The New York Times: Senate Passes $3.5 Trillion Budget Plan, Advancing Sweeping Safety Net Expansion
The Senate took a major step early on Wednesday toward enacting a sweeping expansion of the nation’s social safety net, approving a $3.5 trillion budget blueprint along party lines that would allow Democrats to fund climate change, health care and education measures while increasing taxes on wealthy people and corporations. After an unusual bipartisan approval of a $1 trillion infrastructure package a day earlier, the vote over unanimous Republican opposition allows Senate Democrats to create an expansive package that will carry the remainder of President Biden’s $4 trillion economic agenda. The Senate adopted the measure 50 to 49, with one lawmaker, Senator Mike Rounds, Republican of South Dakota, absent. (Cochrane, 8/11)

Politico: Senate Adopts Budget That Paves Way For $3.5T Spending Plan
Senate Democrats adopted a budget measure early Wednesday morning to deliver their next filibuster-proof ticket to passing major legislation against the will of their GOP colleagues. After more than 14 hours of continuous amendment votes, the chamber adopted on party lines a 92-page framework for Democrats’ $3.5 trillion package of climate and social initiatives, including subsidized child care, expanded Medicare and paid family and medical leave benefits. Once both chambers have approved the budget instructions, it will unlock the reconciliation process, which empowers the majority party to eventually clear the final bill with just 51 votes in the Senate, rather than the usual 60-vote hurdle. (Emma and Scholtes, 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)

The Washington Post: Senate Democrats Adopt Sweeping $3.5 Trillion Budget That Opens The Door To Health, Education And Tax Reforms
Hours after the Senate advanced a bipartisan bill to improve the nation’s infrastructure, Democrats forged ahead independently on a second front — adopting a $3.5 trillion budget that could enable sweeping changes to the nation’s health care, education and tax laws. The 50-49 vote came early Wednesday morning, after lawmakers sparred in a marathon debate over the proposed sizable increase in spending and its potential implications for the federal deficit. Its passage marked another critical milestone in Democrats’ complex economic agenda, which includes new public-works investments that Republicans support — and a slew of additional policy proposals that the GOP does not. (Romm, 8/11)

Also —

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)

Reuters: Biden Seeks To Support Florida Schools Threatened By Governor Over Masks
The Biden administration is reviewing how it can get money to Florida school districts if the state's governor, Ron DeSantis, makes good on threats to withhold pay from school leaders who require masks for students. ... White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters the administration is looking at whether it can use unspent COVID-19 relief funds to combat any pay cuts imposed by DeSantis. "We're continuing to look into what our options are to help protect and help support these teachers and administrators who are taking steps to protect the people in their communities," Psaki said. (Renshaw and Shalal, 8/10)

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)

In other news from the Biden administration —

The Washington Post: Health Experts Demand Global Vaccination Campaign To End Pandemic 
More than 175 public health experts, scientists and activists on Tuesday demanded that President Biden take urgent steps to confront the global spread of the coronavirus, warning that without immediate action to inoculate the rest of the world, newer variants are likely to emerge — including ones that may evade vaccines’ protection. “We urge you to act now,” the experts wrote in a joint letter to senior White House officials Tuesday and shared with The Washington Post. “Announcing within the next 30 days an ambitious global vaccine manufacturing program is the only way to control this pandemic, protect the precious gains made to date, and build vaccine infrastructure for the future.” (Diamond and Abutaleb, 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)

WUSF Public Media: Manatee, Pinellas Schools Stay With Mask-Optional Policies 
Despites pleas from concerned parents and advice from national medical groups that mask wearing should be universal in schools this fall, school boards in Manatee and Pinellas counties decided Monday to stick with the mask-optional policies. Florida is experiencing record numbers of coronavirus cases, with 28,317 new cases on Saturday and another 28,317 on Sunday, plus a new high for hospitalizations statewide 13,977, according to official figures Monday. (Sheridan, 8/10)

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)

The Daily Beast: Florida’s School COVID War Is Somehow Uglier Than Ever, ‘Like They’re Throwing Us Into A Gladiator Pit’
With the Delta variant running rampant across Florida and cases of extremely sick children on the rise, Jerry Greenberg is terrified about sending his kids back to school in Pinecrest, an incorporated village in Miami-Dade County. The 47-year-old has an 11-year-old daughter set to start sixth grade at Palmetto Middle School and a 14-year-old son poised to begin ninth grade at Palmetto Senior High. But with public school leaders across the state facing off against Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has insisted on banning mask mandates for kids, Greenberg is mulling a radical change. (Alvarado, 8/10)

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)

Also —

NBC News: U.S. Sends Hundreds Of Ventilators To Florida As Covid Surge Continues
The federal government has sent hundreds of ventilators and other equipment this week to help Florida respond to a record number of Covid hospitalizations. The devices, which came from the federal government's Strategic National Stockpile, included 200 ventilators and 100 smaller breathing devices and related supplies, said an official of the Department of Health and Human Services. (Pettypiece, 8/10)

Fox News: CDC Adjusts Florida COVID-19 Numbers After Health Department Call-Out
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday updated its COVID-1 tracker for Florida over the past few days after the state’s department of health appealed publically for an update. The CDC told Fox News in an email on Tuesday that it was working with the state’s health department to correct the information. The state took to Twitter on Monday to ask the CDC to update its COVID-19 case tracker because it incorrectly combined "MULTIPLE days into one." The Sunday total was the state’s worst ever, according to the CDC data. (DeMarche, 8/10)

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: Harris County Mulls Suing Abbott Over Ban On Mask Rules
Harris County Commissioners Court late Tuesday gave the green light to County Attorney Christian Menefee to sue Gov. Greg Abbott over his order preventing local authorities from issuing mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic. The move came at the end of a whirlwind day where local officials in Dallas and San Antonio prevailed — at least temporarily — in their own legal challenges to the governor’s order. (Despart, 8/10)

WFAA.co: Will Wearing Masks Matter If Others Don't? A North Texas Pediatrician Answers Your Questions As Kids Head Back To School 
Frisco pediatrician and Texas Pediatric Society President Dr. Seth Kaplan is answering popular questions sent to WFAA on social media. Q: "We are concerned that even if my kids wear masks, they will get (COVID-19) from others. Will wearing masks matter if others don't?" A: “It still does matter. We know that the primary purpose of wearing the mask is to protect others from getting sick from you, but there still is some protection from wearing the mask itself for the individual who wears it. Unfortunately, we still need a lot more research to quantify exactly how much protection that is, but it's definitely the right thing to do,” Dr. Kaplan said. (Plasencia, 8/10)

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)

Also —

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)

Dallas Morning News: In North Texas, Intensive Care Bed Space Is Running Out. Only 2 Pediatric ICU Spots Remain In Region
As the number of COVID-19 delta cases swells, only two pediatric ICU beds — out of 285 total — were available Tuesday in the 19-county North Texas area. Dallas County hospitals reported 3,270 new cases over the weekend compared with 2,750 cases in a 14-day period last month. Hospitals are at 90% capacity and experiencing staffing shortages, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said. As of Tuesday, there were only 28 adult ICU beds available in Dallas County, according to W. Stephen Love, president of the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council. (Girgis, Scudder and Morris, 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)

Fox News: Rising Kids’ Hospital Admissions Stirs Alarm Ahead Of School Year
Growing numbers of pediatric hospital admissions are stirring alarm as respiratory illnesses coincide and younger children remain ineligible to receive COVID-19 vaccines amid the start of the school year. Hospital admissions among kids have seen an approximate four-fold increase over the last month, federal data suggests. Children's hospitals across the country confirmed increasing numbers of pediatric inpatient volumes, including Nashville-based Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Children’s Hospital Colorado and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Texas Children's Hospital also reported an uptick in COVID-19 cases among younger residents, with the delta variant behind over 80% of new cases since July 1. (Rivas, 8/10)

USA Today: US Hospitals Overwhelmed By COVID Spike In Children, Unvaccinated
Texas hospitals tallied more than 10,000 COVID patients for the first time since early February. The state has only 329 staffed beds for intensive care among 8,283 hospital beds left for about 30 million people, according to state health data released Tuesday. And hospital admissions have tripled in the last month among children 17 and younger, Dr. Desmar Walkes, Austin-Travis County health authority, told Travis County commissioners on Tuesday. In June, 11 children were hospitalized with COVID-19 and by July that has more than tripled to 34. A majority of cases, Walkes reported, are among children between 10 and 18 years old. (Aspegren, 8/11)

Louisville Courier Journal: More Kids With COVID-19 Being Admitted To Norton Children's Hospital
Norton Healthcare is seeing a jump in children hospitalized with COVID-19, along with a surge in adult patients admitted with the virus, as the delta variant continues to drive up infection rates in Kentucky. On Tuesday, Norton Children's Hospital had 10 pediatric patients with COVID-19, four in intensive care and two on ventilators — in contrast to many days in June when it had no children hospitalized with the virus. Kentucky Children's Hospital in Lexington reported two children hospitalized with COVID-19 Tuesday. (Yetter, 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)

CNN: Here's Why Now Is One Of The Most Dangerous Times Of The Pandemic For Children, Expert Says 
Students heading back to the classroom for the new school year will be contending with one of the most dangerous times in the pandemic for children. And officials will have to consider many measures to keep them safe from Covid-19, an expert said. "We have the more contagious Delta variant, we have surges and we have so many adults letting down their guard, not wearing masks, not getting vaccinated," Dr. Leana Wen told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Tuesday. "That's contributing to this really dangerous environment for children." (Holcombe, 8/11)

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)

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)

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)

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)

Reuters: Moderna May Be Superior To Pfizer Against Delta; Breakthrough Odds Rise With Time
The mRNA vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech may be less effective than Moderna's against the Delta variant of the coronavirus, according to two reports posted on medRxiv on Sunday ahead of peer review. In a study of more than 50,000 patients in the Mayo Clinic Health System, researchers found the effectiveness of Moderna's vaccine against infection had dropped to 76% in July - when the Delta variant was predominant - from 86% in early 2021. Over the same period, the effectiveness of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine had fallen to 42% from 76%, researchers said. While both vaccines remain effective at preventing COVID hospitalization, a Moderna booster shot may be necessary soon for anyone who got the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines earlier this year, said Dr. Venky Soundararajan of Massachusetts data analytics company nference, who led the Mayo study. (Aug. 9)

Also —

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)

CIDRAP: Viral COVID-19 Detected In Singing, Talking, Breathing
Between breathing, singing, and talking, researchers detected SARS-CoV-2 RNA copies mostly from talking and singing (94%), and 85% of all viral particles were detected in fine aerosols, according to a small study late last week in Clinical Infectious Diseases. The researchers had 22 COVID-19 patients at Singapore's National Centre for Infectious Diseases breathe for 30 minutes, talk for 15 minutes, or sing for 15 minutes into a G-II exhaled breath collector. Thirteen patients (59%) had detectable SARS-CoV-2 levels, of whom three were asymptomatic and one was presymptomatic. Variables such as age, sex, virus variant, and clinical symptoms were not significantly associated with detectable viral RNA in aerosols, but median day of illness was, with a higher likelihood earlier on in a patient’s illness (median, 3 vs 5 days after illness onset). (8/9)

Los Angeles Times: Newsom Expected To Order Teacher Vaccinations Or COVID Tests
California school employees must either be vaccinated against COVID or submit to a regular test proving they are not infected with the coronavirus under a pending order from Gov. Gavin Newsom, sources told the Times Tuesday night. Representatives of the Newsom administration briefly discussed the basic outlines of the plan with educators, according to two sources who said Tuesday that they were not authorized to speak publicly in advance of Newsom’s formal announcement. (Myers and Bloom, 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)

In other school news —

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)

Salt Lake Tribune: Dr. Angela Dunn Will Issue Order For Children In Kindergarten Through Sixth Grade To Wear Masks In Salt Lake County Schools
It’s official: The Salt Lake County Health Department’s executive director, Dr. Angela Dunn, will be issuing an order Wednesday to require children in the county — from kindergarten to sixth grade — wear masks in schools, in an effort to halt the spread of COVID-19. Dunn sent a written notice of intent to Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson at 12:12 p.m. Tuesday — which, under the law passed this spring by the Utah Legislature, gives the mayor 24 hours to terminate the order. “It is in the best public health interest, and the interest of our students, for them to be in masks in the fall — to keep them in in-person learning with the least disruption possible, and the least health concerns possible,” Dunn said. (Means, 8/11)

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)

CNBC: Fully Remote School Year Due To Covid ‘Possible’ Without Mitigation Tactics, Says Dr. Gottlieb
Dr. Scott Gottlieb warned that Covid-19 could, yet again, force schools to go fully remote, amid concerns about potential outbreaks in classrooms this fall. “Unfortunately, it’s possible, especially if you go into this school year without the kind of mitigation that we had in place last year,” Gottlieb, the former FDA chief in the Trump administration, said on CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith.” (DeCiccio, 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)

CNBC: Citi Mandates Employees Be Vaccinated Before Returning To Corporate Offices
Citigroup told employees that they’ll need to get the Covid-19 vaccination before returning to its offices, becoming one of the only major U.S. banks to take that stance. The move was announced Tuesday as part of the bank’s plans to bring more workers back to corporate offices in the New York area, as well as Chicago, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, according to a LinkedIn post by the bank’s human resources head Sara Wechter. (Son, 8/10)

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)

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)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Philly’s Largest Union For City Workers Says It Won’t Oppose A Vaccine Mandate
Philadelphia’s largest union for city workers won’t object if Mayor Jim Kenney requires municipal employees be vaccinated. “We have to be supportive” if the city pursues a mandate, Ernest Garrett, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees District Council 33, said in an interview Tuesday. But he will push to ensure the city includes broad exceptions for medical or religious reasons. (Collins Walsh and McCrystal, 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)

In updates on mandates for health care workers —

The Providence Journal: RI To Require COVID Vaccines For Health-Care Workers
All health-care workers in all state-licensed health facilities will be required to be vaccinated by Oct. 1, Gov. Dan McKee announced Tuesday. Those include hospitals, nursing homes, group homes, congregate-care entities and other centers and programs. Until Oct. 1, the governor said, all heath-care workers at public and private facilities who are not fully vaccinated will be required to wear surgical masks while at work, and will have to be tested at least twice a week. (Miller, 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)

In other updates on mask and vaccine mandates across the U.S. —

Axios: Oregon To Resume Mask Mandate Statewide For Vaccinated, Unvaccinated 
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) will resume a statewide indoor mask mandate for all residents, regardless of their vaccination status, to combat a rise in COVID-19 cases, her office announced Tuesday. Oregon is the third state, after Hawaii and Louisiana, to require residents who are fully vaccinated against the virus to wear masks. (Falconer, 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)

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)

Axios: COVID Vaccines "Most Important" Step In Hurricane Preparedness — Biden Admin 
The "most important" step Americans should take to prepare for peak hurricane season is to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in case they have to evacuate, the White House said Tuesday. The statement followed President Biden's meeting on hurricane preparedness with senior FEMA officials and others, who advised him of the measure — hours before Tropical Storm Fred formed near Puerto Rico. Florida is in the path of the storm, which could possibly intensify into a hurricane. (Freedman and Falconer, 8/11)

In other updates on the vaccine rollout —

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)

Georgia Health News: Georgia’s Vaccine Rate Rises Amid COVID Spike; Incentives Coming? 
As the Delta variant drives a relentless COVID-19 surge, Georgia’s vaccination rate has picked up steam. A Washington Post analysis, based on CDC data, reported Tuesday that the state’s rate of new doses administered climbed 26 percent over the past week. The national vaccination rate rose 8 percent during the same time. Georgia has seen a spike in infections — especially in the southern part of the state — and had the ninth-most confirmed COVID cases per capita among the states and D.C. over the past week, the Post analysis shows. (Miller, 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)

And more news about breakthrough infections —

The New York Times: See Covid Breakthrough Hospitalization And Death Rates By State
Serious coronavirus infections among vaccinated people have been relatively rare since the start of the vaccination campaign, a New York Times analysis of data from 40 states and Washington, D.C., shows. Fully vaccinated people have made up as few as 0.1 percent of and as many as 5 percent of those hospitalized with the virus in those states, and as few as 0.2 percent and as many as 6 percent of those who have died. (8/10)

The New York Times: Breakthrough Infections And The Delta Variant: What To Know 
Citing new evidence that vaccinated Americans with so-called breakthrough infections can carry as much coronavirus as unvaccinated people do, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month urged residents of high-transmission areas to wear masks in public indoor spaces, regardless of their vaccination status. The announcement reversed the agency’s recommendation in May that vaccinated people could forgo masks. The vaccines remain highly effective at preventing severe illness and death, but the highly contagious Delta variant and persistent vaccine refusal have taken the country in an unexpected direction. Infections have spiked to the highest levels in six months. (Mandavilli, 8/10)

Los Angeles Times: Mayor's Crisis Response Director Says COVID-19 Vaccination 'Literally Saved My Life'
When Joe Avalos developed a dry cough a couple of weeks ago, he thought it must be his allergies acting up, or all the dust from the new development in his neighborhood. The reserve Los Angeles Police Department officer and director of Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Crisis Response Team did not think it was COVID-19, he said. After all, he’d received the Pfizer vaccination in December, and he was careful with social distancing and wearing his mask. “I was like, there’s no way,” Avalos said. But he was wrong. He did have COVID-19, from a breakthrough case of the highly contagious Delta variant, he said. And it almost killed him. (Rector, 8/10)

AP: Facebook Bans Firm Behind Pfizer, AstraZeneca Smear Campaign
Facebook said Tuesday that it has removed hundreds of accounts linked to a mysterious advertising agency operating out of Russia that sought to pay social media influencers to smear COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer and AstraZeneca. A network of 65 Facebook accounts and 243 Instagram accounts was traced back to Fazze, an advertising and marketing firm working in Russia on behalf of an unknown client. The network used fake accounts to spread misleading claims that disparaged the safety of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines. One claimed AstraZeneca’s shot would turn a person into a chimpanzee. The fake accounts targeted audiences in India, Latin America and, to a lesser extent, the U.S., using several social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram. (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)

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)

Stat: A WHO Official On Why We Need A Global Vaccine Misinformation Strategy
The creation of effective vaccines has offered a lifeline in the worst pandemic in world history. But targeted use of technology to support vaccination and combat the spread of false information will prove crucial to putting it more squarely in the rearview mirror. To drive that point home, Hans Kluge, Europe region director of the WHO, visited the conference of the Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) in Las Vegas on Tuesday to discuss the pressing need for global strategies to fight misinformation and leverage AI to identify — and swiftly assist — communities with low vaccination rates. (Ross, 8/11)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Judge Tells Missouri It Can No Longer Deny Medicaid To Patients Eligible Under Expansion
A Cole County judge on Tuesday ordered Missouri officials not to deny coverage to patients newly eligible for Medicaid under the state’s voter-approved expansion, a major win for proponents who have long pushed for the increased access to health care. Circuit Judge Jon Beetem said the state was barred “from prohibiting individuals eligible under” Medicaid expansion from “enrolling in the MO HealthNet program as of July 1, 2021.” (Suntrup, 8/10)

The Hill: Missouri Court Rules Medicaid Expansion Must Begin Immediately 
Missouri officials must implement the voter-approved Medicaid expansion immediately, a state judge ruled Tuesday, rejecting a request from the attorney general's office for at least a two month delay. The ruling by Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem follows a unanimous ruling by the state's Supreme Court last month in favor of expansion. The Supreme Court overturned an earlier decision by Beetem blocking implementation, and remanded the case back to him to “issue a judgment for the plaintiffs.”  (Weixel, 8/10)

AP: Missouri Judge Says Medicaid Expansion Must Be Allowed
The ruling represents a major victory for supporters of expanding Medicaid under the terms of the 2010 federal health care law signed by President Barack Obama. Missouri voters last year approved a state constitutional amendment expanding access to the government health care program to an estimated 275,000 more low-income adults, but Parson had refused to implement it because the GOP-led Legislature didn’t set aside money for it. “With today’s court order, Medicaid eligibility is finally expanded in Missouri, as its voters mandated and its people deserve,” Democratic House Minority Leader Crystal Quade said in a statement. “There can be no more excuses and no more delays in implementation.” (Ballentine, 8/10)

Missouri Independent: Truman Medical Center Pulls Out Of Missouri Medicaid Provider Tax Pool 
Kansas City’s Truman Medical Center will stop contributing to a financial pooling arrangement that helps maintain political support for a tax that pumps hundreds of millions of dollars into Missouri’s Medicaid program every year. The move, which lawmakers began learning about last week, has raised concerns that other providers could follow Truman’s lead — and could ultimately doom the provider tax and the funding it has provided the state for nearly three decades. (Keller, 8/10)

And in Medicare news —

Axios: Medicare Advantage Continues Growth Despite Longstanding Problems 
Medicare's open enrollment will kick off in two months, leading to the health insurance industry's annual marketing blitz that entices seniors with Medicare Advantage plans that tout capped out-of-pocket costs, vision and dental benefits, and fitness classes. Medicare Advantage continued to grow during the pandemic, and it's increasingly likely a majority of all Medicare enrollees will be in private plans in a few years despite Medicare Advantage's deep, longstanding problems. (Herman, 8/11)

Modern Healthcare: Health Care Service Corp. Expands Medicare Advantage Reach To 90 New Counties
Health Care Service Corp. plans to expand its Medicare Advantage offerings to more than 90 counties that are home to 1.1 million Medicare-eligible residents. HCSC billed the Medicare Advantage expansion as the largest in its history. The Chicago-based not-for-profit insurer covers almost 17 million people through Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. "Our goal as an organization is to provide our products and services for people to have access to affordable quality health insurance," said Christine Kourouklis, president of HCSC's Medicare operations. (Devereaux, 8/10)

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)

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)

Reuters: Amid COVID, 2.5 Mln People Sign Up For U.S. Health Insurance -White House
Two and a half million people so far have bought health insurance through the online marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act after the Biden administration allowed more time to enroll amid COVID-19, the White House said on Tuesday. Individuals and small businesses have until Sunday to buy coverage via healthcare.gov, the portal created by the law popularly known as Obamacare, as part of President Joe Biden's efforts to grapple with the pandemic and shore up the 2010 law passed when he served under President Barack Obama. (8/10)

And in news about food stamps —

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)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Demand For Food Stamps In Georgia Remains High Despite Economic Recovery
The number of households receiving food stamp assistance has held steady for the past year after ballooning by 40% in the first six months after the COVID-19 pandemic hit Georgia. At the same time, fewer Georgians are receiving welfare benefits this year than last, a downward trend that’s existed for more than a decade as government officials sought to reduce the rolls. (Prabhu, 8/4)

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: 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)

In related news about hospital staff shortages —

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)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Surge In COVID Cases Overwhelms Georgia Hospitals; Nursing Shortage Reported
A steep increase in seriously ill COVID-19 patients has pushed hospitals statewide into crisis mode again this week, prompting worries that the new surge may overwhelm facilities already struggling to find enough nurses to adequately staff emergency rooms and intensive care units. Large hospitals in metro Atlanta frequently went on diversion status this week because they were so full, sending ambulances elsewhere. Some elective procedures started to get pushed back across the state to free up medical staff and hospital beds. Everywhere, top doctors monitored a trendline driven by the highly contagious delta variant they worry could surpass the January surge that flooded every hospital in Georgia. (Teegardin and Berard, 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)

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)

Stat: What The Pandemic Has Taught Regulators About Real-World Data
During the pandemic, regulatory agencies deployed emergency measures left and right to speed care to patients. Today, that’s leaving the health care industry, and especially younger digital startups, in a tricky spot. Companies have benefited from the reduced regulatory burden of the pandemic — but it’s unclear how long they’ll get to ride the gravy train. “What’s going to happen is the regulatory agencies are required to essentially go back to the way it was before,” said Amy Abernethy, former deputy principal commissioner and acting CIO at the FDA. “But we don’t unlearn.” (Palmer, 8/10)

Stat: As Tech Giants Double Down On Sleep Tracking, Providers Want More Proof
Wearable sleep tracking has been an alluring target for tech giants for nearly a decade. But this year, Amazon and Google have poured money into another kind of technology: passive sleep monitors that keep tabs on rest from the bedside. Last month, Amazon received federal clearance to use radar for sleep monitoring, following on the heels of rival Google, which in March debuted sleep sensing in the latest iteration of its Nest device. The companies’ renewed interest in sleep tracking — and corresponding investment in less invasive forms of tracking — suggests a widening strategy aimed at making the devices more clinically and practically useful. (Brodwin, 8/11)

In legal news —

Axios: HCA Hospital Gets Hit With A Data-Driven Antitrust Lawsuit 
A class-action lawsuit filed yesterday against HCA's health system in western North Carolina — which was known until recently as Mission Health — lays out a textbook case against hospital consolidation and monopoly pricing power. Neither hospital monopolies nor antitrust lawsuits are anything new, but the new federal regulation requiring hospitals to post their prices — including negotiated rates — could make such lawsuits more common going forward. (Owens, 8/11)

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)

Bay Area News Group: Theranos: Elizabeth Holmes' Mental Health Records Could Be Made Public
More details about the mental state and legal maneuverings of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes could emerge in coming weeks, as a federal judge on Tuesday asked lawyers in her criminal fraud case to begin reviewing files that should be released to the public. U.S. District Judge Edward Davila did not make a final decision on a motion by lawyers for Dow Jones, publisher of the Wall Street Journal, to unseal documents concerning independent psychological evaluations of Holmes and efforts to have separate trials for the startup founder and former company president Sunny Balwani. (Hansen, 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)

In other public health news —

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)

Oklahoman: Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation Scientist Connects Gut Health To Ability To Heal
New findings from the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation suggest the gut microbiome may impact wound healing and cartilage regrowth. The research from OMRF physician-scientist Matlock Jeffries could lead to new treatment for skin wounds, severe injuries and post-traumatic arthritis, a form of osteoarthritis (OA) that develops after an injury or reconstructive surgery. Post-traumatic arthritis makes up more than 10% of OA cases and is one of the top reasons for injury-related discharge among active-duty U.S. soldiers. (Thomas, 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)

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)

In updates on the heat wave gripping the western U.S. —

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)

In news from Maryland, Virginia and California —

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)

San Francisco Chronicle: Study Links East San Jose Airport To High Lead In Children, But Can It Be Closed?
East San Jose residents and community leaders gathered Tuesday to demand answers and action following a study that detected high levels of lead in thousands of children living near Reid-Hillview Airport. The study, commissioned by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and released last week, analyzed 17,000 blood samples from children under the age of 18 who lived within a mile and a half of the airport from 2011 to 2020. It found significantly higher levels of lead in their blood, especially for those living within a half-mile of the 180-acre airport. (Narayan, 8/10)

The Washington Post: San Diego Sheriff’s Deputy’s Viral Video Of Alleged Near-Overdose From Touching Fentanyl Not Plausible, Experts Say 
The dramatic video of a San Diego County sheriff’s deputy collapsing after processing fentanyl at a crime scene was released to serve as a public service announcement: a warning about the synthetic opioid that was projected to kill more than 700 people in the area by year’s end, and about the lifesaving potential of quickly administering naloxone, the overdose-reversal medication. Instead, the sheriff’s department was met with swift backlash, notably from medical experts who said its claim that the deputy nearly died of an overdose caused by touching the drug was scientifically implausible and promoted dangerous misinformation about an epidemic that has intensified during the coronavirus pandemic. (Bellware, 8/11)

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)

Axios: Chinese Officials Punished For Not Controlling Spike In Delta Cases 
At least 47 Chinese officials are facing disciplinary actions for failing to control a worsening outbreak of the COVID-19 Delta variant, CNN reports. China's "zero tolerance" COVID strategy stands in stark contrast to the ongoing virus response in the U.S., where vaccine hesitancy persists and some states have passed measures to ban mask mandates. (Doherty, 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)

CIDRAP: Polish Minks Show New SARS-CoV-2 Variant
Fifteen of 91 minks (17%) on a Polish mink farm tested positive for a novel variant of SARS-CoV-2, according to an Emerging Infectious Diseases study yesterday. The researchers sampled all minks culled for pelting on Nov 17, 2020, at one farm in Pomorskie Voivodeship in northern Poland. None displayed respiratory symptoms, according to the owner, but 15 were diagnosed as having SARS-CoV-2. (8/10)

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The Washington Post: Long Lines, Restrictions Between Canada, U.S. Border
Pettis Y. Cousins left her house at 11:30 p.m. Sunday to reach the Rainbow Bridge across the Niagara River at midnight for what she thought would be a timely crossing. It turned into a three-hour stop-and-go wait on the bridge. “Good thing my gas tank was on F,” she wrote to The Washington Post. By the end of the first day of the opening, waits died down. Around noon Tuesday, estimated wait times varied at different crossing points from no delay to 45 minutes. (Westfall, 8/10)

Stat: Patient Access To Antibiotics Is Lacking Even In The Wealthiest Countries
Although 18 innovative antibiotics were approved by regulators in the wealthiest nations over the past decade, a new analysis finds few of these life-saving medicines were accessible due to delayed product launches stemming from concerns over sales and profitability. Of those new antibiotics, most were available only in the U.S., the U.K., and Sweden, while only two were accessible in all 14 high-income countries that were examined. Just four antibiotics were launched in all of the 11 European countries where approvals and product launches were reviewed, according to the analysis published in Clinical Infectious Diseases. (Silverman, 8/10)

AP: Groups Make Own Drugs To Fight High Drug Prices, Shortages
Impatient with years of inaction in Washington on prescription drug costs, U.S. hospital groups, startups and nonprofits have started making their own medicines in a bid to combat stubbornly high prices and persistent shortages of drugs with little competition. The efforts are at varying stages, but some have already made and shipped millions of doses. Nearly half of U.S. hospitals have gotten some drugs from the projects and more medicines should be in retail pharmacies within the next year as the work accelerates. Most groups are working on generics, while at least one is trying to develop brand-name drugs. All aim to sell their drugs at prices well below what competitors charge. (Johnson, 8/10)

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Modern Healthcare: Health Insurers Allegedly Use Biologic Shortage To Promote Biosimilars 
The American Academy of Ophthalmology has accused large health insurers of using a biologic drug shortage as a means to push patients into using biosimilars for a common retina disease, even though the drugs haven't been tested for that use. The San Francisco-based lobbying group called on seven health insurers to stop recommending the use of two biosimilars for Genentech USA's Avastin, a biologic drug used to treat eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and some cancers. The industry group has asked CMS to stop insurers from pressuring patients to take biosimilars Zirabev from Pfizer and Mvasi from Amgen for age-related macular degeneration, which is the leading cause of blindness in individuals over 60 and affects approximately 15 million people in the U.S. (Tepper, 8/5)

Fierce Healthcare: Study: Drug Utilization Costs Health Industry $93B A Year, With Patients Bearing Most Of The Cost
Drug utilization management such as prior authorization and stricter formularies cost the healthcare industry $93 billion annually, with patients bearing the largest share of the cost, a new study found. The study, published Monday in the journal Health Affairs, found that intense use of drug utilization measures has led to patients spending $35.8 billion a year in cost sharing. (King, 8/4)

Fierce Healthcare: GoodRx Inks Deal With Surescripts To Provide Information On Cash Prices For Drugs
GoodRx struck a deal with medication data giant Surescripts to provide doctors and clinicians with more information about the cash price of drugs at the point of care. The partnership will significantly expand GoodRx's footprint as Surescripts has relationships with most electronic health record (EHR) vendors. The deal also expands the information healthcare providers have on cash pay drug pricing information. (Landi, 8/6)

The Washington Post: PhRMA’s Misleading Description Of Medicare Drug-Price Legislation 
“They want to repeal a protection in Medicare that protects access to my medicines. They call it negotiation, but it really means the government decides what medicines I can get.”— Sue from Ohio, who says she had Type 1 diabetes, speaking in a television advertisement sponsored by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). This ad is appearing in heavy rotation on cable news networks and during public-affairs programs like CBS’s “Face the Nation” and NBC’s “Meet the Press.” It’s part of a PhRMA initiative called “Voters for Cures,” which features the voices of ordinary Americans. (Kessler, 8/10)

Newsweek: The Drug Rebate Rule Deserves To Stand—Even If It Came From Trump
Congressional Democrats are on the verge of passing a nearly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. They're also moving forward with a $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package. Both will transform America for the better. The proposals would invest in everything from public transit to green energy to child care. Combined, they're arguably the boldest legislation since the New Deal, and lawmakers—as well as the Biden administration—deserve immense credit. Naturally, lawmakers need to pay for this new spending. Senators have proposed delaying a Trump-era drug rebate rule, which is projected to cost the federal government almost $200 billion over a decade, until 2026 in the bipartisan bill. And my fellow Democrats in the House are considering repealing the rule entirely in the reconciliation bill. (Democratic former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, 8/5)

The Desert Sun: How To Make Drug Prices Cheaper For Californians? Here Are Two Views.
Question of the day, or year: Why would an Assembly committee block legislation that would benefit patients rather than wealthy health care corporations? Legislation that would make prescription medications more affordable and accessible for patients. Legislation that is desperately needed. For decades, patients, advocates and lawmakers have been working hard to pass meaningful health care reform to allow those with chronic illnesses to get the care they need. Yet these reforms continue to be delayed.  (Shane Desselle, 8/9)

NorthJersey.com: The Time Is Now For Prescription Drug Reform
Imagine trying to decide which life-saving drug you’ll take — and which one you’ll skip — simply because you can’t afford both. As an emergency room doctor, I have seen how often patients struggle to afford lifesaving medications. As the cost of much-needed medications like insulin skyrocket, far too many of my patients find themselves in an impossible situation as they choose between their medications or between their prescriptions and rents.  (Aakash Shah, 8/10)

CalMatters: Piecemeal Solutions Are Not The Answer To Rising Health Care Costs 
People who have a chronic disease and a high deductible health care plan need our help. Is Senate Bill 568 the solution? It is well-meaning but would do nothing to address what everyone knows is the real problem — the high cost of prescription drugs and health care in general. Those ever-rising costs make it impossible to provide health care for everyone, which prevents us from diagnosing and treating chronic diseases sooner rather than later, when they become more serious and difficult to treat. (Democratic California Rep. Jim Wood, 8/6)

The Washington Post: Our Patent System Is Broken. And It Could Be Stifling Innovation.
Patents are supposed to incentivize success. Across more than 200 years, they have emerged as an important tool for advancing society by encouraging inventors to create and share successful innovations, in exchange for the right to exclude others from the market for a limited period of time. And yet that’s not how patent law works today. Rather, we are at risk of incentivizing failure. The courts, Congress and boardrooms are advancing a simple logic that turns the patent system on its head. The consequences are on display in the pharmaceutical industry, which uses patents on successful drugs as vehicles to compensate for the losses companies incur when other research doesn’t pan out. Even worse, patents have become a way to gain an extended monopoly in the marketplace, one that reaches far beyond anything related to the drug itself. (Robin Feldman, 8/8)

Los Angeles Times: Why Vaccination Hesitancy Runs Deep Among The Religious — And What We Can Do To Reach Them 
“Don’t come knocking on my door with your Fauci ouchi!” Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) yelled at last month’s Conservative Political Action Conference. “You leave us the hell alone!” Boebert has described her election to Congress as “a sign and a wonder, just like God promised.” She’s a moderate in some circles. One Florida pastor hears parishioners call the vaccination the “sign of the beast,” a biblical reference to the apocalypse. A Tennessee pastor who threatens to expel anyone who wears a mask to his church also discourages people from getting the vaccination, which he falsely claims contains aborted fetal tissue. (J.M. Opal, 8/11)

The Atlantic: Doctors Feel Compassion Fatigue About Vaccine Refusers 
On social media, I’ve been seeing sentiments that I never thought I’d see anyone express in a public forum. People who choose to be unvaccinated should not be offered lung transplants. What if people with COVID-19 who didn’t get the vaccine have to wait in the Emergency Department until everyone else is seen? Should unvaccinated patients just be turned away? These are harsh, angry feelings. And some of the people giving voice to them are doctors. (Chavi Eve Karkowsky, 8/11)

The Washington Post: Africa’s Vaccine Shortages And The Global Apathy About Protecting Black Lives 
Interviewing Ayoade Alakija, an epidemiologist who co-chairs the African Union’s Africa Vaccine Delivery Alliance, about vaccine access was a brief, brutal lesson in global necropolitics. “Karen, it feels like the world doesn’t care about us,” the doctor said during a WhatsApp video call from Lagos, Nigeria. “The global community does not care about whether we live or die.” (Karen Attiah, 8/10)

The Baltimore Sun: We Did Everything Right, But Our Kid Still Got COVID 
We hunkered down, worked from home, wore masks, shopped online, did virtual school (the whole time), joined a pandemic pod, avoided large gatherings, ate outside, and my husband and I got vaccines the second we were eligible. Yet, as I write this, our 8-year-old daughter is upstairs in her room, under a fort of blankets, with a sore throat, fever, cough and a confirmed case of COVID. Where did we go wrong? Summer camp. (Tricia Bishop, 8/10)

The Washington Post: Why Our School District Is Defying Florida’s Ban On Mask Mandates — Even If It Means We Lose Funding
Just a few weeks ago, my district was planning for a more “normal” school year free from many of the safety restrictions of the past year. But a surge in covid-19 cases has upended those plans, at least temporarily. And unfortunately, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) refuses to take the steps necessary to address the surge. Even worse, he’s preventing local leaders from doing what they can to protect their own communities. The governor recently threatened to withhold funds from school districts that implement certain safety measures, particularly masking. But we don’t have the luxury of ignoring the current crisis to score political points. (Alachua County Public Schools Superintendent Carlee Simon, 8/9)

Los Angeles Times: More Employers Are Talking About Vaccination Mandates, But They Need To Turn Talk Into Action
At least on the surface, the tide has turned in favor of employers mandating that workers, and in some cases even customers visiting their premises, be vaccinated. ... But there’s less here than meets the eye. Some of these companies are exempting their front-line retail workers, who are most at risk of infection — and most likely to spread it to customers and family members. (Michael Hiltzik, 8/9)

USA Today: Cruel, Counterproductive: Don't Mock The COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitant
Now that 70% of adult Americans have received at least one COVID-19 vaccination, most case fatalities occur among the unvaccinated. But the recent uptick in cases has led to another disturbing trend: COVID-19 schadenfreude, where social media users heap invectives upon unvaccinated patients who contract the virus. (Dr. Yoo Jung Kim, 8/11)

Bloomberg: How Scary Is The Summer Sunscreen Carcinogen Scare? 
It’s the middle of the summer vacation season in the U.S., and reports on the presence of a potential carcinogen in sunscreen may have some people thinking twice about their outdoor protection regimen. It turns out the sunscreen safety debate is neither new nor easy to solve. Max Nisen, a Bloomberg Opinion columnist who covers the health-care industry, answers questions about the past and future of sun protection. The conversation has been edited and condensed. (Max Nisen, 8/10)

The New York Times: Professional Caregivers Have Always Been Essential Workers 
While I slept in my home, my mother lay dying on the bathroom floor in her home in another state. She was not alone. Her longtime professional home health aide was by her side, propping a hastily grabbed pillow and holding her hand. Because I am a palliative care physician, I had been preparing myself and my family for the moment of her death for a long time. My mother, after all, was 92, frail, and had dementia. At this point in her life, it would come down to the place where she would die and who was there in her last moments. (Lynn Hallarman, M.D, 8/11)

The Baltimore Sun: More Results, Less Politics: Blunting The Opioid Crisis In Maryland’s Rural Communities
The COVID-19 pandemic, social isolation, widespread job loss and increasing supplies of illicit drugs are fueling the already raging fires of opioid addiction and death. Last year was the deadliest year of the opioid crisis in the United States, with an estimated 93,000 fatal overdoses in an epidemic that has claimed more than 900,000 lives since 1999. Even more worrying is the fact that this epidemic is now intergenerational. Infants of addicted women are born with a host of setbacks to their development. (R. David Harden, 8/10)

Stat: Harm-Reduction Honors Life By Protecting Those Who Are Struggling 
Brian, a patient at my clinic in Scott County, Ind., is one of many who helped me learn the difference between “do no harm” and “protect from harm.” I met him years after he had given up trying to rise above his family’s poverty, toxic stress, and substance use. Having succumbed to despair, his substance use brought only fleeting relief. “This ain’t living, man,” he once told me. “Every day is like dying and going to hell.” (William Coke, 8/11)

Bloomberg: Opening Schools Should Be Priority No. 1
Over the long course of the Covid-19 pandemic, one comforting fact has been that children have been at very little risk from the virus. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean they haven’t suffered. In fact, research on pandemic-related school closings suggests that the harm imposed on kids could last a lifetime. A recent report from McKinsey & Co., which analyzed data for 1.6 million elementary-school kids in the U.S., found that on average they were five months behind in math and four months behind in reading. Hardest hit were kids from low-income districts, as well as predominantly Black and Hispanic ones. The authors warn that this “unfinished learning” could impede future academic progress and depress wages “far into adulthood.” They also found rising rates of anxiety and depression. (Michael R. Bloomberg, 8/9)

Modern Healthcare: For Community Health, It's Time To Move From Assessment To Improvement 
Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, not-for-profit hospitals, like Maryland-based Meritus Health, have been required to complete a community health needs assessment every three years. However, despite its promise, we believe there has been little progress in the use of the CHNA to improve health outcomes in our community. Recently, Meritus began using the CHNA as a tool to drive measurable change in our community with early, positive impact. (Maulik Joshi, Dr. Andrew Maul and Lynnae Messner, 8/10)

Stat: Algorithmic Bias Is Pervasive In Health Care. It Needn't Be 
The World Health Organization issued its first global report on artificial intelligence in late June, highlighting concerns of algorithmic bias in health care applications of AI. It accompanies a growing number of news stories exposing AI’s shortfalls. AI has come of age through the alchemy of cheap parallel (cloud) computing combined with the availability of big data and better algorithms. Problems that seemed unconquerable a few years ago are being solved, at times with startling gains — think instant language translation capabilities, self-driving cars, and human-like robots. AI’s arrival to health care, however, has been markedly slower. (Carol McCall, 8/11)