AP: US Urges COVID Boosters Starting At Age 12 To Fight Omicron
The U.S. is urging that everyone 12 and older get a COVID-19 booster as soon as they’re eligible, to help fight back the hugely contagious omicron mutant that’s ripping through the country. Boosters already were encouraged for all Americans 16 and older, but Wednesday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed an extra Pfizer shot for younger teens — those 12 to 15 — and strengthened its recommendation that 16- and 17-year-olds get it, too. (Neergaard and Stobbe, 1/6)

The Wall Street Journal: CDC Recommends First Covid-19 Boosters For 12- To 15-Year-Olds 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Covid-19 boosters for 12- to 15-year-olds, making the doses available to the adolescents for the first time. With the move Wednesday, many doctor’s offices, schools and other vaccination sites will make booster shots from Pfizer Inc. and partner BioNTech SE available to 12- to 15-year-olds. (Schwartz, 1/5)

Stat: CDC Recommends Teens 12-17 Should Receive A Covid-19 Booster Shot
The 13-to-1 vote by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices also changed the recommendation for 16- and 17-year olds, suggesting that they should get a booster as well. ... The sole member to vote against the recommendation, Helen “Keipp” Talbot, said after the vote that she supports making booster shots available to youths 12 to 15. But Talbot, a vaccine researcher and associate professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University, said she felt the country would gain more by focusing limited public health resources on trying to get more children in this age group vaccinated than by boosting the children who have already had two doses. “I am just fine with kids getting boosters,” she said. “I just really want the U.S. to move forward with vaccinating all kids so that all kids can get back to a normal life. And I don’t think it’s fair for 12- to 17-year-olds who have been vaccinated to risk myocarditis again for an unknown benefit because their colleagues won’t get vaccinated.”(Branswell, 1/5)

In related news about covid and children —

Deseret News: Omicron Variant Symptoms: 5 Immediate Signs Your Kid Has Omicron 
Dr. Harish Chafle, a senior consultant of pulmonology and critical care at Global Hospital, Parel, Mumbai, told The Hindustan Times that children are at risk for developing infection — especially when they’re unvaccinated. He listed five symptoms to keep an eye out for when it comes to the omicron variant: Fever, runny nose, throat pain, body ache and dry cough.

The Washington Post: Record 4,000 Children Hospitalized Amid U.S. Omicron Surge
More than 4,000 children were hospitalized with covid-19 across the nation Wednesday, Washington Post figures show, marking a new high that towers above previous peaks set during the summer when the delta variant was driving up infections. The tally, which includes confirmed as well as suspected pediatric covid-19 patients, reflects a steep rise in infections in that group. Less than two weeks ago, on Christmas Day, fewer than 2,000 children were in hospitals with covid. (Jeong and Hassan, 1/6)

The CT Mirror: Pediatric COVID Cases Rising Rapidly In Connecticut
Pediatric coronavirus hospitalizations in Connecticut have risen dramatically in recent weeks, and health officials are reporting crowded emergency rooms in children’s hospitals. An average of 21 children per day were hospitalized across the state last week, doubling the average number of pediatric coronavirus patients over the course of a single week, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. As of Jan. 3, the state had 27 children with confirmed COVID-19 in the hospital and an additional six hospitalized who were suspected to have the virus. (Carlesso, Altimari and Golvala, 1/6)

AP: Omicron Surge Vexes Parents Of Children Too Young For Shots | AP News
Afternoons with Grammy. Birthday parties. Meeting other toddlers at the park. Parents of children too young to be vaccinated are facing difficult choices as an omicron variant-fueled surge in COVID-19 cases makes every encounter seem risky. ... Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease doctor, said surrounding children with vaccinated adults is one way to keep them from contracting the virus. Health officials also reiterate that face masks prevent transmissions, and putting them on children 2 and older in public and group settings can help keep them safe. (Tanner, 1/6)

The Hill: White House: No Plans To Change Definition Of 'Fully Vaccinated' 
The Biden administration said Wednesday it has no plans to change the definition of "fully vaccinated" against the coronavirus to include getting a booster shot. "Individuals are considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19 if they've received their primary series, that definition is not changing," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky said at a press briefing. (Sullivan, 1/5)

USA Today: CDC Says COVID Boosters Mean People Are 'Up To Date' With The Vaccines
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have changed their recommendations for vaccinated Americans, urging staying "up to date" on one's COVID-19 shots means getting a booster shot. "CDC surveillance data and other studies from around the world have demonstrated the benefit of a booster dose after receiving only a primary series, including decreased risk of infection, severe disease and death," CDC director Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky said at a White House news briefing on Wednesday. (Thornton and Ortiz, 1/6)

In related news, Walmart reacts to the CDC's new rules on isolation —

CNBC: Walmart Cuts Paid Covid Leave In Half, As CDC Isolation Guidance Changes
Walmart is cutting pandemic-related paid leave in half — from two weeks to one week — after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cut isolation requirements last week for asymptomatic people with Covid and shortened the time that close contacts need to quarantine. The big-box retailer, which is the country’s largest private employer, announced the policy change in a memo that was sent to employees Tuesday and was obtained by CNBC on Wednesday. (Repko, 1/5)

And the federal government is still having trouble with its messaging —

The New York Times: For C.D.C.’s Walensky, A Steep Learning Curve On Messaging 
Two days before Christmas, with the Omicron variant driving a near-vertical rise in new coronavirus cases, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention alerted the White House that she planned to recommend that people infected with the virus isolate for five days instead of 10.The director, Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, had faced previous criticism for issuing recommendations that confused the public and in some cases caught the White House off guard. Determined to avoid that this time, she briefed other top Biden health officials on her proposal so they would all be on the same page, according to two people familiar with her actions. It did not work out that way. (LaFraniere, Stolberg and Weiland, 1/5)

New York Post: Joe Biden Says It's '2020' In Post-New Year's Gaffe
President Biden reassured Americans Tuesday that there was reason to be optimistic about “2020” — mistakenly saying the wrong year four days into 2022. Biden’s post-New Year’s gaffe came as the president urged people to keep wearing masks and get vaccinated for COVID-19 as the Omicron variant causes record-high numbers of infections. “There’s a lot of reason to be hopeful in 2020. But for God’s sake, please take advantage of what is available,” the president said. (Nelson, 1/4)

CIDRAP: Lack Of High School Education Predicts Vaccine Hesitancy
A lack of a high school education was the most important predictor of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in 3,142 US counties, finds a study yesterday in the American Journal of Infection Control. ... Of all reasons cited for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, a lack of trust in the vaccines (55%) was the most common, followed by worries about side effects (48%) and low trust in the government (46%). Five of the 10 most common reasons given for vaccine hesitancy were related to a lack of knowledge about potential side effects, benefits, effectiveness, and risks of being unvaccinated. (Van Beusekom, 1/5)

Another study supports that the covid vaccine is safe during pregnancy —

NPR: CDC Study Shows No Link Between COVID-19 Vaccine And Pre-Term Births
As many as two-thirds of pregnant women remain unvaccinated — many out of concern that the vaccine is not safe. In September, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged those expecting a child to get a vaccine because COVID-19 can cause health complications for both the mother and baby. Now, a new CDC study released on Tuesday of more than 40,000 women has found that the COVID-19 vaccine does not add to the risk of delivering a baby prematurely or delivering a child who is born smaller or less developed than expected, also known as small-for-gestational-age. (Le, 1/5)

In other news about the vaccine rollout —

NBC News: Millions More Eligible For 3rd Pfizer Shot After Covid Booster Window Shortened
Almost 6 million more people will be eligible for a booster shot following Monday’s decision from the Food and Drug Administration to shorten the wait time for those who received Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine. The 53.6 million people who completed their Pfizer series are eligible during the new window, up 5.7 million from those who got their second shot before August, according to an analysis of vaccine data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Ramos, 1/5)

Bloomberg: BofA to Make $100 Donation for Each Boosted U.S. Employee
Bank of America Corp. is donating $100 to local food banks and hunger-relief organizations for each U.S. employee that registers their Covid-19 booster. The company will direct the funds for every eligible employee, including those that already received their booster shot, who registers those vaccinations by the end of January, Sheri Bronstein, chief human resources officer, and Chief Administrative Officer Steve Boland said in a memo to staff. (Doherty, 1/5)

The Baltimore Sun: State Senate’s Only Physician Questions Maryland Health Secretary Over Delay Alerting Patients Of Possibly Spoiled Vaccines 
The state Senate’s sole physician pressed the head of the state health department Wednesday over a monthslong delay in notifying patients who may have received spoiled vaccines — and said he is worried issues are prevalent among other vaccine providers. Democratic Sen. Clarence Lam asked Maryland Department of Health Secretary Dennis R. Schrader about the department’s failure to quickly notify hundreds of Marylanders who may have received vaccines that were mishandled — potentially rendering them ineffective — by TrueCare24, a San Francisco-based company the state contracted with last year to hold vaccine clinics across Maryland. (Deville, 1/5)

The Washington Post: Man Arrested On Charges Of Attacking Vaccination Clinic, Injuring Staffers He Called ‘Murderers’
A Southern California man was arrested after he recently attacked workers at a coronavirus vaccination clinic, allegedly calling them “murderers” and falsely accusing the staffers of causing the covid pandemic, according to police and clinic officials. (Bella, 1/5)

Also —

CNBC: New Covid Variants Are A Danger Until The Whole World Is Vaccinated
New Covid-19 variants are likely to keep on emerging until the whole world is vaccinated against the virus, experts warn, saying that the sharing of vaccines is not just an altruistic act but a pragmatic one. “Until the whole world is vaccinated, not just rich Western countries, I think we are going to remain in danger of new variants coming along and some of those could be more virulent than omicron,” Dr. Andrew Freedman, a reader in infectious diseases at Cardiff University Medical School, told CNBC on Thursday. Viruses “tend to become milder” as they evolve, Freedman noted, but he cautioned that this “isn’t always the case." (Ellyatt, 1/6)

Stat: Study Casts Doubts On Rapid Covid Tests' Reliability Right After Infection
A new study raises significant doubts about whether at-home rapid antigen tests can detect the Omicron variant before infected people can transmit the virus to others. The study looks at 30 people from settings including Broadway theaters and offices in New York and San Francisco where some workers were not only being tested daily but were, because of rules at their workplaces, receiving both the antigen tests and a daily test that used the polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, which is believed to be more reliable. On days 0 and 1 following a positive PCR test, all of the antigen tests used produced false-negative results, even though in 28 of the 30 cases, levels of virus detected by the PCR test were high enough to infect other people. In four cases, researchers were able to confirm that infected people transmitted the virus to others during the period before they had a positive result on the rapid antigen test. (Herper, 1/5)

The New York Times: Emerging Data Raise Questions About Antigen Tests And Nasal Swabs 
A small, new real-world study suggests that two widely used at-home antigen tests, the Abbott BinaxNOW and Quidel QuickVue, may fail to detect some Omicron infections even when people are carrying high levels of the coronavirus. The study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, focused on 30 people infected with the virus at five workplaces that experienced what were most likely outbreaks of the Omicron variant in December. The people received both saliva-based P.C.R. tests and rapid antigen tests using nasal swabs. (Anthes and Jewett, 1/5)

In other news about covid testing —

Bloomberg: Scarce At-Home Covid Tests Leave Some Consumers Paying $40 A Pop
High prices for at-home Covid-19 tests are hitting the wallets of U.S. families who need them to get back to school and work — if they can find any to buy at all. One restaurant worker in New York said she paid an acquaintance double the retail price in a sidewalk exchange for a test kit. A mom in Missouri said she’s rationing her last two-pack for if her kids show serious symptoms. Another parent is keeping her daughter home from school, where tests are required before returning after the holiday, until an in-person appointment later this week because the $80 price tag she saw in online community groups was too steep. (Butler, 1/5)

AP: Washington State Orders 5.5 Million At-Home Tests For Public 
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said Wednesday the state has ordered 5.5 million at-home tests to distribute to the public and will improve booster vaccine access and supply about 10 million free protective masks amid a steep increase in COVID-19 cases due to the more contagious omicron variant. “We are seeing more Covid cases now than at any point during the entire pandemic,” Inslee said. “Now is the time to redouble our efforts against this virus.” (La Corte, 1/6)

Chicago Tribune: At Chicago's Pop-Up COVID Testing Centers, Complaints Include Poor Masking, Long Waits For Results 
When Aaron McManus went to the Northshore Clinical Labs’ COVID testing site in Forest Park on Christmas Eve, the scene that greeted him struck him as “surreal.” Employees wore mismatched cloth masks that appeared to have been brought from home, and 6-foot social distancing was not maintained, he said. When McManus was tested, another customer was about 3 or 4 feet away, and both were unmasked for testing. At one point, an employee standing about 2 feet from an unmasked customer removed her own mask to demonstrate how to take a specimen. (Schoenberg and Schencker, 1/5)

The Texas Tribune: COVID-19 Testing Shortages Push Texans To Hospitals, Call 911
When San Antonio residents struggle to get their hands on COVID-19 test, some show up to the emergency room for a diagnosis. Dr. Ralph Riviello, the chair of emergency medicine at University Hospital, said the number of people who arrive seeking a test has grown so much lately that the emergency room now has a nurse provider designated to screen and evaluate patients with COVID-like symptoms. The hospital staff helps whoever arrives, but Riviello said the health care system does not have the bandwidth to serve as a walk-in COVID-19 testing center. (Dey, 1/5)

WUSF Public Media: DeSantis Says He's Not Waiting On Feds, Plans To Make More At-Home Tests Available 
Saying that the “federal government is not going to come through” on a plan to distribute at-home coronavirus tests, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday said the state is honing its own strategy to send tests to vulnerable Floridians. DeSantis has made testing for COVID-19 the latest front in his clashes with President Joe Biden’s administration, after the White House last month announced a plan to distribute 500 million at-home coronavirus tests throughout the country. Distribution of the tests has not been launched yet. During a press conference in Jacksonville on Tuesday, DeSantis said the state isn’t waiting. (Dailey, 1/5)

Fox News: Fauci: Reports Of Milder COVID Variant Shouldn't Be Taken As Signal US Can Lessen Restrictions
White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci cautioned Wednesday that the U.S. should not take reports of milder disease from the omicron variant of the coronavirus as a "signal that we can pull back from" health restrictions and recommendations. Speaking at a White House COVID-19 task force briefing, the nation's top infectious disease expert said multiple sources of preliminary data indicate a decreased severity in disease from the variant of concern. However, he said, scientists need more "definitive assessment of similarity with longer-term follow-up" in the U.S. and in different countries. (Musto, 1/5)

In related news —

The Atlantic: Boosted? Got Omicron? You Still Might Not Be 'Super' Immune
A bevy of other factors, too, can influence the magnitude of protection that’s tickled out by a breakthrough: age and health status; vaccine brand, dosing, and timing; the genetic makeup of the variant. (Most people have no way of knowing for certain whether they caught Delta, Omicron, or another SARS-CoV-2 flavor.) And while each dose of a particular vaccine offers essentially identical amounts of immunity-titillating stuff, actual infections don’t serve up the same dose to every person they hit. “The amount of heterogeneity in people’s immune responses is just incredible,” Taia Wang, an immunologist at Stanford, told me. Some recently infected people might experience only a modest bump in protection—which might not be enough to meaningfully stave off another infection in the not-so-distant future. (Wu, 1/5)

CNN: US Coronavirus: An 'Awful' Month Of Covid-19 Lies Ahead, Doctor Says, But Preventative Measures Will Still Be Key 
While the highly transmissible Omicron variant continues to drive up Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations -- and the numbers are likely to get worse before they get better -- health experts say it's critical Americans continue safe practices to prevent infections. "I don't buy the idea that we are all going to get Omicron and, therefore, just give up trying. I think that's wrong," Dr. Robert Wachter, chairman of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, told CNN's Erin Burnett on Wednesday. It's likely that "the next month is going to be awful," he said. But this does not mean that everyone should assume they will catch the virus, he said, noting the pattern of Omicron infections in the UK and South Africa. (Caldwell, 1/6)

In other news about the spread of the coronavirus —

AP: Spike In California Virus Cases Hitting Hospitals, Schools 
California is struggling to staff hospitals and classrooms as an astonishing spike in coronavirus infections sweeps through the state. The fast-spreading omicron variant of COVID-19 is sidelining exposed or infected health care workers even as hospital beds fill with patients and “some facilities are going to be strapped,” Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said Wednesday. (Melley and Gecker, 1/6)

Bloomberg: NYC Covid Data Suggest Peak Is Yet To Come, Health Chief Says
New York City Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi said the Covid data suggests the city hasn’t yet hit a peak in the omicron-fueled spike of coronavirus cases in recent weeks. Cases and hospitalizations are still increasing and “I expect that will continue in the near term, meaning the next days to weeks,” Chokshi said in a Covid briefing on Wednesday. (Banjo and Levin, 1/5)

Salt Lake Tribune: Utah Reports More Than 7,200 New COVID-19 Cases, The Most Ever In A Single Day
The Utah Department of Health on Wednesday reported 7,247 new coronavirus cases — the most cases ever reported in a single day throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. And even that number is likely an undercount, state epidemiologist Dr. Leisha Nolen told reporters in a conversation over Zoom, as people are using at-home tests more often. “Omicron has changed the landscape since its arrival last month,” the state health department said in a statement, referring to the rapidly spreading coronavirus variant. “The number of cases we are reporting today is more than the total number of cases we reported over the first 68 days of the pandemic, combined.” (Pierce and Jacobs, 1/5)

Detroit Free Press: Michigan Reports Highest COVID-19 Daily Case Count Yet
The Michigan health department reported 27,563 new coronavirus cases over a two-day period Wednesday, an average of 13,673 cases per day, the highest daily average since the start of the pandemic. This brings Michigan to 1,595,919 total confirmed cases.Another 277 coronavirus-related deaths were also reported Wednesday, 165 of which were identified in a regular vital records review. This increases the state's COVID-19 death toll to 27,563. (Marini, 1/5)

The Boston Globe: Massachusetts Exceeds 20,000 COVID Deaths
Massachusetts surpassed 20,000 confirmed coronavirus deaths on Wednesday, a grim milestone reached days after the state entered the third calendar year of the pandemic. With 54 new COVID-19-related fatalities reported, a total of 20,008 people have died since March 2020, when an 87-year-old Winthrop man became the state’s first confirmed death, according to the Department of Public Health. The state also reported 27,612 confirmed COVID-19 cases Wednesday. (Saltzman, 1/5)

The Washington Post: Fewer Omicron-Wave Deaths So Far In D.C., Maryland And Virginia Belie Hospital Crisis
Since mid-December, when cases began to surge, through Wednesday, Black residents in Maryland made up 47 percent of new cases while making up 31 percent of the state’s overall population. White residents made up 37 percent of infections, and Asian residents 4 percent, state data show. The disproportionate impact of virus infections on Black residents may be most stark in Maryland but also exists regionwide, according to a Washington Post data analysis. And children are being hospitalized in record numbers, most of them too young to be vaccinated. Kids under 12 made up 70 percent of infections at Children’s National Hospital in D.C. as of Tuesday afternoon, said Roberta Lynn DeBiasi, the hospital’s chief of the division of infectious diseases. (Portnoy, 1/5)

Health News Florida: Omicron Is Affecting Florida Differently Than Delta. A USF Health Expert Explains Why
Florida has been averaging more than 54,000 new coronavirus cases a day for the past week, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest update on Tuesday. That's more than double the daily average the state saw during the peak of its delta surge last summer. Jason Salemi, an epidemiologist with the University of South Florida’s College of Public Health, said the latest daily average is also about 25 times higher than what Florida was reporting just a month ago. (Colombini, 1/5)

Georgia Health News: State Running ‘Hotel’ For Some Vulnerable Covid Patients In Metro Area 
As the latest Covid surge intensifies, state Public Health officials are running an “isolation hotel’’ for virus patients who are homeless or in living situations where disease spread is more likely. State health officials said Wednesday that the metro Atlanta facility, which was not identified, has capacity for 50 people, along with additional space in trailers if needed. The state effort renews the public Covid isolation effort that local agencies, with state and city funding, ran from April 2020 to June 2021 in an Atlanta hotel. (Miller, 1/5)

Indianapolis Star: Indiana Health Commissioner Tests Positive For COVID-19 A Second Time
The state’s top health official has tested positive for COVID-19, making her one of at least 15,000 people in the state to experience a re-infection .Fully vaccinated and boosted, State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box took a rapid test Tuesday after she started experiencing symptoms Monday night, Indiana Department of Health officials said in an email. Her symptoms included coughing, muscle aches and a sore throat. Box also underwent a PCR test that will be sent for sequencing to determine whether she has been infected with the omicron variant. (Rudavsky, 1/5)

The Washington Post: Every U.S. Cruise Ship With Passengers Has Covid Cases On Board 
Coronavirus cases have been reported on every cruise ship sailing with passengers in U.S. waters. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, all 92 ships with passengers have met the threshold for investigation by the public health agency. In every case, the CDC has either started an investigation or has investigated and continues to observe the ship. (Sampson, 1/5)

Reuters: Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Cancel Voyages Amid Omicron Spread
Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line on Wednesday canceled sailings amid rising fears of omicron-related coronavirus infections that have dampened the nascent recovery of the pandemic-ravaged cruise industry. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd called off its Spectrum of the Seas cruise for Jan. 6 after nine guests on its Jan. 2 trip were identified as close contacts to a local Hong Kong Covid-19 case. (1/6)

In sports news —

Politico: California Intends To Keep Super Bowl In Los Angeles
California officials and the NFL said Wednesday they expect Los Angeles to host the Super Bowl as planned, despite surging coronavirus cases in the area. “The Super Bowl is coming to L.A. I think Californians are excited to see that event occur,” California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly told reporters at a briefing, “and the work is to be sure that, as it is moving forward as planned, the mitigation strategies that create safety around that event are in place.” (White, 1/5)

The New York Times: Kyrie Irving Returns To Court After Refusing To Be Vaccinated 
Kyrie Irving, the star Nets guard, made his regular-season debut against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night following the team’s surprise reversal of its policy to bar him from practices and road games until he received the coronavirus vaccine. (Deb, 1/5)

In entertainment news —

NPR: The Grammys Are Postponed And Sundance Is Moved Online Because Of Omicron Surge
It's official. The 64th annual Grammy Awards are postponed and the Sundance Film Festival has been moved online. A joint statement on Wednesday by the Recording Academy and CBS blamed the Grammy rescheduling on the omicron variant. "The health and safety of those in our music community, the live audience, and the hundreds of people who work tirelessly to produce our show remains our top priority," the statement said. "Given the uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant, holding the show on January 31 simply contains too many risks." (Estrada, 1/5)

CBS News: Actress Abigail Breslin Slams Instagram User Who Criticized Her For Wearing A Face Mask 
Academy Award-nominated actress Abigail Breslin, known for her role in "Little Miss Sunshine," shut down a social media user who criticized her for wearing a mask. Breslin has publicly stressed the importance of wearing face masks ever since her father died of COVID-19 last year. (Garner, 1/5)

NBC News: YouTuber Ethan Klein Criticizes Joe Rogan For Vaccine Misinformation
Simmering tensions over Covid vaccines are boiling over in online communities.Joe Rogan's fans are responding to criticism of the podcast host's fringe medical stances with fatphobic and antisemitic remarks, which have only intensified after YouTube personality Ethan Klein criticized him for spreading Covid vaccine misinformation. ... When Klein, who helms multiple podcasts under the YouTube channel H3H3 Productions, criticized Rogan’s fringe medical stances on Tuesday, he was met with intense backlash from Rogan’s fans. His channel, which he shares with his wife Hila Klein, has 6.3 million subscribers on YouTube. Its sister channel H3 Podcast has 3 million subscribers. (Sung, 1/5)

The Washington Post: What Is Flurona? Coronavirus And Influenza Co-Infections Reported Amid Omicron
New year, new coronavirus term?Many people around the world kicked off 2022 by searching for more information about “flurona,” after Israel reported that two young pregnant women had tested positive for both the coronavirus and the flu. Doctors have long been concerned about the potential impact of a “twindemic” — with influenza cases rising as covid-19 cases threaten to overwhelm hospitals — and called on people to get flu shots and coronavirus vaccinations. (Hassan, 1/5)

ABC News: What To Know About 'Flurona'
In the midst of a new pandemic surge, another seemingly new ailment is now grabbing headlines: flurona. Despite the catchy name, "flurona" is not new. It is a term coined to describe what happens when a person tests positive for the flu and COVID-19 at the same time. (Salzman, 1/6)

Verywell Health: 'Flurona' Is Not New: COVID And Flu Co-Infection Explained
Flurona is neither a medical term nor a description of a new coronavirus variant. While the term is new, cases of simultaneous COVID-19 and flu infections are not. One of the first instances of COVID-19 in the United States, reported in early 2020, was a double infection case, according to The Atlantic. (Bugos, 1/5)

ABC13 Houston: Flurona? Houston Teen Details Personal Experience Dealing With Flu And COVID At Same Time 
Alec Zierlein is your typical 17-year-old high school student, except he didn't have much fun during his Christmas holiday. Zierlein, one of his brothers, and his dad, sports radio host Lance Zierlein, began feeling sick a few days before Christmas. "I ended up getting tested the day before Christmas for strep throat, flu and COVID," said Zierlein. "I didn't think I had any of the three. It felt like a mild cold." (Shay, 1/4) It turns out, the teen had both the flu and COVID-19, a diagnosis that's been dubbed as "flurona."

Houston Chronicle: Why Two Houston Doctors Don't Like The COVID Term 'Flurona,’ And What Really Worries Them
Co-infections with the coronavirus and other viruses have been happening since the start of the pandemic, said Dr. Flor Munoz, an infectious disease specialist at Texas Children's Hospital and associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine. Last summer, a wave of children suffering from both COVID and respiratory syncytial virus swept through pediatric hospitals in Houston. An unusually light flu season in 2020 meant many people lacked recent exposure to the influenza virus. Scientists were also left guessing about which strains to focus on for this year's flu vaccines, Dr. Wesley Long, Houston Methodist’s medical director of diagnostic microbiology, told the Chronicle in September. (Zong, 1/5)

"Flurona" is already spreading —

Orange County Register: ‘Flurona’ Co-Infection Of Flu, COVID-19 Surfaces In LA, Orange Counties 
It promises a special kind of hell — the misery of both flu and COVID-19 crashing down at exactly the same time.“Flurona,” as it has been dubbed, was detected in a teenage boy who tested positive for both flu and COVID-19 at a privately operated site near the Getty Center in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles. The boy had recently returned from Cabo San Lucas, but had only mild symptoms. (1/5)

CBS Miami: ‘Flurona’: Florida Hospitals Seeing Kids Testing Positive For Both COVID & Flu 
Florida hospitals are seeing kids coming in and testing positive for both the flu and COVID-19. It’s being called “flurona” and it’s concerning doctors. “There is now both very high influenza activity and very high COVID activity, there is the option that someone will be infected with both,” Nadav Davidovitch, director of the School of Public Health at Ben-Gurion University in Israel, told CNN on Tuesday. Davidovitch added, “I don’t think this is going to be a common situation, but that’s something to consider.” (1/5)

Waaytv.Com: 'Flurona' Already Reported In North Alabama 
Flu cases and coronavirus cases have both steadily increased over the past month. According to Huntsville Hospital, they have already treated patients who have been infected with both viruses. "The ones who get these combined infections have multiple risk factors, and they get exposed to a certain point where they can get both these viruses," explained Dr. Ali Hassoun, infectious disease specialist at Huntsville Hospital. He said, since the beginning of the pandemic, fewer than 3% of Huntsville Hospital patients have had both viruses. (Zedeck, 1/5)

Modern Healthcare: Mayo Clinic Fires 1% Of Workforce For Failing To Get COVID-19 Vaccines
The Mayo Clinic is terminating about 1% of its 73,000 employees for failing to comply with its COVID-19 vaccination requirement by Monday's deadline. The needs of its patients come first and the Mayo Clinic stands firmly behind the evidence supporting the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines, the Rochester, Minnesota-based health system said in statement. The health system didn't share the exact number of workers it let go. (Bannow, 1/5)

Modern Healthcare: Nurses Unions Sue Biden For Withdrawing COVID-19 Worker Protections
Nurses unions are asking the courts to force the Biden administration to issue permanent standards for preventing COVID-19 in workplaces after it announced plans to withdraw parts of an emergency temporary standard for healthcare workers. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has "failed" to protect nurses and other workers as the law requires, NNU, New York State Nurses Association, Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals and other unions argued in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. (Hellmann, 1/5)

The Washington Post: USPS Seeks Delay Of Biden Covid-19 Vaccine Mandate
The U.S. Postal Service has asked federal labor officials for a temporary waiver from President Biden’s coronavirus vaccine mandate, setting up a showdown on pandemic safety measures between the president and one of the government’s largest agencies. In a letter dated Jan. 4 to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Deputy Postmaster General Douglas A. Tulino wrote that requiring workers to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or present weekly negative tests would hurt the agency’s ability to deliver the mail and strain the nation’s supply chains. (Bogage, 1/5)

And more news about covid mandates —

NPR: California Extends Its Mask Mandate Until February 15 Due To Omicron Surge
California announced it is extending its statewide indoor mask mandate until at least Feb. 15 due to the rise in COVID-19 cases driven by the fast-spreading omicron variant, according to health department officials. "We are and continue to be concerned about our hospitals," Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly told The Associated Press Wednesday. "Some facilities are going to be strapped." State officials reinstated the indoor mask mandate on Dec. 15 last year and it was originally due to expire on Jan. 15. (Franklin, 1/5)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Schmitt Sues To Overturn New St. Louis County Mask Order 
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt sued St. Louis County on Wednesday to try to overturn a new mask requirement approved by local legislators the day before. The mask order, which took effect at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, requires masks in public indoor spaces for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people older than 5. The County Council voted 4-3 Tuesday to approve the measure in response to a record surge in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations. (Benchaabane, 1/5)

The CT Mirror: Businesses Are Setting Their Own Mask-Wearing Rules. It's Not Easy.
It was after a deadly COVID-19 outbreak at a nursing home in North Canaan this past fall that local hardware store owner Bob Riva said he and his staff started wearing masks again at work. But he was hesitant to require that his customers do the same. One of Riva’s clerks wanted to put up a sign. “I said, ‘Sure, you can, but we have to be very cautious. Say please.’” The clientele at 130-year-old C.A. Lindell Hardware & Lumber reflect the demographics of the community — many are elderly — and Riva said he’s cognizant of their health. At the height of the pandemic over a year ago, the store had a mask mandate in place, but some younger customers pushed back. Riva recalls people swearing at him and threatening to call the police. (Phillips, 1/6)

The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott Floats Idea Of Regional Vaccine Passport To Big Eight Counties 
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott pitched the idea of a regional vaccine passport to county executives from Maryland’s largest jurisdictions Wednesday in spite of what he said are his own misgivings about the fairness of such a program. In a virtual meeting with the Big Eight — leaders from Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties — Scott, a Democrat, said he floated the idea of the counties joining the city in a proposal to require a so-called passport — a digital certification that confirms a person’s inoculation against the coronavirus — to enter certain venues. (Opilo, 1/6)

AP: No Deal, No School: Chicago Cancels Classes For A 2nd Day 
Chicago school leaders canceled classes for a second straight day after failing to reach an agreement Wednesday with the teachers union over remote learning and other COVID-19 safety protocols in the nation’s third-largest school district. The Chicago Teachers Union, which voted to revert to online instruction, told teachers to stay home Wednesday during the latest COVID-19 surge while both sides negotiate, prompting district officials to cancel classes two days after students returned from winter break. (Tareen, 1/6)

Politico: Psaki: Schools Can Open Safely 'Including In Chicago' 
The escalating teachers union dispute in the nation’s third-largest school district has put the Biden administration at odds with a key labor constituency over the safety of in-person learning amid a holiday-inflected Covid spike. “Long story short we want schools to be open, the president wants them to be open, and we’re going to continue to use every resource and work to ensure that’s the case,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Wednesday. (Niedzwiadek, 1/5)

Politico: Chicago Mayor: Teachers Union Made Us A ‘Laughingstock’ 
To understand the crisis that shuttered Chicago public schools this week, it helps to know the key ingredient: A Democratic mayor and one of the city’s most powerful labor groups can’t stand each other. An increasingly toxic relationship between the Chicago Teachers Union and Mayor Lori Lightfoot has been waiting to explode for months — if not years. The Omicron variant turned out to be the spark. (Kapos and Niedzwiadek, 1/5)

In other school news —

New York Post: NYC Parents Want COVID Quarantine Time Shortened For Kids
Frustrated city parents want to lower the quarantine time for COVID-19 infected students from 10 to five days in light of evolving guidance from the Centers for Disease and Prevention. The CDC shortened its recommended isolation period for those with resolving or asymptomatic COVID-19 infections to five days just after Christmas.Gov. Kathy Hochul applied that change, but only to essential workers across the state. (Algar, 1/5)

Detroit Free Press: School Closures Disproportionately Affect Michigan Students Of Color
The students learning from home — or not at all — this week in major Michigan school districts are more likely to be Black. The major Michigan school districts that decided to shut down in-person classes in the new year serve higher populations of students of color, particularly Black students, according to a Detroit Free Press analysis. The big districts that have closed or switched to virtual: Detroit Public Schools Community District, Pontiac School District, Oak Park Schools, Southfield Public Schools, Flint Community Schools, Ann Arbor Public Schools and the Lansing School District. (Altavena, 1/5)

CNN: Children Grapple With Emotional Toll From Covid Lockdowns 
New evidence suggests transitioning in and out of Covid-19 lockdowns is having a negative impact on the emotional well-being of children and adolescents. CNN's Elizabeth Cohen reports. (1/6)

The Wall Street Journal: Inside A Covid-19 School Closing: A Pennsylvania Superintendent Agonizes Over Going Remote 
Over the course of Monday afternoon, the school superintendent in Norristown, Pa., outside Philadelphia, moved from believing schools would stay open to closing them and upending the community’s routines for at least a week. “When we started seeing the numbers climb really across the board—when nurses started dropping out, when we started hearing reports that bus driver absences might become problematic—the sum total of it said: You know what? We need to take a collective pause,” said Superintendent Christopher Dormer of the Norristown Area School District. (Calvert and Belkin, 1/5)

CBS News: Meet The Police Dogs Sniffing Out COVID-19 At Massachusetts Schools 
When Huntah and Duke aren't busy playing catch, the two dogs are usually detecting the presence of COVID-19 in their community. In the past year, the 14-month-old Labrador retrievers have worked at 15 different schools in Massachusetts. ... The dogs are trained to sit down in front of an area where a COVID-19 odor is detected. The dog will then alert their handler so that they can mark the area as one to focus on for cleaning. Darling said the dogs are not used in place of COVID-19 testing. (Powell, 1/5)

In higher-education news —

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Across Georgia Campuses, Professors Urge Stricter COVID-19 Measures
Many Georgia professors are calling for stricter COVID-19 protocols ahead of Monday’s return to classrooms — a day when University of Georgia students are expected to gather in large numbers to watch the college football national championship. The United Campus Workers of Georgia Local 3265, which represents employees and faculty at the University System of Georgia’s 26 schools, said in a letter to members and supporters that in-person classes should begin only after employees and students have shown proof of vaccination. (Stirgus, 1/5)

Star-Herald: Medicaid Expansion Proposal OK'd For November Ballot
A proposal to expand Medicaid eligibility in South Dakota will appear on the November ballot, the secretary of state's office announced Monday. Constitutional Amendment D was validated after an estimated 38,244 people signed petitions to put in on the ballot, more than 4,000 above the number necessary. Medicaid is a federal-state health insurance program for low-income people. South Dakota is one of 12 states that has not accepted federal incentives to expand Medicaid eligibility, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. (1/3)

KHN: South Dakota Voters To Decide Medicaid Expansion 
For nearly a decade, the Republican legislature has opted against expansion, citing concerns about the federal debt and worries that Congress would eventually cut federal funding for the program. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican, strongly opposes Medicaid expansion, even though the federal government picks up most of the cost. To counter the Medicaid ballot initiative, GOP leaders are promoting a separate measure on the June primary ballot that, if passed, would require 60% voter approval for any new constitutional measures that increase taxes or cost the state $10 million or more. It would apply to the Medicaid initiative in November. (Galewitz, 1/6)

KELOLAND.Com: AARP Survey Shows Widespread Support For Medicaid Expansion 
A lot of South Dakotans over the age of 50 support Medicaid expansion. That’s what AARP South Dakota State Director Erik Gaikowski found from a survey his organization conducted with registered South Dakota voters over the age of 50. He said of the 1,000 people they polled, nearly 800 supported passing Medicaid expansion. (Mayer, 1/4)

In other Medicaid news from Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina and Massachusetts —

Arkansas Nonprofit News Network: Biden Administration Says Premiums For Arkansas Medicaid Expansion Must End In One Year
In June 2018, when Arkansas became the first state in the nation to implement work requirements for certain Medicaid beneficiaries, Governor Hutchinson was triumphant. “We’ve wanted to establish a work requirement … for a long time,” he said at the time. The Obama administration had refused to authorize work requirements, but the Trump administration gave the green light. “With this development, Arkansas has become a national leader in rethinking the delivery of public assistance,” the governor boasted. Three and a half years later, the work requirements are gone. The state did not even ask to continue the policy after the Biden administration signaled early in 2021 that it would no longer allow Medicaid work requirements. (Ramsey, 1/3)

USA Today Network Florida: Medicaid Expansion In Florida Tops Charlie Crist Action Plan For Seniors
Democratic Congressman Charlie Crist promised Wednesday if elected governor he will veto any proposed state budget that does not include an expansion of Medicaid. Crist, a former Republican governor seeking a return to Tallahassee as a Democrat, said the failure to expand Medicaid shows how incumbent GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature “are missing in action on what’s important to most Floridians.” (Call, 1/5)

Winston-Salem Journal: Forsyth Legislators Chosen To Lead Committee Reviewing Medicaid Expansion, Reform
Forsyth County legislators Sen. Joyce Krawiec and Rep. Donny Lambeth were named Wednesday as chairs of a joint legislative committee formed to study whether and how North Carolina could expand its Medicaid program. The formation of the Committee on Access to Healthcare and Medicaid Expansion represents an agreement between Republican legislative leaders and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. (Craver, 1/5)

The Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, Mass.): Nursing Home Owners Blame Medicaid Shortfalls For Staffing Struggles. Critics Say They're Being Cheap For Profit 
The people who run Berkshire County’s nursing homes agree with their critics that workers need better wages — and the buildings need more staff — to provide a higher quality of care. They disagree about how to do this, however, as well as why a longstanding staffing crisis persists. Nursing home owners say they are dependent on state Medicaid reimbursements that don’t cover the cost of care. This prevents them from staffing up and hiking wages, they say. (Bellow, 1/4)

Also —

Forbes: This Startup Raised $45 Million To Build A Community Health Worker Brigade For Medicaid
Almost any doctor treating low-income communities has come across a diabetic patient who bookends each month with an emergency room visit. At the beginning of the month, it’s a high blood sugar episode, and, at the end of the month, it’s a low blood sugar episode. “There's nothing biological about that,” explains Sanjay Basu, 41, a primary care doctor and cofounder of the healthtech startup Waymark. “It's because oftentimes people on Medicaid are food insecure.” (Jennings, 1/4)

USA Today: Women Patients At Greater Risk When Male Surgeon Operates, Study Finds
Women who had surgery performed by a male surgeon were more likely to have adverse outcomes than women operated on by female doctors, according to a study published Dec. 8 in peer-reviewed medical journal JAMA Surgery. U.S. and Canadian researchers analyzed more than 1.3 million patients in Ontario, Canada, treated by 2,397 surgeons between 2007 and 2019. They found that female patients treated by male surgeons had 15% greater odds of worse outcomes than female patients treated by female surgeons. (Shen, 1/5)

Also —

The Boston Globe: Nursing Homes At A Tipping Point: Many Are Forced To Freeze Admissions, Stranding Patients In Hospitals For Weeks
Already crowded hospitals across Massachusetts are being forced to keep patients on their wards for weeks after they would otherwise be discharged for rehabilitation or long-term care because there are so few available spaces at nursing homes struggling to stay open amid the Omicron surge. At Brigham and Women’s Hospital, more than 200 patients sat in limbo Monday. The sickest had waited an average of about three weeks, because so many nursing homes have been forced to close their doors to new patients. (Lazar, 1/5)

Modern Healthcare: Tensions Between Workers And Employers Will Remain High In 2022
After nearly two years on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers continue to demand extra protections and pay from employers. But healthcare companies say rising costs and lower revenue because patients are delaying care make it difficult to shoulder higher labor expenses. Experts say this will continue to put pressure on the relationship between providers and staff as workers battle burnout and employers try to balance budgets and find ways to serve patients. (Christ, 1/5)

In corporate developments —

Modern Healthcare: Castlight Health And Vera Whole Health To Merge
Healthcare navigation company Castlight Health and primary care provider Vera Whole Health are merging with the aim of improving the ways care is accessed, delivered and purchased, the companies announced Wednesday. The combination and transaction—which has an equity value of around $370 million—are expected to be finalized early this year, according to a news release. "Integrating our navigation data and technology with Vera Whole Health's high-quality primary care offering addresses the fundamental need for a coordinated and personalized patient experience," Castlight Health CEO Maeve O'Meara said in a news release. (Devereaux, 1/5)

Axios: NorthShore, Edward-Elmhurst Hospitals Around Chicago Merge 
NorthShore University HealthSystem and Edward-Elmhurst Health have merged into a nine-hospital system that will have roughly $5 billion in annual revenue and a dominant presence in Chicago's affluent north and west suburbs. The pandemic has slowed down hospital merger activity, according to health care financial advisory firm Ponder & Co., but it didn't completely stop all deals — especially large mega-mergers like this NorthShore-Edward deal that pursue regional consolidation. (Herman, 1/6)

Modern Healthcare: Illinois Hospice Provider JourneyCare Going Public Through $85M Acquisition
Not-for-profit JourneyCare, one of Illinois' largest hospice providers, announced Wednesday it's being purchased by publicly-traded Addus HomeCare for $85 million. JourneyCare, based in Glenview, Illinois, serves about 750 patients per day across a 13-county region in the Chicago metro. The proposed deal, expected to close February 1, is part of Addus' broader merger and acquisition strategy, which included last year's addition of Summit Home Health, also in the Chicago area. (1/5)

Axios: IBM Tries To Sell Watson Health Again 
IBM has resurrected its sale process for IBM Watson Health, with hopes of fetching more than $1 billion, people familiar with the situation tell Axios. Big Blue wants out of health care, after spending billions to stake its claim, just as rival Oracle is moving big into the sector via its $28 billion bet for Cerner. IBM spent more than $4 billion to build Watson Health via a series of acquisitions. The business now includes health care data and analytics business Truven Health Analytics, population health company Phytel, and medical imaging business Merge Healthcare. (Pringle, 1/5)

Stat: Blood Test To Predict Preeclampsia May Spot Pregnancy Complications Early
Preeclampsia is a potentially serious problem that usually surfaces late in pregnancy, posing an immediate risk of preterm birth, stillbirth, and death as well a later danger of stroke for the mother. New research published Wednesday in Nature shows how RNA molecules sequenced from a single blood sample could predict preeclampsia months before symptoms appear, holding promise for detecting and treating this and other pregnancy complications before they cause harm. (Cooney, 1/5)

And look out for hedgehogs —

The New York Times: Hedgehogs Are A Source Of Drug-Resistant Bacteria, Study Finds 
The tiny, spiny and adorable hedgehog is helping to upend conventional wisdom about the origins of drug-resistant bacterial infections that kill thousands of people each year. In a study published Wednesday in Nature, a group of international scientists found that the bacteria that cause a tough-to-treat infection existed in nature long before modern antibiotics began to be mass produced in the 1940s. The drugs have saved countless lives, but the wide distribution of antibiotics in the decades since then has also spurred an evolutionary arms race with the pathogens they target, leading to the emergence of dreaded superbugs that have evaded our efforts to vanquish them with pharmaceuticals. (Jacobs, 1/5)

In other pharmaceutical industry news —

Stat: Top Hospitals Aren’t Offering Alzheimer's Drug Aduhelm
Almost no one is prescribing Aduhelm, the controversial new Alzheimer’s treatment that roiled the health care landscape when regulators approved it this summer. Major health care systems like the Cleveland Clinic made it clear almost immediately that they wouldn’t offer the new therapy, citing a lack of convincing evidence that the drug actually helps treat Alzheimer’s disease. Now, STAT has identified another 15 university-affiliated hospitals that aren’t offering the drug, including Johns Hopkins, University of California Los Angeles, and the University of Michigan. (Florko, 1/6)

Stat: Blueprint Medicines Seeks 'Continuity, Not Change' In CEO Transition 
For Jeff Albers, the decision to step down as the CEO of Blueprint Medicines after eight years is a “natural evolution” for the growing biotech company that allows other executives to step up into more senior roles. In a leadership transition announced Wednesday, Albers will exit his CEO post in April but will remain with Blueprint as executive chairman. Current Chief Operating Officer Kate Haviland was promoted to CEO. Christina Rossi, the company’s chief commercial officer, will move into Haviland’s former COO role. (Feuerstein, 1/6)

KHN: The War On Cancer At 50: The Origin Story Begins With A Socialite Citizen-Lobbyist 
The roots of the National Cancer Act can be traced to a small home in Watertown, Wisconsin. In the early 1900s, a girl named Mary tagged along when her mother went to visit their laundress, Mrs. Belter, who had breast cancer. When they arrived, the woman was in bed, her seven children around her. She was terribly sick. That day, Mary was only around 4 years old, but she remembered it for the rest of her life. (Emanuel, 1/6)

The Washington Post: For The First Time In Over 30 Years, The EPA Adds To Its List Of Hazardous Air Pollutants
It took over three decades, but the federal government finally expanded its list of chemicals too dangerous for Americans to breathe. By one. The Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to add a powerful dry-cleaning solvent, 1-bromopropane, to its list of hazardous air pollutants was long overdue, environmentalists and industry officials say. (Grandoni, 1/5)

And more public health news —

Modern Healthcare: Cardiovascular Risk Calculator Can Lead To Overtreatment Of Black Patients, Study Finds
A risk calculator from the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association gives Black patients much worse cardiovascular health predictions than white patients, even when their risk profiles are identical apart from race, according to a study published in the Lancet this month. The Boston University School of Medicine authors who conducted the analysis describe these differences as "biologically implausible" in their report. These findings illustrate another way Black patients tend to be treated differently than white patients. Unlike previous analyses showing Black patients are likely to receive insufficient care, this new study provides an example of this population being at risk for too much medical care. (Gillespie, 1/5)

Health News Florida: Failing The Disney Stress Test: How To Be Heart Healthy On A Theme Park Vacation 
It was March 2017, and Larry Fine was on a Disney vacation in Orlando when his heart attacked him. He had a big brunch, and watched The Muppets Present … Great Moments in American History show. After a close family vote, Fine and his family decided to go back to the hotel for a rest. That decision might have saved his life. “So, if we’d stayed in the park, and were running around, I might not have noticed that my heart was attacking me,” Fine said. (Aboraya, 1/5)

AP: Survey: Parents Increased Quality Time At Pandemic's Start
During the first several months of the pandemic in the U.S., Dina Levy made her young daughter and son go on walks with her three times a day. They kicked a soccer ball around at the nearby high school. The children, then 11 and 8, created an obstacle course out of chalk and the three timed each other running through it. They also ate all their meals together. Levy is among scores of parents who indicated in a new survey from the U.S. Census Bureau that they spent more time eating, reading and playing with their children from March 2020 to June of 2020, when coronavirus-lockdowns were at their most intense, than they had in previous years. (Schneider, 1/6)

Houston Chronicle: Struggling To Pay As Grocery Prices Rise? $307M In Emergency SNAP Benefits Could Help
As the cost of groceries soars, families struggling to put food on the table will get a temporary reprieve after state officials extended an emergency food assistance benefit program through the end of January. Governor Greg Abbott’s office announced this week that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission is providing $307 million in funding for emergency food benefits that is expected to help 1.5 million Texan households. (Luck, 1/5)

KHN: A New Paradigm Is Needed: Top Experts Question The Value Of Advance Care Planning 
For decades, Americans have been urged to fill out documents specifying their end-of-life wishes before becoming terminally ill — living wills, do-not-resuscitate orders, and other written materials expressing treatment preferences. Now, a group of prominent experts is saying those efforts should stop because they haven’t improved end-of-life care. (Graham, 1/6)

The Texas Tribune: Texas Abortion Law Returns To Court 
Texas’ new restrictive abortion law returns on Friday to a federal appeals court, where judges will consider a very narrow legal question: whether state medical licensing officials can discipline doctors and nurses for performing abortions in Texas after about six weeks of pregnancy. This thin challenge is the only one left to abortion providers since the Supreme Court’s 8-to-1 decision in December, which kept the uniquely designed law largely intact. At Friday’s hearing, the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will decide whether that remaining challenge should be sent to the Texas Supreme Court or proceed in federal court. (Klibanoff, 1/6)

In other news from across the U.S. —

North Carolina Health News: Contradictory State Laws Aimed At Stopping Drug Overdoses Aren’t Applied Equally 
When Sen. Stan Bingham (R-Denton) pushed for Senate Bill 20 in 2013, he said the bill meant more to him than other legislation he’d worked on. He believed the bill now known as North Carolina’s Good Samaritan Law was a way to address the spiraling overdose deaths that had tripled in the previous decade, claiming more lives than auto accidents. The Good Samaritan Law permitted people who are “acting in good faith” to seek medical help for someone who is overdosing without fear of being prosecuted. In addition, the law ensured that people would not get in trouble with their parole or probation officer for possessing small amounts of drugs or drug paraphernalia. It also made it possible to distribute and administer naloxone, a drug used to reverse an opioid overdose. (Newsome, 1/6)

Louisville Courier Journal: Western Kentucky Tornado Recovery Attention Shifts To Mental Health
Todd Hazel is a licensed social worker. He understands trauma. So when tornadoes tore through Warren County, where Hazel oversees student services for one of Kentucky’s largest school systems, he knew they needed to think about mental health immediately. Alongside tweets about where to pick up food and drop off donations, Hazel’s school district shared tip sheets on how to talk to kids about what happened and noted when families could talk to counselors. Soon after, Hazel’s district began offering free counseling to anyone in the area — whether they were affiliated with the district or not. (Krauth, 1/6)

AP: Phoenix Won't Resume Water Shut-Offs For Overdue Accounts 
Citing rising COVID-19 cases, city officials said Wednesday that Phoenix has decided to postpone a plan to resume water shut-offs next month for past due accounts. The Phoenix Water Services Department had announced Monday on its website that the shut-offs were to begin again for customers who are 31 days past due on their statements. (1/6)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: National Guard Suicides Spark Wisconsin Sen. Baldwin To Seek Answers
Responding to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation into the high suicide rate in the National Guard, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin has asked the head of the force to release specific numbers of deaths and provide details about how the Guard can provide better care for its members. In a letter to Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, Baldwin cited several findings and possible reforms highlighted in the Journal Sentinel’s investigation last month, including the need for a one-stop shop of mental health resources tailored to the force. (Ferral, 1/5)

Oklahoman: Lower Marriage And Divorce Rates Seen Locally And Nationally
Former Gov. Frank Keating will celebrate his 50th wedding anniversary this year. In his mind marriage is and always has been a lifelong commitment. While more than 20,000 marriage licenses are issued in Oklahoma each year, bliss may not be the first word some Oklahomans use to describe wedded life. Oklahoma ranks third in divorce rate in the United States. In the mid- to late-1990s, the state ranked second. That's part of what led Keating to develop a now defunct program called the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative. (Williams, 1/5)

Stateline: Census Recounts Fail To Account For COVID Chaos, Cities Say
Nelsonville, Ohio, faced a lot of the same challenges that cities around the country did during the 2020 census: renters and older people who were hard to reach, college students who left town during the pandemic and widespread distrust of government questions. The initial results showed that Nelsonville’s population had dropped below 5,000, which under Ohio law would have made it a village instead of a city. The change in status might have cost it millions of matching state and federal dollars for water, sewer and road projects granted under a program exclusively for small cities. It also hurt Nelsonville’s pride. (Henderson, 1/5)

The Washington Post: Hong Kong Bans All Flights From U.S., Britain, Canada, Australia And Other Countries As Omicron Spreads 
Hong Kong officials on Wednesday implemented the city’s strictest restrictions since the coronavirus was first detected here two years ago, including banning all passenger flights from eight countries, as it holds firm to a “zero-covid” policy amid a growing outbreak of the omicron variant. Hong Kong has only a handful of community infections, including six omicron cases linked to a restaurant cluster. But the harsh restrictions are in part a response to the territory’s relatively low vaccination rates, particularly among the elderly. Only about 20 percent of those above age 80 are fully vaccinated, according to government statistics. (Mahtani, 1/5)

In other covid news from around the world —

Bloomberg: EU Daily Virus Cases Top 1 Million Mark For First Time: Chart
Omicron has taken hold in the European Union, where daily cases of coronavirus exceeded 1 million on Wednesday for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Even though omicron symptoms are largely relatively mild, governments are still worried about pressure on hospitals and broader health services, and have stepped up measures -- as well as the language -- to force people to get vaccinated. (O'Brien, 1/6)

AP: France Hits Staggering New Case Record, Europe's Highest
France announced a staggering 332,252 daily virus cases Wednesday, smashing a string of recent records, as hospitals prepared drastic measures to brace for patient surges and the government strained to avoid a new lockdown. With Europe’s highest-ever single-day confirmed infection count, France is facing an omicron-driven surge that is dominating the race for April’s presidential election and increasingly disrupting workplaces, schools and public life. (1/5)

AP: Japan Asks US Forces To Stay On Base As COVID-19 Cases Jump
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Thursday asked that the U.S. military in Japan stay inside its bases to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.Hayashi said he spoke on the phone with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and was promised utmost efforts to ensure people’s health. It was not immediately clear if a base curfew would be issued. Maj. Thomas R. Barger, a U.S. Forces in Japan spokesperson, said he could not comment on the request, but that a team was carefully monitoring cases and trends. (Kageyama, 1/6)

The New York Times: Novak Djokovic Is Refused Entry Into Australia Over Vaccine Exemption 
Novak Djokovic, the world’s No. 1-ranked men’s tennis player, traveled all day Wednesday from Dubai to Australia, a journey that was supposed to begin his defense of the Australian Open singles championship. On Thursday, he was told he would need to leave the country, following a 10-hour standoff with government officials at a Melbourne airport, where he was held in a room overnight over the validity of his visa and questions about the evidence supporting a medical exemption from a coronavirus vaccine. (Futterman, 1/5)

AP: Xi'an Hospital Punished For Refusing Entry To Pregnant Woman
Hospital officials in the northern Chinese city of Xi’an have been punished after a pregnant woman miscarried after being refused entry, reportedly for not having current COVID-19 test results. (1/6)

CNBC: Which Countries Are On Track To Meet The WHO Covid Vaccination Target?
The U.S. is among the countries projected to miss the WHO’s Covid vaccination target for 2022, researchers have said, alongside a host of other nations across Europe, Asia and Africa. In October, the WHO set a target for countries to vaccinate 70% of their populations by mid-2022. According to projections made by Our World in Data, last updated on Tuesday, more than 100 countries are not on track to meet that goal. (Taylor, 1/6)

In other global developments —

USA Today: Pope Francis Criticizes People Who Have Dogs, Cats Instead Of Children
Pope Francis this week criticized individuals who opt for having pets instead of children, saying that a “denial of fatherhood or motherhood diminishes us.” The pope on Wednesday made the comments while speaking about the figure of Joseph serving as the “foster father” of Jesus.“ Joseph shows us that this type of bond is not secondary; it is not an afterthought, no,” Pope Francis said. “This kind of choice is among the highest forms of love, and of fatherhood and motherhood. How many children in the world are waiting for someone to take care of them.” (Pitofsky, 1/5)

CIDRAP: Study Finds Measurable Drop In Lung Volume After Mild COVID Infection
Nonhospitalized patients who recovered from asymptomatic to mild COVID-19 can experience small but measurable drops in dynamic lung volume, Danish researchers reported yesterday in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. They note that lower lung function, even within the normal ranges, is a risk factor for higher respiratory morbidity and mortality. Their prospective matched cohort study involved adult participants in an ongoing general population study in Copenhagen who had undergone prepandemic spirometry assessments. Researchers identified 107 people who had tested positive by PCR on average 5 months earlier, then asked them to repeat spirometry testing, fill out a questionnaire about their symptoms, and undergo a diffusing capacity test for carbon monoxide. They compared the findings with 499 age-matched controls who hadn't tested positive for COVID-19. (1/4)

CIDRAP: Study Finds No Link Between Flu Vaccination And COVID-19 Risk
A large Danish study of more than 46,000 health workers found that flu vaccination didn't affect COVID-19 hospitalization or influence the development of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. A team based at the University of Copenhagen detailed their findings today in the Journal of Infection. Researchers said they explored the links, due to speculation that flu vaccination might afford some protection against COVID-19, given that the two viruses produce similar host immune response. Also, some wondered whether flu vaccination might influence the risk of COVID-19 infection. (1/5)

CIDRAP: Large Study Supports Safety Of COVID-19 Vaccination In Pregnant Women
A large multistate cohort study of more than 40,000 pregnant women and their nonpregnant peers found no link between COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy and preterm or small-for-gestational-age births. Authors from Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) sites and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported their findings yesterday in an early edition of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). (1/5)

In other research —

ScienceDaily: A Novel Compound Might Defeat Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria Common In Hospitals 
Increasingly, hospitalized patients contract infections that evade current antibiotics including colistin, long used as a last treatment option. The discovery of a new colistin variant might make it possible to outmaneuver these pathogens. (Rockefeller University, 1/5)

CIDRAP: Doubling Preventive Antibiotics Not Always Tied To Fewer Surgical Infections
In another study published this week in JAMA Network Open, Swiss researchers reported that a double dose of cefuroxime administered prior to surgery was not consistently associated with a lower rate of surgical site infections (SSIs).The cohort study involved 37,640 patients weighing at least 80 kilograms (kg) (about 176 pounds) who received surgical antibiotic prophylaxis (SAP) with cefuroxime prior to surgery at 142 Swiss hospitals from January 2015 through December 2019. The researchers were trying to determine whether national guidelines introduced in 2015 to lower SSI rates—which advocated for an optional increase of the standard SAP dose in patients weighing at least 80 kg—were associated with a reduction in SSIs. (12/17)

ScienceDaily: Taking High-Dose Vitamin D Supplements For Five Years Did Not Affect The Incidence Of Cardiovascular Disease Or Cancer 
A trial found that taking a much higher dose of vitamin D than recommended for five years did not affect total mortality or the incidence of cardiovascular disease or cancer in older men and women. (University of Eastern Finland, 1/5)

ScienceDaily: Timing Of Brain Injury In Pregnancy, Birth May Impact Motor And Language Outcomes
A new study that mapped the neural connections of newborns with two different kinds of brain injuries found the maps looked very different -- and were linked to significantly different developmental outcomes years later. (University of California-San Francisco, 1/5)

Newsweek: Walmart Has Been Quietly Convincing The Unvaccinated To Get Vaccinated. Here's Their Secret 
Nearly a year into the largest vaccine rollout in history, the U.S.'s efforts have yielded among the lowest inoculation rates of any industrialized democracy on the globe. Our media and politicians all too often blame the unvaccinated for their hesitancy, casting them as unreachable Trump voting conspiracy theorists who will refuse to accept the facts. It's a view popularized by many who—not coincidentally—advocate for "mandate or bust" approaches. But is this perspective really born out by the data? Our data suggests that the unvaccinated—even in red states—can be reached. (Adam Sohn and Joel Finkelstein, 1/4)

The Atlantic: Omicron And The Return To Normalcy 
My first mental model of this pandemic took shape on February 24, 2020, when James Hamblin published “You’re Likely to Get the Coronavirus.” At the time, there were fewer than 100 known cases in the United States. Yet in his telling, 40 to 70 percent of humans would eventually get infected. Slowing COVID’s spread still made sense, to avoid overwhelming hospitals, but were countermeasures warranted beyond what was necessary to avoid swamping caregivers? (Conor Friedersdorf, 1/5)

Stat: Home Covid-19 Tests Should Be Highly Sensitive To Infections
With rapid testing becoming a key tool in the fight against Covid-19, in a mid-October call with the White House I offered to sell my Covid testing company — recently valued at $99.8 million — to the government for just $1. As an alternative, I also offered to sell the government our test at cost. My company, Global Diagnostic Systems, had just completed clinical trials showing our rapid Covid-19 home test had 100% sensitivity (meaning no false negatives) and 95% specificity (meaning just 5% false positives). On hearing about this performance, a senior White House official told me, “Apply to the FDA ASAP.” (Elliott J. Millenson, 1/6)

East Bay Times: Will Supreme Court Back Sensible Workplace Vaccine Mandates?
Under well-established law, the Biden administration’s vaccination mandates are clearly legal. But the politicization of the pandemic and vaccines makes it doubtful whether the Supreme Court will uphold them. Cases involving two regulations that impose vaccination requirements on workers will go before the court on Friday. (Erwin Chemerinsky, 1/5)

The New York Times: Here’s When We Expect Omicron To Peak 
The Omicron variant is spreading widely and infecting large numbers of people, including the vaccinated and those previously infected with the virus. While spikes in cases have been the norm for the past two years, there are clear indications this wave will differ substantially from previous ones. The record number of cases in the United States and globally is largely because Omicron is more contagious than other variants and has a greater ability to evade immunity to infection. (Jeffrey Shaman, 1/6)

Chicago Tribune: As COVID-19 Cases Surge, Pritzker Should Send Out High-Quality Masks For All 
In December, as COVID-19 cases spiked in Connecticut, Gov. Ned Lamont launched an initiative to provide masks for all Connecticut residents. While the program itself is newsworthy, Lamont’s focus on not just the quantity but also the quality of masks being distributed is especially worth noting. (Richard Boykin, 1/5)

The New York Times: Expecting Or Planning? There’s Nothing Magic About Age 35
Many of the decisions I made around my pregnancies were based on the looming specter of “advanced maternal age,” which is typically defined as 35 or older. Rudely, this used to be called a “geriatric pregnancy,” but that term is thankfully now out of fashion. In my head, my 35th birthday was some kind of Cinderella clock, but instead of my coach turning back into a pumpkin, it had me imagining that my eggs would shrivel up and die. (Jessica Grose, 1/5)

Stat: Recognizing Obesity As A Disease Is A Step Toward Health Equity 
When the American Medical Association recognized obesity as a disease in 2013, doctors and other health care workers began to pay greater attention to a condition that is a cause of death for nearly one out of five adults in America. Eight years on, U.S. policies have failed to catch up with medical understanding in addressing this public health crisis. Without the right kinds of policy interventions, nearly half of Americans will have obesity by 2030. (Fatima Cody Stanford and Kelly Copes-Anderson, 1/6)

Modern Healthcare: Pharmacists Can Help Transform Healthcare Deserts 
Eighty percent. It's a daunting percentage that shows how many counties across the U.S. are considered healthcare, or medical, deserts. This was an unacceptable problem even before the COVID-19 pandemic. And now it's revealed a glaring truth as the world manages a global public health crisis—a time when people need more access to and a greater understanding of healthcare. (Onisis Stefas, 1/5)

Stat: Don't Let Politics Prevent Confirmation Of The Best FDA Commissioner 
President’s Biden’s nomination of Robert Califf to head the Food and Drug Administration is in the political crosshairs. Curiously, the attacks are not from the usual suspects. Instead, they are friendly fire discharged by an unlikely trio of Democrats: Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Joe Manchin, who are concerned about Califf’s past involvement with the pharmaceutical industry. These concerns are unwarranted and show a disturbing lack of understanding and superficial knowledge of the experience needed in drug development and clinical research to lead the nation’s leading regulatory agency for therapeutics. (Jeffrey A. Lieberman, 1/5)

The Washington Post: Hospitals Are Running Low On Yet Another Resource: Hope 
This is not the spring of 2020. I no longer receive daily emails warning how low my hospital is on personal protective equipment. We have enough PPE that we can discard items as intended. And I am less afraid that I will die of covid-19 or bring it home to my three young kids. We now have more knowledge about how to prevent and treat infections. But there’s a new scarcity in our health-care system: We’re running dangerously short on hope. And it’s even more crushing than the shortages we faced at the beginning of the pandemic. (Sarah N. Cross, 1/5)

Stat: 'Protect Our Hospitals' Won't Rally Americans To Get Covid-19 Vaccines
The resurgence of Covid-19 is again leading health care systems across the globe to brace themselves. And with deep scars from early in the pandemic, leaders are again calling on people to get vaccinated. One prominent reason they cite for vaccination is to protect hospitals and health care workers. In the U.S., this message is not working. (Gregory D. Stevens, 1/5)