First Edition: Sept. 22, 2021
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KHN:
Will ‘Dr. Disinformation’ Ever Face The Music?
Earlier this month, Dr. Rashid Buttar posted on Twitter that covid-19 “was a planned operation” and shared an article alleging that most people who got the covid vaccine would be dead by 2025. His statement is a recent example in what has been a steady stream of spurious claims surrounding the covid vaccines and treatments that swirl around the public consciousness. Others include testimony in June by Dr. Sherri Jane Tenpenny before Ohio state legislators that the vaccine could cause people to become magnetized. Clips from the hearing went viral on the internet. On April 9, 2020, Dr. Joseph Mercola posted a video titled “Could hydrogen peroxide treat coronavirus?” which was shared more than 4,600 times. In the video, Mercola said inhaling hydrogen peroxide through a nebulizer could prevent or cure covid. (Knight, 9/22)
KHN:
Public Health Experts ‘Flabbergasted’ That Biden Still Hasn’t Picked An FDA Chief
President Joe Biden’s failure to name someone to lead the Food and Drug Administration, more than 10 months after the election, has flummoxed public health experts who say it’s baffling for the agency to be without a permanent leader during a national health crisis. The pandemic has taxed the FDA, an 18,000-person agency whose chiefs have traditionally received bipartisan backing during the Senate confirmation process. Many leaders in public health, industry and consumer groups agree that Biden’s foot-dragging on finding a new director has demoralized the staff and sent the wrong message about the agency’s importance, even as the toll of covid-19 mounts, with an average of 130,000 new cases and 1,500 deaths daily, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Pradhan, 9/22)
KHN:
At An Overrun ICU, ‘The Problem Is We Are Running Out Of Hallways’
Nurses fill the hospital room to turn a patient from his stomach to his back. The ventilator forcing air into him is most effective when he’s on his stomach, so he is in that position most hours of the day, sedated and paralyzed by drugs. Lying on his stomach all those hours has produced sores on his face, and one nurse dabs at the wounds. The dark lesions are insignificant given his current state, but she continues just the same, gently, soothingly, appearing to whisper to him as she works. (Ehli, 9/22)
KHN:
Home Births Gain Popularity In ‘Baby Bust’ Decade
In a back-to-the-future twist on birth trends, California is seeing a sustained rise in the number of women choosing to deliver their babies in settings other than a hospital, a shift that accelerated as the pandemic created more risky and onerous conditions in many hospitals. About 5,600 people gave birth outside a hospital in California in 2020, up from about 4,600 in 2019 and 3,500 in 2010. The shift took place during a widespread “baby bust,” so the proportion of births outside hospitals rose from 0.68% in 2010 to 1.34% in 2020, according to a KHN analysis of provisional data from the California Department of Public Health. The proportion of births outside hospitals stayed relatively high — 1.28% — from January through July 2021. (Reese, 9/22)
The Wall Street Journal:
Biden Urges Global Cooperation On Covid-19, Climate Change
President Biden outlined a U.S. foreign-policy vision rooted in global alliances during his first address to the United Nations as commander-in-chief, emphasizing the importance of diplomacy at a moment when relations with some U.S. allies are strained. Mr. Biden called for a shift away from armed conflict after two decades of war in Afghanistan and the Middle East. “As we close this period of relentless war, we’re opening a new era of relentless diplomacy,” he said, standing in the U.N. assembly hall in front of the iconic serpentinite stone backdrop. (Restucci and Thomas, 9/21)
AP:
Biden Doubling Vaccine Purchase, Calls For More Global Shots
President Joe Biden is set to announce that the United States is doubling its purchase of Pfizer’s COVID-19 shots to share with the world to 1 billion doses as he embraces the goal of vaccinating 70% of the global population within the next year. The stepped-up U.S. commitment is to be the cornerstone of the global vaccination summit Biden is convening virtually Wednesday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, where he plans to push well-off nations to do more to get the coronavirus under control. (Miller and Keaten, 9/22)
The Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Pledge To Vaccinate Poor Countries Stumbles Amid Logistical Challenges
A White House plan to donate hundreds of millions of doses of Covid-19 vaccines has been hampered in many developing countries by a lack of infrastructure to handle storage and distribution, leaving poorer nations far behind the developed world in vaccination rates. After a delayed start—the U.S. missed its first donation target—the Biden administration has been ramping up overseas donations, shipping around 137 million doses, most of them Moderna Inc. and Johnson & Johnson. It expects to send 500 million doses of a shot developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE by the end of June 2022, the largest donation total of any country. (Steinhauser, Siddiqui and Armour, 9/21)
Reuters:
U.S. To Donate An Additional 500 Mln COVID-19 Vaccines
The United States plans to donate an additional 500 million COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and BioNTech SE to nations around the world, lifting the total the country is sharing to more than 1 billion doses, according to a source familiar with the plans. President Joe Biden is hosting a virtual summit on COVID-19 on Wednesday and is likely to announce the new pledge then. (Mason, 9/21)
Bloomberg:
FDA Expected To Decide On Pfizer Covid Vaccine Booster Shots On Wednesday
The Food and Drug Administration is expected to decide as soon as Wednesday on a recommendation for Covid-19 boosters made by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, two people familiar with the matter said, the latest step in a process that could open the door to extra shots in the coming days. The agency’s decision would tee up consideration by an advisory panel of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has scheduled a meeting for Wednesday and Thursday to discuss boosters. (Wingrove and Langreth, 9/21)
Politico:
Dems Fear Biden’s Domestic Agenda Could Implode
Internal Democratic discord has wounded President Joe Biden’s massive social spending plan, raising the prospect that the package could stall out, shrink dramatically — or even fail altogether. Myriad problems have arisen. Moderate Senate Democrats Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) continue to be a major headache for party leadership’s $3.5 trillion target. The Senate parliamentarian just nixed the party’s yearslong push to enact broad immigration reform. House members may tank the prescription drugs overhaul the party has run on for years. And a fight continues to brew over Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) push to expand Medicare. (Everett and Caygle, 9/21)
Politico:
House Leadership Looks To Jam Holdouts On Drug Pricing
Top House Democrats are setting up a showdown vote on drug pricing as early as next week, rolling a leadership-backed plan into the party's sweeping social spending package and daring holdout centrists who previously derailed the plan in committee to vote it down again. Top Democrats think enough of the four — Reps. Scott Peters (D-Calif.), Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.), Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.), and Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) — will cave and back the proposal to allow Medicare to negotiate prices for a wide swath of high-cost drugs rather than risk upending the entire $3.5 trillion package. (Ollstein, 9/21)
Politico:
House GOP Unlikely To Rescue Biden's Infrastructure Bill On The Floor
If House Democrats keep pushing their two-track plan for a party-line social spending bill and a bipartisan infrastructure bill, they can't expect many GOP passengers on that second train. Fewer than a dozen House Republicans are expected to vote for the $550 billion infrastructure bill — which got 19 Senate GOP votes last month — according to multiple lawmakers in the party. But the infrastructure measure's House GOP support could triple if Democrats detach its fate from a party-line social spending bill with a multitrillion-dollar price tag, several House Republicans estimated in Monday interviews. (Beavers, 9/21)
Reuters:
U.S. House Democrats Advance Abortion Rights Bill, Senate Passage Unlikely
Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives advanced a bill on Tuesday that would protect the right to abortion and annul some new restrictions passed by Republican-controlled state governments. If the "Women's Health Protection Act" passes the Democratic-controlled House, it is unlikely to succeed in the 100-member Senate, where Republicans also are a minority but hold enough votes to prevent it from reaching the 60-vote threshold to pass most legislation. (9/21)
Roll Call:
House Prepares For Abortion Fight
Tensions between Democrats and Republicans over an abortion rights bill that the House is teeing up for a vote this week are rising in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to let Texas essentially ban most abortions for now and its agreement to hear oral arguments in another major abortion case in December. The chamber is expected later this week, likely Friday, to pass the bill that would protect access to abortion and the ability of providers to perform them. (Raman, 9/21)
The Wall Street Journal:
Texas Abortion Law Faces Pushback From Some Companies
Dozens of businesses are going public with their opposition to a new Texas law that bars abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy, a move that follows weeks of debate inside companies about how to respond. Employers including ride-sharing service Lyft Inc., cloud-storage company Box Inc., online fashion retailer Stitch Fix Inc. and investment group Trillium Asset Management LLC signed a statement set to be released Tuesday that says “restricting access to comprehensive reproductive care, including abortion, threatens the health, independence, and economic stability of our workers and customers.” (Cutter, 9/21)
Politico:
House Sends Bill Aiding ‘Havana Syndrome’ Victims To Biden’s Desk
The House on Tuesday unanimously passed a bill to aid Americans believed to be suffering from “Havana Syndrome,” as the Biden administration struggles to understand how and why U.S. spies and diplomats are developing mysterious, debilitating brain injuries. The illness, believed to be the result of an invisible directed-energy attack, has long stumped U.S. intelligence officials, and reports of what the government officially calls “anomalous health incidents” have skyrocketed in recent months. At the same time, the victims — which total around 200, officials say — have faced bureaucratic hurdles as they seek medical care for symptoms that can range from severe headaches to brain damage. (Desiderio, 9/21)
Modern Healthcare:
CMS To Retool Medicare Advantage To Better Serve Dual-Eligibles
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services plans to retool the Medicare Advantage program to improve the patient experience for people eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid, an agency official said during AHIP's National Conference on Medicare, Medicaid and Dual Eligibles Online Tuesday. The agency wants to build on the lessons learned from Medicare-Medicaid Plans participating in its Financial Alignment Initiative by incorporating them into the Medicare Advantage program, said Tim Engelhardt, director of CMS' Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office. CMS could announce the changes as soon as this fall, he said. "It's really time for us to focus on bringing more of the successful elements to greater scale through Medicare Advantage," Engelhardt said. "Stay tuned." (Brady, 9/21)
The Washington Post:
Delta Is The Dominant Coronavirus Variant Worldwide, WHO Says
The delta variant has “by far” become the world’s dominant coronavirus strain, appearing in some 185 countries as global cases near 230 million and deaths surpass 4.7 million since the start of the pandemic. That’s according to a top World Health Organization scientist, Maria Van Kerkhove, who said Tuesday that “less than 1 percent of the sequences that are available right now are alpha, beta and gamma,” referring to the three other variants the organization considers “of concern.” (Ang and Timsi, 9/22)
NPR:
Modelers Project A Calming Of The Pandemic In The U.S. This Winter
Americans may be able to breathe a tentative sigh of relief soon, according to researchers studying the trajectory of the pandemic. The delta surge appears to be peaking nationally, and cases and deaths will likely decline steadily now through the spring without a significant winter surge, according to a new analysis shared with NPR by a consortium of researchers advising the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For its latest update, which it will release Wednesday, the COVID-19 Scenario Modeling Hub combined nine different mathematical models from different research groups to get an outlook for the pandemic for the next six months. (Stein and Wroth, 9/22)
AP:
'Soul-Crushing': US COVID-19 Deaths Are Topping 1,900 A Day
COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. have climbed to an average of more than 1,900 a day for the first time since early March, with experts saying the virus is preying largely on a distinct group: 71 million unvaccinated Americans. The increasingly lethal turn has filled hospitals, complicated the start of the school year, delayed the return to offices and demoralized health care workers. “It is devastating,” said Dr. Dena Hubbard, a pediatrician in the Kansas City, Missouri, area who has cared for babies delivered prematurely by cesarean section in a last-ditch effort to save their mothers, some of whom died. For health workers, the deaths, combined with misinformation and disbelief about the virus, have been “heart-wrenching, soul-crushing.” (Hollingsworth, 9/21)
CIDRAP:
Pediatric COVID-19 Case Surge Continues Across US
Today, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released its latest numbers on how many American children are being infected with COVID-19 and said nearly 226,000 child COVID-19 cases were reported from Sep 9 to 16, the third highest number of child cases in a week since the pandemic began. Children represented 25.7% of the weekly reported cases. (Soucheray, 9/21)
AP:
Idaho's COVID Outlook Is Dire As Cases Continue To Climb
Health care workers are exhausted and angry. Some of Idaho’s coronavirus vaccines are expiring because they have sat unused for so long. And coronavirus case numbers and deaths continue to climb, putting the state among the worst in the nation for the rate of new COVID-19 diagnoses. Idaho’s public health leaders painted a grim picture — again — during a weekly briefing on the pandemic Tuesday. (Boone, 9/21)
AP:
Gianforte Sends National Guard To Aid In Virus Response
National Guard soldiers will assist Montana hospitals with their COVID-19 response as the state struggles with a surge in infections, Gov. Greg Gianforte announced Tuesday. A total of 70 soldiers will assist six different hospitals in Helena, Billings, Butte, Missoula and Bozeman. They will begin helping the hospitals either this weekend or next weekend, according to an announcement from the governor’s office. The Guardsmen will support staffing with non-medical intensive care assistance, environmental services, patient data entry and virus testing. (9/21)
CNN:
Novant Health Suspends Hundreds Of Employees For Not Getting A Covid-19 Vaccine
A North Carolina-based health care provider announced Tuesday it has suspended hundreds of employees for not meeting the company's Covid-19 vaccine requirements. Novant Health says employees, by now, must have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine or applied for -- and received -- a medical or religious exemption. Those that hadn't -- about 375 workers across 15 hospitals and hundreds of clinics and outpatient facilities -- are now suspended. (Lemos and Henderson, 9/21)
The Boston Globe:
R.I. Will Allow Unvaccinated Health Care Workers To Work If They’re Critical To Patient Needs
Rhode Island will allow health care workers who aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19 to work even after Oct. 1 if there’s a risk to quality of care in their absence, the state Department of Health announced Tuesday. The state had previously given workers an Oct. 1 deadline to get vaccinated, unless they have an approved medical exemption, or they would not be allowed to work. The announcement Tuesday provided some leeway to that edict in the most dire situations, and comes after leaders of some facilities — notably nursing homes — said they worried the deadline would worsen staffing shortages. (Gagosz and Amaral, 9/21)
Los Angeles Times:
San Francisco Airport To Require COVID Vaccines For Workers
San Francisco International Airport is now requiring all workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, the first airport in the U.S. to implement such health requirements. “As SFO prepares for the upcoming holiday travel season and the return of pre-pandemic passenger levels, we have an obligation to provide a safe airport facility for the traveling public and our on-site employees,” airport director Ivar C. Satero said. The requirement, effective Tuesday, obligates all tenants and contractors at the airport to ensure their on-site workers are vaccinated. Those who are exempt for medical reasons or because of religious beliefs must submit to weekly testing for the coronavirus. (Dolan, 9/21)
Philadelphia Inquirer:
COVID-19 Booster Shots Coming Soon To Pa. And N.J. For Eligible Groups
Suzie Oswald, an emergency medical technician, has been ready for her coronavirus booster shot since last month, when she first heard the Biden administration discuss its plan for a broad rollout. While the ensuing mixed messages from federal officials on the need for boosters have left the 39-year-old Jenkintown resident with questions, she said she is still ready to roll up her sleeve. “I’m a little confused, only because it seems they’re not sure how long the vaccines are working for,” she said. “But for me, if it’s going to protect me longer, I’m all for it.” (McCarthy, 9/21)
AP:
Massachusetts Community Colleges To Require Vaccinations
Students, faculty and staff at all 15 Massachusetts state community colleges will be required to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by January, the schools’ presidents said. “While a significant number of students, faculty, and staff are already vaccinated or are in the process of becoming vaccinated, the 15 colleges are seeking to increase the health and safety of the learning and working environment in light of the ongoing public health concerns and current guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” they said in a statement released Monday. (9/21)
Bloomberg:
U.S. Racial Vaccine Gaps Are Bigger Than We Thought
The White vaccination rate is not as bad as it had seemed, and Hispanic communities are lagging more than previously thought. Updated city and state population figures from the 2020 U.S. Census released last month gave a clearer picture of the country’s racial and ethnic makeup. In every state, the White-only share of population was smaller than projected, and, as a result, a larger percentage of White people in many places have received shots than previously reported. As of this month, around 30 states have vaccinated a majority of their White populations with at least one dose, according to new calculations by Bloomberg using the 2020 Census data. Florida saw the biggest jump, with an increase of almost 14 percentage points among White people. (Tartar, 9/21)
CNN:
'Funeral Home' Ad Spreads Message For The Unvaccinated
The truck had the name of a funeral home on it. But instead of a soothing thought that might double as a company slogan, the message on the side read: "Don't get vaccinated." The black truck advertising for "Wilmore Funeral Home" delivered that blunt and unexpected message on Sunday to football fans in downtown Charlotte as they headed to watch the Carolina Panthers play the New Orleans Saints. (Ebrahimji, 9/21)
Houston Chronicle:
U.S. Department Of Education Is Investigating Gov. Abbott's Ban On School Mask Requirements
The U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday launched a civil rights investigation into Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on mask mandates in schools, making Texas the sixth state to face a federal inquiry over mask rules. The investigation will focus on whether Abbott’s order prevents students with disabilities who are at heightened risk for severe illness from COVID-19 from safely returning to in-person education, in violation of federal law, Suzanne B. Goldberg, the acting assistant secretary for civil rights wrote in a letter to Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath. (Wermund, 9/21)
AP:
Iowa Focuses On Masks As Coronavirus Deaths Rise
More than 18 months after Iowa’s first coronavirus case, the state finds itself in a protracted argument over the value of wearing masks, especially in schools where children are increasingly becoming infected with the virus. As the COVID-19 death toll in Iowa tops 6,400 people, discussions in the state have shifted away from vaccination efforts and more toward masks following a federal judge’s ruling that temporarily blocked a state law banning mask mandates in schools. (Pitt, 9/21)
The Washington Post:
Kentucky School Boards Overwhelmingly Keep Mask Mandates After Republicans Repealed Statewide Directive
Mark Dougherty, an infectious-disease physician in Lexington, Ky., sees the toll the state’s most severe coronavirus wave is inflicting on communities with the school year back in session: The teacher placed on a ventilator, the bus driver nearing intubation, the critically ill custodian. He feared their cases would be the “tip of the iceberg” after the mostly Republican state legislature during a special session earlier this month repealed a statewide school mask mandate unilaterally put in place by the Democratic governor. But most Kentucky school districts made a different choice: They kept mask mandates in place. All but six of Kentucky’s 171 school districts kept mask mandates, including those in rural, conservative areas, according to tracking by the state school board association. (Nirappil, 9/21)
AP:
Kentucky Elementary Suffers Third COVID-19 Death Among Staff
A grief-stricken elementary school in eastern Kentucky suffered its third COVID-19 death among its staff since the school term began when a beloved counselor died from the coronavirus, the district’s superintendent said Tuesday. Lee County Elementary counselor Rhonda Estes died Monday, Superintendent Sarah Wasson said. Estes was a fixture in the tight-knit community, working 35 years for the school system. A custodian and an instructional aide at the same school also died from the virus in recent weeks. (Schreiner, 9/21)
San Francisco Chronicle:
West Contra Costa Teachers File Cal/OSHA Complaint Over COVID Safety Rules
Teachers in West Contra Costa Unified School District have filed a complaint with state workplace safety regulators alleging that the district policies on COVID testing and outbreaks are inconsistent and that teachers are told they cannot send home students who exhibit symptoms. The complaint filed on Aug. 31 with the state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health comes as the district struggles to contain the virus, with more than 200 confirmed cases among students and staff, and 25 classrooms closed since the beginning of the school year. (Swan, 9/21)
Philadelphia Inquirer:
Parents Who Push For Medical Exemptions To School Mask Rules Get Pushback From Doctors
After the mother missed the deadline to sign up for remote schooling, she begged her son’s pediatrician to sign a letter exempting the 5-year-old from the Philadelphia School District’s mask mandate. The child had mild asthma, and she thought a mask would make it worse. She also thought he was too young to comply with the all-day rule. Daniel Taylor, director of community pediatrics and child advocacy at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, patiently explained why he couldn’t provide an exemption: A mask would not affect the child’s asthma and since asthma could worsen COVID-19, masking was particularly important for him. Teachers were being trained to help kids wear face coverings properly. And the best thing the mother could do to protect her son and herself would be to get vaccinated. (McCullough, 9/21)
The Washington Post:
A Couple Wore Masks Inside A Texas Restaurant To Protect Their Newborn Son. The Owner Kicked Them Out.
Natalie Wester and her husband were waiting for their appetizer to arrive when the server came to their table, not with the fried jalapeños, but an ultimatum. Take your masks off or get out. On Sept. 10, the couple left their 4-month-old son, Austin, with his maternal grandmother and went to Hang Time Sports Grill & Bar in Rowlett, Tex., a Dallas suburb — a rare night out for the young parents, Wester told The Washington Post. The plan was to have dinner and a couple of drinks, catch up with friends they hadn’t seen in a while and call it a night. (Edwards, 9/21)
The Washington Post:
County Health Director Says Woman Tried To Run Him Off The Road After He Backed Mask Mandate
Two days after his department issued a mask mandate, a health official had a plea for his county’s board of commissioners: “I need help.” “There is a sickness in America more far more insidious than COVID,” Adam London, director of Michigan’s Kent County Health Department, wrote in an Aug. 22 email. “You are more empowered to fight this disease than I am.” ... He said a woman driving more than 70 miles per hour tried to run him off the road twice in one night. He said someone also called him an expletive and then yelled, “I hope someone abuses your kids and forces you to watch!” (Anders, 9/21)
AP:
Hawaii Anti-Vaccine Leader Has Regrets After Getting COVID
A man who helped organize a Hawaii group that opposes COVID-19 vaccines and mandates says he contracted the disease and now has regrets. Chris Wikoff told Hawaii News Now this week that he helped start the Aloha Freedom Coalition last October. He said he believed government shutdowns and mandates were threatening liberties and harming businesses. ... But then he and his wife contracted COVID-19. “We were told the COVID virus was not that deadly. It was nothing more than a little flu. I can tell you it’s more than a little flu,” he said. (9/22)
The Washington Post:
His Dad Died Of Covid Last Year. On His 12th Birthday, His Only Wish Was To Get Vaccinated.
Gavin Roberts didn’t want a big party, the newest gaming console or sports gear for his birthday this year. Instead, the soon-to-be 12-year-old wanted something free that he had waited over a year to get: protection from the virus that killed his dad. The wait was over on Sunday. At 10:10 a.m., 20 minutes before he was scheduled to get his first dose of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, Alice Roberts and her son, Gavin, arrived at a pharmacy miles from their Glen Ridge, N.J., home. The preteen was so set on getting the vaccine on his birthday that his mom said he asked to be driven to a pharmacy farther from their home rather than waiting for one closer by to open on Monday. (Salcedo, 9/21)
Houston Chronicle:
Dr. Hasan Gokal, Cleared Of Vaccine Theft Charge, Sues Harris County For Racial Discrimination
When Dr. Hasan Gokal was fired by Harris County Public Health a week after he drove around his Sugar Land community to administer 10 leftover doses of the Moderna COVID vaccine, he was stunned by the termination. Gokal, who oversaw a Humble vaccination site on Dec. 29, said the county had not yet established wait lists or protocols for leftover doses. After staff on site declined the shots, he took the vial home and called his phone contacts, hoping to line up 10 elderly or immunocompromised people before the doses expired at midnight. (Zong, 9/21)
Los Angeles Times:
Monoclonal Antibody COVID Treatment Hard To Get In California
Health officials in California are warning of shortages and distribution problems for a medical treatment that can keep COVID-19 patients from falling critically ill. Monoclonal antibodies have been developed as a treatment for COVID-19. They are thought to be a way to counteract the coronavirus before it can begin destroying the body’s organs, said Dr. Rais Vohra, the interim Fresno County health officer. The antibodies can be used to treat mild or moderate COVID-19 in patients who are not hospitalized. (Lin II and Money, 9/21)
AP:
Hawaii COVID-19 Antibody Treatments Capped Amid Shortage
Hawaii health care providers are receiving only half the number of monoclonal antibody treatments for COVID-19 that they requested amid a shortage of the drugs. The federal government has capped Hawaii’s weekly allocation at 680 treatments, Brooks Baehr, a spokesperson for the state Department of Health, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “There is no question that we would have loved to get more,” Baehr said. (9/21)
Fox News:
FDA-Approved Gout Drug Could Show Promise In Fighting COVID-19
A gout drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could reportedly show promise in fighting the coronavirus. According to a recent study from the University of Georgia (UGA) published in Nature's Scientific Reports, probenecid has potent antiviral properties that make the oral medication a prime candidate to combat not only SARS-CoV-2 infection but other common and deadly respiratory viruses. The school noted that probenecid is primarily used to treat gout and has been on the market for more than 40 years, with minimal side effects to patients. (Musto, 9/21)
Modern Healthcare:
Dignity Health Nurses Ratify Union Contract
More than 14,000 registered union nurses at Dignity Health ratified a four-year contract with the health system that includes wage increases and provisions to recruit and retain workers. Members of the California Nurses Association and National Nurses Organizing Committee voted to approve the contract with the San Francisco-based health system on Sept. 17. The contract covers Dignity Health nurses in California and Nevada. (Devereaux, 9/21)
Modern Healthcare:
Health Insurer CEO-To-Employee Salary Ratio Narrowed In 2020
Across the insurance industry, health plan CEOs are awarded the highest salaries and pocket the most compared to their subordinates, although the gap narrowed during the pandemic, a new survey shows. Centene CEO Michael Neidorff's $25 million compensation package ranked the highest among the 20 publicly traded insurance company chiefs, according to an S&P Global Market Intelligence report published Monday. Neidorff took home 362 times more than the median $68,987 his workers earned, representing the greatest salary spread between employees and CEOs among health, property and casualty, and life insurance companies. Centene employees had the highest median pay among health insurers, S&P reports. (Tepper, 9/21)
Stat:
Biogen Considers Cost-Cutting Measures After Slow Aduhelm Sales
Earlier this month, Biogen executives admitted publicly that the launch of Aduhelm, its treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, was going slower than expected. Privately, the company is facing a situation far bleaker than what it has publicly disclosed, forcing Biogen to consider cost-cutting measures, including layoffs. (Feuerstein and Garde, 9/22)
The Boston Globe:
Walgreens Boots Takes A Controlling Stake In Shields Health Solutions
The parent company of the Walgreens drugstore chain said Tuesday it will invest $970 million for a controlling stake in Shields Health Solutions, a Stoughton company that works with hospitals to set up specialty pharmacies. The deal will leave Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. with about 71 percent of Shields Health, the companies said in a statement, up from 23 percent. It values Shields Health, which was launched in 2012, at about $2.5 billion, and gives Walgreens Boots the option to buy the rest of the company in about two years. In 2019, Walgreens Boots teamed up with private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe to buy about half of Shields Health for between $850 million and $900 million. (Edelman, 9/21)
The New York Times:
Their Baby Died In The Hospital. Then Came The $257,000 Hospital Bill
Brittany Giroux Lane gave birth to her daughter, Alexandra, a few days before Christmas in 2018. The baby had dark eyes and longish legs. She had also arrived about 13 weeks early, and weighed just two pounds. Alexandra initially thrived in the neonatal intensive care unit at Mount Sinai West. Ms. Lane, 35, recalls the nurses describing her daughter as a “rock star” because she grew so quickly. But her condition rapidly worsened after an infection, and Alexandra died early on the morning of Jan. 15 at 25 days old. ... Last summer, Ms. Lane started receiving debt collection notices. The letters, sent by the health plan Cigna, said she owed the insurer over $257,000 for the bills it accidentally covered for Alexandra’s care after Ms. Lane switched health insurers. (Kliff, 9/21)
Fox News:
Poison Ivy Vaccine Making Progress: Report
Researchers are reportedly working on a vaccine to combat humans' response to poison ivy. According to Scientific American, scientists at the University of Mississippi and Hapten Sciences are "proceeding with a compound called PDC-APB" to be injected once every year or two to prevent the poison plant's effects. "We believe the shot will lead to desensitization and reduce or eliminate reactions to poison ivy, oak and sumac," Ray Hage, CEO of Hapten Sciences, told the outlet. "Every March I start to get e-mails from people asking, ‘Where is the drug? Can I be in a trial?’" (Musto, 9/21)
The Wall Street Journal:
Apple Is Working On IPhone Features To Help Detect Depression, Cognitive Decline
Apple Inc. is working on technology to help diagnose depression and cognitive decline, aiming for tools that could expand the scope of its burgeoning health portfolio, according to people familiar with the matter and documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Using an array of sensor data that includes mobility, physical activity, sleep patterns, typing behavior and more, researchers hope they can tease out digital signals associated with the target conditions so that algorithms can be created to detect them reliably, the people said. Apple hopes that would become the basis for unique features for its devices, according to the people and documents. (Winkler, 9/21)
Roll Call:
Report Renews Calls For Research On Social Media’s Impact On Kids
Child safety advocates say an explosive report that Facebook failed to disclose data showing its products negatively affect the mental health of teenagers should be the final straw for lawmakers worried about social media’s impact on young users. Democrats and Republicans zeroed in on child safety as a bipartisan area of concern this year, even before a Wall Street Journal article published last week detailed internal research showing that teens — especially girls — blamed Instagram, a Facebook subsidiary, for anxiety and depression. (DeChiaro, 9/21)
CNN:
Sexual Assault Linked To Brain Damage Later In Life, Study Finds
Women who have been sexually assaulted have a higher risk of developing a type of brain damage that has been linked to cognitive decline, dementia and stroke, a new study found. "It could be either childhood sexual abuse or adult sexual assault," said study author Rebecca Thurston, a professor and director of the Women's Biobehavioral Health Laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public Health. (LaMotte, 9/22)
Fox News:
Most Women Aren't Getting Regular Tests For Cancer, Other Dangerous Diseases, Survey Shows
A new multiyear, global survey of women's health shows that most women aren't getting regular tests or screenings for cancer and other dangerous diseases that kill millions of people every year. The 2020 inaugural Hologic Global Women's Health Index listed several ailments, including heart disease, diabetes, cancer and sexually transmitted diseases. On average 33% of women across the 116 countries and territories surveyed said they had been tested in the past 12 months for high blood pressure. Fewer than 19% of women reported being tested for diabetes in the past year, though it is the sixth-leading cause of death for women. (Musto, 9/21)
Axios:
Care For Kidney Disease Plummeted In The Pandemic
The number of patient visits for chronic kidney care plummeted by more than 26% in the early months of the pandemic, according to new data from the nation's largest insurer, UnitedHealth Group. Researchers are racing to understand just how much care people skipped — and whether it actually affected their health. (Reed, 9/22)
AP:
Consumers Get Online Tool To Check Nursing Home Vaccine Data
Families and patients have a new online tool to compare COVID-19 vaccination rates among nursing homes, Medicare announced Tuesday, addressing complaints from consumer groups and lawmakers that the critical data had been too difficult to find. The information is now being made available through the “ Care Compare ” feature at Medicare.gov, the online tool for basic research on quality and safety issues at nursing homes. Consumers will be able to compare up to three nursing homes at the same time, and the webpage shows vaccination rates for residents and staff, as well as national and state averages. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 9/21)
AP:
Report: Births Decline In Pandemic May Have Turned Corner
While there has been a decline in births in the U.S. during the pandemic, a new report released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau suggests the drop may have turned a corner last March as births started rebounding. The decline in births was most noticeable at the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021. In December 2020, births in the U.S. were down 7.7% from the previous year, and they were down 9.4% last January compared to the previous January. (Schneider, 9/21)
Houston Chronicle:
Texas Has The Most Cases In Cross-Country Salmonella Outbreak. The CDC Still Doesn't Know The Source
The CDC is still searching for the source of a multi-state salmonella outbreak that is impacting Texas the most. Of the 127 confirmed infections of the outbreak strain Salmonella Oranienburg, 45 live in Texas, the CDC reported on Sept. 17. Although cases have been reported in 25 total states, no other state has reported more than 13 salmonella infections connected to the outbreak. Confirmed infections are still climbing, and the CDC is planning to provide a new update later this week, a department spokesperson said on Tuesday. (Shelton, 9/21)
The New York Times:
California’s Wildfires Had An Invisible Impact: High Carbon Dioxide Emissions
This wildfire season so far in California has been extraordinary, producing thousands of fires — including one that, at nearly a million acres burned, is the largest single fire in state history — and spewing so much smoke that air quality has been affected thousands of miles away. Wildfires can have a global climate impact as well, because burning vegetation releases planet-warming carbon dioxide. And from June through August, California fires emitted twice as much CO2 as during the same period last year, and far more than any other summer in nearly two decades. (Fountain, 9/21)
AP:
West Nile Virus At High Levels In Arizona Due To Wet Monsoon
This year’s wet monsoon in Arizona is contributing to a record-high season for the West Nile virus, which is spread through mosquito bites, health officials said. Arizona had 123 cases and four deaths through late last week, the state Department of Health Services said Tuesday. Nearly all of the cases were reported in Maricopa County, where the virus has been detected in record numbers of mosquitos studied, the department said. (9/22)