AP: Appeals Court Halts COVID Vaccine Mandate For Larger Businesses
A federal appeals court on Saturday temporarily halted the Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccine requirement for businesses with 100 or more workers. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted an emergency stay of the requirement by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration that those workers be vaccinated by January 4 or face mask requirements and weekly tests. (11/6)

CNBC: Republican Appointed Judges Temporarily Halt Biden Covid Vaccine Mandate For Private Businesses
The Republican attorneys general of Texas, South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi and Utah, as well as several private companies, filed petitions on Friday challenging the mandate in the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. The court on Saturday ordered the vaccine and testing requirements halted pending review “because the petitions give cause to believe there are grave statutory and constitutional issues with the Mandate.” (Kimball, 11/6)

The New York Times: Biden's Vaccine Mandate Temporarily Blocked, Foreshadowing Uphill Battle
The stay, issued by a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Louisiana, doesn’t have an immediate impact. The first major deadline in the new rule is Dec. 5, when companies with at least 100 employees must require unvaccinated employees to wear masks indoors. Businesses have until Jan. 4 to mandate Covid vaccinations or start weekly testing of their workers. But Saturday’s move provided momentum for a wide coalition of opponents of the rule, who have argued that it is unconstitutional. (Hirsch and Grullón Paz, 11/6)

Politico: Surgeon General Defends Embattled Vaccine Mandate
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on Sunday defended the Biden administration’s workplace rules on vaccine mandates after a federal court blocked a new Occupational Safety and Health Administration policy. Citing historical precedents dating back to George Washington during the American Revolution, Murthy said President Joe Biden had faith in both the legality of the mandate and the effectiveness of such requirements. “The president and the administration wouldn't have put these requirements in place if they didn't think they were appropriate and necessary,” Murthy told host Martha Raddatz on ABC’s “This Week.” “And the administration is certainly prepared to defend them.” (Cohen, 11/7)

CNN: White House Chief Of Staff 'Confident' Biden Administration's Vaccine Mandate For Private Businesses Will Be Upheld
White House chief of staff Ron Klain said he was confident the courts will uphold the validity of the Biden administration's new vaccine rules that apply to private businesses with 100 or more employees, certain health care workers and federal contractors, after a federal appeals court temporarily blocked the requirements on Saturday. "I'm quite confident that when this finally gets fully adjudicated, not just a temporary order, the validity of this requirement will be upheld," Klain told NBC's Chuck Todd on "Meet the Press." "It's common sense ... If OSHA can tell people to wear a hard hat on the job, to be careful around chemicals, it can put in place these simple measures to keep our workers safe." (Wright, 11/7)

The Washington Post: Thousands Of Federal Workers Seek Religious Exemptions To Avoid Coronavirus Vaccines
Federal agencies have yet to act on the requests piling into managers’ inboxes from vaccine resisters seeking accommodations that would allow them to continue their jobs unvaccinated rather than face the possibility of being fired as the administration has threatened. A far smaller number of employees have asked for exemptions on medical grounds, officials said, prompting what are likely to be more clear-cut decisions on whether to grant them. The number of religious objectors ranges from a little more than 60 people at the Education Department to many thousands among the 38,000-strong workforce at the Bureau of Prisons, according to federal employee union officials. (Rein, Duncan and Horton, 11/7)

AP: Biden Vaccine Mandates Face First Test With Federal Workers
President Joe Biden is pushing forward with a massive plan to require millions of private sector employees to get vaccinated by early next year. But first, he has to make sure workers in his own federal government get the shot. About 4 million federal workers are to be vaccinated by Nov. 22 under the president's executive order. Some employees, like those at the White House, are nearly all vaccinated. But the rates are lower at other federal agencies, particularly those related to law enforcement and intelligence, according to the agencies and union leaders. And some resistant workers are digging in, filing lawsuits and protesting what they say is unfair overreach by the White House. (Long and Sisak, 11/7)

USA Today: Over Half Of Employees Would Report A Coworker For Violating Vaccine Mandates, Study Says
Most employees favor President Joe Biden's efforts to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for employees at large companies, and many workers would consider reporting a co-worker for violating the vaccine rules, a new study suggests. ... A vast majority of employees view vaccinations as a political issue, which can be tough to navigate in a professional workplace, the survey also found. An overwhelming 84% of employees said politics influences their company leaders’ handling of vaccine, mask and testing policies. In fact, the top reason people reported for staying unvaccinated was a lack of trust in the government. (Shen, 11/7)

Axios: Vaccine Mandates Inflame The Culture Wars 
The brewing culture war over vaccine mandates now threatens to boil over after the Biden administration set a January deadline for all employers with more than 100 employees to require shots or regular testing. The planned mandates — which also include even more stringent standards for health care workers —would impact more than 100 million Americans, or more than two-thirds of the workforce. (Reed, 11/8)

The Hill: Spending Bill Faces Senate Scramble
President Biden’s climate and social spending bill is facing the threat of changes in the Senate as Democrats navigate a slim majority and tricky budget rules. Even as House Democrats have spent days agonizing over trying to work out an agreement that could win over nearly all of their members — ultimately punting until at least mid-November as moderates push for an analysis of the bill — Senate Democrats are warning that it is likely to change once it reaches their chamber. The bill faces multipronged challenges in the Senate: An even narrower majority, complex rules governing what can be in the legislation and a chaotic process that lets Republicans try to peel off enough Democrats to inject changes into the legislation or sink it altogether. (Carney, 11/7)

The Wall Street Journal: Biden Gets $1 Trillion Down Payment On Domestic Agenda; Obstacles Loom For Spending Bill
President Biden notched a big win with the House passage of the $1 trillion public-works bill late Friday, but political obstacles loom ahead for the White House as attention shifts to an even bigger spending bill and next year’s midterm elections. Congress is set to take a weeklong recess and return on Nov. 15 with a litany of items to complete in short order to avert a government shutdown and move forward on the roughly $2 trillion education, healthcare and climate package that has proven difficult to negotiate with the party’s slim majority in Congress. (Timiraos, Andrews and Talley, 11/7)

AP: Biden Hails Infrastructure Win As 'Monumental Step Forward'
President Joe Biden on Saturday hailed Congress’ passage of his $1 trillion infrastructure package as a “monumental step forward for the nation” after fractious fellow Democrats resolved a months-long standoff in their ranks to seal the deal. “Finally, infrastructure week,” a beaming Biden told reporters. “I’m so happy to say that: infrastructure week.” (Fram and Mill, 11/6)

Reuters: U.S. Democrats Pass $1 Trillion Infrastructure Bill, Ending Daylong Standoff
After a daylong standoff, Democrats set aside divisions between progressives and centrists to pass a $1 trillion package of highway, broadband and other infrastructure improvement, sending it on to President Joe Biden to sign into law. The 228-to-206 vote late on Friday is a substantial triumph for Biden's Democrats, who have bickered for months over the ambitious spending bills that make up the bulk of his domestic agenda. (Cornwell and Brice, 11/6)

Politico: 'Whole Day Was A Clusterf---': Dems Overcome Distrust To Send Infrastructure Bill To Biden
The truce bore fruit late, as the House cleared a $550 billion infrastructure bill for President Joe Biden's signature just before midnight and moved ahead on Democrats' $1.75 trillion social spending package. Those two milestones capped off a frantic and nearly disastrous day for the party, ending what has proved to be Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s most grueling exercise yet so far this Congress with just three votes to lose. “The whole day was a clusterfuck, right?” said senior progressive Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), who helped negotiate the rapprochement with the moderates. “At the end of the day what we all want to do is get the president’s agenda done, and that’s what we’re going to do.” (Caygle, Ferris, Wu and Beavers, 11/5)

CNN: Gottheimer Says He Expects To Move Forward On Social Spending Bill If CBO Score Matches
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, the Democratic co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus, indicated Sunday that he wants to wait for an official cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office before moving forward on President Joe Biden's economic agenda bill."I think what's most important for people to understand is, the responsible thing to do when you get a piece of legislation like this is to do a full analysis and to understand the impact on your district and the families in your district. And that's what I'm looking at, to make sure that when we vote for this and give the country this win that we deliver the way we should deliver," the New Jersey Democrat told CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union," also expressing optimism that the bill would be fully paid for. (Stracqualursi, 11/7)

CNBC: Medicare Has Coverage Gaps Despite Congressional Effort To Expand It
If Democratic lawmakers get their way, Medicare will start covering hearing services for the first time in the program’s history. The coverage, which would take effect in 2023, is included in Democrats’ proposed $1.85 trillion spending bill, dubbed the Build Back Better Act and aimed partly at strengthening the social safety net. The legislative package still needs approval in both the House and Senate before it could be signed into law by President Joe Biden. (O'Brien, 11/6)

Stat: New Court Rulings Add To The Dispute Over A U.S. Drug Discount Program
In the latest twist in a closely watched legal battle, two different federal court judges late last week reached largely conflicting views about the approach taken by the U.S. government to enforce a controversial prescription drug discount program. One judge decided the federal government overstepped its bounds when it threatened earlier this year to penalize Novartis and United Therapeutics for curtailing discounts in what is known as the 340B drug discount program. However, the judge in the other case, which was brought by Sanofi and Novo Nordisk, took the opposite view, yet at the same time also told the government to reassess a key issue concerning the use of contract pharmacies, which are at the heart of the dispute. (Silverman, 11/6)

In more Biden administration news —

Stat: Walensky’s Efforts To Resuscitate The CDC Are Faltering
Operating via Zoom from her home office in Newton, Mass., Rochelle Walensky is facing down a challenge that would sound herculean for even the most hardened players in the federal bureaucracy: resuscitating the CDC. Her challenge is especially tough because as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Walensky is a political outsider and finds herself playing second fiddle to Anthony Fauci, the face of the U.S. pandemic response who has advised presidents for decades. And there’s this: The White House has not hesitated to undercut Walensky’s scientific expertise, and the agency’s scientific process. (Facher, 11/8)

The Washington Post: Pete Buttigieg’s Infant Son Home From Hospital After Spending A Week On A Ventilator
The infant son of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg returned home Friday after three weeks of medical treatment, 125 miles in an ambulance, and a “terrifying” period spent on a ventilator, Buttigieg’s spouse said. Chasten Buttigieg and his husband, who is the nation’s first openly gay Cabinet Secretary, adopted Joseph August and his sister Penelope Rose in late summer. It was only in recent weeks that the couple revealed that their son, whom they refer to as “Gus,” was in poor health. (Jeong, 11/6)

On Republican politicians and ivermectin —

KHN: As Constituents Clamor For Ivermectin, Republican Politicians Embrace The Cause
When state senators in South Carolina held two hearings in September about covid-19 treatments, they got an earful on the benefits of ivermectin — which many of the lawmakers echoed, sharing experiences of their own loved ones. The demands for access to the drug were loud and insistent, despite federal regulators’ recent warning against using the drug to treat covid. Ivermectin is a generic drug that has been used for decades to treat river blindness, scabies and even head lice. Veterinarians also use it, in different formulations and dosages, to treat animals for parasites like worms. (Farmer, 11/8)

In other news from the Capitol —

The New York Times: Congress Is Investigating McKinsey Over Its Role In The Opioid Crisis
In a new assault on the global consulting giant McKinsey & Company, Congress on Friday started an investigation into the firm’s role in the opioid crisis, sending a letter demanding records related to its “business practices, conflicts of interest and management standards.” The 12-page letter, which was sent by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, asked for names of McKinsey clients in the health care industry as well as documents connected to its work with opioid manufacturers, distributors and retailers. The committee is also looking at how McKinsey’s consulting for drugmakers may conflict with work it has done for the Food and Drug Administration. (Bogdanich and Forsythe, 11/5)

AP: Legislative Push For Permanent Daylight Saving Time Renewed
Members of Congress are renewing the push to make daylight saving time permanent as most of the nation prepares to turn back the clocks one hour this Sunday. U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, said the bipartisan Sunshine Protection Act would end an antiquated and disruptive practice. ... He argues that making daylight saving time permanent has economic and public health benefits. (11/6)

CNN: The United States Reopens To Vaccinated International Travelers
The United States is flinging its doors wide open to vaccinated international travelers on Monday, welcoming many visitors who've been shut out of the country for 20 months. Anna Zwing, 28, is flying from Germany to Chicago on Monday to see her boyfriend for the first time in more than two years. She checked in for her Lufthansa flight in person in Frankfurt on Sunday to make sure her ESTA application and all the new Covid documentation she has vigilantly gathered and double- and triple-checked was in order. All set, the check-in agent assured Zwing and told her to prepare for longer wait times at security on Monday. (Hunter, 11/8)

AP: As Rules Ease, Travelers Head To US For Emotional Reunions
The U.S. lifted restrictions Monday on travel from a long list of countries including Mexico, Canada and most of Europe, setting the stage for emotional reunions nearly two years in the making and providing a boost for the airline and tourism industries decimated by the pandemic. Wives will hug husbands for the first time in months. Grandmas will coo over grandsons who have doubled in age since they last saw them. Aunts and uncles and cousins will snuggle babies they haven’t met yet. (Leicester and Loller, 11/8)

AP: EXPLAINER: How US Rules On International Travel Are Changing
More than a year and a half after COVID-19 concerns prompted the U.S. to close its borders to international travelers from countries including Brazil, China, India, South Africa, the United Kingdom and much of Europe, restrictions are shifting to focus on vaccine status. Beginning Monday, bans on travel from specific countries are over. The U.S. will allow in international travelers, but they must be vaccinated — with a few exceptions. (Arbel, 11/8)

The Hill: Gottlieb Not Expecting Travel From Outside US To 'Feed A Lot Of Additional Infections'
Asked if the resumption of international travel will feed into the delta variant wave of COVID-19 infections the U.S. is experiencing, Gottlieb told host Margaret Brennan on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that he does not think the new policy will have a significant effect on cases in the U.S. because of the vaccine requirement and individuals not wanting to be trapped in a foreign country with the virus. “I don't think the travel coming in from outside the U.S. is gonna feed additional infections or a lot of additional infections,” Gottlieb said. (Schnell, 11/7)

AP: Foreign Citizens Seek US-Approved Shots As Travel Resumes
As COVID-19 ravaged Hungary in April, Budapest resident Akos Sipos received his second vaccine dose, believing he was doing the right thing for his own health and to help end the pandemic. But Sipos, 46, soon discovered that the vaccine he received, Russia's Sputnik V, disqualified him from traveling to a number of other countries where it hadn't been approved. The nations include the United States, which is pushing forward with a new air travel policy that will make Sipos and many like him ineligible to enter. (Spike, 11/7)

The Wall Street Journal: Rising Covid-19 Breakthrough Cases Hinder Efforts To Control Virus
Breakthrough infections are expected to become more common as more people get vaccinated: if 100% of the population were vaccinated, every infection would be a breakthrough infection. However, U.K. data also suggest that among vaccinated people, the chances of getting a breakthrough infection are rising. The rise in breakthroughs in the U.K. is being driven in part by children, still largely unvaccinated in the U.K., passing on the virus to their vaccinated parents. A detailed study on household transmission in the U.K. suggests that a vaccinated person who shares a home with somebody with symptomatic Covid-19 has a 25% chance of catching the virus. (Roland, 11/6)

Stat: Not All Covid Waves Look The Same: A Snapshot Of The Delta Surge 
At first, Joyce Dombrouski thought it might just be some kind of blip. Maybe it was Montana’s summer tourists. But then, at one point this August, St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula had 30-plus Covid inpatients — “and we thought 30, a year ago, was a horrific number,” said Dombrouski, the chief executive of Providence Montana. It just kept growing. ... The Delta-caused wave that now seems to be sloping downward has different demographics than previous waves, and provides a snapshot of the current state of the pandemic in the United States. .... divides in who’s getting seriously ill — rooted in geography, in vaccination status — seem to have grown, and epidemiologists don’t think those two trends are unrelated. (Boodman, 11/8)

Axios: Gottlieb: "We're Close To The End Of The Pandemic" 
Former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb told CBS Sunday he believes the end of the pandemic phase of COVID-19 is in sight. "We're going to enter a more endemic phase and as things improve, cases may pick up. ... But that doesn't mean that we're entering into another wave of infection," Gottlieb said during his interview on CBS' "Face the Nation." (11/7)

On the impact of sports —

CIDRAP: College Football Didn't Fuel COVID-19 Spread Among Players, Study Suggests
COVID-19 didn't appear to spread efficiently within and among teams competing in the fall 2020 Southeastern Conference (SEC) college football season, finds an observational study published late last week in JAMA Network Open. The study, led by a Texas A&M University researcher, analyzed close contacts (within 6 feet) among opposing players during official games and COVID-19 athlete testing data from Sep 26 to Dec 19, 2020. (Van Beusekom, 11/3)

AP: Schools Take Lead Role In Promoting Vaccines For Youngsters
With the approval of the COVID-19 vaccine for younger children, many elementary schools around the U.S. are preparing to offer the shots, which educators see as key to keeping students learning in person and making the classroom experience closer to what it once was. Some district leaders say offering vaccine clinics on campus, with the involvement of trusted school staff, is key to improving access and helping overcome hesitancy — particularly in communities with low overall vaccination rates. (Eaton-Robb, 11/7)

Axios: Schools Across The U.S. Offer COVID Vaccine Drives 
School districts across the U.S. have begun offering COVID-19 vaccine clinics following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's approval of the shot for younger patients, AP reports. Many parents eagerly awaited the vaccine's approval for children ages 5-11, as the return to in-person schooling this fall was accompanied by a spike in COVID-19 cases. Now, educators see getting shots in children's arms as key to a return to normalcy in the classroom. (Reyes, 11/7)

Jill Biden promotes vaccines in schools —

CNN: Jill Biden's Child Vaccine Tour Will Include Push For More Children Vaccination Sites 
First lady Jill Biden and US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy will make a push for boosting the number of Covid-19 vaccination sites for children Monday as they kick off a nationwide administration effort to encourage vaccines for the nation's youngest and newly eligible candidates. "Over the following weeks the First Lady will visit pediatric Covid-19 vaccination clinics across the country, including at schools, children's hospitals, and other community sites, and will encourage more sites to offer vaccines for children in their community and protect them from Covid-19," a White House official said. (Klein, 11/8)

CBS News: First Lady Jill Biden And Surgeon General Vivek Murthy Kick Off Kids Vaccination Campaign
First lady Jill Biden and Dr. Vivek Murthy, the surgeon general, will be visiting a children's vaccination clinic at a school in McLean, Virginia, with historic significance in vaccine delivery. Franklin Sherman Elementary School was the first school in the nation to give children the polio vaccine in 1954. Jill Biden and Murthy are starting a campaign to get COVID-19 vaccine shots into the arms of children between the ages of 5-11 years of age. (Jiang, 11/6)

Being in school is better —

CBS News: Gottlieb Predicts "Broad Immunity" Among Children As More Get COVID-19 Vaccine
Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration who now serves on Pfizer's board of directors, said Sunday that he expects "broad immunity" against COVID-19 among younger children as more get vaccinated. "The uptake on a 5- to 11[-year-old] vaccine has been very brisk, and I suspect that uptake is going to be better than 12 to 17. There were some estimates that uptake would be less than 12 to 17. I think it could be the opposite," Gottlieb told "Face the Nation." "Right now, CVS is scheduled to deliver more than 1 million vaccines to kids ages 5 to 11 today, so I think you're going to see broad immunity get put into the child population." (Hayes, 11/7)

Axios: Study Finds In-Person Class Benefits Outweigh COVID Risks For Kids 
A new study looked at COVID-19 spread among schools and found that kids can safely remain in class with the proper mitigation measures. The toll of learning loss due to the pandemic has been enormous. With vaccines now approved for almost everyone older than 4 — and clear evidence that spread can be controlled in schools — classes should be able to remain open. (Walsh, 11/6)

CIDRAP: Survey Reveals Entrenched US COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy
A detailed national survey of Americans, which included residents of the four largest US metropolitan areas, found that about half of those unwilling to be vaccinated against COVID-19 were unlikely to change their minds. A research team based at Emerson University published their findings yesterday in Scientific Reports. The 36-question survey of 6,037 Americans was conducted in April 2021, roughly a year into the pandemic. One third of the respondents were part of the national sample, and two thirds were from Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, and New York City. (11/5)

NBC News: These Southern California Groups Are Fighting To Close Latino Vaccination Gaps
A Latino Covid-19 vaccination gap in California's third largest county has medical workers and community groups scrambling to close the disparities before the holidays. Latinos are the second largest demographic group in Orange County, making up 35 percent of the population, but they have the lowest vaccination rate — 21.8 percent —according to OC Health Care Agency data. (Flores, 11/5)

: Helping Overcome Vaccine Hesitancy Was Their Goal. The Surprise? Who Was The Problem.
The path to getting more high school students vaccinated against COVID-19 might go through parents. (Brubaker, 11/6)

The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer: ‘People Have Lost Their Empathy For Others’: Health Care Providers Angry, Bitter About Vaccine Hesitancy As COVID-19 Cases Continue To Overwhelm Area Hospitals 
Doctors and nurses have had enough. Nineteen months on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic have exposed many of them to more death and misery than they might have expected in an entire career. ... Some of these health care heroes are giving up. And it’s really not surprising. They’re exhausted from the latest surge of cases that could have been prevented – and angry that so many who are hospitalized with COVID didn’t take the most basic step to protect themselves. (Drown, 11/6)

The NBA is recommending shots —

AP: NBA To Players, Coaches, Refs: Booster Shots Are Recommended
The NBA told its players, coaches and referees on Sunday that they should receive booster shots against the coronavirus, with particular urgency for those who received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The league and the National Basketball Players Association — working jointly based on guidance from the NBA’s public health and infectious disease experts — said those who received Johnson & Johnson shots more than two months ago should get a booster. The booster recommendation also was made for those who received the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine at least six months ago. (Reynolds, 11/7)

If the vaccine program doesn't reach everyone, there are antiviral pills coming —

CBS News: When Will Americans Be Able To Get A COVID-19 Antiviral Pill?
As the U.S. braces for a potential new wave of the virus this winter, there are promising signs that the first pill to treat COVID-19 in some at-risk Americans could be available by the end of the year. A panel of the Food and Drug Administration's outside advisers is scheduled to meet on November 30 to weigh a potential emergency use authorization for molnupiravir, an antiviral drug developed by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics that recently won authorization in the United Kingdom. (Tin, 11/5)

The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Vaccines And Myocarditis Link Probed By Researchers
Some theories center on the type of spike protein that a person makes in response to the mRNA vaccines. The mRNA itself or other components of the vaccines, researchers say, could also be setting off certain inflammatory responses in some people. One new theory under examination: improper injections of the vaccine directly into a vein, which sends the vaccine to heart muscle. To find answers, some doctors and scientists are running tests in lab dishes and examining heart-tissue samples from people who developed myocarditis or pericarditis after getting vaccinated. (Loftus, 11/7)

AP: Pfizer Says COVID-19 Pill Cut Hospital, Death Risk By 90%
Pfizer Inc. said Friday that its experimental antiviral pill for COVID-19 cut rates of hospitalization and death by nearly 90% in high-risk adults, as the drugmaker joined the race for an easy-to-use medication to treat the coronavirus. Currently most COVID-19 treatments require an IV or injection. Competitor Merck's COVID-19 pill is already under review at the Food and Drug Administration after showing strong initial results, and on Thursday the United Kingdom became the first country to OK it. (11/5)

NBC News: Covid Antibody Drugs Could Protect People With Weak Immune Systems
Even as the Covid delta wave ebbs in the U.S., millions of people with compromised immune systems remain trapped in an anxious and sequestered limbo. A considerable portion of this population, research indicates, remains highly vulnerable to the coronavirus even after three or four vaccine shots. Many immunocompromised Americans, including people with cancer, autoimmune disorders and transplanted organs, are impatiently awaiting what could be their ticket back to some semblance of normalcy: the ability to receive periodic injections of long-acting monoclonal antibodies. This, research suggests, could provide them the substantial protection against Covid-19 that in their cases vaccination may not. (Ryan, 11/7)

The Boston Globe: Pregnant Women With COVID-19 Face Higher Rates Of Severe Illness And Preterm Birth. Why Are So Few Vaccinated?
During the final month of her pregnancy last March, Amanda Piantedosi faced a dilemma. Her doctor urged her to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Her husband, parents, in-laws, and friends argued strongly against it. Pregnant women infected with COVID-19 face higher rates of severe illness, preterm birth, and other complications. But her family members, although willing to get vaccinated themselves, worried about whether a new vaccine would be safe for the baby. (Freyer, 11/7)

Covid even affects pets —

CIDRAP: Pets Also Vulnerable To COVID-19 Cardiac Complications
Domestic pets are susceptible to the Alpha SARS-CoV-2 variant (B117) and can experience severe illness, according to a case series of cats and dogs published by researchers from the United Kingdom yesterday in Veterinary Record. The study examined illnesses in six pets, which included four cats and two dogs. All had experienced acute cardiac disease onset, including severe myocarditis. The animals tested positive for the Alpha variant or had antibodies 2 to 6 weeks after illness. Many of the owners had been sick with COVID-19 before their pets became ill. (11/5)

CBS News: SAINT: Hope For New Treatment Of Depression
A new experimental treatment using a fast-acting approach with targeted magnetic stimulation of the brain, called Stanford Accelerated Intelligent Neuromodulation Therapy, has achieved significant success in trials. (11/7)

NPR: Drugmaker Drops Cheaper Version Of Drug, Leaving Patients Stuck With Pricier One
Sudeep Taksali thought his battle to avoid a medication's steep price tag was over. He was wrong. In 2020, he'd fought to get insurance to cover a lower-priced version of a drug his then 8-year-old daughter needed. She'd been diagnosed with a rare condition called central precocious puberty, which would have caused her to go through sexual development years earlier than her peers. NPR and KHN wrote about Taksali and his family as part of our Bill of the Month series. (Lupkin, 11/6)

CIDRAP: Report Highlights Need For Maternal Group B Strep Vaccine
A new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is calling for more urgency on efforts to develop a maternal vaccine against group B Streptococcus (GBS) to prevent newborn deaths, neurodevelopmental problems, and maternal complications. Although the GBS bacterium is common in the human microbiome and is carried by an average of 15% of all pregnant women worldwide (approximately 20 million women globally), it can be passed to newborns during labor and delivery and cause serious invasive infections, including meningitis, bacterial pneumonia, and sepsis. (Dall, 11/4)

Stat: Q&A: A Bioethicist On The Worrisome Boom In Stem Cell Clinics 
In 2016, the Food and Drug Administration put the emerging stem cell cottage industry on notice. At the time, a few hundred clinics were peddling experimental stem cell therapies costing between $2,000 and $25,000 for conditions ranging from chronic pain to autism to multiple sclerosis without solid scientific evidence that they worked. Federal regulators asserted that the stem cells being sold — usually taken from a patient’s body and slightly processed before being re-injected — were drugs, and therefore required a rigorous approval process. (Molteni, 11/8)

Aduhelm is back in the news —

NPR: Cost and controversy are limiting use of new Alzheimer's drug
The new Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm isn't reaching many patients. And doctors say reasons include its high cost, insurers' reluctance to cover it, and lingering questions about whether it actually slows memory loss. "The pendulum of public opinion has swayed strongly against this drug," says Dr. Marwan Sabbagh, an Alzheimer's specialist at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Ariz., who has worked as an advisor to Biogen, which makes the drug. (Hamilton, 11/8)

Modern Healthcare: House Bill Calls For Biggest Increase In GME Slots In Decades
The House's version of President Joe Biden's domestic policy package includes something hospitals have been pushing for for decades: thousands more residency slots paid for by Medicare. If enacted, this would be the biggest expansion of the Graduate Medical Education program in decades and a win for hospital groups that are projecting looming doctor shortages sparked by an aging population and retiring physicians. (Hellman, 11/5)

Modern Healthcare: Healthcare Employment Tops 16 Million, The Most Since Early 2020
Healthcare employment rebounded somewhat in October after a dip in September. The healthcare industry added an estimated 37,200 jobs in October after a slight decline in September, when the industry shed 1,000 jobs—a revised count that shows a much smaller decrease than the government's previous report. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published its latest preliminary jobs data on Friday. (Bannow, 11/5)

Also —

Stat: Clinical Trial Sites Face Challenges In Diversifying Personnel And Participants
As demands for diversity and equity increase across the globe, a new analysis finds nearly 75% of patients who are enrolled in industry-sponsored clinical trials in academic medical centers and community hospitals are white. Yet the proportion of a given race or ethnicity among clinical trial personnel closely aligns with the corresponding race or ethnicity of study participants, according to the Center for Study of Drug Development at Tufts University, which conducted the analysis of nearly 3,200 trial sites that are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. The findings suggest that clinical research organizations and drug makers face stiff challenges in order to diversify both trial personnel and participants, according to center director Ken Getz. (Silverman, 11/5)

Crain's Chicago Business: Why One Small Hospital System Stands Pat While Others Bulk Up
Loyola Medicine has reached a strategic crossroads in a consolidating market. Anchored by an academic medical center, Maywood-based Loyola has long stood out in the local market by providing more advanced care than other hospitals in the western suburbs. But its future is less clear as behemoths like Advocate Aurora Health, NorthShore University HealthSystem and Northwestern Medicine build sprawling regional networks with more than three times as many hospitals. (Goldberg, 11/5)

The Wall Street Journal: Blackstone To Invest Up To $250 Million In Autolus Therapeutics Of U.K.
Blackstone Inc. BX -1.37% is investing as much as $250 million in U.K. biotechnology company Autolus Therapeutics AUTL -1.59% PLC to fund the final stages of development of a new therapy to treat a serious form of leukemia, the companies said. Of the total investment, as much as $150 million will support the development and commercialization of obecabtagene autoleucel, a cell therapy that targets a condition called acute lymphoblastic leukemia. London-based Autolus will receive $50 million of that upfront, with the rest to be paid as the company achieves certain milestones. In return, Blackstone’s life-sciences unit will receive a portion of the therapy’s royalties. (Gottfried, 11/7)

In news on drug fraud —

Bloomberg: A Video Game Only A Pharmacist Could Love Ferrets Out Drug Fraud
Robert Lodder, a professor at the University of Kentucky’s School of Pharmacy and a biopharmaceutical entrepreneur, has long enjoyed a good video game. Now he’s turning his passion for gaming into a powerful tool to identify defective and dangerous drugs. Together with Heather Campbell, an engineer in the pharmaceutical industry who has a penchant for software coding, Lodder has created a video game to help hospitals and pharmacies ferret out shoddy drugs. The pair have already deployed their game to lead them to a disturbing insight: Some pharmaceutical firms may be skimping on active ingredients to save money at the expense of drug quality. For someone with a headache, that could mean a bit of added discomfort. For a patient recovering from heart surgery, a weakened drug could cause serious harm. (Edney, 11/7)

CNN: Discrimination Could Lead To Higher Risk For Mental Problems, Study Finds 
Young adults who experience discrimination about their bodies, race, age or sex have a greater risk of dealing with mental health problems than those who do not, a new study has found. Encountering discrimination -- especially racism -- has long been associated with negative effects on overall well-being, such as higher levels of stress, poor cognitive function, anxiety, depression and substance use, previous studies have found. Those who faced discrimination frequently -- at least a few times per month -- were around 25% more likely to be diagnosed with a mental disorder and twice as likely to develop severe psychological distress than people who didn't experience discrimination or did less often, according to a study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics. (Rogers, 11/8)

Bloomberg: LGBTQ People Were More Likely To Lose Income During The Pandemic
In a first-of-its-kind survey from the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly a quarter of LGBTQ people reported losing income during the Covid-19 pandemic, a higher share than non-LGTBQ respondents. U.S. unemployment and income statistics don’t specifically measure the LGBTQ experience. This past July, the U.S. Census Bureau for the first time collected information about sexual orientation and gender identity of respondents to its Household Pulse Survey. Across four surveys about emotional and economic well-being, LGBTQ respondents reported higher levels of food insecurity, anxiety and depression than non-LGBTQ people. (Silvan, 11/5)

NPR: Advice For Cold, Flu And COVID-19: Wear A Mask And Wash Your Hands
Cold and flu season is coming up, on top of the still ongoing COVID pandemic. The number of cases of flu in the U.S. last year was low because people were still at home and masking up. But this year, cases could go up. And many are asking, how do they avoid getting sick? (Silver, 11/6)

The Connecticut Mirror: Eating Disorders Among Veterans Attributed To Trauma, Military Weight Requirements
Food makes Thomas Burke nauseous. Burke, an ex-Marine, won’t eat in front of people because he’s likely to vomit. He barely gets down meals and never finishes what’s on his plate. He’s struggled with anorexia and bulimia at different periods for more than a decade, and like many other veterans with eating disorders, he attributes them to his time in the military. (McCarthy, 11/6)

North Carolina Health News: Evidence-Based Reentry Key For Incarcerated Population 
At first, Tommy Green doesn’t tell his clients that he was formerly incarcerated. As a Community Health Worker for North Carolina Formerly Incarcerated Transition Program (NC FIT) in Orange County, he connects people coming out of jails and prisons with health resources, as well as assistance with other needs, like food and transportation. When he first meets clients, he tells them about the program, but it’s not until he says he also did time that he sees a spark in their eye. (Thompson, 11/8)

AP: Food Banks Embark On Expansions With Lessons From COVID
Food banks across the country are pursuing major expansion projects driven in part by their experiences during the pandemic, when they faced an explosion of need. “So many people who had never had to ask for help found themselves in a position of needing it and not knowing where to go,” said Ginette Bott, president and chief executive of the Utah Food Bank. “It was like somebody flipped a switch.” Even though demand for fresh and packaged provisions has dropped from pandemic peaks, the need remains far above pre-pandemic levels. (Thanawala, 11/5)

In obituaries —

The New York Times: Michael Rutter, Pioneering Child Psychiatrist, Is Dead At 88
Dr. Michael Rutter, a British child psychiatrist whose many transformative studies included one that demonstrated the genetics of autism and another that assessed how poor treatment suffered by Romanian children in orphanages affected them after they were adopted by English families, died on Oct. 23 at his home in Dulwich, a suburb of London. He was 88. The cause was cancer, said Sandra Woodhouse, his personal assistant at King’s College London. (Sandomir, 11/7)

The New York Times: Stephen Karpiak, Pathbreaking H.I.V. Researcher, Dies At 74 
Stephen Karpiak, whose research into the lives of New Yorkers aging with H.I.V. revealed a scarcity of support networks and high rates of depression, leading to changes in the care of older people living with the virus, died on Oct. 16 at a hospital in Manhattan. He was 74. His brother, Michael, said the cause was kidney damage that resulted from an infection. (Vadukul, 11/7)

Also —

KHN: Journalists Follow Leads On Curbing Violence, Improving Psych Care And Crowdsourcing Covid Safety
KHN’s Peggy Girshman fellow Amanda Michelle Gomez discussed how Washington, D.C., is adopting public health tools to help curb gun violence on Newsy’s “Morning Rush” on Wednesday. KHN interim Southern bureau editor Andy Miller discussed the shortage of beds at state psychiatric facilities on Newsy on Wednesday. KHN freelancer Morgan Gonzales discussed how vigilantes are crowdsourcing covid safety information about local businesses on Newsy on Tuesday. (11/6)

KHN: Texas Providers See Increased Interest In Birth Control Since Near-Total Abortion Ban
In September, when Texas’ near-total abortion ban took effect, Planned Parenthood clinics in the Lone Star State started offering every patient who walked in information on Senate Bill 8, as well as emergency contraception, condoms and two pregnancy tests. The plan is to distribute 22,000 “empowerment kits” this year. “We felt it was very important for patients to have as many tools on hand to help them meet this really onerous law,” said Elizabeth Cardwell, lead clinician at Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, which has 24 clinics across the northern and central regions of the state and provides care to tens of thousands of people annually. (Michell Gomez, 11/8)

AP: 3 Tennessee School Districts Land $4.6M Mental Health Grant
Tennessee officials say three school districts will receive more than $4.6 million in federal mental health program funding. The Tennessee Department of Education says Bledsoe County Schools, Haywood County Schools and Scott County Schools are receiving Project AWARE funding through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The project trains school workers and other adults in the community who interact with school-aged children on mental health and offers more services to students and parents. (11/8)

Tampa Bay Times: Kayaker Contracts Flesh-Eating Bacteria Climbing Tampa Dock, Lawsuit Says
A Tampa man says in a lawsuit that he became infected with flesh-eating bacteria after taking a spill from a kayak near the busy boat-rental area at the Tampa Convention Center. Robert Ray “Bob” Williams said he fell into the water in February because of a faulty seatback on the rental kayak and cut his feet on barnacles and oysters as he climbed from Garrison Channel onto a floating dock. The bacteria entered his body through the cuts and he required surgery to remove it, the lawsuit said. (Fiallo, 11/8)

The Boston Globe: Five Years Later, Legal Marijuana Remains Unfinished Business In Massachusetts
On Nov. 8, 2016, Massachusetts voters legalized marijuana, closing a door on more than a century of prohibition and opening one to an uncertain new era. In doing so, they brushed past gloomy prophecies from opponents — a spike in youth consumption, a rash of stoned driving accidents, ultra-conspicuous pot shops next to toy stores — and heeded arguments from legalization advocates that a tightly regulated cannabis market would be safer, fairer, and more lucrative for government coffers than the sprawling illicit one. (Adams, 11/7)

The Daily Yonder: ‘No Surprises’ Legislation Benefits Rural Residents Starting January 1
Imagine for a moment you are a rural teacher driving home on a wintery day. As you navigate the icy roads, your car runs off the road and into a ditch. A passing motorist sees the accident and calls 9-1-1. Unconscious, you aren’t aware what is happening. When the emergency medical crew shows up to treat you, there’s no one around to give consent for you. (11/6)

In covid news across the nation —

AP: Arizona Reports 3,000-Plus COVID Cases For 4th Day In A Row
Health officials in Arizona on Sunday reported over 3,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases for the fourth consecutive day. The state Department of Health Services’ coronavirus dashboard reported 3,231 additional cases but just one death. The latest numbers increased Arizona’s pandemic totals to 1,189,708 cases and 21,409 known deaths. State health officials had reported 3,352 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, then 3,813 more cases Friday and 3,592 additional cases Saturday. (11/7)

AP: Strict Mandate Takes Effect In LA. Business Patrons Must Show Proof Of Vaccination
LOS ANGELES — Yoga studio owner David Gross felt relieved after Los Angeles passed a vaccine mandate that is among the strictest in the country, a measure that took effect Monday that requires proof of shots for everyone entering a wide variety of businesses from restaurants to shopping malls and theaters to nail and hair salons. (11/8)

The New York Times: Two Spotted Hyenas At The Denver Zoo Are The First Known To Have Covid-19
Two spotted hyenas at the Denver Zoo have tested positive for the coronavirus, becoming the first known cases in the world among hyenas, zoo and veterinary services officials announced on Friday. The adult hyenas, 22-year-old Ngozi and 23-year-old Kibo, have so far exhibited mild symptoms of Covid, including “a little bit of coughing and sneezing,” and nasal discharge and lethargy, but they are believed to be “in good shape and improving,” Jake Kubié, a spokesman for the Denver Zoo, said on Saturday. (Manuel Ramos, 11/7)

The CT Mirror: CT's New Health Commissioner Confronts COVID And More As She Takes The Reigns
While completing her medical residency in Manhattan, Dr. Manisha Juthani kept circling back to a topic that stoked her passion for science and tapped into her inquisitive nature: infectious diseases. She still recalls the case of a young woman who came to New York-Presbyterian Hospital with what ultimately was diagnosed as typhoid fever and learning about the intricate process of tracing that transmission to a nearby fast food restaurant. “I figured out, through what I had heard from the public health department, that there were three different cases in the city. And they were all traced back to one fast food restaurant in Queens,” Juthani said. “They traced it back to one specific worker in that establishment. There are people who can be chronically colonized with salmonella typhi, and they just shed it all the time. And if it contaminates food, it can infect somebody else. It infected three other people that way.” (Carlesso, 11/7)

Lake County News-Sun: Lake County Health Officials Say Herd Immunity Against COVID Appears Attainable; ‘We’re Getting There, But We Don’t Want To Stop’
A pair of milestones in the effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic arrived this week in Lake County as children between the ages of 5 and 11 became eligible for vaccination against COVID-19, and 79.5% of people 12 and over have been fully vaccinated. Plans to vaccinate the newly eligible children in Lake County are currently shifting into full force as the goal of reaching herd immunity of 80% of the county’s entire population looks attainable. “We’re definitely getting there, but a whole new bunch of people are now eligible so our percentage will go down,” Mark Pfister, executive director of the Lake County health department, said Friday. (Sadin, 11/7)

AP: German COVID Infection Rate At New High As Vaccinations Slow
Germany’s coronavirus infection rate climbed to its highest recorded level yet on Monday as what officials have called a “pandemic of the unvaccinated” gathers pace. The national disease control center, the Robert Koch Institute, said the country has seen 201.1 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days. That was above the previous record of 197.6 from Dec. 22 last year. While it’s still a lower rate than in several other European countries, it has set alarm bells ringing. (11/8)

AP: New Infections Hit Record As Russia's COVID-19 Wave Persists
Russia’s COVID-19 cases hit another one-day record as the country struggles to contain a wave of infections and deaths that has persisted for more than a month. The national coronavirus task force on Saturday reported 41,335 new cases since the previous day, exceeding the previous daily record of 40,993 from Oct. 31. The task force said 1,188 people with COVID-19 died, just seven fewer than the daily death record reported Thursday. (11/6)

Bloomberg: Danish Prime Minister Says New Virus Restrictions Are Needed
Denmark, which has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, will probably need to re-introduce some restrictions after the number of virus infections has jumped, the prime minister said. “We can see that the infection is spreading from those who have not been vaccinated to those who have been vaccinated, including the elderly and people at risk,” Mette Frederiksen said in a Facebook post late Sunday. (Wienberg, 11/8)

The New York Times: Britain’s Health Secretary Urges People To Get Booster Shots Amid A Surge
Britain’s health secretary is urging eligible residents to get booster shots of the coronavirus vaccine, aiming to reduce pressure on the country’s health system as winter approaches. Ten million Britons, largely those over age 50, have received booster shots since the government began offering them, and millions more will be invited in the coming weeks to book appointments. (Kwai, 11/7)

Reuters: Japan Has Zero Daily COVID-19 Deaths For First Time In 15 Months
Japan recorded no daily deaths from COVID-19 for the first time in more than a year on Sunday, local media said. Prior to Sunday, there had not been a day without a COVID-19 death since Aug. 2, 2020, according to a tally by national broadcaster NHK. COVID-19 cases and deaths have fallen dramatically throughout Japan as vaccinations have increased to cover more than 70% of the population. (11/8)

In non-covid news —

Reuters: India's Latest Zika Outbreak Sees Surge Of Nearly 100 Cases
At least 89 people, including 17 children, have tested positive for the Zika virus in a surge of cases in the Indian city of Kanpur, its health department said on Monday. First discovered in 1947, the mosquito-borne virus Zika virus reached epidemic proportions in Brazil in 2015, when thousands of babies were born with microcephaly, a disorder that causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads and underdeveloped brains. (Sharma, 11/8)

AP: Poles Protest Strict Abortion Law After Pregnant Woman Dies
Protesters turned out in Warsaw and in many other Polish cities Saturday to decry the country’s restrictive abortion law, which they say has led to the death of a young mother with pregnancy that had medical problems. The protesters held portraits of the woman, 30-year-old Iza, who died in hospital in Pszczyna, southern Poland, from septic shock. She died in September but her death just became known in the last week. Doctors at the hospital held off terminating her 22-week pregnancy despite the fact that her fetus lacked enough amniotic fluid to survive, her family and a lawyer say. The doctors have been suspended and prosecutors are investigating. (11/6)

The Washington Post: Spain To Pay For IVF For Lesbians, Bisexual Women And Some Trans People
Spain’s health minister on Friday signed an order making available free fertility treatment for women regardless of their sexual orientation or marital status, as well as for transgender people who can become pregnant. The move, which Madrid said is likely to benefit some 8,500 people, was applauded by LGBTQ advocacy groups that have long called for the public health system to pay for procedures such as in vitro fertilization for individuals who can become pregnant. State-funded fertility treatment had previously been limited to heterosexual women who had trouble conceiving children, according to the Associated Press. (Cheng, 11/6)

The Washington Post: We’re Losing Ground Against Diseases We’ve Already Defeated 
As we race to build global immunity against covid-19, we’re losing ground against diseases we’ve already defeated. There are two reasons for this: growing vaccine hesitancy as a result of the politicization of coronavirus vaccines, and the disruption of routine childhood inoculation. (Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, 11/7)

The Boston Globe: The Twin Crises Of Climate Change And Pandemics Require A Global Investment In Health Care Workers 
As the world faces two rapidly escalating and existential crises — the impacts of climate change and global pandemics — we cannot afford to see these threats as unrelated. The health impact of climate change is immense, with an estimated 12.6 million deaths annually from environmental causes such as air pollution, unsafe drinking water, zoonotic diseases, and weather-related disasters. Clinically, climate effects are linked to increases in pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease, mental health burdens, and trauma. This number is expected to grow, with an additional 250,000 annual deaths forecasted. (Vanessa Kerry and Pooja Yerramilli, 11/5)

Stat: Drug Pricing Bills Shouldn't Undermine Savings From Generics, Biosimilars
Americans rightfully expect Congress to address the ever-increasing prices of brand-name prescription drugs. But the wholesale policy changes now under rushed consideration in Congress will undermine the only proven solution to this long-standing problem: competition from Food and Drug Administration-approved generic and biosimilar medicines. (Dan Leonard, 11/6)

Modern Healthcare: We're Running Out Of Time To Protect Telehealth Access
The U.S. healthcare system often moves at a glacial pace, but COVID-19 catapulted it into the future with the overnight acceleration of telehealth as a care option. During the first four months of the pandemic, telehealth accounted for 23.6% of all doctor visits—up from almost none a year earlier. But while experts predict virtual care is here to stay, the emergency legal provisions that allowed its emergence are beginning to expire. Now we must figure out how to keep telehealth before time runs out. (Dr. Ken Davis and Dr. Rob Fields, 11/5)

The Star Tribune: Act Now For Deals On 2022 Health Care
A "godsend." That's how Chuck Moline describes the expanded financial assistance available to many who buy health insurance on their own instead of getting it through an employer, Medicare or other public programs. Moline owns AdvisorNet Financial in Austin, Minn. The small business, located across the street from the SPAM Museum, is a MNsure broker enrollment center, meaning it provides free assistance to those buying health insurance on the state-run individual insurance marketplace. Right now, it's crunch time. Enrollment opened Nov. 1 to buy coverage for 2022. (11/7)

The Baltimore Sun: For Marylanders 18 To 34, A Deal On Health Insurance And A Brief History Lesson 
If you are between the ages of 18 and 34 and do not have health insurance, the bottom of today’s column is for you. It’s a public service announcement about how to get insured at an incredible discount for a limited time and a limited time only. You’ll find the PSA in the penultimate paragraph. You can jump down and read it now, but, if you do, you’ll miss what I’m about to say about Democrats, Republicans and the quality of American life. It’s up to you. (Dan Rodricks, 11/5)

Stat: Why Does FDA Want To Stop Improving Medicines Via Patent Action? 
It’s hardly unprecedented for one federal agency to encroach on another’s turf. But the latest intra-executive-branch dustup is particularly eyebrow-raising. This fall, acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock wrote a letter to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to share “areas of concern” about patents issued for prescription medications. Though couched in the measured tones of bureaucratese, the letter sent a clear signal to the USPTO: Set aside the industry-neutral, congressionally mandated criteria currently in place for deciding whether to grant a patent and weaken intellectual property protections for the drug industry. (Andrei lancu and David Kappos, 11/8)

Chicago Tribune: University Of Chicago’ Scores High Marks In Cardiology, And In Health Care Equity 
University of Chicago Medicine has the best heart program in the country. That’s according to newly released national data, but it is also a conviction I have long held — not because I represent the district that is home to UChicago Medicine, but because I have witnessed the program firsthand. Many years ago, my late wife, Carolyn, was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. After researching treatment options, we decided to seek care at the University of Chicago Medical Center. There, the heart team recommended that Carolyn receive a left ventricular assist device, or LVAD, a battery-operated pump inserted surgically to aid in pumping blood to the rest of the body. (Rep. Bobby L. Rush, 11/8)

USA Today: COVID Took A Toll On Kids' Mental Health, Depression, Suicide Thoughts
Between the two of us, we have kids in pre-K, elementary, middle school and high school. And as we watched them walk through their school doors on their first day this fall, we did so with both a knot of anxiety and a swell of hope. We knew the stakes were high because we are parents. But we also knew the stakes were high because we serve as the secretary of Education and the surgeon general of the United States. So far, we’ve been heartened by what we see in schools. Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that 98% of schools are fully open this fall, up from about 70% at the end of the 2020-21 school year. (Miguel Cardona and Vivek Murthy, 11/5)

The Star Tribune: Vaccines For Kids Are Great — But Mind The Disparities 
Recently, it was announced that children between the ages of 5 and 11 can take Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccination, which is wonderful news for children and can hopefully put more parents at ease as they send their kids to school. However, approval of this COVID-19 vaccine also raises two questions: (Ayomide Ojebuoboh, 11/7)

Los Angeles Times: The Broken American Data System That Struggled During COVID Can Be Fixed 
COVID-19 has made us all armchair epidemiologists. We have all been tracking case counts in our communities, deciphering the curves of hospitalizations and deaths on graphs and gauging what we each can do to reduce risks. The data we use are the same critical bits of information our government needs to make policy decisions about masks, vaccines, resource allocation and supplies. (Ali S. Khan and William J. Kassler, 11/7)

Newsweek: Why Are Poor Americans Resisting The Vaccine? Because COVID Is The Least Of Their Problems 
In promoting the COVID-19 vaccine, leaders have repeatedly made the claim that more shots in arms will "end the Covid era once and for all," as New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio put it. But for too many poor and working-class Americans, this is wishful thinking, given how deeply the pandemic has exacerbated the impossible struggles they were already facing. (Claire Laurier Decoteau, 11/5)

NBC News: Aaron Rodgers Gets Covid After Immunized Claim. Homeopathic Remedies Don't Work
As a cheesehead from Wisconsin, I wasn’t happy to hear the news that star Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers will not play Sunday because he tested positive for Covid-19. I was even unhappier when I learned that he’ll be out in part because of how he reportedly tried to protect himself from the virus. Instead of getting vaccinated, according to NFL.com, he received a homeopathic treatment from his doctor and then asked the NFL to count that as being vaccinated. The league did not, and for good reason — because homeopathy has never been shown to work. (Adam Larson, 11/6)

USA Today: COVID Booster Guidance Is Confusing Which Hurts Everybody
Vice President Kamala Harris received a Moderna booster shot last Saturday – and in doing so underscored the confusion and mixed messaging in the government’s COVID-19 guidance. Harris is not over age 65, does not reside in a long-term care facility and does not have a publicly known underlying medical condition that would make her more vulnerable, nor does she hold a job, such as postal worker, that appears on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s list of “high risk” occupations. The White House said Harris, 57, qualifies for a booster because her duties require frequent traveling and interacting with people. (Peter Funt, 11/6)

The Tennessean: COVID-19 Makes Expanding Medicaid Even More Vital
Approximately 300,000 Tennesseans are unable to afford health insurance, and over 10% of Tennessee’s population lacks health care coverage, resulting in significant geographic, racial and socioeconomic disparities in health outcomes. A critical component of any response to COVID-19 is addressing the health insurance coverage gap — a gap that is largely the result of Tennessee’s failure to expand Medicaid. Medicaid expansion is Tennessee’s best hope of closing the state’s health care coverage gap, and COVID-19 presents a unique opportunity to act. (Kevin M. Gibas, 11/7)