CNBC: Covid News: Omicron Variant Now Detected In Five U.S. States
At least five U.S. states have now confirmed cases of the omicron variant of the virus that causes Covid-19, as scientists investigate whether the heavily mutated strain is more infectious and virulent. At least 9 cases were confirmed on Thursday in Minnesota, Colorado, New York, Hawaii and California. California confirmed the first U.S. case of omicron on Wednesday, bringing the total number of reported cases so far to 10. (Constantino, Kopecki and Kimball, 12/2)

The Hill: Five Omicron Cases Detected In New York
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) announced on Thursday that five cases of the COVID-19 omicron variant have been detected in the Empire State. New York is now the fourth state to detect a case of the new variant, following California, Minnesota and Colorado. Hochul revealed during a press conference Thursday that one of the positive cases was identified in Suffolk County and four in New York City, including two in Queens, one in Brooklyn and one from a yet undetermined borough. (Schnell, 12/2)

CNBC: New York Officials Confirm 5 Cases Of Omicron Covid Variant In NYC Metro Area
New York officials have confirmed five cases of the omicron Covid-19 variant in the New York City metropolitan area, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced late Thursday, hours after cases were detected in Minnesota and Colorado. One case was discovered in Suffolk County on Long Island and four New York City: two in Queens, one in Brooklyn and another in the city, she said at a press briefing. Minnesota health authorities confirmed the second U.S. case of the omicron Covid variant earlier Thursday, in a resident who recently returned from New York City. (Constantino, Kopecki and Kimball, 12/2)

The New York Times: Hochul Urges Attendees Of An Anime Conference In N.Y.C. To Get Tested After An Omicron Connection Emerges
Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York said on Thursday that everyone who attended a recent anime convention in Manhattan should get tested for the coronavirus, after it was announced that an individual who tested positive for the Omicron variant in Minnesota had attended to the conference. Five other cases were reported in New York City and on Long Island, the governor announced later in the day. Those included a 67-year-old woman from Suffolk County who had recently traveled to South Africa, was vaccinated and experienced mild symptoms of Covid-19. (Ferré-Sadurní, 12/2)

Stat: Second U.S. Case Of Omicron Variant Indicates Domestic Transmission
Health officials on Thursday reported the country’s second Covid-19 infection from the Omicron variant in a Minnesota resident who notably did not travel internationally recently, unlike the first case. The case in Minnesota is an adult male who had been vaccinated and, in early November, received a booster shot. He lives in Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis, state health officials said. He developed mild symptoms on Nov. 22, was tested on Nov. 24, and no longer has symptoms. (Joseph, 12/2)

Denver Post: Omicron Variant Of COVID-19 Found In Colorado
Colorado has identified its first known case of the new omicron variant of COVID-19 in an Arapahoe County resident, but there’s no evidence that version of the virus is widespread at this point — and it’s still not known how great a risk the new strain poses. (Wingerter, 12/2)

On how US health infrastructure is reacting to omicron —

Stat: ‘Just Stupid Stuff’: Logistics And Lack Of Testing Stymied Finding The Omicron Variant In The U.S. 
After South African scientists alerted the world last week to the new, concerning Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, researchers here in the U.S. warned that the highly mutated strain was likely already circulating on American soil. It was just a matter of time before someone found it. On Thursday, health officials reported the country’s second Omicron infection, in a Minnesota man who attended an anime conference in New York days before his symptoms began. Notably, he had not traveled internationally, unlike the first case — a California resident recently returned from South Africa — indicating the occurrence of domestic transmission. But the timing of discovery has many wondering, “why did it take so long?” (Molteni, 12/2)

Axios: Coronavirus Variant Surveillance Varies Widely By State
Some states are much more likely to catch cases of the Omicron variant early on — including California and Minnesota, which did, in fact, find the first two confirmed U.S. cases. Omicron has thrust the U.S.'s genetic surveillance capabilities back into the spotlight. And the more cases sequenced, the better the chances of finding the variant before it takes off. (Owens, 12/3)

The Washington Post: Omicron Covid Variant Has Higher Risk Of Reinfection Than Delta, South Africa Researchers Say
Scientists in South Africa say omicron is at least three times more likely to cause reinfection than previous variants such as beta and delta, according to a preliminary study published Thursday. Statistical analysis of some 2.8 million positive coronavirus samples in South Africa, 35,670 of which were suspected to be reinfections, led researchers to conclude that the omicron mutation has a “substantial ability to evade immunity from prior infection.” (Cheng, 12/3)

The New York Times: Omicron Variant Reinfects People Who Have Had The Coronavirus
A past coronavirus infection appears to give little immunity to the new Omicron variant rippling across the globe, South African scientists warned on Thursday, potentially tearing away one layer of defense that humanity has won slowly and at immense cost. Just a week after its existence was revealed to the world, the heavily mutated variant, which scientists fear could be the most contagious one yet, is already by far the dominant form of the virus in South Africa and spreading fast, according to officials there. Top European disease experts said Thursday that it could be the dominant form in Europe within a few months. (Chutel and Pérez-Peña, 12/2)

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization addresses omicron —

Bloomberg: Key Omicron Findings May Be Known In Days, WHO Scientist Says
Some 450 researchers around the world have begun work to isolate the highly mutated variant from patient specimens, grow it in the lab, verify its genomic sequence, and establish methods to test it in blood-plasma samples, said Ana-Maria Henao-Restrepo, who co-leads the WHO’s research and development blueprint for vaccines and innovations during outbreaks and pandemics. “They hope that this will happen within days, but I think we should not put pressure that it should happen within three days -- we should say it will happen within the next two weeks,” she said in a Zoom interview from Geneva Wednesday. (Gale, 12/3)

Axios: WHO: Delta Health Measures Help Fight Omicron 
Health measures taken to combat COVID-19 before the emergence of Omicron would also help against the new variant of concern, World Health Organization officials said Friday. Takeshi Kasai, WHO regional director for the Western Pacific, said during a virtual briefing broadcast from Manila, Philippines, that border controls imposed by the U.S. and other nations can "buy time" to deal with the variant, but warned "every country and every community must prepare for new surges in cases." (Falconer, 12/3)

AP: WHO Says Measures Against Delta Work For Omicron Variant Too
World Health Organization officials in the Western Pacific say border closures adopted by some countries may buy time to deal with the omicron coronavirus variant, but measures put in place and experience gained in dealing with the delta variant should remain the foundation for fighting the pandemic. While a few regional countries are facing surges, COVID-19 cases and deaths in many others have decreased and plateaued, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific Dr. Takeshi Kasai told reporters Friday in a virtual news conference broadcast from Manila, Philippines. (Gomez, 12/3)

In other omicron developments —

Reuters: Roche Develops New Research Test Kits For Omicron Variant
"We are able to offer a test that can specifically identify the novel B.1.1.529 Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant to help better understand its spread and behaviour," Thomas Schinecker, head of Roche Diagnostics, said in a statement. While the WHO has said widely available tests can detect individuals infected with any variant, most PCR tests cannot distinguish between Omicron and Delta, the dominant and most infectious version of the virus. (Hughes Neghaiwi, 12/3)

The New York Times: The E.U.’s Health Agency Says Omicron Could Be Dominant In Europe By Spring
The Omicron variant could become the dominant version of the coronavirus in Europe in the next few months, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said on Thursday, as the continent faced a surge of new infections and deaths that has prompted many governments to tighten restrictions. The European Union’s infectious disease agency acknowledged in a report that there were “a number of uncertainties” related to the Omicron variant, including how transmissible it is, how likely it is to cause severe symptoms and how effective existing vaccines are against it. But preliminary data already suggests that Omicron, which carries a large number of mutations compared with the original virus, has a “substantial advantage” over previous versions of the virus, the agency said. (Pronczuk, Kitsantonis, Minder, Kumar and Specia, 12/2)

Stat: How To Interpret The Coming Data On Omicron And Covid Immunity
At some point in the next few weeks, scientists will start releasing data from lab experiments that can help illuminate just how much of a threat the Omicron variant poses to existing Covid-19 vaccines and our immunity. But there won’t be one clear conclusion reported at one time. The results will come out in drips — one preprint study posted here, one company press release there. Together, these lab studies, combined with the clinical outcomes of patients infected with the variant, will help experts form a broader understanding of Omicron’s impact — and whether, if it takes off globally, we might need to adapt our vaccines. (Joseph, 12/3)

NPR: Sending the Right Message About the Omicron Variant Is Tricky
With the first case of omicron confirmed in California and more cases expected across the U.S., public health officials who know the difference between good and bad crisis communication say they can't afford to be quiet and wait until scientists know how risky the new variant is before they speak out. "We don't want to just be silent on the matter, because then that can cause fear and then that can allow for misinformation to creep in," says Elya Franciscus, the epidemiology operations manager for COVID-19 in Harris County, Texas. (Simmons-Duffin, 12/2)

The Washington Post: Delta Variant Poses Threat To U.S. While Experts Await Omicron Data
While the United States braces for the unknowns of omicron, which has now been detected in Minnesota, St. Cloud Hospital in the central part of the state is still deep in a battle with the delta variant of the coronavirus. Beds have been full for seven weeks with a flood of mostly unvaccinated patients, a hospital official said. The hospital routinely turns down other overwhelmed facilities trying to transfer covid-19 patients — sometimes saying no 15 or 20 times a day. (Nirappil and Shammus, 12/2)

AP: 'The Fire That's Here': US Is Still Battling Delta Variant
While all eyes are on the new and little-understood omicron variant that is popping up around the country, the delta form of the coronavirus isn’t finished wreaking havoc in the U.S., swamping hospitals with record numbers of patients in the Midwest and New England. “Omicron is a spark that’s on the horizon. Delta variant is the fire that’s here today,” said Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the state Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Maine, where an unprecedented 334 people were in the hospital with COVID-19 as of midweek. (Hollingsworth, 12/3)

Bloomberg: Delta Sends Hospital Admissions Up In 39 States As Omicron Lands
Omicron is stealing most of the attention, but it’s the delta variant of Covid-19 that’s pressuring the U.S. health-care system. The seven-day average of hospital admissions with confirmed Covid-19 has climbed 18% in the past two weeks to 6,691, the highest since Oct. 13, according to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services data. The numbers are ticking higher in 39 states and the nation’s capital. (Levin, 12/2)

In news on outbreaks and surges —

Bloomberg: New York Reports Most Covid-19 Cases Since January
New York state reported 11,300 new Covid-19 cases, the most since January, as dozens of hospitals neared capacity. Total patients hospitalized for the virus have climbed by more than 1,000 in a month, reaching 3,093 on Wednesday. As of Thursday, 56 hospitals in the state had a bed capacity of 10% or less, including Albany Medical Center Hospital, Mercy Hospital of Buffalo, Long Island Jewish Medical Center and Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, according to the state health department. (Clukey, 12/2)

The Baltimore Sun: ‘Critical Time To Get A Third Shot’: Maryland Records More Than 1,800 New COVID Cases, Signaling Potential Beginning Of Holiday Spike 
Several key coronavirus indicators are climbing in Maryland, as evidenced by the health department reporting more than 1,828 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, which experts say could signal the beginning of a holiday season surge. Thursday’s tally, a mark not recorded since April 9, represents three consecutive days of more than 1,000 new cases in the week since Thanksgiving and during Hanukkah, holidays that call for family or religious gatherings as well as travel. (Mann, 12/2)

The Boston Globe: Hospitals Stagger Under Strain As COVID-19 Cases Reach Highest Level Since Winter
New COVID-19 cases continue to mount at an alarming rate, the state reported Thursday, with more patients streaming into already-strained hospitals just as the new Omicron strain of the virus appears to be taking a deeper hold in the United States. Massachusetts reported the state had its largest single-day case count on Wednesday since last winter’s surge, with 5,170 new cases and 989 patients with COVID-19 in the hospital. And with several more confirmed cases of Omicron reported in other states, President Biden on Thursday proposed a plan to head off further spread of the virus as the cold weather and holiday season drive more people to socialize in confined indoor spaces. (McCluskey, Finucane, and Freyer, 12/2)

Los Angeles Times: San Diego County Jails Lock Down Amid Coronavirus Surge
A new crush of coronavirus cases is running through San Diego County jails, infecting inmates and staff alike and prompting a systemwide lockdown to try to control the spread of the virus. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said a total of 125 inmates have tested positive for the coronavirus in the last week. Officials are awaiting results for an additional 188 people. (McDonald and Davis, 12/2)

Roll Call: Biden Calls For Patriotic Unity, Pitches Plan To Fight Omicron
President Joe Biden said his top experts anticipate COVID-19 cases to increase in the weeks and months ahead as the omicron variant is likely to spread throughout the United States this winter, so he called on Americans to defend the nation with a unified front. “This is a point to get the nation to come together, to unite the nation in a common purpose … and to think of it in terms of literally a patriotic responsibility rather than somehow you're denying people their basic rights,” Biden said Thursday during a visit to the National Institutes of Health. (McIntire and Cohen, 12/2)

The Washington Post: Federal Mask Mandate For Airplanes Extended Through March 18
The Biden administration on Thursday extended a requirement that people wear masks on airplanes, trains, buses and other modes of transportation through March 18. The extension of the federal mask mandate, which had been set to expire next month, is one of a series of actions the White House announced aimed at allaying concerns about the emergence of the new omicron variant. The U.S. reported its first case of the variant Wednesday. (Aratani, 12/2)

The Wall Street Journal: Biden To Toughen Testing For International Travelers To Slow Omicron
President Biden on Thursday announced plans to tighten up Covid-19 testing timelines for travelers entering the U.S. and extend a mask mandate on airplanes and other public transportation as part of a broad administration effort to combat the Omicron variant. International travelers coming to the U.S. will have to test within a day of departure, regardless of vaccination status, rather than the 72 hours currently required for vaccinated travelers, Mr. Biden said. The new testing rules will take effect on Monday, Dec. 6, at 12:01 a.m. ET, according to a senior administration official who said airline industry representatives were notified of the timing Thursday. The requirements apply both to U.S. citizens and foreign nationals flying into the country. (Armour and Siddiqui, 12/2)

CNN: Biden Outlines New Steps To Combat Covid Through Winter Months 
President Joe Biden announced a new strategy Thursday aimed at fighting a potential winter surge of Covid-19 without enacting unpopular lockdowns as the pandemic approaches its two-year mark. Biden's multi-pronged approach puts a heavy emphasis on expanding vaccinations to the remaining Americans who have resisted getting shots, and to provide boosters to the now-eligible population of all adults. He's also changing rules on international travel to require tests closer to arrival in the United States, and requiring insurance companies to pay for at-home tests. (Liptak and Judd, 12/2)

Politico: Biden Seeks To Require Private Health Plans To Pay For At-Home Covid Tests
The Biden administration today said it would soon require private health insurers to cover the cost of at-home Covid-19 tests as part of an effort to tamp down infections during the winter months. The new policy means that the more than 150 million Americans with private coverage will be able to get reimbursed for the rapid tests as long as they submit their expenses for reimbursement. (Lim and Cancryn, 12/2)

The New York Times: In Biden’s Plan For Free Rapid Tests, Legwork Will Be Required 
After a primary focus on vaccination, the White House announced on Thursday that private health insurers would soon have to reimburse patients for such tests. It also said it would make 50 million free tests available for uninsured Americans, to be distributed through health clinics and other sites in rural and underserved communities. But for consumers who do have insurance, the White House approach will require some legwork. It left some health policy experts questioning why the United States does not purchase tests on behalf of all Americans and provide them at little to no cost, as some European countries have done. Instead, Americans will have to purchase tests and then submit the receipts for reimbursement. (Kliff and Abelson, 12/2)

The New York Times: Biden Vows To Fight Omicron With ‘Science And Speed’
President Biden, confronting a worrisome new coronavirus variant and a potential winter surge, laid out a pandemic strategy on Thursday that includes hundreds of vaccination sites, boosters for all adults, new testing requirements for international travelers and free at-home tests. After nearly a year of pushing vaccination as the way out of the pandemic, Mr. Biden has been unable to overcome resistance to the shots in red states and rural areas. His new strategy shifts away from a near-singular focus on vaccination and places a fresh emphasis on testing — a tacit acknowledgment by the White House that vaccination is not enough to end the worst public health crisis in a century. (Gay Stolberg, 12/2)

AP: Biden, Allies Increasingly Pushing Back At GOP's Virus Barbs
President Joe Biden looked out over an audience of government scientists and framed his latest plan for fighting COVID-19 as an opportunity to at last put an end to divisiveness over the virus, calling the politicization of the issue a “sad, sad commentary.” And then he tacked on a political dig. Some people “on the other team,” he said Thursday, were threatening to hold up government spending and endangering the nation’s credit out of pique over vaccination requirements. “Go figure,” he added. (Miller, 12/3)

Also —

Stat: Califf Asks Woodcock To Stay In FDA Leadership Role If He’s Confirmed
Robert Califf, President Biden’s pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration, has asked Janet Woodcock, who has served as the FDA’s acting commissioner for the last 11 months, to stay on in a leadership role at the agency should he be confirmed by the Senate, two sources with knowledge of the discussion confirmed to STAT. It’s still not clear exactly what Woodcock’s role would be or how she would split responsibilities with Califf, should she accept his offer. The most obvious role would be principal deputy commissioner, a position that amounts to second-in-charge at the agency and has been vacant since Amy Abernethy left it in April. (Florko, 12/2)

On Medicaid expansion —

KHN: A Tale Of Two Medicaid Expansions: Oklahoma Jumps In, While Missouri Lags
Temp worker James Dickerson applied for Medicaid because it will be cheaper than his current health plan. Home health aide Sharon Coleman looks forward to having coverage that will cover a hospital stay. Incoming medical student Danielle Gaddis no longer worries a trip to the doctor will leave her in debt. All three are among the roughly 490,000 people newly eligible for Medicaid after Oklahoma and Missouri voters in 2020 approved expanding the federal-state public health insurance program for people with low incomes. In both states, people who earn up to 138% of the federal poverty level — about $18,000 per year for an individual — can now get the free coverage even if they don’t have disabilities. (Bram Sable-Smith, 12/3)

The New York Times: New York City Sets Vaccine Mandate For Religious And Private School Workers 
New York City will require employees at yeshivas, Catholic schools and other private schools to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, in what is believed to be the largest effort in the nation to force religious schools to adhere to a vaccine mandate. The new directive, which was announced on Thursday, is expected to affect roughly 930 schools and 56,000 employees, city officials said. They will have to show proof they received the first dose of a vaccine by Dec. 20. (Fitzsimmons, 12/2)

Axios: Oklahoma Sues Biden Administration Over Pentagon Vaccine Mandate 
The state of Oklahoma filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration on Thursday in an attempt to block the enforcement of its vaccine mandate for federal employees. The move comes one day after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin denied Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt's (R) request to exempt the state's National Guard from the mandate. It's the latest escalation in Stitt's scuffle with the Pentagon over the mandate, which requires the Air National Guard and Army National Guard to get vaccinated by Thursday and June 30, respectively. (Chen, 12/2)

AP: New Jersey GOP Lawmakers Defy Vaccine Mandate
Disorder and confusion erupted in the halls outside the New Jersey Assembly on Thursday as several Republican lawmakers defied a new requirement to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test and were blocked by state troopers— albeit briefly — from entering the ornate chamber. Hours later, a state appellate court handed a victory to Republicans who had sued to block the proof-of-vaccination requirement, granting the GOP’s application for a stay of the order and setting a potential hearing date for later this month. It was not immediately clear what effect the ruling would have on the requirement. (Catalini, 12/3)

Modern Healthcare: Providers In Limbo After COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Paused
Hospitals and health systems are in a holding pattern after a federal judge in Louisiana temporarily blocked a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers, bringing both relief and uncertainty to some providers. The mandate, subject to a preliminary injunction under a ruling Tuesday, could still be reinstated. The federal government has appealed the decision, and even if the court ultimately were to rule for the Republican officials who sought to invalidate President Joe Biden's policy, the government likely would appeal. Other courts are considering similar lawsuits filed by other GOP officeholders. The issue could go all the way to the Supreme Court, said Laurel Cornell, a partner at the law firm Fisher Phillips. (Goldman, 12/2)

Los Angeles Times: O.C. Education Board Sues Newsom Over COVID State Of Emergency
For the second time in recent months, the Orange County Board of Education is mounting a legal challenge to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s pandemic-related state of emergency declaration. In August, the California Supreme Court declined to hear the board’s previous petition seeking to overturn Newsom’s emergency rule-making authorities that included allowing state officials to issue a mask mandate for K-12 students this summer ahead of the new school year. (San Román, 12/2)

Meanwhile, in Missouri —

The New York Times: Missouri Withheld Data Showing Effectiveness Of Mask Mandates
Mask mandates were effective as the Delta variant of the coronavirus was driving a surge in Covid-19 cases across Missouri, according to an analysis that the state’s Department of Health and Senior Services conducted in early November. But the state did not immediately share that data with the public. Instead, the information was released on Wednesday, a month later, because of a public records request by The Missouri Independent, a nonprofit news organization that reported the findings, and the Documenting Covid-19 project at the Brown Institute for Media Innovation. (Holpuch, 12/2)

Reuters: UK Study Finds MRNA COVID-19 Vaccines Provide Biggest Booster Impact
COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer (PFE.N) and Moderna (MRNA.O) that use mRNA technology provide the biggest boost to antibody levels when given 10-12 weeks after the second dose, a British study published on Thursday has found. The "COV-Boost" study was cited by British officials when they announced that Pfizer and Moderna were preferred for use in the country's booster campaign, but the data has only been made publicly available now. (Smout, 12/3)

Bloomberg: Covid Booster Shots: Six Vaccines Show Promise; Led By Pfizer, Moderna
A U.K. study testing seven different Covid-19 vaccines as booster doses found most of them increased antibodies, with shots from Moderna Inc. and the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE partnership performing best. The results, published Thursday, tested the vaccines in more than 2,800 volunteers 30 and older who had already received two doses of the AstraZeneca Plc or Pfizer shots. All seven vaccines boosted immunity after the Astra vaccine, compared with a placebo, while six raised antibody levels after Pfizer, the study found. (Ring and Anghel, 12/2)

CNBC: Six Different Covid Vaccines Are Safe And Effective When Used As Boosters, UK Study Finds
Six different Covid-19 vaccines are safe and effective when used as booster doses, a U.K. study has found. The peer-reviewed phase 2 trial, published Thursday in The Lancet medical journal, looked at the safety and efficacy of seven vaccines given after two initial doses of either the Oxford-AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Vaccines included in the study were those produced by Oxford-AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, Novavax, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Valneva and Curevac. (Taylor, 12/2)

CIDRAP: Moderna Vaccine A Bit Better Against COVID-19 Than Pfizer, Study Finds
In the first head-to-head comparison of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, Moderna edged out its competition with a 21% lower risk of infection and a 41% lower risk of hospitalization over 24 weeks, according to a study yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). A team led by researchers from Harvard University and the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) analyzed the electronic medical records of veterans nationwide, almost all of whom received two doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from Jan 4 to May 14, 2021. The study period was dominated by the SARS-CoV-2 Alpha (B117) variant. (Van Beusekom, 12/2)

On how T-cells in vaccines work —

CNBC: How T Cells From Covid Vaccines Work Against Omicron Variant
Omicron is officially in the United States — and the country’s approved Covid vaccines could already contain a key to fighting it. On Wednesday, public health officials confirmed the country’s first known case of Covid’s omicron variant, detected in California. The individual, who is fully vaccinated but not boosted, traveled from South Africa to San Francisco on Nov. 22 and tested positive on Nov. 29. The person has mild symptoms that appear to be improving, and none of their close contacts have tested positive so far, White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said in a briefing Wednesday. (Stieg, 12/2)

Politico: Congress Thwarts Shutdown After Vaccine Mandate Clash
Congress averted a government shutdown Thursday night after Senate leaders mollified a group of Republicans who demanded a vote targeting President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate. The Senate passed an 11-week stopgap spending bill in a 69-28 vote, sending the measure on for Biden’s signature. The legislation, known as a continuing resolution, will keep government funding at levels set almost a year ago, when Donald Trump was president. (Emma, Scholtes and Ferris, 12/2)

Stat: Hospitals And Doctors Fail To Stop End-Of-Year Medicare Cuts For Now
Hospitals and physicians lost a lobbying battle to stave off Medicare cuts of up to 10% in a must-pass government spending bill, though the defeat may not be final. Lawmakers reached a bipartisan deal on Thursday that would extend government funding at current levels through Feb. 18, with very few extra provisions added on. They chose not to stop cuts, some of which are set to take effect Dec. 31, that could reduce Medicare pay by 6% for hospitals and as much as 10% for physicians. (Cohrs, 12/2)

Modern Healthcare: Federal Spending Deal Leaves Looming Medicare Cuts In Place
Congressional leaders have struck a deal to avert a government shutdown, but they didn't include a major priority for healthcare providers: preventing significant Medicare reimbursement cuts that are slated to take effect next month. Medicare providers stand to lose about $36 billion in reimbursements stemming from a 4% cut set to take effect in January, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. (Hellman, 12/2)

The Hill: Manchin To Vote To Nix Biden's Vaccine Mandate For Larger Businesses
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said on Thursday night that he is supporting a GOP effort to nix President Biden’s vaccine mandate for larger businesses, which is expected to get a vote in the Senate next week. “Let me be clear, I do not support any government vaccine mandate on private businesses. That’s why I have cosponsored and will strongly support a bill to overturn the federal government vaccine mandate for private businesses," Manchin said in a statement. (Carney, 12/2)

The New York Times: Government Shutdown Averted As Congress Passes Spending Bill 
With less than 36 hours before funding was set to lapse, lawmakers raced to unite behind a deal that would keep the government open through Feb. 18 and provide $7 billion for the care and resettlement of Afghan refugees. The House voted 221 to 212 to approve the measure, with just one Republican, Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, joining Democrats in support. The Senate then cleared the bill on a 69-to-28 vote, sending it to President Biden’s desk for his signature. Nineteen Republicans joined all 50 Democrats in supporting the measure. The action came after senators voted down an amendment to bar funding to carry out Mr. Biden’s vaccine mandates for tens of millions of American workers, including many in the private sector. (Cochrane, 12/2)

Roll Call: Infrastructure Law Has A Mandate For Tech To Stop Drunken Drivers 
In the months after her sister and brother-in-law and their three children died in a January 2019 crash caused by a drunken driver, Rana Abbas Taylor, consumed by grief, traveled to Washington, D.C., to talk to lawmakers about her loss. In the midst of that visit, Stephanie Manning, the chief government affairs officer for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, turned to Abbas Taylor. Her sister and her sister’s family, Manning vowed, would be the “reason we’re going to save thousands of lives in this country.” Now, nearly three years after her loss, Abbas Taylor is closer than ever to seeing that promise come to fruition. (Wehrman, 12/2)

NPR: 21 States Poised To Ban Or Severely Restrict Abortion If Roe V. Wade Is Overturned
When the Supreme Court hands down its decision in a highly-watched Mississippi abortion case this summer, access to legal abortion could end for more than 100 million Americans, including those living in nearly every Southern state and large swaths of the Midwest. Twenty-one states are poised to immediately ban or acutely curtail access to abortions if the Supreme Court chooses to overturn or weaken Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that for nearly 50 years has guaranteed women's right to seek an abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group in favor of abortion rights. (Sullivan, 12/2)

Axios: Overturning Roe Could Strain Abortion Access Even In Blue States 
If the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, abortions could be harder to access even in states where they remain legal, because those clinics could be flooded with patients from states that have cracked down. This has happened before, and clinics fear the crush of demand would be a major problem in the immediate wake of a decision that would allow states to ban abortion. (Reed, 12/3)

CNN: Women Share How Access To Abortion Impacted Their Lives -- Whether They Chose One Or Not
When Sam Blakely found out she was pregnant, she balled up her shower curtain and put it in her mouth so she could scream as loud as she needed to without her roommates hearing. After a night out, a coworker had brought her to her home and raped her, an experience that came to haunt her when they would run into one another in the casino where they worked. Now -- as a result of that attack -- she was pregnant. Blakely had an abortion. She knew the decision was right for her at the time and, she felt, was reinforced as she went through trauma treatment for her attack -- and as the man continued to stalk her, sending flowers and showing up at her house. (Holcombe, 12/2)

On reactions to the supreme court case —

AP: Roe 'Settled' Law? Justices' Earlier Assurances Now In Doubt
During his confirmation to the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh convinced Sen. Susan Collins that he thought a woman’s right to an abortion was “settled law,” calling the court cases affirming it “precedent on precedent” that could not be casually overturned. Amy Coney Barrett told senators during her Senate confirmation hearing that laws could not be undone simply by personal beliefs, including her own. “It’s not the law of Amy,” she quipped. But during this week’s landmark Supreme Court hearing over a Mississippi law that could curtail if not outright end a woman’s right to abortion, the two newest justices struck a markedly different tone, drawing lines of questioning widely viewed as part of the court’s willingness to dismantle decades old decisions on access to abortion services. (Mascaro, 12/3)

Fox News: Lawmakers React To Mississippi Supreme Court Abortion Case
Democrats and Republicans alike told Fox News that the Supreme Court should not have the final say when it comes to abortion access. "The state of Mississippi has really certainly led a courageous fight in order to make sure that these are decided on the state level, that this kind of thing is decided by elected officials, not the Supreme Court," Rep. Michelle Fischbach, a Minnesota Republican, told Fox News. And Michigan Democrat Rep. Haley Stevens noted: "We don't need the Supreme Court intervening between a woman and her doctor." (Michael Raasch and Wall, 12/2)

Also —

KHN: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Roe V. Wade On The Rocks
A Supreme Court majority appears ready to overturn nearly 50 years of abortion rights, at least judging by the latest round of oral arguments before the justices. And a new covid variant, omicron, gains attention as it spreads around the world. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Blake Farmer of Nashville Public Radio about the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode. (12/2)

Stat: Virtual Care Companies Rush To Ease Access To Covid-19 Antivirals
As two new antiviral pills for Covid-19 approach emergency authorization, experts are concerned that a lack of public health infrastructure — especially easy access to fast-turnaround testing and quickly filled prescriptions — will prevent them from making a meaningful dent in the pandemic. “We know that these antivirals are going to have a window of opportunity where their effectiveness is optimal, and it can be difficult to get an appointment and get a prescription,” said infectious disease specialist Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. (Palmer, 12/2)

MJFF: Michael J. Fox Foundation Announces Major Expansion Of Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI), Landmark Study Toward Better Treatments And Prevention Of Disease
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF) announced a major expansion of its landmark Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI). The study is reopening to enroll vastly more participants, notably including online enrollment of up to 100,000 individuals with and without a Parkinson's diagnosis. First launched in 2010, PPMI is a critical component of the Foundation's relentless mission to accelerate better treatments, cures and even prevention of the disease. (12/2)

Also —

KHN: A Title Fight Pits Physician Assistants Against Doctors
After 23 years as a physician assistant, Leslie Clayton remains rankled by one facet of her vocation: its title. Specifically, the word “assistant.” Patients have asked if she’s heading to medical school or in the middle of it. The term confounded even her family, she said: It took years for her parents to understand she did more than take blood pressure and perform similar basic tasks. “There is an assumption that there has to be some sort of direct, hands-on oversight for us to do our work, and that’s not been accurate for decades,” said Clayton, who practices at a clinic in Golden Valley, Minnesota. “We don’t assist. We provide care as part of a team.” (Jordan Rau, 12/3)

Axios: Scoop: Carlyle To Buy Health IT Company CNSI 
The Carlyle Group tells Axios that it has agreed to buy CNSI, a Virginia-based manager of IT systems for state and federal agencies, from Alvarez & Marsal Capital Partners. This is about modernizing how Medicaid agencies process medical claims and manage provider enrollment, while responding more efficiently to legislative and regulatory changes. (Pringle, 12/2)

Stat: Former Immunomedics Executives Are Charged With Insider Trading
Two former executives at Immuomedics were charged with insider trading by U.S. authorities in connection with information about late-stage clinical trial results of a promising cancer drug, which later prompted Gilead Sciences (GILD) to buy the company. Usama Malik, who had been chief financial officer, and Lauren Wood, the former chief communications officer, were arrested for purchasing Immunomedic stock shortly before positive trial results were released publicly in April 2020. At the time, the pair was romantically involved and lived together in Washington, D.C., according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in New Jersey. (Silverman, 12/2)

Modern Healthcare: Mental Health Startup Quartet Health Teams Up With Independence Health Group
Quartet Health, a startup that uses analytics to connect patients with mental health solutions that fit their needs and preferences, is teaming up with insurer Independence Health Group to make mental healthcare available to all Independence members, according to a news release Thursday. (Brady, 12/2)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: IBC Invests in Digital Health Firm to Get More People Help for Depression and Anxiety
In another sign that digital health investments are rising, Independence Health Group, the Philadelphia area’s largest health insurer, led a $60 million investment in Quartet Health, a New York technology company hired by health plans to connect members with mental health professionals, Independence said Thursday. Independence started working with Quartet, which has big-name venture capital backing from the likes of GV, formerly Google Ventures, in February. But with the investment, Independence chief executive Gregory E. Deavens has now taken a seat on Quartet’s board. (Brubaker, 12/3)

Modern Healthcare: Northwell Health Signs Deal, Launches Platform For Patient Medical Information
New York-based provider Northwell Health and Playback Health, a software technology company, are collaborating on an engagement platform to help patients better retain their healthcare data. The multi-year agreement will launch Playback's technology at select Northwell Health clinical sites, allowing patients to more easily engage with providers and understand their diagnoses, the companies announced on Tuesday. (Devereaux, 12/2)

Crain's New York Business: New York Providers Push for Education-Related Reforms to Combat Nursing Shortages
Nursing shortages in New York made headlines this fall when Lewis County General Hospital announced it would stop delivering babies for lack of vaccinated nurses in its maternity ward. Then Mount Sinai South Nassau temporarily closed its emergency department in Long Beach last week, blaming the same problem. Such events have shed light on what stakeholders said is a longstanding, statewide shortage of registered nurses and nurse practitioners. The shortage predates the COVID-19 pandemic, they said. (Kaufman, 12/2)

CNN: Hacienda HealthCare: Former Nurse Sentenced To 10 Years In Prison For Sexually Assaulting An Intellectually Disabled Woman 
A man who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting an intellectually disabled woman in an Arizona long-term health care facility was sentenced to 10 years in prison Thursday, according to prosecutors. Nathan D. Sutherland, formerly a licensed practical nurse who was caring for the woman, was accused of impregnating her in 2018 while she was in a vegetative state at the facility, prosecutors said. She shocked employees by giving birth at the facility in December 2018, with one telling a 911 dispatcher, "We had no idea she was pregnant." (Rose and Boyette, 12/3)

AP: New Data Suggests 1 In 44 US Children Affected By Autism
New autism numbers released Thursday suggest more U.S. children are being diagnosed with the developmental condition and at younger ages. In an analysis of 2018 data from nearly a dozen states, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that among 8-year-olds, 1 in 44 had been diagnosed with autism. That rate compares with 1 in 54 identified with autism in 2016. U.S. autism numbers have been on the rise for several years, but experts believe that reflects more awareness and wider availability of services to treat the condition rather than a true increase in the number of affected children. (Tanner, 12/2)

The Hill: Adams: Maternal Health Is In 'A Crisis Within A Crisis'
Rep. Alma Adams (D-N.C.) raised alarm Thursday about the quality of maternal health around the country, saying American women are dying in childbirth more than other wealthy countries — and are now dealing with an additional public health crisis. “The state of maternal health is still in crisis,” Adams, the co-chair of the Black Maternal Health Caucus, said at The Hill’s Investing in Maternal and Infant Health event. (Schonfield, 12/2)

Modern Healthcare: 13M People Delayed Or Didn't Fill Prescription Drugs Pre-Pandemic
An estimated 13 million adults delayed getting or didn't fill prescription drugs prior to the COVID-19 pandemic due to cost, according to a new survey. More than one-quarter of Medicare beneficiaries and 5.3% of privately insured adults spent more than 1% of their household income on their out-of-pocket prescription drug costs, according to the Urban Institute's estimated annual averages of 2018 and 2019 Medicare Expenditure Panel Survey data from nearly 30,000 Americans. More than 3% of Medicare beneficiaries—and nearly 7% of beneficiaries with unmet prescription drug needs—spent more than 10% of their household income on prescription drugs. (Kacik, 12/2)

AP: US Jobless Claims Rise By 28,000, But Still Low At 222,000
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week even though the U.S. job market has been rebounding from last year's coronavirus recession. Jobless claims climbed by 28,000 to 222,000 from the previous week's 52-year low 194,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week ups and downs, fell below 239,000, a pandemic low. (Wiseman, 12/2)

Public Health Watch: Cancer Cases In Kids Are Rising. Some Experts Blame Toxic Chemicals
In April 2008, Jonathan Agin’s 27-month-old daughter, Alexis, was diagnosed with DIPG, a rare brain tumor. Agin, then a civil defense lawyer in Washington, D.C., was dislodged from his comfortable life and dragged into the surreal world of a young cancer victim’s parent: the sleepless nights in the din of a hospital, the grueling clinical trials. “I always had hope,” Agin said in a recent interview, though he knew most DIPG patients survive no more than two years after diagnosis. Alexis lived for 33 months after her tumor was found. Toward the end of her life, she was unable to walk or speak. She died at 3:03 p.m. on Jan. 14, 2011. (Morris and Berryman, 12/3)

In public health news related to covid —

The Wall Street Journal: Antonio Brown, Two Other NFL Players Suspended For Misrepresenting Vaccine Status
The NFL suspended Tampa Bay Buccaneers star wide receiver Antonio Brown for three games after he “misrepresented” his vaccination status, two weeks after he was accused by his former chef of procuring a fake vaccination card. Teammate Mike Edwards and free agent John Franklin III, a former Buccaneer, were also suspended by the league for misrepresenting their vaccination status and violating the league’s pandemic protocols. The Buccaneers, the reigning Super Bowl champions, had previously said that every player was fully vaccinated against Covid-19. (Beaton and Radnofsky, 12/2)

The Wall Street Journal: LeBron James Cleared To Return By NBA After New Round Of Covid Tests
Two days after LeBron James was sidelined by the league’s health and safety protocols because he registered conflicting Covid-19 results, the NBA’s biggest star is back after the league said that subsequent testing determined that he was not a positive case. James, who is vaccinated, was ruled out indefinitely on Tuesday after he tested positive for Covid in a sample collected on Monday, according to the NBA, which issued a statement outlining his testing results in unusual detail on Thursday night. (Cohen, 12/2)

CBS News: Small Percentage Of Migrants Processed By U.S. In 2021 Had Access To COVID-19 Vaccines
Just a small percentage of the hundreds of thousands of migrants processed by the U.S. this year have received COVID-19 vaccinations while in federal custody, and half of them are unaccompanied children, according to unpublished government data obtained by CBS News. Collectively, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have administered vaccine doses to more than 90,000 immigrants in deportation proceedings, the statistics show. (Montoya-Galvez, 12/2)

CIDRAP: CDC: Homeless Americans Have Low COVID-19 Vaccination Rates
Today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that just 19% to 45% of the homeless population in six metropolitan areas were fully vaccinated against COVID-19. To assess coverage levels, the CDC tracked vaccination coverage from Dec 13, 2020, to Aug 31, 2021, in six US metro areas: Chicago; Minneapolis; Los Angeles; Detroit; Washington, DC; and Fairfax, Virginia. (12/2)

On an aid-in-dying law —

KHN: New California Law Eases Aid-In-Dying Process
During her three-year battle with breast cancer, my wife, Leslie, graciously endured multiple rounds of horrifically toxic treatment to eke out more time with our two young children. But after 18 cancer-free months, the disease returned with a vengeance in June 2003. It fractured her bones and invaded her spinal canal, bathing her brain in malignancy. During the final six months, as she lay on her home hospice bed in constant pain, attached to a morphine drip around-the-clock while losing her eyesight and withering to a skeleton, the idea of ending her suffering by ending her life didn’t even enter into our conversations. (Bernard J. Wolfson, 12/3)

AP: Scientists Use Stem Cells To Create Models Of Pre-Embryos 
Scientists are using human stem cells to create a structure that mimics a pre-embryo and can serve as a research alternative to a real one. They say these “blastoids” provide an efficient, ethical way to study human development and pursue biomedical discoveries in fertility and contraception. The latest effort was detailed Thursday in the journal Nature. The structures aren’t embryos, but scientists nevertheless didn’t let them grow past two weeks in deference to longstanding ethical guidelines. (Ungar, 12/2)

Stat: Lab-Grown Embryos Prompt A Question: Are They Getting Too Real? 
The stem cells were no more than a week old when scientists moved them from their slick-walled plastic wells into ones lined with a thin layer of human endometrial tissue. But in that time, the cells had multiplied and transformed, organizing themselves into semi-hollow spheres. Per the instructions of the chemical cocktail in which they’d been steeping, they were trying to turn into embryos. Video cameras captured what happened next: The balls of cells rotated until they were cavity-side-up, before finally touching down and grabbing onto the endometrial layer, a cellular proxy for a human uterus. Days later, when the scientists dipped paper test strips into the wells, pink lines appeared. Their Petri dishes were pregnant. (Molteni, 12/2)

In covid-related research —

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 6-Foot COVID-19 Distancing Rule Arbitrary, Study Finds
“Social distancing” quickly became part of the lexicon when the coronavirus pandemic began two years ago. The World Health Organization defined it as staying 3 feet away from one another. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doubled that. Nearly overnight, footprint decals appeared on store floors, spaced 6 feet apart. Memes and jokes popped up online, many from introverts who cheered staying away from other people. (Clanton, 12/2)

CIDRAP: Monoclonal Antibody Lenzilumab Boosts Survival In COVID Hospital Patients
The neutralizing monoclonal antibody lenzilumab significantly raised survival without the use of mechanical ventilation in hospitalized COVID-19 patients and had a good safety profile, according to a phase 3 clinical trial yesterday in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. A team led by Mayo Clinic researchers enrolled 520 hospitalized COVID-19 pneumonia patients from 29 sites in the United States and Brazil from May 5, 2020, to Jan 27, 2021; 479 patients were included in a modified intention-to-treat population. Participants were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either three intravenous 600-milligram (mg) doses of lenzilumab or a placebo given 8 hours apart. (12/2)

Health News Florida: Could Animal Trafficking Produce Another Pandemic? A USF Biologist Explains 
The origins of the coronavirus are still not clear, but a University of South Florida professor says the evidence -- and history -- would suggest it came from an animal. Sean Doody is a biologist who tracks the spread of viruses and diseases in wildlife. Health News Florida's Leda Alvim spoke with Doody about the role animal trafficking plays in the transmission of viruses and how we might prevent future pandemics. (Alvim, 12/2)

NPR: How Pfizer Developed a COVID Pill in Record Time
Two new drugs are awaiting authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for treating patients with COVID-19, and both may be effective against the omicron variant. One is made by Merck, the other by Pfizer. The Merck drug has been in development for years. When the pandemic began, Pfizer's drug didn't exist. The story of its development is another example of how COVID-19 has sped up the drug and vaccine development process. (Palca, 12/3)

Also —

Reuters: Bayer's Nubeqa Drug Improves Survival In Prostate Cancer Trial
Bayer (BAYGn.DE) said a combination therapy including its Nubeqa drug was shown to prolong the lives of men suffering from metastatic prostate cancer in a clinical study, underpinning the company's hopes for the drug to become a key sales driver. Nubeqa, also known as darolutamide, improved overall survival in a combination with standard care when compared to standard care alone, which was the primary goal of the trial, the German company said in a statement on Friday. (Burger, 12/3)

NBC News: Lead, Mercury, Other Pollutants Could Affect Birth Ratios Of Boys To Girls
Lead, mercury and other pollutants could be affecting the ratio of boys to girls born each year, according to a study published Thursday in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS Computational Biology. The analysis, which reviewed data from about half of the U.S. population and everyone in Sweden, suggested common pollutants are affecting children before they’re born and having similar effects across large groups of people and on separate continents. (Bush, 12/2)

AP: Unvaccinated Nevada State Workers To Pay Insurance Surcharge
Nevada will be the first state to charge state workers enrolled in public employee health insurance plans a surcharge if they aren’t vaccinated. The state Public Employees’ Benefit Program Board voted on Thursday to charge unvaccinated workers up to $55 per month to offset the costs of testing those who haven’t gotten shots are required to undergo in certain workplaces. “This is pandemic has been shouldered on the burden of everyone. And now this particular burden — the testing — should be shouldered on the burden of those who refuse to (be vaccinated),” said DuAne Young, Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak’s policy director. (Metz, 12/3)

Bloomberg: Maine Struggles To Give Covid Boosters Due To Pharmacy Staffing Shortages 
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., a critical player in the U.S. vaccination campaign, has canceled some booster-shot appointments in Maine due to staffing issues, a state health official said. People began reporting the issue on Twitter last week to Nirav Shah, the director of the northern New England state’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Shah said he contacted Walgreens, thinking he could help if there was a supply shortfall. (LaVito, 12/2)

The CT Mirror: Two-Thirds Of Nursing Home Residents Have Received COVID Boosters
About 67% of nursing home residents in the state had received a COVID-19 vaccine booster as of Nov. 21, according to the Connecticut Department of Public Health, and just over one-in-five nursing home staff who were eligible for boosters had received one. Many of those residing and working in long-term care facilities have been eligible for booster shots since late September. At a press conference last week, Josh Geballe, the state’s chief operating officer, stated that booster clinics have been ongoing since then. The state is currently helping facilities that “take a little longer to get organized” conduct clinics on-site, he said. (Pananjady and Altimari, 12/2)

The Hill: South Carolina Nurse Indicted, Accused Of Creating Fake COVID-19 Vaccine Cards
A nurse in South Carolina has been accused of creating fake COVID-19 vaccination cards and lying to authorities when approached about these allegations. As The State newspaper reported, Tammy McDonald, a registered nurse and director of nursing at a rehabilitation center, was indicted by a federal jury on Nov. 23, per court documents that were made public on Thursday. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges. (Choi, 12/2)

In non-covid news across the states —

Health News Florida: Ladapo Says He's 'Committed' To Reducing Florida's HIV Spread At A World AIDS Day Event 
Efforts to reduce Florida’s relatively high number of new HIV infections could amp up under the state's new surgeon general. Speaking this week at Leon County’s World AIDS Day event, Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo promised he and Lt. Gov. Jeannette Nunez would work to increase access to testing, treatment and prevention methods. “We’re committed,” he said. “I'm certain that what we can do it, and I'm certain that we will do it.” (Crowder, 12/2)

WUSF Public Media: Tampa Is Awarded $2M For Affordable Housing For Residents Living With HIV And AIDS 
The city of Tampa was awarded $2,250,000 to be used for affordable housing for low- income people living with HIV and AIDS. The money comes from $41 million pot from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).Two other Florida-based organizations received money: Community Rightful Center, which provides employment services to disabled individuals in South Florida, and Broward House, which works to improve the quality of life for individuals with HIV and other chronic health challenges. (Miller, 12/2)

Jacksonville Daily Record: New UF Health Jax Centers Combine Emergency Room And Urgent Care 
UF Health Jacksonville is bringing a new emergency health care concept to Duval County in a partnership with Dallas-based Intuitive Health. The centers combine the facilities of an emergency room with those of an urgent care center. Health professionals triage patients to determine if their circumstances warrant emergency or urgent care treatment. There will be three Jacksonville locations. Intuitive Health also has centers in southeast and northwest Florida. (Macdonald, 12/2)

AP: Potential Delay Of New Long-Term Care Payroll Tax Considered
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said Thursday he is talking to lawmakers about a potential delay in the collection of a mandatory payroll tax to fund Washington state’s new long-term care program. On Wednesday, Senate Democratic leadership sent Inslee a letter asking him to delay implementation of the premium assessment — set to start in January — until Jan. 1, 2023, saying that it would allow the Legislature to address concerns about the program. (La Corte, 12/3)

The Hill: Hawaii Democrat Raises Alarms Over Water Contamination Near Pearl Harbor
Hawaii Rep. Kai Kahele (D) raised alarms in a House Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday over water contamination near Pearl Harbor. The Hawaii State Department of Health on Wednesday found petroleum products in water from the Navy’s water system that is used by 93,000 people, The Associated Press reported. Residents suspect the contamination is from the Navy’s Red Hill Underground Fuel Storage facility and have called for it to be shut down, while the Navy says the tanks are needed for their Pacific operations, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported. (Lonas, 12/2)

Bloomberg: Virus Spread Rate Gauge At Record In South Africa Epicenter
The reproductive number, a measure of how fast the coronavirus spreads, has surged to a record in Gauteng, the center of South Africa’s omicron variant outbreak. The reproductive number rose to 2.33 in Gauteng, Michelle Groome, head of health surveillance for the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, said on an online presentation on Friday. That means each infected person on average infects another 2.33. In the Western Cape, which includes the tourism hub of Cape Town, the number has reached 2, Keith Cloete, the provincial head of health, said on Thursday. (Cohen and Cele, 12/3)

Axios: COVID Cases Surge In South Africa In Sign Omicron Wave Is Coming 
South Africa alerted the world to the Omicron variant. Now data out of South Africa may serve as a warning of what we're facing. South Africa recorded 11,535 new cases Thursday with 22.4% of tests coming back positive — up from an average of about 300 new cases, with a 2% test positivity rate 10 days earlier. The country's top public health officials expect that exponential rise to continue as Omicron rapidly becomes the dominant variant. (Lawler, 12/2)

Bloomberg: France Detects Nine Omicron Cases As Government Eyes Tourism Hit
France said it has detected nine cases of the omicron variant, even as President Emmanuel Macron’s government steps in with fresh promises to support the country’s hard-hit tourism industry. Cases of the new coronavirus variant were found in different parts of France and in the overseas territory of La Reunion, and the country is stepping up efforts to identify and isolate them as soon as possible, health authorities said in an emailed statement on Friday. (Torsoli, 12/3)

Reuters: Geneva Places 2,000 People In Quarantine After Two Omicron Cases
The Swiss cantons of Geneva and Vaud have placed 2,000 people, most of them children, into quarantine after two cases of the Omicron variant were detected at an international school. Geneva, a hub for international diplomats and home to the World Health Organization (WHO) which last week classified Omicron as a SARS-CoV-2 "variant of concern", had previously confirmed one case in an individual who had returned from South Africa and another suspected case linked to the same individual. (Hughes Neghaiwi, 12/3)

Axios: Germany Approves New COVID Restrictions For Unvaccinated People 
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that people who are unvaccinated will not be allowed in nonessential shops, cultural and recreational venues, AP reports. Merkel, alongside incoming Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said the measures were necessary to avoid overflowing hospitals with coronavirus patients. The country is seeing an increase in daily infections. (Gonzalez, 12/2)

ProPublica and The Salt Lake Tribune: Utah Makes Welfare So Hard To Get, Some Feel They Must Join The LDS Church To Get Aid
Utah’s safety net for the poor is so intertwined with the LDS Church that individual bishops often decide who receives assistance. Some deny help unless a person goes to services or gets baptized. (Hager, 12/2)

The City: The Toll Of NYCHA’s Lead Lies: A Brooklyn Girl Poisoned As Officials Covered Up Danger
More than 5,000 public housing apartments in buildings long ago deemed “lead free” contain lead paint, THE CITY has learned. And that number is likely to grow. Meet a resident of one of those complexes: Mikhaila Bonaparte, who was born in 2013, just days before NYCHA falsified its lead report to the feds. (Smith, 11/28)

The City: The Toll Of NYCHA’s Lead Lies, Part II: A Mother Fights To Help Daughter
On Sunday, THE CITY revealed that at least 5,000 public housing apartments in complexes long ago deemed “lead free” contain lead paint — and introduced Mikhaila Bonaparte, who was born days before the New York City Housing Authority launched its lead coverup. Today we detail her mother’s fight to help her lead-poisoned daughter — and to wring the truth from NYCHA in the wake of a history of lies. (Smith, 11/29)

The Marshall Project: Police Hurt Thousands Of Teens — Many Are Black Girls
Black youths make up the majority of kids on the receiving end of police violence — and a striking number of them are girls, an investigation by The Marshall Project found. There is no comprehensive national database of violent interactions between police and civilians. But when we looked at data for six large police departments that provided detailed demographic information on use-of-force incidents, we found nearly 4,000 youngsters 17 and under experienced police violence from 2015 through 2020. Almost 800 of the children and teens — roughly a fifth of the total — were Black girls. White girls were involved in about 120 cases, representing only 3% of use-of-force incidents involving minors. (Vansickle and Lin, 12/2)

The Marshall Project: She Was Having A Seizure. Police Shocked Her With A Taser
How an Alabama teen sought justice after a violent police encounter upended her life. (Ruderman and Van Sickle, 12/2)

The Atlantic: Omicron Won’t Ruin Your Booster
If it doesn’t happen with this variant, it’ll happen with the next one, or maybe the next. Some version of this coronavirus is bound to flummox our vaccines. In the past two years, SARS-CoV-2 has hopscotched across the globe, rejiggering its genome to better coexist with us. The latest coronavirus contender, Omicron, has more than 50 mutations, making it the most heavily altered coronavirus variant of concern that researchers have identified to date. Even in the fully vaccinated, at least a few antibodies will likely be stumped, and at least a few cells infected. Our collective defenses may soon bear an Omicron-shaped dent. (Wu, 12/2)

The Atlantic: What The J&J Vaccine Can Still Teach Us
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, perhaps more than any other COVID shot, knows what it is to be bullied by the American public. Since the spring, the shot’s been roasted, and roasted, and roasted again—first for its late arrival and its imperfect performance in trials, then for a rare but concerning side effect that temporarily halted its distribution in April. Tweets, memes, and listicles dragged it. SNL skewered it. CVS pharmacies stopped offering it. Then, in October, federal officials urged everyone on Team J&J to get another shot—any shot (but also, maybe try Moderna this time?)—rendering the vaccine’s one-and-done protection, its clearest advantage over its mRNA competitors, just about moot. The underdog dose, the “second class” shot, the nation’s vaccine-a non grata, seemed as good as dead. (Wu, 12/1)

Politico: How Trump’s ‘America First’ Edict Delayed The Global Covid Fight
Decisions by top officials responding to President Donald Trump’s edict to protect “America first” contributed to a global delay in Covid-19 vaccine donations and a lack of effort to assist low- and middle-income countries, according to five current and former U.S. officials who worked under Trump on the federal pandemic response. The failure to view the Covid threat in global terms left some nations — including those where the Omicron variant emerged in recent weeks — lacking inoculation and much more vulnerable to mutations, the officials said. (Banco, 12/1)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. Voters Angry, Frustrated Over Homeless Crisis, Demand Fast Action, Poll Finds
Amid deep frustration over widespread, visible homelessness, Los Angeles voters want the government to act faster and focus on shelter for people living in the streets, even if those efforts are short-term and fall short of permanent housing, a new poll of county voters shows. Most voters continue to express empathy for homeless people, but also impatience and disappointment with the region’s leadership, according to the poll, conducted by the Los Angeles Business Council Institute in cooperation with The Times. (Oreskes and Lauter, 12/1)

Bloomberg: A Covid Vaccination A Year May Sound Painful But If It Has To Be Done, It Can Be 
Two doses? Three? More? The euphoria that greeted safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines a year ago has turned to confusion and debate in the face of resurgent cases and an ugly new variant. The rich world is doubling down on booster doses, ignoring warnings from the World Health Organization that this will worsen supply shortages in the developing world. (Lionel Laurent, 12/3)

The Washington Post: Rich Countries Have Failed The Rest Of The World On Vaccinations. Omicron Is The Result
The saddest thing about the emergence of the omicron variant is its utter predictability. For months, even longer, public health officials have been warning that as long as the coronavirus can circulate freely and widely, it would change its form, and that those mutations could be more difficult to handle than the original variant. In October, former British prime minister, Gordon Brown predicted this. He said: “We in the West may feel safe and blessed at the moment, because we’ve had the vaccines, but we may find a new variant that comes out of Africa or Asia, where people have not been vaccinated and are not protected. And it obviously isn’t susceptible to the vaccines that we have at the moment.” (Fareed Zakaria, 12/2)

The New York Times: Omicron Has Lessons For Us. We Refuse To Learn Them
As we approach the two-year mark since “coronavirus” became a household word, I get the frustration, the impatience, the exhaustion. I feel and fight them myself. I want to know when I can make travel plans without first making intricate assessments of risk, when I can stop ordering masks in bulk, when I can rip off the one through which I strain to be heard by the students I teach, when I can breathe free. (Frank Bruni, 12/2)

Newsweek: As New COVID Variants Emerge, How Can We Ever Achieve A 'New Normal'? 
Almost two years into a punishing pandemic, as vaccination rates creep higher and the number of COVID-19 deaths declines in many countries, many people are asking how much longer will it be before we can return to normal. While there have been causes for optimism, this crisis has seen its share of false dawns, not least is the recent emergence of the new Omicron variant, which has revived fears and increased doubt. (Haruka Sakamoto, 12/2)

Los Angeles Times: Omicron Is Here. Instead Of Panicking, Let's Act To Vaccinate Everyone 
It can be hard to remain calm when there’s yet another variant of the coronavirus, possibly even more transmissible than Delta, circulating in the United States. The first domestic case — an air passenger from South Africa — was reported in California on Wednesday, and several more have been confirmed since then. But let’s stay cool, for the moment anyway. (12/2)

The Atlantic: We Opened The Schools And ... It Was Fine
When the coronavirus pandemic first hit, many states and towns closed everything, including schools. Public-health experts didn’t know enough about how COVID was spread or how contagious it was, and the health-care system was overwhelmed in parts of the country. The American public could see the disaster unfolding in Italy, and many people believed that the U.S. needed to act before things got out of control. (Aaron E. Carroll, 12/2)

USA Today: Michael J. Fox: Help Predict Who's Getting Parkinson’s And Cure It
If I told you a simple action you take today could change everything about how Parkinson’s disease is diagnosed, managed and treated – not decades from now, but in the near future – would you do it? I don’t mean giving money. (Though that helps, too. Research is unbelievably expensive.) And I’m not talking just to the people who, like me, are living with Parkinson’s disease. (Michael J. Fox, 12/2)

The New York Times: Overdoses Surged During The Pandemic. How Do We Stop Them? 
On Tuesday, New York became the first city in the United States to open officially authorized injection sites: medically supervised locations where drug users can find clean needles, naloxone — a medication that reverses overdoses — and options for addiction treatment. During the first day in operation, officials said, trained staff reversed two overdoses. (Spencer Bokat-Lindell, 12/2)

Stat: In Defense Of Not Treating Everyone The Same
As a third-generation Black physician who has experienced firsthand discrimination from health care providers, I wish I could say medicine has changed since my grandparents’ days. But it really hasn’t. When my grandparents and parents practiced medicine, Black doctors represented only 3% of providers. Today, I am one of the 5% of providers across the U.S. who identify as Black or African American. I’ve spent a large portion of my career being an advocate, educating myself and others, and illuminating the unconscious bias that pervades our health care system. More often than not, I’ve received push back from fellow providers and health care administrators, with many feeling it wasn’t their problem. Instead, it is “my problem.” (Ian Tong, 12/3)

Stat: Reforms Needed For FDA's Regulation Of Medical Devices 
Medical devices are mainstays of modern medicine, from basic products like gloves and bandages to complex technologies like pacemakers and infusion pumps. Given the wide range of risks and benefits, Congress tasked the Food and Drug Administration in 1976 with determining whether new medical devices should be authorized for use based on their potential to help or harm patients. Public health experts have long voiced concerns about this balancing act. In 2011, for example, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) issued a landmark report calling for reforms to improve the regulation of medical devices. While some of the recommendations have made their way into policy, others, like reform of the 510(k) pathway, have not. (Kushal Kadakia and Harlan M. Krumholz, 12/3)