First Edition: Aug. 11, 2021

KHN: Why Doesn’t Medicare Cover Services So Many Seniors Need?
Sorry, Joe Namath. Despite what you keep saying in those TV ads, under Medicare, seniors are not “entitled to eliminate copays and get dental care, dentures, eyeglasses, prescription drug coverage, in-home aides, unlimited transportation and home-delivered meals, all at no additional cost.” But if Democratic lawmakers in Congress have their say, seniors could soon be entitled to some of those services. Namath’s commercial is hawking private Medicare Advantage plans, which frequently do offer benefits traditional Medicare does not — in exchange for being limited to certain doctors and hospitals. “Traditional” Medicare does not cover many benefits used overwhelmingly by its beneficiaries, including most vision, dental and hearing care, and drug coverage is available only by purchasing a separate insurance plan — Medicare Part D. (Rovner, 8/11)

KHN: DeSantis’ Executive Order Is Misleading About Lack Of Scientific Support For Masking In Schools
On July 30, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order stating that schools couldn’t mandate that their students wear masks, and that it should be up to parents to decide whether they want their children masked in school buildings. The order also said the state can deny funding to districts that don’t comply. One part of the order particularly caught our attention because of what it said about masks: “WHEREAS, despite recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ‘guidance,’ forcing students to wear masks lacks a well-grounded scientific justification; indeed, a Brown University study analyzed COVID-19 data for schools in Florida and found no correlation with mask mandates.” (Knight, 8/11)

KHN: Public Favors Masks In Classrooms But Balks At Mandating Vaccinations For Students
As the spread of the delta variant threatens the safety of classrooms, a poll released Wednesday found nearly two-thirds of parents support schools’ requiring unvaccinated students age 5 or older and teachers to wear masks. A majority of parents, however, oppose requiring students now eligible for a covid vaccine to get one, with one Black parent from Michigan telling pollsters that “my child is not a test dummy.” The strong public opinions come as the politics over classroom masking grows more heated with the start of the school year, particularly in Florida and Texas. Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has issued an executive order giving parents the authority to decide whether their kids should be masked, but several large school districts are maintaining their masking mandates. The Dallas and Austin school districts are also defying a ban on mask mandates issued by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican. (Rau, 8/11)

The New York Times: Senate Passes $1 Trillion Infrastructure Bill, Handing Biden a Bipartisan Win
The Senate gave overwhelming bipartisan approval on Tuesday to a $1 trillion infrastructure bill to rebuild the nation’s deteriorating roads and bridges and fund new climate resilience and broadband initiatives, delivering a key component of President Biden’s agenda. The vote, 69 to 30, was uncommonly bipartisan. The yes votes included Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, and 18 others from his party who shrugged off increasingly shrill efforts by former President Donald J. Trump to derail it. (Cochrane, 8/10)

The Wall Street Journal: Senate Passes Democrats’ $3.5 Trillion Budget Blueprint 
The party line vote, 50-49, came just before 4 a.m., one day after the Senate passed a roughly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package. It is an initial victory for President Biden and congressional Democrats who are seeking to pass as much of their legislative agenda as possible this year, before next year’s midterm elections overtake Capitol Hill. “Senate Democrats have just took a massive step towards restoring the middle class of the 21st century,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) said just after the vote. “What we’re doing here is not easy. Democrats have labored for months to reach this point. And there are many labors to come. But I can say with absolute certainty that it will be worth doing.” (Peterson, Duehren and Collins, 8/11)

Politico: Biden Scores A Bipartisan Win. Even His Team Isn’t ‘Pollyannaish’ About More
The infrastructure bill still must go through the House. And the reconciliation package, which includes more ambitious spending on child care, education and climate change, has an uncertain fate in the Senate. When pressed on the timing of House passage of the infrastructure deal, Biden laughed, confidently declaring, "we'll get it done, I’ll get both.” All 50 Senate Democrats need to be on board to move the reconciliation package. Progressives are concerned their party-line bill will be slashed to accommodate moderate Democrats. Moderates, meanwhile, want to see the bipartisan bill reach Biden’s desk as soon as possible, rather than waiting for the second, Democratic-only legislation to pass. (Cadelago and Barron-Lopez, 8/10)

The Wall Street Journal: Biden To Urge Businesses To Require Covid-19 Vaccine For Workers
President Biden will meet Wednesday with the chief executives of United Airlines Holdings Inc. and Kaiser Permanente in a bid to encourage more companies to follow their lead and require workers to get vaccinated against Covid-19. Howard University President Wayne Frederick and Diane Sumpter, a small business leader from South Carolina, are also expected to attend the virtual meeting alongside United CEO Scott Kirby and Kaiser Permanente CEO Gregory Adams, a White House official said. (Parti and Siddiqui, 8/11)

Bloomberg: Biden Says He Doesn’t Think He Can Overrule Governors On Masks
President Joe Biden said he doesn’t think he has the power to overrule governors who nullify requirements imposed by school systems calling on kids and staff to wear masks to protect against Covid-19. “I don’t believe that I do thus far. We’re checking that,” Biden told reporters Tuesday in response to a question at the White House. “On federal workforce, I can.” Biden’s comments came as school leaders across the country face a dilemma as millions of students prepare to return in person to classes as the delta variant of Covid-19 spreads rapidly. (Wingrove and Parker, 8/10)

Politico: Biden: Republican Governors’ Actions To Oppose Masks In School Are ‘A Little Disingenuous’ 
President Joe Biden on Tuesday called out Republican governors on their positions against mask mandates in schools, calling some recent actions “a little disingenuous” and out of line with a small government message. The remarks came during a White House news conference when a reporter asked about children in schools who have tested positive for Covid-19. (Sheehey, 8/10)

The New York Times: YouTube Suspends Rand Paul For A Week Over A Video Disputing The Effectiveness Of Masks
YouTube on Tuesday removed a video by Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky for the second time and suspended him from publishing for a week after he posted a video that disputed the effectiveness of wearing masks to limit the spread of the coronavirus. A YouTube spokesperson said the Republican senator’s claims in the three-minute video had violated the company’s policy on Covid-19 medical misinformation. The company policy bans videos that spread a wide variety of misinformation, including “claims that masks do not play a role in preventing the contraction or transmission of Covid-19.” (Victor, 8/11)

The New York Times: Twitter Suspends Marjorie Taylor Greene For 7 Days Over Vaccine Misinformation
Twitter on Tuesday suspended Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, from its service for seven days after she posted that the Food and Drug Administration should not give the coronavirus vaccines full approval and that the vaccines were “failing.” The company said this was Ms. Greene’s fourth “strike,” which means that under its rules she can be permanently barred if she violates Twitter’s coronavirus misinformation policy again. The company issued her third strike less than a month ago. (Alba, 8/10)

ABC News: Rep. Steve Scalise Promotes 'Safe And Effective' COVID-19 Vaccine After Getting 2nd Shot 
With his home state of Louisiana setting new records for COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., on Tuesday encouraged residents to get vaccinated, touting the safety and efficacy of the vaccines and urging people to talk to their doctors about any concerns. "Instead of trying to blame people, let's encourage people to protect themselves," Scalise, who received his second dose of the Pfizer vaccine Tuesday morning, told ABC News Correspondent Kyra Phillips on ABC News Live. "In terms of hospitalizations, that's where you see people that aren't vaccinated showing up the most and so you want to encourage people to get it." (Siegel and Phillips, 8/10)

The Washington Post: Republicans Raise Money On Facebook By Tying Migrant Influx To Covid Surge 
Facebook has allowed prominent Republican officials and candidates — including the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference — to use the platform’s powerful ad technologies to raise money by associating migrants with the surge of coronavirus infections in the southern United States. The ads, whose central claim has been rejected by doctors and fact-checkers, illustrate the platform’s inconsistent approach to defining coronavirus misinformation, especially when elected officials are involved. Facebook’s management of misleading content is under intense scrutiny by the Biden administration as coronavirus case numbers climb again in the United States and health authorities grapple with the role of social media in shaping anti-vaccine attitudes. Biden raised alarm about the issue last month when he said in relation to Facebook, “They’re killing people.” (Stanley-Becker, 8/10)

AP: Nursing Home Overhaul Bill Would Boost Staffing, Oversight
Responding to the ravages of COVID-19 in nursing homes, senior Democratic senators Tuesday introduced legislation to increase nurse staffing, improve infection control and bolster inspections. The bill, from a group led by Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, is part of a broader overhaul of long-term care just getting started. Separately, President Joe Biden is seeking $400 billion to expand home and community based care as an alternative to nursing homes in the giant domestic agenda bill Democrats are pushing in Congress. His COVID relief law already provided a down payment. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 8/10)

AP: Federal Judge Rules Against Several Indiana Abortion Laws
A federal judge ruled Tuesday that several of Indiana’s laws restricting abortion are unconstitutional, including the state’s ban on telemedicine consultations between doctors and women seeking abortions. The judge’s ruling also upheld other state abortion limits that were challenged in a broad lawsuit filed by Virginia-based Whole Woman’s Health Alliance in 2018 as it fought the denial of a license to open an abortion clinic in South Bend. U.S. District Court Judge Sarah Evans Barker issued a permanent injunction against the telemedicine ban, along with state laws requiring in-person examinations by a doctor before medication abortions and the prohibition on second-trimester abortions outside hospitals or surgery centers. Barker also ruled against state laws requiring that women seeking abortions be told human life begins when the egg is fertilized and that a fetus might feel pain at or before 20 weeks. (Davies, 8/11)

Modern Healthcare: 2.5M Sign Up During Exchange Special Enrollment Period
Over 2.5 million people have enrolled for coverage through HealthCare.gov and state marketplaces since the start of a special enrollment period that began in February, according to federal data. CMS reports that more than 1.8 million people purchased insurance through Healthcare.gov, while 723,000 used a state-based marketplace platform. The special enrollment period ends on Aug. 15. The Biden Administration extended the period to give consumers three more months to sign up through Healthcare.gov. (Gellman, 8/10)

CBS News: Food Stamps — Now $7 A Day — Are Set To Get Chopped
Soon after the pandemic shuttered the U.S. economy, food banks were overwhelmed by demand, with cars lined up for miles as people in need waited to pick up groceries. As the hunger crisis worsened, the federal government stepped in to increase food stamp benefits. Now that enhancement is set to expire at the end of September, just as many states are also rolling back an additional boost to food stamp payments. The extra funding has helped expand the daily food stamp benefit to $7 per person, up from $4 before the public health crisis, according to Ellen Vollinger, the legal/food stamp director at the Food Research & Action Center, or FRAC, an anti-hunger nonprofit group. (Picchi, 8/10)

Bay Area News Group: COVID-19 Far Riskier Than Vaccines, New CDC Study Says
How risky are the COVID-19 vaccines? A new study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the risk of illness, hospitalization and death following the shots is far lower than the danger from becoming infected with the highly contagious and often deadly virus. Three health threats have surfaced among some vaccinated people: Blood clots and the Guillain-Barre Syndrome neurologic disorder after the Johnson & Johnson shot, and heart inflammation after the Pfizer or Moderna shots, which use a messenger-RNA technology. But the CDC analysis found that the risk in adults from the vaccines to be minimal compared to the virus that causes COVID-19, which has infected 35 million Americans and killed more than 614,000. (Woolfolk, 8/10)

USA Today: Study Showing Antibody Levels Protecting Against COVID-19 Could Speed Creation Of New Vaccines, Boosters
Eagerly anticipated new research pinpoints antibodies scientists can test for to see if a COVID-19 vaccine is effective. These "correlates of protection" could speed the development of new vaccines or boosters without requiring the enormous clinical trials used to create the first COVID-19 vaccines. Instead, researchers could vaccinate people with a new vaccine or booster, measure their antibodies over the course of several months, and know if it worked. This is "the Holy Grail" in terms of vaccines, and one that hasn't yet been set for the virus that causes COVID-19, said Peter Gilbert, co-author of the study posted Tuesday to medRxiv, a preprint site where scientific articles can be published prior to being accepted by peer-reviewed journals. (Weise, 8/10)

San Francisco Chronicle: Devastating Impact Of COVID On Pregnancy Highlighted By Large UCSF Study
Pregnant women infected with the coronavirus are at significantly higher risk for adverse complications, including preterm birth, according to a University of California San Francisco analysis of all documented births in the state between July 2020 and January 2021. In the largest study of its kind, researchers found the risk of very preterm birth, which occurs at less than 32 weeks of gestation, was 60% higher for people infected with the coronavirus during their pregnancy. The risk of giving birth at less than 37 weeks — which is any preterm birth — was 40% higher. (Vaziri, 8/10)

CBS News: New Vaccinations Have Nearly Doubled From Last Month, According To CDC Data
The average pace of first doses being administered across the United States has nearly doubled from a month ago, according to a federal government tally. The uptick is the latest sign of growing interest in the shots amid surging COVID-19 cases around the country and a push to vaccinate children ahead of the new school year. Nationwide, the country was averaging around 441,198 new vaccinations per day as of August 5, according to figures released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That represents a 95% increase from the mere 226,209 average of first doses recorded a month prior, on July 5. (Tin, 8/10)

NPR: Nearly 94,000 Kids Got COVID-19 Last Week. They Were 15% Of All New Cases
Coronavirus cases among children are rising at a time when the highly infectious delta variant is advancing across the United States at a rapid clip. New state-level data analyzed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association shows that children accounted for roughly 15% of all newly reported COVID-19 cases across the nation for the week ending on Aug. 5. Nearly 94,000 child cases of COVID-19 were recorded during that period, a 31% increase over the roughly 72,000 cases reported a week earlier. In the week before then, there were 39,000 new child cases. (Hernandez, 8/10)

The Atlantic: Why The Delta Variant Is A Serious Threat To Kids
Two and a half weeks ago, as the next school year approached, a pediatric cardiologist from Louisiana headed into the Georgia mountains with her husband, their three young children, and their extended family. It was, in many ways, a fairly pandemic-sanctioned vacation: All nine adults in attendance were fully vaccinated. The group spent most of the trip outdoors, biking, swimming, and hiking. Then, on the last night of the outing—July 27, the same day the CDC pivoted back to asking vaccinated people to mask up indoors—one parent started feeling sick. A test soon confirmed a mild breakthrough case of COVID-19. None of the other adults caught the coronavirus on the trip, the cardiologist told me, which she points to as “total proof that the vaccine worked.” (The Atlantic agreed not to name the cardiologist to protect her family’s privacy.) But within a week, six of the eight kids on the trip—all of them too young to be eligible for vaccines—had newly diagnosed coronavirus infections as well. (Wu, 8/10)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: COVID-19 Cases In Children Raise Alarms In Milwaukee County
COVID-19 cases among children 18 and younger are on the rise in Milwaukee County, medical experts say, with 10% of hospitalizations being tied to children. Between July 28 and Aug. 3, there were 102 hospitalizations in the county — ten of those patients were children, according to Darren Rausch, director of the Greenfield Health Department. He described it as a "pretty substantial increase." "Previous variants, prior to delta, were not hospitalizing kids at such an alarming rate, but it's certainly something we are seeing consistently both here in the state of Wisconsin and in other parts of the country," Rausch said during a virtual briefing Tuesday. (Swales, Bentley and Dirr, 8/10)

NPR: Fauci Says Teachers Should Be Required To Be Vaccinated
Dr. Anthony Fauci says COVID-19 vaccines should be mandatory for schoolteachers, citing the need to protect children who are too young to be vaccinated during a pandemic that has grown worse with the spread of the delta variant. "I'm going to upset some people on this, but I think we should [require teacher vaccinations]," Fauci said Tuesday morning in an interview on MSNBC. "I mean, we are in a critical situation now," he said. "We've had 615,000-plus deaths, and we are in a major surge now as we're going into the fall, into the school season. This is very serious business." (Chappell, 8/10)

AP: Kentucky Governor Orders Masks In Schools As Virus Surges
Masking up in Kentucky schools was mandated by Gov. Andy Beshear on Tuesday as the fast-spreading delta variant causes waves of new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. The new executive action requiring indoor mask wearing applies to K-12 Kentucky schools, regardless of vaccination status for COVID-19, the Democratic governor said. The requirement also applies to child care and pre-kindergarten programs across Kentucky, he said. (Schreiner and Blackburn, 8/11)

Bloomberg: Texas County Wins Court Order Overriding Governor’s Mask Ban
Local Texas officials trying to force people to wear masks to guard against the resurgent Covid-19 virus got a boost Tuesday from a state judge who sided with San Antonio’s top elected officials that state emergency powers laws don’t let the governor override local mask mandates. Governor Greg Abbott, a staunch Republican whose re-election bid was recently endorsed by former President Donald Trump, outlawed local mask ordinances despite soaring Covid-19 infection rates and hospitalizations in Texas. Intensive care beds in many cities are in such short supply that Abbott asked hospitals to limit optional procedures to free up beds for more Covid victims. (Brubaker Calkins, 8/10)

Houston Chronicle: Texas Surges Past 10,000 COVID Hospitalizations For The First Time In Six Months
More than 10,000 Texans are hospitalized for COVID-19, according to data released by the Texas Department of State Health Services Tuesday afternoon. According to Tuesday’s report, 10,041 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 across the state of Texas on Monday, the highest rate since Feb. 4, as the delta variant continues to dominate new COVID-19 infections. Moderate and severe COVID-19 case rates have climbed exponentially during the fourth surge of the pandemic, overwhelming hospitals as staffing shortages continue. (Wu, 8/10)

The Washington Post: Florida School Board Threatens Legal Action To Keep Mask Mandate Despite Ron DeSantis Ban
Florida’s second-largest school system is threatening legal action to challenge the ban on mask mandates by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), as it voted to keep its own requirements in place for students and staff. The Broward County school board – which voted 8-1 on Tuesday to uphold its mask mandate despite DeSantis’s move to curb such restrictions and subsequent threat to stop paying superintendents and school board members who defy his orders – said in an evening news conference that it told its legal counsel to prepare a challenge. (Pietsch, 8/11)

CNN: Parents Of Florida Students With Disabilities Are Taking A Stand Over Masks. They're Suing Gov. DeSantis 
Will Hayes was supposed to start the new school year Tuesday, but instead he's staying home because of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' ban on mask mandates in schools, his mother said. Will, 10, has Down syndrome and other underlying health conditions, but has always been included in a general education class in a public K-8 school his mom, Judi Hayes, told CNN's Brianna Keilar. Now, because her son is immunocompromised, she says his health will keep him from attending school with his peers in the Orange County Public Schools district. (Ebrahimji, 8/10)

CNBC: U.S. Government Sends Hundreds Of Ventilators To Florida As Covid Surge Continues
The federal government has sent hundreds of ventilators and other equipment to Florida this week to help the state respond to a record-breaking number of Covid hospitalizations. The devices came from the federal government’s Strategic National Stockpile and included 200 ventilators and 100 smaller breathing devices and related supplies, according to an HHS official. (Pettypiece, 8/10)

Stateline: 10 States Have School Mask Mandates While 8 Forbid Them
By the end of this week, roughly half of the nation’s more than 50 million public school students will be back in class. But as parents stock up on notebooks and pencils, it’s still unclear in much of the country whether they’ll be sending their kids to school with masks. In reaction to delta-variant-fueled spikes in new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in most states, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended in late July that all schools require students, teachers and visitors to wear masks. States’ responses to the new guidelines since then have remained in flux. (Vestal, 8/10)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Philly Will Reinstate Indoor Mask Mandate — With Exception For Businesses That Verify Vaccination Status
Philadelphia officials are expected to impose new coronavirus restrictions Wednesday, with a mandate that businesses either require masks for everyone or verify that all staff and customers are fully vaccinated, according to the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association. That would mean even fully vaccinated people would need to wear masks in any business that doesn’t check vaccination status. (McCrystal, 8/11)

The Washington Post: D.C. Employees Must Get Coronavirus Vaccine Or Get Tested, Mayor Says 
D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) announced Tuesday all city employees and contractors will be required to be vaccinated or undergo weekly testing for the coronavirus, with vaccination required for new employees. Bowser stopped short of issuing a full mandate, and officials argued that educating employees about the vaccine and allowing for a testing option — instead of issuing a blanket requirement — would ultimately increase vaccination rates. (Stein and Elwood, 8/10)

The Washington Post: Maskless Woman Who Yelled At Bank Worker Is Not Protected By Free Speech, Judge Ruled
A maskless woman who yelled at a bank worker in New Jersey when she was told to put on a face covering is saying the outburst is protected free speech. But a New Jersey Superior Court judge on Friday denied her motion to dismiss the lawsuit against her. Citibank worker Sanaa Rami says she suffered emotional distress after the Nov. 27 encounter, when she asked customer Lilach Kuhn to wear a mask, which Kuhn refused to do before complaining. (Kornfield, 8/10)

CNN: Citigroup Requires Big-City Workers To Get Vaccinated. Others Have To Wear Masks 
Citigroup is the latest big bank to mandate vaccines for employees returning to the office as the Delta variant of Covid-19 surges. Starting September 13, employees working in the bank's New York headquarters as well as other offices in the New York metropolitan area, Chicago, Boston, Washington and Philadelphia, will need to be vaccinated and are expected in the office at least twice a week. (Ritter, 8/10)

Des Moines Register: MercyOne, Broadlawns To Require COVID Vaccinations For Employees
All Des Moines area hospitals will require employees to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. MercyOne Medical Center and Broadlawns Medical Center announced Tuesday that they're invoking such mandates amid a resurgence of the pandemic. UnityPoint Health and the Veterans Medical Center had announced earlier this summer that they would mandate the vaccine for employees. Together, the four health systems run eight hospitals and numerous clinics in the Des Moines area. (Leys, 8/10)

The Boston Globe: As Infections Rise Across Mass., Hospitals Set Deadlines For Employee Vaccinations
Massachusetts’ largest hospital systems are setting stricter vaccination mandates for employees, no longer hinging them on full FDA approval of the COVID vaccines, amid another spike in infections and growing fears about the Delta variant. Mass General Brigham and Beth Israel Lahey Health, along with Wellforce, the parent company of Tufts Medical Center, on Tuesday became the latest to announce that their workers must be fully vaccinated this fall. Wellforce set a deadline of Oct. 1, while Mass General Brigham said it would give employees until Oct. 15, and Beth Israel Lahey said Oct. 31. Combined, they employ more than 130,000 people. (Dayal McCluskey, 8/10)

CNN: 3 Major US Airlines Will Not Mandate Shots For Their Unvaccinated Workers 
The CEOs of Southwest Airlines, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines say they are not requiring unvaccinated employees to receive the shot, breaking with United Airlines' mandate that workers get vaccinated by October 25 or face getting fired. In an internal memo obtained by CNN, Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly said the airline will "continue to strongly encourage" that workers get vaccinated, but the airline's stance has not shifted. (Muntean, 8/10)

Reuters: Hawaii To Reimpose COVID-19 Restrictions As Delta Variant Surges
Hawaii will re-impose COVID-19 restrictions limiting social gatherings to avert straining the state's healthcare, Governor David Ige said on Tuesday, as the rapid spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus pushed cases and hospitalizations in the United States to a six-month high. "I'll be signing an executive order that will limit social gatherings, effective immediately," Ige said in a tweet. (8/11)

AP: Ambulances Wait Outside Hospitals As COVID Infections Spread
COVID-19 cases have filled so many Florida hospital beds that ambulance services and fire departments are straining to respond to emergencies. In St. Petersburg, some patients wait inside ambulances for up to an hour before hospitals can admit them — a process that usually takes about 15 minutes, Pinellas County Administrator Barry Burton said. While ambulances sit outside emergency rooms, they are essentially off the grid. “They’re not available to take another call, which forces the fire department on scene at an accident or something to take that transport. That’s caused quite a backlog for the system.” (Kennedy and Licon, 8/11)

Houston Chronicle: 'Critical Staffing Shortages' At St. Luke's Health's Woodlands Prompts Temporary Close Of Conroe ER
St. Luke's Health on Tuesday evening announced it will temporarily close its freestanding emergency room in Conroe to transfer operations to St. Luke's Health-The Woodlands Hospital, confirmed a spokesperson for the health system. The Woodlands hospital, which is facing capacity issues and a "critical staffing shortage" amid a sharp increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations across Houston, will handle any urgent operations sent from the Conroe facility, according to a St. Luke's Health release. The hospital will prioritize urgent and clinically necessary procedures and will consider non-urgent procedures case-by-case. (Zong, 8/10)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: MountainView Nurses Say Hospital’s Maternity Unit Unsafe For Patients
Labor and delivery nurses at MountainView Hospital spoke out Tuesday about what they described as unsafe conditions for pregnant patients and their unborn children due to inadequate numbers of nursing staff. When there are high volumes of patients, “There’s not enough staff to safely, appropriately provide the best care that we can,” said Nicole Taylor, a nurse in the hospital’s labor and delivery unit and chief nurse representative for National Nurses Organizing Committee-Nevada/National Nurses United. (Hynes, 8/10)

The Washington Post: Johnson & Johnson Coronavirus Vaccine Recipients Worry They Chose The Wrong Brand 
New research offers encouraging evidence about how the Johnson & Johnson vaccine stacks up against its competitors — and the delta variant — according to infectious-disease specialists. However, there are still lingering questions about booster shots. Earlier clinical trials showed the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was 66 percent effective overall in preventing moderate to severe disease four weeks after the shot, with effectiveness varying depending on location. Its competitors from Pfizer and Moderna, on the other hand, recorded 90 percent-plus effectiveness against the coronavirus. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious-disease expert, has said all three vaccines are effective. (Beachum, Bever and Iati, 8/10)

AP: High Trust In Doctors, Nurses In US, AP-NORC Poll Finds
Most Americans have high trust in doctors, nurses and pharmacists, a new poll finds. Researchers say that trust could become important in the push to increase COVID-19 vaccinations, as long as unvaccinated people have care providers they know and are open to hearing new information about the vaccines. At least 7 in 10 Americans trust doctors, nurses and pharmacists to do what’s right for them and their families either most or all of the time, according to the poll from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. (Swanson and Murphy, 8/10)

AP: Hospital Physicians Seek To Unionize Amid Pandemic Turmoil
Physicians at Rehoboth McKinley Christian hospital in Gallup have taken the first major step toward unionizing to pursue collective bargaining on employment provisions, hospital staff and a union official said Tuesday. The majority of roughly 30 physicians at the hospital have signed and submitted union authorization cards to the National Labor Relations Board, said Sue Wilson, spokeswoman of the Union of American Physicians and Dentists. A vote on unionization could still be required by the hospital operator, she said. (Lee, 8/11)

Modern Healthcare: OSHA Cracking Down On N95 Staff Fit Tests
Healthcare employers need to be on top of making sure they follow the rules when making new employees – even temporary employees – wear N95 respirator masks. OSHA issued two citations to federally qualified health center Center for Health, Education, Medicine and Dentistry in Lakewood, N.J. and a temporary staffing agency that supplied nurses, Homecare Therapies for administering flu shots and COVID-19 tests. Both organizations failed to administer medical evaluations for employees, or provide fit tests before making them wear the masks. (Gillespie, 8/10)

Modern Healthcare: Telemedicine Operator Charged In $784M Fraud Scheme
A Newark, N.J. grand jury charged a Florida telemedicine company owner of filing $784 million in false and fraudulent Medicare claims, according to federal prosecutors. Creaghan Harry, 53, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and wire fraud and four counts of income tax evasion, according to a news release by the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday. Harry and his alleged co-conspirators, Lester Stockett and Elliot Loewenstern, paid physicians to write orders for braces and medications, which were given to medical equipment suppliers for bribes and kickbacks, federal prosecutors said. (Gellman, 8/10)

Modern Healthcare: HCA Sought Monopoly Market Power With Mission Health Deal, Lawsuit Alleges
HCA Healthcare acquired Mission Health to secure monopoly market power and inflate prices, according to the plaintiffs behind a new lawsuit. HCA allegedly used "all-or-nothing" negotiation tactics with insurers, leading to higher care prices and insurance premiums in lopsided acute-care markets in North Carolina's Buncombe and Madison counties, according to a lawsuit filed in state court Tuesday. Mission Health used the same tactics prior to the acquisition, among other anticompetitive schemes, the North Carolina patients claim in their suit. (Kacik, 8/10)

USA Today: Chicken Recall: Nearly 60k Pounds Of Chicken Products Sold At Aldi, Other Stores Recalled For Possible Salmonella
Serenade Foods is recalling nearly 60,000 pounds of frozen, raw chicken products for possible salmonella contamination. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced the Milford, Indiana company's voluntary recall on its website late Monday. Five products are included in the recall under three brand names: Dutch Farms Chicken, Milford Valley Chicken and Kirkwood, which is an Aldi store brand. The items were shipped to distributors nationwide, but a list of the retailers that sold the affected products was not included with the recall notice. (Tyko, 8/10)

AP: Group Cites Chemical Concerns At Military Sites Near Bay
The groundwater of at least nine military installations near the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and Virginia is contaminated with high levels of toxic fluorinated “forever chemicals,” according to a report Wednesday by an environmental group that cites Defense Department records. The Environmental Working Group’s report focuses on installations along the bay and concerns about contamination mostly from chemicals in firefighting foam containing PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. They are known as “forever chemicals” because they do not break down in the environment. (Witte, 8/11)

AP: Pacific Northwest Braces For Another Multiday Heat Wave
People in the Pacific Northwest braced for another major, multiday heat wave starting Wednesday, just over a month after record-shattering hot weather killed hundreds of the region’s most vulnerable when temperatures soared to 116 degrees Fahrenheit (47 Celsius). In a “worst-case scenario,” the temperature could reach as high as 111 F (44 C) in some parts of western Oregon by Friday before a weekend cooldown, the National Weather Service in Portland, Oregon, warned this week. It’s more likely temperatures will rise above 100 F (38 C) for three consecutive days, peaking around 105 F (40.5 C) on Thursday. (Flaccus, 8/11)

PBS NewsHour: We Don’t Know Exactly How Many People Are Dying From Heat — Here’s Why
What data exists are the deaths we know about. Deaths from the heat are not always reported as such and experts say many are undercounted or misclassified. The Oregon medical examiner released a report last week that attributed 96 deaths to a heat wave in late June, an event that likely led to hundreds of deaths across the region. Those numbers will likely grow as investigations continue.vThe federal government has pointed to this issue already this year. In an April report on heat-related deaths, the Environmental Protection Agency noted that dramatic increases in heat-related deaths are closely associated with heat waves and higher temperatures, but may not be reported as related to heat on death certificates. “This limitation, as well as considerable year-to-year variability in the data, make it difficult to determine whether the United States has experienced a meaningful increase or decrease in deaths classified as ‘heat-related’ over time,” the report said. (Rodriguez-Delgado, 8/10)

Mississippi Clarion Ledger: State Health Officials: Pool, Splashpad In Pelahatchie Closed After E. coli Outbreak
Several cases of E. coli have been identified connected to a swimming pool and splashpad at the Jellystone Park Camp Resort-Yogi on the Lake in Pelahatchie, health officials said. Those diagnosed with E. coil most likely used the pool and splashpad between July 30 and Aug. 1, although some people could have been exposed to the bacteria up as recently as Monday, Mississippi State Department of Health officials said. Resort management closed the pool and splashpad Monday. Health officials in a news release are still investigating to determine if there are additional cases. (Szymanowska, 8/10)

NPR: U.S. Muslims Are 2 Times More Likely To Have Attempted Suicide Than Other Groups
U.S. Muslims are two times more likely to have attempted suicide compared with other religious groups, according to a study published last month in JAMA Psychiatry. Nearly 8% of Muslims in the survey reported a suicide attempt in their lifetime compared with 6% of Catholics, 5% of Protestants and 3.6% of Jewish respondents. "Anecdotally and in clinical settings, we're definitely seeing an uptick in suicides and suicide attempts," Dr. Rania Awaad told NPR. She's the director of the Muslim Mental Health & Islamic Psychology Lab at Stanford University and a researcher on the study. (Faheid, 8/10)

Reuters: UK Records Highest Daily COVID-19 Death Toll Since March
Britain reported 146 new deaths within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test on Tuesday, the highest daily total since March 12, as the impact of last month's surge in cases fed through into fatalities, government data showed. The number of new cases reported on Tuesday fell to 23,510 from 25,161 on Monday - less than half the peak of 54,674 recorded on July 17, shortly before most social distancing measures were removed in England. (Milliken, 8/10)

The Wall Street Journal: Fresh U.K. Covid-19 Data Boosts Hopes That Delta Variant Can Be Held In Check
The latest surge of Covid-19 cases in the U.K. is giving rise to growing optimism among doctors and scientists that the highly transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus can be held at bay with high levels of vaccination and public caution. Although caseloads are now ticking higher after Prime Minister Boris Johnson dropped almost all public-health restrictions in mid July, hospital admissions have been falling and deaths are a fraction of the level seen in earlier phases of the pandemic, according to the latest official data through early August. (Douglas and Shah, 8/11)

The Washington Post: Covid Vaccine Protesters Tried To Storm The BBC But Got The Address Wrong 
A group of coronavirus vaccine protesters attempted to storm the offices of British public broadcaster BBC on Monday. But they had one big problem: the wrong address. Instead of targeting the BBC’s news operations, which some activists have blamed for helping promote coronavirus vaccines, they charged toward a former BBC building in west London that now houses upscale apartments, restaurants and studios used by another British media company to produce daytime talk shows. “Not sure what protesters were hoping to achieve, but all they would’ve found was me, Jane, Nadia and Penny on @loosewomen talking about the menopause,” tweeted Charlene White, a host on the ITV show “Loose Women,” which was live on air when protesters attempted to enter the building. (Pannett, 8/10)

The Washington Post: Delta Outbreak In Southeast Asia Prompts Shift Away From China's Covid Vaccines 
Southeast Asian countries that had widely rolled out Chinese-made coronavirus vaccines are turning away from the shots in favor of Western alternatives as they scramble to contain deadly outbreaks caused by the delta variant. The shift in a region where China vies with the United States for influence underscores the limits of Beijing’s vaccine diplomacy. Countries such as Indonesia and Thailand once bet heavily on China’s Sinovac, despite warnings from medical experts, but their health systems have come under intense strain as the delta variant tears through towns and cities. Indonesia has recorded more than 100,000 deaths overall. (Mahtani, 8/10)

AP: Australian Team Condemns Double-Quarantine For 16 Olympians
A strict four-week quarantine imposed on 16 athletes returning from the Tokyo Games has been criticized as “cruel and uncaring” by the Australian Olympic Committee. All travelers entering Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic are subjected to a mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine, and members of Australia’s Olympic delegation have returned in groups to undergo two weeks of supervised isolation in various state capitals. But South Australia is imposing an additional 14-day domestic quarantine on those athletes who want to return to the state after isolating in Sydney, where a coronavirus outbreak has forced the city into lockdown. And that has sparked outrage among athletes and Olympic officials. (8/11)