Washington Examiner: Fauci Says 'Full-Blown Pandemic Phase' Of COVID-19 Coming To End
Dr. Anthony Fauci has some good news: The United States is on its way to exiting the "full-blown" pandemic phase of COVID-19. Fauci, who is President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser, said the U.S. is heading in a positive direction due to vaccination rates, treatments, and prior infections making the virus more manageable as year three of the pandemic plays out. "As we get out of the full-blown pandemic phase of COVID-19, which we are certainly heading out of, these decisions will increasingly be made on a local level rather than centrally decided or mandated. There will also be more people making their own decisions on how they want to deal with the virus," Fauci said in a Financial Times interview published Tuesday. (Adcox, 2/8)

AP: Hospitals Begin To Limp Out Of The Latest COVID-19 Surge
As omicron numbers drop at Denver Health, Dr. Anuj Mehta is reminded of the scene in the 1980 comedy “The Blues Brothers” when John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd pile out of a battered car after a police chase. Suddenly, all the doors pop off the hinges, the front wheels fall off and smoke pours from the engine. “And that’s my fear,” said Mehta, a pulmonary and critical care physician. “I’m worried that as soon as we stop, everything’s just going to fall apart.” (Hollingsworth and Kolpack, 2/8)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Area Hospitals Reschedule Surgeries Delayed By COVID-19 As Omicron Wave Wanes
You might get word soon about a surgery you'd planned that was put on hold because of the latest wave of COVID-19 hospitalizations. Surgeries that were booked, then delayed because of hospital resources and staffing during the onslaught are beginning to be rescheduled in the Cincinnati area. Officials at some hospitals confirm that they're back to typical scheduling of procedures, or they're rescheduling surgeries that were put on hold in January. Others continue to evaluate surgeries on a case-by-case basis. The decision comes as cases in the region continue to fall. (Demio, 2/8)

But deaths are still mounting —

The Washington Post: Covid Deaths Highest In A Year As Omicron Targets The Unvaccinated And Elderly 
Though considered milder than other coronavirus variants, omicron has infected so many people that it has driven the number of daily deaths beyond where it was last spring, before vaccines were widely available, according to Washington Post data. Omicron has been particularly lethal to people over 75, the unvaccinated and the medically vulnerable, according to doctors and public health officials. The soaring death toll also illustrates why experts pleaded with the public to beware of the highly contagious variant even though it is less virulent than others. (Nirappil and Keating, 2/8)

San Francisco Chronicle: ‘Explosion Of People Dying’ Has Led To Huge Backlog Of Bodies At The Alameda County Coroner’s Office
Standing in the loading dock outside the Alameda County Coroner’s Bureau on a recent morning, Sgt. Erik Bordi took in a grim scene: five biohazard cans, two refrigeration containers stacked with human remains, a gurney ready to load in a truck. He pondered the day’s work ahead. More than 100 bodies sat in coolers at the bureau, and staff had 21 autopsies to perform by the end of the day. A growing backlog of bodies awaiting autopsies has reached a critical point in Alameda County, making it more difficult to close cases amid a sharp rise in COVID-19 deaths, a regional overdose crisis and surging homicides in Oakland. (Swan, 2/8)

Fox News: COVID-19 Pandemic Causes 'Broken Heart' Syndrome Cases To Surge: Researchers
Research has reportedly identified a spike in cases of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, or "broken heart syndrome," over the course of the coronavirus pandemic. Experts said the potentially fatal stress-induced heart condition is disproportionately affecting women. "I don't know how much we can really blame COVID, or how much of this is that we're just recognizing more of it," Dr. Noel Bairey Merz, director of the Barbra Streisand Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, told "Good Morning America" on Monday. "But, heart disease is the leading killer of women and all ages, including teenagers, midlife women and older women. This is just a component of that major killer. So, it's really something that needs to be addressed." (Musto, 2/8)

In related covid news —

NPR: Swamped By Omicron, Contact Tracing Is Forced To Adapt
With omicron, the sheer number of cases was completely unmanageable for contact tracing programs in many places. In Fulton County, Ga., chief epidemiologist Fazle Khan says, they have 130 people on their contact tracing team – as many as they've ever had. It still hasn't been enough. "We ended up – in Fulton County alone in this omicron surge – with more than 44,000 cases that have not been investigated," Khan says. In Maryland, during the omicron surge, "we really were only able to reach out to 11% or 12% of the cases," says Marcia Pearlowitz, chief of the Maryland Department of Health's contact tracing unit. Before omicron, they had reached 76% of residents on average, she says, even during previous surges. (Simmons-Duffin, 2/8)

CNBC: The Cost Of Long Covid: 'It's A Full-Time Job To Get Better'
After contracting Covid-19 in December 2020, Anne, a 61-year-old nurse in Boston, still doesn’t feel like her old self. She tires easily and has to meticulously record everything she has to do each day so she doesn’t forget. She’s more irritable than she used to be, and has trouble focusing for extended periods of time. Anne, who asked for her last name to be withheld to protect her privacy, is one of the estimated tens of millions of Americans with post-acute Covid syndrome, or long Covid, as it’s known colloquially. It exacts an often debilitating physical and mental toll on patients, and doctors and scientists are working tirelessly to find treatments for its myriad symptoms, such as brain fog and extreme fatigue. What’s less talked about are the financial costs patients incur from months of doctor visits, prescriptions, procedures, lost work, mental and physical therapy and more. (Adamczyk, 2/8)

Reuters: U.S. CDC Stands By K-12 School Masking Guidance As States Relax Rules
With COVID-19 cases still high nationwide, "now is not the moment" to drop mask mandates in schools and other public places, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told Reuters on Tuesday. Her comments follow announcements by officials in New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, California and Oregon that they plan to lift indoor mask mandates for K-12 public schools and other indoor spaces in coming weeks, seeking a return to normalcy as infections spurred by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus ebb. "I know people are interested in taking masks off. I too am interested. That would be one marker that we have much of the pandemic behind us," Walenksy said in an interview. (Steenhuysen and O'Donnell, 2/8)

NBC News: States Are Beginning To Lift Mask Mandates. CDC Data Suggest It's Too Early
According to data from the CDC, people in more than 3,200 counties — or 99 percent of the country — should be wearing masks regardless of their vaccination status. The CDC suggests wearing masks in places where the new case rate is higher than 50 cases per 100,000 or the testing positivity rate exceeds 8 percent. (Chiwaya, 2/8)

States, cities and counties weigh their options —

The New York Times: New York Is Lifting Mask Mandate, Too 
Gov. Kathy Hochul will drop New York’s stringent indoor mask mandate on Wednesday, ending a requirement that businesses ask customers for proof of full vaccination or require mask-wearing at all times, and marking a turning point in the state’s coronavirus response, according to three people briefed on her decision. The decision will eliminate a rule that prompted legal and interpersonal clashes over mask wearing, especially in conservative parts of New York. It was set to expire on Thursday and would have required renewing. (Ferre-Sadurni and Paybarah, 2/9)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Keeps Mask Mandate Even As O.C., Others Drop It
Los Angeles County is probably weeks away from lifting its indoor mask mandate, and at the latest could ease the order by the end of April — unless a new coronavirus variant poses a threat. There are two triggers that could result in L.A. County easing its indoor mask mandate, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer announced Tuesday. The first is the county entering a “moderate” rate of transmission, in which cases fall below 730 a day for two consecutive weeks, Ferrer said. (Lin II and Money, 2/8)

Bay Area News Group: Santa Clara County Won't Be Loosening Mask Rules Just Yet
Santa Clara County won’t be making any changes to its mask rules for now, despite a decision Monday by the state to loosen its order. During a Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, Public Health Director Dr. Sara Cody said that her office was still reviewing figures before they change any policies. “As you know, we are always seeking to do what we can to be the most protective but also flexible,” said Cody during Tuesday’s meeting in response to a question from Board President Mike Wasserman. “We are looking at our data and where we are in the omicron wave and just going through the process that we usually do and don’t have a decision to share from this point.” (Greschler and Mukherjee, 2/8)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ben Weston Says It's Time To Talk About Ending COVID-19 Mask Mandates
As COVID-19 metrics continue to decline both nationally and locally, Milwaukee officials believe now is the time to begin discussing school mask mandates and the citywide mask mandate currently active. "Certainly I think it's time to start having these discussions. It may not be time to drop the masking requirements, but it's time to start the discussions," said Ben Weston, chief health policy advisor for Milwaukee County, during Tuesday's COVID-19 media briefing. (Bentley, 2/8)

In related news about mask mandates —

NBC News: Mask Mandates: Will A Mask Protect Me Even If No One Else Is Wearing One?
Though most health experts agree universal masking, along with vaccinations, remains the best public health strategy against the spread of the virus, people can still benefit from wearing a mask even if no one else around them is. ... However, since the omicron variant is so contagious and it is still spreading so widely in the U.S., the protection from the mask may be a bit less, regardless of one's vaccination status, said Cheryl Healton, dean of the New York University School of Global Public Health. (Lovelace Jr., 2/8)

CBS News: PPE Litter Unmasked: Mandates Increase Mask Litter, Hurt Environment, Study Shows 
While federal mask mandates during the coronavirus pandemic were designed to protect the public and reduce the spread of COVID-19, they had another unintended outcome, too: all those used masks piling up as litter. That's according to a new research study published in the online monthly journal Nature Sustainability. Mask litter was nearly nonexistent before the COVID-19 pandemic ushered in universal masking for everyone, and not just among medical, construction or other professionals. "As soon as masks were recommended or mandates came out, mask litter started to appear," said Keiron Roberts, a professor of sustainability at the University of Portsmouth in England and lead author of the study. (Cerullo, 2/8)

CBS News: Governors Roll Back School Mask Mandates As COVID Cases Decline, But Some Parents Worry
Several Democratic governors have announced that they are ending their states' school mask mandates. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced Monday he plans to end a statewide mask requirement in schools and child care centers effective March 7. From the first week of January to the last week of the month, new student COVID cases in New Jersey dropped by nearly 80% and new staff cases were down by more than 83%. "We're not going to manage COVID to zero. We have to learn how to live with COVID," Murphy said. (2/9)

NBC News: Teachers Unions Call For Decisions About Masks In Schools To Be Guided In Science
As more states plan to lift mask mandates in schools, several teachers unions said they are not opposed to the idea of children being unmasked in classrooms but want to ensure those decisions are based on science. The governors of New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware and Oregon announced plans Monday to remove statewide mask mandates in schools by the end of February or the end of March as the surge of the omicron variant of the coronavirus is declining after record-breaking numbers of new cases around the country disrupted in-person learning and worsened staffing shortages. (Silva and Chow, 2/8)

USA Today: School Mask Mandates Ending As States Lift Rules Amid Omicron Decline
Fatigue and frustration are setting in two years into the U.S. coronavirus outbreak, and a growing chorus of doctors, parents and state officials are calling for an end to school mask mandates. The issue has long divided Americans across the nation, spurring intense debates and demonstrations at school board meetings, propelling legal battles and emerging as a focal point of state elections. But a national conversation around an "offramp" to masking in schools has accelerated in recent days. As the omicron wave recedes, multiple states have taken action to phase out statewide school mask mandates, and a number of high-profile medical professionals have changed their tunes on the matter. (Hauck, 2/8)

The New York Times: With Mask Restrictions Set To Lift, A Haze Of Uncertainty Lingers 
As the Omicron surge begins to recede in many regions of the country, the governors of New Jersey, Connecticut and Delaware have announced that they will lift school mask mandates in the coming weeks. But the move to loosen these politically charged restrictions has divided scientists and public health experts. Some cheered the change. (Anthes, 2/8)

Fox News: Loudoun County Parents And Children Serve Affidavits To School Board Calling For Them To End Mask Mandate
Parents and children at a school board meeting in Loudoun County, Virginia, served affidavits to board officials on Tuesday evening, calling on them to cease and desist the school district's mask mandate for students and staff. Megan Rafalski, a parent of a student in Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS), said that 65 parents and concerned citizens signed the affidavits. "We're parents who want to be parents and look after our children," Rafalski told Fox News Digital. "We've tried to talk to them, they will not listen, so it’s essentially a list of demands, a list of grievances." (Best, 2/9)

The New York Times: J.&J. Pauses Production Of Its Covid Vaccine Despite Persistent Need 
Johnson & Johnson’s easy-to-deliver Covid-19 shot is the vaccine of choice for much of the developing world. Yet the American company, which has already fallen far behind on its deliveries to poorer countries, late last year quietly shut down the only plant making usable batches of the vaccine, according to people familiar with the decision. The facility, in the Dutch city of Leiden, has instead been making an experimental but potentially more profitable vaccine to protect against an unrelated virus. (Robbins, Nolen, LaFraniere and Weiland, 2/8)

And in news from Novavax —

Reuters: Novavax Underdelivers On COVID Vaccine Promises
Novavax Inc has delivered just a small fraction of the 2 billion COVID-19 shots it plans to send around the world in 2022 and has delayed first-quarter shipments in Europe and lower income countries such as the Philippines, public officials involved in their government's vaccine rollouts told Reuters. (O'donnell, Guarascio and Morales, 2/8)

In other news about the vaccine rollout —

The Washington Post: Hogan Launches $2 Million Lottery To Encourage Booster Shots
Maryland residents who get a booster shot could win up to $1 million in a lottery that Gov. Larry Hogan announced Tuesday in an effort to sway more people to get another dose. Hogan (R) noted state data that shows people without booster shots are twice as likely to test positive and three times as likely to become hospitalized or die compared with people who received booster shots, conclusions that line up with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studies. A little more than half of Maryland adults have already received booster shots, but Hogan said that’s insufficient given how immunity wanes over time. (Cox, 2/8)

Philadelphia Inquirer: COVID Vaccines For Kids Under 5 Brings Logistical Challenges To Philadelphia, Pa., N.J.
With children under 5 likely to be cleared for the coronavirus vaccine in the coming weeks, local officials are making plans for how the vaccine will be distributed to babies and toddlers — but the rollout will pose extra logistical hurdles, including the need for more doctors to enroll as vaccine providers. Pharmacies, which have been a major part of the vaccine distribution process, can only vaccinate kids 3 and up under federal rules. But many doctors, who immunize babies and toddlers against other illnesses, aren’t signed up to administer the COVID-19 vaccine. (McDaniel and McCarthy, 2/8)

Axios: Many Parents Aren't Rushing To Get COVID Vaccines For Young Children 
Pfizer and federal officials are scrambling to speed up COVID vaccines for kids under 5 — but polls indicate plenty of parents may be on the fence about getting their child vaccinated right away. Officials are trying to get first shots into the littlest arms to protect against severe disease and hospitalization — which, while rare for young kids, is still a real threat. But parents of younger children are generally more cautious, which for some could mean a race to get the shots once their kids are eligible while others choose to wait. (Reed, 2/9)

Also —

CIDRAP: Babies Born To COVID-Vaccinated Moms Have Antibodies At 6 Months
A small Massachusetts General Hospital–based study in JAMA shows more lasting antibodies in infants after COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy, compared with infants whose mothers had natural COVID-19 infections during pregnancy but were not vaccinated. The study looked at 77 vaccinated pregnant mothers, and 12 who had symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy; all vaccination series with mRNA vaccines were completed between weeks 20 and 32 in pregnancy. The babies of vaccinated women had significantly higher immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies in both umbilical cord blood at delivery, and at blood draws at 2 and 6 months postpartum. (2/8)

The Hill: Air Force Gives 9 Religious Exemption For Vaccine Mandate 
The Air Force on Tuesday said it has granted nine service members religious exemptions to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, making it the second military service to say it has approved such accommodations. Eight of the exemptions were granted after being requested, the Air Force said in its weekly COVID-19 update. One exemption was granted on appeal, meaning that it was originally turned down. (Williams, 2/8)

Hawaii may soon lift travel restrictions —

The Washington Post: Hawaii In Talks To Drop Covid Travel Restrictions By Spring 
Hawaii’s strict travel program for domestic visitors may be a piece of pandemic history by the spring, the state’s lieutenant governor said Tuesday. Lt. Gov. Josh Green (D) said in a phone interview that discussions are ongoing about eliminating all restrictions on travel in the coming months — barring any more covid surges. (Sampson, 2/8)

AP: Hawaii Will Not Require Booster Shots For Travel To Islands
Hawaii Gov. David Ige said Tuesday he will not mandate booster shots for travelers coming to the islands, an idea he said last week he was still considering. “In making this decision, we considered declining COVID-19 case counts in Hawaii, the continental U.S. and Europe,“ Ige said in a statement. ”Hospitalizations have also dropped.” (2/8)

In other news about vaccine mandates —

Las Vegas Review-Journal: 76% Of Nevada College Students Got Vaccinated Before Mandate Expired
Three-fourths of students in Nevada’s public colleges and universities were vaccinated against COVID-19 before an emergency mandate requiring inoculation expired in December. In a Feb. 1 memo to the state Department of Health and Human Services, which the Las Vegas Review-Journal obtained through a public records request, the Nevada System of Higher Education provided a breakdown of student vaccination rates by campus. About 76 percent of NSHE students systemwide — 69,342 of 90,952 — were vaccinated before Dec. 21. (Wootton-Greener, 2/8)

The Boston Globe: Wu: Boston Will Wind Down Proof-Of-Vaccine Rules As COVID Numbers Improve
If COVID-19 hospitalizations and case numbers continue to dip, Boston could soon end the rule that requires customers at eat-in restaurants and some other businesses to show proof of vaccination, Mayor Michelle Wu said Tuesday. A little more than three weeks since the controversial mandate went into place, Wu said the city is seeing case numbers rapidly improve. And she laid out three benchmarks the city will use to determine when it might lift the rules that currently cover restaurants, bars, gyms, clubs, and theaters. (Andersen and Kohli, 2/8)

AP: South Dakota GOP Senators Back Noem's Vaccine Exemption Bill 
A proposal from South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to allow employees to gain exemptions from their employer’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates gained the support of Republicans on a Senate committee Tuesday, clearing a crucial legislative hurdle. All eight Republican senators on the Senate Commerce and Energy committee voted in favor of the bill after an aide of the Republican governor cast the proposal as a “reasonable solution” that sought a middle ground between doctors urging vaccines and groups opposed to mandates altogether. (Groves, 2/8)

Los Angeles Times: Motion Would Remove Sheriff's Vaccine Mandate Enforcement Powers
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday moved to take COVID-19 vaccine mandate enforcement responsibilities away from Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who has repeatedly said he would not fire deputies who refuse to get vaccinated. “Unfortunately, the Sheriff’s Department is the only department in the county that’s refused to implement this policy,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn, who supported the proposal to change civil service rules to give the enforcement authority to the county’s personnel director. “I think we were left with no other choice.” (Tchekmedyian, 2/8)

Also —

AP: Florida's Top Doctor Refuses To Say If He's Vaccinated
Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo on Tuesday declined to disclose whether he has received a coronavirus vaccine during a contentious confirmation hearing where Democrats pressed the state’s top doctor to promote the shots. Ladapo, appointed in September by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, has attracted national scrutiny over his close alignment with the governor in opposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other health policies embraced by the federal government. (Izaguirre, 2/9)

Miami Herald: Unvaccinated Oral Surgeon Sues After Medical Practice Banned
An unvaccinated oral surgeon has filed a lawsuit in Rhode Island after his medical practice, which saw over 800 patients each month, was shut down over him not getting a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the New Civil Liberties Alliance. (Marnin, 2/7)

KHN: Polio, Chickenpox, Measles, Now Covid. It’s Time To Consult History On School Vaccine Mandates 
The rapid spread of omicron across the nation — and the finding that vaccines continue to provide strong protection against severe disease — brings covid-19 one step closer, perhaps, to truly earning its place on the list of diseases that have been tamed by vaccines. These include polio, measles, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox, all of which most kids must generally be vaccinated against before they enter school or day care. Some states have announced covid vaccine requirements for certain students. But not everyone agrees that vaccine mandates for children are the way forward. Sen. Rand Paul, who has opposed vaccine mandates, called omicron “nature’s vaccine.” Seventeen mostly Republican-led states have proactively banned, in some form, covid vaccine requirements for students. Resistance to adopt mandates has profound repercussions, especially as vaccination rates among kids ages 5 to 11 remain alarmingly low — under 15% in some states — even though children 5 and over have been eligible for shots since last fall. (Rosenthal, 2/9)

NPR: Community Groups Receive Federal Funding For Vaccine Outreach
In this politically polarized time, White House health officials have acknowledged that they are not always the best messengers when it comes to promoting COVID-19 vaccines. So the Biden administration has worked to equip community groups to do their own local outreach. On Tuesday, the Health Resources and Services Administration is distributing $66.5 million to community groups working in 38 states and in Washington, D.C. This is the fourth round of the $250 million in funding allocated in the American Rescue Plan. (Simmons-Duffin, 2/8)

In more news from the Biden administration —

Modern Healthcare: HHS Running Out Of Money To Pay Providers For Treating Uninsured COVID-19 Patients
The Provider Relief Fund has paid out more than $17 billion to providers treating, testing and vaccinating the uninsured throughout the pandemic. The Health and Human Services Department program has been a lifeline for providers, especially in states such as Texas and Florida with high rates of people who don't have health coverage. But there's only $7.6 billion left and the money will run out in the coming months, an HHS spokesperson said. Congress isn't currently considering making more funding available, meaning providers and patients are likely to soon have to bear the costs themselves. (Hellmann, 2/8)

Axios: Scoop: Top NSC Global Health Official To Depart White House 
Beth Cameron, the National Security Council's senior director for global health security and biodefense, will be leaving her position this spring, Axios has learned. Cameron joined the Biden administration to help re-establish the Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense, which former Trump national security adviser John Bolton had folded into another office as part of an effort to streamline the NSC. Cameron played an early role in shaping White House policy for what President Biden had deemed his No. 1 priority on the campaign trail: defeating the pandemic. (Basu, 2/8)

And in other news from Washington, D.C., about Republican health care policies —

The Washington Post: Heritage Foundation, Former Powerhouse Of GOP Policy, Adjusts In Face Of New Competition From Trump Allies 
The Heritage Foundation has long shaped mainstream Republican policy in Washington. It drafted much of Ronald Reagan’s agenda to slash federal spending and launched a ferocious campaign to repeal Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. But in recent months, the venerable think tank in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol has revamped its leadership after its former president, Kay Coles James, was subject to a torrent of criticism from a prominent conservative cable host. Heritage replaced James with a Texas firebrand more determined to fight pandemic restrictions, critical race theory in schools, and “teaching transgenderism to kindergartners,” bending the institution toward issues that have resonated with former president Donald Trump and his allies. (Stein and Torbati, 2/7)

CBS News: Chinese Scientists Say They've Developed A New, Highly Accurate COVID Test That Gives Results In 4 Minutes 
Chinese scientists say they have developed a new coronavirus test that is as accurate as a PCR lab test but gives results within four minutes. ... In a peer-reviewed article published Monday in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering, the team said their sensor — which uses microelectronics to analyze genetic material from swabs — is quick and accurate at spotting SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. (2/8)

In updates on covid treatments —

AP: Oklahoma AG OKs Prescribing Ivermectin, Hydroxychloroquine 
Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor said Tuesday his office has found no legal basis for medical boards to discipline doctors for prescribing ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved ivermectin for use by people and animals for some parasitic worms, head lice and skin conditions. However, the FDA has not approved its use to treat or prevent COVID-19 in humans. Also, no scientific studies have found the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine effective in preventing or treating COVID-19. (2/9)

AP: Anti-Vax, Pro-Ivermectin Measures Advance In Kansas Senate 
Fellow Republican conservatives rallied Tuesday behind a Kansas physician-legislator who’s under investigation by the state medical board, advancing his measures to protect doctors pursuing potentially dangerous treatments for COVID-19 and to weaken childhood vaccination requirements. (Hanna, 2/8)

Stateline: Lifesaving COVID Medications Can Be Hard To Come By
In a departure from usual practice, federal and state governments are handing out the scarce therapeutic drugs that treat COVID-19, deciding where they will go and in what amounts. Typically, pharmacies or health care facilities order what they need directly from drug manufacturers. But two possibly lifesaving monoclonal antibody treatments and two antiviral oral pills have been in short supply during the omicron-fueled surge, prompting a different approach. Early in the pandemic, states competed for the limited supply of ventilators, personal protective equipment and tests in a chaotic free-for-all. To avoid a repeat, the federal government is buying millions of doses of the COVID-19 therapeutic medications and allocating those to states, which in turn distribute them to pharmacies or hospitals. (Ollove, 2/8)

Axios: Pfizer's COVID-19 Vaccine Becomes Highest-Selling Drug Ever 
Pfizer registered $36.8 billion of sales in 2021 from the COVID-19 vaccine it makes with BioNTech. This vaccine is now officially the top-selling pharmaceutical product ever in a single year, by a huge margin. Humira is the next highest, with $20.7 billion reported in 2021 as the next highest in a single year. Pfizer expects the vaccine will generate $32 billion of sales this year, and the company's antiviral COVID pill, called Paxlovid, will create $22 billion of revenue. (Herman, 2/8)

In other pharmaceutical industry news —

Stat: A Mother, Shaped By Loss, Embarks On Mission To Advance Custom Drugs
For weeks, Julia Vitarello avoided the room in her home. The fairy curtains she sewed. The sheets. The quiet. But one day, she placed her desk by the window. There, she began spending long hours on a single-minded mission: advancing custom medicines — and sparing others the pain her family has endured. Four years ago, Vitarello’s daughter, Mila, was given a drug created just for her, the first time a medicine was specifically tailored to one patient’s genetic disease. The drug, called milasen, halted her rapidly progressing condition and later improved her quality of life. But the disease, already in an advanced stage, eventually resumed its assault. Mila died Feb. 11, 2021, at 10 years old. (Whitlock, 2/9)

AP: Ex-Sales Rep At Firm Linked To Meningitis Outbreak Sentenced 
The former national sales director for a now-defunct Massachusetts pharmaceutical facility responsible for a deadly fungal meningitis outbreak was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Boston in connection with conspiring to defraud the Food and Drug Administration. Prosecutors said the New England Compounding Center fraudulently presented itself as a pharmacy dispensing drugs made to physician-created prescriptions, when it actually operated as a manufacturer distributing drugs in bulk. Compounding centers mix customized medications for patients at their required strengths and dosages. (2/9)

Stat: An FDA Regulator Is Unapologetic Over About-Face On Chinese Cancer Drugs
Richard Pazdur, one of the most powerful regulators at the Food and Drug Administration, flung open the door to Chinese cancer drugs a few years back. But now, Pazdur is closing that door — a reversal that has implications for Chinese drugmakers and their U.S. partners. Writing in Lancet Oncology late last week, Pazdur described imported cancer drug data from China as a “bridge over troubled waters” before raising a host of concerns about the prospect of using them as the basis for regulatory approval. The views he expressed were a marked contrast to earlier remarks in which he seemed to embrace the idea of the FDA giving the green light to cancer drugs developed in China. (Feuerstein, 2/8)

Houston Chronicle: Startup Aims To Make It Easier To Compare Prices For Medical Procedures
Will patients be able to shop around for an MRI or colonoscopy like they do for hotels on sites such as Kayak or Orbitz? The founders of Turquoise Health, a price comparison site for medical services, say yes. The start-up launched in December 2020, and now has 4,000 health care providers including hospitals and other providers such as imaging centers, across the country in its database, including 320 in Texas. There are about 6,000 hospitals in the U.S., according to the American Hospital Association, and 650 hospitals in Texas, according to the state. (Carballo, 2/8)

And more on billing —

Modern Healthcare: What Highmark's Disclosure Reveals About Fraudulent Billing Claims
Health insurer Highmark Health said it saved over $245 million last year by rooting out fraud, waste and abuse, a disclosure that quickly riled up doctors. The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association requires that its 35 member companies have such programs to detect improper claims, but it doesn't release aggregate results publicly. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Highmark said it wants to be open about the savings its program is generating, which total almost $1 billion since 2017. (Bannow, 2/8)

In other news about Medicare and Medicaid services —

Modern Healthcare: Caravan Health Grows Medicare Shared Savings Program Presence
Caravan Health is adding four accountable care organizations and 25 health systems to its Medicare Shared Savings Program business, the consulting firm announced Monday. Caravan Health agreed to absorb health systems' losses if their costs exceed projections. Typically, providers only pay Caravan when they earn shared savings. ACOs and physicians working with Caravan Health have earned more than $235 million in shared savings and saved Medicare $476 million since 2014, according to the company. All of its ACO participants collected shared savings from 2019 through 2021, the company said. (Devereaux, 2/8)

Modern Healthcare: Proposed Pay Bump For Medicare Advantage Could Keep Market Strong
Medicare Advantage plans expect a booming 2023, thanks in part to high projected revenue growth. But some Medicare watchers say the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services missed an opportunity to even out payments to the plans, which they say are overpaid relative to fee-for-service Medicare. CMS' advance notice on its 2023 MA payment policies projected a 7.98% average increase in revenue for MA plans next year. The final policy is expected by April 4. (Goldman, 2/8)

Health News Florida: Dentists And Hospitals Are Wary Of Lawmakers' Proposed Medicaid Changes 
Florida House members Monday backed a proposal that would revamp the managed care system that serves about 4 million Medicaid beneficiaries, but key parts of the plan are fueling opposition from dentists and hospitals. Lawmakers are considering changes as the state Agency for Health Care Administration prepares to move forward with a process to award a new round of contracts worth billions of dollars to HMOs and other managed-care plans. Perhaps the most controversial part of the House proposal (HB 7047), which was approved Monday by the House Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee, centers on how dental services would be provided to Medicaid beneficiaries. (Saunders, 2/8)

KHN: ‘Somebody Is Gonna Die’: Medi-Cal Patients Struggle To Fill Prescriptions
A month into its debut, California’s new Medicaid prescription drug program is riddled with problems, leaving thousands of patients without medications — often after languishing on hold for up to eight hours on call center phone lines. On Jan. 1, the state handed control of its Medicaid drug program, known as Medi-Cal Rx, to Magellan Health, which is administering prescription drug coverage for California’s 14 million Medicaid patients, most of whom previously got their medications from about two dozen managed-care plans. But Magellan has tripped up implementation. (Young, 2/9)

Stat: Amazon Care Announces Nationwide Expansion Of Health Clinics
Amazon said Tuesday it will open brick-and-mortar health clinics in 20 U.S. cities this year, including New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Miami. The new clinics will be part of the expansion of Amazon Care, the tech giant’s effort to deliver more timely and effective medical care by combining virtual and in-person care options. The company announced plans last year for a nationwide expansion of its virtual offerings. The new clinics will add to its in-person care options currently available in eight other cities from Boston to Dallas. In a press release announcing its plans, Amazon said the Covid-19 pandemic has underscored the need for more flexible approaches to delivering medical services when and where patients need them. (Ross, 2/8)

Bloomberg: Amazon To Bring Medical Services To 20 More U.S. Cities This Year
Amazon.com Inc. says its medical consultation service is expanding around the U.S., underscoring the company’s determination to become a major player in the health care industry. Amazon Care offers virtual health services nationwide and this year will expand in-person care to 20 more cities, including New York, San Francisco, Miami and Chicago, Amazon said Tuesday in a statement. (2/8)

On race and health care —

Axios: Black Women Face Structural Racism In Health Care Jobs 
Black women are more widely represented in health care than any other demographic group, yet they're concentrated in its lowest-wage and most hazardous jobs, according to a study published yesterday in Health Affairs. The study was among several examining racism and health in Health Affairs released Monday in the medical journal's first issue devoted entirely to the topic. The study, led by the University of Minnesota, used data from the American Community Survey and found that while Black women make up about 7% of the U.S. labor force, they make up nearly 14% of the health care workforce. (Reed, 2/8)

Modern Healthcare: Women Of Color Make Up Growing Share Of Direct Care Workforce
In 10 years, women of color went from representing 45% of the direct care workforce to 53%, according to new data from consulting firm PHI. The sector added 1 million women of color to the payroll from 2009 to 2019, the data show. Overall, 87% of direct care employees are women and 61% are people of color, PHI said. Direct care jobs—positions like personal care aides, home health aides and nursing assistants—are often hard to fill because they are low-wage jobs with little room for career advancement, PHI analysts said. PHI's research estimates that long-term care employers will have a need for 7.4 million workers from 2019 to 2029, including 1.3 million new jobs. (Christ, 2/8)

In other health care industry developments —

Anchorage Daily News: Report: Problems Continue To Plague Alaska Psychiatric Institute
Alaska’s only state-run psychiatric institute has failed to meet federal regulations by inconsistently creating and updating treatment plans and not providing active treatment for some patients, the state ombudsman found in a report released Tuesday. The report found that some of the problems that have plagued the Alaska Psychiatric Institute for years – including treatment options that do not meet federal standards and an unsafe working environment – were not resolved as of last year, despite previous promises by the Anchorage facility to improve conditions. (Samuels, 2/8)

Modern Healthcare: Anthem Expands Digital Health Partnerships 
Anthem expanded its virtual primary care services to 11 new states on Tuesday, cementing its strategy of using tech to empower independent practitioners, rather than acquiring physician practices downright. In the coming months, the insurer aims to expand its digital health services–which offer more than 2 million commercially insured members virtual primary care–across its entire geographic footprint. Anthem, which manages Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in 14 states, embeds these digital services into its existing insurance products for fully insured and self-insured members. The company aims to cover 10 million self-insured lives through its digital primary care services by the end of the year. (Tepper, 2/8)

Houston Chronicle: Houston's Dr. Peter Hotez Honored By American Medical Association For COVID Work
Dr. Peter Hotez has been awarded the American Medical Association's 2022 Scientific Achievement Award. Hotez — dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and co-director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children’s Hospital — has worked for years in neglected tropical diseases and vaccine development. His work has pushed him to international renown for his commentary on COVID-19 over the past two years. (Dansby, 2/8)

KHN: The Doctor Will See You Now — In The Hallway 
Nurse Heather Gatchet’s shift in the emergency department at Salem Health’s Salem Hospital in Oregon typically starts at 6 a.m. Before that, she packs her daughter’s lunch, drinks tea, and — to stave off her panic — calls her mom on the way to work. “My mom’s like my cup of coffee,” Gatchet said, her voice breaking, “to mentally psych myself up for what I’m walking into.” Gatchet’s mother reminds her she is good at what she does and she’s loved. After she walks in and sees her colleagues in the break room, Gatchet said, her panic lifts: “This is my team, and it feels safe again.” (Templeton, 2/9)

The Washington Post: Vermont Moves Forward On Becoming First State To Guarantee The Right To Abortion With A Constitutional Amendment 
Vermont lawmakers voted Tuesday to move forward on a constitutional amendment that would guarantee the right to abortion and contraception, the first amendment of its kind in the United States. The Vermont House voted 107 to 41 for the proposed amendment, known as Proposition 5. It now heads to Gov. Phil Scott (R), who has signaled his support for the measure and is required to give public notice before it appears on the ballot in November. Voters in Vermont, where 70 percent of people say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, are expected to approve it. (Kitchener, 2/8)

In updates on abortion rights in Missouri and Wisconsin —

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Missouri Supreme Court Finds Ashcroft Abortion Maneuver Unconstitutional
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft used an unconstitutional set of laws to derail a 2019 effort to roll back newly approved abortion restrictions, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. In a 5-2 decision, the judges said Ashcroft used the laws to shorten the time frame needed to collect signatures required for a ballot initiative sought by opponents of the restrictive abortion law. (Erickson, 2/8)

AP: Wisconsin GOP Looks To Block Abortions If Heartbeat Detected
Wisconsin Republicans have introduced a bill that would prohibit abortions in the state if a fetal heartbeat is detected. The bill would prohibit anyone from performing or attempting to perform an abortion if a fetal heartbeat is present unless the pregnant woman’s life is in danger or she could suffer irreversible physical problems from the pregnancy. If a provider detects a heartbeat the pregnant woman would be required to listen to it. (Richmond, 2/8)

In related news about abortion —

AP: Appeals Court Rules In Biden’s Favor On Abortion Referrals
Federally funded family planning clinics can continue to make abortion referrals for now, a federal court ruled Tuesday, in a setback for a dozen Republican attorneys general who have sued to restore a Trump-era ban on the practice. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati denied a request by the 12 states to pause rules for the federal government’s family planning program while their case is heard. The states were eager to stop implementation before the next round of federal grants starts rolling out in March. (Carr Smyth, 2/9)

Reuters: Abortion Clinics In Liberal U.S. States Expand, Brace For More Patients 
Abortion providers in liberal states are expanding clinics, training more staff and boosting travel assistance to prepare for an influx of patients from conservative states if the U.S. Supreme Court ends the constitutional right to the procedure. Planned Parenthood is enlarging several clinics in California and has purchased land to build a bigger clinic in Reno, Nevada. In Illinois, abortion providers have set up a logistics center to help make medical care arrangements for women from states where abortion is expected to be restricted. (Bernstein, 2/8)

ABC News: Pandemic's Impact On Youth Mental Health 'Devastating': Surgeon General 
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy told lawmakers on Tuesday that the pandemic has had a "devastating" impact on the mental health of America's young people. "I'm deeply concerned as a parent and as a doctor that the obstacles this generation of young people face are unprecedented and uniquely hard to navigate and the impact that's having on their mental health is devastating," Murthy told the Senate Finance Committee. (Livingston, 2/8)

In other news about mental health —

Bloomberg: Wall Street Firms Join Mental-Health Program Amid Burnout Woes
Deutsche Bank AG and UBS Group AG are among six financial firms working with a New York-based nonprofit on an initiative to reduce stigma around mental-health challenges in an industry known for its demanding culture. The other firms are CVC Advisers, Mizuho Financial Group Inc., Riverside Co. and Varde Partners. They will all participate in the year-long program with NAMI-NYC, the local affiliate for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the nonprofit said Tuesday in a statement. (Reyes, 2/8)

And more public health news —

The Washington Post: ‘Dangerously Hot Conditions’ Prompt Rare February Heat Alert In Los Angeles
We may be in the heart of winter, but that isn’t stopping the atmosphere from cooking up some extreme heat for parts of the West Coast. Multiple National Weather Service offices in California have opted to issue excessive heat watches ahead of climbing temperatures beginning Wednesday, an unusual measure that may be a first of its kind for February. The Weather Service warns of “dangerously hot conditions with temperatures up to 90 degrees possible,” noting that visitors from other states unaccustomed to the toasty weather may be at a greater risk for heat-related illnesses. The Super Bowl is Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the Cincinnati Bengals facing the Los Angeles Rams. (Cappucci and Feuerstein, 2/8)

USA Today: Sleeping More Can Help With Weight Loss, New Study Finds
A research study published in peer-reviewed JAMA Internal Medicine has found that increasing the number of hours you sleep could help you reduce your weight by cutting your calorie intake. The 80 participants selected for the study had to fit a few criteria. They had to be 21 to 40 years old and get less than 6½ hours of sleep a night. They also had to have a body mass index of 25 to 29.9. Body mass index is the calculation of weight in kilograms divided by height, and the range specified for the study is typically classified as overweight. (Shen, 2/8)

Fox News: Extending Sleep Can Help With Weight Loss In Adults: Study
Increasing the number of hours of sleep could help adults to lose weight, according to researchers. In a study published Monday in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, a team from the University of Chicago and the University of Wisconsin–Madison conducted a randomized clinical trial among 80 adults with overweight and habitual sleep of less than 6.5 hours a night. The participants were between 21 and 40 years old and had a body mass index of 25 to 29.9, which is typically classified as overweight. (Musto, 2/8)

CBS News: Male Enhancement Pill Sold Nationwide On Amazon Is Recalled 
Certain boxes of The Red Pill — male sexual enhancement capsules sold nationwide on Amazon — are being recalled because they may contain a hidden ingredient: an unapproved drug for treatment of male erectile dysfunction. (Gibson, 2/8)

Stat: Researchers Use Ultrasound To Precisely Activate Brain Cells In Mice 
What if you could turn any neuron in the brain on or off whenever you wanted, and for however long you wanted? Researchers say that precise, targeted control of the brain’s circuits could be the key to treating everything from epilepsy to Parkinson’s disease to depression. And they’re already using a variety of tools to work toward that goal, from light to electricity to magnets. Some of these approaches are already being used in patients. A new study from scientists at the Salk Institute suggests there’s another way to stimulate neurons that would be less invasive than current methods while reaching regions deep within the brain — ultrasound. (Wosen, 2/9)

Bloomberg: White House Blasts Florida Bill Limiting LGBTQ Topics In Schools
President Joe Biden’s White House sharply criticized an effort in Florida’s Republican-controlled legislature to limit discussions of gender and sexual identity in schools, saying the bill threatens to exacerbate high rates of mental health struggles among gay and transgender children. The bill, which passed the state Senate’s education committee in a 6-3 vote Tuesday, tells school districts they can’t “encourage classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels” or in a way that is not deemed “age-appropriate.” (Levin and Epstein, 2/8)

In other news from across the U.S. —

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Receives $600,000 To Test For "Forever Chemicals" In Drinking Water
Local governments will soon have access to federal funding for testing public water supplies for "forever chemicals." Gov. Tony Evers announced late Tuesday $600,000 in funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for sampling drinking water supplies for PFAS. Sampling will be voluntary, according to the statement, but communities who take the opportunity to test their water systems "will have data to know they are providing safe water to their residents." (Schulte, 2/8)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Recreational Marijuana For Pennsylvania Considered In Hearing
A Republican-controlled Pennsylvania Senate committee on Monday held what was billed as the first of a series of hearings on the potential legalization of recreational marijuana use for adults. During the two-hour Law and Justice Committee hearing in Harrisburg, lawmakers and panelists wrestled with questions about whether legalization would stamp out the black market, make marijuana safer from deadly contaminants, or do anything to prevent users from dipping joints in embalming fluid to get an extra high. Among the main concerns was also how police will enforce laws against driving under the influence. (Brubaker, 2/8)

North Carolina Health News: American Indians Look For Ways To Stop Overdose Deaths 
In September 2018, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) made it onto a list they probably would have preferred to avoid. The Office of National Drug Control Policy identified the Qualla Boundary, the Eastern Band’s 56,000-acre homeland just south of Smoky Mountains National Park, as one of 10 “high intensity drug trafficking areas” in the country. Following a two-year undercover investigation targeting drug traffickers, federal, state and local law enforcement authorities raided the Boundary, arrested 132 people and seized an array of illegal drugs valued at $1.8 million, including heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine, oxycodone and marijuana. The operation was touted as a huge success and a possible turning point in the scourge that had plagued the community. (Newsome, 2/9)

And in news related to postpartum depression and Munchausen syndrome by proxy —

The Washington Post: Coast Guard Mother Convicted In Infant Daughter’s Crib Death
A Coast Guard petty officer was sentenced Tuesday to six years in prison for the death of her 5-month-old daughter at a small island outpost in Alaska, in a case that centered on the young mother’s mental health and postpartum depression. Katie Richard, 25, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter last week after a trial lasting nearly a month at a Coast Guard facility here. The eight-person jury determined there was insufficient evidence to substantiate first-degree murder charges or alleged obstruction of justice tied to the suspected deletion of phone records during the criminal investigation. (Seck, 2/8)

AP: Colorado Mom Who Abused 7-Year-Old To Death Faces Sentencing
In late summer 2017, Olivia Gant cheerfully sang Hakuna Matata from “The Lion King” as she was wheeled into hospice care in Denver wearing purple pajamas. “It means no worries for the rest of your days,” she sang. The 7-year-old died less than a month later. The video put out by her mother Kelly Turner is one of many clips highlighting the little girl’s battle with disease and death, which authorities say was used by her mother to dupe doctors and call for favors and donations to help ease her daughter’s pain. Authorities say Turner spent years fabricating her daughter’s illness, gaining sympathy from television news stories and charitable foundations like Make-A-Wish, which even threw a “bat princess” costume party for Olivia at a hotel that cost $11,000. (Nieberg, 2/9)

The New York Times: The World Surpasses 400 Million Known Coronavirus Cases And Confronts How To Live With Covid
The world surpassed 400 million known coronavirus cases on Tuesday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, just one month after reaching 300 million. It is a staggering increase driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant as governments and individuals worldwide wrestle with how to confront the next stage of the pandemic. (Astor, 2/9)

USA Today: COVID: US Cases, Deaths Compared To Other Countries Amid Omicron
Although the omicron variant of the coronavirus appears less likely to cause severe disease compared to previous dominating strains, the U.S. is still experiencing more COVID-19 death than at any other point in the pandemic. The country surpassed 900,000 deaths over the weekend and may reach a million by April, according to a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins data, with about 2,400 deaths reported each day. Omicron’s increased transmissibility may be partly to blame for a rise in COVID deaths, health experts say, but data showing the U.S. case fatality rate is one of the highest in the world suggests there’s more to the story. (Rodriguez, 2/9)

CNBC: WHO Says New Omicron BA.2 Subvariant Will Rise Globally
The World Health Organization expects a more transmissible version of omicron to increase in circulation around the world, though it’s not yet clear if the subvariant can reinfect people who caught an earlier version of the omicron strain. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s Covid-19 technical lead, said Tuesday the global health agency is tracking four different versions of omicron. Van Kerkhove said the BA.2 subvariant, which is more contagious than the currently dominant BA.1 version, will likely become more common. (Kimball, 2/8)

The Washington Post: The CDC’s Do-Not-Travel List Now Encompasses More Than Half The World’s Destinations
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has moved seven more countries to its highest-risk category for travel — a list that has grown to include 134 destinations, with many added since the World Health Organization declared omicron a “variant of concern” on Nov. 26. The CDC on Monday gave the Democratic Republic of Congo, Oman, Libya, Japan, Israel, Cuba and Armenia a “Level 4″ warning, which means it is recommending that Americans avoid traveling there, even if vaccinated. (Timsit, 2/8)

In other covid news from around the globe —

AP: Sweden Ends COVID-19 Testing As Pandemic Restrictions Lifted
Sweden has halted wide-scale testing for COVID-19 even among people showing symptoms of an infection, putting an end to the mobile city-square tent sites, drive-in swab centers and home-delivered tests that became ubiquitous during the pandemic and provided essential data for tracking its spread. The move puts the Scandinavian nation at odds with most of Europe, but some experts say it could become the norm as costly testing yields fewer benefits with the easily transmissible but milder omicron variant and as governments begin to consider treating COVID-19 like they do other endemic illnesses. (Keyton, 2/9)

The New York Times: Denmark, Overflowing With Virus Cases, Embraces a ‘Bring It On’ Attitude
Aboard a ferry heading to Denmark’s second-largest city on Friday, Allan Hjorth stood out. He was one of just a few passengers to wear a mask, while hundreds of others left their faces uncovered, enjoying the end of Covid-19 restrictions announced a few days earlier. “The mere fact of wearing a mask makes people feel that something is wrong,” Mr. Hjorth said. He took his own off after a few seconds, and added, “And we, in Denmark, want to believe that we are going back to normal.” (Peltier, 2/8)

Bloomberg: Chinese City Turns Traffic Lights Red To Prevent Covid Omicron Spread
An omicron outbreak in southern China led officials to switch traffic lights to red in several counties, as local governments strive to limit people’s movements to meet Beijing’s strategy of eliminating Covid-19 despite the virus’s growing infectiousness. A sudden Covid-19 resurgence in the southwestern province of Guangxi during the recent Lunar New Year Holiday prompted a snap lockdown on Monday of Baise, a city of 3.6 million bordering Vietnam, after nearly 100 infections were detected. Soon after, local authorities in five sub-districts in the city turned the lights red to reinforce the stay-at-home order, though it granted exceptions for essential travel related to medical care, deliveries and the Covid response. (2/9)

Bloomberg: WHO Asks Richer Countries To Pay $16 Billion For Pandemic Plan
The World Health Organization is calling on wealthier nations to donate $16 billion to a program aimed at providing access to Covid-19 vaccines, treatments and tests in low- and middle-income countries. Under the WHO proposal, higher-income nations would donate in proportion to their contribution to world trade, while middle-income countries would need to self-finance $6.5 billion additional costs, the United Nations agency said Wednesday. The organization’s financing plan came after a muted response to its appeal in October to raise $23.4 billion for the ACT-Accelerator plan. Of the $16 billion requested to fund the main program, the WHO raised only $800 million. (Mulier, 2/9)

AP: COVID-19 Protests Threaten Border Trade Between Canada, US 
Canadian lawmakers expressed increasing worry Tuesday about the economic effects of disruptive demonstrations after the busiest border crossing between the U.S. and Canada became partially blocked by truckers protesting vaccine mandates and other COVID-19 restrictions. The blockade at the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, prevented traffic from entering Canada while some U.S.-bound traffic was still moving, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said, calling the bridge “one of the most important border crossings in the world." It carries 25% of all trade between Canada and the United States. (Gillies and Lindeman, 2/8)

Also —

The Washington Post: Canadian Doctors Can Now Prescribe National Park Passes To Patients 
A trip to the doctor can yield any number of recommendations, including bed rest and medicine. But as of late January, Canadian patients can be sent home with a more novel note: a prescription for a national parks pass. “There’s almost no medical condition that nature doesn’t make better,” said Melissa Lem, a family physician and director of the PaRx initiative, which partnered with Parks Canada to help distribute the initial batch of 100 passes. While similar programs elsewhere have offered regional or local park visits, Lem says this is the first such initiative with a national annual pass. (Root, 2/7)

ScienceDaily: Old Drug May Have New Trick: Protecting Against COVID-19 Lung Injury, Study Finds 
An FDA-approved drug that has been in clinical use for more than 70 years may protect against lung injury and the risk of blood clots in severe COVID-19 and other disorders that cause immune-mediated damage to the lungs, according to a preclinical study. (Weill Cornell Medicine, 2/8)

The Wall Street Journal: Gilead’s Revenue Declines On Waning Sales Of Covid-19 Drug 
Gilead Sciences Inc.’s GILD -0.31% revenue fell in the fourth quarter, as sales of its Covid-19 treatment remdesivir waned amid greater vaccine availability and declining hospitalization numbers. The biopharmaceutical company posted $7.24 billion in revenue for the quarter, above analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. Gilead reported $7.42 billion in revenue for the same period last year. (Jacob, 2/1)

CIDRAP: Study Finds Antibiotic Misuse Occurs Among All Education Levels
A review and meta-analysis of studies from more than 40 countries found that individuals misuse antibiotics regardless of their education level, researchers reported yesterday in Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control. The researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 85 studies that measured the association between education and any aspect of antibiotic misuse, including use of antibiotics that were not prescribed, non-adherence to treatment guidelines, and storage of leftover antibiotics for future use. The studies encompassed a total of 85,789 subjects from 42 countries of different socioeconomic status, of whom 24,579 had misused antibiotics. Summary odds ratios (ORs) were estimated using a random effects model. (2/4)

New England Journal of Medicine: Nivolumab Combination Therapy In Advanced Esophageal Squamous-Cell Carcinoma 
First-line chemotherapy for advanced esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma results in poor outcomes. The monoclonal antibody nivolumab has shown an overall survival benefit over chemotherapy in previously treated patients with advanced esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma. (Doki, M.D., et al, 2/3)

New England Journal of Medicine: Lenvatinib Plus Pembrolizumab For Advanced Endometrial Cancer 
Lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab led to significantly longer progression-free survival and overall survival than chemotherapy among patients with advanced endometrial cancer. (Funded by Eisai and Merck Sharp and Dohme [a subsidiary of Merck]; Study 309–KEYNOTE-775 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03517449. opens in new tab.) (Makker, M.D., et al, 2/3)

Bloomberg: A Pick-Me-Up For President Biden
As talks continue on what might be salvaged from President Joe Biden’s stalled tax-and-spending plan, one of its smaller pieces is worth singling out — a proposal to cut the prices Americans pay for prescription drugs. As it stands, it’s a good first stab, but Biden should press to go further. Doing so would serve the public and strengthen the president’s popular support. The existing system must strike any outside observer as absurd. U.S. pharmaceutical companies charge their domestic customers vastly more than they demand of buyers in the rest of the world. And Medicare is expressly barred from doing what foreign equivalents take for granted: using its bargaining power to get better prices. (2/4)

American Academy Of Pediatrics: The Risk Of Suicidal Behavior In Association With Starting Youth On An Opioid Prescription: How Much Should We Worry? 
Although we all want to limit the use of opioids, they can play an important role in pain management. There has been some concern that use of opioids can increase future suicidal behavior. What is known about this risk? (Lewis First, MD, MS, Editor in Chief, Pediatrics, 2/7)

Undark: We're Waging The Wrong Battle Against Opioids
Early this year, government researchers announced a grim milestone in America’s overdose crisis. Between June 2020 and June 2021, as the Covid-19 pandemic raged across the country, a record 101,263 people are believed to have died by drug overdose — nearly 21 percent more than in the previous 12 months. Sadly, overdose rates have been escalating for decades now. As recently as 1999, there were just under 17,000 annual deaths. Throughout this disaster, the news media and policymakers have typically relied on a simple narrative: The crisis was caused by the widespread over-prescription of opioids, so therefore reducing the medical supply via law enforcement will solve it. And by the supply metric alone, they’ve succeeded: Since 2011, the total amount of opioids prescribed has fallen by more than half. (Maia Szalavitz, 2/4)

The New York Times: Pennsylvania Doctor Accused Of Prescribing Ivermectin For Covid Is Fired 
A Pennsylvania doctor accused of prescribing ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19, two drugs that regulators have called not safe for treating the disease, was fired this week, a regional health system said. The doctor, Edith Behr, who worked for Tower Health, was accused of writing prescriptions for the drugs, which are not approved for the prevention or treatment of Covid, the company said. The health system said it became aware of the allegations against Dr. Behr on Wednesday. (Johnny Diaz, 2/4)

New England Journal of Medicine: Efficacy And Safety Of Gene Therapy For β-Thalassemia 
β-Thalassemia results from insufficient production of the hemoglobin subunit β-globin (β+) or from the absence of β-globin (β0). Low levels of adult hemoglobin (HbA, or α2β2) are exacerbated by excess free α-globin chains in erythroid cells, leading to dyserythropoiesis and shortening red-cell survival. Patients with transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia, the most severe clinical form of this disorder, receive repeated red-cell transfusions in order to prevent severe anemia and increase survival. However, iron overload caused by transfusions often leads to dysfunction in the heart, endocrine glands, and liver. (Emmanuel Payen, Ph.D., 2/3)

Bloomberg: Covid Omicron Variant Poses A Puzzle For Booster And Vaccine Makers 
As Covid restrictions come down throughout most of the advanced world — even Australia is preparing to welcome international visitors again — public health authorities will need to make decisions on future vaccine protocols. One possibility would be a booster shot formulated specifically for the fast-spreading omicron variant, which is behind the recent growth in infections in the U.S., U.K. and elsewhere. (Therese Raphael and Sam Fazeli, 2/8)

Newsweek: Increasing Vaccinations Requires Understanding How Culture Shapes Thinking
In the mid 2000s, I was working with local researchers on the Swahili coast of Kenya studying a health care puzzle: Why were so many kids with kifafa (Swahili for epilepsy) forgoing life-saving medicine? And why were public health campaigns and efforts so ineffective? The answer: culture. What families viewed as the cause of seizures, and how providers talked about these causes, were better predictors of the treatments they sought than distance to a health facility, cost of treatment, or their awareness that were anti-epilepsy drugs. (Nat Kendall-Taylor, 2/8)

Bloomberg: Pfizer’s Covid Windfall Creates New MRNA Opportunities 
One area where Pfizer will focus its scientific prowess is in expanding the use of mRNA beyond Covid. The company believes that the Comirnaty vaccine is only a first act for the technology. During the pandemic, Pfizer amassed a great deal of practical knowledge about mRNA — about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines and also about scaling up vaccine manufacturing to supply the world. Now it is assembling the pieces of a larger mRNA enterprise that will include both vaccines and treatments. (Lisa Jarvis, 2/8)

The Baltimore Sun: Why Some Rally Against COVID Vaccination: A Lack Of Understanding And Trust 
Ever since the vaccines for COVID-19 became available, the public health data has been very clear. Vaccines prevent serious disease and death, while the unvaccinated suffer more serious disease, higher rates of hospitalization and higher mortality. Nearly a year has passed since vaccines have been available and nearly 64% of the population has been fully vaccinated. From those who’ve chosen to remain unvaccinated — not counting those who are too young to be eligible — you will hear a number of different reasons for their decision, including personal choice or concerns about the vaccines not being well tested. But underlying all of these reasons is most likely a lack of understanding about public health, and a breakdown in the chain of trust in our society. (George Delahunty, 2/8)

The Washington Post: In This Next Phase Of The Pandemic, Beware Of The Extremes 
Once again, the United States is at a turning point in the covid-19 pandemic. As infections fall, local and state officials are lifting mask mandates, and a bipartisan group of governors is calling on President Biden to “move away” from the pandemic by providing an off-ramp for remaining restrictions. These sensible actions have been met with anger, derision and opposition from both sides. Some claim that these actions are proof that mandates were never needed and question the effectiveness of masking, vaccination and other evidence-based mitigation measures. Others offer no reasonable endpoint for restrictions and make continued masking a symbol of their belief in science. (Leana S. Wen, 2/8)

The Washington Post: Florida Republicans Are Taking The Middle Road On Abortion. That Should Surprise No One. 
Republican leadership in Florida’s legislature appear to be coalescing behind a bill to ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. This might surprise those who expect Republicans will be off to the races to ban all abortions if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade this year, as most court watchers expect. In reality, the Florida bill shows how much public opinion will shape the contours of abortion law in the foreseeable future. (Henry Olsen, 2/8)

Chicago Tribune: Health Insurance, Not Health Care, Needs Reform 
A family member became seriously ill last year. After some initial tests, a malignancy was diagnosed. Surgery was scheduled, followed by chemotherapy. Everything proceeded mostly as planned, with no medical hiccups. We are both well-educated, with backgrounds in medicine, health economics and risk analysis, which should have prepared us to maneuver the requirements of our health insurance provider and ensure that copays and pre-authorizations were handled as necessary. We were gravely mistaken. (Sheldon H. Jacobson, 2/8)

Modern Healthcare: Dueling Opinions: What’s Challenging The Physician Workforce?
There’s no question the U.S. has superb healthcare if it’s defined by the number of excellent doctors. The problem is there’s a severe maldistribution. We don’t have a lot of doctors in the rural communities, which has been true for a long, long time. But what the pandemic brought forth was we’re also short of a lot of doctors even in heavily populated areas, mostly the inner city. (Dr. David Battinelli and Dr. Alison Whelan, 2/8)

Kansas Reflector: Legislature Can Help Kansas Lead Nation In Improving Diabetics’ Health 
Kansas may not have a diabetes “problem.” That does not mean our state can’t lead the nation in devising a means to address this critical health care issue. Diabetes comes in two flavors, Type 1, which typically affects kids, and Type 2, which tends to afflict the overweight. Some 11.2% of Kansas residents have some form of diabetes, better than West Virginia (15.7%) but not as good as Colorado (7.5%). What causes the difference? Activity. People who exercise regularly weigh less: Relatively sedentary West Virginians, thus, have twice the incidence of active Coloradans. (Andy Obermueller, 2/8)

Kansas City Star: Rural Kansas Needs Legislature To Expand KanCare Medicaid 
As elected officials sit comfortably in their marble halls playing politics, Kansans are languishing. Kansas is one of the last holdouts forgoing Medicaid expansion, but expansion is nonnegotiable. It is a matter of life or death. The power to completely change the lives of approximately 150,000 Kansans rests solely in the power of elected officials. (Sarah Graham, 2/9)

Stat: Lander's Resignation Over Workplace Bullying: Tip Of The Iceberg 
When Eric Lander resigned as the White House’s top science adviser on Monday, he wrote to President Biden that he was “devastated” to realize how much his bullying behavior hurt his colleagues. News of a bully resigning is a rare outcome in the U.S., where workplace bullying is not illegal. Even so, the recovery has just begun for traumatized staffers. The fallout is just one snapshot of a national problem. Workplace bullying, a form of psychological violence, is a pervasive public health issue. A 2021 study from the non-profit Workplace Bullying Institute showed that 30% of American workers surveyed during the pandemic reported experiencing bullying at work. That’s about 50 million Americans. (Pauline Chiou and Cherie Lynn Ramirez, 2/8)

Stat: PDUFA VII Can Catalyze 'Lightspeed' Vaccine And Drug Development 
I’ve had a front-row seat watching how the Covid-19 pandemic has transformed the stately process of drug development into a far more nimble one. It’s a transition the pharmaceutical industry and the FDA must pay attention to. It took just 17 months from the time Covid-19 was declared a global pandemic for Pfizer, the company I work for, and our partner BioNTech to develop and receive full approval from the FDA for Comirnaty, the first Covid-19 vaccine to reach that goal. On a similarly accelerated path, Pfizer designed, developed, and recently received FDA emergency use authorization for Paxlovid, an oral antiviral treatment for Covid-19. (Rod MacKenzie, 2/9)