San Francisco Chronicle: One COVID-19 Bivalent Booster Is Enough For Now, CDC Finally Decides
There is finally clarity for Americans wondering whether it’s time to get another COVID-19 booster shot. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidelines on Monday emphatically stating that one updated dose is sufficient, even for individuals who received their last vaccination more than six months ago. (Vaziri, 3/28)

New recommendations from WHO seem to suggest otherwise —

Reuters: WHO Revises COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations For Omicron-Era 
The World Health Organization has tailored its COVID-19 vaccination recommendations for a new phase of the pandemic, suggesting that healthy children and adolescents may not necessarily need a shot but older, high-risk groups should get a booster between 6 to 12 months after their last vaccine. (3/28)

Stat: WHO Panel: Focus Covid Booster Campaigns On High-Risk People
The group went so far as to suggest countries could also choose to forgo offering a primary vaccination series to healthy children and adolescents, if they haven’t had it already. Those decisions should be based on country-specific conditions, including the disease burden in these age groups, other health or programmatic priorities, and opportunity costs, an overview of the meeting that is posted online states. (Branswell, 3/28)

More on the spread of covid —

U.S. News & World Report: CDC Data: Omicron Subvariant XBB.1.5 Responsible For 90% Of New COVID-19 Cases
Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 remains dominant over all other coronavirus strains in the U.S. but appears to be plateauing. The subvariant was responsible for approximately 90% of new infections [last] week, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Smith-Schoenwalder, 3/24)

CIDRAP: COVID Infection Within 60 Days Not Tied To Adverse Postsurgical Outcomes
COVID-19 infection within the previous 60 days was not tied to a risk of adverse postsurgical outcomes, regardless of timing, according to a study of more than 29,000 US veterans published today in JAMA Network Open. (Van Beusekom, 3/28)

The Mercury News: Contra Costa County Issues New Health Order Requiring Masks For Staff In Skilled Nursing Facilities
Two East Bay counties have each issued a new health order requiring staff in skilled nursing facilities to continue wearing masks to protect elderly patients from being infected with COVID-19. In a Monday announcement, Contra Costa Health Services and Alameda County Health Care Services Agency said the orders will take effect April 3, the same day the state’s COVID-19 masking order for healthcare settings expires. (Heimann Mercader, 3/28)

Axios: Arizona Had The Highest COVID-19 Death Rate In U.S.
Arizona's COVID death rate was 581 deaths per 100,000 people, when adjusting the data to account for age and comorbidities. The District of Columbia (526 per 100,000) and New Mexico (521 per 100,000) were the second and third worst. Meanwhile, Hawaii had the lowest adjusted rate with 147 COVID deaths per 100,000 people, followed by New Hampshire (215 per 100,000) and Maine (281 per 100,000), respectively. (Boehm, 3/28)

Also —

CIDRAP: Lucira Announces US Launch Of Combo COVID-Flu Home Test
Lucira today announced the US launch of its at-home combination COVID-19 and flu test, the first of its kind, following the February emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The biotechnology company, based in Emeryville, California, also announced that the test is now cleared for use as a point-of-care test in Australia. (Schnirring, 3/28)

ABC News: Austin Confronts GOP Senator For Blocking Military Nominations Over Abortion Policy
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned Tuesday that military readiness could be impaired by the growing list of senior military nominations being blocked by Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville over his opposition to a Pentagon abortion policy. ... Tuberville has been blocking military nominations since last month, over a Pentagon policy that covers the travel costs of service members seeking abortions in states outside of where they are stationed if their base is located in a state that bans the procedure. (Martinez and Murray, 3/28)

NBC News: Republican Senator Draws Blowback For Blocking Military Promotions Over Abortion Policy
A Republican senator is drawing bipartisan criticism for stalling promotions for over 150 military generals and flag officers in protest of a new Defense Department policy that provides travel expenses and paid time off for service members and their dependents seeking abortions. The Senate must approve the promotions of top-level officers and generals, a task that is typically quick and smooth. But any one senator can throw sand in the gears, and Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., is using a procedural tactic to block the speedy consideration of 158 generals and flag officers, as well as two civilian nominees. (Thorp V, Kapur and Gains, 3/28)

The Washington Post: Pentagon Chief Warns Senate Amid Abortion-Policy Showdown
The nominations can still move ahead, but would require time-consuming steps by Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D.-N.Y.), who complained Tuesday that Tuberville’s gambit was tantamount to “hostage taking.” “The women of our military,” Schumer said in remarks on the Senate floor, “are more than capable of making their own decisions when it comes to their health. They do not need the senior senator from Alabama making decisions on their behalf. And they certainly do not need any senator throwing a wrench in the function, the vital functioning of our military when they work every day to keep us safe.” (Lamothe, 3/28)

WBUR: As New Military Policy On Abortion & Reproductive Health Takes Effect, GOP Vows To Fight It 
A new Department of Defense policy allows service members to take up to three weeks off for abortion or IVF and reimburses them for travel expenses. This comes in the wake of the overturn of Roe v. Wade. But some Republicans in Congress are trying to block the policy. Texas Public Radio's Carson Frame reports for the American Homefront Project. (3/28)

In other news about women in the military —

The Washington Post: These Women Survived Combat. Then They Had To Fight For Health Care.
More than 300 women participated in the cultural support team program between 2009, when it was activated, and 2021, when the Afghanistan war ended. Many sustained life-changing injuries as a result of their work, only to find that they have had to prove to the federal government their need for specialized health care because the Pentagon never classified them as “combat” veterans. (Seck, 3/27)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Supreme Court Hears Arguments Concerning State’s Abortion Law
The Georgia Supreme Court will soon decide whether the abortion law the Legislature passed in 2019 should remain in effect — or if, as attorneys for abortion providers argued Tuesday, it was illegal from the start. In 2019, Georgia passed a law that bans most abortions once a doctor can detect fetal cardiac activity, typically about six weeks into a pregnancy and before many women know they are pregnant. (Prabhu, 3/28)

AP: Georgia High Court Considers Whether Abortion Law Is Void 
During oral arguments Tuesday before the Georgia Supreme Court on the state of Georgia’s appeal challenging the lower court ruling, state solicitor-general Stephen Petrany noted that the U.S. Supreme Court last year ruled that Roe v. Wade was an incorrect interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. Because the Georgia abortion law “would be valid if enacted today under the exact same federal Constitution, it was valid when it was enacted,” he argued. (Brumback, 3/28)

More abortion news from Wisconsin, Wyoming, and Kentucky —

Reuters: U.S. Arrests Man For Firebombing Wisconsin Anti-Abortion Group's Office 
U.S. prosecutors on Tuesday charged a Wisconsin man with firebombing a conservative anti-abortion group's office last May, just days after a leaked draft of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling overturning the nationwide right to abortion became public. Hridindu Sankar Roychowdhury, 29, was arrested at an airport in Boston after authorities said DNA from a thrown-away bag containing a partially eaten burrito had helped them identify who caused the May 8 fire at Wisconsin Family Action's office. (Raymond, 3/28)

AP: Wyoming Abortion Clinic Fire Suspect To Go Free Pending Case
She posted on social media about competing in a bike race, losing her pet hedgehog and visiting a butterfly garden with her grandmother but gave no sign of the anti-abortion views investigators say drove her to set fire to a Wyoming abortion clinic. On Tuesday, a judge ruled that Lorna Roxanne Green may be released from jail to carry on life as a college student pending further developments in her case, U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephanie Hambrick ruled. (Gruver, 3/28)

Reveal: Kentucky Lawmaker Pushes To Regulate Anti-Abortion Pregnancy Centers After Reveal Investigation
A state lawmaker is calling for Kentucky to regulate anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers after a Reveal investigation found that most centers aren’t subject to the same kind of oversight as other medical clinics, even though they perform procedures that can dramatically affect the lives of pregnant people. The Kentucky bill is among a wave of efforts by reproductive rights advocates in more than a dozen states to regulate crisis pregnancy centers through medical licensing requirements or consumer protection laws. (Morel, 3/27)

In other reproductive health care news —

NBC News: FDA Advisers To Meet On Over-The-Counter Birth Control Pills
Food and Drug Administration advisers will meet in May to discuss whether the agency should allow a birth control pill to be sold over the counter. The pill, called Opill from French drugmaker HRA Pharma, is currently approved by the FDA to prevent pregnancy, but it is only available with a prescription. (Lovelace Jr., 3/28)

Reuters: US Pharmacy Chain CVS To Bolster Customer Privacy Protection After Shareholder Push 
CVS Health Corp will enhance its data privacy disclosures following a shareholder proposal that asked the pharmacy chain to address concerns around threats to customers' reproductive health data, Arjuna Capital said. (3/28)

Bloomberg: Private Medicare Insurance Drives Up Costs, Senator Elizabeth Warren Says 
Big insurers who manage private Medicare plans are driving up seniors’ health costs, US Senator Elizabeth Warren said, urging the Biden administration to finalize new rules that would rein in how much the program pays companies. (Tozzi, 3/28)

Stat: Could A Fight Over QALYs Upend Medicare Drug Price Negotiation?
As Medicare drug price negotiation looms, congressional Republicans are scrambling to push through a limit that Democrats argue could hobble the agency’s efforts before they have even begun. A House committee last week advanced a bill that would bar federal health agencies from using a controversial value metric known as quality-adjusted life years, or QALYs. The metric places value not just on extension of life but also on various quality of life factors, which critics argue assigns a lower value to the life of someone who could be living with a debilitating disease. (Owermohle, 3/28)

In related news about health care costs —

KHN: A Progress Check On Hospital Price Transparency 
For decades, U.S. hospitals have generally stonewalled patients who wanted to know ahead of time how much their care would cost. Now that’s changing — but there’s a vigorous debate over what hospitals are disclosing. Under a federal rule in effect since 2021, hospitals nationwide have been laboring to post a mountain of data online that spells out their prices for every service, drug, and item they provide, including the actual prices they’ve negotiated with insurers and the amounts that cash-paying patients would be charged. They’ve done so begrudgingly and only after losing a lawsuit that challenged the federal rule. How well they’re doing depends on whom you ask. (Andrews, 3/29)

KHN: ER’s Error Lands A 4-Year-Old In Collections (For Care He Didn’t Receive)
Dr. Sara McLin thought she made the right choice by going to an in-network emergency room near her Florida home after her 4-year-old burned his hand on a stove last Memorial Day weekend. Her family is insured through her husband’s employer, HCA Healthcare, a Nashville-based health system that operates more hospitals than any other system in the nation. So McLin knew that a nearby stand-alone emergency room, HCA Florida Lutz Emergency, would be in their plan’s provider network. (Chang, 3/29)

Consumer Reports: How To Avoid Sticker Shock On Prescriptions
Do you experience sticker shock when you’re at a pharmacy to fill prescriptions? Many older people say they have. Eleven percent of Americans 65 and older — 6 million people — report that they or a loved one have skipped prescribed meds to save money, according to a 2021 Gallup survey. (Levine, 3/27)

More news from the health care industry —

Modern Healthcare: Friday Health Plans In Texas Declared Insolvent, Assets Seized
The Texas Department of Insurance has placed Friday Health Plans under receivership after the health insurance company declared insolvency. The Lone Star State’s insurance commissioner has seized the Friday Health Plans' assets and is charged with liquidating its local property, technology, bank accounts and other valuables to pay outstanding claims, according to a liquidation order issued Thursday. (Tepper, 3/28)

Modern Healthcare: Amazon At ViVE Highlights Healthcare Aims Following One Medical Deal
Amazon executives said Tuesday they are excited to move forward in healthcare, despite the sector's potential challenges. “Amazon comes at this with a lot of humility,” said Amazon Clinic’s chief medical officer and general manager Dr. Nworah Ayogu at ViVE, the digital health conference held in Nashville, Tennessee. “The company is no stranger to going into hard industries and making them better. Twenty years ago in retail, it was not common to have two-day shipping or easy returns.” (Perna, 3/28)

Modern Healthcare: How ChatGPT Tech Has Been Applied To Healthcare
A lot of hype surrounds AI in healthcare and the rush of digital health companies seeking to cash in. But experts are unsure how generative AI applications like ChatGPT and GPT-4 will influence clinical diagnosis and decision-making. Most say the first wave of adoption will take place in areas where administrative redundancies exist. (Turner, 3/28)

KHN: Listen To The Latest ‘KHN Health Minute’
This week’s KHN Health Minute asks what code-switching in the doctor’s office says about race and health care, and how efforts to curb the opioid crisis affect the care of patients with chronic pain. (3/28)

CNN: Killer Was Under Care For Emotional Disorder And Hid Guns At Home, Police Say
The 28-year-old who killed three children and three adults at a private Christian school in Nashville was under care for an emotional disorder and had legally bought seven firearms that were hidden at home, Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said Tuesday. The parents of the shooter, Audrey Hale, spoke to police and said they knew Hale had bought and sold one weapon and believed that was the extent of it. “The parents felt (Hale) should not own weapons,” the chief said. On Monday morning, Hale left home with a red bag, and the parents asked what was inside but were dismissed, Drake said. (Levenson, Alonso and Salahieh, 3/29)

Reuters: Nashville School Shooter Had 'Emotional Disorder' And Small Arsenal, Police Say
Under Tennessee law, mental illness is not grounds for police to confiscate weapons, unless a person is deemed mentally incompetent by a court, "judicially committed" to a mental institution," or placed under a conservatorship "by reason of mental defect." (Allen and Ax, 3/29)

AP: Police: Nashville Shooter Fired Indiscriminately At Victims
Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake said at the news conference. If police had been told that Hale was suicidal or homicidal, “then we would have tried to get those weapons,” Drake said. “But as it stands, we had absolutely no idea who this person was or if (Hale) even existed.” Tennessee does not currently have a “red flag” law, which lets police step in and take firearms away from people who threaten to kill. (Mattise, 3/29)

ABC News: Friend Says She Contacted Authorities After Messaging With Nashville Shooter Audrey Hale On Morning Of Attack
A friend of Nashville school shooter Audrey Hale told ABC News that she contacted local authorities on Monday morning after Hale messaged her online about "planning to die today." ... She spoke to someone at the suicide prevention line who suggested she call local authorities. When she did, they said they would send someone out to her location to review the screenshots. But no one came to see the messages themselves until that afternoon, after the shooting had taken place, said the friend, Paige Patton. (Levine, 3/28)

'I can’t do anything except plead with Congress,' President Biden says —

The Hill: Biden Raises Pressure On GOP To Take Action On Guns
President Biden is focusing his anger over the elementary school shooting in Nashville this week squarely on Republicans, calling for lawmakers to show courage and warning that Congress will have to answer to families that have lost loved ones through gun violence. “The Congress has to act. The majority of the American people think having assault weapons is bizarre, it’s a crazy idea. They’re against that,” Biden said on Tuesday. “I can’t do anything except plead with Congress to act reasonably.” (Gangitano and Lillis, 3/28)

The Hill: Tennessee Republican Responds To School Shooting: ‘We’re Not Gonna Fix It’ 
Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett (R) said there’s no way to “fix” gun violence, after a shooter killed three children and three adults at an elementary school in his home state on Monday. “It’s a horrible, horrible situation,” Burchett told reporters. “And we’re not gonna fix it. Criminals are gonna be criminals.” (Shapero, 3/28)

CNN: Why Corporate America Has Grown Silent On Gun Violence 
America’s biggest companies rushed to strengthen their gun safety policies after the mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, in 2018. Dick’s Sporting Goods stopped selling semi-automatic, assault-style rifles at stores. Citigroup put new restrictions on gun sales by business customers. A year later, after mass shootings at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, and a nightclub in Dayton, Ohio, Walmart ended handgun ammunition sales. But the groundswell of corporate action on guns has ended. In the aftermath of the latest mass shooting at a school in Nashville, most companies declined to speak out. Much of Corporate America has grown silent on guns. (Meyersohn, 3/28)

Vox: America’s Unique, Enduring Gun Problem, Explained
No other high-income country has suffered such a high death toll from gun violence. Every day, 120 Americans die at the end of a gun, including suicides and homicides, an average of 43,475 per year. Since 2009, there has been an annual average of 19 shootings in which at least four people are killed. The US gun homicide rate is as much as 26 times that of other high-income countries; its gun suicide rate is nearly 12 times higher. Gun control opponents have typically framed the gun violence epidemic in the US as a symptom of a broader mental health crisis. But every country has people with mental health issues and extremists; those problems aren’t unique. What is unique is the US’s expansive view of civilian gun ownership, ingrained in politics, in culture, and in the law since the nation’s founding, and a national political process that has so far proved incapable of changing that norm. (Narea, Zhou and Millhiser, 3/27)

NBC News: Fear Pervades Trans Community Amid Focus On Nashville Shooter's Gender Identity
Shortly after news broke Monday of a fatal shooting at a private Christian Nashville elementary school, police said the suspect was transgender. This detail, according to trans people in the state, has poured fuel on an already combustive environment that has led many of them to fear for their safety. (Lavietes and Yurcaba, 3/29)

Insider: Republicans Blame Nashville Shooting On Shooter's Suggested Trans Identity
Following a deadly shooting at an elementary school in Tennessee, some prominent Republicans are highlighting evidence that the perpetrator was transgender — and suggesting that gender identity played a role in causing the violence. Details continue to emerge about the shooting, but there is no evidence to suggest that identifying as transgender leads to a propensity for inflicting violence. By contrast, several studies have found that transgender people face disproportionate levels of violence by virtue of their identity. (Metzger, 3/28)

ABC News: Anti-Transgender Sentiment Follows Nashville Shooting
“Every study available shows that transgender and non-binary people are much more likely to be victims of violence, rather than the perpetrator of it,” the Human Rights Campaign said in a statement following the shooting. “Regardless of the reason for this shooting, the use of violence is reprehensible and we renew our call for common-sense gun safety.” (Alfonseca, 3/28)

The Guardian: Nashville School Shooter’s Identity May Make Them An Exceptionally Rare Perpetrator
One of the rock-solid truths about the US epidemic of mass shootings is that these catastrophic events, which tear families and communities apart, are committed overwhelmingly by cis males. According to the Violence Project (TVP), men are responsible for carrying out more than 97% of all public mass shootings. ... The number of shooters who are trans or gender nonconforming is even rarer, placing Hale in an almost unique class. The only other member of this category known in recent years is the 22-year-old shooter who killed five people in a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs last November who, according to defense lawyers, is non-binary. (Pilkington, 3/28)

In other news about transgender health —

Stat: GOP Presses Becerra On Gender-Affirming Care, Reproductive Rights
Republicans hammered the health secretary in hearings Tuesday, previewing a line of health- and science-related political attacks likely to dominate the 2024 elections. GOP members of the House Appropriations Committee repeatedly interrogated Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra about issues like gender-affirming care, reproductive rights, and migrant children at the border, continuing a theme laid out by two Senate committees last week as Becerra embarks on a committee tour to sell President Biden’s proposed 2024 budget. (Owermohle, 3/28)

AP: Arkansas Bathroom Bill Condemned As Too Extreme Is Revamped 
An Arkansas bathroom bill that went further than a 2016 North Carolina law that was repealed after widespread boycotts was revamped Tuesday following complaints from members of the transgender community and their families that it would criminalize trans people simply for using public restrooms. The House Judiciary Committee endorsed the proposal to allow someone to be charged with misdemeanor sexual indecency with a child if they use a public restroom or changing room of the opposite sex when a minor is present. The majority-GOP panel advanced the measure after it was amended to make it a crime only if the person enters the restroom “for the purpose of arousing or gratifying a sexual desire.” The proposal now heads to the full House for a vote as early as Wednesday. (DeMillo, 3/29)

The Texas Tribune: Texas Senators Hope To Ban Youth From Changing Sex On Birth Certificate
A bill seeking to block transgender and nonbinary Texas youth from updating their birth certificate with their gender identity has received its first approval from the Texas Senate. Senate Bill 162, filed by Republican state Sen. Charles Perry of Lubbock, proposes requiring an individual’s sex assigned at birth to be included on their birth certificate and limiting the circumstances in which this information could be changed for minors. The proposal lists very few exceptions. (Nguyen and Melhado, 3/28)

WFSU: Florida Lawmakers Look To Increase Penalties For People Who Attack Hospital Personnel
A Jacksonville nurse told a state House panel that the bill would give her more tools to use when dealing with misbehaving patients and gave examples. Hospital workers regularly face verbal and physical attacks while on the job. Data shows those attacks are on the rise and nurses are most likely to be the victims. That can lead to a higher rate of turn-over all as the state stares down a nursing shortage. (McCarthy, 3/28)

In other news about health care workers —

Reuters: Walgreens Plans No Further Wage Hikes For Pharmacists As Shortage Eases 
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc said on Tuesday it does not plan to increase wages further, as a shortage of pharmacists eases after the company doubled down on hiring and pay raises last year. A labor shortage during the pandemic prompted Walgreens and other U.S. drugstore operators, including CVS Health Corp and Walmart Inc, to raise minimum wages to $15 per hour to attract pharmacists. (Mandowara and Leo, 3/28)

The Boston Globe: Union Votes ‘No Confidence’ In Women & Infants Hospital Management
An overwhelming number of unionized workers have voted “no confidence” in Women & Infants Hospital’s management, representing about 95 percent of those employees who voted, union leaders said Tuesday. (Gagosz, 3/28)

Detroit Free Press: Archie Drake Named New CEO At Children's Hospital Of Michigan
Children’s Hospital of Michigan has a new chief executive officer, and it’s a familiar face from the last few months. Archie Drake was named CEO, his appointment effective Monday. He has been interim CEO since December, according to a release. Drake came to Children’s Hospital of Michigan from Tenet’s Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen, Texas, where he served as chief operating officer. (Hall, 3/28)

AP: Kansas Moving To Raise Age For Buying Tobacco To 21 From 18 
Kansas is moving to increase its legal age for buying cigarettes, electronic cigarettes and other tobacco products to 21 from 18 after the federal government and most other states already have done it. The state Senate approved a bill to raise the age Tuesday on a 28-11 vote, sending it Gov. Laura Kelly. The House had approved it earlier this month on a 68-53 vote. (3/29)

Developments in the Juul trial —

AP: At Trial, Minnesota Says E-Cigarette Maker Juul Targets Kids 
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison personally opened his state’s case against Juul Labs on Tuesday, accusing the e-cigarette maker of using “slick products, clever ads and attractive flavors” to hook children on nicotine as the first of thousands of cases against the company reached trial. Minnesota is seeking more than $100 million in damages, accusing Washington, D.C.-based Juul of unlawfully targeting young people to get a new generation addicted to nicotine. (Karnowski, 3/28)

On the opioid crisis —

The Hill: Dems Push Back On GOP Fentanyl Claims During Hearing With Mayorkas 
Senate Democrats on Tuesday made their most forceful push yet against narratives linking immigration and the fentanyl crisis, slamming Republicans for their attempts to entangle the two issues. Data shows the vast majority of fentanyl enters the U.S. through the cars of American citizens, a fact highlighted repeatedly by Democrats as GOP lawmakers increasingly cast blame at Mexico in the fight against fentanyl. "Some are pushing the narrative that asylum seekers are smuggling fentanyl across the border when the facts tell a different story,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. (Beitsch, 3/28)

CNN: Xylazine Test Strips Available To Help Users Check For Animal Sedative In Drug Supply
The biotech company BTNX says it is shipping out new test strips this week that detect the presence of xylazine, an animal sedative that officials say is increasingly being mixed with fentanyl. As with fentanyl test strips, these pieces of paper have a reagent that can help users detect whether a drug has any xylaxine in it. Commonly called “tranq” or “tranq dope,” xylazine has not been approved for human use. The drug has heavy sedative effects like an opioid but isn’t one, so it doesn’t respond to the opioid overdose antidote, naloxone, also known as Narcan. (Kounang, 3/28)

The Wall Street Journal: ‘Tranq’ Surges In U.S. Drug Supply, Causing Wounds, Amputations 
It was late 2020 when Jason Bienert noticed unusual wounds among a half-dozen of the fentanyl users he works with as a nurse in northeast Maryland. Unlike the red, swollen abscesses he was used to seeing on people who inject illicit opioids, these were painful ulcers that started small and dark before consuming the surrounding skin and tissue. Some wounds led to amputation. Others were life threatening. The culprit was xylazine, an animal tranquilizer that has since pervaded the region’s drug supply, compounding the opioid crisis and leaving people who survive disabled. (Schukar and Wernau, 3/28)

Fox News: Anti-Addiction Drug Buprenorphine May Cut Risk Of Future Fatal Overdose By 62%: Study
After someone lives through an opioid overdose, taking the medication buprenorphine lowers their risk of death if they OD again, a new study found. Buprenorphine is a medication used to treat opioid use disorder. Researchers with the American Journal of Preventative Medicine (AJPM) found that receiving the medicine after an overdose causes a 62% reduction in risk of death in a subsequent opioid overdose. (Rumpf, 3/28)

CNN: FDA Sketches Out National Plan To Bolster The Fragile US Infant Formula Supply Management
The US Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday its initial strategy to boost and strengthen the management of the country’s supply of infant formula. The announcement came just ahead of a hearing of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee about what went wrong during last year’s infant formula shortage. (Christensen, 3/28)

In other health and wellness news —

The Washington Post: Probiotic Supplements Claim To Boost Gut Health, But May Do Opposite 
Probiotic supplements have grown into a multibillion-dollar industry, spurred by claims that the products will populate your gut with bacteria that can boost your health in numerous ways. But beware of the hype: In healthy people, probiotic supplements offer little benefit, and they can potentially do more harm than good. (O'Connor, 3/28)

Oklahoman: Tuberculosis Screenings Underway For Edmond Santa Fe Students, Staff
At least some students and staff at Santa Fe High School are being tested to see if they've been exposed to tuberculosis, health officials confirmed Monday. Susan Riley, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma City-County Health Department, said Monday the agency will be testing those persons this week as it attempts to maintain the health and safety of the community. (Money, 3/28)

Reuters: U.S. Sues Walmart For Firing Deli Worker With Crohn's Disease
According to a complaint filed in the Charlotte, North Carolina federal court, Walmart did not excuse several absences though Tucker provided doctor's notes, and rejected her requests for periodic leave or a transfer to a job nearer the bathroom. Crohn's disease is an chronic bowel disease that causes inflammation in the digestive tract, and can lead to diarrhea, abdominal pain, fatigue and weight loss. (Stempel, 3/28)

KHN: GOP Lawmaker Calls For Tracking Homeless Spending, Working With Democrats On Mental Health 
Republican lawmakers say that, before California spends even more money battling homelessness, the public deserves to know exactly how the tens of billions of dollars already put toward the epidemic are being spent and whether the state is getting results. Among the GOP lawmakers calling for greater accountability is state Sen. Roger Niello, a businessman who returned to the Capitol in December after a 12-year hiatus. As a fiscal conservative from the Sacramento suburbs, with more than a decade of experience in local and state politics, Niello wants to work with Democrats. But he characterized the volume of money poured into fighting homelessness in recent years as runaway spending, saying Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom hasn’t yet proved the money is working adequately to place homeless people into services and permanent housing. (Hart, 3/29)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Ashley Biden, President Biden's Daughter, Is Opening A Wellness Center In Philly
Ashley Biden, only child of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, said she hopes to open “a wellness space for women impacted by trauma” in collaboration with Mural Arts Philadelphia, according to a new story in Elle Magazine. (Greenberg, 3/28)

CIDRAP: WHO Unveils Priority Pediatric Antibiotic Formulation List 
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently announced the launch of its first-ever list of priority pediatric formulations for antibiotics, part of an effort to spur more research and development geared toward the needs of infants and children. (Schnirring, 3/28)

Reuters: Antibiotics May Not Help Survival Of Patients Hospitalized With Viral Infections -Study 
Most patients admitted to hospitals with acute viral infections are given antibiotics as a precaution against bacterial co-infection, but this practice may not improve survival, new research suggests. Researchers investigated the impact of antibiotic use on survival in more than 2,100 patients in a hospital in Norway between 2017 and 2021 and found that giving antibiotics to people with common respiratory infections was unlikely to lower the risk of death within 30 days. (Grover, 3/24)

FiercePharma: Brii Biosciences Halts Manufacture Of COVID-19 Antibody Combo
By choosing antibodies from the plasma of a wide range of recovered COVID-19 patients, Brii Biosciences hoped to score big with a treatment that would stand up to coronavirus variants. (Dunleavy, 3/24)

Reuters: Exclusive: WHO To Consider Adding Obesity Drugs To 'Essential' Medicines List 
Drugs that combat obesity could for the first time be included on the World Health Organization's "essential medicines list," used to guide government purchasing decisions in low- and middle-income countries, the U.N. agency told Reuters. A panel of advisers to the WHO will review new requests for drugs to be included next month, with an updated essential medicines list due in September. (Rigby, 3/29)

Reuters: Sanofi, Regeneron Unveil 'Blow-Out' Smoker's Lung Drug Data 
Sanofi's asthma drug Dupixent met all targets in a trial to treat "smoker's lung", potentially adding billions to the French drugmaker's growth prospects, but also underscoring a heavy reliance on its bestseller. In a late stage trial Dupixent, jointly developed with Regeneron (REGN.O), led to a 30% reduction in moderate or severe acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a potentially deadly disease marked by progressive lung function decline. (Burger and Babu, 3/23)

The New York Times: The A.D.H.D. Medication Shortage Reflects Bad Drug Policy
Since last August, America has been experiencing a severe shortage of Adderall and related stimulant medications used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. (Maia Szalavitz, 3/25)

The Washington Post: Ending Health Insurance For Generic Drugs Would Save Patients Money 
Even if they have health insurance, Americans routinely face surprisingly high charges at the pharmacy counter. A radical-sounding solution would drastically curtail this experience and save billions of dollars in the bargain: End insurance coverage for low-cost generic drugs, which represent 90 percent of all prescriptions. (Erin E. Trish and Karen Van Nuys, 3/28)

The Star Tribune: Minnesota Legislature And Health Care: Opioid Fee Would Hurt Those Already In Pain
I have worked as a board-certified anesthesiologist/pain management specialist for over 30 years. Whether battling a chronic condition or a rare disease, my patients live with severe, life-altering pain, which I work to treat, at times with opioid-based medications, so they can regain control of their lives and be relieved of suffering. (Todd Hess, 3/28)

The Tennessean: Birth Control Is A Key Piece Of Individual Medical Freedom
In February, Tennessee’s Senate Judiciary Committee shot down Senate Bill 0885. The bill — which consisted of one line clarifying that the state abortion ban did not apply to birth control — received a unanimous “no” from Republicans and was met with no discussion. This is a misstep for Tennessee Republicans that has not gone unnoticed. (Courtney Joslin and Sophia Heimowitz, 3/23)

The Star Tribune: Minnesota Legislature And Health Care: Don't Forget Rare-Disease Patients
PDABs are staffed with citizen experts who, with little knowledge, will be able to cap and dictate the price of drugs based on certain algorithms that turn patient health into numbers. (Medora Frei, 3/28)

Houston Chronicle: Legalizing Drug-Testing Strips In Texas Could Save Lives 
Several dozen drug-related bills have been introduced in the 88th Texas legislative session, a clear sign that the overdose crisis is on the minds of state leaders. (Katharine Neill Harris, 3/25)

The Tennessean: Twelve Tips To Help Cope With Cancer Treatment
Many of us only think of detoxing from drugs or alcohol when we talk about reducing or removing these addictive poisons from our system. But the same exact side effects can exist when we try to reduce or get off many other legal, necessary medications that we have been successfully taking for years. (Steve Morris, 3/27)

Newsweek: With Teen Fentanyl Deaths On The Rise, We Need To Rethink Who Delivers Drug Prevention Programs 
This month, a tragic wave of teen fentanyl deaths prompted Texas lawmakers to propose mandatory fentanyl prevention and drug poisoning education in grades 6-12. Other states around the country are also struggling to confront skyrocketing rates of teen overdoses. (Khary Rigg, 3/27)

The Baltimore Sun: ‘Medical Gaslighting’ Must End; Here’s How To Address It 
Gaslighting in medicine occurs every day in doctor’s offices around the country when physicians ignore, discount or dismiss a patient’s pain or symptoms. Research has documented how women’s medical issues in particular are diminished. It’s time to call these behaviors out and for physicians, educators and health care institutions to take steps to change. (Laurie Reed, 3/28)

Miami Herald: Schoolgirls Should Be Free To Talk About How Their Bodies Work. Period
If 2015 was the year the period went public, 2023 is the year male politicians are seeking to silence it. As if having a uterus didn’t come with enough challenges in our society, House Bill 1069, in the Florida Legislature, would muzzle any talk of periods in school — something roughly half of the population experiences. (Jolene Brighten, 3/28)

Bloomberg: The Teen Mental Health Crisis Is No Place To Cut Corners
It’s no secret that kids in the US are struggling with mental health issues in increasing numbers. Now, a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association emphasizes the severity of the situation: Pediatric mental health hospitalizations are rising, and many more kids are being hospitalized for attempting suicide. (Lisa Jarvis, 3/28)

Dallas Morning News: Vaccination Rates In Texas Schools Are Falling. Is This The Solution?
Parkland Health’s new mobile children’s vaccination clinic will soon be rolling out to schools in Dallas County neighborhoods with low immunization rates. Students with consent forms from their parents will be escorted from class to the vehicle so they can receive their shots. (3/29)

San Francisco Chronicle: A Stealth Virus Is Silently Stalking Millions Of Americans. Here's How To Stop It
It’s estimated that up to 2.4 million people in the United States are chronically infected with the hepatitis B virus, but two-thirds of them don’t know it. Hepatitis B is a silent killer — without treatment, as many as 1 in 4 people with chronic hepatitis B will die of liver cancer or liver failure. (Mimi Zheng, 3/28)

USA Today: Can You Die From Broken Heart? How Depression, Stress Impact Health
New research reveals that poor mental and emotional health puts Americans at much greater risk of heart disease, the leading cause of death for men and women across almost all racial and ethnic groups. (Dr. Phil McGraw and Dr. John Whyte, 3/29)