Reuters: Boosters Give 70%-75% Protection Against Mild Disease From Omicron, UK Says
Booster Covid-19 vaccine shots give an estimated 70% to 75% protection against mild disease from the new omicron variant, the UK Health Security Agency said on Friday, citing initial findings from a real-world study. The findings are some of the earliest data on the protection against omicron outside of lab studies, which have shown reduced neutralizing activity against omicron. The early real-world data suggest that while omicron could greatly reduce the protection against mild disease from an initial two-dose vaccination course, boosters restored the protection to an extent. (12/10)

The Wall Street Journal: Pfizer Booster Shots Are Effective Against Omicron Variant, Israeli Study Says 
A booster shot of Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE’s Covid-19 vaccine provides good protection against severe illness from the Omicron variant, while those without a third shot are highly vulnerable, according to a new Israeli study. The findings, similar to those announced last week by Pfizer, suggest countries worried about Omicron’s rapid spread will be able to defend their populations with continued inoculation. ... The study’s bad news, said Dr. Regev-Yochay, director of the infectious-disease epidemiology unit at Sheba Medical Center, is that people who got a “second dose of the vaccine five to six months ago don’t have any neutralizing ability.” (Lieber, 12/12)

Without the booster, protection against omicron drops significantly —

CNBC: Oxford University Study Says Omicron Can Hit The Double Vaccinated
Two doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines are substantially less effective at warding off omicron compared to previous variants of the coronavirus, scientists have found. ... In a new study announced on Monday, researchers from the University of Oxford tested blood samples of people 28 days after their second dose of either vaccine. (Taylor, 12/13)

Bloomberg: Pfizer Omicron Efficacy At 22.5% In South Africa Lab Experiments
A two-shot course of Pfizer Inc.’s vaccine may have just 22.5% efficacy against symptomatic infection with the omicron variant, but can thwart severe disease, according to laboratory experiments in South Africa. Researchers at the Africa Health Research Institute in Durban issued additional data on a small study released earlier this week from which they made an estimate of the efficacy of the vaccine using modeling. (Sguazzin, 12/11)

San Francisco Chronicle: How Effective Are Today’s Vaccines Against Omicron? Here’s What We Know So Far
Less than three weeks after omicron was identified and given a name, scientists already have the first evidence that the highly mutated coronavirus variant may be better than any of its predecessors at evading immunity from vaccines or previous infection. Early laboratory studies from around the world show a potentially dramatic drop in the body’s frontline antibody response to the variant among people who are fully vaccinated or previously infected. That finding, translated to real-world experience, could mean people will be more likely to get breakthrough infections with omicron than with delta or other variants. (Allday, 12/11)

Will you have to get a fourth shot? —

Fox News: Fauci: Americans May 'Just Have To Deal With' More COVID Boosters
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci said that Americans will "just have to deal with" the prospect of getting more coronavirus booster shots. Fauci made the statement on Sunday morning and said that the level of protection that the current coronavirus booster shots give to individuals will have to be monitored closely over the next several months. "If it becomes necessary to get yet another boost, then we’ll just have to deal with it when that occurs," Fauci said. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director also said that he's "hoping" that a third mRNA shot will give longer-lasting protection. (Sabes, 12/12)

CNBC: Covid Booster Is 'Optimal Care,' But Fully Vaccinated Definition Stays Put, Fauci Says
Covid booster shots are “optimal care” as the deadly virus continues to mutate and spread, but the U.S. government is staying firm for the time being on the definition of fully vaccinated, top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday. Currently, two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech or the Moderna vaccines or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine provide full vaccination. Health officials will continue to evaluate whether that definition needs to change, Fauci said on ABC’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulos.” (Bursztynsky, 12/12)

Politico: Fauci: Booster Shots For Americans Won’t Deprive Unvaccinated People Around The Globe 
Anthony Fauci said Sunday that pushing Americans to get booster shots won’t deprive others around the globe of the opportunity to get vaccinated. “We can do both,” Fauci said on ABC’s “This Week." “We are, right now, vaccinating our own country,” President Joe Biden’s top medical adviser said. “We're going to be boosting as many people as we possibly can. But you can also simultaneously make doses available to the developing world. And the United States, quite frankly, has done more than all of the other countries combined. We've given over 300 million doses to over 100 countries, and we will either have given or pledging 1.1 billion doses and an expansion of even more.“ (Cohen, 12/12)

Stat: Rich Countries Are Hoarding More Covid Vaccines Than Needed For Boosters
Two years since SARS-CoV-2 first passed into humans, manufacturers have created enough vaccines to inoculate most of the world against Covid-19. But dozens of low-income countries still face dire shortages because rich nations are building stockpiles with hundreds of millions more doses than they need. Even when booster shots for rich nations are taken into account, there’s ample supply to meet global vaccination goals for the end of 2021, STAT’s analysis of available data shows. The challenge is getting the vaccines to the right places. (Goldhill, 12/13)

In other updates on the vaccine rollout —

The Washington Post: Vaccine Holdouts In U.S. Military Approach 40,000 Even As Omicron Variant Fuels Call For Boosters
The number of active-duty U.S. military personnel declining to be vaccinated against the coronavirus by their prescribed deadlines is as high as 40,000, with new Army data showing that, days ahead of its cutoff, 3 percent of soldiers either have rejected President Biden’s mandate or sought a long-shot exemption. While overall the vast majority of service members are fully vaccinated, military analysts have characterized the number of refusals and holdouts as a troubling indicator in a rigid, top-down culture where decision-making often is predicated on the understanding that the troops will do as they are told. It also suggests the nation’s divisive politics have influenced a small but significant segment of the Defense Department, historically an apolitical institution. (Horton, 12/11)

CIDRAP: COVID Vaccine Lotteries Tied To Increased Uptake In Most, Not All, States
Programs that reward the newly vaccinated with an entry in a lottery were associated with an increase in COVID-19 vaccinations in most—but not all—US states offering the incentive and may have spurred almost 2 million people to get immunized, according to research published yesterday in JAMA Network Open. From Mar 17 to Jul 5, 2021, researchers from Drexel University and the University of Georgia polled 403,714 adult participants in the Household Pulse Survey and analyzed daily vaccination rates for the 11 states with a vaccine lottery and 28 states without such a program. Of all survey participants, 71.9% were vaccinated against COVID-19 and 28.1% were not. (12/10)

Axios: Millions Of America's Seniors Haven't Received Booster Shot And Are Vulnerable To Omicron 
Only about half of nursing home residents have received a COVID booster shot — an ominous statistic as Omicron rapidly spreads around the world. Experts recommended booster shots — especially for this vulnerable population — even before the emergence of Omicron. But preliminary data shows that two doses of Pfizer's vaccine isn't very effective against the new variant, although three is. (Owens, 12/13)

Philadelphia Inquirer: COVID Booster Shots In Philadelphia, Pa., Face Data Tracking Challenges
A lack of data makes it “impossible to say” what percentage of Philadelphians who are eligible for a COVID-19 booster shot haven’t gotten one, as the city contends with ongoing challenges capturing the vaccinations of people who cross city lines for their shots. A data adjustment happening now will soon provide a much better picture of vaccinations, said Philadelphia Public Health Department spokesperson James Garrow. Thousands of people statewide appear to have only one or two doses but, in reality, have the highest level of protection against the coronavirus currently available, city officials believe. (McDaniel, 12/11)

Houston Chronicle: Houston Hospitals See Uptick In Demand For Booster Shots As Omicron Spreads In Texas
COVID-19 booster shots are hot. Houston hospitals and clinics report an uptick in people receiving their supplementary vaccine dose as the omicron variant spreads throughout the globe. The variant, publicly identified Nov. 25 in South Africa, was first detected in Texas on Monday when public health officials confirmed a Harris County woman had contracted the strain. Houston Methodist has since identified another 18 samples of the variant, from COVID patients throughout the greater Houston area, and the city found traces of omicron in eight of its wastewater treatment facilities. Three cases were also detected in Fort Bend County. (Gill, 12/10)

In news about nasal vaccines —

Fox News: Study: Nasal Vaccine May Help Protect Against COVID Variants
Omicron and delta variants of COVID-19 have researchers investigating the effectiveness of existing vaccinations and boosters against emerging new strains of SARS-CoV-2. One protection against the quickly mutating novel coronavirus may potentially be through nasal vaccines, according to researchers of a new study published in Science Immunology. "A new response to the rapidly mutating virus might be found right at the door to our lungs", Yale University’s Akiko Iwasaki, a Waldemar Von Zedtwitz Professor of Immunobiology and senior author of the study, said in news release. (McGorry, 12/12)

USA Today: New York Brings Back Mask Mandate As Cases Spike
Masks will be required starting Monday in all indoor public places across New York unless businesses or venues implement a vaccine requirement for entry. The mandates come as COVID-19 cases spiked statewide more than 43% since Thanksgiving, straining the health care system amid staffing shortages, Gov. Kathy Hochul said. New cases have been rising steadily across most of the nation in recent weeks. New York's requirements extend to both patrons and staff, with businesses facing a maximum $1,000 fine per violation. The measure will remain in place until Jan. 15, after which the state will re-evaluate. (Santucci and Bacon, 12/12)

Politico: De Blasio Defends Vaccine Mandates, Points To Effectiveness In NYC
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio wants everyone watching his newly imposed vaccine mandate to know one thing: they work. In a move not yet seen anywhere else in the nation, de Blasio is requiring all New Yorkers who work in the city’s private sector to be vaccinated against Covid-19 by Dec. 27. (Crummy, 12/12)

In other updates on covid mandates —

AP: Rhode Island Governor Extends Pandemic Executive Orders 
Rhode Island’s governor has extended his executive orders requiring masks in schools and declaring a disaster emergency due to new COVID-19 variants. Both orders were due to expire Saturday. Gov. Dan McKee signed an extension through Jan. 8. McKee reported on Saturday the state’s first case of the omicron variant of coronavirus in an adult who recently had traveled out-of-state. (12/12)

AP: Connecticut Will Have Proof-Of-Vaccination Cellphone App
Connecticut residents soon will be able to show their vaccination status using a cellphone app, though whether it’s required will be up to businesses, restaurants and other establishments. Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont announced Friday the app will be available by the end of the year. Lamont hasn’t followed the example of Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has reinstituted a statewide mask mandate beginning Monday. (12/12)

Houston Chronicle: Rice Keeps Employee Vaccine Requirement Despite Judge’s Ruling Against Biden Mandate For Contractors
Rice University is continuing its employee vaccination requirement despite a court decision that temporarily halts President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for federal contractors. U.S. District Judge R. Stan Baker on Tuesday blocked Biden’s directive nationwide, forcing leaders of colleges and universities that partner with the federal government to rethink any existing vaccination policies. By the end of a weekly meeting Friday of Rice administrators overseeing the campus’ COVID-19 response, the university’s rule requiring vaccinations for all employees remained unchanged, a Rice spokesman said. (Ketterer, 12/10)

KHN: How LA, Calling The Shots On School Vaccine Mandates, Can Lead The Way On Covid Rules
On March 31, 1977, as a measles epidemic swept through Los Angeles, the county health department issued an ultimatum to the parents of the county’s 1.6 million schoolchildren: Get your kids vaccinated within a month or keep them home. The “no shots, no school” warning was a novel threat at the time. Since the 1920s — and smallpox — no major city in the United States had locked the unvaccinated out of school. (Allen, 12/13)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Metro Atlanta City With Strictest Mask Mandate Reports No Fines, Police Calls
Decatur remains metro Atlanta’s strictest city when it comes to requiring face masks, even if its mandate is mostly ceremonial at this point in the COVID-19 pandemic. City leaders said the detection of the Omicron variant in Georgia coupled with DeKalb County’s low vaccination rate prompted them to extend the city’s mask mandate through mid-January. The historic DeKalb city was among a handful of cities to bring back mask requirements in August in response to the surge of new cases brought by the Delta variant. Decatur’s policy allows for private business owners to opt-out of enforcement by posting signs if they wish, effectively making the mandate optional. While the policy carries a potential $50 fine for violators, City Manager Andrea Arnold told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that police have not been called once — let alone issued any fines or citations. (Hansen, 12/10)

USA Today: Some Missouri Health Departments Halt Public COVID-19 Work After Letter From GOP Politician
Multiple local health departments in rural Missouri have halted most or all of their COVID-19 tracking and prevention work after the state's Republican attorney general ordered agencies to comply with a recent court ruling. The Laclede County Health Department, located northeast of Springfield, said it received a letter from Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt that demanded it halt some COVID measures after a court ruling last month. The ruling by a Cole County circuit judge said local health authorities did not have the power to impose COVID-19 public health orders. It rendered certain Missouri regulations, including language on notifying people exposed to the virus and providing information for residents to respond, null and void. (Hayes and Yancey-Bragg, 12/11)

In news from Massachusetts —

The Boston Globe: Without Statewide Mask Mandate Against COVID-19, Mass. Will ‘Fight This War With One Arm Tied Behind Our Backs’
As numbers of coronavirus cases climb in Massachusetts, a growing chorus of local, state, and federal officials is sounding the call for mask mandates in indoor public places to stanch the spread of the pandemic this winter. The urging comes amid threats posed by the virus’s Delta and Omicron variants, and as the weather grows colder, gatherings move indoors, and the holiday season approaches. The US Centers for Disease Control reported Sunday that every Massachusetts county faces high community transmission and recommends residents wear masks in indoor public settings. Local health officials, including Julia Raifman, an assistant professor of health law, policy, and management at the Boston University School of Public Health, said Sunday that a statewide indoor mask rule would play an important role in limiting transmission of the virus. (Hilliard, 12/12)

WBUR: Mass. Hospitals See Significant Number Of COVID Breakthrough Cases
If you’re vaccinated and you get COVID-19, the chance you’ll need hospital care is still very rare. In Massachusetts, the rate is 0.05%. But as COVID cases surge, hospitals are reporting a significant portion of patients who’ve had their initial vaccine shot — or shots — and a few who’ve received a booster as well. At major hospitals around the state, anywhere from 25% to 43% of patients tested positive this week for the coronavirus, according to daily numbers provided by the hospitals. In a few cases, the main reason for hospitalization was something other than COVID-19. It is also worth noting that the vast majority — in some cases 75% of COVID patients — reported that they are unvaccinated. (Bebinger, 12/10)

NPR: What Omicron's Fast Spread Could Mean For The U.S. — And The World
The first country to really get hit by omicron is South Africa. Before the new variant took off last month, coronavirus cases there were low – only several hundred per day in mid November. But by early December, the tally of daily infections had shot up to more than 4,500 — and genomic sequencing shows that omicron is to blame. What's more, the variant quickly swept through all regions of South Africa – and has now shown up in about 60 additional countries. Omicron hasn't yet triggered a global wave, but many scientists who are tracking its rapid spread believe it's only a matter of time. (Stone, 12/10)

Axios: The Winter Omicron Wave Is Coming — Quickly 
Data flooding in from South Africa and Europe is clear: The Omicron variant is spreading extremely quickly, including among vaccinated people. If this trend holds up, that means a lot of people — around the world and in the U.S. — are about to get sick, even if only mildly so. An early estimate published yesterday by the UK found that two doses of the Pfizer vaccine are only about 30% effective against symptomatic infection with Omicron, and the AstraZeneca vaccine isn't effective at all. (Owens, 12/11)

Stat: Omicron Can Likely Outcompete Delta, Which Would Worsen Covid In U.S.
s the Omicron variant snowballs in South Africa and widens its inroads in Europe, evidence is mounting that it can outcompete the highly transmissible Delta variant — a potential warning signal for the United States. Viruses perform differently in different places, depending on what other variants are circulating and on what the landscape of immunity looks like. But Omicron is picking up speed in Europe, which has often served as a preview of what was headed the U.S.’s way. It’s an early sign that the already bleak situation here may get worse. (Joseph, 12/10)

AP: South African Doctors See Signs Omicron Is Milder Than Delta 
As the omicron variant sweeps through South Africa, Dr. Unben Pillay is seeing dozens of sick patients a day. Yet he hasn’t had to send anyone to the hospital. That’s one of the reasons why he, along with other doctors and medical experts, suspect that the omicron version really is causing milder COVID-19 than delta, even if it seems to be spreading faster. “They are able to manage the disease at home,” Pillay said of his patients. “Most have recovered within the 10 to 14-day isolation period.” said Pillay. (Meldrum, 12/11)

AP: South African President Tests Positive For COVID, Mildly Ill
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is receiving treatment for mild COVID-19 symptoms after testing positive for the disease Sunday, his office said. Ramaphosa started feeling unwell and a test confirmed COVID-19, a statement from the presidency announced. He is self-isolating in Cape Town and is being monitored by the South African Military Health Service, the statement said. He has delegated all responsibilities to Deputy President David Mabuza for the next week. (Meldrum, 12/12)

In other news about the omicron variant —

The Wall Street Journal: How Sequencing Covid-19’s Viral Genome Helps Hunt For Variants 
To keep up with changes to the virus that causes Covid-19, scientists are using a technology called genomic sequencing. The process starts with a Covid-19 test. Some samples that test positive for the coronavirus in a laboratory are pulled aside and sent off for sequencing, a review of the virus’s genetic material that can take as little as a day or more than a week. The SARS-CoV-2 genome has about 30,000 individual building blocks to decode, compared with about three billion in the human genome. (Abbott and Cervantes, 12/12)

Oklahoman: Why Is Oklahoma Last In COVID Sequencing? Totals Mask Some Progress
As researchers race to learn about the new omicron variant, genomic sequencing in Oklahoma and across the world will be crucial in learning where and how the strain spreads. Oklahoma has long ranked last out of all other states in the percentage of COVID-19 samples it has sequenced out of its total cases. But cumulative totals mask some of Oklahoma’s more recent improvements on sequencing, and state health officials say they’re doing enough sequencing to have a grasp on what variants are circulating. (Branham, 12/12)

The Boston Globe: ‘This Is Confusing The Hell Out Of Us.’ No One Knows How Omicron Originated, But Scientists Have Theories
When the Omicron variant emerged last month, scientists were shocked to find it had 50 genetic changes, many of which pose a threat to human health. Where did this strange and menacing viral beast come from? Just as no one knows whether Omicron will overpower vaccines or how quickly it will spread in the United States, its origins remain a mystery. But experts have theories. The most popular holds that Omicron evolved within a single individual with a weak immune system. Another theory suggests it took shape unnoticed in a population where there was little vaccination or testing. A third hypothesis posits that the virus, after originally leaping from animals to humans, jumped back into animals and formed mutations that went on to infect people. (Freyer, 12/11)

Also —

KHN: Journalists Discuss Omicron, Public Health, Culturally Competent Care
KHN Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony discussed how Black tech entrepreneurs are trying to solve neglected health care issues on the America’s Heroes Group podcast Dec. 4. She talked about health technology and culturally competent care on KTVU on Dec. 1. ... KHN interim Southern Bureau Editor Andy Miller spoke about the omicron variant of the covid-19 virus on WUGA’s “Georgia Health Report” and Georgia Public Broadcasting’s “Political Rewind” Dec. 3. ... KHN Midwest correspondent Lauren Weber discussed the covid pandemic and Missouri’s public health infrastructure on the “Healthy You: Surviving a Pandemic” podcast Dec. 2. (12/11)

AP: Health Care Workers Arrive In New Hampshire To Help An ICU
More health care workers arrived in New Hampshire this weekend to help relieve pressure at a hospital with an overwhelmed intensive care unit. WMUR-TV reports that about two dozen health care workers arrived at Elliot Hospital in Manchester Saturday and began helping shortly after. They’re from the National Disaster Medical System, with the work funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. (12/12)

AP: Nurses From Downstate Headed To Western NY Amid COVID Surge 
Nurses employed by Long Island-based Northwell Health have been sent to western New York to help at two hospitals dealing with a surge in coronavirus infections, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Saturday. The 16 clinical professionals and two team leads are from the downstate region including the New York City and Long Island areas. They include intensive care, emergency and medical-surgical nurses. They were sent to Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo and the University of Rochester’s Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester for two weeks, the governor said in a statement. (12/11)

Crain's Detroit Business: No More Federal Help Available As Michigan Hospitals Grapple With Latest COVID Surge
Michigan hospitals are overwhelmed in the fourth surge of COVID-19 and federal staffing help is tapped out. Three teams of 22 physicians and nurses from the U.S. Department of Defense are deployed at Beaumont Hospital-Dearborn, Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids and Covenant Healthcare in Saginaw. But for other hospitals across the state, including War Memorial Hospital in Sault Ste. Marie and Munson in Traverse City, that are requesting federal assistance, there are no bodies to offer, Elizabeth Hertel, director of the Michigan Department of HHS, told reporters in a call Friday. (Walsh, 12/10)

Stateline: Rural Midwives Fill Gap As Hospitals Cut Childbirth Services
For the past year or so, Toni Hill, a midwife in the lowlands of northern Mississippi, has received an influx of calls from women across the state who live in areas with no hospitals and only a smattering of health care providers. As COVID-19 rates increased, some pregnant women did not feel safe receiving care in a hospital or were unable to contact their providers. Others, who lived in the Mississippi Delta, did not have transportation for the three-plus hour trip to Jackson, the state capital. Hill quickly found herself very overwhelmed, she said. (Wright, 12/11)

Meanwhile, covid tests are still in short supply —

The Washington Examiner: Democrats Push For More Home COVID-19 Tests On Shelves To Counter Omicron 
Democrats have ramped up pressure on the Biden administration to invest more in at-home COVID-19 testing to address supply shortages, arguing that people are missing a key public health tool as a threatening variant emerges. “Now that we have omicron, people are getting scared, and we know vaccines take a while to kick in and people want to see their families for the holidays. Everybody wants to test and be responsible, and now you can’t find tests again,” said Rep. Kim Schrier, a Washington Democrat. (Morrison, 12/12)

Axios: Facebook Exec Blames Society For COVID Misinformation
Longtime Facebook veteran Andrew Bosworth insists that political and COVID-19 misinformation are societal problems rather than issues that have been magnified by social networks. Critics say Facebook and other social networks have played a significant role in vaccine hesitancy and the spread of political misinformation. "Individual humans are the ones who choose to believe or not believe a thing. They are the ones who choose to share or not share a thing," Bosworth said in an interview with "Axios on HBO." "I don't feel comfortable at all saying they don't have a voice because I don't like what they said." (Fried, 12/12)

The Hill: Facebook Exec Says 'People,' Not Platform, To Blame For Vaccine Misinformation
Facebook executive Andrew Bosworth said in an interview aired Sunday that the burden of misinformation spreading on the social media platform fell on individual users. "I think that Facebook ran probably the biggest COVID vaccine campaign in the world," Bosworth told "Axios on HBO" when asked if he thought vaccine hesitancy would be the same with or without social media. "What more can you do if some people who are going to get that real information from a real source choose not to get it?" he said. (Beals, 12/12)

USA Today: Omicron Variant Fuels COVID Misinformation: How To Spot False Claims
As scientists continue to learn more about the new strain, public health experts say the dearth of instant data is prompting some to seek out whatever scant information they can find. Others are seizing the opportunity to spread disinformation. ... The latest claim stemmed from a social media post of an apparent movie poster with the title, “The Omicron Variant,” and a caption reading “An Italian film from 1963.” The Facebook post was shared 300 times in a day, and the same image was retweeted more than 1,700 times. While some user comments claimed the poster predicted the appearance of the omicron variant, others said they believed it was proof global organizations invented the new strain to control the narrative of the pandemic. ... The image turned out to be a movie poster from 1974 digitally edited as a joke, the image’s creator Becky Cheatle told USA TODAY in a Twitter message. (Rodriguez, 12/11)

Covid cases are surging in many parts of the U.S. —

CBS News: One Year After FDA Authorized Pfizer's COVID Vaccine, Cases Are On The Rise 
Saturday marks one year since the Food and Drug Administration authorized Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine — the first of three COVID-19 vaccines now in use in the United States.  During that time, more than 480 million shots have been administered, and just over 60% of eligible Americans are fully vaccinated. But even with those protections, case numbers have gone up 22% in the past two weeks. Confirmed COVID cases showed up this week at an average rate of 120,000 per day, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ninety-nine percent of those new cases are from Delta variant, not Omicron. (12/11)

The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Cases Rise In Many States After Thanksgiving 
Covid-19 is surging in many parts of the country in the wake of Thanksgiving, with Christmastime gatherings on the horizon. Health authorities in some hard-hit states, like Vermont, New Jersey and Maine, say people who became infected after traveling or gathering indoors for Thanksgiving are likely adding to the Covid-19 numbers. By Saturday, some 34 states had higher seven-day averages for new cases than they did before Thanksgiving, according to Johns Hopkins University data, with some of the biggest increases in the Northeast. (Kamp and Lovett, 12/12)

The New York Times: As U.S. Covid Deaths Near 800,000, 1 Of Every 100 Older Americans Has Perished 
As the coronavirus pandemic approaches the end of a second year, the United States stands on the cusp of surpassing 800,000 deaths from the virus, and no group has suffered more than older Americans. All along, older people have been known to be more vulnerable, but the scale of loss is only now coming into full view. Seventy-five percent of people who have died of the virus in the United States — or about 600,000 of the nearly 800,000 who have perished so far — have been 65 or older. One in 100 older Americans has died from the virus. For people younger than 65, that ratio is closer to 1 in 1,400. (Bosman, Harmon and Sun, 12/13)

Also —

CIDRAP: Study Suggests Heart Damage May Last Up To 1 Year In COVID-19 Patients
A small study of 66 COVID-19 patients suggests that those who continue to be short of breath during physical activity 1 year after recovery may have suffered heart damage, according to new data presented at EuroEcho 2021, a meeting of the European Society of Cardiology. The 66 patients were hospitalized for COVID-19 in March and April of 2020 at the University Hospital in Brussels, Belgium. None had previous heart or lung disease. The average patient age was 50 years, and 67% were men. (12/10)

CIDRAP: Face Mask, Other PPE Litter Skyrockets Amid Pandemic 
The proliferation of face coverings to protect against COVID-19 has had a devastating, lasting effect on the environment, with a 9,000% increase in mask litter over 14 months in 11 countries, finds an observational study led by UK researchers yesterday in Nature Sustainability. Discarded gloves and used disinfectant wipes have also added to the refuse, the increase of which was likely driven by national COVID-19 policy responses—particularly face mask mandates—and World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, the researchers said. (Van Beusekom, 12/10)

The Texas Tribune: For Texas Abortion Providers, U.S. Supreme Court Ruling Feels Apocalyptic
Abortion providers and activists on Friday bashed the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to leave Texas' new abortion law in place, warning that it could force the closure of clinics across the state. Even though the providers' legal challenge can continue, the ruling failed to dismantle the ban's novel enforcement method that relies on citizens to file lawsuits against physicians and clinics suspected of performing the procedure after about six weeks of pregnancy. "Staying open is not sustainable if this ban stays in effect much longer," said Amy Hagstrom Miller, president and CEO of Whole Woman’s Health, which operates four clinics in Texas and is the chief plaintiff in the case before the Supreme Court. Hagstrom Miller said her chain has been operating at less than 30% of its income since the law went into effect. (Harper, 12/10)

Bloomberg: Supreme Court Leaves Texas Abortion Providers With Few Remedies
Texas abortion providers have few good options for challenging a state law that prohibits the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy following a U.S. Supreme Court decision that left the law in place, while allowing the underlying case to proceed. The law—known as S.B. 8—has virtually shut down abortions in Texas and is the most restrictive in the country. The legal challenge now presumably goes back to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, where it originated. (Pazanowski, 12/11)

NPR: Supreme Court Refuses To Block Texas Abortion Law As Legal Fights Move Forward
In a fractured opinion, four of the court's conservatives--Trump appointees Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett, plus Justice Samuel Alito left the providers a single tenuous route to challenging the law. Justice Clarence Thomas went further, saying that in his view, the providers could not challenge the law at all. And Chief Justice John Roberts, joined by the court's three liberals, would have allowed a full throated challenge to the law to go forward. (Totenberg, 12/10)

KHN: Split Supreme Court Leaves Texas Abortion Law In Effect, But Says Providers May Sue
In the second-most anticipated abortion case of the year, eight justices on the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday that abortion providers can challenge a Texas law that has effectively banned most abortions in the state since it was allowed to take effect in September. But the court also ruled that the federal Justice Department could not intervene in the dispute, and it refused to block the law for now. Nonetheless, the justices were sharply divided in their opinions on the case. The majority opinion in the Texas decision, Whole Woman’s Health et al. v. Jackson et al., did not directly address the fate of abortion rights in the United States. Rather, the conservative, anti-abortion majority on the court is expected to take on that larger question in a separate case out of Mississippi that was argued Dec. 1. (Rovner, 12/10)

The Texas Tribune: Texas Abortion Opponent Mark Lee Dickson Emboldened By Supreme Court Ruling 
Mark Lee Dickson bounded on stage at FountainGate Fellowship in this West Texas town Sunday as the worship band wrapped up their first song. “We had a very important day on Friday,” Dickson said to the rapt crowd, referring to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Texas’ ban on abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. He let the suspense hang for a moment. “But I’m here to tell you — the Texas Heartbeat Act is still in effect.” The congregation exploded into cheers and applause as Dickson grinned. “Let’s praise God for that,” he said. (Klibanoff, 12/12)

In related news from California —

Los Angeles Times: In Texas Response, Newsom Calls To Restrict Assault Weapons
After the U.S. Supreme Court declined to block a Texas state law that bans most abortions there, Gov. Gavin Newsom said he’ll push for a new California law that deters the manufacture and sale of assault rifles in the state. In a statement Saturday night, the governor said he was outraged by the court’s failure in a decision Friday to enforce longstanding constitutional protections in favor of abortion rights. (Dillon, 12/11)

Fox News: US Medical Schools Enrolled The Largest And Most Diverse Class In History In 2021
Medical school applications and enrollments skyrocketed to record highs during the 2021-22 school year across the US, especially among underrepresented minorities, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). Applications typically rise and fall by 2% or 3% for the past 20 years, but for the 2021-22 season, they increased by 17.8%, with 62,443 total applicants eclipsing the previous record of 53,370 in 2019-20, according to the AAMC. (Sudhakar, 12/12)

Stat: The Whitest Specialty: As Medicine Strives To Close Its Diversity Gaps, One Field Remains A Stubborn Outlier
While medicine as a whole, and even other elite specialties like dermatology, thoracic surgery, and otolaryngology, has begun to increase the number of people of color in its ranks, orthopedics’ numbers have barely budged. Less than 2% of those practicing in the field are Black, just 2.2% are Hispanic, and 0.4% are Native American. Even Asian American physicians, a group considered overrepresented in medicine, are much scarcer in orthopedics, making up just 6.7% of these specialists. The numbers in orthopedics are woefully low in part because there are few candidates of color to begin with: Black, Hispanic, and Native American students are underrepresented in medical school. But an investigation by STAT shows the shallow pool of potential orthopedic surgeons from communities of color gets further winnowed at almost every stage: Aspiring orthopedists from these groups are less likely to apply to the specialty, less likely to be accepted into residency programs, and if they are, less likely to finish their training. The pipeline is not only narrow, it’s full of leaks.(McFarling, 12/13)

CBS News: A Medical Illustrator Noticed Patients Are Always Depicted As White. So, He Decided To Draw Diverse Medical Diagrams.
Chidiebere Ibe, a medical illustrator and aspiring neurosurgeon, noticed that the patients in medical diagrams are always depicted as White. So, he decided to change that. Ibe, who is from Nigeria, began drawing different medical illustrations – such as a fetus in a womb, lung conditions, and eczema – all of patients who are Black. Typically, medical illustrations in textbooks or doctor's offices are White, and Ibe said he wanted to use his passion for medicine and art to "fix that inequality." (O'Kane, 12/9)

In corporate news —

Houston Chronicle: Feds Extend Deadline For Terminating UMMC's Medicare Contract Until January
An 11th hour agreement between federal health officials and United Memorial Medical Center has delayed the termination of the hospital system’s Medicare contract, pending another inspection of the hospital’s facilities to ensure that health and safety issues uncovered previously have been fixed. A spokeswoman for United Memorial Medical Center, which has four locations in the Houston area, expressed confidence that the next inspection would show that the hospital has corrected all deficiencies cited in previous inspections and it will keep its federal contracts. (Carballo, 12/10)

Houston Chronicle: UMMC Looks To Replace Governing Board After Almost Losing Medicare Contract
United Memorial Medical Center said it is replacing its board members and forming a new governing board after the federal health officials nearly pulled its Medicare contract for repeated health and safety issues uncovered by government inspectors. The contract was set to terminate Saturda until the hospital, with four locations in the Houston area, was granted an extension late Thursday afternoon. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency that oversees the government health care programs, cited “changes to its governing board and key management officials” as one of the reasons for delaying the termination, pending another inspection. (Carballo, 12/11)

Modern Healthcare: MedPAC Likely To Support Pay Increase For Hospitals In 2023
Hospitals, dialysis facilities and long-term care hospitals could see Medicare reimbursement bumps in fiscal 2023 under draft recommendations from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. Skilled nursing, home health and inpatient rehabilitation facilities could see 5% base pay decreases. Physicians, ambulatory surgical centers and hospices may see no change in pay from 2022. Post-acute care providers and stakeholders that could be facing pay freezes said they're disappointed in MedPAC's draft proposals. MedPAC's own commissioners agreed with most recommendations staff presented. However, several members had concerns about leaving physician pay flat in 2023. Recommendations will come to an official vote at next month's meeting. (Goldman, 12/10)

Modern Healthcare: Rural Value-Based Care Initiative Faces Funding Cliff
The smallest and most rural healthcare providers will soon lose access to help in shifting to value-based care unless Congress steps in. Over the past five years, rural providers with fewer than 15 clinicians have been increasingly encouraged to participate in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System value-based payment program that provides financial bonuses or penalties. Participating providers must submit data on costs, outcomes, quality and interoperability or risk getting dinged with cuts to Medicare payments. This year, that amounts to a 9% decrease for not taking part in the program. (Gillespie, 12/10)

Modern Healthcare: Centene Looks To Offload Its $2 Billion Overseas Operation
The health insurer is "reviewing its non-core assets as part of its ongoing portfolio optimization processes, including evaluating strategic alternatives for its international business," the for-profit company announced in a news release Friday. The majority of the $32.4 billion company's $2 billion in international revenue comes from its Circle Health subsidiary in the United Kingdom, which claims to be the largest independent hospital operator in the country with 50 facilities, according to a slide presentation provided to investors Friday. Centene also operates healthcare facilities in Spain. (Tepper, 12/10)

Modern Healthcare: Large, For-Profit Hospital Chain Merger Didn't Boost Profitability
A merger between large, successful, for-profit hospital chains didn't produce significant gains in profitability or health outcomes, new research shows. The acquirer's hospital margins decreased by 3.3 percentage points as cost inflation outpaced revenue growth, according to a peer-reviewed analysis of a 2007 merger involving more than 100 hospitals that tracked financial, management and quality data over an eight-year period. While the combined system improved their electronic medical records, prices rose by 37% at hospitals operated by the parent company and there was a negligible impact on care quality, the working paper published in the National Bureau of Economic Research revealed. (Kacik, 12/10)

In other news about the health care industry —

CNBC: How To Negotiate A Medical Bill
If you’ve ever dealt with expensive medical bills or put off going to the doctor because you can’t afford the cost, you’re not alone. Nearly one in three of U.S. adults has medical debt, according to a Healthcare.com survey. In the U.S., it’s estimated there is more than $140 billion worth of medical debt nationwide. There is more medical debt in collections than any other type of debt. When you get your medical bill following an office visit, diagnostic tests or a bigger procedure, you might be surprised by the amount you have to pay, regardless of whether you have health insurance. It might seem intimidating, difficult and time consuming to contest the bill you just received, but doing so could mean saving hundreds or even thousands of dollars. (Paul, 12/12)

CNBC: What Apple, Google Smartwatches Are Learning About Our Health
Fitness trackers from companies like Apple, Amazon, and Google are making a significant shift from being low-tech devices that counted steps to now becoming what’s fashionable in personal health.Tracking fitness and workout data for personal use or sharing with friends can be useful and fun. But there’s an increasing interest in incorporating a wider range of medical data into the digital health ecosystem — piggybacking on the dramatic rise in remote telehealth services necessitated during the Covid-19 pandemic — making individuals’ information accessible to physicians and hospitals as part of electronic medical health records. (Woods, 12/12)

KHN: Wartime Trauma Hits Close To Home For Scholar Of Dementia
Oanh Meyer was a postdoctoral fellow studying the experiences of caregivers for those with dementia in 2012 when her research took a very personal turn. That year, her mother, a Vietnamese immigrant, began to show signs of dementia and paranoia that seemed to be linked to the trauma she had suffered during the long war in Vietnam, when bombing raids often drove her to hide underground and she lived in fear of Communist troops. (Galletti, 12/13)

Stat: Mutations Tied To Blood Cancers May Protect Against Alzheimer's 
When key mutations strike bone marrow stem cells, known as hematopoietic stem cells, your risk for a litany of diseases go up. “Heart attacks, strokes, more recently COPD, osteoporosis,” Siddhartha Jaiswal, a pathology researcher at Stanford University, rattled off. “And you’re at higher risk of blood cancers in the future. They’re the first hit on the path to cancer.” These mutations are almost universally bad, Jaiswal said in an interview with STAT. But in a new study, Jaiswal found that these same genetic changes might actually protect against Alzheimer’s disease, startling researchers who reviewed the work and raising questions as to how such pathological mutations could prevent the devastating neurodegenerative disorder. (Chen, 12/12)

In other news about cancer —

Stat: Roche Antibody Posts Strong Tumor Responses In Lymphoma Study
An off-the-shelf bispecific antibody developed by Roche induced high and durable response rates in patients with a slow-growing type of lymphoma — study results that are likely to secure the treatment’s approval and help it rival a custom-made CAR-T therapy. The study enrolled 90 patients, all of whom were given intravenous infusions of the Roche drug, called mosunetuzumab. Complete remissions were reported in 54 patients, or 60%, meaning their disease was undetectable. The overall response rate was 80% with median duration of response lasting nearly 23 months. (Feuerstein, 12/12)

Stat: Gilead, Bristol Jaw Over Superiority Of CAR-T Treatments For Blood Cancer
Competing, bespoke CAR-T cell therapies from Gilead Sciences and Bristol Myers Squibb have each demonstrated additional benefit for patients with B-cell lymphoma at an earlier stage of treatment than they’re used for currently. But is one better than the other? Results from the successful clinical trials, dubbed ZUMA-7 and TRANSFORM by Gilead and Bristol, respectively, are being presented this weekend at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology. Collectively, the data are likely to expand the use of these CAR-T therapies — Gilead’s Yescarta and Bristol’s Breyanzi — and deliver larger sales for both companies. (Feuerstein, 12/11)

Stat: J&J's New CAR-T Therapy, Cilta-Cel, Shows Long-Term Success, Data Show
By the time patients with multiple myeloma have gone through four or five different therapies, the outlook for any new treatment is dim. Most interventions offer these patients only a scant few more months of life. But new data on a Janssen CAR-T therapy called cilta-cel suggests the treatment might help halt progression of the disease for nearly two years. “That, for our patients, is something that we’ve never seen before from any other single agent,” said Krina Patel, an oncologist at the MD Anderson Cancer Center who has served on an advisory board for Janssen but did not work on cilta-cel. “We might get a few months for most patients with a new agent, but 21.8 months without any therapy is fantastic.” (Chen, 12/12)

In other pharmaceutical news —

Stat: Patients With Beta-Thalassemia Benefit From Bluebird Gene Therapy 
People with severe beta-thalassemia who live in Europe have been denied access to Bluebird Bio’s approved gene therapy after the company withdrew it from the market last April. European health systems balked at the nearly $2 million price tag for the gene therapy called Zynteglo, and when negotiations broke down, Bluebird walked away. But Saturday, Bluebird relied largely on European patients enrolled in its beta-thalassemia clinical trials to demonstrate the successful, long-term durability of Zynteglo. The juxtaposition is awkward for Bluebird, showing business priorities don’t always align with the biotech’s “patients first” mantra. (Feuerstein, 12/11)

CNBC: Why One Drug Is Responsible For Half The Hike Medicare Part B Premiums
Medicare beneficiaries may already be aware that the big jump in their 2022 Part B premiums is partly due to the cost of a single drug. Yet why all enrollees are picking up the tab for Aduhelm — a controversial new medicine designed to slow cognitive decline with Alzheimer’s disease — may be unclear. Adding to the confusion is the fact that Medicare itself has not yet officially approved coverage of the biologic, which comes with an estimated annual price tag of $56,000 per patient. “Clients are pretty upset about the increase and many have asked why,” said Danielle Roberts, co-founder of insurance firm Boomer Benefits. (O'Brien, 12/12)

Crain's Chicago Business: Miles White Retiring From Abbott
Abbott Laboratories Executive Chairman and former CEO Miles White left the North Chicago-based medical products company's board Friday, retiring "after a remarkable 38-year career with the company," Abbott announced in a news release. In two decades as Abbott's CEO, White orchestrated a series of blockbuster transactions, including spinoffs of the company's hospital equipment and pharmaceutical businesses and the acquisition of rights to the world's top-selling drug. Robert B. Ford, who succeeded White as CEO last year, takes on the additional title of chairman effective today, the company said. (12/12)

Fox News: CDC: Flu Virus Detections On The Rise, Early Signs Vaccination Down
Influenza virus detections are rising in the U.S., according to health officials. In a weekly influenza surveillance report ending on Dec. 4, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that while influenza activity remains low nationally, it continues to increase. "The number of influenza viruses detected by clinical and public health labs has increased in recent weeks. The majority of viruses detected are A(H3N2). Most influenza A(H3N2) infections have occurred among children and young adults ages 5-24 years; however, the proportion of infections occurring among adults age 25 years and older has increased in recent weeks," it reported. (Musto, 12/11)

CIDRAP: US flu continues slow rise, affecting wider age range
US flu activity continued its slow rise last week, and though outpatient visits for influenza-like illness (ILI) reached the national baseline of 2.5%, circulation of other respiratory viruses is likely playing a contributing role, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its latest weekly update. Clinical and public health labs continue to report increased numbers of positive flu tests, almost all of them the H3N2 strain. Though most of the early activity was focused on those ages 5 to 24, the proportion of illnesses in older age-groups has risen in recent weeks. (12/10)

Salt Lake Tribune: Don’t Forget To Get Your Kids Vaccinated Against The Flu, Expert Urges
With no end in sight for the COVID-19 pandemic, medical experts are also worried about another respiratory illness: The flu. Dr. Trahern “T.W.” Jones, a pediatric infectious disease expert at University of Utah Health and Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital, warned Friday of a rising number of flu cases in Utah, from 43 cases two weeks ago to 125 cases last week. “And we anticipate this is only rising at an exponential rate,” he said. Adding to the concern is that the flu vaccination rate is about 14% lower than it was last year at this time. “We’re kind of vulnerable right now,” he said. (Pierce, 12/10)

In other public health news —

Axios: Report: Pandemic Pushed Over Half A Billion Into Extreme Poverty 
More than half a billion people globally were pushed into extreme poverty last year due to health care costs during the coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization and the World Bank said Sunday. The pandemic exasperated global inequities in access to health care, according to the organizations. It also triggered the worst economic crisis since the 1930s, ultimately making health care harder for people to obtain. (Reyes, 12/12)

The Washington Post: Anger, Emotional Upset Could Trigger A Stroke
Researchers in a global study devoted to figuring out stroke triggers found that about 1 in 11 stroke patients experience anger or emotional upset in the hour before their stroke symptoms begin. The study, published in the European Heart Journal, looked at data from 13,462 patients in 32 countries who had strokes. The patients completed extensive questionnaires during the first three days after they were hospitalized, answering questions about their medical history and what they had been doing and feeling before their stroke. (Blakemore, 12/12)

Chicago Tribune: Chicago Now Passing Out Fentanyl Test Strips To Stem Overdoses 
The steps are simple: Mix a few grains of the drug sample with a ketchup cup’s worth of water, dip a tiny strip of paper and wait. Within minutes, the strip displays results: One line means there is fentanyl, and two lines mean there isn’t. That paper, which can detect any presence of fentanyl in a substance, is one of the latest tools Chicago officials and social service organizations are using against the deadly opioid that has infiltrated the city’s illicit drug supply and is responsible for most of its fatal overdoses in recent years. The Chicago Department of Public Health began offering these fentanyl test strips to the public for the first time in October. (Yin, 12/13)

The Boston Globe: Should We Fear Fentanyl-Laced Marijuana?
To many drug policy advocates, the reversal was proof that a spate of recent warnings by law enforcement and health officials around New England regarding dealers adding opioids to illicit market marijuana are bunk. They say the claims are the latest unfounded drug panic narrative sown by police, in line with perennial warnings about pot edibles being handed out to kids on Halloween or reports of officers overdosing at crime scenes after supposedly inhaling fentanyl powder or absorbing it through the skin (a physical impossibility). ... Police counter that they are engaged in exactly the kind of harm-reducing communication that activists have long called for, providing timely warnings to the public about potential “bad batches” of illicit drugs without waiting for the results of lab tests that may or may not indicate cause for alarm. They also noted that fentanyl in recent years has repeatedly been detected in less-potent opioids such as heroin and other drugs sold on the street, including cocaine, causing thousands of overdoses. (Adams, 12/12)

In other news from across the United States —

The Mercury News: Pleasanton Restricting Smoking At Townhomes, Condominiums
Smoking will be banned in all common areas and on private balconies or decks of townhomes, condominiums and buildings with three or more attached homes in Pleasanton beginning next summer. The City Council approved the new rules unanimously in an effort to further curb exposure to harmful secondhand smoke. The rules apply to the homes whether they are occupied by a tenant or its owner, and will go into effect in July. Councilmembers Julie Testa and Valerie Arkin wanted the rules to go further, to limit smoking inside those homes because they are concerned smoke will seep through walls, outlets or fixtures, and affect other neighbors’ health, something Testa said she had experienced in the past. (Geha, 12/12)

Iowa Capital Dispatch: EMS Providers Sanctioned For Unlicensed Personnel And Incompetence
Iowa regulators are recommending that an Omaha-based ambulance service accused of repeatedly using unlicensed personnel to provide emergency care to patients have its license placed on probationary status for one year. The Iowa Department of Public Health made the recommendation and proposed a $500 fine against Midwest Medical Transport for violating Iowa regulations regarding the employment of unlicensed personnel. (Kauffman, 12/11)

Dallas Morning News: Foster Care Workers At Dallas Town Hall Forum Detail Pressures Of Helping Kids In Overwhelmed System
Days without sleep, 36 hours of weekly overtime, diminishing mental health, ignored 911 calls, “complete and utter chaos” — these are the working conditions described by Texas Department of Family and Protective Services employees amid the state’s foster care capacity crisis. Attendees of a town hall meeting Saturday afternoon in Dallas aimed to come up with short- and long-term solutions to address the growing number of children without placements, or CWOPs. The meeting, held at the Dallas County Democratic Party headquarters, was hosted by members of the Texas State Employees Union and presented to a panel of state and city officials. (Landers, 12/12)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: St. Louis Fathers Find Support In Therapy Program For Black Men
On the last Sunday of each month, dozens of men gather on Zoom to talk about workplace problems, parenthood stressors and pandemic upheaval. The program, started by the St. Louis website Dear Fathers, is a unique version of therapy — designed in bulk, for Black men, during a worldwide quarantine. Some who attend also say it’s fantastically successful. No topic is off the table: dad guilt, self-doubt, childhood trauma, relationship issues. “It is awesome to be in a room of guys who are open,” said Brocklon Chatman, of Florissant, who was at first apprehensive, but has since become a regular. “It’s not like sitting down with someone who is analyzing you.” (Schrappen, 12/12)

Health News Florida: See How This Gainesville Woman Turned Her Battle With Cancer Into Hope For Others 
One night while sleeping in her bed with her daughter, Nicole Miller of Gainesville had a dream that she had breast cancer. Four months later, she was diagnosed with just that. At age 32, Miller had both breasts removed to avoid having the cancer come back. She also had a hysterectomy after finding out how likely it was that she would develop ovarian cancer. Unwilling to think of a cancer diagnosis as a death sentence, Miller took a look at her situation and decided that not only would she survive, but she found peace and empowerment. (Godwin, 12/10)

Reuters: First Person Dies From Omicron Variant In United Kingdom
At least one person has died in the United Kingdom after contracting the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday, warning that the variant now accounted for 40% of infections in the British capital. Since the first Omicron cases were detected on Nov. 27 in the United Kingdom, Johnson has imposed tougher restrictions and on Sunday he urged people to get booster shots to prevent the health service from being overwhelmed. (McKay and Faulconbridge, 12/13)

Bloomberg: U.K. Says Can’t Rule Out Shutting Schools As Omicron Spreads
U.K. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said there’s no certainty the government will be able to keep schools in England open, as the government battles to contain the spread of the omicron Covid-19 variant. “When it comes to our fight against the pandemic there are no guarantees,” Javid told LBC radio on Monday, as he detailed plans to offer all adults in England a booster vaccination by the end of December. “We are once again in a race between the vaccine and the virus.” (Donaldson, 12/13)

Bloomberg: Working From Home Is Back: Mental Health Problems Cause Most U.K. Sick Leave
Poor mental health was the leading cause of British workers taking off work for illness in 2021, costing employers an estimated 43 billion pounds ($56.9 billion). That’s according to data from GoodShape, which manages workplace absences for companies and has a database of 750,000 employee records. GoodShape estimated that the cost of sick leave to employers rose by 31% from before the pandemic, not accounting for the cost of hiring and training replacement staff. Mental ill health accounted for 19% of all lost working time in the U.K. up to Nov. 28, slightly more than confirmed cases of Covid-19. That was the case across every industry except transport and logistics, consumer and retail, and workplace services. (Burden, 12/13)

In other global covid news —

NBC News: New U.S. Covid Travel Warnings Hit European Hot Spots
U.S. travel warnings are hitting longtime American tourist hot spots where it hurts, with some who depend on the dollar describing their situation as desperate. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week advised Americans to avoid traveling to France, Portugal and several other European destinations, as well as to Jordan and Tanzania, citing concern over high rates of Covid-19. These destinations now join more than 70 other countries on the “Level 4: Very High” list, which also includes Germany, the United Kingdom and Denmark. (Elbaum and Ing, 12/9)

CNN: China Vaccines: Why The Government Is Reluctant To Approve Western MRNA Shots 
When the highly infectious Delta variant hit China in the summer, some public health experts were hopeful that the country could soon receive an immunity boost from BioNTech's highly effective mRNA Covid-19 vaccine. In July, the shot was reported to have passed an expert review by Chinese regulators and was in the administration review stage, according to Fosun Pharma, the Chinese partner of BioNTech licensed to produce and distribute the vaccine in the Greater China region. Fosun was even planning to start domestic trial production by the end of August. However, five months later there is still no word from Chinese officials on when -- or whether -- the vaccine will ever be approved, even as the newly emerged Omicron variant poses a fresh challenge to China's zero-Covid strategy -- and its less effective domestic vaccines. (Gan and George, 12/13)

Bloomberg: Will Boris Johnson's Omicron Booster Race Be Enough To Stave Off The Surge? 
“No one should be in any doubt: There is a tidal wave of omicron coming, and I’m afraid it is now clear that two doses of vaccine are simply not enough,” Boris Johnson said in a statement Sunday night. The Prime Minister’s warning tallies with modeling by researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine predicts between around 25,000 and 75,000 deaths from the new variant this winter in Britain. On Sunday, Johnson announced a plan to super-charge the country’s booster program so that everyone over 18 will be offered a third shot before the end of the year. (Therese Raphael and Sam Fazeli, 12/13)

The New York Times: A Scientist's Guide To Understanding Omicron 
Over the coming days and weeks, scientists from around the world will be sharing early information about the new Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2. We are two researchers who study the evolution of viruses, and we will be keeping a close eye on the data as it becomes public. This new research will range from laboratory studies investigating how the virus interacts with antibodies to observations of patient outcomes to large-scale data on infections and hospitalizations. The data will try to answer three key questions, all of which are important to understanding the risk of Omicron. (Jesse Bloom and Sarah Cobey, 12/12)

The Star Tribune: Minnesotan Boosts Omicron Trackers 
Minnesota's disease detectives are among the world's best. But the recent rapid detection of the COVID-19 omicron variant in the state illustrates the public's crucial contributing role in confirming pathogens' arrival and spread. Peter McGinn, 30, of Minneapolis, became one of the first people known to be infected with omicron in the United States. McGinn, who was vaccinated, has thankfully only had a "super mild" infection, he said in an interview this week, and was only briefly "out of commission." (12/10)

Dallas Morning News: In Refusing The COVID Vaccine, Some Americans Conflate Freedom With Licentiousness
Coronavirus and our response as a society have once again revealed an America not as completely at ease with science as we would care to admit. What a paradox. The only nation to send men to the moon and to build destructive weapons unparalleled in history finds itself torn over using accumulated knowledge to fight a microscopic virus it can neither kill nor contain. (John McCaa, 12/12)

Kansas City Star: Blue Valley, Olathe Schools Relaxed COVID Mask Mandates Now? 
COVID-19 cases are going up and masks are coming down in Kansas City. Ending school mask mandates right now makes zero sense unless officials are making political rather than public health decisions — which they are. Olathe and Blue Valley districts foolishly removed mask mandates in secondary schools right after Thanksgiving family gatherings. As could’ve easily been predicted, the Kansas City Health Department reports a 90% spike in cases, from 714 to 1,357 in the week after the holiday. Those Olathe and Blue Valley mandates also expired at a time when the positivity rate in Johnson County has soared to 11.4%. Not surprisingly, Olathe schools saw a record 184 new cases, while Blue Valley recorded 108. (12/10)

The Atlantic: Where I Live, No One Cares About COVID 
I am old enough to remember the good old days when holiday-advice pieces were all variations on “How to Talk to Your Tea Party Uncle About Obamacare.” As Christmas approaches, we can look forward to more of this sort of thing, with the meta-ethical speculation advanced to an impossibly baroque stage of development. Is it okay for our 2-year-old son to hug Grandma at a Christmas party if she received her booster only a few days ago? Should the toddler wear a mask except when he is slopping mashed potatoes all over his booster seat? Our oldest finally attended her first (masked) sleepover with other fully vaccinated 10-year-olds, but one of them had a sibling test positive at day care. Should she stay home or wear a face shield? What about Omicron? (Matthew Walther, 12/13)

Bloomberg: New Zealand Is Banning Tobacco. Should The World Follow? 
If you’re a smoker who wants to indulge your habit while gazing over the mountains of the South Pacific, you’d do well to move fast. New Zealand last week announced plans to become the first nation in the world to ban tobacco.Prohibition won’t happen overnight. Instead, the country will raise the legal smoking age each year, so that people born after 2008 will never be allowed to puff. That will eventually mean that tobacco smoking — a practice that’s been prevalent in the Americas for thousands of years, and spread around the world after Christopher Columbus introduced it to Europe — may finally start disappearing from one corner of the planet. (David Fickling, 12/12)

Los Angeles Times: Burned-Out Healthcare Workers And 'Muffin Rage' 
On a dreary morning more than 20 years ago, I was a resident in internal medicine putting in 80-hour workweeks for what amounted to about $5 per hour when I passed through the revolving door of our fancy new hospital atrium and was confronted by a large banner announcing: “RESIDENT APPRECIATION DAY.” Underneath it was a folding cardboard display with stock photos of suspiciously happy, smiling young people in scrubs — and a large plate of muffins. (Jillian Horton, 12/12)

The Boston Globe: The Country’s Mental Health Crisis: A Pandemic Within The Pandemic 
Picture this: You are a junior in high school. During the social isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, your mood progressively worsened. In addition to feeling down most of the time, you found it difficult to sleep and concentrate on schoolwork. You had to push yourself to do things, and your appetite diminished. Then you thought about jumping in front of a car and killing yourself. That is when you finally told your parents, who, frantic and worried, brought you to the nearest hospital emergency room. You are told you are suffering from a major depressive episode and need to be hospitalized for a few days to receive treatment. But there are no beds in the system, and you need to stay in the ER until one is found. That takes four days. You are then discharged from the facility after 10 days, the typical length of stay, with the plan to receive outpatient care. But you cannot find an available psychiatrist or a psychologist. And most of them do not take any insurance. (Maurizio Fava, 12/13)

The CT Mirror: A Better Way To Help Keep Connecticut Children And Their Communities Safe
This school year has quickly proven to be different than any we have ever seen before. We’ve seen an increase in uneasiness, anxiety, outbursts and more mental health concerns among students of all ages. The desires to “catch up” academically or to “bring order” quickly may be understandable, but they are not achieving normalcy in the classroom. Instead, it is a recipe for higher stress and friction within classrooms and our communities. Simply put, this desire is exacerbating the longstanding mental health crisis in our schools and communities. (David Read Johnson, 12/13)

Modern Healthcare: Now More Than Ever, Hospitals Must Be Employers Of Choice
To meet the needs of our patients during one of the worst workforce shortages in history, America's community hospitals must focus on becoming an employer of choice and attracting staff based on strength of mission, the ability for employees to be healers, the commitment to build a culture of respect and by providing opportunities for growth. (Christine Schuster, 12/10)

NPR: Patients With Metastatic Breast Cancer Share How They Live On With The Diagnosis 
When I first told people I had metastatic breast cancer — Stage Four, MBC — I got two types of responses. The first was, "Never heard of it. What is it? "It means the breast cancer has migrated to your lungs, liver, bones and/or brain. It's incurable. (Ina Jaffe, 12/12)