The Washington Post: Alabama Supreme Court Rules Frozen Embryos Are Children, Imperiling IVF
The Alabama Supreme Court ruled Friday that frozen embryos are people and someone can be held liable for destroying them, a decision that reproductive rights advocates say could imperil in vitro fertilization (IVF) and affect the hundreds of thousands of patients who depend on treatments like it each year. The first-of-its-kind ruling comes as at least 11 states have broadly defined personhood as beginning at fertilization in their state laws, according to reproductive rights group Pregnancy Justice, and states nationwide mull additional abortion and reproductive restrictions, elevating the issue ahead of the 2024 elections. Federally, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide this term whether to limit access to an abortion drug, the first time the high court will rule on the subject since it overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. (Rosenzweig-Ziff, 2/19)

The Hill: Alabama Supreme Court Rules Frozen Embryos Are ‘Children’
In its decision, the Alabama Supreme Court did not address the question of whether “extrauterine children” should be treated as human beings, but it did find that state law did not specify what state an unborn child is to be in. “The relevant statutory text is clear: the Wrongful Death of a Minor Act applies on its face to all unborn children, without limitation,” the court’s decision stated. The court found that there is no unwritten exception, as the defendants have argued, to the law that applies to “unborn children who are not physically located ‘in utero’ — that is, inside a biological uterus — at the time they are killed.” (Choi, 2/19)

Meanwhile, on former President Trump's possible abortion ban plans —

Roll Call: Trump’s Interest In National Abortion Ban Fires Up Both Sides
Reports that Donald Trump plans to endorse a 16-week national abortion ban quickly exacerbated the pending political battle on abortion policy to come during the 2024 presidential campaign, with advocates on both sides seeing the report as advantageous to their side. (Cohen, 2/16)

The New York Times: Trump Allies Plan New Sweeping Abortion Restrictions
Allies of former President Donald J. Trump and officials who served in his administration are planning ways to restrict abortion rights if he returns to power that would go far beyond proposals for a national ban or the laws enacted in conservative states across the country. Behind the scenes, specific anti-abortion plans being proposed by Mr. Trump’s allies are sweeping and legally sophisticated. Some of their proposals would rely on enforcing the Comstock Act, a long-dormant law from 1873, to criminalize the shipping of any materials used in an abortion — including abortion pills, which account for the majority of abortions in America. Lerer and Dias, 2/17)

AP: Abortion Rights Opponents And Supporters Seize On Report That Trump Privately Pushes 16-Week Ban 
A major anti-abortion group is praising a published report that Donald Trump has privately told people he supports a national ban on abortion after 16 weeks of pregnancy, though his campaign denied the report and said the former president plans to “negotiate a deal” on abortion if elected to the White House again. Trump, the frontrunner to be the 2024 Republican nominee, has repeatedly refused to back any specific limits on abortion as he campaigns, though he has called himself “the most pro-life president in American history.” (Price and Fernando, 2/16)

In other news relating to abortion —

WUSF: The Number Of Abortions Performed In Florida Is Steadily Rising
The number of patients receiving abortions in Florida each year continues to rise. There were 84,052 abortions performed in Florida last year, according to an update to 2023 totals that the Agency for Health Care Administration published on Jan. 31. That’s up from 82,192 in 2022.The increase in abortion totals was once again driven by patients who don't live in Florida but traveled to the state for the procedure. (Colombini, 2/19)

The Texas Tribune: Disabled Texans Face Barriers To Accessing Abortions
When disabled Texans used to visit abortion clinics, staffers would remember them. They may have needed in-clinic accommodations or American Sign Language Interpreters, and they appeared infrequently. Still, they came. But more than a year since performing abortions became illegal in the state of Texas, disabled people have become a “missing population” at the clinics still providing abortions out of state, said Amy Hagstrom Miller, CEO of Whole Woman’s Health, an abortion provider. (Bohra, 2/20)

AP: State Governments To Protect Health-Related Data As It's Used In Abortion Battle
Some state governments and federal regulators were already moving to keep individuals’ reproductive health information private when a U.S. senator’s report last week offered a new jolt, describing how cellphone location data was used to send millions of anti-abortion ads to people who visited Planned Parenthood offices. Federal law bars medical providers from sharing health data without a patient’s consent but doesn’t prevent digital tech companies from tracking menstrual cycles or an individual’s location and selling it to data brokers. (Mulvihill, 2/17)

Politico: ‘No One’s Coming To Save Us’: Abortion Campaigns Scramble For Limited Cash
Abortion rights could be on the ballot in nearly a quarter of states this November, raising concerns among supporters about the ability to fund major campaign efforts in all of them. From deep-red Arkansas and Missouri to purple Arizona and Nevada, activists are already competing with each other for a limited pool of cash and auditioning for the national progressive groups they need to fund their efforts to enshrine protections in state constitutions. (Messerly and Miranda Ollstein, 2/19)

Also —

KFF Health News: The Powerful Constraints On Medical Care In Catholic Hospitals Across America
Nurse midwife Beverly Maldonado recalls a pregnant woman arriving at Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital in Maryland after her water broke. It was weeks before the baby would have any chance of survival, and the patient’s wishes were clear, she recalled: “Why am I staying pregnant then? What’s the point?” the patient pleaded. But the doctors couldn’t intervene, she said. The fetus still had a heartbeat and it was a Catholic hospital, subject to the “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services” that prohibit or limit procedures like abortion that the church deems “immoral” or “intrinsically evil,” according to its interpretation of the Bible. (Pradhan and Recht, 2/17)

AP: GOP Candidates Use Anti-Trans Rhetoric To Rally Christian Base
Transgender-related issues have become perhaps the biggest rallying call to Christian conservatives, more than abortion rights or same-sex marriage. That shift worries advocates who note transgender people are already disproportionately prone to stress, depression and suicidal behavior when forced to live as the sex they were assigned at birth. ... The Alliance for Full Acceptance’s executive director, Chase Glenn, a transgender man, called it “dehumanizing” to have his existence politicized. (Pollard, 2/18)

Politico: Red States Hopeful For A 2nd Trump Term Prepare To Curtail Medicaid
Republicans in half a dozen states have a request for a second Trump administration: Require low-income adults to work for free government health care. In places like Idaho, Missouri and South Dakota, GOP officials are laying the groundwork to substantially overhaul their health safety-net programs. Their plans, if approved by a Trump White House, could cut hundreds of thousands of people from a program that conservatives have long complained is bloated — but the move could also save states and the federal government billions of dollars. (Messerly, 2/20)

Stat: Weight Loss Drugs Aren’t Covered By Obamacare. That May Change
Drugmakers are doing everything to tap the bottomless well of demand for new obesity drugs, and they might get some government help. The agency that regulates Obamacare insurance is considering a technical change that would require insurers to cover obesity drugs in a market of more than 20 million Americans. (Wilkerson, 2/20)

Side Effects Public Media: Feds Send Letters To 44 States To Fix SNAP Application Errors
The majority of states are not processing food assistance applications on time and making too many payment errors, according to the federal government. U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack sent a letter to the governors of 44 states earlier this month that are failing to meet federal standards when it comes to processing applications for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. The states include Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Ohio. (Krebs, 2/19)

Modern Healthcare: How CMS’ Rule Could Tighten Accrediting Organization Oversight
Accrediting organizations may have to reduce their fee-based consultation services and prohibit survey participation for employees with ties to health facilities or face penalties for violating conflict-of-interest provisions if the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services sticks with recent oversight proposals. CMS proposed a rule to hike oversight of those organizations Feb. 8 in response to concerns about the integrity of accrediting bodies and the quality of the facilities they survey. (Devereaux, 2/20)

Also —

AP: US Lawmakers Raise Alarms About Failure To Compete With China In Biotechnology
U.S. lawmakers are raising alarms about what they see as America’s failure to compete with China in biotechnology, warning of the risks to U.S. national security and commercial interests. ... Biotechnology promises to revolutionize everyday life, with scientists and researchers using it to make rapid advances in medical treatment, genetic engineering in agriculture and novel biomaterials. Bills have been introduced in the House and Senate to bar “foreign adversary biotech companies of concern” from doing business with federally funded medical providers. The bills name four Chinese-owned companies. (Tang, 2/19)

Stat: Court Unexpectedly Revives Controversial Sanofi Drug Shortage Suit
A U.S. appeals court revived a controversial lawsuit brought by nearly two dozen people who claimed they were harmed by a contaminated rare disease medicine sold by a Sanofi subsidiary and a subsequent rationing plan that only worsened their health. And if some upcoming procedural hurdles are cleared, the suit may shine a light on an unusual patient dilemma when a drug is in short supply. (Silverman, 2/20)

In FDA news —

The Wall Street Journal: Novartis, Roche’s Food Allergies Treatment Xolair Gets FDA Approval
Novartis and Roche Holding said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved their Xolair treatment to reduce allergic reactions following the exposure to one or more foods. The pharmaceutical companies on Friday said Xolair has been approved for patients aged one year and older with the IgE-mediated food allergy. (Ojea, 2/16)

AP: FDA Expands Use Of Asthma Drug Xolair To Treat Severe Food Allergies
A medication used to treat asthma can now be used to help people with food allergies avoid severe reactions, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday. Xolair, the brand name for the drug omalizumab, became the first medication approved to reduce allergic reactions caused by accidental exposure to food triggers. Patients as young as age 1 with allergies can take the drug by injection every two to four weeks, depending on their weight and their body’s response to allergens. (Aleccia, 2/16)

The Hill: FDA Approves First Cellular Therapy To Treat Advanced Melanoma
“Unresectable or metastatic melanoma is an aggressive form of cancer that can be fatal,” said Peter Marks, the director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), said in a press release. “The approval of Amtagvi represents the culmination of scientific and clinical research efforts leading to a novel T cell immunotherapy for patients with limited treatment options.” Amtagvi was approved under an accelerated pathway — reserved for serious or life-threatening illnesses when other therapies don’t work. (Suter, 2/17)

Reuters: U.S. FDA Approves AstraZeneca's Tagrisso-Chemo Combo
A combination of AstraZeneca's(AZN.L), opens new tab blockbuster cancer drug Tagrisso with chemotherapy to treat a type of lung cancer has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the company said in a statement on Friday. The drug would be used to treat adults with a type of advanced lung cancer, AstraZeneca said, adding that the FDA's approval was based on trials which extended median progression-free survival (PFS) by nearly nine months. (2/17)

The Washington Post: Teens Say They Use Drugs To Feel Calmer In Federal Study
Most teens who use drugs are searching for calm and hoping to relieve stress, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis suggests. The study points toward mental health challenges among teens as a driver of drug misuse — and says educating teens on harm reduction while expanding mental health treatment could reduce overdose deaths. ... Most of the adolescents in the study — 73 percent — reported using drugs and alcohol to “feel mellow, calm, or relaxed.” (Blakemore, 2/17)

Also —

The New York Times: Residents Oppose Expanding Drug Use Sites To Suburban Vancouver
British Columbia ... became the first province to decriminalize small quantities of hard drugs for personal use in 2022, about two decades after Vancouver opened the first supervised injection site in North America. ... In Richmond, one of British Columbia’s largest cities, with 230,000 people, municipal council chambers turned raucous this week as a full public gallery of residents opposed a plan for staff to study whether a safe consumption site for drug users would be viable in the community. The plan was adopted on Tuesday, but the effort is off to a rocky start, with few officials and agencies standing up to defend it. (Isai, 2/17)

Reuters: Hard Hit By The US Opioid Crisis, Oregon Reconsiders Decriminalization
It's a common sight on the streets of downtown Portland, Oregon: people in front of stores, trendy restaurants and hotels, on sidewalks, corners, and benches, crouched over torch lighters held up to sheets of tinfoil or meth pipes. Some drape blankets over their heads, or duck behind concrete barriers. Others don’t try to hide. "All summer long, we were right out in the open. You didn't have to be paranoid anymore, you didn't have to be worried about the cops," said John Hood, a 61-year-old drug addict living on the streets of Oregon’s most populous city. (Bloom, 2/18)

On research into opioid abuse —

Stat: Opioid Cravings Were Reduced By Anti-Obesity Drug In Small Study
The GLP-1 medication liraglutide significantly reduced opioid cravings in a small analysis presented on Saturday. It is the first randomized controlled trial to test anti-obesity drugs against opioid addiction, which kills around 80,000 people in the U.S. each year. (Bajaj, 2/17)

The Hill: Largest Multicountry COVID Study Links Vaccines To Potential Adverse Effects
A new study on COVID-19 vaccines that looked at nearly 100 million vaccinated individuals affirmed the vaccines’ previously observed links to increased risks for certain adverse effects including myocarditis and Guillain-Barré syndrome. The study was conducted by the Global COVID Vaccine Safety project and took into account 99,068,901 vaccinated individuals across eight countries: Argentina, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, New Zealand and Scotland. (Choi, 2/19)

In other covid news —

Minnesota Public Radio: Review Of COVID Death Stats Finds Likely Undercount In Official Numbers
COVID-19 deaths in the United States were likely undercounted in official statistics during the first 30 months of the pandemic, according to a new scientific paper from a national team that includes a University of Minnesota researcher. (Sepic, 2/18)

CIDRAP: Canadian Data Show Moderate To Good Vaccine Efficacy Against COVID, Flu
The Canadian Sentinel Practitioner Surveillance Network (SPSN) data reveal mid-season vaccine effectiveness (VE) against the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron XBB.1.5 variant of 47% against medically attended outpatient COVID-19 and 67% among previously infected people. The same test-negative case-control study reports that the flu vaccine is 63% effective against medically attended outpatient infection with the influenza A H1N1 strain and 40% against H3N2. (Van Beusekom, 2/19)

The Washington Post: CDC Easing Covid Isolation Guidance Worries Vulnerable People
Concerns among medically vulnerable people are growing as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention prepares to drop its long-standing recommendation that those with covid isolate for five days. People with compromised immune systems worry that co-workers will return to the office while they’re still contagious. At the same time, the few remaining policies guaranteeing paid leave for employees with covid are largely coming to an end. New York, the only state that still requires paid leave for covid isolation, is considering ending that benefit this summer. (Nirappil and Sun, 2/17)

Also —

The Hill: House COVID Panel Leader Threatens To Subpoena HHS For Lack Of Cooperation
The chair of the House panel investigating the COVID-19 pandemic threatened to subpoena Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) officials Friday over a lack of cooperation with the committee’s investigation unless they answer another round of specific questions. In a letter sent to HHS Assistant Secretary for Legislation Melanie Egorin, Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) expressed frustration with Egorin’s recent public testimony and what he said was a persistent lack of cooperation from the agency on producing documents related to the virus’s origins, vaccine messaging and policies about COVID closures. (Weixel, 2/16) 

Politico: Artificial Intelligence Is Making Critical Health Care Decisions. The Sheriff Is MIA
Doctors are already using unregulated artificial intelligence tools such as note-taking virtual assistants and predictive software that helps them diagnose and treat diseases. Government has slow-walked regulation of the fast-moving technology because the funding and staffing challenges facing agencies like the Food and Drug Administration in writing and enforcing rules are so vast. It’s unlikely they will catch up any time soon. That means the AI rollout in health care is becoming a high-stakes experiment in whether the private sector can help transform medicine safely without government watching. (Reader, 2/18)

Stat: As AI Regulations Shape Up, Health Tech Startups Beg For Clarity
The federal government’s plan to boost its oversight of the use of artificial intelligence tools in health care drew censure from startups arguing that overregulation stifles new ideas. But as Washington forges ahead, founders say they’re in the dark about who will be regulated and how — and they’re urging policymakers to offer clarity. (Ravindranath, 2/20)

On other industry developments —

Chicago Tribune: Patients Pay Price As Hospitals Keep Accused Providers On The Job
Over the course of a yearlong investigation, the Tribune found that well-known Illinois health systems have allowed workers accused of abusing patients to keep providing care. The failures to respond adequately to abuse allegations had devastating consequences for the victims, who felt betrayed by medical systems they had trusted with their health and safety. (Schencker and Hoerner, 2/18)

The Colorado Sun: UCHealth Sues Thousands Of Patients A Year Under Guise Of Debt Collectors 
The ring sparkled: 18-karat white gold, double-banded, with a 1.5-carat diamond at its center. It was the ring that Cathy Woods-Sullivan’s late husband had given to her on their wedding day, a family heirloom. Other than their two teenage daughters, it was the most precious thing she had left. She handed it forward to the pawnbroker feeling sick to her stomach. (Ingold and Vanderveen, 2/19)

Axios: Carter's Year In Hospice Sheds Light On End-Of-Life Care Option
A year after former President Carter entered hospice care at home, his experience has shined a spotlight on lengthy stays in the end-of-life treatment option. Hospice care is linked to increased patient and family satisfaction, and there's even evidence it can extend life expectancy. But long stays have also been associated with fraud. (Goldman, 2/20)

AP: Ukrainian Man Pleads Guilty In Cyberattack That Temporarily Disrupted Major Vermont Hospital
A Ukrainian man has pleaded guilty to involvement in two separate malware schemes including a cyberattack at the University of Vermont Medical Center in 2020 that temporarily shut down some of its vital services and cost it tens of millions of dollars, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Vyacheslav Igorevich Penchukov, also known as Vyacheslav Igoravich Andreev, 37, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Nebraska to one count of conspiracy to break U.S. anti-racketeering law and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. (2/16)

Modern Healthcare: Why Digital Health Funding Is Drying Up In 2024
Three years after digital health companies received a record $29.1 billion into venture capital funds, they face a far different reality in 2024: trying to raise enough capital in a tight market to stay solvent. Venture capital investors say many founders are taking bridge rounds, interim funding meant to help startups stay afloat between larger funding rounds. (Turner, 2/20)

Reuters: Dialysis Firm FMC Sees Robust 2024 Earnings Growth After Strong Q4
Fresenius Medical Care (FMEG.DE), opens new tab on Tuesday forecast its core earnings to grow by a mid- to high-teens percentage this year, after the German dialysis specialist's fourth-quarter earnings topped market expectations. Last year, the company's adjusted operating income increased by 15% to 1.7 billion euros ($1.83 billion). "Based on the turnaround progress achieved last year, we have a strong foundation to build on to make 2024 a year of accelerated profitable growth," CEO Helen Giza said. (2/20)

Reuters: Bayer Cuts Dividends To Legal Minimum To Reduce Debt
German drugmaker Bayer (BAYGn.DE), opens new tab said on Monday that it was amending its dividend policy to pay the legal minimum for a period of three years to reduce debt, in a decision it said it did not take lightly. The company said it was facing high debt and interest rates, as well as a "challenging free cash flow situation". "One of our top priorities is reducing debt and increasing flexibility," Chief Executive Bill Anderson said. (2/19)

Also —

Reuters: US FDA To Review Sarepta's Duchenne Gene Therapy For Traditional Approval
Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT.O), opens new tab said on Friday that the US FDA would review an application seeking traditional approval for its gene therapy to treat a muscle-wasting disorder by June 21, months after it failed the main goal of a confirmatory trial. Shares of the company rose nearly 11% in morning trading. They briefly fell in October after data from the confirmatory study, but have recovered losses since then. (2/16)

The Hill: Florida Health Officials Investigate Measles Outbreak At School
The Florida Department of Health is investigating a measles outbreak at a South Florida elementary school. The Florida Department of Health in Broward County announced Sunday it is investigating four cases confirmed at Manatee Bay Elementary School in Weston, according to CBS News. The first case was reported Thursday and three others were confirmed Saturday. (Delandro, 2/19)

NBC News: Measles Infections And Symptoms Pose Far More Longterm Risks Than Most Realize
The massive resurgence of measles around the world — attributed to pandemic-related declines in immunizations and rising rates of vaccine hesitancy among parents — raises the risk of more serious complications and deaths, said Dr. James Cherry, a professor of pediatrics and an infectious disease expert at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. In the past two months, doctors in the U.S. have diagnosed dozens of measles cases related to unvaccinated travelers who arrived at international airports, then exposed others at hospitals and day care centers. (Szabo, 2/18)

The Hill: Maternal Syphilis Rates Tripled Between 2016 And 2022: CDC
The number of expecting mothers with syphilis in the United States more than tripled between 2016 and 2022, according to a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study. Between those years, the overall rate of syphilis among pregnant women in the country increased from 87.2 per 100,000 births to 280.4 per 100,000 births. Syphilis cases have risen to levels not seen since the 1950s among the U.S. general population, according to the CDC. Cases of the bacterial infection have gone up by 17 percent in the last year and by 80 percent over the past five years. (O'Connell-Domenech, 2/16)

CIDRAP: CDC Announces E Coli Outbreak Tied To Raw Milk Cheese, More Charcuterie Salmonella Cases
At least 10 people in four states have been infected with pathogenic Escherichia coli in an outbreak tied to cheese made from raw milk by Raw Farm LLC, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed late last week, and a day earlier the agency reported 40 more Salmonella illnesses in a 30-state outbreak linked to charcuterie meats. (Wappes, 2/19)

The Washington Post: Falls Are The Leading Cause Of Injury Among Older Americans
About 1 in 4 U.S. adults 65 and older — more than 14 million people — suffer a fall each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Falls are the leading cause of injury among those 65 and older, even though not all falls result in an injury, the CDC says. About 37 percent of older people who have fallen have sustained an injury that required medical treatment or activity restrictions. (Searing, 2/19)

The Wall Street Journal: Do I Really Need An Annual Physical?
Is your annual physical a waste of time? A growing number of physicians say the value of a yearly physical depends in part on your age and health history, and that some young, healthy patients can afford to skip it. Some studies have suggested that the annual visits aren’t doing much to improve our long-term health, and a growing shortage of primary-care doctors can drag out appointment wait times. (Janin, 2/19)

Minnesota Public Radio: Stop The Bleed Training Aims To Create Citizen First Responders
Stop the Bleed training was created about a decade ago in response to mass shootings. When a person suffers a traumatic injury, bleeding is the number one cause of death. Time is of the essence. A person can bleed to death in minutes. (Gunderson, 2/19)

Fortune: Women May Benefit More From Regular Workouts Than Men
They say anything men can do, women can do better—which may include reaping the health benefits of regular exercise. That’s according to a new study published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. An international team of researchers from the U.S. and China showed that women who exercise regularly have a significantly lower risk of an early death or a fatal cardiovascular event than men who do the same. On top of that, the advantage holds true even when women put in less effort. (Leake, 2/19)

The Wall Street Journal: Zyn Nicotine Pouches Take Off—And Land In The Culture Wars
A newly popular alternative to cigarettes is changing the way many Americans consume nicotine—and becoming a political flashpoint. The product, a nicotine pouch, looks like a tiny tea bag and comes in flavors such as mint, coffee, berry and mango. It tucks discreetly into the cheek and doesn’t require the user to spit. And if you follow former Fox News host and nicotine-pouch booster Tucker Carlson, you will already have heard a lot about the largest U.S. brand, Zyn. (Maloney, 2/18)

Also —

CIDRAP: Dengue Activity In The Americas Already Outpacing Last Year's Surge
After record dengue activity in 2023 in the Americas, the brisk pace of new infections showed no let-up in the first 5 weeks of the new year, with 11 countries reporting rising cases and Brazil among the hardest-hit nations.In its latest epidemiologic alert, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said cases have increased 157% compared to the same period in 2023 and are 225% above the 5-year average. (Schnirring, 2/19)

In mental health news —

The New York Times: TikTok Is Subject Of E.U. Inquiry Over ‘Addictive Design’
European Union regulators on Monday opened an investigation into TikTok over potential breaches of online content rules aimed at protecting children, saying the popular social media platform’s “addictive design” risked exposing young people to harmful content. ... Policymakers in the United States have also been wrestling with how to regulate the platform for harmful content and data privacy — concerns amplified by TikTok’s links to China. (Alderman, 2/19)

WUSF: Florida Kids Speak Out Against A 'Stupid' Social Media Ban Proposal
The Legislature is close to passing a measure restricting social media accounts for children under 16, and some of them say they aren’t willing to lose access. (Crowder, 2/19)

Bloomberg News: Climate Change Is Fueling A New Type Of Anxiety, Therapists Say
When psychotherapist Caroline Hickman was asked to help a child overcome a fear of dogs, she introduced them to her Labradoodle, Murphy. “You get the child to feel confident in relation to the dog and teach the child skills to manage a dog,” she says. “You build the skills, build the competence, build the confidence, and then they’re less scared of dogs generally.” Climate anxiety is a different beast, Hickman says. “We don’t 100% know how to deal with it. And it would be a huge mistake to try and treat it like other anxieties that we are very familiar with that have been around for decades. This one is much, much worse.” (Rudgard and Wittels, 2/19)

The Wall Street Journal: Congrats On Your Retirement. Time To Find A New Job
The rising cost of living, combined with restlessness, is spurring older Americans to consider coming out of retirement. More than four million Americans will reach 65 this year, the age associated with retirement. Yet many of them will be working. Overall, about one-third of adults 65 to 69 have jobs, up from less than one-quarter in 2000, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis report. (Ansberry, 2/17)

Stat: New Study Raises Questions About Niacin And Heart Health
Niacin, or vitamin B3, has long been a U.S. public health darling to the point that it is added, by law, to cereal products. But a new study published Monday in Nature Medicine points to a potentially concerning effect of an excess of the vitamin: It may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. (Merelli, 2/19)

Newsweek: Too Much Vitamin B3 May Up Heart Attack And Stroke Risk
Niacin, also known as vitamin B3, is a water-soluble B vitamin found in meat, fish, nuts, legumes, brown rice and fortified cereals. Its main role in the body is as an assistant to our cell's molecular machines, helping convert sugar into energy, create and repair DNA, remove dangerous metabolic waste products and build healthy fats and "good" cholesterol. ... In a study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, the team, led by Stanley Hazen, analyzed blood plasma samples from 4,325 people from across the U.S and Europe. From these blood samples, the team found that the presence of two molecules, produced by the breakdown of excess vitamin B3, was associated with an increased risk of major adverse cardiovascular events. (Dewan, 2/19)

Newsweek: Scientists Create Lab-Grown Testicles
A pair of tiny artificial testicles have been created in a lab, which scientists hope will provide solutions to male infertility and improve our understanding of testicular development and function. Roughly 1 in 12 men of reproductive age in the United States have experienced problems with infertility. But while male infertility can be easily identified, we know very little about the actual causes behind this condition. (Dewan, 2/19)

Reuters: Pfizer Inflammatory Bowel Disease Drug Wins EU Approval
Pfizer's (PFE.N), opens new tab drug to treat patients with an inflammatory bowel disease called ulcerative colitis has been approved by the European Commission, the company said on Monday. The approval for Velsipity follows backing from the European Medicines Agency's panel of experts in December, opens new tab. The drug was approved for use in patients aged 16 or older and who did not show adequate response or were intolerant to previous treatment, Pfizer said. (2/19)

Reuters: EU Drug Regulator To Review Lilly's Mounjaro In Multi-Dose Pen
The European Union's healthcare regulator will this week review the use of Eli Lilly's (LLY.N), opens new tab approved Mounjaro drug against diabetes and obesity when prefilled in a multi-dose injection pen, according to a meeting agenda, opens new tab posted on the watchdog's website on Monday. The U.S. drugmaker won EU approval for the weekly injection late last year and has initially made starter doses available in member states Germany and Poland packaged in vials, so that patients need to draw the medication into syringes before injection. (Burger, 2/19)

CIDRAP: Most Mycoplasma Genitalium Isolates In Belgium Macrolide-Resistant
More than half of sequenced samples of Mycoplasma genitalium (MG) in Belgium were resistant to macrolides, researchers reported last week in Eurosurveillance. From July to November 2022, a team led by researchers with the National Reference Centre of Sexually Transmitted Infections Belgium analyzed a collection of frozen MG-positive samples from 21 Belgian laboratories. MG is a sexually transmitted bacterium that can cause symptomatic and asymptomatic urethritis in men and has been associated with cervicitis in women. (Dall, 2/19)

Stat: Researchers Tackle Phage Therapy Hurdles For Wider Adoption
Lynn Cole was in a never-ending cycle of getting recurrent blood infections. And no antibiotic drugs managed to kill off her zombie-like bacteria. “It just got so frustrating over the years because we couldn’t find the source, so we couldn’t figure out how to treat it and prevent it from happening,” said Mya Cole, Lynn’s daughter. Lynn would be in and out of the hospital. And because she had Sjogren’s syndrome — an autoimmune disease — her health continued to deteriorate. (Balthazar, 2/20)

Reuters: US Study Uncovers 275 Million Entirely New Genetic Variants
A study that analyzed the genetic code of a quarter of a million U.S. volunteers found more than 275 million entirely new variants that may help explain why some groups are more prone to disease than others, researchers reported on Monday. The whole genome sequencing data from a wide range of Americans aims to address the historical lack of diversity in existing genomic datasets by focusing on previously under-represented groups. The U.S. National Institutes of Health-funded "All of Us" study turned up 1 billion genetic variants in total. (Steenhuysen, 2/19)

Stat: Non-Europeans Account For Half The DNA Sequenced By All Of Us
Six years ago, the National Institutes of Health placed its biggest ever bet on precision medicine, launching a study to enroll over 1 million participants in an ambitious data-gathering gambit unmatched in its scope and diversity. Since then, Americans from all walks of life have been showing up and handing over their blood, spit, and pee to the project, dubbed “All of Us.” From those samples, scientists have recovered a trove of new genetic information — more than 275 million never-before-seen DNA variants. (Molteni, 2/19)

Reuters: Neuralink's First Human Patient Able To Control Mouse Through Thinking, Musk Says
The first human patient implanted with a brain-chip from Neuralink appears to have fully recovered and is able to control a computer mouse using their thoughts, the startup's founder Elon Musk said late on Monday. "Progress is good, and the patient seems to have made a full recovery, with neural effects that we are aware of. Patient is able to move a mouse around the screen by just thinking," Musk said in a Spaces event on social media platform X. Musk said Neuralink was now trying to get as many mouse button clicks as possible from the patient. (2/20)

AP: 'Soaring' Over Hills Or 'Playing' With Puppies, Study Finds Seniors Enjoy Virtual Reality
John Knox Village, a suburban Fort Lauderdale, Florida, retirement community ... was one of 17 senior communities around the country that participated in a recently published Stanford University study that found that large majorities of 245 participants between 65 and 103 years old enjoyed virtual reality, improving both their emotions and their interactions with staff. The study is part of a larger effort to adapt VR so it can be beneficial to seniors’ health and emotional well-being and help lessen the impact dementia has on some of them. (Spencer, 2/19)

AP: Missouri House Votes To Ban Celebratory Gunfire Days After Chiefs' Parade Shooting
Missouri’s Republican-led House on Monday passed a bill to ban celebratory gunfire in cities less than a week after a deadly shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade left some attending lawmakers hiding in bathrooms. Kansas City police have said the shooting appeared to stem from a dispute between several people and not celebratory gunfire. ... But the largely bipartisan-supported bill on celebratory gunfire represents a rare effort to regulate guns in a state with some of the most expansive laws on firearm ownership. (Ballentine, 2/20)

Kansas City Star: Missouri Democrats Want Stricter Guns Laws After KC Shooting 
Missouri House Democrats on Monday outlined a proposed state constitutional amendment that would allow Kansas City and other local governments to set stricter limits on guns following the mass shooting last week at the Chiefs Super Bowl victory rally. (Bayless, 2/19)

AP: Louisiana Governor Urges Lawmakers To Pass Tough-On-Crime Legislation
As Louisiana’s crime-focused special legislative session kicked off Monday afternoon, Republican Gov. Jeff Landry urged the GOP-dominated Legislature to pass tough-on-crime policies, assuring lawmakers that he would sign the bills into law. Among the legislation on this short session’s agenda are proposals to expand methods to carry out death row executions, restrict parole eligibility, create harsher penalties for carjackings, allow concealed carry of firearms without a permit, give law enforcement officers “immunity from liability,” and lower the age of when someone charged with a felony can be tried as an adult to 17. (Cline, 2/20)

In other news from across the country —

San Francisco Chronicle: Employee At S.F.’s Largest Drug Treatment Provider ODed At Work
An employee of San Francisco’s largest drug treatment provider, which is currently under investigation by the state, fatally overdosed while at work, according to nonprofit and city records. David Hamilton, who worked at a sober living facility run by HealthRight 360, overdosed on Oct. 4 at 214 Haight St. with fentanyl and cocaine in his system, according to records from the San Francisco Medical Examiner. Hamilton’s job was to dispense medications to clients in the facility. That included over-the-counter drugs like Ibuprofen to prescription drugs for health conditions, including opioid use disorder medications like Methadone — all of which are required to be turned over to staff when a client enters the facility. (Angst, 2/15)

AP: New York Archdiocese Denounces Transgender Activist's Funeral Held At St. Patrick's Cathedral
The funeral of a renowned transgender activist in a New York cathedral elicited a denunciation of the event by a senior church official, who called the Mass a scandal within one of the preeminent houses of worship in U.S. Catholicism. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York condemned the funeral of Cecilia Gentili, which was held in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan and drew a large audience on Thursday. Gentili was known as a leading advocate for other transgender people, as well as sex workers and people with HIV. (Hannon, 2/19)

The New York Times: Woman Arrested For DUI In Washington State Had A Brain Bleed
Driving home from work on the day her life changed forever, Nicole McClure could feel her feet tingling and her sense of direction faltering. Then she noticed colorful lights illuminating the early morning landscape.“Oh, pretty lights,” she remembers thinking, not realizing that a highway patrol car was coming up behind her. On what was supposed to be a simple drive home from her overnight job at Walmart near Olympia, Wash., Ms. McClure felt increasingly disoriented, and wound up crashing into two roundabouts before pulling over. (Baker, 2/18)

AP: North Carolina Removes Children From A Nature Therapy Program's Care Amid A Probe Of A Boy's Death
North Carolina health officials said Friday that they are removing all children from the care of a nature-based therapy program nearly two weeks after the death of a 12-year-old New York boy. The Department of Health and Human Services said in a news release that while it cannot comment on specific details of its investigation of Trails Carolina, this action “needed to be taken to ensure the health and safety of the children.” Health officials declined to say how many children were involved, citing confidentiality rules, but Trails Carolina said later Friday that 18 children were forced to leave. (2/17)

The CT Mirror: CT's Medicaid Reimbursement Rates Lower Than Peer States: Report
Connecticut’s Medicaid program pays providers less for specialist physician and behavioral health services compared to peer states, a report released by the Department of Social Services found. (Golvala, 2/19)

Minnesota Public Radio: State Bill Would Mandate Insurance Coverage For Infertility
Lawmakers kicked off this year’s legislative session Monday. One bill that’s up for consideration would mandate insurance coverage for a spectrum of infertility treatments. (Crann and Bui, 2/16)

Also —

KFF Health News: In California, Faceoff Between Major Insurer And Health System Shows Hazards Of Consolidation
For weeks, more than half a million Anthem Blue Cross enrollees who receive health care from the University of California were held in suspense. It wasn’t clear whether they would have to find new doctors or switch plans as the health system and one of its largest insurance partners struggled to reach agreement on a new contract. (Sciacca, 2/19)

The Washington Post: Pro-Life Up Until Birth? Even That Assessment Is Too Generous.
Republicans have gotten really good lately at undermining prenatal care. (Catherine Rampell, 2/20)

Stat: What Do Weight Loss Drugs Actually Mean For Mental Health?
How a psychiatrist and an endocrinologist are working together when it comes to GLP-1 weight loss drugs like Wegovy. (Jody Dushay and Karen S. Greenberg, 2/19)

Stat: New CMS Data Security Rules Will Hurt Medicare, Medicaid Research
New fees to gain access to Medicaid and Medicare data will strain the budgets of even the most well-financed institutions. (Rachel M. Werner, 2/20)

San Diego Union-Times: Millions Of Older Women Need Affordable Caregivers
A growing number of elderly women find themselves grappling with escalating health care expenses while burdened by financial decisions that disproportionately impact them. (Gemma Bulos and Barbara Provost, 2/19)

CalMatters: CA's Long Mental Health Saga Will Become Newsom's Legacy
Proposition 1 is the latest wrinkle in California's long history debating mental health services. It'll become Gavin Newsom's legacy. (Dan Walters, 2/20)

Modern Healthcare: How Generative AI Could Fight Health Disparities, Climate Change
My latest trip to Davos, Switzerland, to participate in the World Economic Forum last month was a great affirmation of the power of collaboration and the promise of artificial intelligence to address health challenges around the globe, especially when it comes to expanding access to care and improving health equity. (Robert Garrett, 2/20)