The Hill: AMA Warns ‘Patient Health Is At Risk’ Post-Roe, Calls For ‘Clear Guidance’ On State Abortion Laws
The American Medical Association (AMA) and three other health organizations warned on Thursday that patients’ health is at risk in the aftermath of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and called on state officials across the country to give “clear guidance” on the interpretation of their abortion laws. The AMA, American Pharmacists Association, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and National Community Pharmacists Association said in a release that health care providers face a “confusing” legal landscape on abortion policies following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling, which struck down a federal protection for abortion. (Gans, 9/8)

HuffPost: Medical Groups Warn Of 'Irreparable Harm' To Patients In Confusing Post-Roe Era 
The AMA and other groups said Thursday they were deeply concerned about patients’ health, pointing to reports many women are unable to access medication and decisions that compound trauma for victims of sexual assault. “As physicians and pharmacists, we view patient wellbeing as paramount and are deeply troubled that continuity of care is being disrupted,” they said. “We call on state policymakers to ensure through guidance, law, or regulation that patient care is not disrupted and that physicians and pharmacists shall be free to continue to practice medicine and pharmacy without fear of professional sanction or liability.” (Visser, 9/9)

The president and vice president are urging women to fight back —

Politico: Biden Leans Into Abortion Rights In Speech To Democratic Activists
President Joe Biden escalated his attacks on Republicans over abortion rights in a speech to Democratic activists late Thursday, addressing the specifics of what he contends his opponents want: an expansion of abortion bans before many women know they’re pregnant, and an attempt to to pass a national ban, which he pledged to veto. Leaning into the Supreme Court’s overturning of abortion rights this summer, the president suggested there would be a surge of voter activity in the fall midterm elections pushing back against the high court’s decision. Biden reiterated that abortion could be just the start of Republican attempts to dial back rights, including contraception and same-sex marriage. (Olander and Cadelago, 9/8)

The Hill: Biden Says Women In The U.S. Were ‘Awakened’ When Roe V. Wade Was Overturned 
President Biden said that American women were awakened by the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade while rallying Democrats ahead of the midterm elections. “Republicans have awakened a powerful force in this country: women,” Biden said. “Here you come.” He blasted Republicans for their stances on abortion, among other issues, during his remarks at the Democratic National Committee summer meeting in National Harbour, Md. The event Thursday evening marked 60 days until the midterms. (Gangitano, 9/8)

Houston Chronicle: In Houston, VP Harris Urges People Of Faith To Defend Democracy
“As extremists work to take away the freedom of women to make decisions about their own bodies, faith leaders are taking a stand, knowing one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held religious beliefs to agree that a woman should have the ability to make decisions about her own body, and not have her government tell her what to do,” Harris said. (McGuinness, 9/8)

Detroit Free Press: Michigan Supreme Court: Abortion Amendment Must Appear On Ballot
Tiny spaces and cries of gibberish are not enough to derail an effort to explicitly enshrine abortion rights in the Michigan Constitution, according to a ruling issued Thursday by the state's highest court. The ruling, the court's first dealing at all with abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the national constitutional right to an abortion afforded under Roe v. Wade, means Michiganders will have the chance to amend the state Constitution when they cast their ballots this fall. (Boucher, 9/8)

The Hill: Michigan Supreme Court Puts Abortion Rights Question On Nov. Ballot 
The anti-abortion group opposing the effort argued that due to missing spaces and other formatting errors the text circulated to voters for their signatures was too confusing, making the petition invalid. The majority wrote that despite the typos, the meaning of the amendment was not changed. “Regardless of the existence or extent of the spacing, all of the words remain and they remain in the same order, and it is not disputed that they are printed in 8-point type. In this case, the meaning of the words has not changed by the alleged insufficient spacing between them,” the court ruled. (Weixel, 9/8)

Abortion updates from South Carolina —

The New York Times: After Long Brawl, South Carolina Senate Approves More Abortion Restrictions 
The South Carolina Senate voted Thursday night to tighten abortion restrictions but failed to pass a total ban after a heated debate revealed the ongoing struggle among Republicans to define a cohesive post-Roe strategy. The chamber voted to gut a bill that would have prohibited abortion without exception for rape or incest, instead choosing to add more limits to the state’s existing law that bans abortion after six weeks. That law is temporarily blocked by the state Supreme Court because of ongoing litigation. (Sasani, 9/9)

From Texas —

Houston Chronicle: Texas Court Upholds ‘Judicial Bypass’ For Minors Seeking Abortion Without Parental Consent
The Texas Supreme Court has opted to keep in place a legal process that allows minors to seek a judge's approval to have an abortion without parental consent, though state law now bans the procedure in most circumstances. (Goldenstein, 9/8)

Reuters: Texas Abortion Foes Ask Court To Toss Lawsuit Over 'Bounty' Law 
Abortion opponents in Texas on Thursday asked a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit by an organization that provides financial assistance to women seeking abortions challenging a Texas law that allows private citizens to sue anyone who facilitates an abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy. (Pierson, 9/8)

Houston Chronicle: Democrats Are Flocking To Register To Vote In Texas After Abortion Ruling
In Texas, it’s not just women who are fired up about access to abortion and registering to vote in large numbers following this summer's historic Supreme Court decision striking down Roe v. Wade. A new analysis from political data and polling firm TargetSmart found that while Texas’ new voter registrants are evenly split between men and women, they are younger and more Democratic than before the June ruling. (Goldenstein, 9/8)

From Ohio —

Ohio Capital Journal: Judge Holds Off On Ohio Abortion Ban Decision
A Hamilton County judge said he needs more time to decide whether or not to put a pause on a six-week abortion ban in Ohio. Judge Christian Jenkins said in a Thursday hearing that he would not issue an opinion because the court still has questions about how the case moves forward. “The court would like to investigate the threshold issue of jurisdiction and the effect of the (state) supreme court still not having dismissed the case,” Jenkins said on Thursday. (Tebben, 9/9)

Ohio Capital Journal: Ohio Docs Say New Abortion Law Has Them Working Against Oaths To Do No Harm  
A little more than two months into enforcement of Ohio’s harsh abortion restrictions, doctors are describing scenes of almost unimaginable anguish — and increased risks to women and girls who become pregnant. According to them, in all but the most dire medical emergencies, they and their patients have had to take up to 15 minutes with a bureaucratic process that some docs say is meant to shame women before allowing them to end pregnancies that pose a threat to their lives. Other women have partially delivered fetuses too undeveloped to survive only to see the delivery stall. In that condition, with the fetus partly out, they also have had to sign paperwork — and then wait for 24 hours, or for the fetus’s heart to stop. (Schladen, 9/7)

From Idaho, Florida, and Indiana —

AP: Idaho Legislature Asks Judge To Reconsider Abortion Ruling
The Idaho Legislature has asked a federal judge to reconsider his decision blocking the state from enforcing a strict abortion ban in medical emergencies. In court documents filed Wednesday, attorneys for the Legislature said Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill incorrectly followed the guidance of President Joe Biden’s administration rather than using the standards set by Congress when he found that Idaho’s ban appeared to violate a federal law governing emergency health care services at Medicare-funded hospitals. (Boone, 9/8)

News Service of Florida: State Challenges A Key Privacy Clause In The Legal Battle Over Florida's 15-Week Abortion Ban
Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office said it thinks the Florida Supreme Court should reverse a decades-old position that a privacy clause in the state Constitution protects abortion rights. (Saunders, 9/8)

Indianapolis Star: Indiana Abortion Law Could Lead To Medical Brain Drain
Julie Reed, the executive vice president of the Indiana State Medical Association, said the abortion law deepened the existing philosophical concerns physicians have with government interference with patient-physician relationships. While health care workers who already have jobs here might ultimately stay, she and other health care providers and advocates told IndyStar they think recruitment will become the bigger problem. (Rudavsky and Herron, 9/9)

Modern Healthcare: Biden Administration Finalizes 'Public Charge' Replacement
The U.S. will not deny green cards based on a person's use of Medicaid and most other government health programs under a regulation published Thursday that rescinds the Trump-era "public charge" policy designed to discourage immigration. (Goldman, 9/8)

Stat: DHS Issues Rule To Revise Trump’s ‘Public Charge’ Policy, Easing Access To Health Services For Immigrants
The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday issued a new rule to revise a Trump administration policy that effectively discouraged non-citizen immigrants from using government-funded health services. The new rule clarifies that DHS will not classify non-citizens as “public charges” — a classification that could result in them being denied green cards — based on their use of health-related benefits and government services. (Trang, 9/8)

The Hill: DHS Unwinds Trump-Era Public Charge Restrictions
The Biden administration stopped defending the Trump-era rule just months after taking office, but the new rule is a departure from a Trump-era policy requiring prospective new citizens to forecast whether they might at any time rely on government aid. The Trump-era rule barred those who received assistance from one program over the course of a year and roped in new programs that were previously excluded from consideration, including food stamps and medical assistance. (Beitsch, 9/8)

In news about the Affordable Care Act —

KHN: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Judge Takes Aim At The Affordable Care Act’s Preventive Care Benefits
The same federal judge in Texas who tried — unsuccessfully — to strike down the entire Affordable Care Act in 2018 has ruled that portions of the health law’s preventive care benefit package are unconstitutional. But it will be a long time, with many more court actions, before it becomes clear whether the decision will change how the law works. (9/8)

The Agriculture Department issues its report on food insecurity —

The New York Times: Food Insecurity For Families With Children Reached Two-Decade Low In 2021 
Food insecurity for households with children declined to its lowest rate in two decades last year, the Agriculture Department said on Wednesday, as government assistance programs continued to blunt the effect of the coronavirus on the economy. The department’s findings were in line with data last year showing that vast expansions of government aid helped reduce hunger. But experts warned that picture was almost certain to change as pandemic-era programs expire and inflation remains high. (Qiu, 9/7)

CBS News: Second Person In The U.S. Dies After Contracting Monkeypox
Health authorities are now investigating what role monkeypox may have played in the death of a person diagnosed with the virus, officials in California said Thursday. This is the second known person to die in the U.S. after contracting the virus during the current outbreak. The announcement comes less than a month after officials in Texas confirmed they were investigating a potential death from the virus. (Tin, 9/8)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Investigating Death Of Resident Diagnosed With MPX
Los Angeles County health officials are investigating the death of a person diagnosed with MPX to see whether the viral illness was a primary cause of mortality. An autopsy still needs to be conducted, and “it does take time for those results to come back. So it may be as soon as a few days, or it may take a few weeks,” according to Dr. Rita Singhal, chief medical officer for the county’s Department of Public Health. (Lin II, Money and Toohey, 9/8)

On monkeypox and HIV —

AP: US May Expand Monkeypox Vaccine Eligibility To Men With HIV
U.S. officials are considering broadening recommendations for who gets vaccinated against monkeypox, possibly to include many men with HIV or those recently diagnosed with other sexually transmitted diseases. Driving the discussion is a study released Thursday showing that a higher-than-expected share of monkeypox infections are in people with other sexually transmitted infections. (Stobbe, 9/8)

CNBC: HIV Positive People Hospitalized With Monkeypox More Often, CDC Says
People living with HIV who have monkeypox are hospitalized more than twice as often as other patients diagnosed with the rapidly spreading virus, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a report published Thursday, the CDC found that 38% of nearly 2,000 people diagnosed with monkeypox between May and July were living with HIV. Among 1,300 monkeypox patients with more detailed clinical data, 8% of HIV-positive individuals were hospitalized compared with 3% of people without HIV infection. (Kimball, 9/8)

CIDRAP: HIV, Earlier STIs Common In US Monkeypox Patients
Surveillance data from eight US jurisdictions found a high prevalence of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among people with monkeypox, a research team based at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported today. In other developments, scientists from Europe today reported finding viable monkeypox viruses in anal and urethral samples from monkeypox patients, adding more evidence for a sexual transmission route, and the US government took more steps to expand testing and explore the efficacy of different vaccination strategies. (Schnirring, 9/8)

Also —

CIDRAP: Study Raises Questions On Dose-Sparing Monkeypox Vaccine Approach 
Late last week a notable group of Dutch researchers published a preprint study on the neutralizing antibodies produced by two subcutaneous doses of Bavarian Nordic's monkeypox vaccine, Jynneos (MVA), and it indicated the dose-sparing strategy might not yield a very strong immune response. (Soucheray, 9/8)

San Francisco Chronicle: U.S. Dedicates $300 Million To Next-Generation Tests
The White House has allocated $300 million for the accelerated development of next-generation coronavirus tests, the National Institutes of Health announced Thursday. Two new funding opportunities are available for diagnostic test manufacturers as part of the incentive program. The first opportunity is to develop accessible over-the-counter tests that can be used by people with disabilities, while the second seeks to improve the performance of over-the-counter tests to ensure ease of use. (Vaziri and Buchmann, 9/8)

Politico: Covid Is Here To Stay, But The White House Response Team Is Eyeing Its Endgame 
The pandemic may not be over. But there’s a growing sense among officials inside the White House that their days on the front lines of the Covid fight may be numbered. Even as it braces for a perilous winter, the Biden administration is planning a restructuring of its approach to major elements of the coronavirus response — a gradual shift that some administration officials now speculate could begin the phaseout of the White House Covid team as soon as the middle of next year. (Cancryn, 9/8)

In covid research updates —

CIDRAP: New Omicron Subvariant Mutation Tied To Kids' Neurologic Complications
Researchers in Taiwan have discovered a new mutation in the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2.3.7 subvariant that they suggest may be responsible for severe neurologic complications observed in young children on the island. Their study was published yesterday in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases. ...Whole-genome sequencing revealed that all viruses were Omicron BA.2.3.7 and that they had a previously unidentified K97E mutation on the spike protein that differed from other BA.2.3.7 strains. (9/8)

CIDRAP: Vitamin D Doesn't Prevent COVID-19, Other Respiratory Infections, Studies Find 
Findings from two large clinical trials published yesterday in BMJ discount the notion that vitamin D supplements protect against COVID-19 or other respiratory-tract infections, although both had notable limitations. (Van Beusekom, 9/8)

Bloomberg: Pandemic Readiness Lobby Draws Biotech, Government Members
Drug and biotechnology firms, academics, investors and former government officials are launching a new lobbying group that hopes to improve long-term support for technology and products to combat future pandemics and other biological threats. (Griffin, 9/7)

In other pandemic news —

AP: Washington's COVID-19 State Of Emergency To End Oct. 31 
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced Thursday that the state of emergency sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic will end Oct. 31, nearly three years after the Democratic governor first issued the order. “I’m confident now that we have reached a significant milestone in the Covid effort,” Inslee said at a news conference at the Capitol. “We are now in a position to be able to continue our efforts against Covid in multiple ways without the necessity of an emergency order.” (La Corte, 9/8)

The Boston Globe: Mass. Residents Say They’re More Concerned About The Cost Of Health Care Than The Pandemic
Massachusetts residents say their top health concern is not the COVID-19 pandemic or the quality of care they receive but the cost of health care in the state, according to a new survey. The findings underscore the financial pressures facing patients, just as providers are pushing for higher reimbursements and as the government plans to stop purchasing and providing COVID vaccinations, tests and treatments next year. (Bartlett, 9/8)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Froedtert Hospital Says Employees Who Claimed COVID Vaccine Exemption Must Get New Option That Does Not Use Fetal Cell Lines
Froedtert Hospital is alerting its employees who had taken religious exemptions for COVID-19 vaccination because they had concerns about the use of fetal cell lines in their development that they must now get vaccinated using a recently-approved shot. (Shastri and Van Egeren, 9/8)

WISN: Froedtert: Employee Religious Exemptions From COVID-19 Vaccine Are No Longer Legitimate
WISN 12 News spoke to a Froedtert employee anonymously on Wednesday. ... The employee said she is Catholic and the previous vaccines were against her religious beliefs because of the ingredients. "The fact that this new vaccine doesn't use, or says it doesn't use, any cells from aborted fetuses, does that go against your religion still?" asked WISN 12 News reporter Caroline Reinwald. "Yes, just because it's my body my temple. God is within us," the employee said. "If we're uncomfortable, or not sure about something, then we shouldn't do it." (Reinwald and Wainscott, 9/8)

In other news about mandates —

AP: Lawsuit Contests Montana Vaccine Mandate Ban On Tribal Land
A federal lawsuit in Montana seeks to block a state agency from enforcing on tribal lands a legislative prohibition against COVID-19 vaccine mandates. The Glacier County Regional Port Authority filed the complaint Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Great Falls. The litigation comes after Montana Labor and Industry Department officials determined the port authority discriminated against an unvaccinated person who attempted to attend one of its meetings, in Browning. (9/8)

The Hechinger Report: For Head Start, Masks And Vaccine Mandates Are Still In Place—For Now
For much of the country, this school year started with Covid restrictions in the past: No more masking, vaccine mandates, social distancing requirements or testing regulations. But for many Head Start programs, federal requirements remain in force, complicating operations. Under a federal rule announced almost a year ago, Head Start centers must require vaccines for staff and masks for anyone 2 years or older, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the program. The federally-funded preschool system collectively serves nearly 750,000 children from low-income families. (Gilreath, 9/7)

More on the vaccine rollout —

NBC News: 'Don't Wait' To Get The New Covid Shot, White House Says
"We want Americans to know that the vaccine is here and that they shouldn't wait" to get it, a senior administration official told NBC News on Thursday. The plans urge schools across the United States to hold at least one vaccination clinic before Thanksgiving, as well as university-led vaccination campaigns this fall. (Edwards, 9/8)

Stat: Doubling Up On Covid, Flu Shots May Have Downside, Experts Say
Earlier this week, Anthony Fauci, President Biden’s chief medical adviser, put it bluntly: “Get your updated Covid-19 shot as soon as you are eligible.” For many people over the age of 12, that would be right now. There’s just one problem with the advice. It’s still early to get a flu shot. (Branswell, 9/9)

Scientific American: Why So Few Young Kids Are Vaccinated Against COVID--And How To Change That 
As summer vacations wind down, the days get shorter and children prepare to go to school, preschool and day care, they could encounter an unwelcome classmate: COVID. Yet despite the prospect of another fall surge in cases, a remarkably low percentage of young children have been vaccinated against the disease. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends children get vaccinated for COVID. So why have so few parents refrained from getting their child the shot? (Lewis, 9/7)

Bloomberg: Moderna Sees Annual US Market For Covid-19 Shots Ranging Up To $13 Billion
Annual US sales of Covid-19 shots could be high as $12.9 billion, with health officials likely recommending an annual booster, vaccine maker Moderna Inc. said in a meeting with investors. (Peebles, 9/8)

On Paxlovid and other covid treatments —

Bloomberg: Post-Paxlovid Rebounds Look Common, Contagious
A spokersperson for Pfizer, the maker of Paxlovid, describes rebounds as “uncommon and not uniquely associated with any specific treatment.” The resarchers’ findings, though, suggest a different story: Infectious disease specialists say the rebounds aren’t uncommon, and patients should watch for them. They should also feel reassured that symptoms are almost always mild when a rebound occurs. (Goldberg, 9/8)

The Boston Globe: A Paxlovid Fall Primer: Who Should Take The COVID Antiviral And When?
With many people heading back to school and the office, and cooler weather soon likely to lure more indoors, the number of COVID-19 infections this fall is expected to rise. Paxlovid, an antiviral medication shown to significantly decrease the risk of serious COVID complications, has become the most popular treatment with over 4 million prescriptions written in the United States since federal regulators authorized the drug last December. (Lazar, 9/8)

Axios: COVID Drugs Are Likely To Become Less Lucrative For Pfizer And Moderna
Dwindling public demand for COVID vaccines and private market pressures should combine to cost manufacturers billions of dollars once the federal government stops buying the shots, eating into Pfizer and Moderna's pandemic profits. (Owens, 9/9)

Becker's Hospital Review: Duke Surgeons Perform World's 1st Partial Heart Transplant
Cardiologists at Durham, N.C.-based Duke Health performed what is believed to be the world’s first partial heart transplant by fusing the arteries and valves from a freshly donated heart onto an existing heart, the system said in an email to Becker's Sept. 8. The procedure was performed on a newborn with truncus arteriosus — a condition in which the two main heart arteries are fused together. Joseph Turek, MD, PhD, Duke’s chief of pediatric cardiac surgery, led the surgery team. (Gleeson, 9/8)

ABC11 Raleigh-Durham: NC Newborn Becomes World's First Partial Heart Transplant Recipient At Duke Health 
The scarring on baby Owen Monroe's chest is a reminder to his parents of the leap of faith they took. He doesn't know it yet, but he's the world's first person to ever successfully receive a partial heart transplant. "He was basically already in heart failure right out the gate," said Tayler Monroe, Owens's mother. He was born with a condition called truncus arteriosus, where his two main heart arteries were fused together. Doctors say he wouldn't survive the wait for a full heart transplant. His parents reside in Leland and traveled to Duke Hospital for the procedure. (Davis, 9/8)

Also —

USA Today: US Reaches 1 Million Organ Transplant Milestone, As Advances Continue
Friday, the United States is expected to pass another milestone: 1 million solid-organ transplants. Most have been kidneys, followed by livers, hearts and lungs. "To have the ability and the science and the technology to transplant an organ from one person to another so that person has another chance to live is nothing short of a miracle," said Barry Massa, president of the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations. "Without the generosity of people who said yes to being a donor … none of this would have been accomplished." (Weintraub, 9/9)

USA Today: Organ Transplants In The U.S. Are On The Rise. Here Are The Numbers.
More than 40,000 organ transplants are performed each year, an average of 113 a day. Organ transplants in the United States continue to rise because of increases in registered organ donors, new transplant programs, organ preservation, and the number of trained transplant surgeons and physicians. These charts offer a snapshot of the growth. (Borresen, 9/9)

In other news about heart health —

Reuters: FDA Warns Of Potential Clip Lock Issue With Abbott's Heart Valve Repair Device 
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday alerted healthcare providers about a potential clip lock issue with Abbott Laboratories' MitraClip device used to stop heart valve leakage. The medical device treats mitral regurgitation, a condition in which the mitral valve of the heart does not close properly, causing blood leakage that can lead to stroke, heart attack or even death. MitraClip was first approved in 2013. (9/8)

Stat: Data Show Strong Results For Alnylam Therapy For Heart Disease
Detailed data from a successful heart disease study show a therapy developed by Alnylam Pharmaceuticals performed significantly better than placebo, but the magnitude of its benefit will stir debate among cardiologists and investors on what could be a blockbuster medicine. (Garde, 9/8)

The New York Times: Breast Implants May Be Linked To Additional Cancers, F.D.A. Warns 
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday warned women who have breast implants or are considering getting them that certain cancers may develop in scar tissue forming around the implants. The malignancies seem to be rare, but they have been linked to implants of all types, including those with textured and smooth surfaces, and those filled with saline or silicone. (Rabin, 9/8)

The Hill: FDA Issues Safety Alert Over Reports Of Cancer In Scar Tissue Around Breast Implants 
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning for doctors and patients on Thursday after it received reports of people with breast implants being diagnosed with multiple types of cancer. Binita Ashar, the director of the Office of Surgical and Infection Control Devices in the agency’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in a release that the FDA received reports of squamous cell carcinoma and various lymphomas in the capsule or scar tissue near the implants. (Gans, 9/8)

In other pharmaceutical industry news —

The New York Times: FDA Approves Daxxify, A New Anti-Wrinkle Drug
The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug that reduced the appearance of facial wrinkles for about six months, spurring competition in a market that for decades has been dominated by Botox. Revance Therapeutics, the maker of the new treatment, Daxxify, announced the approval on Thursday morning, saying its effects — by injection into the face along worry lines — lasted longer than other products on the market. (Jewett, 9/8)

Reuters: Oxford Malaria Vaccine Data Bodes Well For Effort To Combat Deadly Disease 
Encouraging new data on a malaria vaccine from Oxford University bodes well for global effort to combat the mosquito-borne disease that kills a child every minute, its makers said on Wednesday. After decades of work, the only approved malaria vaccine, Mosquirix, made by British drugmaker GSK (GSK.L), was recently endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO). Oxford’s vaccine, called R21/Matrix-M, is likely more effective than Mosquirix in preventing the disease that kills about 600,000 a year despite roughly $3 billion spent annually on insecticides, bednets and anti-malarial drugs, Oxford scientist Adrian Hill said. (Grover, 9/8)

Stat: Will Pharma Rely On Remote Trials More Than Ever?
Running clinical trials remotely or virtually can provide substantial financial savings for pharmaceutical companies, according to a new pilot study. And the findings may prompt still further use of such techniques, which have been increasingly adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic. (Silverman, 9/8)

Stat: What Disclosure? Clinical Trials Run In Canada Fail To Take Basic Steps Toward Transparency
Amid ongoing controversy over clinical trial transparency, a new analysis found that just 3% of the more than 3,700 studies run exclusively in Canada over a recent 10-year period were registered prospectively, reported results, and published the findings. (Silverman, 9/8)

AP: Mississippi’s Only Burn Center To Close Oct. 14 
Mississippi’s only burn center will close Oct. 14, hospital officials said Thursday. The JMS Burn and Reconstruction Center, located at Merit Health Central in South Jackson, includes 13 burn intensive care patient rooms, 20 burn step down unit patient rooms and a 12-room outpatient clinic. The center cares for both adult and pediatric burn patients on an inpatient and outpatient basis. ... “The COVID-19 pandemic and the challenging staffing and recruitment environment have made it increasingly difficult for us to recruit the breadth of specialists needed to maintain the burn program, which is the primary reason why we’ve made the difficult decision to close.” (9/8)

In other news about staffing and personnel —

AP: Deal Reached With Strikers At 4 Pennsylvania Nursing Homes
Workers at four Pennsylvania nursing homes reached a tentative contract agreement Thursday, nearly a week after going on strike over pay and staffing, the workers’ union said. Terms of the deal with Comprehensive Healthcare were not disclosed pending a ratification vote. Workers could be back on the job as early as Saturday, according to SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania. (9/8)

Becker's Hospital Review: U Of Maryland Medical System Debuts Nursing Program That Puts Students At Patients' Bedside
This fall, the University of Maryland Medical System in Baltimore plans to welcome its first full class of nursing students for a program that puts them at patients' bedside for one 12-hour shift per week. (Carbajal, 9/8)

On the cost of medical care —

AP: Regulators Try To Stop Unlawful Nursing Home Debt Collection 
Nursing homes and debt collectors are flouting a law that prohibits them from requiring friends and family of care home residents to shoulder the costs of the facilities, according to a federal report issued Thursday. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said friends and family members have had to declare bankruptcy, had their wages garnished and their homes repossessed after signing unenforceable contracts called “admission agreements” with nursing facilities. As a result, they have been held liable as third parties for their loved ones’ nursing home stays. (Hussein, 9/8)

KHN: Many Preventive Medical Services Cost Patients Nothing. Will A Texas Court Decision Change That?
A federal judge’s ruling in Texas has thrown into question whether millions of insured Americans will continue to receive some preventive medical services, such as cancer screenings and drugs that protect people from HIV infection, without making a copayment. It’s the latest legal battle over the Affordable Care Act, and Wednesday’s ruling is almost certain to be appealed. (Appleby, 9/9)

KHN: Hospitals Divert Primary Care Patients To Health Center ‘Look-Alikes’ To Boost Finances
A growing number of hospitals are outsourcing often-unprofitable outpatient services for their poorest patients by setting up independent, nonprofit organizations to provide primary care. Medicare and Medicaid pay these clinics, known as federally qualified health center look-alikes, significantly more than they would if the sites were owned by hospitals. (Galewitz, 9/9)

In other health care industry news —

Modern Healthcare: JP Morgan Invests $20M In Digital Health Company
Morgan Health will invest $20 million in digital health firm LetsGetChecked, the companies announced Thursday. LetsGetChecked offers at-home to diagnostic and genetic testing, virtual appointments, and prescription drug delivery. (Berryman, 9/8)

The Baltimore Sun: Johns Hopkins Warns It May Split With CareFirst, Maryland’s Largest Insurer 
Doctors at Johns Hopkins hospitals, surgery centers and community physicians’ offices soon may no longer accept insurance from one of the state’s dominant insurers, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, limiting access to or raising costs for some of the region’s most in-demand medical providers. (Cohn, 9/8)

The Wall Street Journal: Judge Voices Skepticism Of Justice Department’s Antitrust Challenge To UnitedHealth Acquisition
A federal judge grilled the Justice Department on Thursday over its antitrust claims that UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s $13 billion acquisition of health-technology firm Change Healthcare Inc. would suppress competition and limit innovation in health insurance markets. During closing arguments, U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols questioned the department’s arguments that he should block the deal because it would limit competition for technology used in claims processing and would give UnitedHealth access to sensitive industry data that it could use to harm competitors. (Mulvaney, 9/8)

Modern Healthcare: Medicare Fraud In Telehealth Stays Low In Pandemic’s First Year
Federal officials found few instances of fraud in Medicare billing practices for telehealth services during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. There were 1,714 providers out of approximately 742,000 whose billing was deemed "high risk" for Medicare, according to a report released this month by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General. (Hudson, 9/8)

Modern Healthcare: Healthcare Leaders Facing Dozens Of Cyberattacks Annually: Survey
Healthcare leaders say it can cost more than $4 million for an organization to recover from a single cyberattack, according to a new survey. A poll of more than 600 healthcare information-technology and security professionals found 89% of organizations surveyed had experienced at least one cyberattack in the past year. Within that group, organizations on average had 43 attempted cyberattacks during that time period, according to the poll published Thursday by research firm Ponemon. (Kim Cohen, 9/8)

The Washington Post: D.C. Heroin Overdoses Plunge As Fentanyl Use Soars
For decades, it brought fleeting euphoria and permanent loss. It was the basis of commerce in neighborhoods that had lost their foothold in America’s economy and a poison that destroyed those same neighborhoods block by block. It was an addictive salve for the lives it had broken. Now heroin, synonymous with illicit drug use in Mid-Atlantic cities since the 1960s, is close to vanishing from the streets of the nation’s capital. (Jamison, 9/8)

AP: Free Narcan, Drug Test Strips Distributed Throughout W.Va 
Volunteers and public health workers set up shop in parks, churches, post offices and community centers Thursday for the largest event for overdose reversal drug training and distribution in West Virginia’s history. It was the third time the state, which has seen the most opioid overdose deaths per capita out of any other in the U.S., hosted a “Save a Life Day” event. But it was the first time the effort has reached all 55 counties. (Willingham, 9/8)

AL.com: ‘Fentanyl Is In Everything’: After Alabama 15-Year-Old’s Overdose Death, Authorities Target Deadly Opioid 
Mobile County Sheriff Sam Cochran said his agency is prioritizing investigations involving the drug fentanyl amid an increase in overdoses and following the death last week of a 15-year-old girl in Semmes. Cochran also said it is likely that Adrianna Taylor, a student at Mary G. Montgomery High School, and her 17-year-old boyfriend were “unaware” they were ingesting fentanyl – a synthetic opioid that is more powerful than morphine – last Wednesday before she died. (Sharp, 9/8)

On opioid settlements —

Reuters: Insurer Off Hook For Opioid Lawsuits Against Drug Distributor – Ohio Top Court 
Mutual insurance company Acuity does not have to cover a former drug distribution company’s legal costs in 22 lawsuits by cities and counties that have been hard-hit by the opioid epidemic, the Ohio Supreme Court has held. Reversing an appellate court’s ruling, the top court held that Acuity had no duty to defend Masters Pharmaceutical Inc because the local jurisdictions were suing for their own economic losses, not for “damages because of bodily injury” as defined in Acuity’s insurance policies for the company between 2010 and 2018. (Grzincic, 9/8)

AP: Wisconsin Lawmakers Approve Opioid Settlement Spending Plan 
The Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee prioritized funding for Narcan, a drug that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, fentanyl testing strips, new treatment facilities and prevention programs, grants for law enforcement, improving data collection and helping tribes fight the opioid crisis. (Venhuizen, 9/8)

(Chicago) Daily Herald: Spend Opioid Lawsuit Settlement On Programs To Help Kids, State's Attorneys Say
When Illinois starts spending the $760 million it is getting from the nationwide settlement of lawsuits against prescription opioid distributors and a manufacturer, some of that money should be spent helping the youngest victims of the opioid crisis -- babies and toddlers -- some top prosecutors around the state say. "Tragically, children have been hit especially hard by the opioid epidemic," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said Wednesday at a news conference held by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, Illinois chapter. (Keeshan and Sarkauskas, 9/9)

The Washington Post: No September On Record In The West Has Seen A Heat Wave Like This
The heat wave that’s been gripping California and other parts of the West for 10 days and counting is the most severe ever recorded in September, weather experts have said — confirming what California’s governor is calling the “hottest and longest on record” for the month. ... And it’s not yet over — while the region’s heat wave peaked on Tuesday, it’s expected to continue until Saturday, ending after a total of 12 days. (Samenow, 9/9)

USA Today: Heat Waves Are Deadliest Natural Disasters In The US. Here's Why
Heat waves like the one California has been experiencing for the past week are the single most deadly natural disasters the nation faces each year, killing more people than hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, blizzards or extreme cold. "We never think of heat waves as mass casualty events, but they are," said Kristie Ebi, a University of Washington epidemiologist who studies global health and extreme heat events. (Weise, 9/8)

KHN: Children In Northern California Learn To Cope With Wildfire Trauma
Maia and Mia Bravo stepped outside their house on a bright summer day and sensed danger. A hint of smoke from burning wood wafted through their dirt-and-grass yard anchored by native trees. Maia, 17, searched for the source as Mia, 14, reached for the garden hose, then turned on the spigot and doused the perimeter of the property with water. (de Marco, 9/9)

In news from Illinois —

ProPublica: Illinois Governor Calls For Changes After “Awful” Reports Of Abuse At Developmental Center 
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker called patient abuses at the Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in rural Anna “awful” and “deeply concerning,” and he said the future of the facility depends on correcting poor conditions. Pritzker’s comments at a news conference on Tuesday came on the heels of articles published Friday by Capitol News Illinois, Lee Enterprises and ProPublica outlining a history of egregious patient abuses and other employee misconduct at Choate. (Hundsdorfer, Parker and Moore, 9/6)

ProPublica: Illinois Choate Mental Health Center Abuse Allegations Continue 
As Blaine Reichard rose from a breakfast table at the Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in southern Illinois, a worker ordered him to pull up his sagging pants. A 24-year-old man with developmental disabilities, Reichard was accustomed to workers at the state-run residential facility telling him what to do. But this time he didn’t obey. “I’m a gangsta! This is how we do it where I am from!” responded Reichard, who, despite his street-tough defiance, still slept with a teddy bear. Investigators who later came to the scene of the 2014 incident heard various versions of what happened next. (Hundsdorfer and Parker, 9/2)

ProPublica: At a Remote Mental Health Facility, a Culture of Cruelty Persists Despite Decades of Warnings
Over a year ago, the security chief at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in southern Illinois sent an email to the head of the state agency that operates the facility, warning her of dangerous conditions inside. “What I am presently seeing occur at Choate and hearing occur at other facilities concerns me more than it has my entire career,” Barry Smoot, a decades-long IDHS employee, wrote to Illinois Department of Human Services Secretary Grace Hou on May 26, 2021. Among the recommendations he wanted to make: that cameras be installed inside the facility. Hou responded that same day, agreeing to meet. But no meeting took place. (Parker and Hundsdorfer, 9/2)

In other health news from across the U.S. —

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: One North Carolina Apartment Complex Was Responsible For Endless Asthma Attacks. Then The Community Started 'Raising Holy Hell.'
Avalon Trace apartments used to represent one of Greensboro's worst asthma hazards. The 176-unit complex accounted for 20% of the asthma-related emergency room visits from the surrounding Cottage Grove neighborhood. However, the complex’s identity as a health hazard, and its subsequent transformation, stands as a model for addressing health through housing. (Shelbourne, 9/8)

The Washington Post: WSSC Water Warns Against Touching Water In T. Howard Duckett Reservoir 
WSSC Water is advising people who use its T. Howard Duckett Reservoir in Laurel for fishing and boating to not touch the water or eat some parts of fish caught there because of a toxic blue-green algae that can cause serious health problems. The reservoir remains open for recreational use, the utility said. The Triadelphia Reservoir, also along the Patuxent River, has been under a similar health advisory since mid-July. (Shaver, 9/8)

Detroit Free Press: 'Totally Broken': Investigation Reveals Big Flaws In Michigan's Mental Health Oversight
The Free Press interviewed more than 70 experts, family members, recipient rights officers and others for its investigation, and examined thousands of pages of documents, including lawsuits, state and local investigative reports and state licensing reports. It found: The state's 46 community mental health agencies investigate themselves and the caregivers they hire. (Dixon, 9/9)

Dallas Morning News: Hundreds Of Police Officers Have Signed Up For Texas Mental-Health Program, Officials Say
Hundreds of officers in Texas have signed up for a new state program that aims to reduce police suicide and self-harm rates by confidentially pairing law enforcement officers in need with peers trained to address mental-health problems, local and state officials announced Thursday. (Smith, 9/8)

The Atlantic: America’s Fall Booster Plan Has A Fatal Paradox
In terms of both content and timing, the fall shot will be one of the most important COVID vaccines offered to Americans since the initial doses. Since SARS-CoV-2 first collided with the human population nearly three years ago, it’s shape-shifted. The coronavirus is now better at infecting us and is a pretty meh match for the original shots that Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson produced. An updated vaccine should rejuvenate our defenses, prodding our antibody levels to soar and our B cells and T cells to relearn the virus’s visage. (Wu, 8/25)

The New Republic: This Is How Criminalizing Abortion Providers Shatters Families 
Gary Raymond and his mother, Elizabeth, usually wouldn’t sit down at the table for breakfast. It was 1963; he was in seventh grade and usually just grabbed something quick before rushing off to class. When his mom suggested they take a seat, Gary knew that something was wrong. His father, Sherwin, hadn’t come home last night, his mother began, and then handed him the morning copy of their local Bergen Record. “I remember unfolding that and seeing a picture of my father on the front page, top of the front page,” Gary said almost six decades later, now a retired social worker who lives in Washington, D.C. “She said he’d been arrested for performing abortions.” He had no idea what an abortion was. (Herchenroeder, 9/6)

AP: Candy, Cash, Gifts: How Rewards Help Recovery From Addiction 
Harold Lewis has been fighting drug addiction for years, but only recently started thinking recovery could be fun. The 59-year-old former cook earned small prizes — candy, gum, gift cards, sunglasses and headphones — for attending meetings and staying in treatment for opioid addiction during a 12-week program in Bridgeport, Connecticut. “Recovery should be fun because you’re getting your life back,” Lewis said. For an increasing number of Americans, addiction treatment involves not only hard work, but also earning rewards — sometimes totaling $500 — for negative drug tests or showing up for counseling or group meetings. (Johnson, 9/7)

The Washington Post: A Suicidal Son, An Iconic Bridge And The Struggle To Keep People From Jumping
On the morning Cheryl Rogers found her son missing, her mind quickly turned to the bridge. “No, please no,” she thought. “I can’t do this again.” A call from police soon confirmed her fears. A worker had found their family’s van abandoned in the middle of the westbound span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. As authorities moved to tow it, they looked up and saw Rogers’s 37-year-old son standing on a suspension cable over the water. (Wan, 9/7)

The New York Times: The Quiet Cost Of Family Caregiving
At first, Dana Guthrie thought she could help care for her parents, whose health had begun to decline, and still hold onto her job administering a busy dental practice in Plant City, Fla. “It was a great-paying job and I didn’t want to lose it,” Ms. Guthrie, 59, recalled recently. So she tried shifting to a four-day schedule, working evenings to keep up with the office demands, and she began spending a few nights a week at her parents’ home instead of her own nearby. Ultimately, though, her mother’s liver disease progressed and her father was diagnosed with dementia. The family learned that the cost of hiring home aides for two ailing 82-year-olds exceeded even a middle-class retirement income and savings. “They really needed me,” Ms. Guthrie said. In 2016, she left her job “and moved in full time.” (Span, 9/4)

The Wall Street Journal: Three Findings That Changed The Way We Think About Sex 
Alfred Kinsey, the famed sexologist, founded the organization in 1947. He’d started studying human sexuality years earlier, when the university asked him to teach a course on marriage and family. To prepare, he looked for scientific research on human sexual behavior. Finding little, he conducted his own, and in the process changed the way we think about our sex lives. (Bernstein, 9/7)

The Boston Globe's Spotlight: A Celebrated New Hampshire Surgeon Set A Record For Malpractice Settlements
From the day he first stepped into the hospital, Dr. Yvon Baribeau had the makings of a star. In the operating rooms at Catholic Medical Center, where he started working three decades ago, he was a forceful presence — tall, self-assured, ambitious, tireless, a cardiac specialist who relished the toughest cases and was gifted, peers noted, with “natural” hands that moved swiftly and smoothly through long hours of surgery. (Ostriker, Fernandes, Kowalczyk, Saltzman and Wen, 9/7)

The Boston Globe's Spotlight: Alarmed Doctors At Catholic Medical Center Tried To Get Dr. Baribeau Barred From Surgery. Hospital Leaders Resisted. 
Alarmed doctors at Manchester's Catholic Medical Center tried to get a troubled colleague barred from surgery. But hospital leaders resisted. Then came the "summer of death." (Fernandes, Kowalczyk, Ostriker and Saltzman, 9/8)

Also —

The Washington Post: The Logistics Of Death Can Be Overwhelming. New Apps Can Offer Help
What do you do after someone dies? Most people expect to deal with intense grief, but they might not realize how many logistical details arise after a death. Those tasks can feel overwhelming: deciding who to call, learning where to get death certificates, planning memorials and navigating finances. ... Now, new apps and websites with names such as Cake, Lantern and Empathy exist to help people navigate the tumult and confusion after a loss, offering tools that range from organized checklists for the early days of funeral planning to resources for later concerns such as closing a deceased person’s credit card account or finding a home for the deceased person’s pet. (Laurenzi, 9/4)

Fortune: 7 Tips For Getting More Out Of Your iPhone’s Health App
From analyzing your sleep patterns to monitoring an aging parent’s steadiness, your iPhone’s health app can be a valuable way to track and share important health information. Apple’s highly customizable app allows you to pick and choose which health categories are most important to you and, in some cases, prompt you to make various lifestyle choices. Here’s a closer look at how to use some of the best features of the health app. (Mikhail, 9/5)

The Wall Street Journal: The Los Angeles Rams Have A Secret Weapon: Keeping Players Healthy 
In a violent sport notorious for injuries, the Rams have outpaced their competition in a crucial category: keeping their players healthy. The team has tackled one of football’s thorniest issues by not approaching it as a strict medical problem. The Rams try to solve it with data. It has paid off to the tune of a Lombardi Trophy. In a sport where injuries seem completely random, the Rams have been in the top five in avoiding missed games due to them—for five straight years. (Beaton, 9/7)

The New York Times: A ‘Period Dignity Officer’ Seemed Like A Good Idea. Until A Man Was Named
Scotland gained worldwide praise when it passed a pioneering period act, making tampons and pads free by law and instructing schools to make them available in every building. One region even instituted a “period dignity officer.” Then the role was given to a man. The appointment of Jason Grant, a former personal trainer, as the coordinator of the menstruation dignity plan in Scotland’s Tayside region, north of Edinburgh, led to bewilderment and widespread criticism. On Monday, the role was scrapped. (Bubola, 9/6)

Los Angeles Times: How Helpful Will The New COVID Booster Really Be? 
Last week, the Food and Drug Administration approved Omicron-specific vaccines and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention followed, recommending updated boosters for everyone age 12 and up who has gotten at least two doses of the original COVID vaccines. The message to a nation still struggling with the pandemic: The cavalry — in the form of a shot — is coming over the hill. (Celine Gounder and Elisabeth Rosenthal, 9/9)

The New York Times: The Exceptionally American Experience Of Selling My Plasma
Plasma is a physical manifestation of the body’s ability to bounce back. Albumin, immunoglobulins and fibrinogen, some of the key components of plasma, perform essential functions including transporting hormones, enzymes and vitamins, defending the body from infections, and controlling bleeding. Plasma therapies have many uses, among them helping high-risk patients weather illnesses like avian flu and Covid-19. (Vanessa Veselka, 9/9)

Stat: Health Care's Shift From Covenant To Commodity 
Norman Rockwell’s 1939 painting “When the Doctor Treats Your Child” depicts a family doctor with a stethoscope around his neck scribbling a prescription in front of three children, one sitting on his mother’s lap. The painting evokes the health care covenant: one doctor responsible for the family as well as for the community, whose professional ethics required unfaltering dedication to their patient’s well-being. (Peter A. Bonis, 9/9)

The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer: How Early Detection Of Prostate Cancer Saved My Life -- And Could Save Yours: Justice B. Hill 
It was frightful news, because I had been so conscientious about my annual physical exams. I started getting them at 32 when I lived in Detroit. I had no particular reason to do so, and I knew no other Black men who scheduled physicals on the regular. (Justice B. Hill, 9/9)

The Boston Globe: Woke Medicine Doesn’t Mean Worse Medicine 
Since my very first patient encounters at Harvard Medical School, I’ve seen how social inequity can limit the extent of medicine’s healing. I’ve seen patients forgo brain imaging due to financial challenges and defer a colonoscopy because of lack of transportation. I’ve seen patients’ health — and my ability to support these patients — deteriorate under the pressure of towering structural barriers. (LaShyra Nolen, 9/9)

Scientific American: It's Time To Rethink The Origins Of Pain 
Every person who has ever felt pain has their origin story, and I certainly have mine. While performing a bench press more than a decade ago when I was in medical school, I heard a loud click and felt my whole body go limp, and the weights came crashing down. As pain gripped my entire body in a vise, I was rushed to emergency room where I got intravenous painkillers and was told the pain would eventually disappear. (Haider Warraich, 9/8)

Columbus Dispatch: Patients Need Transparency, Accuracy In Healthcare Prices
Back in July, federal regulators began requiring that health insurers disclose their prices for the services they cover both in- and out-of-network. The idea is to help health care consumers better understand what their co-pays and liabilities may be depending on where they go for care. (Arielle Kane, 9/9)