NBC News: Covid Has Claimed More Than 600,000 Lives In United States
More than 600,000 people have died from Covid-19 in the United States, a grim reminder that even though cases are down as more people are vaccinated, the pandemic is not over. As of Thursday evening, the country had seen at least 600,040 Covid-19 deaths, according to a count of reports by NBC News. More than 33.4 million cases have been recorded in the U.S. The death toll crossed the 500,000 mark Feb. 21, according to NBC News' count. (Helsel and Mullen, 6/3)

CNBC: Daily U.S. Covid Case Counts Remain Below 20,000 As Nation Averages 1.1 Million Vaccine Shots Per Day
The level of average daily Covid cases remained below 20,000 for the third straight day Wednesday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. At the same time, federal data shows the pace of daily reported vaccinations fell to a seven-day average of 1.1 million, the lowest level in months. White House Covid data director Cyrus Shahpar wrote in a tweet Wednesday that the Memorial Day holiday is responsible for lower vaccine administration and a lag in reporting. (Rattner, 6/3)

The Wall Street Journal: The Covid Calculus Of Herd Immunity 
As the roll out for Covid-19 vaccines continues, many people have questions about the idea of herd immunity. After all, vaccines are not just for those who receive them; they are also intended to protect those who can’t or don’t get the shot. Herd immunity doesn’t mean that everyone is somehow immune by association. Rather, it means something quite precise mathematically. The starting point is that viruses spread exponentially: Each person infects, say, three people on average, and each of those people goes on to infect three people, and so on. The number of infected people is repeatedly multiplied by 3 (in this hypothetical example), and repeated multiplication is the definition of an exponential in mathematics. (Cheng, 6/3)

In other news about the spread of the coronavirus —

The Oregonian: 2% Of Oregon’s COVID-19 Infections Are ‘Breakthrough Cases’ In Vaccinated People 
Officials reported Thursday that about 2% of the people diagnosed with COVID-19 in Oregon in May were completely vaccinated -- meaning an overwhelming 98% of those sickened by the coronavirus either were unvaccinated or were only partially vaccinated. A total of 398 Oregonians who’d received their full recommended courses of vaccines were infected with the virus from May 3 to May 31, the Oregon Health Authority announced Thursday, in its monthly report. Officials identified them as “breakthrough cases.” Twelve of them died, according to rough numbers provided by the state. (Green, 6/3)

Modern Healthcare: Sepsis Cases Increased Among Children During COVID-19 Pandemic
Children who received surgery during the first part of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 developed life-threatening sepsis at higher rates than pre-pandemic, according to new research out in the journal Hospital Pediatrics. Study authors are calling for more efforts to improve the safety of care for children post-surgery, especially as health officials estimate the pandemic is not over. (Gillespie, 6/3)

The Boston Globe: Free Pooled COVID Testing Offered To Day Cares Statewide
Thousands of Massachusetts day-care providers will be able to regularly screen children and employees for COVID-19 this summer, thanks to a new partnership between the state and a local nonprofit. Neighborhood Villages, a child-care advocacy group, is teaming up with the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care to offer free weekly pooled COVID-19 testing for child-care programs throughout the state. The initiative, which relies on testing kits from the genetic-sequencing company Veritas, will test roughly 6,000 children, teachers, and staff per week throughout the summer, with the potential for expansion in the fall if there is enough demand. (Lyons, 6/3)

Fox News: Fauci Stresses Keeping 'Open Mind' On Coronavirus Origin Amid Scrutiny Over Lab-Leak Theory
Dr. Anthony Fauci stressed keeping "an open mind" regarding the origin of coronavirus as he faces increased scrutiny over the lab-leak theory following the release of thousands of his emails. Fauci, appearing on MSNBC’s "Morning Joe," also said that he didn’t necessarily dismiss the lab leak theory as a conspiracy, but felt it was "more likely to be" an animal-to-human transmission scenario. "The situation is that we didn’t know and we still don’t know what the origin is," he said Thursday. "If you look historically in the way things rolled out, we all felt and still do actually, that it is more likely to be a natural jumping of species from an animal reservoir to a human, however since we don’t know that for sure, that you’ve got to keep an open mind." (Hein, 6/3)

The Washington Post: The Alleged Fauci ‘Smoking Gun’ Emails 
On Tuesday, The Washington Post and then BuzzFeed News published previously unreleased emails from the U.S. government’s top infectious-disease expert, Anthony S. Fauci. The emails were obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which allows journalists to request internal government emails. The disclosures gave conservatives who have long questioned Fauci’s stewardship of the coronavirus response something to latch on to beyond shifts in his public comments. They argue that these private emails show Fauci wasn’t forthcoming or curious enough when he cast doubt upon the “Wuhan lab leak” theory and argued for a more cautious covid response than President Donald Trump. (Blake, 6/3)

CNN: Dr. Anthony Fauci Says Publicly Released Email About Lab Leak Is Being Misconstrued 
In an interview with CNN on Thursday, Dr. Anthony Fauci said that an email he received last year from an executive at the US-based EcoHealth Alliance has been misconstrued and offered a hint of regret about a February 2020 email downplaying the need to wear a mask. Earlier this week, news outlets including CNN, BuzzFeed News and The Washington Post obtained thousands of emails Fauci sent and received since the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases became a household name early last year. (Howard, 6/3)

Fox News: Ex-CDC Director Redfield Says He Received Death Threats After Mentioning Lab-Leak Theory
Robert Redfield, the former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told Vanity Fair he received death threats after an appearance on CNN in March where he said he believed COVID-19 may have escaped from a lab in Wuhan, China. He told the magazine that "death threats flooded his inbox" from "prominent scientists," some of whom were former friends. "I was threatened and ostracized because I proposed another hypothesis," he said. "I expected it from politicians. I didn’t expect it from science." (DeMarche, 6/3)

The Washington Post: A Scientist Adventurer And China’s ‘Bat Woman’ Are Under Scrutiny As Coronavirus Lab-Leak Theory Gets Another Look
In the video, the researchers scale the cavern wall, their headlamps ghostly blue. “If our skin is exposed, it can easily come in contact with bat excrement and contaminated matter, which means this is quite risky,” says Tian Junhua, one of the bat hunters. “We have to live for several days in the cave . . .” he continues, as the soundtrack amps up the drama. “There’s no cellphone signal, no supplies. It’s truly scary.” The video was released by national science authorities and Chinese state broadcaster CCTV on Dec. 10, 2019, and circulated on social media. It’s a high-quality production, designed to promote China’s world-leading viral research. Aired around the time Wuhan residents began turning up at hospitals with mysterious respiratory ailments, it also offers a rare glimpse of field conditions on the eve of the pandemic. (Dou and Kuo, 6/3)

KHN: Analysis: Mounting Pressure On China About Covid ‘Lab Leak’ Could Backfire
President Joe Biden has ordered U.S. intelligence agencies to determine whether the covid virus, or a near ancestor, emerged from a cave, a live-animal market, a farm — or a secretive Chinese laboratory. But it’s doubtful this probe will yield definitive insights, and it could even backfire. Some experts hypothesize that global pressure could prompt a Chinese scientific whistleblower to come forward with evidence of a lab leak. After all, it is unlikely such an accident could have occurred without dozens of people finding out about the leak, or an ensuing cover-up. (Allen, 6/4)

In related news —

Axios: Prepping For The Next Big Outbreak 
Scientists and public health experts are trying to leverage lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic to spur the development of technologies and infrastructure needed to stop the next big outbreak. Scientists predict infectious disease outbreaks will become more frequent, and the COVID-19 pandemic showed the enormous costs of not being adequately prepared. (Snyder, 6/3)

Politico: Biden Admin Reveals Plans For First 25 Million Donated Vaccine Doses
After weeks of internal deliberations, the Biden administration finally announced Thursday which countries will share in the first Covid-19 vaccine doses donated by the U.S. to help end the pandemic. The U.S. will route a total of 25 million doses to countries overseas. About 19 million doses — roughly 75 percent — through the global vaccine aid program COVAX, the White House said Wednesday. The Biden administration will send the remaining 25 percent of the doses directly to specific countries. (Banco, 6/3)

NPR: U.S. Lays Out Plans For How It Will Share Surplus COVID-19 Vaccines Abroad
The Biden administration has previously said it would share 80 million doses by the end of June. "We know that won't be sufficient," said Jeff Zients, coordinator of the White House COVID-19 response. But he said it's an important step toward boosting global production and trying to end the global pandemic. "We expect a regular cadence of shipments around the world across the next several weeks. And in the weeks ahead, working with the world's democracies we will coordinate a multilateral effort, including the G-7, to combat and end the pandemic," Zients said. . (Keith, 6/3)

CBS News: How The U.S. Will Allocate Its First 25 Million COVID Vaccine Doses Worldwide 
Specifically, of the 19 million doses being distributed through COVAX, about 6 million will go to Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru, Ecuador, Paraguay, Bolivia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. Roughly 7 million doses will head to India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan, and the Pacific Islands. And about 5 million doses will be given to Africa, coordinated by the African Union. The 6 million doses given directly by the U.S. will go to Mexico, Canada, the Republic of Korea, West Bank and Gaza, Ukraine, Kosovo, Haiti, Georgia, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and Yemen, and to United Nations frontline workers. The U.S. has already shared 4 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine with neighboring Canada and Mexico. (Watson, 6/3)

In related news about sharing vaccines —

AP: Japan Donates 1.24M Vaccine To Taiwan Amid China Influence
A flight carrying 1.24 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from Japan touched down in Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport on Friday to help the island fight its largest outbreak since the pandemic began. The donation underscores how geopolitics have come to impact the global vaccination rollout, as countries scramble to secure enough vaccines for their populations. Taiwan, a self-governing island, has struggled to get its own vaccines, blaming China for interfering in a deal. Now the island is more than doubling its vaccine supply thanks to Tokyo, as Japan tries to play a greater role in global vaccination distribution while pushing to accelerate its painfully slow vaccine rollouts at home ahead of the Olympics in July. (Yamaguchi and Wu, 6/4)

AP: Denmark Donating Unused AZ Jabs To Kenya
Denmark will donate 358,700 unused vaccine doses to Kenya, saying the batch of Astra Zeneca that expires July 31 should be delivered as soon as possible. It is part of the 3 million doses that Denmark has earmarked for donation this year. “No one is safe until everyone is safe,” Denmark’s Foreign Aid Minister Flemming Moeller Mortensen said in a statement. “Kenya is in a difficult situation as they have received far fewer vaccines than they should have had.” (6/4)

The Wall Street Journal: Europe Pushes Alternative To Waiving Patents On Covid-19 Vaccines 
The European Union is pushing back hard against U.S.-backed calls to temporarily waive intellectual property rights for Covid-19 vaccines, preparing a rival plan that officials said would better safeguard drug companies’ patents and look for other ways to boost supplies for developing countries. As the gap between vaccine haves and have-nots has widened, Washington and China have endorsed a proposal by developing countries at the World Trade Organization to suspend patent protections for the immunizations. (Shah and Steinhauser, 6/3)

CNN: States That Fall Well Below Vaccinating 70% Of Adults Are 'Sitting Ducks' For An Outbreak, Expert Warns 
The US is pushing to have 70% of adults get at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine by July 4, but an expert said that number is important to reach at the state level too -- and those states who are falling well below may be vulnerable to another outbreak. "There are 12 states that are already at 70%. I worry about the ones that are way below that, and they are sitting ducks for the next outbreak of Covid-19 -- which shouldn't have to happen now," National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins told CNN's Chris Cuomo. (Holcombe, 6/4)

The New York Times: Here Are The States Falling Behind Biden’s Covid-19 Vaccination Goal 
The United States is roughly on track to meet President Biden’s goal of getting at least one Covid-19 shot into the arms of 70 percent of adults by July 4 — if the current vaccination pace holds. But demand for vaccines has decreased in much of the country in recent weeks, and the promising national numbers (about 63 percent of adults have received at least one shot) do not reflect the uneven rates among states. Even if the country as a whole reaches the national target, at least 30 states probably will not. And a handful are unlikely to reach the 70 percent mark before the end of the year, a New York Times analysis shows, potentially prolonging the pandemic. (Gamio and Walker, 6/3)

In other updates on the vaccine rollout —

AP: Washington Vaccination Lottery: Cash Prize, Tuition, Flights
Washington is the latest state to offer prizes to encourage people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, with Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday announcing a series of giveaways that includes lottery drawings totaling $2 million, college tuition assistance, airline tickets and game systems. The incentive program, called “Shot of a Lifetime,” applies to those who start the vaccination process this month as well as residents who are already vaccinated. (La Corte, 6/3)

AP: Louisiana Adds Free State Park Visits To COVID Vaccine Perks
Louisiana is adding free entry to all 21 state parks as a perk for getting vaccinated against COVID-19, Gov. John Bel Edwards said Thursday. Unlike the free drinks available this month at some bars and restaurants around the state, the free admission runs through July for anyone who can prove full vaccination, no matter when, he said. (McConnaughey, 6/4)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County To Close Mass COVID-19 Vaccination Sites
Amid a decline in demand for the COVID-19 vaccine, Los Angeles County will soon close four large-scale vaccination sites and replace them with smaller ones, officials said Thursday. On Monday, the county will close the Cal State Northridge site. People who received their first dose there have appointments to get their second dose at the nearby Balboa Sports Complex. (Miller, 6/3)

AP: Maine To Shut Down Mobile Vaccine Unit In 2 Weeks
Maine’s mobile coronavirus vaccine unit is being redirected to southern parts of the state later this month, and will wrap up service in two weeks. The state has used the mobile unit to provide the vaccine to rural and underserved communities. It’s scheduled to continue that effort in Madawaska in far northern Maine from June 5 to 7. (6/4)

Also —

AP: Heart Reaction Probed As Possible Rare Vaccine Link In Teens
Health authorities are trying to determine whether heart inflammation that can occur along with many types of infections could also be a rare side effect in teens and young adults after the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine. An article on seven U.S. teen boys in several states, published online Friday in Pediatrics, is among the latest reports of heart inflammation discovered after COVID-19 vaccination, though a link to the vaccine has not been proven. The boys, aged 14 to 19, received Pfizer shots in April or May and developed chest pain within a few days. Heart imaging tests showed a type of heart muscle inflammation called myocarditis. (Tanner and Neergaard, 6/4)

KHN: In Missouri And Other States, Flawed Data Makes It Hard To Track Vaccine Equity
Throughout the covid-19 vaccination effort, public health officials and politicians have insisted that providing shots equitably across racial and ethnic groups is a top priority. But it’s been left up to states to decide how to do that and to collect racial and ethnic data on vaccinated individuals so states can track how well they’re doing reaching all groups. The gaps and inconsistencies in the data have made it difficult to understand who’s actually getting shots. (Smith, 6/4)

San Francisco Chronicle: California Votes To Continue Requiring Masks At Work If Anyone Is Unvaccinated
If anyone in a workplace is unvaccinated, all colleagues must wear masks when in the same room, according to a new California workplace standard passed Thursday. But the standard allows workers to ditch masks when everyone in a room is vaccinated. The standards board for California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, or Cal/OSHA, passed the new rules as a stopgap measure after a marathon meeting Thursday, minutes after it initially rejected the same rules by a 4-3 vote, swayed by business groups’ arguments that they are too strict. (Said, 6/3)

Los Angeles Times: State Panel Recommends Vaccinated Workers Shed Masks Indoors
A California safety board Thursday recommended relaxing workplace safety rules for people vaccinated against COVID-19, meaning that on June 15, employees will probably be able to take off their masks in a room if everyone there is vaccinated. As the pandemic continues to wane and more people are inoculated against COVID-19, confidence has grown among officials that face coverings and social distancing are no longer a must for fully vaccinated Californians — though they remain important for those who have yet to roll up their sleeves. (Money and Lin II, 6/3)

In other news about masks and vaccination requirements —

WUSF Public Media: Long-Term Care Company Says Employee Vaccine Mandates Work 
Federal guidance released last week that says employers have the authority to mandate that workers get vaccinated for COVID-19 is good news for some companies who had already taken that step. Atria Senior Living was among the first companies in Florida to voluntarily enact a vaccine mandate back in January, months before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission took action. (Marlow, 6/3)

The Washington Post: Should We Keep Wearing Masks After The Coronavirus Pandemic?
More than a year into a pandemic that has sickened tens of millions of people in the United States and killed more than 500,000, most people are eager to reclaim some semblance of their former lives. About half of the country has received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccines authorized for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration. Infection rates are dropping. And federal health authorities have relaxed mask recommendations for people who are fully vaccinated against the virus. (Bever, 6/3)

Today: Do LED Masks Work For Acne, Wrinkles? Dermatologists Weigh In
As vaccinated Americans start to take off their face coverings in public, some are turning to a different type of mask at home in the hopes of achieving better-looking skin. LED face masks are growing in popularity, boosted by celebrities touting their use on social media and the general quest to get a bit of extra glow after the stresses of the pandemic. The devices promise to make a difference in treating acne and improving fine lines through “light therapy.” (Pawlowski, 6/3)

Modern Healthcare: Judge Won't Force CMS To Use 2021 Quality Ratings Data
Three Medicare Advantage plans lost their fight to require CMS to collect data on patient care and satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a federal judge ruling that the agency did not need to ask Congress before deciding to suspend collection. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Tuesday granted HHS' motion for summary judgment. The case stems from an April 2020 interim final rule that said CMS would rely on 2020 information with regard to the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set, or HEDIS, and the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, or CAHPS, when calculating Star ratings for the plans. The rule was made "because data collection was unsafe and would divert resources from patients" during the pandemic, according to the opinion. (Tepper, 6/3)

Modern Healthcare: CMMI Exploring More Mandatory Models, Fowler Says
CMS' Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation could mandate more participation in its models, CMMI Director Liz Fowler said during a Health Affairs event on Thursday. The agency wants to ensure that its experiments prioritize patients' needs and support the transformation of the healthcare delivery system—objectives consistent with the Biden administration's greater emphasis on improving health equity and quality. But they also signal that CMMI will fight against the entrenched interests of a healthcare industry under increasing pressure to change the way it does business. (Brady, 6/3)

In other Medicare news —

USA Today: New 50-State Ranking Shows The Best And Worst For Senior Health Care
Seniors in states that invested in their health systems enjoy a higher quality of overall care, a new 50-state ranking shows. Researchers compared health care in 24 categories for Medicare recipients in all 50 states and Washington D.C. related to cost, quality and access. The data, taken from publicly available databases, was weighed equally against each other before being averaged out, giving each state an overall score. The analysis, conducted by insurance technology company MedicareGuide.com, ranked Minnesota first with North Dakota close behind. Massachusetts and California followed in the third and fourth spots. Nebraska ranked fifth, and Hawaii followed in sixth. (Avery, 6/3)

Modern Healthcare: Post-Acute Care Programs Close Over Staffing Concerns
Throughout the pandemic, long-term care facilities have struggled to find staff. The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL), which represents more than 14,000 long-term care providers, now calls the workforce shortage "a legitimate crisis." The problem is a nuanced one: Workers have left an industry that was hit hard by COVID-19 cases and deaths during the pandemic, seeking out higher paying and potentially less dangerous jobs. And employers have struggled to remain operational as volumes fell and costs rose, strapped by what they characterize as inadequate Medicaid reimbursement rates. Nursing homes lost nearly 19,000 jobs in April, the biggest loss in the healthcare sector, according to figures from the the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Christ, 6/3)

And from state Medicaid programs —

WILL / Illinois Public Media: Illinois To Give New Moms More Time On Medicaid
The U.S. is the only industrialized nation in which the maternal death rate has been rising. Each year, about 700 deaths are due to pregnancy, childbirth or subsequent complications, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. When someone dies while pregnant or within a year of childbirth in Illinois, that’s considered a maternal death. Karen Tabb Dina is a maternal health researcher at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who serves on a state-level committee that’s trying to figure out what’s killing these mothers. (Herman, 6/3)

Louisiana Illuminator: Louisiana Senate Scuttles Post-Pregnancy Medicaid Extension
The Louisiana Senate Finance Committee killed legislation Thursday that would have allowed people who were pregnant to stay on Medicaid for a year postpartum. The federal government would have had to sign off on the approval before it went into effect. Currently, people who use Medicaid during their pregnancy lose their health care coverage two months post-pregnancy — unless they qualify for Medicaid in another way. (O'Donoghue, 6/3)

AP: Nebraska Officials Drop Plans For 2-Tier Medicaid System
State officials are dropping plans for a two-tier system to cover voter-approved Medicaid expansion in Nebraska. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday that all Nebraskans covered by the expansion will get a full range of benefits starting Oct. 1, the Omaha World-Herald reported. The announcement is a change from the earlier plans of Gov. Pete Ricketts’ administration to offer a two-tier system that would include a “basic” plan covering physical and behavioral health care services and a “prime” plan that would also cover dental, vision and over-the-counter drugs. (6/2)

AP: Oklahoma High Court Strikes Down Governor's Medicaid Plan
The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled Gov. Kevin Stitt’s plan to privatize much of the state’s Medicaid program is unconstitutional. In a 6-3 ruling Tuesday, the court determined the Oklahoma Health Care Authority did not have the legislative approval to move forward with the plan, dubbed SoonerSelect. (6/2)

North Carolina Health News: Almost 1.5 Million Consumers Have Been Moved To State’s Medicaid Managed Care. Now What?
The state’s first-ever Medicaid open enrollment period ended this month. Consumers and advocates say there may be challenges ahead. (Engel-Smith, 6/4)

AP: Medicaid Expansion Enrollment Hits Record Number In April
A record number of Montanans are enrolled in the state’s Medicaid expansion program, which provides health insurance for low-income adults, according to the state health department. Nearly 99,000 people were being served by the program in April, which is 18,300 more than the nearly 80,500 enrolled a year earlier, according to state data. (6/3)

Stat: Drug Prevents Return Of Breast Cancer Caused By BRCA Mutations 
Lynparza, a cancer-fighting pill marketed by AstraZeneca and Merck, reduced the risk that breast cancer would return in an invasive form when it was given for a year to patients who carried cancer-causing variants of the BRCA gene. The companies had reported that the study stopped early in February, but the actual results, released on Thursday, are striking, and several experts said they were likely to change treatment for people with aggressive breast cancer caused by genes they have inherited. The full results are being presented this weekend at the annual virtual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. They are also being published in the New England Journal of Medicine. (Herper, 6/3)

The Wall Street Journal: Breast-Cancer Pill Reduced Recurrence, Death In Early-Stage Patients, Study Finds 
The finding, which on Thursday was published online by the New England Journal of Medicine and released at a major cancer-research meeting, marked the latest advance in cancer treatments targeting the genetic traits of tumors. It could expand the arsenal of weapons against a hereditary form of breast cancer. The result also helps validate the pharmaceutical industry’s investment in a pricey new class of drugs that target cancer cells, known as PARP inhibitors. (Loftus, 6/3)

AP: Pill Shows Benefit In Certain Hard-To-Treat Breast Cancers
It was studied in patients with mutations in genes known as BRCA1 and BRCA2 that can predispose people to breast cancer if they don’t work properly, but who did not have a gene flaw that can be targeted by the drug Herceptin. Most patients in the study also had tumors that were not fueled by the hormones estrogen or progesterone. Cancers not fueled by these two hormones or by the gene Herceptin targets are called “triple negative.” They are especially hard to treat. (Johnson, 6/3)

In other breast cancer news —

Axios: Breast Cancer Leads Cancer Causes Of Death Among Latinas 
The most common cancer diagnosed among U.S. Latinas is breast cancer, and it's their leading cause of cancer-related death, research published in the journal Cancer Control found. Why it matters: "While they are less likely to get breast cancer than other ethnic groups, Hispanic women who are diagnosed are 20% more likely than white women to die from the disease," the Baltimore Sun writes. (Gonzalez, 6/3)

KGO-TV: Grieving Husband Tries To Donate Expensive Leftover Breast Cancer Drug, But No One Will Let Him
Ed Casaccia's wife Maggie died three weeks ago from breast cancer. He has an unopened box of 21 tablets of her cancer drugs, which he estimates cost $24,000 without insurance. He wants to give the medication to someone who needs it, but that task has proven impossible. ... His dilemma is familiar to that of State Sen. Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park), whose grandfather died of cancer. The San Gabriel Valley lawmaker has authored Senate Bill 310 that would launch a pilot program to allow unused cancer drugs to be recycled. As with many proposed bills, it has been amended to gain support. It also addresses liability issues. (Louie, 6/3)

PBS NewsHour: Why Black Women Face A Triple Threat From Breast Cancer
For Black women in America, a breast cancer diagnosis brings with it a disturbing statistic. Black women are less likely to develop breast cancer but 40 percent more likely to die from it than white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Yamiche Alcindor reports on the complicated story behind the statistics. (6/3)

AP: 'Next Big Wave': Radiation Drugs Track And Kill Cancer Cells
Doctors are reporting improved survival in men with advanced prostate cancer from an experimental drug that delivers radiation directly to tumor cells. Few such drugs are approved now, but the approach may become a new way to treat patients with other hard-to-reach or inoperable cancers. The study tested an emerging class of medicine called radiopharmaceuticals, drugs that deliver radiation directly to cancer cells. The drug in this case is a molecule that contains two parts: a tracker and a cancer-killing payload. (Johnson, 6/3)

NBC News: New Radiation Therapy For Prostate Cancer Reduces Deaths, Study Shows
By the time Michael Rosenblum’s prostate cancer was discovered, it was already at a late stage. He’d initially sought medical help because of excruciating back pain, but, during an exam, doctors found a tumor on his spine and tests revealed a skyrocketing prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, score. Chemotherapy didn’t help much, so when doctors offered the opportunity to be in a clinical trial for a new experimental treatment, Rosenblum jumped at it. The trial was investigating a new, potentially groundbreaking type of treatment for prostate cancer, a therapy that specifically targets a protein on the cancer cells. The treatment, part of a new class of liquid radiation drugs, obliterates most prostate cancer cells without hurting the surrounding tissue. (Carroll, 6/3)

In other cancer research developments —

Stat: For First Time, Keytruda After Surgery Shows Benefit In Early Kidney Cancer
Merck said Thursday that giving its drug Keytruda immediately after surgery significantly reduced the risk of relapse of kidney cancer in patients who had their tumors removed. The new clinical trial results make Keytruda the first immunotherapy to show a benefit for this early stage of kidney cancer treatment called the adjuvant setting. Currently, the class of drugs called checkpoint inhibitors are used for patients with more advanced kidney cancer — after it has recurred and spread to other parts of the body. (Feuerstein, 6/3)

New York Post: Israeli Scientists Extend Mice's Lives By 23%, Aim For Humans Next
Israeli scientists have found a way to increase the life expectancy of mice by 23 percent, in groundbreaking research that they hope to replicate in humans — who could then reach an average age of 120 years old. The researchers boosted the life expectancy of 250 rodents by increasing the supply of SIRT6, a protein that normally wanes in the aging process, the Times of Israel reported. In the peer-reviewed research published in the journal Nature Communications, the scientists also said the protein-enriched animals were less prone to cancer. (Steinbuch, 6/2)

FierceBiotech: As Medtronic Discontinues Faulty HeartWare Device, Abbott Offers Up Its Own Heart Pump To Meet Demand 
After three strikes in just the last six months, Medtronic’s implantable heart pump is out. The company issued (PDF) an urgent message Thursday notifying doctors and patients that it would immediately stop selling and distributing the HeartWare Ventricular Assist Device, or HVAD. In the official letter, Medtronic instructs physicians to cancel any new implants of the blood pump, but the company does not recommend removal of any existing implants. It directs the approximately 4,000 patients already implanted with the device to continue using it normally and to contact Medtronic for future replacements of its components. (Park, 6/3)

Bloomberg: Medtronic Halts Heart Failure HVAD Device Sales As Risks Surface
Medtronic Plc is halting sales of its HVAD device that helps patients with advanced heart failure pump blood on growing evidence that it leads to more strokes and other adverse events than competing models. “The company notified physicians to cease new implants of the HVAD system and transition to an alternative means of durable mechanical circulatory support,” Dublin-based Medtronic said Thursday in a statement. The shares fell as much as 1.2% as of 9:53 a.m. in New York. (Rutherford and Connelly, 6/3)

AP: FDA Warns Doctors To Stop Using Heart Pump Tied To Deaths
The FDA said Medtronic halted sales after reviewing 100 reports of power failures with the device, which led to 14 patient deaths and 13 patients having it removed. The company previously issued recalls on some Heartware devices and components used when implanting it. In December, the company warned about power failures or delayed restarts with three lots. The company said patients should not automatically have the device removed. Taking out recalled heart implants has to be carefully weighed against the potential risks of surgery. (Perrone, 6/3)

Newsweek: Medtronic Stops Selling Heart Pump Device Tied To 13 Deaths, FDA Issues Warning
"There have been 29 complaints about this device issue, which include 19 serious injuries and 8 cases of patients who had a life-threatening event but recovered without long term effects," the FDA said in a statement. According to the FDA, the HVAD Pump Implant Kit will sometimes fail to start, causing a delay after the pump has been stopped. This can cause serious injuries or further complicate heart failure problems. (Gile, 6/3)

Fox News: NIH Finds Potential Coronavirus Oral Antiviral Drug
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Thursday announced a potential oral antiviral treatment to lessen the severity of COVID-19 disease, ahead of clinical studies assessing efficacy in patients. Researchers said the experimental drug, TEMPOL, showed promise in cell cultures by impacting the virus’ ability to replicate, or impairing an enzyme called RNA replicase. Findings were published in the journal Science. "We urgently need additional effective, accessible treatments for COVID-19," Dr. Diana W. Bianchi, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) director, said in a statement posted Thursday. "An oral drug that prevents SARS-CoV-2 from replicating would be an important tool for reducing the severity of the disease." (Rivas, 6/3)

In news about Alzheimer's —

Stat: Landmark Alzheimer's Drug Approval Would Likely Deepen Inequities In Care
Come Monday, we should learn whether the Food and Drug Administration will approve the first new drug since 2003 to help slow the relentless cognitive decline caused by Alzheimer’s disease. While there is much uncertainty swirling over whether the drug will be approved, how effective it is, how much it should cost, and how it could be administered given the shortage of memory specialists and brain imaging machines required to identify eligible patients, one thing is abundantly clear: Approval of Biogen’s aducanumab, or other similar medications rising through the drug development pipeline, is likely to only increase massive racial inequities in the treatment of the more than 6 million Americans with Alzheimer’s. (McFarling, 6/4)

Axios: Biogen's Alzheimer's Drug Aducanumab To Test FDA's Rigor 
The FDA will soon decide the fate of Biogen's experimental Alzheimer's drug. But there is one glaring issue — there is no conclusive evidence the drug effectively treats the crippling neurological disease. This will be one of the FDA's most important decisions in years. The outcome will show whether the federal agency sides with the overwhelming scientific consensus that the drug isn't proven to work, or with an industry and a patient population desperate for anything to be approved. (Herman, 6/4)

KHN: FDA Weighs Approval Of A Lucrative Alzheimer’s Drug But Benefits Are Iffy 
The Food and Drug Administration’s decision next week whether to approve the first treatment for Alzheimer’s disease highlights a deep division over the drug’s benefits as well as criticism about the integrity of the FDA approval process. The agency said it will decide by June 7 the fate of Biogen’s drug aducanumab, despite a near-unanimous rejection of the product by an FDA advisory committee of outside experts in November. Doubts were raised when, in 2019, Biogen halted two large clinical trials of the drug after determining it wouldn’t reach its targets for efficacy. But the drugmaker later revised that assessment, stating that one trial showed the drug reduced the decline in patients’ cognitive and functional ability by 22%. (Meyer, 6/4)

In other pharmaceutical and biotech news —

Stat: Catalyst Wins An Unexpected Victory In Canada Over A Rare Disease Drug
In an unexpected move, Canada’s Federal Court quashed the approval of a rare disease drug after the manufacturer of a rival medicine claimed that Health Canada had originally issued an “incorrect and unreasonable” endorsement. In a 63-page ruling, Justice Martine St-Louis set aside the approval issued by the regulator last year. As a result, the government will now have to review the marketing file submitted by Jacobus Pharmaceuticals, a small, family-run company that sells a drug to treat people with a rare neuromuscular disorder called Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome, or LEMS. (Silverman, 6/3)

Stat: Former Celgene Shareholders Claim Bristol Myers Reaped A $6.4 Billion Windfall By Delaying A Drug Approval 
A lymphoma drug that was approved later than expected by regulators is at the center of a lawsuit accusing Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) of deliberately delaying production and development of the medicine in order to save $6.4 billion in payments to investors. At issue is a provision in the 2019 agreement in which Bristol Myers paid $80.3 billion for Celgene. As part of the deal, Bristol Myers agreed to pay Celgene shareholders $9 in cash, or contingent value rights, for each share they held. But there was a stipulation — the company had to win Food and Drug Administration approval for a treatment for Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma by Dec. 31, 2020. (Silverman, 6/3)

Stat: Martin Shkreli's Longtime Friend Wants To Undo His 4,000% Price Hike
Martin Shkreli’s drug company has a lot of problems. Revenue was cut in half last year. Losses are mounting. There’s a pile of ongoing civil lawsuits, and the federal government is trying to shut the whole thing down. But the biggest problem might be Shkreli himself, who has been running the firm from federal prison and using it as a financial lifeline for himself and his associates. (Garde and Feuerstein, 6/4)

The Wall Street Journal: Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes’s Emails With Law Firm Allowed At Trial
A federal judge rejected Theranos Inc. founder Elizabeth Holmes’s request to keep her emails with law firm Boies Schiller Flexner LLP out of her coming criminal fraud trial. Ms. Holmes, who faces wire fraud charges for allegedly deceiving investors and patients about her blood-testing company, had argued that 13 documents showing communications she exchanged with Boies Schiller lawyers were protected by attorney-client privilege. (Randazzo, 6/3)

Stateline: Laws To Help Patients Get Pricey Drugs Fall Short Advocates Say
Dozens of organizations, including the American Heart Association, the Arthritis Foundation and Mental Health America, have urged passage of federal legislation. Even so, supporters admit they are not hopeful that any measure can emerge from a gridlocked Congress, especially in the face of well-financed opposition. “We don’t have a place at the table when it comes to issues like this,” said Louis Tharp, executive director of the Global Healthy Living Foundation and co-author of the journal article. “The reality is patients are not as powerful as lobbyists.” (Ollove, 6/3)

Stat: Souped Up Genome Makes Bacteria Impervious To Viral Attack 
Two years ago, scientists in Britain swapped out the DNA of the bacteria Escerichia coli for a genetic coding program that was entirely human-made. At the time, it was the largest and most complex synthetic genome ever created. On Thursday, that same group of researchers at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology reported in Science that with continued tinkering, they’ve made their artificial life form virtually invincible to viral infection. Other adjustments to the bacteria’s designer genome endowed the bug with the ability to string together non-natural amino acids to produce proteins never before seen inside a living cell. (Molteni, 6/3)

Los Angeles Times: Healthcare Worker Bonuses Fizzle In California Legislature
California Assembly members declined Thursday to vote on a bill that would have awarded “hero pay” to healthcare workers who helped steer the state through the pandemic, effectively killing the $7-billion effort for the year. Assembly Bill 650 by Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi (D-Rolling Hills Estates) would have required hospitals, clinics and skilled nursing facilities to pay medical professionals $10,000, with smaller bonuses for those who work part time. (Gutierrez, 6/3)

USA Today: Covid-19 Vaccines Refused By A Surprising Number Of Hospital Workers
USA TODAY surveyed some of the largest hospital networks and public hospitals in the country. At the nine networks that responded, fully vaccinated rates ranged from 53% to 72%. Rates among 15 of the nation’s largest public hospitals ranged from 51% to 91%. The survey encompassed 276 hospitals, or about 4.5% of the nation’s hospitals. Most fell below President Joe Biden’s goal of 70% by July 4. Staff included ranged from workers with medical training, such as doctors and nurses, to those in support roles, such as cafeteria workers. (Heath, 6/3)

In other health care industry news —

CIDRAP: Dental Workers Found To Be At Increased COVID-19 Risk
UK dental professionals were at heightened occupational risk for COVID-19 infection early in the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an observational study yesterday in the Journal of Dental Research. A team led by University of Birmingham researchers obtained blood samples from 1,507 dentists, dental nurses, and dental hygienists in the Birmingham, England, region in June 2020. They found that 16.3% of participants had SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, compared with an estimated 6% to 7% of the general population. Dental receptionists who don't have direct patient contact, however, were no more likely than community members to have coronavirus antibodies, at 6.3%. (Van Beusekom, 6/3)

NPR: With Roots In Civil Rights Era, Community Health Clinics Fight Pandemic
In the 1960s, health care for Black residents in rural Mississippi was meager. Most health systems were segregated. Although some hospitals did serve Black patients, they struggled to stay afloat. At the height of the civil rights movement, young Black doctors decided to launch a movement of their own. "Mississippi was third-world and was so bad and so separated," says Dr. Robert Smith, "The community health center movement was the conduit for physicians all over this country who believed that all people have a right to health care." In 1967, Smith helped start Delta Health Center, the country's first rural community health center. They put the clinic in Mound Bayou, a small town in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, in the northwest part of the state. (Chatlani, 6/3)

Modern Healthcare: UPMC Spins Off AI Company That Analyzes EHR Data
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center on Thursday launched Realyze Intelligence, an artificial-intelligence company that analyzes electronic health record data. Realyze Intelligence's tools use natural language processing and other types of AI to analyze clinical notes and data held in patients' health records, from which it can identify patients with cancer, diabetes, chronic kidney disease and other chronic conditions who are at high risk for poor health outcomes. Ideally, clinicians will apply the findings to prioritize care for those high-risk patients. (Kim Cohen, 6/3)

Dallas Morning News: Christus Health Sets Out To Create A Permanent Irving Hub For Its Multinational Health Care System
A decade ago, Christus Health moved 600 employees from four offices throughout Texas into rented space in Irving. With a corporate workforce now totaling more than 2,200, the Catholic health care system is putting down permanent roots. It’s preparing to begin construction of a 15-story corporate office to manage its sprawling collection of hospitals, clinics, outpatient centers and long-term care facilities. The project has an estimated cost of $107 million, according to planning documents filed with the state. Irving is providing Christus with nearly $4.9 million in economic incentives. (Gonzales, 6/3)

Stat: Verily’s New Hire, Amy Abernethy, On Her Plans To Transform Clinical Trials
As personnel moves go, the hiring of Amy Abernethy by Verily is about as big as it gets in digital health care. It signals the Alphabet-backed company’s ambition to fundamentally reshape clinical research, making participation easier and drugs more effective. Abernethy, an oncologist by training, is credited with modernizing the way the Food and Drug Administration uses and manages data as the former number two at the agency. She essentially helped the FDA catch up, setting up standards for the use of real-world evidence and moving data in the cloud. (Ross, 6/3)

Fox News: HIV Incidence Down 73% Since 1980s Peak, CDC Estimates
HIV incidence, or yearly new infections, in the U.S has declined about 73% since peaks in the mid-1980s, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The report released Thursday resulted from modeling applied to data in the National HIV Surveillance System to determine the number of new annual HIV infections from 1981 to 2019. The agency estimated 2.2 million new HIV infections during the decades-long study period, with about 1.2 million Americans living with HIV infection in 2019. (Rivas, 6/3)

Axios: Fauci: Ending AIDS Epidemic By 2030 May Be Achievable 
NIAID director Anthony Fauci is aiming to curb another epidemic: 40 years of HIV, a virus that has remained elusive to a vaccine. About 1.2 million people in America are living with HIV, but Fauci tells Axios the goal of ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 may be achievable. (O'Reilly, 6/3)

In other public health news —

Live Science: 11 Children Diagnosed With New Form Of ALS
Six years ago, a teenager from Italy traveled to the U.S. in hopes of finding a diagnosis for her mysterious medical condition, which had caused her to lose the ability to walk and required her to have a breathing tube. Now, researchers have diagnosed the teenager, Claudia Digregorio, and 10 other children with a new form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) that strikes in childhood and progresses more slowly than what is typically seen with this condition.In addition, the researchers have pinpointed a gene that seems to cause this form of ALS, and they may have also identified a potential treatment for the condition, according to a study describing the findings, published Monday (May 31) in the journal Nature Medicine. (Rettner, 6/3)

Fox News: Eating Fresh Fruit Lowers Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes, Study Claims
Slipping two servings of fresh fruit into your daily diet can lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes by over one-third, a new study suggests. But, in this study, not all fruit is created equal as the benefits of eating whole fruit were not seen for those who drank fruit juice. The study, conducted by Edith Cowan University (ECU) and published in the Journal of Clinical and Endocrinology and Metabolism, found that people who ate at least two servings of fruit per day had higher measures of insulin sensitivity than those who ate less than half of a serving, according to a news release posted on EurekAlert.org. (Hein, 6/3)

Fox News: CDC Alerts Salmonella Outbreak From Breaded, Stuffed Chicken
Heads up, consumers: federal health officials are investigating a multistate salmonella outbreak tied to raw frozen breaded stuffed chicken. The investigation notice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes at least 17 related illnesses and eight hospitalizations, as of June 2. Six states have reported illnesses in connection with the outbreak, including Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Michigan, New York and Arizona. Data suggests illnesses cropped up in late February and persisted through early May. Those affected range in age from 3 to 83. Testing conducted by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture found the outbreak strain in two samples of Kirkwood’s Chicken Cordon Bleu. However, there isn't a recall involved, per the CDC notice. (Rivas, 6/3)

Fox News: Coronavirus Lockdowns Led To More Screen Exposure, Sleep Issues, Study Suggests
A study conducted during Italy’s coronavirus lockdowns last spring suggests increased screen time resulted in sleep disturbances and worsened insomnia symptoms. Researchers affiliated with University of L’Aquila published findings in the journal Sleep on May 26, drawing from results on 2,123 Italians who responded to web surveys during the third and seventh week of lockdowns in late March and late April, respectively. Most participants were female, and about 60% were aged 18-30. The surveys assessed sleep quality and insomnia symptoms based on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Insomnia Severity Index. (Rivas, 6/3)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Study Shows How Weight Loss Can Improve Blood Pressure, Medication Use
It’s hard to overstate the benefits of weight loss. Dropping 5% of excess weight can decrease chances of cancer, boost good cholesterol and prevent Type 2 diabetes, according to WebMD. A recent study of a University of Glasgow and Newcastle University-developed weight loss program focused on Type 2 diabetes. It was conducted for the Diabetes UK-funded DIabetes Remission Clinical Trial (DIRECT). The program has shown to be effective in putting Type 2 diabetes into remission. It also decreased blood pressure and lessened the need for antihypertensive medications. (Willis, 6/3)

CNN: Going For Your Annual Checkup? What Health Questions To Ask 
Many people have been putting off routine medical care during the Covid-19 pandemic. Now that many US adults are vaccinated and the rate of new infections is much lower, it's time to make sure you are up-to-date on all of your key medical screenings and health maintenance. If you are headed to your doctor for your annual checkup, what should you expect? What are key questions to ask? And what are some issues your doctor may not bring up, but you might want to consider? (Hetter, 6/3)

USA Today: National Egg Day: Are Eggs Healthy Or Not? Is It Safe To Eat Raw Eggs?
Are brown eggs healthier than white eggs? Are raw eggs safe to consume? This National Egg Day, we're answering some common questions about egg health and busting myths, too. National Egg Day, recognized on June 3, reportedly traces back to the 1920s when a new highway was built to transport poultry and eggs in the town of Winlock, Washington. In 1918, California launched a “National Egg Day” to be held in August. The date was later shifted to June 3. Today, some companies recognize the day as an opportunity to launch deals. (Kochi, 6/3)

CNN: Realtor Groups Ask Supreme Court To Block CDC's Eviction Moratorium 
A coalition of Realtor groups asked the Supreme Court on Thursday night to block the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's order that prohibits landlords nationwide from evicting tenants who fail to pay rent amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. The current moratorium is set to expire on June 30. A district court ruled against the CDC, holding that the moratorium was unlawful, but then put its ruling on hold pending appeal. The DC Circuit declined to lift the stay. (de Vogue, 6/3)

NBC News: Landlord Group Asks Supreme Court To Lift Moratorium On Evicting Tenants
A group representing some of the nation's property owners asked the U.S. Supreme Court late Thursday to block enforcement of an order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that has stopped landlords from evicting tenants who aren't paying their rent during the Covid-19 pandemic. Keeping that order in place "will prolong the severe financial burdens borne by landlords under the moratorium for the past nine months," the group said, in an emergency application directed to Chief Justice John Roberts filed by the Alabama Association of Realtors. (Williams, 6/3)

In related news about covid's economic toll —

The Wall Street Journal: Jobless Claims Drop To Another Pandemic Low
Worker filings for initial jobless claims have dropped by 35% since late April, adding to signs of a healing labor market as the U.S. economy ramps up. Weekly unemployment claims, a proxy for layoffs, fell to 385,000 last week from a revised 405,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said Thursday. Last week’s decline in claims marked the fifth straight week that new filings fell, from 590,000 the week ended April 24. (Guilford, 6/3)

Bloomberg: Andrew Cuomo Wins Dismissal Of Lawsuit Over NY's Covid Quarantine Rule
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo won a fight over his authority to control the pandemic, as a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit challenging his executive order requiring visitors from states with spiking Covid-19 numbers to go into quarantine for 14 days. Cuomo’s order was “rational” because it intended to stop the spread of a “highly contagious” virus, and there’s no indication that a less restrictive rule would have had the same effect on public health, U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla said in a decision Wednesday in Manhattan. (Larson, 6/3)

AP: Whitmer Vetoes Bill To Exempt Graduations From Crowd Limits
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday vetoed Republican-sponsored legislation that would have exempted high school graduation ceremonies from COVID-19 restrictions on Michigan crowd sizes, calling it “half-baked and punchless.” The veto, which was expected, came two days after her administration’s order was loosened to end outdoor capacity limits and limit indoor gatherings to 50% occupancy. (Eggert, 6/3)

In news from Florida, Oregon and Alaska —

AP: CDC Says Florida Lawsuit Imperils Summer Cruises To Alaska
U.S. officials say Florida’s lawsuit against the federal government over conditions for cruise lines to resume sailing could threaten plans to restart cruising in Alaska. Florida sued the Biden administration to throw out requirements, called a conditional sailing order, that were imposed on cruise lines before they can sail in U.S. water for the first time since March 2020.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that Congress effectively ratified the conditional sailing order when it passed a law last month to let large cruise ships resume trips from Washington state to Alaska this summer. (6/4)

Health News Florida: Florida Weighs In On Lawsuit Over Canada Drug Imports
Gov. Ron DeSantis has jumped into an ongoing legal fight between pharmaceutical companies and the federal government over rules that would open the door to Florida importing drugs from Canada. The state Agency for Health Care Administration, at DeSantis’ direction, filed a friend-of-the-court brief Tuesday siding with the federal government in a lawsuit filed in November by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. (6/3)

The Oregonian: 30 National Guard Members To Provide Temporary Staffing At Oregon State Hospital 
The Oregon State Hospital will begin training 30 members of the National Guard on Monday to help fill an unprecedented staffing shortage at the psychiatric facility. National Guard members will spend nearly two weeks learning how to work directly with patients, including training on de-escalation and behavioral emergencies, said state hospital spokesperson Rebeka Gipson-King. The hospital originally asked for 30 nurses to help staff its floors, but the Guard turned down that request as too narrow, Gipson-King said. (Ramakrishnan, 6/3)

Anchorage Daily News: Some Anchorage Homeless Shelter Providers Harbor Concerns Over Assembly’s Proposal For Licensing Requirements
Anchorage city officials say a proposed ordinance that would require homeless shelters to obtain a city license will help reduce a shelter’s potential negative footprint in neighboring areas. They say it would help to ensure that shelter users, nearby businesses and residents are all kept safe. But some Anchorage homeless shelter providers say the proposal could stymie the city’s efforts to increase its shelter capacity at a time when finding more beds is critical. Several homeless service providers, including the Anchorage Gospel Rescue Mission and Bean’s Cafe, signed a letter to the Assembly asking it to postpone the licensing ordinance. (Goodykoontz, 6/3)

In news about illegal drug use in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania —

The Boston Globe: ‘A Tragedy Waiting To Happen’: What’s Behind The Steep Rise In Opioid Overdoses Among Black Men?
The statistic was a shocker. The state’s latest opioid figures showed that Black men in Massachusetts had died of overdoses in 2020 at a rate 69 percent higher than the previous year. Public health officials decried the death toll as “heart-breaking” and “troubling.” Black leaders in health care agreed — but also had another word to describe the data: unsurprising. (Freyer, 6/3)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Philadelphia Drug Deaths Soared Again In 2020, Hitting Black Residents Hardest: ‘It’s A Racial Justice Issue’
Overdoses killed 1,214 Philadelphians in 2020, marking the city’s second-highest drug death toll on record, and one likely worsened by COVID-19 lockdowns, city officials said. Just as they were by the coronavirus deaths, Black Philadelphians were hit hardest by overdose deaths, an alarming demographic shift in drug fatalities that began before the pandemic and worsened in 2020. (Whelan, 6/3)

Also —

Axios: 38,680 People Died On U.S. Roads In 2020, The Highest Yearly Total Since 2007 
An estimated 38,680 people died on U.S. roads last year, the highest yearly total since 2007, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Thursday, citing preliminary data. The jump in the number of deaths from motor vehicle traffic crashes came despite the fact that Americans last year drove 13.2% fewer miles than in 2019. (Reyes, 6/3)

The Washington Post: Amtrak Dining Car Returning To A Select Few Trains 
Amtrak is bringing back the traditional dining experience to some long-distance trains this month, promising an improved experience with made-to-order plates. The passenger railroad last year switched to prepackaged meals on long-haul routes that travel west of Chicago and New Orleans amid low ridership and efforts to keep passenger and employee interactions at a minimum during the coronavirus pandemic. (Lazo, 6/3)

Axios: 2 Billion Global Vaccinations: Where The Doses Have Gone 
The world reached a vaccination milestone this week, with 2 billion total doses now administered, according to the tracker from Our World in Data. The global rate is speeding up considerably. It took 30 days to go from 500 million doses to 1 billion, 24 days to go from 1 billion to 1.5 billion, and just 16 days to jump from 1.5 billion to 2 billion. (Lawler, 6/3)

In other global developments —

AP: Slow To Start, China Now Vaccinating At A Staggering Pace
In the span of just five days last month, China gave out 100 million shots of its COVID-19 vaccines. After a slow start, China is now doing what virtually no other country in the world can: leveraging the power and all-encompassing reach of its one-party system and a maturing domestic vaccine industry to administer shots at a staggering pace. The rollout is far from perfect, including uneven distribution, but Chinese public health leaders now say they’re hoping to inoculate 80% of the population of 1.4 billion by the end of the year. (Wu, 6/3)

The Washington Post: China’s Great Vaccine Hope, Sinopharm, Sees Reputation Darkened Amid Covid Spikes In Countries Using It
Last year, Bahrain became one of the first countries to throw support behind China’s Sinopharm vaccine, granting it emergency use approval in December — a substantial boost for Beijing’s global ambitions for the vaccine, despite doubts on the part of some scientists over lack of public safety and efficacy data. Now, the Persian Gulf country is the latest to raise doubts about the vaccine’s effectiveness. (Taylor and Schemm, 6/3)

Reuters: Chile Halts Second Dose, Ups Minimum Age For AstraZeneca Vaccine After Blood Clot Report
Chile's health ministry on Thursday said it would raise the minimum age of men approved to receive the AstraZeneca (AZN.L) COVID-19 vaccine to 45 from 18, and suspend administering second doses until authorities complete an investigation into a man who had a blood clot after his first shot. Chile, a leader in vaccinating its citizens against the virus, received its first doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford University vaccine in April. Regulators initially approved the vaccine for men over 18 and women over 45. (6/3)

AP: Colombia Eases Lockdown Measures Despite 3rd Virus Peak
Colombia moved Thursday to reactivate its economy by easing several lockdown measures even though it is still fighting a third peak in the pandemic, which has been aggravated by a month of crowded antigovernment street protests. (6/4)

Also —

AP: WHO: Vaccinating Kids 'Not A High Priority' Amid Shortage
The World Health Organization’s top vaccines expert said Thursday that immunizing children against COVID-19 is not a high priority from a WHO perspective, given the extremely limited global supply of doses. During a social media session, Dr. Kate O’Brien said children should not be a focus of COVID-19 immunization programs even as increasing numbers of rich countries authorize their coronavirus shots for teenagers and children. (6/3)

Bloomberg: Prayer Is Preferred to Covid Vaccine in Namibia, Survey Shows
Almost two-thirds of Namibians believe prayer is more effective at preventing Covid-19 than a vaccine, and the majority of people in the southern African nation are concerned about the safety of the inoculations, according to a survey. Half of Namibians say they’re unlikely to try and get vaccinated even if the government says the vaccine is safe, Afrobarometer said in a study dated June 2 published on its website. Slow vaccine uptake in Namibia is “of great concern” with the threat of a third wave of infections looming, it said. (Nhongo, 6/3)

Axios: Copa América Moves To Brazil, Which Faces Its Own COVID Nightmare 
Brazil has stepped in to host this month's Copa América, but the issues that caused the former hosts to drop out are roughly as bad in Brazil. The soccer tournament — originally set for last summer in Colombia and Argentina — was delayed a year by the pandemic. It's now scheduled to begin on June 13. (Tracy and Lawler, 6/3)

Reuters: 'Mission: Impossible 7' Set Shut Down Due To Positive Covid-19 Tests
Filming in Britain on the latest "Mission: Impossible" movie, one of the biggest franchises in Hollywood, has been shut down for two weeks after some people working on the movie tested positive for the coronavirus, Paramount Pictures said on Thursday. The movie studio did not say who or how many people had tested positive but Britain's Sun newspaper said star Tom Cruise was not among them. ... The Sun newspaper, citing unnamed sources, said 14 members of the production tested positive after shooting a nightclub scene, and that Cruise, like other people working on the set, would have to self-isolate for 14 days. (6/3)

The Atlantic: Mask Mandates Will Come And Go And Come Again
Masks may be recommended during “cold and flu and COVID-19 season” indefinitely. But guidelines change as situations do. The value of any preventive measure depends on where you are, and where the virus has been surging. Masks are just one of the tools in our kit of interventions. Like any tool, they are not simply good or bad, any more than a bandage or an EpiPen is good or bad. The value of the intervention depends entirely on when and how it’s used. Wearing a life jacket while you’re in a dinghy lost at sea is a great idea. Wearing a life jacket in your living room while watching Pirates of the Caribbean is a less valuable intervention. Likewise, as SARS-CoV-2 grows less ubiquitous, the value of a mask declines in step. As your community gets vaccinated, you can feel more and more comfortable in the knowledge that adding a mask will not add much benefit. (Hamblin, 5/28)

Bloomberg: When Will Covid Pandemic Really End? Covax Says Poor Nations Need Vaccines
Some wealthy countries are beginning to kick doses Covax’s way. President Joe Biden announced in mid-May that by June, the U.S. would share 20 million doses from Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, and Pfizer, in addition to a stockpile of up to 60 million shots of the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, which still hasn’t been authorized in the U.S. An American official said a “substantial portion” would go to Covax, but stressed that no decision had been made. Countries operating under the banner Team Europe have pledged to donate 100 million doses to low- and middle-income countries by the end of the year, mostly through Covax. On June 2, at a virtual summit hosted by Japan, the alliance raised almost $2.4 billion and secured pledges of another 54 million doses. All of that is welcome, but will barely make a dent in plugging the immediate supply gap. (Baker, Paton and Dontoh, 6/3)

The New York Times: When A Surgeon Became A Covid-19 Patient: ‘I Had Never Faced The Reality Of Death’ 
Early in the pandemic, as hospitals in New York began postponing operations to make way for the flood of Covid-19 cases, Dr. Tomoaki Kato continued to perform surgery. Patients still needed liver transplants, and some were too sick to wait. At 56, Dr. Kato was healthy and exceptionally fit. He had run the New York City Marathon seven times, and he specialized in operations that were also marathons, lasting 12 or 16 or 20 hours. He was renowned for surgical innovations, deft hands and sheer stamina. At NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, where he was the surgical director of adult and pediatric liver and intestinal transplantation, his boss has called him “our Michael Jordan.” Dr. Kato became ill with Covid-19 in March 2020. (Grady, 6/3)

The Washington Post: 6 Ways Parents Can Help Kids Regain A Sense Of Purpose 
When the pandemic prevented a young aspiring cartoonist from attending art camp last summer, she was devastated. But when her mother told her she could go this year, the 12-year-old balked. “I’ll just stay home,” she shrugged. “They’ll probably have to shut down again.” Although some children will dive into school and activities with enthusiasm as the pandemic lets up thanks to an increase in vaccinations, others will be more guarded. ... With time and targeted support, even the most apprehensive child can once again experience full and joyful engagement. Here are six ways parents and caregivers can ease kids back into life and help them regain a sense of purpose. (Fagell, 6/1)

Also —

Undark: In Wisconsin, Residents Bear The Impacts Of ‘Forever Chemicals’
Craig Koller grew up splashing through backyard creeks and biking gravel trails, sometimes through the Johnson Controls, Inc. fire technology center. Black smoke wafted overhead as it conducted controlled burns to test firefighting foam, producing a dangerous “forever chemical” known as PFAS. As a kid growing up in the northern Wisconsin port city of Marinette, Koller didn’t think much of being around the facility or drinking the city’s water. “How would you have known? There’s no signs (at that time) saying, ‘Stay out: contamination,’ ” Koller, 32, said. But Koller’s formative years in Marinette likely altered his life forever: Right after graduating from high school in 2007, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. (McCracken, 5/25)

ProPublica and the Miami Herald: A Program Promised To Pay For Brain-Damaged Infants’ Care. Then It Sent Families To Medicaid Instead. 
Every other month, Jay Alexander Benitez would be hospitalized with pneumonia or other respiratory infections that stemmed from the profound brain damage he suffered at birth. “It was heartache,” the boy’s mother, Alexandra Benitez, said. “Being in the hospital scared him.” Jay’s pulmonologist said that regular therapy with a nebulizer — a machine that delivers vaporized medication to the lungs to improve breathing — might prevent some of those illnesses. But Benitez said she was forced to wait months before the treatments could begin. (Chang and Miller, 6/1)

The Wall Street Journal: Special-Needs Trusts: How They Work And What Has Changed 
Special-needs trusts have been around for a number of years, but two parts of this picture are changing. First, many people with disabilities and chronic illnesses, thanks to advances in medicine, are living longer lives—and, as such, are outliving their parents and primary caregivers. That makes the need for long-term planning all the more vital. (Ruffenach, 6/3)

The New York Times: Something Bothering You? Tell It To Woebot. 
Digital mental health has become a multibillion-dollar industry and includes more than 10,000 apps, according to an estimate by the American Psychiatric Association. The apps range from guided meditation (Headspace) and mood tracking (MoodKit) to text therapy by licensed counselors (Talkspace, BetterHelp). But Woebot, which was introduced in 2017, is one of only a handful of apps that use artificial intelligence to deploy the principles of cognitive behavioral therapy, a common technique used to treat anxiety and depression. (Brown, 6/1)

The New York Times: ‘On That Edge Of Fear’: One Woman’s Struggle With Sickle Cell Pain 
She struggled through the night as she had so many times before, restless from sickle cell pain that felt like knives stabbing her bones. When morning broke, she wept at the edge of her hotel-room bed, her stomach wrenched in a complicated knot of anger, trepidation and hope. It was a gray January morning, and Lisa Craig was in Nashville, three hours from her home in Knoxville, Tenn., preparing to see a sickle cell specialist she hoped could do something so many physicians had been unable to do: bring her painful disease under control. (Eligon, 5/30)

The Washington Post: What Is The Hyde Amendment? Why It’s In The News And What You Need To Know. 
Amid 2021′s wave of abortion challenges, President Biden recently made good on his campaign promise to repeal the Hyde Amendment, a budget rider that bans federal funds from going toward abortion services. On May 28, Biden submitted his 2022 budget request — omitting the Hyde language entirely. Biden’s proposal is the first major threat to the Hyde Amendment since Clinton, who introduced a Hyde-free budget in 1993, when Congress had strong Democratic majorities in both houses. It is also a significant shift for the president, who supported the amendment for decades. Here’s more on the history of the amendment, what it does and what activists on both sides have to say about it. (Branigin, 6/3)

Forbes: Why Healthcare Needs A Civil Rights-Style Movement
There will come a time in the not too distant future when we look back at the healthcare system as it is today with shame and embarrassment. We’ll wonder how anyone got the right kind of care and rue the policy and clinical decisions that have made our system unaffordable, inaccessible, wasteful, and inferior to our peer nations. To hear some people discuss healthcare these days, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) fixed the healthcare system. But that’s not really true. The ACA broadened the tent and made health insurance coverage available to more people. But the tent poles now need to be replaced. (Sachin H. Jain, 5/26)

The Boston Globe: The Real Breakthrough For Dementia: Smashing The Stigma 
On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration is expected to announce whether it is approving aducanumab, a new drug that is supposed to slow the progress of Alzheimer’s disease. The decision is going to be controversial either way. Many neurologists say that the evidence for the drug is too flimsy; in fact, 10 of the 11 independent experts asked to review it said there wasn’t enough proof it worked. Meanwhile, patient advocacy groups have pressed the FDA to OK it. Their point: We essentially have nothing else. It’s true. Even though we keep hearing that a breakthrough for Alzheimer’s is right around the corner, it’s been 17 years since a new drug came on the market. Pharmaceutical companies have invested billions looking for that miracle medicine, ending in a string of disappointments. According to one analysis, 87 Alzheimer’s drug research programs have shut down since 2008. The few drugs available now only temporarily ease the symptoms. (Kat McGowan, 6/4)

Stat: 40 Years Of AIDS Should Have Taught Us Epidemiologic Humility 
Forty years later, I can still recall my visceral reaction to reading an article in the June 5, 1981, issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), which opened with this sentence: “In the period October 1980-May 1981, 5 young men, all active homosexuals, were treated for biopsy-confirmed Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia at 3 different hospitals in Los Angeles, California.” I was an infectious disease fellow at Harvard Medical School at the time, trying to keep abreast of epidemic trends from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, which published the weekly bulletin. (Kenneth H. Mayer, 6/4)

The Baltimore Sun: Depression Need Not Define A Rising Tennis Star — Nor Anyone Else 
It is not very often that those with worldwide status reveal that they suffer from the problems that we, the general public, do not reveal to our family, friends and associates — that we are medically depressed and are getting, or trying to get, help to deal with a problem that is seen by others as a weakness, insignificant and something that will just go away if we will it to do so. That is wrong. Depression is real. Depression is an illness. Depression should be treated by a health professional. Perhaps, Ms. Osaka’s revelation will convince others who suffer from depression to be more willing to seek the help that they need. (Alice L. Haber, 6/3)

Chicago Tribune: Stop Expecting Athletes To ‘Power Through’ With Disregard For Mental Health 
Naomi Osaka, the world’s No. 2-ranked female tennis player and highest paid female athlete made international headlines Monday, perhaps in ways she did not anticipate or intend. She withdrew from the French Open tennis tournament — one of the four Grand Slam events in international tennis. In her withdrawal announcement on social media she stated, “I would never trivialize mental health or use the term lightly. The truth is that I have suffered long bouts of depression since the U.S. Open in 2018.” She continued, “Anyone who knows me knows I’m introverted and anyone who has seen me at tournaments will notice that I’m often wearing headphones as that helps dull my social anxiety.” (Anand Kumar and Sally Weinstein, 6/2)

Modern Healthcare: The Federal Offices Of Women's Health Are Vital—And They Need Continued Funding
Over 30 years ago, advocates and policymakers discovered that not only were women not being included in clinical research, they were actively excluded during their reproductive years. It's 2021, and while we've made progress, focusing on and increasing research into women's health is just as important now as it was then. (Martha Nolan and Monica Mallampalli, 6/3)

USA Today: California's Safe Injection Sites Won't Help Drug Abuse, Homelessness
In San Francisco in 2020, the number of opioid overdose deaths, 697, was more than twice as high as the city's COVID-19 deaths, 257. Yet California lawmakers, so quick to lock down the economy, issue stay-at-home orders and mandate masks, are taking a very different approach to the opioid epidemic – giving people with drug addictions a so-called safe place to inject their drugs. Advocates say the Golden State’s efforts to reduce the harms of drug abuse will set a model for other states to emulate. Based on our collective experience – one of us was addicted to drugs and lived on San Francisco's streets, the other has worked with homeless women and children for more than a decade – we believe that this proposal will not lessen the substance abuse epidemic that California cities face, nor will it help homeless individuals. (Michele Steeb and Thomas Wolf, 6/4)

Los Angeles Times: Beer, Guns And Money: COVID Shot Incentives Are Gimmicky, But That's OK 
Jonathan Carlyle of Toledo, Ohio, had every intention of getting a COVID-19 shot — someday. The Amazon delivery driver was so busy that he kept putting it off. Then he learned that his state was launching a weekly lottery that would award $1 million to some lucky person just for getting vaccinated. “As soon as I heard that, I was like, ‘Yes, I need to go do this now,’” he said Thursday during a press conference with Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine. Carlyle received the one-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID shot two days after learning about the incentive, and it was a good thing he didn’t wait. On Wednesday Carlyle found out he was the second winner of Ohio’s “Vax-a-Million” lottery. (6/4)

The New York Times: What The Covid Rookies Saw 
Iris had been a doctor for all of six days. Her long white coat still felt almost like a costume. Her patient had a severe case of Covid-19. She wanted to put him on the phone with his family, but first she had to ask him the essential question: Did he know how he wanted to die? In the hospital lexicon, this became: Did he want to get chest compressions if his heart stopped? Or a tube down his throat if he was struggling for breath? (Emma Goldberg, 6/4)

Newsweek: The American Rescue Plan Should Help Foster Youth Hurt By The Pandemic 
Most people spent the past year at home, working from the couch and doing meetings in pajamas. Kelvin Craig didn't have a home to go to. Couch surfing with random friends and begging for odd jobs like yard work to make money were the only options for Craig, a 23-year-old former foster kid with no family, education or job to turn to when the pandemic hit, who dropped out of technical school because he couldn't afford tuition or to pay student loans. Craig is not much different than the tens of thousands of young adults who have recently aged out of the foster care system across this country and been forced into homelessness because they do not have relationships with biological parents or other family. Every year, 20,000 young people age out of the foster care system, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources, and many join the more than 700,000 unaccompanied minors experiencing homelessness across the country. (Richard L. Jackson, 6/3)

The New York Times: Will Congress Abandon America’s Seniors? 
As negotiations grind on between the White House and Senate Republicans, the prospects for a big, bold infrastructure deal look bleak. President Biden’s $2 trillion American Jobs Plan — the first of a two-part package — is being picked apart by Republican lawmakers. They object to its price tag. They object to funding it by rolling back some of the 2017 tax cuts. And they vehemently object to the White House’s redefinition of infrastructure to encompass things like roads, ports, broadband, community colleges, electric-vehicle charging stations and elder care. Republicans have countered with a radically reduced plan stripped of provisions they do not consider infrastructure. Their biggest target for elimination: Mr. Biden’s call to invest $400 billion in community-based and in-home care for older and disabled people. Characterized as “infrastructure of care” by the White House, the provision accounts for nearly 20 percent of the total cost of the president’s plan. Republican lawmakers are having none of it. (Michelle Cottle, 6/4)