CNN: After Roe V. Wade Overturned, Travel Time To Abortion Facilities Grew Significantly
The average travel time to an abortion facility increased significantly for women in the United States after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and revoked the federal right to an abortion, according to a new study published Tuesday in JAMA. More than a dozen states enacted complete or partial bans on abortion after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling, and researchers considered abortion facilities in those states to be inactive – cutting the number of active facilities by a tenth. (McPhillips, 11/1)

NBC News: Effects Of Supreme Court Abortion Ruling: Longer Travel Time, More Requests For Pills
One of the newly published studies showed that it took people 100 minutes, on average, to travel to abortion facilities in September, compared to an average of 30 minutes before the Dobbs decision. The share of women of reproductive age who lived more than an hour away from an abortion facility rose from 15% to 33%. (Bendix, 11/1)

In related news from Ohio —

Columbus Dispatch: Ohio's Six-Week Ban Led To 65% Drop In Abortions
Abortions in Ohio dropped by 65% in the months after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and the state imposed a six-week abortion ban, according to a new report. (Balmert, 11/1)

On the Missouri investigation —

Missouri Independent: Missouri Says Feds Initiated Investigation Of Joplin Hospital That Denied Emergency Abortion 
The federal government, not state political leaders, initiated an investigation of the care Freeman Health Services in Joplin provided after a denying a woman an emergency abortion, a Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services spokeswoman said Monday. (Keller, 11/1)

KHN: Hospital Investigated For Allegedly Denying An Emergency Abortion After Patient’s Water Broke
The federal government has launched its first confirmed investigation of an alleged denial of an abortion to a woman experiencing a medical emergency. In late October, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services opened an investigation at Freeman Hospital West in Joplin, Missouri, under the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, department spokesperson Lisa Cox told KHN. It was authorized by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which contracts with state agencies to conduct EMTALA surveys. (Meyer, 11/1)

How abortion is affecting the midterm elections —

Stat: Senate Race Shows How Hard It Is To Run On Abortion In The Heartland
If any Senate race should be a referendum on abortion access it’s the one in Missouri. The Republican official running to represent the Show Me State, Eric Schmitt, used his previous post as Missouri’s attorney general to ban all abortions in the state even in cases of rape and incest, just minutes after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Missouri was the first state to enact its so-called trigger law. (Florko, 11/2)

Anchorage Daily News: How Abortion Is Shaping Alaska’s Statewide Campaigns
At a recent event with supporters in Soldotna, former Gov. Sarah Palin told the crowd that she is “100% pro-life.” Her view — that abortions should be banned, including when the pregnancy is the result of rape — goes against that of a majority of Alaskans, according to public opinion polling. (Samuels, 11/1)

Axios: Study: Requests For Mail-Order Abortion Pills Surged After Roe Reversal
Requests for self-managed abortions via pills increased in 30 states following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, with the largest surges seen in states with total or near-total bans on abortion, according to a new study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. (Chen, 11/1)

Stat: Online Requests For Medication Abortions Spiked After The Dobbs Decision
Before the Dobbs decision leaked, Aid Access got about 83 requests each day on average, and that rate jumped to 214 requests a day after the Supreme Court issued its decision. About one-third of women in states with total abortion bans cited “current abortion restrictions” as their reason for requesting abortion pills before the leak. After, nearly two-thirds said state restrictions were why they’d reached out. The researchers saw a similar shift in states with six-week bans. (Williamson-Lee, 11/1)

Houston Chronicle: Texas Mail-Order Abortion Requests Nearly Doubled After Bans
Texas saw the sixth highest jump in weekly requests among states reviewed, according to the study, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The state is among a handful that now prohibit abortions in almost all cases, following the court's decision to roll back federal abortion protections. (Blackman, 11/1)

Politico: State Abortion Bans Prove Easy To Evade 
Abigail Aiken, associate professor at the University of Texas School of Public Policy, who wrote the research letter, said that the findings are consistent with her past work, which showed that abortion restrictions lead people to figure out how to get abortions despite the legal risks. “Those who self-manage may have more financial hardship or live in rural areas,” said Aiken. (Reader, 11/1)

In related news about abortion pills —

KUNC: How One Unmarked Van Is Quietly Delivering Abortion Pills On Colorado’s Border
As abortion becomes more restricted across the country, a non-descript mobile clinic is operating on Colorado’s border, where women from out-of-state can go to pick up medications themselves. (Paterson, 11/1)

AP: Strong RSV Vaccine Data Lifts Hopes After Years Of Futility 
A tragedy in the 1960s set back the whole field. Using the approach that led to the first polio vaccine, scientists made an experimental RSV vaccine by growing the virus in a lab and killing it. But testing in children found not only was the vaccine not protective, youngsters who caught RSV after vaccination fared worse. Two died. “For a period of 20 years, even though science was advancing, nobody wanted to go near development of an RSV vaccine,” Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University. Even today’s modern RSV vaccine candidates were tested first in older adults, not children, he noted. (Neergaard, 11/1)

USA Today: RSV Vaccines Are 'Long Overdue,' But Here's Why That Could Soon Change
Preventing that first serious respiratory infection might also pay off later in life, said Dr. Alejandra Gurtman, vice president of vaccine R&D for Pfizer. "If you're able to avoid that damage that you have from the first infection, you may be able to have healthier lungs," potentially avoiding problems like asthma later on, she said. (Weintraub, 11/2)

The New York Times: Scientists Are Gaining On RSV, A Persistent Threat To Children
Of the three respiratory viruses Americans are grappling with this winter, two — the coronavirus and the flu — are well-known threats. The third, respiratory syncytial virus, which already has sent thousands of children to hospitals, is a mystery to many. “It is, unfortunately, one of those large killers that nobody knows about,” said Dr. Keith Klugman, who directs the pneumonia program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. (Mandavilli, 11/1)

More on the spread of RSV —

The Atlantic: The Worst Pediatric-Care Crisis In Decades
At Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, in Maryland, staff has pitched a tent outside the emergency department to accommodate overflow; Connecticut Children’s Hospital mulled calling in the National Guard. It’s already the largest surge of infectious illnesses that some pediatricians have seen in their decades-long careers, and many worry that the worst is yet to come. (Wu, 10/31)

San Francisco Chronicle: Orange County Declares Health Emergency Due To Viruses
A health emergency has been declared in Southern California’s Orange County due to rapidly spreading viral infections that are sending more children to the hospital, health officials said Tuesday. (Vaziri, Buchmann and Asimov, 11/1)

New Hampshire Public Radio: NH Hospitals See Rise In RSV Infections Among Children 
New Hampshire hospitals are seeing an early increase in cases of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, this year. The cold-like infection is mild for most people but sometimes causes more severe respiratory illness in infants and very young children. (Cuno-Booth, 11/1)

NPR: RSV Is Surging. Here's What To Watch For And Answers About Treatment Options
Very young children born just before or during the pandemic did not benefit from regular or early exposure to common viruses, including RSV, which would have helped build up an immunity. (Romo, 11/2)

In related news —

The Boston Globe: Hate Needles? Flu Vaccines Of The Future Could Be Skin Patches Delivered To Your Door
On Wednesday, Vaxess announced that it raised $27 million in series B funding led by the Boston biotech investor RA Capital Management. The money helped the company finally begin the first clinical trial of its technology in August. Results from the 45-person study of a flu vaccine patch are expected by the end of the year. (Cross, 11/2)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Updates Medicare Shared Savings Program To Encourage ACOs
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will invest in rural and underserved accountable care organizations and introduce more flexibility to the Medicare Shared Savings Program with the aim of kickstarting stalled enrollment and bridging health equity gaps. (Tepper, 11/1)

Axios: An Overhaul For Medicare's Pay Transformation Program
The Biden administration is trying to jump start a Medicare program that pays health providers based on patient outcomes rather than by how many services they perform. The alternative payment effort was created through the Affordable Care Act, but participation has plateaued since 2018 amid waning interest from providers. The Biden administration finalized an overhaul of the initiative, known as the Medicare Shared Savings Program, on Tuesday. (Goldman, 11/2)

More on health care costs and insurance —

Axios: Providers, Insurers And Employers Will All Face Health Care Inflation Costs
Employers, patients or taxpayers could be on the hook for hundreds of billions of dollars in additional health spending if providers and insurers successfully shift those inflation-driven costs, according to a recent McKinsey analysis. (Owens, 11/2)

Axios: Congress May Face A Reckoning On Health Care Costs
All signs point to a crushing surge in health care costs for patients and employers next year — and that means health care industry groups are about to brawl over who pays the price. (Owens, 11/2)

Modern Healthcare: Insurer Price Transparency Data Vex Developers
Alec Stein wanted to organize independent software developers to pour through health insurance data to determine what companies were paying to specific providers for particular services. Stein, a data bounty administrator at software company Dolthub, quickly ran into problems. (Tepper, 11/1)

AP: EXPLAINER: How To Navigate Affordable Care Act Enrollment 
The vast majority of Americans will find multiple options for health insurance coverage for 2023 on HealthCare.gov after open enrollment began Tuesday under the Affordable Care Act. People searching for plans on the government marketplace should consider their budget, health, doctors and a variety of other factors before picking a plan. (Lewis and Seitz, 11/1)

Modern Healthcare: Health Insurance Markets Lack Competition, AMA Reports
Large health insurance companies dominated the commercial and Medicare Advantage markets in 2021, with consolidation shrinking competition and inflating premiums, the American Medical Association reports in a study published Tuesday. (Tepper, 11/1)

Becker's Hospital Review: FDA Warns Of Tracheostomy Tube Shortage
There is a national shortage of tracheostomy tubes ... and the dearth is more likely to affect pediatric patients because there are few alternative products, the FDA said Oct. 31. ... The FDA tapped HHS' Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response to help manufacturers secure more raw materials and boost the product's supply. (Twenter, 11/1)

The FDA has recommended reusing the tubes —

Reuse Tracheostomy Tubes or Switch to Appropriate Alternatives During Shortage: FDA Safety Communication

In other pharmaceutical news —

NPR: Does Beta-Amyloid Cause Alzheimer's, Or Is Something Else To Blame?
Scientists are launching a study designed to make or break the hypothesis that Alzheimer's is caused by a sticky substance called beta-amyloid. The study will give an experimental anti-amyloid drug to people as young as 18 who have gene mutations that often cause Alzheimer's to appear in their 30s or 40s. (Hamilton, 11/1)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Drones Carrying Defibrillators Could Aid In Heart Emergencies
Autonomous flying drones could deliver life-saving defibrillators to people experiencing cardiac arrest, says a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor who’s been involved in the research. (Barrett, 10/31)

Axios: Experts: Anesthesia Use Disparities Could Negatively Impact Black Maternal Health
New research showing racial disparities in regional anesthesia use has major implications for Black women — especially in pregnancy and childbirth, medical experts and reproductive health advocates tell Axios. (Chen, 11/1)

Reuters: Walmart Escapes Class Action Over 'Non-Drowsy' Cough Syrup Claim
Walmart Inc has escaped a proposed class action lawsuit accusing it of falsely marketing store-brand cough syrup as "non-drowsy." U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan ruled Friday that plaintiff Aileen Goldstein's claims for economic damages were blocked by federal drug law, and that she had no standing to ask for a court order against Walmart's marketing because she was not likely to be injured by it in the future. (Pierson, 10/31)

In updates on the opioid crisis —

CNN: Opioid Settlement: CVS, Walgreens And Walmart Reach A Tentative $12 Billion Deal
Three major retailers – CVS, Walgreens and Walmart – have tentatively agreed to pay at least $12 billion to settle a number of lawsuits brought by states and local governments alleging the retailers mishandled prescriptions of opioid painkillers, according to reports from Bloomberg and Reuters. (Nottingham, 11/2)

Bloomberg: Nonaddictive Painkiller Development Sees Promise From Vertex
When it comes to alleviating pain, nothing beats opioids, which have been used for thousands of years to replace discomfort with euphoria. Users can easily get hooked, however, particularly with lab-made versions such as fentanyl. (Peebles, 11/1)

The Washington Post: Mehmet Oz’s Medical Research Was Rejected In 2003, Resulting In 2-Year Ban
In May 2003, Mehmet Oz was the senior author on a study that explored a hot topic at the time: Whether heart bypass surgery conducted with the aid of a heart-lung machine impaired a patient’s cognitive function more than surgery conducted without the machine. Oz’s research was scheduled to lead off the scientific session of the 83rd annual American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) conference, according to a program from the event, where physicians in that specialty convene to discuss developments in their field. But Oz was forced to withdraw his work and was banned from presenting research to the organization for the next two years, according to seven people familiar with the events, whose account of his ban was confirmed by the Oz campaign. Oz is now the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania. (Bernstein and Itkowitz, 11/1)

In other health care industry news —

Becker's Hospital Review: Union Plans Rally After Strike By 15,000 Minnesota Nurses
Members of the Minnesota Nurses Association plan to rally in downtown Minneapolis Nov. 2 to raise awareness about what they say is hospital executives' refusal to address their concerns during contract bargaining. (11/1)

Becker's Hospital Review: Physicians Want To Keep Up, They Just Don't Have The Time: Report
Physicians overwhelmingly want to keep up with new clinical data to improve experiences for them and their patients, a Doximity report found. The problem is they are often too overwhelmed to do so effectively. Citing data from the Journal of General Internal Medicine, the report noted that physicians would have to perform clinical work almost 27 hours a day to provide guideline-recommended care.  (11/1)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Worry For City’s Health Surrounds Loss Of Atlanta Medical Center
Hours after Atlanta Medical Center closed its doors at midnight Monday, some state and city leaders and community members gathered to lament the loss of the hospital. (Thomas, 11/1)

CNN: FDA Panel Examines Evidence That Pulse Oximeters May Not Work As Well On Dark Skin
A panel of the US Food and Drug Administration’s Medical Devices Advisory Committee met Tuesday to review clinical data about the accuracy of pulse oximetry in patients with darker skin and to discuss recommendations on using these devices on people with dark skin tones and whether they should have labels – such as a black box warning – noting that inaccurate readings may be associated with skin color. (Howard, 11/1)

More on the spread of covid —

AP: Education Secretary Tests Positive For COVID-19
President Joe Biden’s education secretary has tested positive for COVID-19. Miguel Cardona, who has been vaccinated and boosted against the virus, tested positive Tuesday and has mild symptoms, the Education Department said in a statement. (11/1)

CIDRAP: Study: US Political Divide May Help Explain Shrinking Racial COVID Death Gap 
New evidence suggests that the shrinking gap in US COVID-19 racial death disparities is being driven by political division and increasing total deaths—mostly among White people—rather than by decreasing deaths among Black Americans, according to a new study published in PLOS One. (Van Beusekom, 11/1)

Los Angeles Times: How L.A.'s Sprawl Fueled COVID Deaths
Having so many people in such tight quarters has had deadly consequences for the people who live there. The neighborhood’s COVID-19 mortality rate — 825 per 100,000 residents — is the second highest in the county. (The top spot belongs to Little Armenia, where there have been 1,172 deaths per 100,000 residents.) (Kaplan, 11/1)

Des Moines Register: Iowa School Mask Mandate Ban Must Yield To ADA, Federal Judge Rules
Iowa school districts must consider medically sensitive students' requests to require mask wearing of those around them, notwithstanding a state law that banned school mask mandates, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. (Morris, 11/1)

In news about other outbreaks and health threats —

CIDRAP: WHO Keeps Monkeypox Public Health Emergency In Place
The World Health Organization (WHO) monkeypox emergency committee met for the third time on Oct 20 to discuss the latest developments, concluding that the situation still warrants a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).In a statement today on their deliberations, the group said progress has been made, such as behavioral interventions and increasing vaccine uptake. However, they raised concerns about ongoing transmission in some regions, health inequities in a number of countries, and impacts on vulnerable populations, especially in those with HIV and in countries with weak health systems. (11/1)

NBC News: CDC Warns Of Bacteria In Dental Waterlines After Disease Outbreaks In Children
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday issued a health advisory about waterborne bacteria in dental plumbing systems after children who visited pediatric dental clinics were infected with nontuberculous Mycobacteria. (Alsharif, 11/1)

The Boston Globe: Active Case Of Tuberculosis Confirmed At Dartmouth College, Officials Say 
New Hampshire health officials have identified an active case of tuberculosis at Dartmouth College, according to a community advisory issued Monday by the Ivy League school. The statement did not say if the person diagnosed is a student or staff member. (Fonseca, 11/1)

On malaria treatments and dengue fever vaccines —

CIDRAP: Monoclonal Antibody Infusion 88% Effective Against Malaria 
Yesterday the New England Journal of Medicine published the results of a phase 2 trial showing 88% efficacy for a monoclonal antibody against malaria. The antibody infusion, CIS43LS, was protective against Plasmodium falciparum infection over a 6-month malaria season in Mali without evident safety concerns, with participants performing blood-smear tests every 2 weeks during the phase 2 trial. (Soucheray, 11/1)

Bloomberg: Takeda Dengue Fever Vaccine Had Bumpy Path To Market
After decades of delays, the first vaccine for dengue fever was introduced seven years ago. But that formula, from Sanofi, was soon found to be suitable only for people who had previously been infected with the disease, spurring researchers at Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. to redouble efforts on an alternative. That work is finally paying off, with their version expected to hit the market early next year. (Matsuyama, 11/2)

CNN: 1 In 5 Deaths Of US Adults 20 To 49 Is From Excessive Drinking, Study Shows
A beer, glass of wine or cocktail may feel so common place that you don’t even think about pouring another, but a new study suggested it may be important for everyone to be mindful of their alcohol use. An estimated 1 in 5 deaths of people ages 20 to 49 were attributable to excessive alcohol use in the United States, according to the study published Tuesday in JAMA Network Open. (Holcombe, 11/1)

The New York Times: Alcohol Deaths Claim Lives Of Working-Age Americans 
An estimated one in eight deaths of Americans ages 20 to 64 in the years 2015-19 was the result of injuries or illness caused by excessive alcohol use, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study, published on Tuesday in the journal JAMA Network Open, assessed the effects of alcohol on people of working age, who accounted for nearly two-thirds of the country’s annual average of 140,000 alcohol-related deaths. (Alcorn, 11/1)

In other health and wellness news —

The Washington Post: Why Daylight Saving Time Is Worse For Your Body Than Standard Time 
Within days, 48 states and the District of Columbia will reset their clocks and fall back into standard time. From a health standpoint, most sleep and circadian experts say we should stay there. Experts say early-morning sunlight is key to maintaining our circadian rhythms, sleep-wake cycles and overall health. Phyllis Zee, a neurologist and chief of sleep medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said without that sunlight, we can slip into circadian misalignment — “when your internal body clocks fall out of sync with that of the sun clock and your social clocks.” (Steckelberg and Bever, 11/2)

The Washington Post: Just 11 Extra Pounds Can Ruin Healthy Knees 
Gaining even a small amount of weight may not only damage your knees — leading to pain, stiffness and mobility issues — but also increase your odds of needing knee replacement surgery, according to research presented last month at the International Congress on Obesity. (Searing, 11/1)

CNN: High Blood Pressure Went Up Even More Early In The Pandemic, Study Finds
People in the US with high blood pressure saw their levels rise during the first eight months of the Covid-19 pandemic, a new study says. ... Heart disease is the No. 1 killer in the world, and well-controlled blood pressure is the leading modifiable risk factor, according to the researchers on the new study, published Tuesday in the journal Hypertension. (Christensen, 11/1)

Fox News: A Stressful Marriage May Harm Your Heart Health, Study Finds
There may be a link between distress in marriage and a poorer outcome after a heart attack for people who are under 55, according to a new study. "Our findings support that stress experienced in one’s everyday life, such as marital stress, may impact young adults’ recovery after a heart attack," said the study's lead author, Cenjing Zhu, in a press release published on Monday, Oct. 31, announcing the results. (Rousselle, 11/1)

Axios: The Latina Taking On The Hispanic Oral Health Crisis
Research shows Latino adults are the least likely of any racial or ethnic group to seek dental care, but dental hygienist Amber Lovatos is on a mission to change that. (Moreno, 11/1)

The Washington Post: Aerosol Hair Products Tainted By Benzene May Still Be On Store Shelves 
It’s not clear how widespread the problem is, and the major companies involved have refused to answer questions or provide additional details. ... On Tuesday, the news got worse. Valisure, an independent lab in New Haven, Conn., published a new analysis testing 148 batches of dry shampoo products from 34 different brands, and found that 70 percent contained benzene. The highest level of benzene detected was 340 parts per million in 10 seconds of spray. By comparison the Food and Drug Administration has said that the acceptable level of benzene in a drug is two parts per million. (Amenabar, 11/1)

Stat: What Does Musk's Twitter Takeover Mean For Health Misinformation?
In the years since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, many health care professionals have turned to Twitter as a way to share news and advice about public health. But Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, which closed last week, is raising concerns that the self-described “free speech absolutist” could change the social-media platform in ways that promote, rather than curb, the spread of mis- and disinformation. (Trang, 11/1)

The Texas Tribune: More Texas Data On Pregnancy And Childbirth Complications Needed
Significant health issues related to pregnancy or childbirth have increased in Texas in recent years, with Black women continuing to outpace all other groups, according to data obtained by state Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin. This data offers a preliminary snapshot of the state of maternal mortality and morbidity in Texas, two months after the state failed to publish a statutorily required report on the subject. (Klibanoff, 11/1)

Houston Chronicle: Data Shows Rising Risk For Black Mothers As State Delays Study
The rate of life-threatening hemorrhaging among Black women during childbirth in Texas increased through 2020, as the rate for all other demographic groups dropped, according to data obtained by a Democratic lawmaker. (Blackman and Gill, 11/1)

Dallas Morning News: Advocates Demand Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Release Overdue Maternal Mortality Report
Gov. Greg Abbott must quickly release an overdue report on maternal mortality to prevent more pregnancy-related deaths, Democratic lawmakers and health advocates urged on Tuesday. By law, the report was supposed to come out by Sept. 1. But the Texas Department of State Health Services pushed off publication until next year, saying more time was needed to review the maternal deaths. (Morris, 11/1)

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

North Carolina Health News: NC's Low-Performing Nursing Homes To Get More Federal Scrutiny
Too often, frail and mostly older people in poor-performing skilled nursing facilities end up in unnecessary pain or distress. The White House recently announced that federal regulators will be taking a harder line in dealing with the country’s poorest performing nursing homes.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: No ‘Magic’ Mushrooms For Missouri’s Troubled Vets, Legislative Panel Says
A special legislative panel has rejected calls to legalize the use of psychedelic drugs to address a suicide crisis among military veterans in Missouri. Following two hearings this summer, the eight-member House Interim Committee on Veterans Mental Health and Suicide did not recommend making plant-based drugs like psilocybin mushrooms available to certain people facing mental health crises. (Erickson, 11/1)

The Boston Globe: Grassroots Organizations Are Crucial To Closing Health Literacy Gaps In Immigrant Communities, Report Finds
When COVID-19 vaccinations began to roll out in early 2021, it finally seemed as if there were a light at the end of the tunnel. But many immigrant communities in Boston and across the state remained in the dark as they faced misinformation and language barriers to the resources they needed to stay healthy during the pandemic. (Mogg, 11/1)

KHN: Cash For Colonoscopies: Colorado Tries To Lower Health Costs Through Incentives 
State employees in Colorado are being asked to be better consumers when shopping for health care services. And if they choose lower-cost and higher-quality providers, they could get a check in the mail for a portion of the savings. It’s part of an initiative known as the Colorado Purchasing Alliance, through which employers in the state are banding together to negotiate lower prices for health care services. The state government is one of 12 employers that have agreed to join the alliance and will be the first to use the newly negotiated rates and consumer incentives. (Hawryluk, 11/2)

KHN: Hurricane Ian’s Deadly Impact On Florida Seniors Exposes Need For New Preparation Strategies
All kinds of natural disasters — hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, wildfires, dangerous heat waves — pose substantial risks to older adults. Yet, not enough seniors prepare for these events in advance, and efforts to encourage them to do so have been largely unsuccessful. The most recent horrific example was Hurricane Ian, the massive storm that in September smashed into Florida’s southwestern coast — a haven for retirees — with winds up to 150 mph and storm surges exceeding 12 feet in some areas. At least 120 people died, most of them in Florida. Of those who perished, two-thirds were 60 or older. Many reportedly drowned and were found in their homes. (Graham, 11/2)

CIDRAP: Racial Disparities In COVID Drug Prescribing Persistent But Lessening 
The drugs included the oral antiviral drugs nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (Paxlovid) and molnupiravir (Lagevrio), the intravenous antiviral remdesivir (Veklury), and the monoclonal antibody bebtelovimab. (Van Beusekom, 10/28)

San Diego Union-Tribune: The COVID Boomerang. Study Finds Symptoms Recur More Often In Those Who Took Drug To Ease Illness 
You’ve been free of COVID-19 symptoms for two days. Then the coughing, fatigue and headaches return. Join the growing number of people experiencing what’s being called COVID rebound. (Sisson, 10/31)

Also —

FiercePharma: Scarcity Of Ingredients Will Amplify Drug Shortages, Expert Says
Last year, vials of the decades-old chemotherapy drug fludarabine could be purchased for a wholesale price of around $110. Not so much anymore. (Dunleavy, 11/1)

Reuters: U.S. FDA Classifies Recall Of Teleflex's Respiratory Filters As Most Serious
U.S. health regulators on Tuesday classified the recall of Teleflex Inc's Iso-Gard filter S, a medical device to protect patients from potential airborne contaminants, as most serious, saying its use could lead to injuries or death. (11/1)

CBS News: How An Experimental Treatment Beat A Little Girl's Cancer 
Emily Whitehead has a secret weapon: "My T-cells, part of my immune system, were trained to fight and kill my cancer. "She was only six when she became the first child ever to receive genetically-modified T cells. The experimental treatment cured her leukemia, and the success of her case has allowed all kinds of cellular therapies to be developed. "Kind of made me feel like a superhero or something," she laughed. (10/30)

NBC News: Novel Leukemia Therapy Aims To Treat Sick Kids Before Time Runs Out
A decade ago, CAR T cell therapy changed the world of cancer treatment, offering a personalized approach to patients with blood cancers like leukemia. But getting that specialized treatment to patients is costly and time consuming. It can take up to two months to harvest a patient's T cells and reprogram them into cancer-fighters — a nonstarter for many young patients with aggressive cancer. (Edwards, 10/30)

ScienceDaily: Popular Pharmaceutical Target In Cells May Prove Even More Useful
Researchers have identified a new signaling process involving G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), a cellular target already exploited by hundreds of diverse drugs. The discovery opens the possibility of new therapies, including for multiple forms of cancer. (University of California - San Diego, 10/26)

ScienceDaily: Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy With Relatlimab And Nivolumab Is Safe And Effective In Stage III Melanoma
Giving the combination of immune checkpoint inhibitors relatlimab and nivolumab to patients with stage III melanoma before surgery was safe and completely cleared all viable tumor in 57% of patients in a Phase II study, researchers report. (University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, 10/26)

Stat: Biopharma Innovation Must Harness Its Covid-19 Strategies 
The pandemic is a prime case study of what can be accomplished when science delivers. The pharmaceutical and biotech industry harnessed new technologies, collaborated in new ways, and worked at an accelerated pace to help prevent infections with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, and treat those who got the disease. (Paul Hudson, 11/1)

Stat: Practice Barriers Thwart Wider Use Of Personalized Medicine 
The promise of personalized medicine — safer and more effective treatments tailored to each individual’s body and needs — isn’t being fully met because of challenges associated with its implementation in clinical practice. (Daryl Pritchard and Susanne Munksted, 10/31)

New England Journal of Medicine: Monoclonal Antibodies Against Malaria 
Kayentao et al. now report in the Journal the results of a phase 2 clinical trial in Mali in which they assessed the safety and efficacy of CIS43LS, a monoclonal antibody against the sporozoites of Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest type of malaria. (Umberto D'Alessandro, M.D., Ph.D., 10/31)

The Washington Post: Rahul Gupta On Fentanyl And The Nightmare Of Synthetic Drugs 
In this Washington Post Live conversation from Oct. 26, Rahul Gupta, the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, discusses harm-reduction programs and treatment for people addicted to substances, the evolution of overdoses in the United States and the nightmare synthetic drugs are inflicting across the country. (Jonathan Capehart, 11/1)

Bloomberg: RSV Vaccine: Pfizer's Shot Succeeds Where Others Failed
As parents worry over the cases of RSV filling up pediatric hospitals in the US, finally some good news: Vaccines that protect newborns from the virus could be ready in time for next year’s season. (Lisa Jarvis, 11/1)

The Atlantic: The Pandemic Spurred A Major Baby Bump 
The surprise baby bump is worth celebrating, and worth studying to see if it contains any lessons for increasing fertility rates in the long run. (Jerusalem Demas, 11/2)

Stat: Give Americans The Right To Save On Health Care 
Dani Yuengling, a 35-year-old South Carolinian, had a family history of fatal breast cancer. So when she noticed a lump in one of her breasts, she immediately made an appointment to see her doctor. Though her biopsy was covered by insurance, she still had to pay $5,169 out of her own pocket. If she hadn’t used her insurance, Yuengling would have saved $3,000. (Jonathan Wolfson and Josh Archambault, 11/2)

Stat: Excluding Race From Med School Admission Would Harm Health Care
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Monday in two cases that could eliminate race as a factor in university’s admissions processes...Should the court overturn its earlier ruling, the implications would be felt broadly across all sectors of society — including the health care system. (Lee Jones, 11/1)