IVF Fetus Mix-Up Results In Birth Of ‘Wrong Baby’, Lawsuit In California

Los Angeles Times: Couple Gives Birth To Wrong Baby In ‘Nightmare’ IVF Mix-Up
“The heartbreak and confusion cannot be understated,” a teary Daphna Cardinale said during a news conference Monday, shortly after the couple filed a lawsuit against their Los Angeles-based fertility clinic, California Center for Reproductive Health, and its medical director, Dr. Eliran Mor. Also named in the suit are In VitroTech Labs, a third-party embryology center, and its parent company, Beverly Sunset Surgical Associates, both owned by Mor. The couple are alleging breach of contract, medical malpractice, negligence, infliction of emotional distress and the knowing misuse of their embryo, among other infractions, and are seeking punitive and compensatory damages. (Smith, 11/8)

AP: California Parents Sue After Getting Another Couple's Embryo
Two California couples gave birth to each others’ babies after a mix-up at a fertility clinic and spent months raising children that weren’t theirs before swapping the infants, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in Los Angeles. Daphna Cardinale said she and her husband, Alexander, had immediate suspicions that the girl she gave birth to in late 2019 wasn’t theirs because the child had a darker complexion than they do. They suppressed their doubts because they fell in love with the baby and trusted the in vitro fertilization process and their doctors, Daphna said. Learning months later that she had been pregnant with another couple’s baby, and that another woman had been carrying her child, caused enduring trauma, she said. (Weber, 11/9)

Meanwhile, in covid news around the country —

AP: Pritzker Signs COVID-19 Amendment To Illinois Conscience Law
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday signed into law a change to the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act that would allow those who refuse the COVID-19 vaccine to potentially face repercussions. The law was adopted in 1978 to protect physicians from penalty or discipline for refusing to perform abortions because of a religious or moral objection. Democratic Attorney General Kwame Raoul asked Pritzker to encourage legislation to make clear the law was not intended to cover a contagious and deadly pandemic. “Masks, vaccines, and testing requirements are life-saving measures that keep our workplaces and communities safe,” said Pritzker, who thanked lawmakers for ensuring the law “is no longer wrongly used against institutions who are putting safety and science first.” (O'Connor, 11/9)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Additional Doses Allow St. Louis County To Continue Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccinations 
Additional pediatric doses of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine have arrived, a county health official confirmed, so walk-ins and appointments for youth vaccinations are resuming this week. St. Louis County preordered 3,600 doses, but by Friday had received just 300, and halted walk-ins and new appointments. The pediatric doses of the COVID-19 vaccination are for children ages 5 to 11. (11/8)

AP: North Dakota Lawmakers Advance Ban On Vaccine Mandates
Bills to prevent vaccine mandates and the teaching of certain concepts of race and racism were among a handful of measures approved for advancement Monday during the opening day of the North Dakota Legislature’s special session. More than two dozen bills were submitted ahead of the session but had to win the endorsement of the House or Senate’s delayed-bills committee. The bipartisan panels both have five members and are controlled by the Legislature’s GOP leadership. (MacPherson, 11/8)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Mayor Bottoms Lifts Indoor Mask Mandate In Atlanta
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has lifted the public indoor mask mandate for the city, she announced on Twitter Monday evening. She said Atlanta is officially in the “green zone” for COVID-19 amid declining case numbers. “While it makes me personally anxious, I’ve always said we’d follow the science. Thus, we are lifting the city-wide mask mandate,” Bottoms said in a tweet. (Capelouto, 11/8)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Pa. Mask Mandate For Public And Private Schools Expected To End In January, Wolf Says
A statewide order mandating students, staff, and visitors to public and private K-12 schools to wear a mask while indoors is expected to be lifted Jan. 17, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Monday. At that point, local school officials will be allowed to decide what mitigation efforts to implement. (Martines, 11/8)

The Advocate: Louisiana Has A Hotline To Track Adverse COVID Vaccine Reactions. Critics Say It Isn't Reliable.
Back in December 2020, when COVID vaccines first became available to the public, the Louisiana Department of Health sent an urgent directive to health care providers across the state: immediately tell us about any serious side effects. “Severe adverse events are rare, but could happen,” read the message. “Healthcare providers should report all severe reactions 24/7 to [the Office of Public Health] at 800-256-2748.” (Paterson, 11/8)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: With $875 Million Available, Georgians Ask For $14.6 Billion In COVID-19 Relief
An Atlanta mobile bartending service, incorporated in June 2020, requested $165,000 in federal COVID-19 relief funding. A tourist train line in rural South Georgia asked for $947,000, or it may have to shut down. A group supporting small-town hospitals wants $260 million, another promoting the hotel industry $267 million, and nursing homes $347 million. (Salzer, 11/8)

Also —

San Diego Union Tribune: Parents Balk At Mental Health Day Off For San Diego Students
After springing an announcement on parents late last week that schools would be closed Friday for a mental health day, the San Diego Unified School District abruptly changed plans, making school attendance optional that day while also allowing anyone who wants to take a mental health day to do so. The news came one day after interim Supt. Lamont Jackson said district staff was planning to ask the Board of Education at its upcoming meeting to approve this Friday as a day off. The news prompted a wave of concern and criticism from parents, some of whom said finding affordable last-minute child care would do more harm than good for their family’s mental health. (Cook, 11/8)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Nursing Home Workers Strike As Union Calls For Investigation Of St. Louis Facility 
A union representing nursing home workers is calling for a government investigation into the operator of a 90-bed facility in the Jeff-Vander-Lou neighborhood. The union, Service Employees International Union Healthcare Missouri, has been locked in contract negotiations for over a year with the owners of Blue Circle Rehab and Nursing, located at 2939 Magazine Street in St. Louis. The facility is licensed for 90 beds, and had 60 residents, as of Oct. 24, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (Merrilees, 11/8)

Dallas Morning News: Less Than 20 Miles Separate Dallas Communities With The Lowest And Highest Life Expectancy
Under the shadow of downtown Dallas’ skyscrapers and a few feet away from the Trinity River and Interstate 35E are the 10th Street Historic District and The Bottom neighborhoods, the census tract with the lowest life expectancy in Dallas County. A resident here can expect to live just 64.2 years on average, according to the Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation’s analysis based on census data. (García, 11/8)

The Wall Street Journal: Probe Of Travis Scott Astroworld Concert Disaster Explores Role Of Illegal Drugs
Investigators probing the tragedy at the Travis Scott concert are looking at whether a bad batch of illegal drugs played a role in some deaths and numerous casualties, people familiar with the investigation said. Police are looking at the possibility of overdoses at Friday’s concert that were caused by counterfeit pills possibly laced with fentanyl, according to one of the people. Numerous concertgoers who survived were administered naloxone, which rapidly reverses opioid overdoses, the person said. Investigators are also looking at whether some people were killed when the crowd at the Astroworld Festival in Houston surged toward the stage, the person said. (Elinson, Shah, Findell and Steele, 11/8)

CIDRAP: Three Jamestown Canyon Virus Cases Detected In New Hampshire
New Hampshire has reported three more Jamestown Canyon virus (JCV) cases, two in patients hospitalized with neurologic symptoms, according to the state's Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The adults, who all recovered, live in Loudon, Pittsfield, and Rumney, New Hampshire, and were infected with JCV through mosquito bites. (11/8)