Politico: CDC Endorses First Covid-19 Vaccine For Kids 5-11 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky signed off on allowing children ages 5 to 11 to receive Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine, paving the way for some 28 million kids to get access to the shots. The agency's decision came hours after its independent vaccine advisers unanimously recommended the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for kids in that age group. (Gardner, 11/2)

The Washington Post: CDC Signs Off On Children’s Coronavirus Vaccine, Allowing Providers To Begin Immunizing Kids Ages 5 To 11 Immediately 
The go-ahead from CDC Director Rochelle Walensky is a watershed moment in the fight against the pandemic, which has killed 745,000 people in the United States and infected nearly 2 million kids. Millions of families have waited for a children’s vaccine since the first adult shot was authorized last December, hoping their kids could finally resume in-person schooling and extracurricular activities without interruption — and that their own work schedules could become more predictable. (Sun and Shepherd, 11/2)

Stat: CDC Advisers Endorse Pfizer Covid-19 Vaccines For Kids 5-11 
The recommendation was applauded by the American Academy of Pediatrics. “Sharing this life-saving vaccine with our children is a huge step forward and provides us all with more confidence and optimism about the future,” AAP President Lee Savio Beers said in a statement. “Pediatricians are eager to participate in the immunization process and talk with families about this vaccine. We want to ensure that access to this vaccine is equitable, and that every child is able to benefit.” (Branswell, 11/2)

More details about pediatric vaccinations —

CBS News: When Can Kids Under 12 Get The COVID-19 Vaccine? What Parents Need To Know 
Federal health officials have encouraged Americans to check vaccines.gov to find locations near them with shots in stock. More locations will be added in the coming days as supplies are distributed around the country. Vaccines for kids will be available at many pediatricians' offices, as well as at children's hospitals, rural health clinics, pharmacies, some school-based clinics and other community locations. (Tin, 11/2)

AP: What To Know About Vaccines For Kids Aged 5-11
Children ages 5 to 11 will receive a third of the dose given to teens and adults. That’s 10 micrograms per shot for youngsters, compared to 30 micrograms per shot for everyone 12 and older. Like everybody else, the younger kids will get two shots, three weeks apart. ... In a study, Pfizer’s pediatric vaccine proved nearly 91% effective at preventing symptomatic infection. Vaccinated youngsters developed levels of virus-fighting antibodies as strong as teens and young adults who’d received the full-strength dose. (Neergaard, 11/3)

The Atlantic: Why Kids Get A Smaller COVID Vaccine Dose
In the months since Pfizer announced its plans to adapt its COVID-19 vaccine for kids, the nicknames have been rolling in. Lil Pfizer, Pfizer-Mini, Pfizer Jr. (sorry, BioNTech; everyone tends to forget you). Others offer a cheeky play on Comirnaty, the shot’s tongue-twisting official title: Comirnito, Baby Comirnaty, or my personal favorite, ComirNatty Light. These monikers not only nod to the smaller humans the shots are designed for, but the actual size of the doses themselves. If Pfizer earns the expected thumbs-up from CDC Director Rochelle Walensky this week, children 5 to 11 years old will be getting 10 micrograms of RNA in each Pfizer shot, a third of the 30-microgram recipe that’s given to people 12 and older. Further down the road, pending another set of votes, authorizations, and recommendations, kids 4 and younger will get a wee 3 micrograms, a tenth of what their parents get. (Wu, 11/2)

Also —

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: COVID Vaccine Clinics For Children Ages 5-11 Planned In Milwaukee
The Milwaukee Health Department has been planning COVID-19 vaccine clinics in anticipation of federal approval for children ages 5 to 11 to be inoculated. On Tuesday afternoon, that effort took a huge step forward at the federal level. Local officials spoke about their plans for vaccine clinics just hours before a committee advising the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention unanimously recommended that children in the age group receive the Pfizer vaccine. (Dirr and Bentley, 11/2)

The Baltimore Sun: COVID-19 Vaccinations For Maryland Children Ages 5 To 11 May Start By Friday 
With federal signoff on the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 doses for kids ages 5 to 11, local health departments, doctor offices, pharmacies and schools in Maryland may begin getting shots into kids’ arms as soon as Friday. Vaccine has begun arriving in provider offices already. A total of 180,000 doses will be distributed throughout the state in the coming weeks — enough for more than a third of the 515,000 children in that age range, but perhaps not sufficient to meet the earliest demand from parents. (Cohn and Miller, 11/3)

Axios: The Next Question For Kids Vaccines? School Mandates 
The CDC's approval Tuesday of Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine for 5-11-year-olds may open a new debate: whether schools should ultimately mandate them for that age group. Members of the advisory boards for both the CDC and the FDA raised concerns their votes allowing shots in arms for all kids regardless of medical status might ultimately trigger mandates in schools. "I'm just worried that if we say yes, that the states are going to mandate administration of this vaccine to children in order to go to school, and I do not agree with that," FDA committee member Cody Meissner said on Friday. (Fernandez, 11/3)

KHN: Montana’s Governor Nixed A Kids’ Vaccine Campaign, So Health Officials Plan Their Own 
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte’s administration quashed plans for a public service campaign to promote covid-19 vaccinations for eligible teenagers over the summer, a former state health official said. That has caused public health and medical experts to plan their own ad campaigns in anticipation that the administration won’t publicly back shots for kids as young as 5 when doses for young children roll out. A state endorsement and ad campaign on television, radio and the internet could encourage and persuade undecided parents to get their kids vaccinated. The lack of one could contribute to Montana’s continuing lag in vaccination rates and high ranking in covid cases, hospitalizations and deaths. (Bolton, 11/3)

The New York Times: Pfizer, Moderna Covid Shots Less Effective For Immunocompromised, Study Shows 
Coronavirus vaccines were significantly less effective in protecting people with weakened immune systems than they were for other people, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Tuesday, buttressing the agency’s call for immunocompromised adults to receive third or fourth doses of vaccines. Two doses of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines were 77 percent effective against Covid-related hospitalization for immunocompromised people. That was a significant degree of protection, the agency said, but far lower than the shots’ benefit to people without immune deficiencies: In those people, the agency said, the vaccines were 90 percent effective against Covid hospitalizations. (Mueller, 11/2)

CIDRAP: Vaccine Plus Previous Infection May Offer Enhanced COVID-19 Protection
Two new studies in JAMA find that COVID-19 survivors who receive two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna mRNA vaccines may have stronger protection against coronavirus infection, one detailing much lower breakthrough infection rates in previously infected Qataris and one describing higher spike antibody levels among recovered US healthcare workers (HCWs). (Van Beusekom, 11/2)

In other news from Pfizer —

The Wall Street Journal: Pfizer Raises Covid-19 Vaccine Forecast As Sales More Than Double
Pfizer Inc. increased its forecast for sales of its Covid-19 vaccine this year to about $36 billion, a roughly 7% boost that comes as the U.S. prepares to distribute the shot to 28 million children ages 5 to 11 years old. The New York-based drugmaker said its sales projection for the vaccine it developed with partner BioNTech SE takes into account expected deliveries of about 2.3 billion vaccine doses this year. The companies have grown their capabilities for manufacturing doses, and are working with other firms overseas to produce doses. (Hopkins and Grossman, 11/2)

Axios: Pfizer CEO: Poorer Countries "Need To Place" COVID-19 Vaccine Orders
"Rich countries have given out more boosters in three months than poor countries have given total doses all year," the Financial Times reports. "Most of the negotiations for doses in the next year are coming from high-income countries and some middle-income countries," Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said on an earnings call yesterday. "I think we are producing enough. But for the low- and middle-income countries to receive ... a very severely discounted price ... they need to place orders ... The low- and middle-income countries will be behind in deliveries because they didn't place their orders." (Herman, 11/3)

The New York Times: Military Grants Few Coronavirus Vaccine Exemptions As Deadlines Loom
Two months after the Pentagon began requiring all troops to get the coronavirus vaccine or face dismissal, the vast majority have now had shots, in part because none received a religious exemption, military officials said. While vaccine exemptions are often broadly worded, requests based on religious beliefs are coming under close scrutiny in the military and at the Department of Veterans Affairs, the first federal agency to impose a mandate. They will likely be followed by the rest of the federal government, where most workers are required to be vaccinated by the end of this month. (Steinhauer, 11/2)

Oklahoman: Oklahoma Governor Wants COVID-19 Vaccine Exemption For National Guard
Saying about 10% of Oklahoma National members have not received the COVID-19 vaccine or don't intend to get the shots, Gov. Kevin Stitt is asking the federal government to suspend a vaccine requirement for local guardsmen. In a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Stitt said a federal requirement that military troops receive the COVID-19 vaccine "violates the personal freedoms of many Oklahomans." An estimated 800 Oklahoma guard members have not received the vaccine or don't plan to, Stitt wrote in the Monday letter. Citing recent severe weather events in Oklahoma, he wrote the state could be crippled in the face of an emergency without those guardsmen on call. (11/3)

Fox News: Air Force Kicked Out 23 Recruits From Boot Camp Who Refused To Get COVID Vaccine
The U.S. Air Force removed 23 recruits from boot camp last week after they refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine ahead of the Nov. 2 deadline, defense officials confirmed to Fox News. According to Pentagon officials, there is no military-wide punishment for those who refuse the vaccine, and each service must decide how to handle those situations. The deadline for active-duty members in the Navy to receive the vaccine is Nov. 28, with the Army's being set at Dec. 15. "The secretary's been very clear with the leaders of the military departments that he wants them to execute the mandate with a sense of compassion and understanding," John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, said Monday. (Tomlinson and Morris, 11/2)

In other news about covid mandates —

Anchorage Daily News: Alaska Gov. Dunleavy Forbids State Agencies From Following Federal Vaccination Mandates
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued an administrative order Tuesday prohibiting state agencies from assisting with a proposed federal vaccination requirement for large employers. It also requires Alaska’s attorney general to review all federal vaccination mandates and determine whether the state can challenge them in court. Those measures are two of six points in the order, which the governor said is intended to “guard the Constitutional rights of individual Alaskans from federal overreach.” The restrictions on state agencies do not apply to the University of Alaska, which announced Tuesday that it will require some employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 starting Dec. 8. (Brooks, 11/2)

AP: Arizona High Court Upholds Ruling Blocking School Mask Bans
The Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously upheld a lower court judgment that found the Republican-controlled Legislature violated the state constitution by including new laws banning school mask mandates and a series of other measures in unrelated budget bills. The swift ruling from the state’s high court came less than two hours after the seven justices heard arguments in the state’s appeal of a trial court judge’s ruling. The justices had hammered Solicitor General Beau Roysden with questions about the Legislature’s inclusion of policy as different as dog racing and secure ballot paper in one of the budget bills. (Christie, 11/3)

San Francisco Chronicle: SFPD Places Police Officers On Leave For Failing To Meet COVID-19 Vaccination Deadline
The San Francisco Police Department said Tuesday that it placed as many as 70 employees on leave who failed to meet the city’s vaccination deadline this week. In a news release Tuesday, SFPD said 97.5% of its employees — 2,747 out of 2,817 — were fully vaccinated by Monday’s deadline. The department did not explicitly say how many employees were placed on leave or how many may have received exemptions, but noted that those who were not fully vaccinated and those who did not provide vaccination records were placed on leave pending termination proceedings. (Picon, 11/2)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Sheriff Says Employees Who Died Of COVID Were Unvaccinated
Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said Tuesday all of the department employees who died of COVID-19 were unvaccinated. Speaking at a Nevada Republican Club event in Las Vegas, Lombardo said he does not have plans to mandate vaccines for existing employees. “They’re all adults and they’re educated, and they can make that decision,” he said after his speech. Multiple Metropolitan Police Department employees have died from the coronavirus since July 2020. Police officers were among the first people to have access to vaccines after distribution began late last year. Metro previously declined to provide information on the vaccination status of the employees who have died since the vaccine was released, citing the federal law restricting release of medical information. (Apgar and Schnur, 11/2)

Houston Chronicle: Texas Passes Limits On COVID Restrictions In Churches, Care Homes
The eight proposed constitutional amendments on the statewide ballot were headed toward ratification late Tuesday night, including two responses to COVID-19 restrictions: one banning any prohibitions on religious services for any reason and another allowing care home residents to designate an “essential caregiver” who can’t be denied visitation rights. With more than 80 percent of statewide voting locations reporting results, all of the measures were passing comfortably. To be placed on the ballot, each proposition passed both chambers of the Texas Legislature with more than two-thirds approval. Now they are set to become law. (McKinley, 11/3)

AP: Hawaii Governor To Lift Some Restaurant, Bar Capacity Limits
Hawaii Gov. David Ige said Tuesday he will lift restaurant, bar and gym capacity limits in counties that require proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to enter such businesses. Counties that don’t require such proof will have to continue to demand that restaurants, bars and gyms cap the number of patrons in their establishments at 50% of what they are normally able to fit. Currently, Honolulu and Maui are the only counties to require proof of vaccination or test results to enter such businesses. Kauai and Hawaii counties do not do so. The changes take effect Nov. 12. (McAvoy, 11/3)

KHN: Unvaccinated? Don’t Count On Leaving Your Family Death Benefits 
These days, workers who refuse to get vaccinated against covid-19 may face financial repercussions, from higher health insurance premiums to loss of their jobs. Now, the financial fallout might follow workers beyond the grave. If they die of covid and weren’t vaccinated, their families may not get death benefits they would otherwise have received. New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority no longer pays a $500,000 death benefit to the families of subway, bus and commuter rail workers who die of covid if the workers were unvaccinated at the time of death. (Andrews, 11/3)

Politico: ‘A Massive Step Forward’: Democrats Clinch Drug Pricing Deal 
Democrats on Tuesday announced an agreement on drug pricing reform, coming out in favor of allowing Medicare Part D to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies for the first time since its creation, a move the drug industry has fought for nearly two decades. While the latest proposal is far weaker than the version passed twice by the House, even staunch progressives in both chambers are preparing to accept that it’s likely the best they’re able to get in the narrowly divided Congress. (Ollstein, 11/2)

The Washington Post: Democrats Announce Deal On Prescription Drug Pricing As Another Part Of Spending Plan Comes Into Focus 
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced the agreement after a private meeting of party lawmakers, marking a potential end to a battle between some liberals and moderates over a policy priority that many Democrats had pitched over the course of the 2020 presidential election. “Fixing prescription drug prices consistently has been a top issue for Americans year after year,” Schumer said at a news conference. “We’ve heard this from people across the country. . . . Today, we’ve taken a massive step forward in helping alleviate that problem.” (Romm, Sotomayor and Roubein, 11/2)

The New York Times: Democrats Reach Deal To Control Drug Prices In Bill 
The prescription drug deal is limited. Starting in 2023, negotiations could begin on what Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon called the most expensive drugs — treatments for cancer and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as anticoagulants. Most drugs would still be granted patent exclusivity for nine years before negotiations could start, and more complex drugs, called biologics, would be protected for 12 years. But for the first time, Medicare, the federal health insurance program for people 65 or older and for disabled people, would be able to step in after those periods, even if drug companies acquire patent extensions or otherwise game the patent system. (Weisman and Cochrane, 11/2)

The Wall Street Journal: Democrats Reach Deal On Lowering Prescription Drug Prices 
The deal to secure the backing of a few centrist holdouts brings Democrats another step closer to finishing the $1.85 trillion legislation, which party leaders hope to bring to the floor in the House this week. The party is still working through a few other issues in the bill, including immigration and measures curbing carbon emissions, and lawmakers also closed in on a plan for repealing the cap on the deduction for state and local taxes. The final negotiations on those issues will have to contend with the continued skepticism of Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.), who on Monday said he might vote to kill the legislation in the 50-50 Senate. (Duehren, Wise and Rubin, 11/2)

NPR: Democrats' Deal On Prescription Drugs Would Lower Costs For Seniors
The agreement announced Tuesday would allow Medicare Parts B and D to negotiate prices directly with drug manufacturers on certain drugs and cap out-of-pocket spending for seniors at $2,000 per year, the first innovation of its kind in the program's history. "Fixing prescription drug pricing has consistently been a top issue for Americans year-after-year, including the vast majority of both Democrats and Republicans who want to see a change because they simply cannot afford their medications," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement. (Wise, 11/2)

And more on the drug pricing compromise —

Politico: The End Of Manchema 
Are they Sinemanch or Manchema? The debate can probably cease. The centrist Democratic senators from Arizona and West Virginia, once united on shaving down the cost of a party-line social spending bill that started at $3.5 trillion, are now going their own way in the final stretch of negotiations on a linchpin of President Joe Biden’s agenda. (Everett and Levine, 11/2)

Stat: Who Wins And Loses In Democrats’ Prescription Drug Pricing Deal 
Congressional Democrats on Tuesday announced they had agreed to a broad plan to overhaul the way America pays for prescription medicines. Under the deal, Medicare would be allowed to negotiate drug prices for both drugs dispensed at the pharmacy counter and those administered in doctors’ offices for drugs older than 9 years or 12 years, depending on the type of drug. Drug makers would have to pay penalties if they hike prices faster than inflation, including for employer-sponsored insurance plans. Seniors’ out-of-pocket costs would be capped at $2,000 per year. Insulin prices per dose will also be capped. (Cohrs, 11/2)

Axios: Pharmaceutical Industry May Avoid Big Losses In Drug Pricing Deal 
The pharmaceutical industry is voicing opposition to the latest drug pricing deal. But the details matter. And the details as they stand suggest drug companies would still retain the power to set prices, and most drugs wouldn't be subject to government price negotiations. (Herman, 11/3)

Also —

Modern Healthcare: Democrats Target Hospitals In Medicaid Expansion Holdout States With DSH Cuts
House Democrats are taking a new approach to convince recalcitrant conservative states to expand Medicaid to low-income adults: threatening funding cuts to hospitals. Under an updated version of the domestic policy package that the House may consider as soon as this week, hospitals in states that don't expand Medicaid could face a 12.5% cut in funding meant to help hospitals that serve large numbers of Medicaid patients. These so-called disproportionate share hospital payments are intended to keep safety net facilities financially stable by offsetting Medicaid's low payment rates and helping cover uncompensated care costs. (Hellmann, 11/2)

USA Today: Pediatric Vaccines May Come To The Rescue Just As Infections In U.S. Start To Rise
The timing [of covid shots for children] couldn't be better, considering the pace of new virus cases in the U.S. has risen 5.4% in the last week, a worrying sign suggesting the delta variant-driven wave hasn't ended. There were 523,194 new cases nationwide in the week ending Monday, after dropping to a recent low point of 495,194 the previous week, a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. At the current pace, 52 new infections are recorded every minute. (Miller, Ortiz and Schnell, 11/2)

San Francisco Chronicle: Entire Bay Area Is Back In CDC's Orange And Red Tiers For COVID Spread
The entire Bay Area has returned to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s orange “substantial” and red “high” categories of coronavirus transmission — a step backward for some counties, like Marin and San Francisco, where transmission was previously classified as yellow, or “moderate.” This comes after Marin County lifted its indoor mask mandate on Monday after reaching key COVID-19 benchmarks agreed upon by eight Bay Area counties. However, the mandate is unlikely to be immediately reinstated; the county’s health officer Matt Willis said last week that an increase in cases alone will not determine whether masks come back; rather he will watch hospitalization numbers, which as of Friday were at a four-month low. (Hwang, 11/2)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Clark County Returns To ‘High’ Risk Of COVID-19 Transmission
Clark County returned to the “high” risk of COVID-19 transmission on Tuesday, a day after it dropped into the “substantial” category on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s classification system. Updated figures posted on the CDC’s COVID data tracker website showed the county’s seven-day moving average of new cases of the disease at 119.91 per 100,000 residents, a substantial jump from the 92.69 cases per 100,000 reported on Monday. A rating of 100 cases per 100,000 individuals or higher places a county in the high-transmission risk category, while 50 through 99.99 per 100,000 is considered a substantial risk under the CDC framework. (Brunker, 11/2)

In other news about the spread of the coronavirus —

Charleston Gazette Mail: Report: Inspection Of Three Jails Indicates Officials Using Practices That "Needlessly Expose" Inmates To COVID-19
Inmates in three West Virginia jails have reported that they aren’t being medically isolated and some have stopped reporting symptoms of COVID-19 to staff while being crowded into booking and suicide-watch pens, according to a report filed in a federal court case last month. Dr. Homer Venters said he witnessed people sleeping on cement floors “inches from each other” in booking pens, while nearby jail cells were unused in three jails he inspected in September, part of an attempt to get an injunction to compel corrections officials to update, and more strictly adhere to, COVID-19 policies. (Pierson, 11/2)

AP: Idaho's COVID Numbers Drop Slightly, Crisis Standards Remain
The rate of COVID-19 hospitalizations and newly confirmed coronavirus cases has been dropping in Idaho, but the numbers are still high enough to leave hospitals overtaxed, Idaho Division of Public Health Administrator Elke Shaw-Tulloch said Tuesday. That means hospitals will remain under a “crisis standards of care” designation for now, giving them the ability to ration health care as needed to deal with high numbers of COVID-19 patients in intensive care units and hospital beds. (Boone, 11/2)

Mississippi Clarion Ledger: New COVID-19 Cases In Mississippi Schools Decrease
Of 699 schools reporting from 73 of Mississippi's 82 counties, there were 314 new COVID-19 cases in Mississippi students statewide from Oct. 25-29, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health's report Tuesday. Fifty-seven teachers and staff tested positive for the virus. Over 1,500 students, staff and teachers were quarantined due to possible exposure to COVID-19. Since the beginning of the school year, more than 23,000 Mississippi students have tested positive for the coronavirus and there have been over 1,000 outbreaks at schools. As defined by the state health department, an outbreak occurs in a school setting where three or more people are diagnosed with the virus in the same group within a 14-day period. (Haselhorst, 11/2)

Dallas Morning News: ‘We Need Trump People And Biden People’ To Get Vaxxed, Says Former Surgeon General
Dr. Jerome Adams, the U.S. surgeon general during the Trump administration, went to an Indianapolis Colts football game on Sunday for the first time in four years. He posted several images from the event, including a Colts touchdown celebration. And he took a selfie wearing a KN-95 face mask, which he said is shown to be more effective in stopping the delta variant of the coronavirus. Although Adams is vaccinated, it’s still valuable to wear a mask at big gatherings, he said. He often compares it to carrying an umbrella even though you may be wearing a raincoat. It’s another layer of protection. (Schnurman, 11/2)

NBC News: The New Faces Of Covid Deaths
Younger, Southern, rural and white.Those are increasingly the kinds of people who are dying of Covid-19, as the demographics of those hit hardest by the coronavirus have shifted since the pandemic first hit the United States. The country’s most recent, devastating Covid wave, fueled by the highly contagious delta variant, showed the strength of the virus even in the face of mounting vaccinations, with more than 100,000 deaths reported in the past three months. Many of those deaths were reported in places — and in populations — that had been largely spared the worst effects of the disease until now. (Chow, Murphy, Wu and Dans, 11/2)

AP: White House Rolls Out New Plan To Combat Gun Suicides In US
The Biden administration is rolling out a new initiative aimed at reducing suicides by gun and combating the significant increases in suicides by members of the military and veterans. The White House is announcing the new plan on Tuesday, which officials say is an unprecedented focus by the federal government on reducing the risk of suicide through awareness and training campaigns and new regulations to increase the availability of gun storage products. (Balsamo, 11/2)

Also —

NBC News: Suicide Rates Declined Again In 2020, But Not For All Groups, CDC Report Shows
In the early days of the pandemic, there were fears that the anxiety, isolation and financial uncertainty would lead to a rise in suicide. Instead, after two decades of rising suicide rates in the U.S., the number of deaths by suicide declined in 2020 for the second year in a row, according to preliminary federal data published Wednesday. While suicide deaths dropped overall in the U.S., there were increases among young adults, as well as American Indians and Alaska Natives, Black Americans and Hispanic Americans, the report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.  (Sullivan, 11/3)

CNN: Overall, Suicide Rates Decreased In The US Last Year -- But Not For Everyone 
Suicides in the United States decreased by 3% from 2019 to 2020, despite risk factors for suicide generally increasing, according to data published Wednesday by the National Center for Health Statistics -- part of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Suicides among men declined 2%, and suicides among women fell 8%, with the largest drop occurring in non-Hispanic White women. Suicides in this group fell 10% from 2019 to 2020.However, not every population saw a decline. (Langmaid, 11/3)

In related news about suicide and depression —

WUFT: What Mandatory 10-Digit Dialing In Some Area Codes Means For Mental Health Services 
Local calls for four Florida area codes changed to 10-digit calling last month due to next year’s implantation of a three-digit National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. On Oct. 24, calls in area codes 941 (Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte counties), 561 (Palm Beach), 352 (Alachua) and 321 (Brevard, Seminole) began requiring 10 digits to make calls. The four Florida area codes, as well as 81 others in the U.S., have started the switch. However, the change gives residents access to 988 for suicide help, just as using 911 for emergencies is available throughout the country. (Sepe, 11/2)

Axios: Unhealthy Habits May Lower Depression Rates Among Latinos, Study Finds 
Latinos with an unhealthy response to chronic stress, like smoking or constantly eating junk food, tend to report fewer depression symptoms like hopelessness and restlessness in the long run than those with no dangerous coping mechanisms, according to an analysis. Research has shown that stressors throughout life increase not only the body's wear and tear, known as allostatic load, but also the odds of having depression past age 60. But the study found the link was slightly weakened when Latinos engaged in an unhealthy coping mechanism. (Franco, 11/2)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio GOP Lawmakers Introduce Abortion Ban Modeled After Texas Law
Ohio Republican lawmakers want to replicate the abortion ban passed in Texas and facing a challenge in the U.S. Supreme Court. House Bill 480, introduced Tuesday, would allow anyone to sue a doctor who performs an abortion or an individual who "aids or abets" an abortion. Anyone who performs or assists in an abortion could face a fine of at least $10,000 per abortion. (Balmert, 11/2)

AP: 2 Ohio Lawmakers Introduce Texas-Style Abortion Restriction
Two Republican state lawmakers in Ohio introduced Texas-style legislation Tuesday that could effectively end all abortions in the state. Reps. Jena Powell and Thomas Hall unveiled their bill in the heavily Republican Ohio House a day after the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on the Texas law on which it is modeled. A majority of justices signaled they would allow abortion providers to pursue a court challenge to the law. (Smyth, 11/3)

In news about Texas' abortion law —

Vox: Supreme Court Likely To Rule Against Texas’s Abortion Ban SB 8 — But There’s A Catch 
It appears likely that Justices Brett Kavanaugh or Amy Coney Barrett will switch sides and provide the fifth (and maybe a sixth) vote against Texas. At one point in the argument, Kavanaugh pointed to a brief filed by the Firearms Policy Coalition, which argued that, if SB 8 is allowed to stand, “it will undoubtedly serve as a model for deterring and suppressing the exercise of numerous constitutional rights” — including the Second Amendment. Kavanaugh appeared to view such an outcome as untenable, and that’s bad news for SB 8. (Millhiser, 11/1)

The Atlantic: The Anti-Abortion Movement Can Lose Its S.B. 8 Case And Still Win 
For anti-abortion activists, Texas’s recent law, Senate Bill 8, must have seemed like magic—a way to stop abortion immediately, without the grind of constitutional litigation and its attendant legal fees. The law prohibits abortion when fetal cardiac activity can be detected, usually around the sixth week of pregnancy, but outsources enforcement to private citizens, who can collect at least $10,000 each time someone performs or “aids or abets” an abortion. Texas claims that this exotic structure insulated it from suit, and at first, the Supreme Court seemed to agree, letting the law go into effect without saying a word and then writing a pro forma order explaining that its hands were tied. For abortion foes, it must have all seemed too good to be true. The Court doesn’t seem sold on S.B. 8 anymore. (Ziegler, 11/2)

The Texas Tribune: Gun Rights Group Opposes Texas’ Abortion Law, Joins Clinics In Legal Fight
Abortion-rights advocates have found an unexpected ally in their fight to overturn Texas’ controversial abortion law: gun rights advocates, fearful that the same novel mechanism employed to enforce the statute could later be applied to infringe on gun ownership. That issue played a key role in oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, where justices discussed how Texas’ method of implementing its abortion law could put other constitutional rights at risk. (Oxner and Barragan, 11/2)

Business Insider: The Texas Abortion Law Is Putting Doctors In A Bind. One Had To Turn Away A 14-Year-Old Kid Or Risk A Lawsuit
But for many of [Dr. Blair Cushing's] patients in McAllen, a city buried deep in southern Texas that's located just about eight miles from the US-Mexico border, going out of state is not an option. It would mean crossing the vastness of Texas to get to a neighboring state, which isn't viable for people who are undocumented or people who have responsibilities they can't abandon like kids or a job. "When you're talking about going out of state, if you're talking driving distance, this is literally 12 hours in any one direction to get to the nearest state border," Cushing explained. "You're also in a fairly remote community, so there's no real direct flights to somewhere else. Very, very few, so, good luck." (Dzhanova, 11/2)

People: This Texas Woman Had To Travel 1,500 Miles For An Abortion 
Before Rebecca* learned she was eight weeks and one day pregnant, there were weeks when the thought hadn't even crossed her mind. But in mid-September, after realizing she "wasn't feeling myself for a series of days," Rebecca decided to take an at-home pregnancy test "to get peace of mind." "I wanted to rule that out and think it was maybe something else, just other environmental circumstantial things that I hadn't considered," she tells PEOPLE. "So I took the pregnancy test and was very surprised when it came back positive. It was not expected." (Mazziotta, 11/2)

Also —

Miami Herald: National Abortion Ban Would Lead To 21% Jump In Pregnancy Deaths
A national ban on abortions would lead to a 21% annual jump in the number of pregnancy-related deaths, or about 140 additional deaths each year, according to a new study. And people of color, low income people and individuals with chronic or acute health conditions would be disproportionately affected. Black people face the greatest risks, followed by Hispanic people; a hypothetical nationwide abortion ban would lead to a 33% and 18% increase in deaths, respectively, from serious pregnancy complications in these groups in the years following the ban. (Camero, 11/2)

AP: Pregnant Woman's Death Puts Spotlight On Polish Abortion Law
A Polish hospital said Tuesday that doctors and midwives did everything they could to save the lives of a pregnant woman and her fetus in a case that has put the spotlight on a new restriction on Poland’s abortion law. The 30-year-old woman died of septic shock in her 22nd week of pregnancy. Doctors did not perform an abortion, even though her fetus was lacking amniotic fluid, according to a lawyer for the family. (Gera, 11/2)

The Wall Street Journal: Hospitals Face Steeper Fines For Shunning Federal Price-Disclosure Rules
The Biden administration on Tuesday finalized a regulation that will sharply increase the financial penalties for larger hospitals that don’t make their prices public. The new rule, which will take effect at the start of 2022, will also crack down on practices that made hospitals’ prices hard to find and access, including the use of special coding embedded in hospital webpages that prevents Alphabet Inc.’s GOOG 1.45% Google and other search engines from displaying price pages in search results. (Mathews and Evans, 11/2)

In other health care industry news —

Modern Healthcare: CMS To Boost Pay For Home Health, Hospital Outpatient Services
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is boosting payment for hospital outpatient services and home health and reducing reimbursement for physicians next year, according to a trio of final rules published Tuesday. Hospital-owned outpatient and ambulatory surgery center payment rates will each increase by 2%. Medicare home health reimbursement rates will increase by 2.6%, which the CMS expects to increase payments by $465 million. The agency will reduce the physician fee schedule conversation factor by $1.30 to $33.59 as the temporary reimbursement boost provided by the Consolidated Appropriations Act expires. But the CMS is expanding reimbursement for telehealth services that treat mental health issues. (Kacik, 11/2)

Modern Healthcare: TeamHealth Fires Back At UnitedHealth
TeamHealth's claims that UnitedHealthcare shortchanged 11,500 claims worth $10.5 million went forward in Clark County, Nevada District Court on Tuesday, with the lawsuit's complaints mirroring those of nine other cases the private equity-backed provider has pending against the nation's largest insurer, all accusing UnitedHealthcare of underpaying its bills by tens of millions of dollars. UnitedHealthcare's most recent federal suit is simply an attempt to distract from the ongoing case in Las Vegas, TeamHealth wrote in an email. In the run-up to the trial, the insurer tried to raise upcoding as a defense, but the court dismissed the charge, the company said. (Tepper, 11/2)

The Boston Globe: Providence-Based Mental Health Group Receives $100m Grant To Expand Services To Young People Of Color
The Steve Fund, a nonprofit focused on supporting the mental health and emotional well-being of young people of color, announced it had received $100 million in funding through a new partnership with Sony Corporation of America. The funding will be spread over the course of three years, and will be used to dramatically expand the fund’s digital technology and to scale the fund’s services to students, families, and professionals across the country. The donation comes from Sony’s Global Social Justice Fund, which wasestablished in June 2020. A spokesperson was not immediately available to comment. (Gagosz, 11/2)

Modern Healthcare: Geisinger Settles Medicare False Claims For $18.5 Million
Geisinger will pay $18.5 million to settle false claims it filed to Medicare for hospice and home health services, the Justice Department announced Monday. Geisinger voluntarily reported the billing mistakes its Geisinger Community Health Services unit committed between 2012 and 2017. Claims regarding physician certifications of terminal illnesses, patients' elections to enter hospice and in-person physician interactions with home health patients violated Medicare law, according to the Justice Department. (Kacik, 11/2)

WLRN 91.3 FM: Two Palm Beach Providers Integrate Mental Health Services Into Primary Pediatric Care 
A pediatric practice and a counseling center in Palm Beach County are teaming up to make sure their patients are physically and mentally healthy. That's especially important now, as the pandemic has worsened stress and anxiety for many children. “As mental health professionals, we can’t do it all," said Renee Layman, CEO and president of the Center for Child Counseling in Palm Beach Gardens. “We also know that we don’t have to wait for a child to fall apart and have a mental health diagnosis before we do something." (Brutus, 11/2)

The Hill: Facebook To Shut Down Facial Recognition System 
Facebook is shutting down its facial recognition system, and will delete more than a billion people’s individual facial recognition templates, the company said Tuesday. Meta, the new name of Facebook’s parent company, said the decision was made due to “growing concerns” about the use of facial recognition technology as a whole. (Klar, 11/2)

The Wall Street Journal: Facebook To Shut Down Facial Recognition In Photos, Videos 
Facebook said it is shutting down its facial-recognition system in the coming weeks, scrapping a feature that has developed into a key tool for sharing photos on social media but has raised concerns among privacy advocates and regulators. The move continues a dramatic reshaping of the tech giant in recent weeks, which includes pausing the development of an Instagram for children product and a rebranding of the entire company to Meta Platforms Inc. to focus on a future beyond social media. (Prang, 11/2)

In other public health news —

NPR: Dole Recalls Bags Of Garden Salad Due To Possible Listeria Risk
Dole Fresh Vegetables is recalling bags of garden salad that were sold in 10 states due to a sample that tested positive for listeria monocytogenes, an organism that can cause serious and possible deadly infections, according to the Food and Drug Administration. The company recalled four different salad varities: the 24-ounce Dole Garden Salad, 24-ounce Marketside Classic Salad, 12-ounce Kroger Brand Garden Salad and the 12-ounce Salad Classics Garden Salad. FDA officials have reported no illnesses associated with the recalled salads, which were sold across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia. (Franklin, 11/2)

North Carolina Health News: New Trial Tackles Childhood Hearing Loss In Rural Areas 
There’s a tried and true process for evaluating a child’s hearing: an audiologist sets them up in a soundproof booth, sits on the other side, and then, using a collection of expensive and immovable equipment, tests their ears. If the child shows signs of hearing loss, the audiologist refers them to an otolaryngologist — an ear, nose and throat doctor — for follow-up. The only issue? Audiologists and ear doctors simply don’t exist in some rural areas. (Donnelly-DeRoven, 11/3)

Georgia Health News: Small Towns, Cops And Mental Health Patients 
Every couple of weeks, police in Americus, a small city in southwest Georgia, respond to trouble at the home of the same young man. The man goes through psychotic episodes, sometimes violent ones. He’s on the autism spectrum and has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. The man got a lucky break after his latest incident, a physical attack on his father. The responding police officer was an old family friend, who engaged the man in conversation, managed to find a common interest – Marvel comics – and calmed him down. “It was one of those moments when I knew my training worked,” says Officer Harry Brooks. “And it felt good. It felt right.” (Ridderbusch, 11/2)

Axios: Sick Days Disappear In The Remote Working World 
Before the pandemic, if you woke up with a runny nose or a tickle in your throat, it was a simple enough decision to stay home and avoid infecting your co-workers. Now, as more Americans work from home, sick days are disappearing. Working through sickness and fatigue makes it harder for people to recover quickly and completely, prolonging the harm to their health and productivity. It also leads to an epidemic of "presenteeism" — showing up for work when you're not feeling up to it, and not doing your best job. (Pandey, 11/3)

Detroit Free Press: EPA Orders Benton Harbor To Take Steps To Fix Lead-Tainted System
The city of Benton Harbor must take immediate actions to improve the safety and reliability of its lead-tainted drinking water, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ordered Tuesday. The order comes as state and local officials continue to provide Benton Harbor residents with bottled water, and have embarked on a $30 million project intended to replace the city's thousands of lead service lines within 18 months. The city's municipal water system has tested for lead levels above the federal action limit of 15 parts per billion since 2018. But it was this September, when a group of 30 environmental and community organizations appealed to the EPA to intervene in Benton Harbor as the lead problems languished, that state and local response intensified. (Matheny, 12/2)

In news from Missouri, Texas and Tennessee —

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Missouri Medical Marijuana Program Hit With Subpoenas From Feds 
Missouri marijuana regulators received two federal grand jury subpoenas last fall, almost a year after authorities issued an initial demand for records from the state. The first demand for records, issued in November 2019, directs the Department of Health and Senior Services to provide “any and all records pertaining to medical marijuana applications” for four individuals. Their names are redacted from the document. The second subpoena, dated Sept. 9, 2020, requires marijuana regulators to provide records, but what the records pertain to is redacted from the document. (Suntrup, 11/2)

Dallas Morning News: Fort Worth Judge Rules Religious Businesses Can Be Shielded From LGBTQ Discrimination Claims
A federal judge in Fort Worth has ruled for-profit businesses with sincerely held religious beliefs can be shielded from LGBTQ discrimination claims, carving out exceptions to sexual orientation and gender identity protections previously granted by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Sunday ruling by U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor held that Braidwood Management Inc., a Christian health care companies operator in Katy, can avoid LGBTQ anti-bias protections under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the First Amendment. The anti-bias protections stem from Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. (Wolf, 11/2)

AP: Tennessee To Hold Free Flu Vaccination Events
The Tennessee Department of Health is urging the public to get a flu shot if they have not already received one. According to a news release, the department will hold “Fight Flu TN” vaccine events that will offer free shots in every county on Nov. 9 to help boost the number of Tennesseans vaccinated against influenza. (11/3)

In news from Maryland —

The Baltimore Sun: Shortage Of Inpatient Beds In Maryland Psychiatric Hospitals Is Putting Children At Risk, Officials Worry 
Inside a Maryland juvenile detention facility in Anne Arundel County, officials struggled to manage a girl who tried to injure herself and staffers on numerous occasions. She threatened to stab workers with colored pencils and attempted to assault them and other youth. After she tried hanging herself, staff at the Thomas J.S. Waxter Children’s Center in Laurel, not trained for the level of mental health care needed, put her in physical restraints inside her cell, one of several times they’ve done so after she attempted to kill herself or harm others. (Davis, 11/3)

The Aegis: Dismissal Of Health Officer David Bishai Draws Comments From Over 60 Harford County Residents At Council Meeting
Public comment at Tuesday’s Harford County Council meeting lasted well after 11 p.m. with more than 60 speakers expressing a range of satisfaction and dissatisfaction with the termination of the county health officer, Dr. David Bishai, late last month. Bishai, a Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health adjunct professor with degrees in medicine and economics, has said he was not given a reason for his firing, which happened two weeks ago. He said he was called to an in-person meeting with officials from the Maryland Department of Health who informed him that the Harford County Council voted to remove him, and that state Health Secretary Dennis R. Schrader approved the vote. (Bateman, 11/3)

Bloomberg: U.K. Parliament Tightens Its Covid Rules On Surge In Infections
The U.K. Parliament tightened coronavirus rules amid a surge in cases, with tours and banquets canceled for two weeks and MPs urged to wear masks. Face coverings were made compulsory for staff, contractors and journalists last week, but members of Parliament cannot be ordered to do so because they’re not employed by House of Commons authorities. They were told Tuesday, however, that they are now expected to wear them across the estate. While most opposition MPs have worn masks in the Commons chamber in recent weeks, many Conservatives have not. (Ashton, 11/2)

Reuters: COVID Pandemic In Britain Is Not Over, Hard Months To Come, Deputy Medical Officer Says 
The COVID-19 pandemic is not over in Britain and there are hard months to come as winter nears, England's deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam said on Wednesday. "Too many people believe that this pandemic is now over. I personally feel there are some hard months to come in the winter and it is not over," Van-Tam told BBC TV. (11/3)

In other covid updates from around the globe —

Bloomberg: China’s New Delta Outbreak Found In 19 Provinces, More Than At Any Time
More provinces in China are fighting Covid-19 than at any time since the deadly pathogen first emerged in Wuhan in 2019. The highly-infectious delta variant is hurtling across the country despite the increasingly aggressive measures that officials have enacted in a bid to thwart it. More than 600 locally-transmitted infections have been found in 19 of 31 provinces in the latest outbreak in the world’s second-largest economy. (11/3)

Bloomberg: Greek Covid Restrictions Target Unvaccinated As Daily Cases Hit Record
Greece announced new Covid-19 measures targeting the unvaccinated as daily infections hit their highest level since the pandemic began. From Nov. 6, those who haven’t been jabbed but want to attend their place of work must undergo two rapid tests a week instead of one -- paid for themselves. To enter most stores, banks and restaurants, they’ll need to present a negative rapid or PCR test. Fines for businesses that don’t comply will double, starting at 5,000 euros ($5,791) and a 15-day suspension of operations. Tests won’t be needed for supermarkets and pharmacies. (Nikas, 11/2)

AP: Brazil Weekly COVID-19 Death Toll At Lowest Since April 2020
Brazil’s seven-day total for deaths from COVID-19 has fallen to its lowest level since the start of the pandemic, according to online research website Our World in Data.In the seven days through Nov. 1 the nation recorded 2,188 deaths -- a level unseen since April 2020 -- amid increasingly widespread vaccination. (Biller and Jeantet, 11/2)

Stat: How Puerto Rico's Vaccine Drive Turned Into A Success 
The leader of the Puerto Rico National Guard was still dealing with the aftermath of a 6.4-magnitude earthquake that displaced thousands of residents in January 2020 when island officials began hearing reports of people falling ill from the new coronavirus. Once again, they turned to Guard Adjutant General José J. Reyes. Much of Reyes’ 37-year career has been in emergency response mode — from 9/11 to the devastation of Hurricane Maria in 2017 to the earthquake — but he sees all of those events as preparation for this one: helping to plan the island’s vaccination strategy and oversee its rollout. (Cueto, 11/3)

CNBC: 1 In 4 Older Americans Have Little Saved To Cover Medical Expenses
For retirees, unplanned medical expenses can upend their budget. Indeed, while about 33% of Americans age 65 or older have at least $6,000 set aside for medical bills, 27% have less than $500 in savings for that purpose, according to a survey from MedicareGuide.com. Nearly half (46%) in that age group — who generally rely on Medicare for coverage — are very or somewhat concerned that a major health situation in their household could lead to medical debt or bankruptcy. (O'Brien, 11/2)

AP: Giant Eagle Settles Pharmacy Lawsuits With Ohio Counties
One of the four retail pharmacy companies on trial for their alleged roles in fostering an opioid crisis in two Ohio counties announced Friday it had settled lawsuits filed by 10 government entities in the state that have accused the companies of creating a public nuisance. The settlement by Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle includes Lake and Trumbull counties, whose federal lawsuits are being heard in a bellwether trial in Cleveland that began in early October. The other defendants on trial are CVS, Walgreens and Walmart. (Gillispie, 10/29)

The Berkshire Eagle: First Responders Should Be Carrying Narcan
Holistically addressing the addiction crisis is a big and complex task, but there is something relatively simple that can be done to save lives and protect first responders throughout the commonwealth. The state should mandate that all first responders carry Narcan. More than ever, our first responders are frequently heading to overdose calls. How we equip that response should be informed by the ongoing toll of the opioid epidemic. Narcan, the brand name of naloxone, is an opioid antagonist that can immediately reverse an opioid-related overdose. It is portable and simple to use, so it can be easily administered at the scene of a suspected overdose and save a victim from respiratory distress and possible death. (10/28)

The Tennessean: First-Hand Account By Witness Who Created Solutions For Tennessee Opioid Case
“Of all the gin joints in all the towns in the world," it happens that the first jury trial in the deluge of the opioid epidemic happened in northeast Tennessee. Three district attorneys representing nine northeast Tennessee counties ravaged by the opioid epidemic determined to prosecute three pharmaceutical companies. In early July 2022, the jury selection of six local Tennessean “peers” had begun. This was a litigation with three initial defendants, Purdue, Mallinckrodt and Endo Pharmaceuticals. (Lloyd I. Sederer, 10/31)

Los Angeles Times: How Supply And Demand Have Driven The U.S. Drug Crisis Into The 'Synthetic Era' 
At a party in Venice in September, four people overdosed from what they thought was cocaine, three of them dying before paramedics arrived. The cocaine they used reportedly contained fentanyl. The deaths were another example of what has taken place across the U.S. over the last few years as we have entered what I call the synthetic era of drugs — street dope made with chemicals; no plants involved. Synthetic drugs of various kinds have been around for decades, but none have come close to the supply and threat of the two staples now coming up from Mexico: fentanyl and methamphetamine. And with synthetic drugs, as with most other products both legal and illegal, supply shapes demand. (Sam Quinones, 10/31)

Santa Fe New Mexican: New Mexico Needs To Ensure More Affordable Prescription Drugs
Despite massive spending on lobbying and campaign contributions, the big drug companies are slowly losing their stranglehold on state legislatures across the country. In Maryland, Maine, Oregon and Colorado, consumers, patients, public health advocates and providers demanding more affordable prescription drugs have succeeded in passing landmark legislation that will finally help manage runaway drug costs. The New Mexico Legislature should build on this momentum and pass a Prescription Drug Affordability Board next session to help reduce the cost of health care and benefit all New Mexicans. (Jeff Steinborn and Angelica Rubio, 10/30)

The New York Times: Covid-19 Deaths Are More Likely Among Men, But Why? 
Azita Ghahramani worried she wouldn’t survive Covid-19 because of her health conditions, including high blood pressure. So she and her husband, Scott Downing, and their son became hypervigilant. They moved to a remote part of Maine and avoided most social interactions. Even so, all three got Covid-19 in March 2021, possibly from exposure during a family funeral. But it wasn’t Ms. Ghahramani who nearly died of the disease; it was her husband. (Ezekiel J. Emanuel, 11/2)

The Star Tribune: Still No Validation For The Lab-Leak Theory Of COVID's Origin 
For months, adherents of the theory that COVID-19 originated in a Chinese government laboratory have hoped that an assessment President Joe Biden ordered from the nation's intelligence agencies would validate their suspicions. Their hopes are now dashed. The intelligence report was declassified and released on Oct. 29. It effectively demolishes the lab-leak theory. (Michael Hiltzik, 11/2)

The Washington Post: The Official Pandemic Death Toll Is 5 Million. But Millions More Perished Because Of It
Five million pandemic deaths around the world are sad and terrifying. It’s as though Chicago and Houston were almost wiped off the map. What’s even more disturbing is that the 5 million deaths — the total just recorded — is most certainly an underestimate. The true death toll is probably two or three times more. (11/2)

Bloomberg: Good Job On Vaccine Mandates, New York City. Don’t Back Down
New York City put 9,000 municipal workers on unpaid leave on Monday for refusing to comply with Covid-19 vaccine mandates. Well done. Public and private sector leaders will have to continue enforcing mandates amid counterfactual protests from holdouts who are conflating sensible public health policy and the common good with a threat to their liberty and identity. New York is making tough, rational choices around mandates and following through — an exemplary stance akin to United Airlines Holdings Inc.’s approach. This helps keep residents, employees and customers safer and healthier and makes it easier for other leaders to follow suit. (Timothy L. O'Brien, 11/2)

Stat: Molnupiravir For Covid-19: Another Opportunity To Recognize Inequity 
The Covid-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected communities of color and those with lower socioeconomic means, two groups that overlap to a significant extent in the U.S. Merck’s submission of molnupiravir, its oral antiviral drug, to the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization will only heighten inequities wrought by the pandemic. (Anand Swaminathan, Utibe R. Essien and Esther Choo, 11/3)

Stat: I've Worked With Robert Califf. He Is The Leader The FDA Needs 
If the cascade of news reports are true, President Biden is finally about to name his choice to lead the Food and Drug Administraion: Dr. Robert Califf, a cardiologist and clinical trialist who spent most of his career at Duke University, led the FDA under President Obama from February 2016 to January 2017, and who is currently head of clinical policy and strategy at Verily, Google’s health subsidiary. Given the essential work the FDA does — it oversees industries that account for 20 cents of every dollar spent by Americans — it deserves an extraordinary leader. And I believe Califf to be exactly that. (Haider J. Warraich, 11/2)

The Baltimore Sun: Another 1973 Abortion Ruling — ‘Doe,’ Not ‘Roe’ — Is At The Heart Of Next Month’s Supreme Court Case 
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a high-profile Texas case that blocks most abortions in the state, but a case out of Mississippi — Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, which will be heard next month — could prove more consequential. The case challenges a limit to abortions after 15 weeks, a rational limitation on surgical abortions resembling the French and German 12-week limitation. (George W. Liebmann, 11/2)

USA Today: Abortion Rights: Supreme Court Decisions May Put Women's Lives At Risk
The Supreme Court listened to arguments on Monday about SB-8, the Texas bill that all but bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. That's before most women know they're pregnant. The Texas law is in direct conflict with Supreme Court rulings such as Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which established and reaffirmed that a woman's right to decide what happens to her body during a pregnancy stems from the constitutionally protected right to privacy. (Carli Pierson, 11/1)

Chicago Tribune: Thank You, Illinois, For Trusting Young People Seeking Abortion 
Approximately 5% of teenagers in the United States become pregnant annually. Unfortunately, depending on where pregnant teenage patients live, their options may be limited. For the last eight years in Illinois, parents or guardians were required to be notified 48 hours before an abortion was provided to a minor. Fortunately, the Illinois legislature has repealed this illogical, paternalistic mandate and Gov. J.B. Pritzker has said that he will sign it.As an obstetrician/gynecologist and doctor who provides abortions, I care for these young people. After reflecting on the complicated circumstances of their lives and carefully weighing the consequences of their actions, some decide to continue their pregnancies, and others decide to end them. It is my privilege and responsibility to take care of these patients either way. (Maryl Sackeim, 11/2)

Houston Chronicle: Roe Is As Good As Gone. It's Time For A New Strategy
For the first time in a generation, the Supreme Court appears likely to overturn Roe v. Wade. The end of Roe need not herald the end of an era of reproductive freedom. It may instead launch a new strategy that protects the fundamental human right to decide whether to have children and raise them in safety and dignity. (11/2)

Modern Healthcare: How Healthcare Leaders Can Help Rebuild Trust
People who are more trusting of their healthcare providers tend to have better health outcomes and better quality of life. They also tend to be more satisfied with their care. Yet in the U.S., trust in medical professionals has eroded over the last 50 years. Black Americans tend to be less trusting of both physicians and hospitals than white or Latino Americans, while lower-income people tend to be less trusting of providers than their higher-income peers. (David Schleifer and Dr. Mary Catherine Beach, 11/2)