First Edition: Dec. 7, 2020

KHN: California Lawmakers To Newsom: Give All Immigrants Health Coverage
California Democratic lawmakers so far have failed to convince Gov. Gavin Newsom that the state can afford to spend an estimated $2.6 billion a year to expand its Medicaid program to all unauthorized immigrants. Now, they’re trying a new strategy. (Hart, 12/7)

KHN: Demand For COVID Vaccines Expected To Get Heated — And Fast
Americans have made no secret of their skepticism of COVID-19 vaccines this year, with fears of political interference and a “warp speed” timeline blunting confidence in the shots. As recently as September, nearly half of U.S. adults said they didn’t intend to be inoculated. But with two promising vaccines primed for release, likely within weeks, experts in ethics and immunization behavior say they expect attitudes to shift quickly from widespread hesitancy to urgent, even heated demand. (JoNel Aleccia, 12/7)

KHN: Trump Rule Gives Small Companies A New Tool To Help Workers Buy Health Coverage
Until October, Andrea LaRew was paying $950 a month for health insurance through her job at the Northwest Douglas County Chamber & Economic Development Corp. in the metro Denver area. Her company didn’t contribute anything toward the premium. Plus, LaRew and her husband had a steep $13,000 deductible for the plan. But the coverage and the premium cost were in line with other plans available to the company since options for such a small work group — just LaRew and another employee wanted to enroll — weren’t plentiful. (Andrews, 12/7)

KHN: ‘An Arm And A Leg’: Obamacare Alum Andy Slavitt Takes Stock Of The COVID Pandemic — So Far 
Andy Slavitt has spent much of 2020 talking with almost everybody who knows anything about the COVID-19 pandemic — and sharing what he learns in real time, first on Twitter, then on his pandemic podcast, “In the Bubble.” To do our own podcast episode about what we’ve learned so far and what we might expect next, Slavitt was the person to speak with. (Weissmann, 12/7)

KHN: Fear And Loathing As Colleges Face Another Season Of Red Ink 
When the University of California’s Board of Regents got a close look at the numbers in September, it was the visual equivalent of a thunderclap. The massive university system, with 10 campuses and more than 285,000 students, was hemorrhaging money — $2.2 billion in lost revenue and additional costs, mostly due to the pandemic. While some of those losses came from medical centers that temporarily gave up high-paying elective procedures in order to treat COVID patients, the bigger picture was as vexing as it was simple: In the age of pandemic-induced remote learning, the campuses were largely deserted. And when students aren’t living on campus, schools stop making money. Fast. (Kreidler, 12/7)

NPR: 'Extraordinary Acceleration': Takeaways From The Pandemic Last Week
With the arrival of December, it's now clear the winter surge of the pandemic is materializing in many of the ways that the country's top scientists and health care leaders feared. On all fronts — cases, hospitalizations and deaths — the U.S. toppled records this week. For the first time, new infections soared above 200,000 cases in a single day. (Stone, 12/5)

The Atlantic: The U.S. Has Passed The Hospital Breaking Point
Since the beginning of the pandemic, public-health experts have warned of one particular nightmare. It is possible, they said, for the number of coronavirus patients to exceed the capacity of hospitals in a state or city to take care of them. Faced with a surge of severely ill people, doctors and nurses will have to put beds in hallways, spend less time with patients, and become more strict about whom they admit into the hospital at all. The quality of care will fall; Americans who need hospital beds for any other reason—a heart attack, a broken leg—will struggle to find space. Many people will unnecessarily suffer and die. (Meyer and Madrigal, 12/4)

NPR: Biden Picks California Attorney General Xavier Becerra For Top Health Post
Becerra is the second high-profile Latino who Biden plans to nominate for a cabinet position, joining Alejandro Mayorkas, Biden's intended nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security. Biden had been under pressure to name more people of color to top posts. In an interview with CNN on Sunday, New Mexico Senator-elect Ben Ray Luján, said he was happy about Mayorkas but wanted to see more. (Ordoñez and Keith, 12/6)

The New York Times: Biden Picks Xavier Becerra To Lead Health And Human Services 
“The A.C.A. has been life-changing and now through this pandemic, we can all see the value in having greater access to quality health care at affordable prices,” Mr. Becerra said in June, when he filed a brief with the Supreme Court in defense of the health care law. “Now is not the time to rip away our best tool to address very real and very deadly health disparities in our communities.” (Gay Stolberg and Shear, 12/6)

AP: Biden Picks Calif. AG Becerra To Lead HHS, Pandemic Response
Becerra has been jokingly known in Democratic legal circles as the man who sued Trump more than anyone else. Beyond health care, the California attorney general’s lawsuits centered on issues from immigration to environmental policies. (Alonso-Zaldivar, Balsamo and Lemire, 12/7)

Politico: To Rebuild CDC, Biden Picks Rochelle Walensky 
Health care leaders celebrated Walensky’s appointment after the news broke on Sunday night. “In selecting @RWalensky, Biden has chosen one of the most respected infectious disease docs in the world,” Jen Kates, a senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation, wrote on Twitter. “She has a long history working on HIV and has, in the past year, become a tour de force in addressing COVID. She’ll take the helm of CDC at perhaps its most critical moment.” (Pager, 12/6)

Boston Globe: Biden Picks MGH Infectious Diseases Chief Rochelle Walensky To Oversee CDC
Massachusetts General Hospital infectious diseases chief Rochelle Walensky has been picked by President-elect Joe Biden to be the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a person familiar with the decision. Walensky will replace Dr. Robert Redfield and be charged with rebuilding a troubled federal agency that has been widely regarded as ineffectual in the face of the coronavirus pandemic and President Trump’s efforts to downplay it. (Freyer and Hilliard, 12/6)

Reuters: Biden Makes Picks For Key Public Health Roles As Pandemic Rages: Sources
President-elect Joe Biden has made his selections for two key public health positions, sources said on Sunday, as he prepares to take office next month as the coronavirus pandemic rages to new levels across the United States. nBiden plans to nominate California Attorney General Xavier Becerra as secretary of health and human services, two sources said, placing the Latino former congressman in a critical role battling the pandemic. The former vice president is also expected to nominate Rochelle Walensky, chief of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital, to run the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a person familiar with the decision said. (Hunnicutt, 12/6)

Reuters: Biden Transition, U.S. Coronavirus Vaccine Teams To Meet Amid Surge, Distribution Questions
The chief adviser for U.S. efforts to develop a coronavirus vaccine said on Sunday he planned to meet with President-elect Joe Biden’s team this week to discuss the program before the expected first round of vaccinations this month. Moncef Slaoui, chief adviser to the U.S. government’s Operation Warp Speed initiative, said he has not yet met with Biden, who last week criticized the Trump administration’s vaccine distribution plan. “We really look forward to it because actually things have been really very appropriately planned,” Slaoui said in an interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation.” (Chiacu, 12/6)

Politico: Biden's Criticism Of Vaccine Rollout 'Just Nonsense,' Azar Says 
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar shot back at President-elect Joe Biden on Sunday after he criticized the Trump administration's plan for rolling out a coronavirus vaccine. In an interview on "Fox News Sunday," Azar defended the Trump administration's vaccine plans and said distribution could begin in a matter of days pending approval by the FDA. (O'Brien, 12/6)

The New York Times: Giuliani Has Tested Positive For The Coronavirus, Trump Says
Mr. Giuliani, at age 76, is in the high-risk category for the virus. Later Sunday, he wrote on Twitter: “Thank you to all my friends and followers for all the prayers and kind wishes. I’m getting great care and feeling good. Recovering quickly and keeping up with everything.” His son, Andrew H. Giuliani, a White House adviser, said on Nov. 20 he had tested positive for the virus. He had appeared at a news conference with his father the day before. (12/7)

The Washington Post: Giuliani, Trump’s Personal Attorney, Tests Positive For Coronavirus, President Says 
Rudolph W. Giuliani, President Trump’s personal attorney and point man in his bid to overturn the results of the November election, has contracted the coronavirus, the president said Sunday in a tweet.“.@RudyGiuliani, by far the greatest mayor in the history of NYC, and who has been working tirelessly exposing the most corrupt election (by far!) in the history of the USA, has tested positive for the China Virus,” Trump tweeted Sunday afternoon. “Get better soon Rudy, we will carry on!!!” (Sonmez and Dawsey, 12/6)

NPR: Rudy Giuliani Tests Positive For Coronavirus, Trump Says
No further details were immediately released, and it's unclear how the former New York City mayor became infected. Giuliani has spent recent weeks traveling to lead failed legal challenges in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. On Wednesday, Giuliani was in Lansing, Mich., where he did not wear a mask while speaking to Michigan lawmakers at a hearing lasting more than four hours. On Thursday, he was in Atlanta, where he talked to Georgia state senators without a mask. (Schwartz, 12/6)

The Hill: Arizona Legislature Shuts Down After Giuliani Tests Positive For Coronavirus 
The two chambers of the Arizona state legislature will suspend their work this week after former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani tested positive for the coronavirus less than a week after spending hours testifying in front of Republican legislators in a futile bid to overturn the state’s election results. Spokespeople for the state House and Senate confirmed to The Hill Sunday that the two chambers would cancel their planned meetings this week because of concerns over the spread of the coronavirus. (Wilson, 12/6)

NPR: Nearly 85% Of California Residents To Be Under Stay-At-Home Orders Through Christmas
With coronavirus cases surging and capacity inside intensive care units rapidly nearing dangerously low levels, nearly 85% of California residents will soon be under sweeping new restrictions as part of the state's latest salvo to bring the pandemic under control. Residents in Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley will be under a stay-at-home order through the Christmas holiday beginning at 11:59 Sunday evening. The order will mean strict new closures for many businesses and a ban on gathering with anyone outside of your household in two regions of the state that are collectively home to some 27 million people. The order will be in effect for at least three weeks. (Breslow, 12/6)

The Washington Post: California Stay-At-Home Orders: San Joaquin Valley, Southern California Join Bay Area As ICU Capacity Drops
Stay-at-home orders will take effect in most of California by Sunday, encompassing more than 30 million residents, after hospital capacity dropped to critically low levels in two regions representing the southern half of the state. The return to strict rules aimed at fighting the coronavirus in the country’s most populous state comes as cases and hospitalizations surge around nationwide, prompting tough new restrictions on the economy and daily life. California has struggled to combat this fall’s viral onslaught despite political will to enact stringent public health measures, and reported more than 25,000 new coronavirus infections Saturday, an all-time single-day high. (Knowles, 12/5)

San Francisco Chronicle: Nearly One In 10 Coronavirus Tests In California Is Positive, The Highest Rate Yet
Almost one out of every 10 Californians who got tested last week for coronavirus received a positive result, according to an analysis of state data by The Chronicle. It’s a chilling benchmark that does not bode well for the state, as several regions brace for strict stay-at-home orders.California’s positivity rate jumped to 9.7% for the week ending Dec. 5, up from 6.2% the previous week. (Gafni, 12/6)

AP: As Virus Slams Rural California, Many Still Pan Restrictions
Brenda Luntey is openly violating California’s order to close her restaurant to indoor dining. But she wants her customers and critics to know she isn’t typically a rule-breaker. It’s a matter of survival. “This is my first episode of civil disobedience in my entire life. My whole family is in law enforcement. I’m a follow-the-rules kind of person,” said Luntey, owner of San Francisco Deli, a popular sandwich shop in Redding, more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) north of the restaurant’s namesake city. (Gecker and Pedroncelli, 12/7)

NPR: 1st Doses Of COVID-19 Vaccine To Be Administered This Week In The U.K.
As U.S. health authorities continue examining the proposed COVID-19 vaccines, residents in the United Kingdom — the first Western country to issue approval for emergency use — are set to receive their first shots as early as this week. But quickly vaccinating as many people as possible in the U.K. will pose enormous logistical challenges — from keeping the doses frozen to figuring out how to methodically and fairly distribute the vaccine across the nation of 68 million. (Schwartz, 12/6)

Bloomberg: HHS Chief Sees Vaccine For All Americans By Second Quarter
All Americans who want to get a Covid-19 vaccine should be able to do so by the second quarter of next year, Health and Human Services Alex Azar said. With the U.S. Food and Drug Administration due to decide as early as Thursday on emergency authorization for a shot developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, Azar and Moncef Slaoui, the head of the government’s program to accelerate a vaccine, expressed confidence that the FDA would clear the way. (Decker, 12/6)

The Washington Post: Moncef Slaoui Says Vaccine Will Lead To ‘Significant Decrease’ In Deaths Among Elderly By End Of January
The leader of the White House’s effort to develop a coronavirus vaccine has predicted that by the end of January, there will be a “significant decrease” in deaths among the nation’s elderly, as high-risk populations in the United States receive vaccinations. Moncef Slaoui, chief science adviser to Operation Warp Speed, said he expects independent advisers to the Food and Drug Administration to recommend emergency authorization for the vaccine developed by Pfizer and German biotechnology company BioNTech when the panel meets Thursday. The FDA is expected to issue the authorization soon after that. Pfizer’s vaccine is the first in line for approval in the United States. (Firozi, Whalen and Sonmez, 12/6)

Stat: Pledge To Vaccinate 20 Million In December Seems Unrealistic 
Hospitals across the United States are preparing for a Covid-19 vaccine distribution timeline that’s well behind official government targets as they face ongoing confusion about the process for inoculating frontline employees. (Goldhill, 12/7)

Stat: How Key Decisions Slowed FDA’s Review Of Covid-19 Vaccine
In September, as Pfizer and partner BioNTech were quickly advancing a study of their Covid-19 vaccine, dozens of well-known academics sent an open letter to Pfizer’s CEO with a simple plea: Please slow down and collect more data... Now, as the FDA prepares to convene a group of outside advisers on Thursday to review the data, and recommend whether the vaccine should be broadly used, many experts are voicing the opposite opinion. What, they ask, is taking so long? (Herper and Florko, 12/4)

NPR: Pence Says It's A 'Season Of Hope,' While CDC Officials Warn Of COVID-19 Surge
Vice President Pence traveled to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta on Friday for a briefing, saying America is "in a season of hope" and "help is on the way" with emergency use authorization for the first coronavirus vaccine potentially less than two weeks away. But what Pence heard from some of the nation's top public health officials was a grim assessment of the current state of the pandemic. (Keith, 12/6)

The Hill: Birx Says It's 'Frustrating' To Hear Public 'Parrot Back' False COVID-19 Claims 
Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the White House’s coronavirus task force, said Sunday that it’s “frustrating” to hear the public “parrot back” false claims about COVID-19, including that masks do not work. Birx told NBC News’s “Meet the Press” that when she travels to meet with state and local government officials, she also meets with community members who sometimes repeat “myths” about the pandemic. (Coleman, 12/6)

AP: Health Officials Warn Americans Not To Let Their Guard Down
With a COVID-19 vaccine perhaps just days away in the U.S., most of California headed into another lockdown Sunday because of the surging outbreak and top health officials warned Americans that this is no time to let their guard down. “The vaccine’s critical,” Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “But it’s not going to save us from this current surge. Only we can save us from this current surge.” (Groves, 12/6)

AP: Fauci's Plea 'Wear A Mask' Tops List Of 2020 Notable Quotes
A plea from Dr. Anthony Fauci for people to “wear a mask” to slow the spread of the coronavirus tops a Yale Law School librarian’s list of the most notable quotes of 2020.The list assembled by Fred Shapiro, an associate director at the library, is an annual update to “The Yale Book of Quotations,” which was first published in 2006. Also on the list is “I can’t breathe,” the plea George Floyd made repeatedly to police officers holding him down on a Minneapolis street corner. Several quotes from the presidential campaign appear including Joe Biden telling a student: “You’re a lying dog-faced pony soldier.” (12/7)

The Washington Post: How The Leading Coronavirus Vaccines Made It To The Finish Line
On a Sunday afternoon in early November, scientist Barney Graham got a call at his home office in Rockville, Md., where he has sequestered himself for most of the last 10 months, working relentlessly to develop a vaccine to vanquish a killer virus. It was Graham’s boss at the National Institutes of Health, with an early heads-up on news the world would learn the next morning: A coronavirus vaccine from Pfizer and the German biotech firm BioNTech that used a new genetic technology and a specially designed spike protein from Graham and collaborators had proved stunningly effective. (Johnson, 12/6)

The New York Times: The Elderly Vs. Essential Workers: Who Should Get The Coronavirus Vaccine First? 
With the coronavirus pandemic surging and initial vaccine supplies limited, the United States faces a hard choice: Should the country’s immunization program focus in the early months on the elderly and people with serious medical conditions, who are dying of the virus at the highest rates, or on essential workers, an expansive category encompassing Americans who have borne the greatest risk of infection? Health care workers and the frailest of the elderly — residents of long-term-care facilities — will almost certainly get the first shots, under guidelines the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued on Thursday. But with vaccination expected to start this month, the debate among federal and state health officials about who goes next, and lobbying from outside groups to be included, is growing more urgent. (Goodnough and Hoffman, 12/5)

The New York Times: Anti-Vaccine Scientist Has Been Invited To Testify Before Senate Committee 
A doctor who is skeptical of coronavirus vaccines and promotes the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a Covid-19 treatment will be the lead witness at a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on Tuesday, prompting criticism from Democrats who say Republicans should not give a platform to someone who spreads conspiracy theories. Dr. Jane M. Orient is the executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, a group that opposes government involvement in medicine and views federal vaccine mandates as a violation of human rights. (Gay Stolberg, 12/6)

Modern Healthcare: COVID-19 Treatment Protocol Developed In The Field Helps Patients Recover
Motivated to give patients remedies, a team at DuPage began looking into the recent data on hospitalized coronavirus patients to see if something could be offered to patients that may improve their chances of recovery. The result was a new treatment protocol involving aspirin and supplements such as vitamin D, zinc and iron. “Generally in healthcare, we wait for all the data to be perfect before incorporating it, but now in the midst of this pandemic, we needed to take bold action with courage to try to do something to help patients during this terrible time,” said Dr. Mathew Philip, internal medicine physician and medical director of clinical innovation at DuPage. (Castellucci, 12/5)

Stat: CDC May Have Claims On Remdesivir Patents Held By Gilead
Six years ago, a team of scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began researching dozens of compounds supplied by Gilead Sciences for use in combating different viruses. And they discovered that one compound, in particular, appeared effective in treating Ebola. (Silverman, 12/7)

The New York Times: ‘Natural Immunity’ From Covid Is Not Safer Than A Vaccine 
On the heels of last month’s news of stunning results from Pfizer’s and Moderna’s experimental Covid-19 vaccines, Senator Rand Paul tweeted a provocative comparison. The new vaccines were 90 percent and 94.5 percent effective, Mr. Paul, Republican of Kentucky, said. But “naturally acquired” Covid-19 was even better, at 99.9982 percent effective, he claimed. (Mandavilli, 12/5)

AP: Despite Promise, Few In US Adopting COVID-19 Exposure Apps
Six months ago, Apple and Google introduced a new smartphone tool designed to notify people who might have been exposed to the coronavirus, without disclosing any personal information. But for the most part, Americans haven’t been all that interested.Fewer than half of U.S. states and territories — 18 in total — have made such technology widely available. And according to a data analysis by The Associated Press, the vast majority of Americans in such locations haven’t activated the tool. (Anderson and O'Brien, 12/6)

360Dx: Testing Of Asymptomatic Patients Becomes More Prevalent And Useful
Some 10 months into the pandemic, testing for individuals who may be infected with COVID but who may not show symptoms remains a hodgepodge of methods, modalities, and technologies, many of which have not been authorized by regulators specifically to test asymptomatic patients. Some insiders emphasize the importance of doing rapid turnaround testing of asymptomatic people at the point of care enabled by either antigen or molecular assays, while others contend that laboratory-based tests ─ whether molecular- or antigen-based ─ ought to be the modalities of choice. (O'Connor, 12/6)

The Washington Post: Oregon Doctor Steven LaTulippe, Who Derided Masks, Has Medical License Suspended 
Deriding mask-wearing, Steven LaTulippe has touted his credentials as a “practicing physician.” Last month, he urged Trump supporters gathered in Salem, Ore., to “take off the mask of shame” — though hardly a covered face was in sight — and said proudly, to claps and cheers, that none of his clinic staff wore the simple accessories shown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. “And how many problems did we have in our clinic from that?” he asked. “Zero! Absolutely none.”LaTulippe’s license to practice medicine has now been suspended. (Knowles, 12/5)

The New York Times: After Defying Virus Rules, Bar Manager Drives Car Into Sheriff’s Deputy 
The manager of a Staten Island bar who has repeatedly and flamboyantly defied New York’s coronavirus restrictions hit a sheriff’s deputy with his Jeep early Sunday as he unsuccessfully tried to escape arrest, the sheriff’s office said. The bar, Mac’s Public House, was ordered closed by the state on Wednesday, but deputies said they found several patrons being served there on Saturday night. When deputies confronted the manager, Daniel Presti, he fled to his Jeep and drove into one of the deputies, throwing him onto the hood, according to the sheriff’s office. (Zaveri, 12/6)

USA Today: Police Had An Hour To Stop A Mom And Her COVID-Positive Son From Boarding A Flight. They Found Them Just In Time
A mother and her child were stopped from boarding a flight to Puerto Rico before Thanksgiving after Maryland officials learned the child tested positive for COVID-19. The Wicomico County Health Department notified Maryland State Police on Nov. 24 that a 9-year-old boy tested positive for the novel coronavirus and informed them that he and his mother were scheduled to depart from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport to Puerto Rico, Maryland State Police Sgt. Travis Nelson told USA TODAY. (Ali, 12/5)

The Washington Post: Are More People Freezing Their Eggs During The Pandemic? 
When it became clear that initial stay-at-home orders would last awhile, speculation began about a looming covid-19 baby boom. It certainly made sense at the time: a bunch of couples stuck at home, little to do. Instead, procreation plans were put on literal ice. Even as New York City’s businesses — restaurants, bars, gyms, retail — have been slammed by the pandemic, New York University’s Langone Fertility Center has seen a 41 percent increase in women freezing their eggs compared with the same time period in 2019. And that number might have been even higher if not for the Langone center’s three-month pandemic-induced closure. (Glass, 12/4)

Stat: BIO To File Lawsuit Today To Block Trump International Drug Pricing Policy
The Biotechnology Innovation Organization will file a lawsuit today to block implementation of President Trump’s new policy to lower drug prices, the organization tells STAT. The “most favored nations” policy, which was unveiled late last month, would peg what Medicare pays for 50 pricey injectable drugs to the lowest price paid in countries like Japan and Belgium. The change could cut reimbursement for some of the best-selling drugs in America, in half, or more. (Florko, 12/4)

Modern Healthcare: Healthcare Access Issues, Not Comorbidities, Drive Racial COVID-19 Disparities
Black and Latino COVID-19 patients' worse outcomes stem largely from not being able to access care quickly enough, rather than any underlying health conditions, according to a new study. A new study of more than 2,600 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 published Friday in JAMA Network Open found Black and Latino patients had a lower risk of mortality or critical illness and were less likely of being discharged to hospice compared to white patients. (Ross Johnson, 12/4)

The Washington Post: Atypical Forms Of Dementia Are Being Diagnosed More Often In People In Their 50s And 60s 
After 20 years of marriage, after raising two kids, after building a farm in Kentucky and tending horses and dogs, Laura Prewitt knew this much about her husband: He was tenderhearted, fun-loving and never let stress land too long on his shoulders. But in 2014, old Ted somehow morphed into a new guy, one who is not so communicative. A guy who lost his social edge and seemed unable to read faces or feelings. Who is tired and withdrawn. “He’s just not the same guy,” she says. “I want him back.” (Talan, 12/6)

Stat: J&J's CAR-T Drug Effective Against Myeloma, Shaded By Neurotoxicity
More than three-quarters of the multiple myeloma patients treated with an experimental CAR-T therapy from Johnson & Johnson are alive at least one year without their cancer worsening, according to updated clinical trial results presented Saturday at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology. (Feuerstein, 12/5)

Stat: Constellation's Myelofibrosis Drug Shows Improved Benefit 
More patients and an improved response rate might once again shift the sentiment on Constellation Pharmaceuticals and its contentious drug for myelofibrosis — this time in a positive direction. With 63 myelofibrosis patients now treated and evaluable in the company’s mid-stage study, the 24-week spleen response rate to its oral drug, CPI-0610 — when used on top of Jakafi, Incyte’s market-leading drug — stands at 67%. The new data were presented Saturday at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology. (Feuerstein, 12/6)

Stat: Kura's Genetically Targeted Drug Induces Remission In AML Patients 
Kura Oncology presented early clinical trial results Saturday showing for the first time that its genetically targeted cancer drug can induce responses — including complete remission — in patients with advanced leukemia. (Feuerstein, 12/5)

Modern Healthcare: FTC Sues To Block Hackensack Meridian-Englewood Deal
Federal regulators sued to block Hackensack Meridian Health's acquisition of Englewood Health, claiming that it would tip the competitive scales in an already concentrated acute-care market in Bergen County, N.J. The combined health system would control three of the six acute-care hospitals in the county, eliminating otherwise close competitors in the process, the Federal Trade Commission said in its complaint on Thursday. Hackensack would be able to demand higher rates from insurers, which may lead to higher insurance premiums and other out-of-pocket costs, regulators said, adding that the deal would also reduce incentives to improve quality. (Kacik, 12/4)

Modern Healthcare: Sanford Ends Merger Talks With Intermountain After CEO's Abrupt Departure
The merger talks are off between Sanford Health and Intermountain Healthcare, just a month after an agreement was announced and just over a week after Sanford's CEO abruptly stepped down. Former Sanford CEO Kelby Krabbenhoft left Nov. 24 in what the board called a mutual decision after making the controversial claim that he didn't need to wear a mask because he can't transmit COVID-19 after contracting the coronavirus. Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Sanford cited the leadership change in its decision to pause current merger and acquisition activity while they address other needs. (Bannow, 12/4)

AP: Computer Systems Down At Greater Baltimore Medical Center
A spokesman for the Greater Baltimore Medical Center says the medical center’s computer system has experienced a disruption. WBAL-TV reported it happened early Sunday. The medical center’s spokesman tells the station the network disruption affected information technology systems. John Lazarou says while many of the systems are down, GBMC HealthCare has processes in place to maintain safe and effective patient care. (12/6)

AP: Citing Low Virus Rates In Schools, NYC Again Reopens Schools
It’s back to school again for some New York City schoolchildren, weeks after the schools were closed to in-person learning because of rising COVID-19 infections. The city’s public school system, which shut down in-person learning earlier this month, will bring back on Monday preschool students and children in kindergarten through fifth grade whose parents chose a mix of in-school and remote learning. Special education students in all grades who have particularly complex needs will be welcomed back starting Thursday. (12/7)

The New York Times: Youth Sports After Covid-19: New Pediatric Guidelines 
The American Academy of Pediatrics posted updated guidance Friday on young people and sports in the pandemic, making a strong recommendation that participants should wear face masks for all indoor sports. It made exceptions only while swimming and diving, since it’s harder to breathe through wet masks; during gymnastics and cheerleading, where masks could get caught or obstruct vision; and during wrestling contact, where they could be a choking hazard. (Klass, 12/4)

AP: ER Visits, Long Waits Climb For Kids In Mental Health Crisis
When children and teens are overwhelmed with anxiety, depression or thoughts of self-harm, they often wait days in emergency rooms because there aren’t enough psychiatric beds. The problem has only grown worse during the pandemic, reports from parents and professionals suggest. With schools closed, routines disrupted and parents anxious over lost income or uncertain futures, children are shouldering new burdens many are unequipped to bear. And with surging numbers of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, bed space is even scarcer. (Tanner, 12/5)

Politico: Spring Surge Of College Students Will Challenge Covid Defenses 
Hundreds of the nation’s colleges and universities plan to bring thousands of students back to campus next semester even though most of the schools are unprepared or unequipped for the volume of testing needed to keep Covid-19 infections in check. The lack of robust campus testing plans comes despite growing scientific consensus that colleges should include frequent Covid-19 scans to help stop and prevent outbreaks. And a vaccine will not eliminate the need to test students, an expert panel said last week. (Perez Jr. and Quilantan, 12/7)

Bloomberg: Avocados Are The ‘Pandemic-Proof’ Crop In Lockdown Health Craze
Health-conscious consumers are eating avocados like never before during the pandemic. After a brief drop in demand at the start of the Covid crisis, European and U.S. consumption are hitting record highs, according to Xavier Equihua, chief executive officer of the World Avocado Organization, a trade group. “Consumption is off the charts,” Equihua said in an interview from California. “People want to eat healthy. The new luxury post-pandemic is going to be eating healthy, and wellness. Even the fashion industry is saying that.” (Perez, 12/4)

AP: Mail Carrier Who Died Of COVID-19 Is Honored By Customers
Residents in a Chicago suburb set up a condolence box at the police station to honor their mail carrier who recently died of COVID-19.Victor Fajardo was a letter carrier for more than 20 years and last worked in Deerfield. “It’s a really sobering reminder that nobody is immune to this, even if you’re healthy and you walk a five-hour route every day and people love you,” Cara McGowan told WBBM-TV. (12/6)

The Washington Post: David Lander, Squiggy On TV's 'Laverne & Shirley,' Dies At 73 
David Lander, the actor who played Squiggy on ABC’s “Laverne & Shirley” in the 1970s and 1980s, died Dec. 4 at a Los Angeles hospital. He was 73. His wife, Kathy Fields Lander, confirmed the death to the Los Angeles Times. He had battled multiple sclerosis for more than 36 years. (Vankin, 12/6)