. When her son, Aldrin, was born in early November, he had antibodies but not the virus — but her antibodies seemed to have disappeared. “My doctor suspects I have transferred my Covid-19 antibodies to him during my pregnancy,” Ng-Chan told the Straits Times. (Farzan, 11/30)

Reuters: Singapore Studies COVID-19 Pregnancy Puzzle After Baby Born With Antibodies
Doctors are studying the impact of COVID-19 on pregnant women and their unborn babies in Singapore, where an infant delivered by an infected mother earlier this month had antibodies against the virus but did not carry the disease. The ongoing study among the city-state’s public hospitals adds to international efforts to better understand whether the infection or antibodies can be transferred during pregnancy, and if the latter offers an effective shield against the virus. (Aravindan and Geddie, 11/30)

The New York Times: Could Covid-19 Cause Your Teeth To Fall Out? 
Earlier this month, Farah Khemili popped a wintergreen breath mint in her mouth and noticed a strange sensation: a bottom tooth wiggling against her tongue. Ms. Khemili, 43, of Voorheesville, N.Y., had never lost an adult tooth. She touched the tooth to confirm it was loose, initially thinking the problem might be the mint. The next day, the tooth flew out of her mouth and into her hand. There was neither blood nor pain. (Yan, 11/26)

NPR: As Hospitals Fill With COVID-19 Patients, Medical Reinforcements Are Hard To Find
Hospitals in much of the country are trying to cope with unprecedented numbers of COVID-19 patients. As of Sunday, 93,238 were hospitalized, an alarming record that far exceeds the two previous peaks in April and July, of just under 60,000 inpatients. But beds and space aren't the main concern. It's the work force. Hospitals are worried that staffing levels won't be able to keep up with demand, as doctors, nurses and specialists such as respiratory therapists become exhausted or, worse, become infected or sick themselves. (Farmer and Feibel, 11/30)

The New York Times: How US Hospitals Are Stretched Way Too Thin Due To Covid-19
In excruciating pain with lesions on her face and scalp, Tracey Fine lay for 13 hours on a gurney in an emergency room hallway. All around her, Covid-19 patients filled the beds of the hospital in Madison, Wis. Her nurse was so harried that she could not remember Ms. Fine’s condition, and the staff was slow to bring her pain medicine or food. In a small rural hospital in Missouri, Shain Zundel’s severe headache turned out to be a brain abscess. His condition would typically have required an operation within a few hours, but he was forced to wait a day while doctors struggled to find a neurosurgeon and a bed — finally at a hospital 375 miles away in Iowa. (Abelson, 11/27)

The Washington Post: Inside A Hospital As The Coronavirus Surges: Where Will All The Patients Go? 
As the coronavirus pandemic swelled around the 160-bed Mayo Clinic hospital, the day was dawning auspiciously. Two precious beds for new patients had opened overnight. At the morning “bed meeting,” prospects for a third looked promising. Better yet, by midmorning, there were no patients in the Emergency Department. None. Even in normal times, a medium-size hospital like this can go many months without ever reaching zero. Everyone knew better than to trust this good fortune. They were right. (Bernstein, 11/29)

The Washington Post: Mass Vaccination Against Covid Will Be A Challenge For Alabama And Other Poor, Rural States 
Overcoming distrust of a covid-19 vaccine is about “survival instincts” for Shane Lee, a family physician in Perry County, Ala., a rural, mostly African American community of about 9,000 where more than a third of people live in poverty. When the outbreak erupted in Alabama’s Black Belt in the summer and “swept through hospitals and nursing homes like a grass fire,” the 59-year-old doctor, a retired Army general, became infected. His heart muscle grew inflamed. Months later, he is still short of breath. (Stanley-Becker, 11/29)

FierceHealthcare: Many Adults Say They'll Wait To Get COVID-19 Vaccine, Poll Finds 
While many adults older than 50 say they plan to get a COVID-19 vaccine once it becomes available, plenty indicated they probably won't rush to get it right away, a new poll found. According to the National Poll on Healthy Aging from the University of Michigan, 58% of adults between the ages of 50 and 80 years old said they were somewhat or very likely to get the vaccine if it became available at no cost to them. (11/25)

FierceHealthcare: Sanford Health CEO Steps Down After Sparking Controversy For Not Wearing Mask 
Longtime Sanford Health President and CEO Kelby Krabbenhoft is stepping down after sparking controversy for refusing to wear a mask. Tuesday evening, Sanford announced Krabbenhoft "mutually agreed" with the board of trustees to part ways with the health system.  (Reed, 11/25)

USA Today: 'I'm Scared. Are You Scared?': A Michigan Mom's Harrowing Story Of Leaving Her Autistic Son To Fight COVID-19 Alone In The Hospital
In the emergency room of Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Michigan, Pam Warfle begged for compassion. Her autistic son had COVID-19 and needed to be hospitalized, though the staff informed her she couldn't stay." 'You don't understand. You're going to have to carry me out of here. He cannot communicate,'" Warfle recalled telling the doctors and nurses as she pleaded to stay. " 'You can put me in bubble wrap. I'll stay in a corner.' "But the hospital wouldn't bend: "We cannot do it," they said. (Baldas, 11/29)

Stat: Study Offers New Clues For Treating Brain Cancer In Children 
Brain tumors are among the most common — and the most deadly — cancers among children. A new paper, published Wednesday in the journal Cell, explores the intricacies of how cancers of the brain operate in children and proffers tantalizing clues about how they may be treated. (Keshavan, 11/25)

CNN: UK Health Service To Pilot Blood Test That May Detect 50 Types Of Cancer 
The UK's National Health Service (NHS) is to pilot a simple blood test that may detect more than 50 types of cancer and, it is hoped, could help thousands of people by allowing the disease to be treated more successfully at an earlier stage. The Galleri blood test, developed by Californian healthcare company Grail, will be piloted with 165,000 patients in what the NHS described as a "world-first deal" in a news release Friday. (Smith-Spark, 11/27)

Stat: The Race To Deliver CAR-T Cancer Therapy During The Pandemic 
On the evening that would jolt the global traffic of cancer treatments, David Kim was driving his baby daughter around, trying to get her to sleep. Bedtime was rough: Only the smooth motion of a car could get her to doze off. So Kim was playing dad-chauffeur, with the radio on low, when he heard that President Trump was banning travel between the United States and Europe. (Boodman, 11/30)

Modern Healthcare: Targeting High-Risk Cancer Patients With Genetics
Adventist Health for several years has been rolling out a genetic testing and cancer risk-assessment program to sites across the Roseville, Calif.-based system. Now, the program is playing a part in Adventist’s efforts to get patients in need of cancer screenings back into its facilities despite fears over COVID-19. In the wake of the pandemic, patients have deferred or canceled preventive care appointments out of concern they’ll be exposed to the virus. That could have long-term consequences for cancer care, since fewer patients screened could make it harder to catch cancer cases at an early stage. (Kim Cohen, 11/28)

Stat: In Big Bet, Biogen Pays $1.5B For Rights To Once-Failed Depression Treatment
Biogen, placing a major bet on a once-failed treatment, is paying $1.53 billion for the commercial rights to a Sage Therapeutics’ oral depression drug that disappointed in its last major clinical trial. Under the agreement, announced Friday, Biogen will give Sage $875 million in cash and buy $650 million worth of its stock at a 40% premium. In exchange, Biogen is entitled to 50% of the U.S. profits from zuranolone, a depression drug that could win approval in 2022 if proven safe and effective, and an earlier-stage treatment for movement disorders. (Garde and Feuerstein, 11/27)

The New York Times: New York City Will Reopen Elementary Schools And Reduce Hybrid Learning 
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Sunday that he would reopen public elementary schools, abruptly shifting policy in the face of widespread criticism that officials were placing more of a priority on economic activities like indoor dining than the well-being of New York City’s children. Mr. de Blasio said middle and high schools would remain closed, but also signaled that he would overhaul how the city manages the system during the pandemic, which has forced millions of children in the United States out of schools and is perceived to have done significant damage to their education and mental health. (Shapiro, 11/29)

The New York Times: Ransomware Attack Closes Baltimore County Public Schools 
The public schools in Baltimore County, Md., will remain closed Monday and Tuesday as officials respond to a cyberattack that forced the district to cancel remote classes for its 115,000 students just before the Thanksgiving holiday, officials said. The attack, first detected late Tuesday night, affected the district’s websites and remote learning programs, as well as its grading and email systems, officials told WBAL-TV. (Paybarah, 11/29)

The Washington Post: Saints Fined $500,000, Lose Seventh-Round Draft Pick For Coronavirus Protocol Violations 
The NFL fined the New Orleans Saints $500,000 and stripped them of a seventh-round draft choice for violations of the sport’s coronavirus protocols during a postgame locker room victory celebration without masks. The Saints become the second NFL team to lose a draft pick because of protocol violations. The Las Vegas Raiders previously were fined $500,000 and stripped of a sixth-round selection because of violations. (Maske, 11/29)

FierceHealthcare: JetBlue, Virgin Atlantic Set To Roll Out COVID-19 'Health Pass' App In December 
Following a successful test with United Airlines in October, four more major airlines plan to start offering passengers a digital health pass to certify they are COVID-19-free. JetBlue, Lufthansa, Swiss International Airlines, United Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic will begin the roll-out of CommonPass mobile app in December to help bring back global travel. The health pass app will be used on select flights departing from New York, Boston, London, and Hong Kong. (Landi, 11/25)

The Wall Street Journal: Your Home-Office Ergonomics Are Still A Mess—Do Something About It 
It’s been a long time since employers around the world abruptly sent their staff home, and workers are feeling it. What was once a creative workaround or show of resilience—plop a monitor on your ironing board, take a conference call in your car—has become an ergonomic nightmare. ... Left unchecked, ergonomic issues can lead to permanent pain, disability and an inability to work at all. Still, at the beginning of the pandemic, employers were understandably more concerned with pressing crises—keeping their businesses afloat, keeping workers safe from the virus—than the threat of aches and pains. (Feintzeig, 11/29)

AP: Despite Federal Ban, Renters Still Being Evicted Amid Virus
A nationwide eviction ban was supposed to protect tenants like Tawanda Mormon, who was forced out of her two-bedroom apartment last month in Cleveland. The 46-year-old, who was hospitalized in August for the coronavirus and can’t work due to mental health issues, said she fell behind on her $500-a-month rent because she needed the money to pay for food. When she was evicted in October, Mormon said she was unaware of President Donald Trump’s directive, implemented in September by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that broadly prevents evictions through the end of 2020. (Casey, 11/29)

Politico: Millions Of Workers Poised To Lose Access To Paid Leave As Virus Spikes
Tens of millions of workers stand to lose access to federally mandated paid sick and family leave at the end of December, compounding the hardship over the surging pandemic for American families. Families First, a relief package enacted in March, required many employers to provide workers with two weeks of coronavirus-related sick leave at full pay and up to 12 weeks of family and medical leave to care for family members at two-thirds pay. Researchers estimate this covered half the U.S. workforce. (Mueller, 11/29)

KMGH: Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, First Gentleman Test Positive For COVID-19
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and his partner both tested positive for COVID-19, the governor’s office said Saturday evening. Polis, who went into quarantine on Wednesday after saying he was exposed to someone who tested positive for the coronavirus, said in a statement he and partner, First Gentleman Marlon Reis, were asymptomatic and “feeling well.” (Miller, 11/28)

CNN: An Oregon Mink Farm Has Reported A Covid-19 Outbreak 
An Oregon mink farm has reported an outbreak of coronavirus among mink and farmworkers. Ten mink samples submitted all came back positive for coronavirus, the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) said in a news release on Friday. The farm has been placed under quarantine, meaning "no animal or animal product can leave the farm until further notice," according to ODA. (Elassar, 11/28)

The New York Times: Party With Nearly 400 People Is Shut Down In Manhattan 
Sheriff’s deputies arrived at a building in Midtown Manhattan just before 3 a.m. on Saturday and found almost 400 people drinking and partying inside. Few were wearing face masks. Deputies shut the party down and arrested four people. The episode reflected the way that, despite the onset of a second wave of the coronavirus, people are continuing to gather at large events in New York City in violation of public health safeguards. (Zaveri, 11/29)

AP: Health Officials To Offer Free HIV Testing Across SC
South Carolina health officials are offering free HIV and other testing as part of World Aids Day. The testing for the virus that causes AIDS along with sexually transmitted diseases and Hepatitis C will be conducted Tuesday at local health clinics across the state, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. (11/29)

AP: UK Stocks Up On Vaccines, Hopes To Start Virus Shots In Days
Britain said Sunday it has secured 2 million more doses of a promising coronavirus vaccine as it gears up to launch within days the country’s most ambitious inoculation program in decades. ... The Department of Health said Sunday it had increased its order for a vaccine developed by U.S. firm Moderna from 5 million to 7 million doses, enough for 3.5 million people. The Moderna vaccine is expected to be referred soon to the U.K.’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, to see if it is safe and effective. Two other vaccines — one developed by Pfizer and German firm BioNTech, the other by Oxford University and AstraZeneca — are already being assessed by the regulator, the final stage before being rolled out. (Lawless, 11/29)

Bloomberg: U.K. Set To Be First To Clear Pfizer-BioNTech Covid Vaccine
The U.K. is poised to become the first country to approve Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE’s Covid-19 vaccine, ahead of a long line of countries waiting for protection from the coronavirus. Clearance is possible as early as this week, according to a person familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified because the process is confidential. (Hipwell, Kresge and Ross, 11/28)

Bloomberg: U.K. Moves To Get Astra Covid Vaccine Approved Before The EU
Health Secretary Matt Hancock asked the U.K. medical regulator to potentially bypass its European Union counterpart and approve the supply of AstraZeneca Plc’s coronavirus vaccine to speed its deployment. Until the end of the year, when the U.K. exits a post-Brexit transition period, vaccines there must be authorized by the European Medicines Agency. But on Friday, Hancock said he invoked a special rule allowing Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to authorize a temporary supply of the vaccine Astra is developing with Oxford University if the data is robust enough, after it showed positive results in trials this week. (Morales, 11/26)