First Edition: Sept. 9, 2021

KHN: ‘Religious’ Exemptions Add Legal Thorns To Looming Vaccine Mandates 
In Northern California, the pastor of a megachurch hands out religious exemption forms to the faithful. A New Mexico state senator will “help you articulate a religious exemption” by pointing to the decades-old use of aborted fetal cells in the development of some vaccines. And a Texas-based evangelist offers exemption letters to anyone — for a suggested “donation” starting at $25. With workplace vaccine mandates in the offing, opponents are turning to a tried-and-true recourse for avoiding a covid-19 shot: the claim that vaccination interferes with religious beliefs. (Kreidler, 9/9)

KHN: Even In Red States, Colleges Gravitate To Requiring Vaccines And Masks 
As students head to college this fall, hundreds of schools are requiring employees and students to be vaccinated against covid, wear masks on campus or both. But at some schools, partisan politics have bolstered efforts to stymie public health protections. Events at the University of South Carolina, in a deeply conservative state, demonstrate the limits of political pressure in some cases, even though “South Carolina is a red state and its voters generally eschew mandates,” said Jeffrey Stensland, a spokesperson for the school. (Andrews, 9/9)

KHN: Your Covid Game Plan: Are Stadiums Safe? 
The college football season is kicking into high gear, the National Football League season starts Sept. 9, and the baseball pennant races are heating up. For the first time since 2019, nearly all stadiums will be fully open to fans. In the so-called Before Times, sitting shoulder to shoulder inside a stadium with tens of thousands of boisterous spectators — after a few hours of pregame tailgating — was a highlight of many fans’ autumn. But with covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths soaring from the delta variant, many fans are wondering if that is a wise idea. KHN talked to seven health experts to get their takes. (Galewitz and Miller, 9/3)

KHN: ‘An Arm And A Leg’: How Charity Care Made It Into The ACA 
Charity care is one tiny provision in the giant Affordable Care Act, and it can make a big difference for patients who face huge bills. How did it get into the law? One Republican senator made sure the ACA required nonprofit hospitals to act more like charities — and less like loan sharks — but he still voted against the whole bill. The national requirement to offer charity care emerged from the Obama White House’s failed courtship of GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa. In this episode, we hear how that political tango almost tanked the ACA — and how the battle over the ACA “broke America.” Featured are David Axelrod, a former adviser to President Barack Obama; longtime health policy reporter and KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner; and a top Grassley aide. (Weissmann, 9/9)

KHN: Watch: Same Providers, Similar Surgeries, But Different Bills
Ely Bair had similar surgeries, at the same hospital, with the same insurer. But he received very different big medical bills. KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal joins “CBS This Morning” to break down how this could happen to you and what you can do to avoid it. (9/4)

KHN: KHN Quiz: Drug Or Not A Drug? 
Face it: Drug names can be kooky. And Comirnaty — the brand-new brand name for the Pfizer-BioNTech covid vaccine — is a candidate for the kookiest. Who hasn’t stumbled over names of prescription drugs, even those you take daily, when put on the spot by a doctor or pharmacist? Take this tongue-in-cheek quiz to see how many brand-name drug names you can pick out from the decoys. (Byrne, 9/6)

The Hill: White House Signals New COVID-19 Measures Coming For Unvaccinated Americans
President Biden will announce on Thursday new steps in his administration's COVID-19 response that involves testing, mandates, and school measures depending on a person's vaccination status, the White House said. White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Wednesday that the new components would affect people across the country. “There are six steps the president’s announcing, there will be new components,” Psaki said. “Some of that will be related to access to testing, some will be related to mandates, some will be related to how we ensure kids will be protected in schools.” (Gangitano, 9/8)

The Washington Post: Biden To Outline New Strategy To Battle Delta Variant Surge 
President Biden will outline a “robust plan to stop the spread of the delta variant and boost covid-19 vaccinations” on Thursday, the White House said. It’s expected to be a significant speech at a turning point for the United States, where hopes that vaccinations would significantly ease the strain on hospitals and allow more social freedoms were dampened by the spread of the highly contagious variant. Biden also plans to call for a global summit to respond to the coronavirus crisis and boost vaccine supply to the developing world that would be held during the United Nations General Assembly meetings later this month. (Timsit, Pietsch and Suliman, 9/9)

Politico: Biden To Call For Global Summit On Covid Response
Among the topics up for discussion are ways to improve vaccine manufacturing and distribution and ramp up the supplies of oxygen to countries in need, and the possibility of international cooperation on research and development related to Covid-19. President Joe Biden is likely to call for the summit as part of a broader speech on Thursday detailing new initiatives designed to end the pandemic. Though Biden is expected to focus much of his speech on the domestic coronavirus response, people familiar with the matter said he will also emphasize the need for greater global cooperation and work toward addressing inequities in developing countries. (Cancryn, 9/8)

Politico: Covid-19 Testing System Struggles To Keep Up With Delta Demand 
The United States’ Covid-19 testing system is once again struggling to keep pace with surging infections, amid the monthslong push by the Biden administration and states to increase the country’s vaccination rate. Testing labs nationwide have capacity to spare, but the closure of mass-testing sites run by cities, states or the federal government has resulted in many people waiting longer or traveling further to get a test. Nor have many schools or businesses implemented the widespread rapid testing that President Joe Biden called for last year, and that has helped countries such as Germany reopen while limiting infection. (Lim, 9/8)

Politico: Democrats Reopen Old Health Care Wounds With $3.5T Mega-Bill On The Line 
Hours after House Democrats launched a major, health care-focused piece of their pitch to turn $3.5 trillion of social spending dreams into law, it ran smack into a political brick wall. The party's growing problem is twofold: On one hand, the White House and Senate are keeping their distance from the House's proposal to divvy up hundreds of billions of dollars between a progressive push for a massive expansion of Medicare benefits and a leadership-driven quest to permanently strengthen Obamacare. On the other, progressives who got a lot of what they wanted in draft legislation the House Ways and Means Committee released Tuesday night are still unhappy with colleagues who would rather use the party's health care dollars on making expanded subsidies for Affordable Care Act coverage permanent. (Caygle and Ollstein, 9/8)

The Washington Post: Democrats Confront Numerous Hurdles As They Work To Advance $3.5 Trillion Economic Package 
The days ahead are likely to be grueling for the party’s lawmakers, who are about to embark on the tough task of translating President Biden’s broader economic agenda into law. To start, Democrats intend to focus their efforts on proposals to expand Medicare benefits, authorize new family and medical leave programs and make child care and community college more affordable. But Democrats are starting their legislative slog at a precarious time politically, as the party’s liberal and moderate factions increasingly snipe at each other over the price tag and policy scope of their still-forming bill. (Romm, 9/8)

Politico: Schumer Rejects Manchin’s ‘Strategic Pause’ On $3.5T Bill 
Chuck Schumer is brushing off Joe Manchin’s call for a “strategic pause” on Democrats’ spending agenda, vowing that the party will not slow its pursuit of a $3.5 trillion bill tackling climate change, tax policy and beefing up social programs. “We’re moving full speed ahead,” Schumer told reporters on Wednesday morning. “We want to keep going forward. We think getting this done is so important for the American people.” (Everett, 9/8)

The Hill: Harris Assails Texas Governor Over Abortion Comments 
Vice President Harris on Wednesday tore into Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) for comments he made about rape and the state’s new restrictive abortion law as she campaigned for California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) in her home state. Harris began her remarks by expressing disgust at comments Abbott made on Tuesday in which he dismissed concerns about the new Texas law causing rape victims to carry a pregnancy to term and claimed that Texas would “eliminate rape.” (Chalfant, 9/8)

AP: Fighting Texas Abortion Law Could Be Tough For Federal Gov't
Foes of the new Texas law that bans most abortions have been looking to the Democratic-run federal government to swoop in and knock down the most restrictive abortion law in effect in the country. But it’s nowhere near that simple. President Joe Biden , who denounces the law as “almost un-American,” has directed the Justice Department to try to find a way to block its enforcement. And Attorney General Merrick Garland says his prosecutors are exploring all possible options. But legal experts warn that while the law may ultimately be found unconstitutional, the way it’s written means it’ll be an uphill legal battle. (Whitehurst and Balsamo, 9/9)

CBS News: Air Force Secretary Orders Investigation Into Domestic Violence Cases Following CBS News Report 
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has ordered an investigation into cases involving alleged domestic violence following a two-year investigation by CBS News anchor and managing editor Norah O'Donnell and the investigative unit into the military's handling of such cases. "I am extremely troubled by the claims of inappropriate handling of domestic violence complaints highlighted in your broadcast and have directed the Department of the Air Force Inspector General to conduct a comprehensive review of those cases," Kendall said in a statement Wednesday. (Yilek, 9/8)

CBS News: Military's Domestic Violence Crisis Compounded After 20 Years Of War 
Deployment. Post-traumatic stress disorder. Self-medication with alcohol. Domestic abuse. And finally, in some cases, sexual assault. It's a cycle retired longtime Army attorney Captain Tony Hosein has seen many times. Hosein, who served as a legal assistance and special victims attorney for the Army before he retired in February, had helped dozens of domestic violence survivors — "I've seen the worst of the worst." But cases typically only got to his desk once an abusive situation had escalated. (O'Donnell, Steve, Tepper, Verdugo and Yilek, 9/8)

The Hill: Supreme Court Returning To Courtroom For Arguments 
The justices will return to the Supreme Court next month to hold their first in-person oral arguments since the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic. Courtroom access will be limited to the justices, court personnel, legal counsel and journalists during upcoming arguments, though the court is expected to provide live audio of the proceedings. The court building remains closed to the public indefinitely due to ongoing health concerns, a court spokesperson said. (Kruzel, 9/8)

USA Today: Severe Breakthrough Infections Mostly On Elderly, Sick
Severe coronavirus breakthrough infections are not only rare, they mostly happen on older people with other underlying health conditions, a new Yale University study reveals. Yale researchers looking into nearly 1,000 cases of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 between March 23 and July 1 of this year found 54 were fully vaccinated, and 14 had severe or critical illness (almost half had no symptoms and went to the hospital for an unrelated condition). The median age among the group of 14 was 80.5, and 12 of them had heart disease. Other comorbidities among them included excess weight, diabetes and lung disease. Three of the patients died. (Bacon and Ortiz, 9/8)

Mississippi Clarion Ledger: 7th Mississippi Child Dies Of COVID, Eight Pregnant Women Lose Lives To Virus In A Month
Mississippi health officials have reported a seventh child, under age 1, is dead due to complications from COVID-19 and eight pregnant women in the state have lost their lives to the coronavirus since Aug. 1. All eight expecting mothers were unvaccinated, Mississippi State Health Officer Thomas Dobbs said, adding that COVID-19 is particularly dangerous and problematic for pregnant women and can be potentially deadly for the fetus. Some of the women's babies were born premature and are alive, Dobbs said, but did not specify a number. Officials are still investigating the cases. (Haselhorst, 9/8)

AP: Idaho Patients In Hospital Halls Amid COVID Rationed Care
Amid the Idaho coronavirus surge that prompted officials to authorize hospitals to ration health care, Army soldiers sent to one hospital have traded their fatigues for personal protective equipment to help treat a flood of infected patients. The conference center at Kootenai Health hospital in the city Coeur d’Alene has been converted into a field hospital of sorts — with some of its classrooms filled with hospital beds where patients receive oxygen or get monoclonal antibody treatment, hospital officials said. (Boone, 9/9)

AP: Military Medical Team To Help Arkansas With COVID-19 Battle
The U.S. Defense Department is sending a 20-member military medical team to Arkansas to help expand the state’s hospital capacity in response to a surge in COVID-19 cases, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Wednesday. Hutchinson said the team of 14 nurses, four physicians and two respiratory therapists would be sent to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences hospital in Little Rock. (9/8)

Los Angeles Times: All Eligible LAUSD Students Would Have To Be Vaccinated By January Under Board Proposal
All Los Angeles public school children 12 and older would have to be fully vaccinated by January to enter campus — sooner for students involved in many extracurricular activities — under a proposal to be voted on Thursday by the Board of Education. If approved as expected, the requirement would catapult the L.A. Unified School District into the forefront of school systems nationwide with the most sweeping and aggressive safety measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The nation’s second-largest school system has moved faster and more comprehensively than most others, testing all students and employees for infection every week, requiring masks indoors and outdoors and ordering employees to get vaccinated. (Blume, 9/8)

Bloomberg: Florida Can Legally Require Masks In Schools Despite DeSantis Appeal, Judge Says
Florida schools can start legally requiring masks, a state court judge ordered in what he called an uncommon ruling, even as Republican Governor Ron DeSantis appeals a decision against his ban on mask mandates. It’s highly unusual to lift an automatic hold on a decision such as the one that kicked in when DeSantis filed his appeal, Leon County Circuit Court Judge John C. Cooper said at a hearing held over Zoom on Wednesday. But “we’re not in normal times -- we’re in a pandemic,” he said. “We have children who can’t be protected by a vaccination.” (Levin, 9/8)

AP: Judge Halts Protests Near Schools In Vancouver, Washington
A judge in southwest Washington state has granted an injunction prohibiting protests, rallies or other gatherings that “disrupt educational services” near public schools in the district. Vancouver School District officials said they sought the injunction after people protesting a school mask requirement left the public sidewalk and came onto the Skyview High School campus Friday, prompting lockdowns at several schools. (9/9)

USA Today: New COVID Safety Standards, Mask Rules For NY Employers
Employers in New York will soon be required to follow new COVID-19 safety standards, including mandatory mask wearing for many workers, under a newly enacted state law. Gov. Kathy Hocul’s administration this week designated COVID-19 a highly contagious communicable disease that presents a serious risk of harm to the public health under the law approved in May, commonly called the NY HERO Act. (Robinson, 9/8)

PBS NewsHour: Missouri Left Mask Rules Up To School Districts. Parents Say Their Kids Are At Risk
Over the summer, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education issued school reopening guidance, effectively allowing hundreds of school districts to decide whether or not to mandate masks and making Missouri one of more than 20 states to adopt such a policy. That guidance came after a spring lull of cases in the U.S., and just as COVID infections began to surge again nationally, driven by the increasingly dominant delta variant. Nearly two dozen school districts in Missouri have reported more than 41 new COVID cases among children age 5 and older in the last two weeks, state data shows. Since the start of the pandemic, the state has seen nearly 780,000 cases in total and more than 11,000 deaths, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Human Services. (Hays, 9/8)

Detroit Free Press: Unmasked Students Press Into Manchester High School, Violating Mandate
A crowd of unmasked students pressed into Manchester High School on Tuesday morning, violating a Washtenaw County Health Department mandate requiring all K-12 students to wear masks indoors to slow the spread of coronavirus. The incident was caught on video and shared Wednesday on social media. When questioned about how the mask mandate would be enforced, a sheriff's deputy who was overseeing the situation said: “I’m not going to force anybody. I’m not putting masks on anybody. That’s not my job. This is a county health department order.” (Jordan Shamus and Hall, 9/8)

AP: All Nevada Counties Will Be Subject To Indoor Mask Mandate
All 17 counties in Nevada will be subject to an indoor mask mandate by the end of the week, health officials said Wednesday. An emergency directive from Gov. Steve Sisolak requires counties adopt mask requirements for indoor public spaces and crowded outdoor spaces in line with guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention if they surpass thresholds for COVID-19 transmission. (Metz, 9/9)

AP: Columbus To Reissue Indoor Mask Mandate As COVID Cases Rise
Ohio’s capital and largest city announced plans Wednesday to reissue a mask mandate amid a rise in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations as a result of the delta variant. Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said he’ll issue an executive order in the coming days that would require all residents, regardless of vaccination status, to wear a face mask in indoor places across the city. (Amiri, 9/9)

The Washington Post: United Airlines Workers With Covid Vaccine Exemptions Must Take Temporary Leaves 
United Airlines employees who receive religious or medical exemptions from the company’s coronavirus vaccine requirement will be required to take temporary leaves of absence starting next month, company officials said Wednesday. “Given the dire statistics … we can no longer allow unvaccinated people back into the workplace until we better understand how they might interact with our customers and their vaccinated co-workers,” Kirk Limacher, United’s vice president of human resources, wrote in a memo to employees. (Aratani, 9/8)

Los Angeles Times: New Vaccine Mandates Falter In California Legislature
A drumbeat of chants criticizing vaccine and mask mandates carried into the unusually sparse hallways on Wednesday at the state Capitol, where lawmakers were wrapping up the final week of their legislative session without the bills that hundreds came to Sacramento to protest. A late push by Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell) to create a new workplace vaccine requirement failed to come together before a legislative deadline Tuesday evening. Another proposal by Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), which fell apart last week, would have created sweeping new vaccine mandates in the workplace and to enter businesses. (Gutierrez, 9/8)

AP: Hawaii Creates Optional Digital Vaccination Record Program
The state of Hawaii this week plans to launch a program that will allow people to use their smartphones to prove they have been vaccinated against COVID-19. The Hawaii Smart Health Card comes shortly before Honolulu and Maui begin instituting vaccine requirements for patrons of restaurants and other businesses. (McAvoy, 9/9)

AP: Mayor: Portland Can't Require COVID-19 Vaccination For Cops
Mayor Ted Wheeler confirmed Wednesday that state law prohibits Portland from requiring police officers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 despite a new city mandate. Wheeler told The Oregonian/OregonLive he’s disappointed that all city employees can’t be held to the same vaccine requirement and urges police to get vaccinated. (9/9)

The Washington Post: GOP West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice Is Done With All That Nonsense On Vaccines
If the coronavirus could be cured by a mixture of folksiness and exasperation, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) would be in line for a Nobel Prize. Many of Justice’s GOP colleagues have trodden gently around promoting the vaccines. Some have raised speculative and baseless allegations that the vaccines might be unsafe. Former president Donald Trump promoted them, but only after months of conspicuously declining to do so and not disclosing his own vaccination. Even many who have encouraged vaccination have focused more on their opposition to mandates. They have also made a point to frequently either attach qualifiers that it’s a choice or to suggest that it doesn’t really matter to the vaccinated. And they’ve occasionally suggested that they can’t do much about the vaccine misinformation from allies in their midst. (Blake, 9/8)

CBS News: State Vaccine Incentives Do Little To Boost Vaccination Rates, Research Shows 
While some vaccine holdouts may be swayed by free cash or other offers, such programs have not been shown to boost vaccination rates, new research from the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics (CHIBE) at the University of Pennsylvania shows. The center compared daily vaccination rates in 24 states with rewards programs in June to inoculation rates in the 26 states without incentive programs. "At least for these statewide incentive programs, there was no effect on the daily vaccination rates, which means we did not see more people coming into get vaccinated in the immediate aftermath of the introduction of these statewide incentives," Harsha Thirumurthy, associate director of CHIBE, told CBSN. (Cerullo, 9/8)

Stat: Moderna Turns To Biotech Startup To Ramp Up Covid Vaccine Manufacturing
Moderna will turn to a biotech startup, National Resilience, to manufacture additional doses of its Covid-19 vaccine. Moderna had previously said it would manufacture 800 million to 1 billion doses of its Covid-19 vaccine in 2021, ramping up to 3 billion doses in 2022.  A person familiar with the company said the collaboration might result in hundreds of millions more doses. Currently, the vaccine is given as a two-dose series, though Moderna has said at least some patients may need a third dose given many months later. (Herper, 9/8)

The Boston Globe: Brown University Initiative Aims To Offer Facts And Advice On ‘Long Covid’
Among the greatest mysteries surrounding COVID-19 is the syndrome known as “long COVID” — a group of symptoms that linger months after the virus has gone, sometimes preventing people from resuming work. Little is known about what causes long COVID, who is susceptible, how long it lasts, and how best to treat it. But data is pouring in as doctors struggle to come to grips with a new illness affecting millions and sure to strike millions more as the virus continues to spread. Now, a new project at the Brown University School of Public Health, launched with a $1 million grant from the Hassenfeld Family Foundation, will aim to sort through the evolving knowledge, clarify the facts as they emerge, and provide recommendations on how society can cope. (Freyer, 9/8)

Stat: How Delta's Remarkable Replication Threw New Twists Into The Pandemic
One of the key reasons the Delta variant has ignited new surges of Covid-19 infections across the United States is its remarkable ability to make copies of itself. That skill has helped make Delta far more transmissible than any other iteration of the coronavirus seen thus far. But its replication prowess could also be at the heart of the other twists Delta has thrown into the pandemic, including the increase in breakthrough infections with the variant and why it potentially causes severe Covid-19 more often. (Joseph, 9/9)

NBC News: Oscar De La Hoya Released From Hospital, Says Covid 'Hit Me Really Hard'
Hall of Fame boxer Oscar De La Hoya said Wednesday that he is home after having been hospitalized with Covid-19. "I was in there for 3 days. Covid hit me really hard," De La Hoya, 48, said on Twitter. "I was in the best shape of my life, and I really can't wait to get back in the ring." (Fitzsimons, 9/8)

NBC News: College Football Season Is Here. And So Is The Delta Variant.
There is no simple answer to just how much risk there is to a mass gathering like an outdoor college football game. A variety of factors play into the risk level: local infection rates, whether a stadium requires vaccination or a proof of a negative test and even what people do before and after the game. At one such game, University of Wisconsin's home opener against Penn State, no vaccination proof or negative test was required. Masks were required indoors but only "strongly encouraged" in outdoor spaces. More than 76,000 people attended. The Madison, Wisconsin, metro area, home to more than 660,000 people has seen a steady increase in cases since mid-July and a positive test rate of 3.4 percent, according to Public Health Madison and Dane County. (Chow, 9/8)

NPR: Prosecutors Call Theranos Ex-CEO Elizabeth Holmes A Liar And A Cheat As Trial Opens
Jurors in the fraud trial of Elizabeth Holmes heard vastly different portrayals on Wednesday of the onetime whiz kid who amazed Silicon Valley with promises of biotech breakthroughs at her company, Theranos. In a stinging opening statement on Wednesday, federal prosecutors described Holmes as a manipulative fraudster who duped investors and patients alike and knew the whole time that she was hoodwinking them. "This is a case about fraud, about lying and cheating to get money," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Leach. "It's a crime on Main Street, and it's a crime in Silicon Valley." (Allyn, 9/8)

San Francisco Chronicle: Arthur Ammann, UCSF Doctor Who Discovered AIDS Virus In Infants, Dies At 85
Before AIDS had a name and was still thought to be a disease primarily affecting gay men, Dr. Arthur Ammann at UCSF Parnassus discovered the same condition in a newborn who had undergone a blood transfusion. Further research by Ammann led to what he described as a “terrible discovery”: The illness could also be transmitted mother-to-baby during pregnancy. That finding put maternity wards, pediatric units and the entire blood donor industry on alert. (Whiting, 9/8)

Modern Healthcare: Patients Burdened By Administrative Hassles That Delay Care, Survey Shows
Navigating the labyrinthine U.S. healthcare system is so challenging for patients that it leads to delayed or foregone medical care, new research shows. Twenty-five percent of insured, working age adults have either postponed or gone without necessary healthcare because of administrative obstacles, according to a study published in the journal Health Services Research Thursday. Nearly three-quarters of patients reported undertaking tasks like scheduling appointments, seeking health information, obtaining prior authorizations and resolving problems with bills and premiums. The researchers used data from the Urban Institute's March 2019 Health Reform Monitoring Survey. (Devereaux, 9/8)

Modern Healthcare: LGBTQ+ Health Startups Grow To Meet Demand For Specialized Services
In the first half of this year, funding for LGBTQ-focused digital health tools already more than tripled compared to investments in all of 2020, according to digital health consultancy Rock Health. As the LGBTQ digital health space is relatively new, most companies in this category have received only seed investment and Series A rounds. Companies such as Denver-based Plume, Boston-based Folx, New York-based Included Health and others say their missions are to empower marginalized individuals by offering care from culturally competent staff, as opposed to forcing LGBTQ individuals to meet with providers who may not understand—or may be openly hostile—to their care needs. (Tepper and Devereaux, 9/8)

Modern Healthcare: Premier And 11 Health Systems Buy Stake In Specialty Drugmaker
Eleven health systems and the group purchasing organization Premier have acquired a stake in a specialty pharmaceutical company to ensure steady supplies of key drugs. The group now owns a minority stake in Exela Holdings, the holding company of Exela Pharma Sciences, which makes proprietary and generic sterile injectable products. Financial terms were not disclosed. (Bannow, 9/8)

Stat: In Another Sign Of RNA’s Growing Popularity, Replicate Is Relaunching
A California startup is putting a new spin on a now-familiar idea: using RNA as the foundation of a new therapy. Cancer-focused biotech Replicate Bioscience is hoping to take the same technology that underpins the Covid-19 vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer — with a bit of a scientific twist — and use it to help the body’s own cells attack cancer cells. The company is “relaunching” this week with what its key investor’s head of communications calls a “light rebranding;” it accompanies a $40 million Series A led by Apple Tree Partners. (Sheridan, 9/8)

Stat: Medical Cannabis Unlikely To Benefit Most Chronic Pain Patients 
Medical cannabis might be a helpful therapy for some people who have chronic pain, but it’s unlikely to benefit most, according to new clinical guidelines published Wednesday in the journal BMJ. The guidelines, crafted by an international group of researchers who analyzed three dozen medical cannabis studies, say there isn’t enough evidence that medical marijuana products help most patients suffering from chronic pain, so they shouldn’t be widely recommended for such people. (Cueto, 9/8)

USA Today: College Students' Marijuana Use Hit Highs In 2020, Alcohol Use Saw 'Significant' Decrease, Study Shows
Marijuana use among U.S. college students hit a historic high in 2020, while alcohol use might have taken a pandemic-induced dip, a new study shows. College students' marijuana consumption rose in 2020, continuing a "significant increase" over the past five years, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse's annual "Monitoring the Future" study. The recent surge has boosted college student marijuana use to its highest mark since 1983. Meanwhile, alcohol use was less common among college students than in previous years. The study showed decreases from 2019 in terms of binge drinking, getting drunk and overall alcohol use. (Cannon, 9/8)

The Washington Post: USDA Study Shows Success Of Federal Food Safety Net Programs During Pandemic 
Despite a world-altering pandemic, the number of American households struggling with hunger remained nearly constant last year, buoyed by significant federal safety net programs, according to a report released Wednesday by the U.S. Agriculture Department. However, food assistance programs may not have reached populations equally, according to the report, as food insecurity during the pandemic improved for some while worsening for others. Households with children were twice as likely to experience food insecurity as households without children, according to the report. (Reiley, 9/8)

Stat: Study: Pandemic Lockdown Tied To Worse Metastatic Colon Cancer Outcomes
One of the most pressing questions during the coronavirus pandemic has been its impact on cancer detection, diagnosis, and treatment. During the first Covid-19 surge, swamped health-care systems suspended cancer screenings and some in-person care while some people stayed away for fear of Covid-19 infection. Screening rates fell precipitously for cancers with common tests, including mammograms for breast cancer, Pap tests for cervical cancer, PSA testing for prostate, CT scans for lung cancer and colonoscopies for colorectal cancer. Those rates have rebounded somewhat, but another question may take longer to answer: Does the delay in screening matter? (Cooney, 9/8)

Georgia Health News: Lead Contamination In Soil Puts Downtown Atlanta Neighborhood On EPA Superfund Priority List
The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to add a westside Atlanta area that’s contaminated with lead to the Superfund program’s National Priorities List (NPL), which would allow more federal funding for clean-up. The Superfund program, created in 1980, has the responsibility of identifying dangerously polluted sites around the nation, cleaning them up and, when possible, holding polluters financially accountable. There are thousands of Superfund sites, but a relatively small percentage are on the NPL, meaning they are especially dangerous. The EPA has been investigating a large swath of Atlanta’s English Avenue neighborhood for lead in the soil since 2019. This year it expanded the area under investigation to more than 2,000 properties. Lead is a potent neurotoxin that’s especially harmful to children. (Miller, 9/8)

Fox News: Fall Allergies Will Be In 'Full Force' This Year, Experts Say
As summer comes to a close, millions of Americans can reportedly expect the fall allergy season to be in "full force" this year. According to AccuWeather meteorologists, fall allergies are often triggered by ragweed and the presence of mold. "Fall allergies are typically triggered by ragweed, and the pollen from these types of plants that are common in North America can travel as far as the wind carries it," AccuWeather wrote. "Another cause of fall allergies is mold, which can grow in piles of damp leaves." The Philadelphia Inquirer said Monday that ragweed plants are expected to produce pollen to torment residents over the next couple of weeks. (Musto, 9/8)

Newsweek: Woman Who Invented McDonald's Happy Meal Dies At 87
A Guatemalan businesswoman who is considered to be the inventor of the McDonald's Happy Meal died on September 6 at the age of 87, after spending much of her life with the company. Yolanda Fernández de Cofiño and her husband, José María Cofiño, purchased the first McDonald's franchise in Guatemala in 1974 and she continued to run it until handing the franchise over to her children in 2018. ... When she noticed that portions on the McDonald's menu could be too large for children, Fernández de Cofiño began to offer a meal with smaller portions more suitable for children, calling it the "Ronald Menu." That meal included a hamburger, small fries and a sundae, all in a bag, making it easier for parents to buy their children a meal without spending too much time examining the restaurant's menu. (Roche, 9/8)

AP: France To Offer Free Birth Control To All Women Up To 25
France will offer free birth control to all women up to age 25 starting next year, the health minister announced Thursday. The measure will also include free medical visits about contraception, and will start Jan. 1, Health Minister Olivier Veran announced on France-2 television. Birth control was already free for girls up to 18 years old, but is being expanded to all women up to 25. (9/9)

Stat: Sanofi Acquires Kadmon For $1.9 Billion, Adding Transplant Medicine Drug
French drug maker Sanofi said Wednesday that it will acquire Kadmon Pharmaceuticals for $1.9 billion, bolstering its transplant medicines business with a newly approved treatment for graft-versus-host disease. The all-cash transaction sees Kadmon shares worth $9.50 per share, or a 79% premium to Tuesday’s closing price. (Feuerstein, 9/8)

AP: Virus Infects 99 Kids At Philippine Orphanage
As COVID-19 patients fill Philippine hospitals to the brim, officials say the virus has hit an orphanage and infected almost 100 children. Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said the outbreak in the orphanage could have been prevented and “the children could have been saved from the life-threatening risks of COVID” had minimum health standards been followed strictly. Of the 122 people infected, 99 are age 18 and younger while the rest are personnel of the Gentlehands Orphanage, the mayor said in a statement Thursday. (9/9)