First Edition: Friday, Aug. 23, 2024

KFF Health News: Disability Rights Activist Pushes Government To Let Him Participate In Society
Garret Frey refuses to be sidelined. Frey has been paralyzed from the neck down for more than 37 of his 42 years. He has spent decades rejecting the government’s excuses when he and others with disabilities are denied the support they need to live in their own homes and to participate in society. The Iowan won a landmark case before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1999, after his school district refused to pay for the care he needed to continue attending high school classes in Cedar Rapids. (Leys, 8/23)

KFF Health News: Trump Drastically Inflates Annual Fentanyl Death Numbers
Former President Donald Trump claimed at a recent campaign rally that more than 300,000 Americans are dying each year from the synthetic opioid drug fentanyl, and that the number of fentanyl overdoses was the “lowest” during his administration and has skyrocketed since. ... Trump’s figures appear to have no basis in fact. Government statistics show the number of drug overdose deaths per year is hovering around 100,000 to 110,000, with opioid-related deaths at about 81,000. (Gardenswartz, 8/23)

Roll Call: FDA Greenlights Updated COVID Shots, Prepares For Fall Rollout 
The FDA on Thursday gave its nod to the updated COVID-19 vaccines for the 2024-25 season, preparing for an expected spike in cases this upcoming fall and winter. Both Pfizer’s and Moderna’s updated vaccines are granted full approval for people age 12 and older, and they’re authorized for emergency use for children 6 months to 11 years old. The approval comes as COVID-19 infection rates have increased this summer, according to wastewater data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (DeGroot, 8/22)

The New York Times: FDA Approved New Covid Shots. But Who Will Get Them? 
In recent weeks, people have been hospitalized with Covid at a rate nearly twice as high as during the same time last summer. By late July, Covid was killing roughly 600 Americans each week, a substantial drop from this winter but double the number from this spring. The availability of boosters has not translated into actual vaccinations. By spring, only one in five adults had received last year’s updated Covid vaccine. Even older Americans, who are at far greater risk of being severely sickened, largely spurned the shots, with only 40 percent of people 75 and older taking last year’s vaccine. (Mueller and Weiland, 8/22)

The New York Times: Whooping Cough Is Coming Back
After a yearslong lull thanks to Covid-19 precautions like isolation and distancing, whooping cough cases are now climbing back to levels seen before the pandemic, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So far this year, there have been 10,865 cases of whooping cough, or pertussis, nationwide. That’s more than triple the number of cases documented by this time last year, and is also higher than what was seen at this time in 2019. Doctors say these estimates are most likely an undercount, as many people may not realize they have whooping cough and therefore are never tested. (Blum, 8/22)

The Washington Post: In Narrow Ruling, Arkansas Supreme Court Keeps Abortion Off The Ballot
The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that abortion will not be on the ballot in November, upholding the state’s rejection of a petition to bring an abortion access measure before voters because organizers had failed to submit the required paperwork on time. In a narrow 4-3 ruling, the court’s majority sided with Secretary of State John Thurston (R), who in July rejected a petition submitted by Arkansans for Limited Government that carried over 100,000 signatures because the group had not submitted training certifications for paid canvassers it used. (Wu, 8/22)

ABC News: HPV Vaccine Coverage Has Dropped Among Teens Since 2020, CDC Report Finds
The percentage of teenagers who were up to date on their human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines has fallen dramatically since 2020, according to new federal data released Thursday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently recommends children from ages 11 to 12 receive two doses of the HPV vaccine, given six to 12 months apart, although children can get the vaccine starting at age 9. (Kekatos, 8/22)

NBC News: Does HPV Affect Men's Fertility? Study Finds A Link To Sperm Quality
A new study from Argentinian researchers has found that the strains of HPV considered high risk because of their links to cancer were not only more common than low-risk strains in a small study population of men, they also appeared to pose a greater threat to sperm quality. The study, published Friday in Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, found that high-risk HPV appears to suppress key components of the immune system in the male genital tract. (Ryan, 8/23)

The New York Times: Harris Promises To Chart ‘New Way Forward’ As She Accepts Nomination 
Kamala Harris focused at length on Project 2025, a conservative policy agenda drafted by Donald Trump's allies. She warned that the policies could have a devastating effect on reproductive health, leading to a nationwide abortion ban and further restrictions to women’s health care. “Simply put, they are out of their minds,” Ms. Harris said. She said that she would “proudly” sign legislation protecting abortion rights into law — a pledge also made by Joe Biden, but one that is a long shot in the current Congress. (Rogers and Epstein, 8/23)

Politico: Trump Attacks Walz Over DNC Speech And Tries To Distance Himself From Project 2025
Donald Trump told “Fox and Friends” on Thursday morning that Tim Walz connecting him to Project 2025 was “disgraceful” and throughout the interview, repeatedly said he had “no idea” what it was. The former president also rehashed his criticisms of Walz for Minnesota’s law placing free menstrual products in public school restrooms, describing it as having tampons “available in young men’s bathrooms.” (Ramirez, 8/22)

Politico: ‘Immediate Shift’: Democrats Speaking About Abortion In Once Unimaginable Ways 
President Joe Biden and fellow Democratic leaders have spent two years focusing on women with wanted pregnancies who were denied emergency abortion care. The party, now firmly in its Kamala Harris era, is widening the lens. Democrats at their convention this week spotlighted stories of unwanted pregnancies, a long taboo subject in politics. (Messerly and Ollstein, 8/22)

CalMatters: How Kamala Harris' Record On Abortion In CA Prepared Her For 2024
She built a reputation in California as a prosecutor who backed abortion rights, and, as attorney general, Kamala Harris threw her weight behind multiple abortion issues with national consequences. Two standouts include investigating claims that Planned Parenthood sold fetal remains and supporting regulation of anti-abortion pregnancy centers. “As long as I have known her, this has always been a core issue,” said San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu. (Hwang, 8/22)

Fox News: Progressive Leader Urges Harris To Wait On Government Health Care Push
The leader of a progressive group said Medicare for All – previously understood as a top priority for those on the left wing of the Democratic Party and advocated for by then-Sen. Kamala Harris in her brief 2020 presidential run – can wait. "There's a time and place for every policy," Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) co-founder Adam Green told Fox News Digital. (Johnson, 8/22)

Politico: Survivors And Relatives Speak Out On Gun Violence In Emotional Speeches
The night took a heart-wrenching turn as survivors and relatives of people killed by gun violence shared their stories with a rapt and tear-filled audience. Abbey Clements, a teacher who survived the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, talked as her voice broke about the day 20 first grade children and six of her colleagues were killed. (Messerly, 8/22)

NBC News: What Is A Nonverbal Learning Disorder? Tim Walz's Son Gus' Condition, Explained
A 2020 study estimated that as many as 2.9 million children and adolescents in North America have nonverbal learning disability, or NVLD, which affects a person’s spatial-visual skills. The number of people who receive a diagnosis is likely much smaller than those living with the disability, said Santhosh Girirajan, the T. Ming Chu professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and professor of genomics at Penn State. (Sullivan, 8/22)

Politico: Bill Pascrell, Fiery New Jersey Rep., Dies At 87 
New Jersey Democratic Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., the second-oldest member of the House who brought an in-your-face Jersey attitude to the chamber, died Wednesday at age 87. Pascrell had been hospitalized at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in his hometown of Paterson since July 14. It’s the second time this year a sitting New Jersey lawmaker has died in office. (Racioppi and Friedman, 8/21)

The New York Times: Columbia Medical School Gets $400 Million After Some Donors Pause Gifts
Columbia University’s medical school announced on Thursday that one of its graduates was donating $400 million, the largest gift in the medical school’s history. The gift, from P. Roy and Diana Vagelos, would expand biomedical research at a school that already bears their name, after they donated $250 million in 2017. It comes at a critical time for the university, which spent much of the last school year convulsed by protests over the Israel-Hamas war. The university’s handling of those protests led some major donors to pause their contributions to the school. (Goldstein, 8/22)

Reuters: Steward Health To Close Two Ohio Hospitals, Pennsylvania Hospital At Risk
A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Thursday ordered Steward Health Care not to take immediate action to close a Pennsylvania hospital that is perilously short on funds, while allowing the company to proceed with two just-announced closures in Ohio. (Knauth, 8/22)

Bloomberg: Pennsylvania AG Accuses Steward Of Demanding Funds To Halt Hospital Closure
Pennsylvania’s top law enforcement officer accused bankrupt hospital operator Steward Health of neglecting one of its hospitals and threatening to close the facility if authorities don’t immediately provide $1.5 million in government funding. Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle A. Henry said in a Thursday court filing that her office is considering Steward’s request to provide Sharon Hospital support but requires detailed financial information and more time to secure approval to do so. (Randles, 8/22)

Reuters: Exclusive: Evolent Health In Sale Talks After Receiving Takeover Interest, Sources Say
Evolent Health is in talks with private equity firms and healthcare services providers for a potential sale, in a process that kicked off after it received takeover interest, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Private equity firms TPG, CD&R and KKR are among the parties that have expressed interest in a deal for healthcare software provider Evolent, which has a market value of about $3.8 billion, the sources said. TPG was one of the early investors in Evolent. (Vinn and Sen, 8/22)

Asheville Watchdog: Mission Hospital Losing Half Of Staff Neurologists
Three staff neurologists are leaving Mission Hospital by the end of September, potentially leaving only two to provide critical care to hundreds of patients at the Asheville flagship hospital and across western North Carolina, including many who have suffered strokes. (Jones, 8/23)

The Texas Tribune: UT System To Merge UTSA And UT Health San Antonio
San Antonio will soon be home to the third largest comprehensive public research university in the state. The University of Texas System Board of Regents voted Thursday to combine the University of Texas at San Antonio and UT Health San Antonio — the system’s health institution in the city — by 2025, putting the 35,000-student university and UT Health San Antonio’s six health care schools under one umbrella. (McGee, 8/22)

The Buffalo News: Two Top Officials At Buffalo VA Hospital Reassigned Pending Investigation Into Treatment Delays
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has reassigned two top executives at the VA hospital in Buffalo after hearing complaints that local veterans experienced delays in receiving critical treatments. “Upon learning of concerns raised by clinicians about local leadership and instances of delayed care, VA immediately transferred the medical center director and the chief of staff out of clinical- and Veteran-facing positions pending the results of an investigation,” VA Press Secretary Terrence Hayes said in a statement Wednesday morning. (8/22)

Military.com: VA Sets Up Website, Call Center To Protect Vets From Fraud As More Companies Profit From Benefits Claims 
The Department of Veterans Affairs has established a new website and call center to help veterans who think they've been defrauded or charged exorbitant or illicit fees -- former service members such as Navy veteran David Rouse, who recently learned he owes a company nearly $9,000 for helping with his disability claim. (Kime, 8/22)

The New York Times: Michigan Doctor Accused Of Recording Nude Images In Hospitals And Changing Rooms 
A Detroit-area doctor recorded nude women and children with hidden cameras in private places such as hospitals, bathrooms and the changing area at a swim club over a period of at least six years, law enforcement officials in Michigan said this week. The activities that led to charges against Dr. Oumair Aejaz, an internal medicine doctor, were reported to the authorities by his wife, Sheriff Michael J. Bouchard of Oakland County said. (Sanders, 8/22)

Stat: EpicGenetics Agrees To Stop Selling Two Questionable Blood Tests 
A diagnostics company has agreed to stop selling two questionable blood tests as part of a settlement with a consumer watchdog that accused the firm of using “false and misleading advertising” to promote the products. (Boodman, 8/23)

The New York Times: Psychedelics May Give The Living A Glimpse Into Near-Death States
One person felt a sensation of “slowly floating into the air” as images flashed around. Another recalled “the most profound sense of love and peace,” unlike anything experienced before. Consciousness became a “foreign entity” to another whose “whole sense of reality disappeared.” These were some of the firsthand accounts shared in a small survey of people who belonged to an unusual cohort: They had all undergone a near-death experience and tried psychedelic drugs. (Nuwer, 8/22)

Reuters: Musk's Neuralink Says Second Trial Implant Went Well, No Thread Retraction Issue 
Elon Musk's brain technology startup Neuralink said its implant, designed to allow paralyzed patients to use digital devices by thinking alone, is working well in a second trial patient. The company said the patient, identified as Alex, did not face issues of "thread retraction", unlike Noland Arbaugh, Neuralink's first patient who received the implant in January. (8/22)

Stat: AI In Medicine: A National Registry Could Help Increase Transparency, Experts Say
The use of artificial intelligence in hospitals is ramping up so fast — and with such little transparency — that it is impossible to track how any given product is impacting the cost or quality of care. Whether AI is monitored at all is entirely up to individual health systems. (Ross, 8/23)

AP: Agreement To Cancel Medical Debt For 193,000 Needy Patients In Southern States
A New Orleans-based system of hospitals and clinics serving Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama is working with a New York nonprofit to wipe out $366 million in medical debt for about 193,000 needy patients. The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reported Wednesday that the deal involving Ochsner Health was arranged by Undue Medical Debt, a donor-funded organization that negotiates with hospitals, doctors’ offices and ambulance services to purchase and erase the outstanding medical debt of those least able to afford it. (8/22)

WUSF: Florida Families Are Seeking Consistent Care Following Medicaid Unwinding
Florida KidCare, a childhood insurance option for some parents who lost coverage, is failing to offset the coverage gap left by the Medicaid unwinding. (Paul, 8/22)

Los Angeles Times: California Beach City Bans Smoking In Apartments, Condos
Smokers living in apartments, condos and townhomes in Carlsbad will now have to think twice about lighting up inside their homes. The beach city Tuesday became the first in San Diego County to expressly ban smoking and vaping of cannabis and nicotine products inside all local multifamily residential buildings. (Fry, 8/22)

The Washington Post: Transgender Texans Blocked From Changing Sex On Driver’s Licenses 
Transgender Texans can no longer change the sex listed on their driver’s licenses to match their gender identity, according to a state policy rolled out this week. Advocacy groups say the new rule further harms a vulnerable community already targeted by anti-trans efforts in the state and around the country. (Kaur, 8/22)

CBS News: New Policy Will Change How New Jersey Police Respond To Some Mental Health Calls
The New Jersey state attorney general is changing the state's use-of-force policy after two fatal police shootings of people experiencing mental health crises. Attorney General Matthew Platkin says this is the first statewide policy of its kind and will require all police departments in New Jersey to coordinate with mental health professionals when they're responding to a call for a barricaded person, a situation he says overwhelmingly involves people experiencing an emotional crisis and is the most likely call to end in an injury. (Bauman, 8/22)

AP: Missouri Governor Says Secretary Of State Blocking Effort To Ban Unregulated THC Because Of Hurt Feelings
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Thursday accused Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft of thwarting an executive order to ban various forms of the cannabis compound THC over “hurt feelings” because Parson endorsed Ashcroft’s GOP rival in the recent gubernatorial primary Ashcroft lost. Ashcroft did not sign-off on Parson’s August emergency executive order banning the sale of unregulated THC substances. Recreational and medical marijuana are both legal in Missouri, but Parson’s executive order was aimed at particular THC compounds that aren’t regulated, including Delta-8. (Ballentine, 8/22)

CIDRAP: More Global Mpox Spread As Clade 1b Confirmed In Thailand, The 2nd Case Outside Africa 
The mpox case in a European traveler from Africa to Thailand that was reported yesterday has now been confirmed as caused by clade 1b, the deadly strain that has spread widely in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighboring countries. The patient is a 66-year-old European man who had arrived in Thailand last week from an unspecified African country in which mpox spreading, Reuters reported. Thailand's health ministry said his travels to Thailand included a stop in an unnamed Middle Eastern nation. (Wappes, 8/22)

Bloomberg: Singapore Begins Screening For Mpox Symptoms At Airports, Sea Checkpoints
Singapore will screen for mpox symptoms at border checkpoints, boosting precautionary measures against the virus after its outbreak was declared a global health emergency. Temperature and visual screening will start Friday at the island nation’s Changi and Seletar airports, as well as sea checkpoints, for inbound travelers and crew arriving from places where there’s risk of mpox outbreaks, the Ministry of Health said in a statement. Travelers who have fever, rash or symptoms compatible with mpox will be referred for medical assessment, it said. (Ossinger, 8/23)

USA Today: Fact Check: Video Shows Line For Walz Rally, Not Mpox Tests In Omaha
An Aug. 18 Threads video shows a large crowd in a grassy field and several buildings in the distance. "Huge lines to get tested for monkeypox in Omaha, Nebraska. How are there this many stupid people in one place," reads the post. Our rating: False. The video doesn't show people lined up to get tested for mpox, formerly known as monkeypox. It shows a line for a campaign rally held by vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz on Aug. 17 in La Vista, Nebraska, a city spokesperson said. (Byik, 8/22)