First Edition: April 19, 2022

KHN: Better Ventilation Can Prevent Covid Spread. But Are Companies Paying Attention? 
Americans are abandoning their masks. They’re done with physical distancing. And, let’s face it, some people are just never going to get vaccinated. Yet a lot can still be done to prevent covid infections and curb the pandemic. A growing coalition of epidemiologists and aerosol scientists say that improved ventilation could be a powerful tool against the coronavirus — if businesses are willing to invest the money. (Szabo, 4/19)

KHN: Why Cheap, Older Drugs That Might Treat Covid Never Get Out Of The Lab 
In March 2020, Dr. Joseph Vinetz left the contemplative world of his Yale University infectious-disease laboratory and plunged into the covid ward at Yale New Haven Hospital, joining an army of health care workers who struggled to treat the deadly viral disease. There were no drugs against covid-19, and no way to predict which infected patients would develop pneumonia or fall into an inflammatory tailspin leading to severe illness or death. In desperation, Vinetz and countless other doctor-scientists trawled the literature for existing medicines that might help. (Allen, 4/19)

KHN: As Eating Disorders Spike During Pandemic, Rural Treatment Options Lag 
Erin Reynolds had battled bulimia since childhood, but the weeks before she entered treatment were among her worst. At 22, she was preparing to leave her home in Helena, Montana, for an inpatient program in New Jersey with round-the-clock medical care. Looking back six years later, Reynolds said seeking help was one of the most difficult parts of the recovery process. “I just kept bingeing and purging because I was so stressed,” she said. “I’m leaving my job that I love, leaving all my friends and my town and saying goodbye to normal life.” (Graf, 4/19)

The Washington Post: TSA Stops Mask Enforcement After Federal Judge Voids Mandate
Federal officials stopped enforcement of a federal mask mandate Monday in transportation settings after a federal judge struck down the requirement, raising public health concerns and prompting several airlines to announce that face coverings are optional on domestic flights. U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle of the Middle District of Florida said the mandate exceeds the statutory authority of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Federal officials last week had extended the mask mandate for commercial flights and in other settings, including on buses, ferries and subways, until at least May 3. (Laris and George, 4/18)

The Hill: Multiple Airlines, Amtrak To Drop Mask Requirements 
United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines and JetBlue Airways all announced that masks would be optional for both passengers and employees as well as in airports. Amtrak also announced that it would make masks optional for its guests and train employees. ... In a statement to The Hill, a spokesperson for Amtrak said that it would make masks optional for employees and customers on board trains and in stations but added that “masks are welcome and remain an important preventive measure against COVID-19.” (Beals, 4/18)

The New York Times: How U.S. Airlines Are Changing Their Mask Rules
Generally, the airlines said they would no longer require masks at airports and on flights within the United States, though several said they would still require them when flying into cities and countries where requirements were still in place. Some airports may continue to require masks, too. Here’s what each of the major national airlines had to say. (Chokshi, 4/18)

Fox News: White House Calls Federal Ruling To Toss Mask Mandate 'A Disappointing Decision'
The White House said the federal court ruling Monday to void the Biden administration’s mask mandate for travelers using public transportation such as trains and airplanes was "obviously a disappointing decision" in light of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommending its order for passengers to wear face coverings be extended. A federal judge on Monday voided the Biden administration's transportation mask mandate from the CDC, which applies to people as young as 2 years old, and had been set to expire a number of times. The order was recently extended to May 3 before Monday’s ruling. (Singman, 4/18)

The Hill: White House Urges Travelers To Keep Wearing Masks After ‘Disappointing’ Ruling 
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday the Biden administration still recommends that individuals wear masks on public transit after a judge struck down the federal mask mandate for travel on planes, trains and buses. Psaki told reporters during the daily briefing that administration officials are “still reviewing” the ruling from a federal judge in Florida, which she called “disappointing.” The press secretary left the door open to the administration appealing the ruling. (Gangitano, 4/18)

Los Angeles Times: Some California Transit Agencies Ask Riders To Still Mask
Some public transit agencies in California are asking riders to continue wearing masks on buses and trains, despite a federal court ruling in Florida on Monday that struck down the masking mandate on public transportation. The Biden administration said Monday’s court decision means that the federal order issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requiring mask use on public transit — including planes, airports, buses and trains — is not in effect at this time. The CDC still recommends the public wear masks when using public transportation. (Lin II and Money, 4/18)

Houston Chronicle: Houston Hospitals Relax Mask Rules As Daily COVID Admissions Hit New Low
Some Houston hospitals are relaxing mask rules as new COVID-19 admissions sink to the lowest point since the pandemic began, according to Texas Medical Center data released Monday. The data shows that medical center institutions last week admitted an average of 42 patients per day — a dramatic drop from the high of 497 daily new admissions in mid-January. The previous low was in late June 2021, just before the delta variant hit Houston, when hospitals reported 48 new patients per day. (Gill, 4/19)

The Washington Post: CDC Drops All Countries From Its Highest-Risk Covid Category
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its international covid-19 travel advisory system Monday, designating its highest-risk category for extreme scenarios. As of Monday, the CDC dropped all countries from its “Level 4” category, now labeled “Special Circumstances/Do Not Travel.” About 120 destinations now have a Level 3 advisory — including Australia, the United Kingdom, Italy and many other popular European destinations — for “high” levels of the coronavirus, while 12 destinations sit at Level 2. Another 55 are designated Level 1, its lowest-risk level. (Diller, 4/18)

Politico: White House Global Covid-19 Summit To Be Held In May 
The White House announced Monday that its Global Covid-19 Summit, which it hopes will bring new funding and coordination for global pandemic responses, will be held May 12. The summit will be co-hosted by Belize, Germany, Indonesia and Senegal — CARICOM chair, leader of the G-7, leader of the G-20 and African Union chair, respectively. (Payne, 4/18)

The New York Times: Supreme Court Rules Against Air Force Officer Who Refused Vaccine 
The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the Pentagon may take disciplinary action against a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserve who refused to be vaccinated against the coronavirus on religious grounds. The court’s brief, unsigned order gave no reasons, which is common when the justices act on emergency applications. The court’s three most conservative members — Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Neil M. Gorsuch — noted dissents but did not explain their thinking. (Liptak, 4/18)

AP: High Court Won't Hear New York City Teacher Vaccine Dispute 
The Supreme Court is declining to wade into a lawsuit filed by four New York City public school employees over a policy that they be vaccinated against COVID-19. Lower courts had previously allowed the policy to go into effect while litigation continued, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor had also rejected an emergency request that the policy be put on hold. The justices said Monday they wouldn’t get involved in the dispute. As is typical the justices did not say anything in rejecting the case, and it was one of more than 100 the court turned away. (4/18)

CIDRAP: Extending Time Between MRNA COVID Vaccine Doses May Boost Efficacy
COVID-19 mRNA vaccine effectiveness (VE) against infection was 5% to 7% higher when the two primary doses were given at least 7 weeks rather than 3 to 5 weeks apart, according to an observational study of hospital and community healthcare workers (HCWs) in British Columbia published late last week in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. ... After adjustment, mRNA VE against infection was 71% for one dose at a median of 7 weeks and 90% for two doses at 13 weeks. Seven months after the second dose, VE was still greater than 80%. Two-dose VE was consistently 5% to 7% higher when given at least 7 weeks apart than after a 3- to 5-week interval. (4/18)

AP: NMSU Ending Option Of COVID-19 Testing; Vaccination Required
New Mexico State University will require all students on campus to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by July 1, ending the option of submitting weekly tests as an alternative, the university announced Monday. Chancellor Dan Arvizu also said in a memo to students, faculty and staff that NMSU no longer will require weekly testing for students and employees who decided against getting a booster or received an exemption from vaccination. (4/18)

The New York Times: Four Americans Were Infected With A Virus Variant Seen In Mink 
In the first year of the pandemic, at least four people in Michigan were infected with a version of the coronavirus observed mostly in mink, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed on Monday. The cluster, which previously included just three cases, represents the first known instance of possible animal-to-human transmission of the virus in the United States. (Anthes, 4/18)

AP: Agencies Monitoring Hawaii Wastewater For COVID-19 
Federal authorities have begun monitoring Hawaii wastewater for COVID-19, while the state expects its own monitoring program to be fully operational this summer, officials said. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been testing in the islands as part of its National Wastewater Surveillance System, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported. (4/18)

CNBC: Leaving Covid Safety To Personal Choice Will 'Come Back To Bite Us,' Ex-Obama Health Official Says
A former Obama health policy director on Monday criticized what she sees as a potentially dangerous shift in government messaging on Covid safety protocols. “My biggest issue with the it’s-your-call kind of theme that’s out there [is] we don’t do this in any other area of illness, health, or disease or burden. I don’t tell a patient with high LDL cholesterol, ‘Hey, you go figure out what your 10-year cardiovascular risk is, and you can decide,’” Dr. Kavita Patel said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “Of course, they are able to decide what their options are after I talk to them about what I think is best,” added Patel, a primary care physician in the Washington, D.C. area. (Hur, 4/18)

The Washington Post: Woman’s Medical Odyssey Shows How The System Fails Long-Haul Patients
Two years, three bouts of covid and 11 doctors later, no one seems to know why Lindsay Polega is still so ill. She’s only 28 years old and was the picture of health before her infections. Polega, who graduated from law school last year, is now suffering from chest pain, hypertensive spikes, hand numbness and numerous other symptoms. (Cha, 4/18)

CIDRAP: Global Data Reveal Half May Have Long COVID 4 Months On 
Worldwide, 49% of COVID-19 survivors reported persistent symptoms 4 months after diagnosis, estimates a meta-analysis of 31 studies published late last week in The Journal of Infectious Diseases. University of Michigan researchers, who conducted a systematic review on Jul 5, 2021, also found the prevalence of long COVID at 1 month at 37%, while it was 25% at 2 months and 32% at 3 months. Fifty studies were identified in the review, and 41 were included in a quantitative synthesis, and 31 reporting overall prevalence were meta-analyzed. (Van Beusekom, 4/18)

Stat: 6 Covid Mysteries Experts Hope To Unravel 
For a formidable adversary with plenty of secrets up its sleeve, the coronavirus presented one bright bull’s-eye for the world’s response. Scientists, in record time, developed vaccines based on the virus’s spike protein that in turn have saved millions of lives. Yet more than two years after SARS-CoV-2 appeared, as documented deaths in the U.S. near 1 million and estimated global deaths reach as high as 18 million, there are still many mysteries about the virus and the pandemic it caused. They range from the technical — what role do autoantibodies play in long Covid? Can a pan-coronavirus vaccine actually be developed? — to the philosophical, such as how can we rebuild trust in our institutions and each other? Debate still festers, too, over the virus’s origins, despite recent studies adding evidence that it spilled over from wildlife. (4/19)

The Boston Globe: Pandemic’s Lesson For Many Older Folks: Stay In Your Home As Long As You Can
For many older Americans and their families, the devastating COVID-19 outbreak — which caused more than 200,000 deaths in nursing homes nationally — was a persuasive argument for living at home as long as possible. Now, as the pandemic grinds into its third year, a loose-knit band of tech gurus, gerontology researchers, and volunteer-powered elder support groups, called “villages,” is seeking to overcome the obstacles to aging in place. Among the toughest: a worsening shortage of home care workers, who can assist the oldest residents with walking, dressing, or showering. Coronavirus sped up the deployment of “age-tech,” technology that helps older people age in place, by seven to 10 years, said Joe Coughlin, director of MIT AgeLab in Cambridge. (Weisman, 4/18)

Modern Healthcare: Nursing Homes Still Enduring Staff Shortfalls
Two years after the pandemic, nursing facilities are still experiencing significant workforce challenges. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation issued in December 2021 allows organizations to bring back medical staff who’ve tested positive for COVID-19 after five days of isolation, even if they’re still symptomatic, and without providing a negative test. “Even with this revised guidance, we are seeing high levels of staffing shortages that prevent many nursing homes from accepting new patients or assisting overwhelmed hospitals,” the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living said in a statement. “So, while we support the CDC guidance, it’s not enough to stem the tide of this historic labor crisis.” (Cohen, 4/19)

USA Today: COVID Nursing Home Staff Shortage Forces Facilities To Shut Down
A 99-bed nursing home in one of Cleveland's poorest neighborhoods will close its doors in less than two months. Like many nursing homes in urban and rural pockets of America, Eliza Bryant Village has struggled to maintain operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Costs are too high and reimbursement isn't enough. The home loses more than $100 each day for every resident covered by Medicaid, which represents about 95% of the home's population. So the home that describes itself as the oldest, continually operating, African American-founded nursing home in the U.S. will close June 8. Most elderly residents, some having lived there for several years, already have found new facilities. As of April 15, 17 residents were still searching for their next home. (Alltucker, 4/18)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Xavier Becerra To Announce Mental Health Initiative In Las Vegas Visit
U.S. Health and Human Services Director Xavier Becerra will announce in Las Vegas on Tuesday a key mental health initiative, according to his office. Becerra will announce the initiative at the Nevada Healthcare Provider Summit hosted by Gov. Steve Sisolak. The secretary also will discuss lessons learned during the pandemic, his office said. Later in the day, Becerra will host an event in support of President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot at Martin Luther King Family Health. He will hear from Nevada leaders and clinicians about barriers to cancer prevention and treatment, and announce a new Health and Human Services’ effort to increase access to screening services. More than 9.5 million cancer screenings were missed in the United States because of the pandemic. (Hynes, 4/18)

Roll Call: Report: FEMA Reimbursed Ineligible COVID-19 Funeral Expenses 
A multibillion-dollar funeral assistance program for COVID-19 victims reimbursed families for some ineligible expenses that included flowers, catering and transportation, according to a report released by federal investigators Monday. The Department of Homeland Security inspector general's office issued a “management alert” to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which runs the program. It called on FEMA’s administrator to modify the agency’s operating procedures to comply with longstanding policy. "FEMA is putting millions of taxpayer dollars at an elevated risk of waste and abuse by reimbursing funeral expenses identified as ineligible by its own policies," the inspector general’s report said. (Lerman, 4/18)

Modern Healthcare: Supreme Court Tosses Medicaid Work Requirement Cases
The Supreme Court on Monday tossed out cases challenging Medicaid work requirements in Arkansas and New Hampshire. The justices said lower courts should vacate their prior rulings nixing the work requirements, as the cases are moot. But work requirements are still being debated in the lower courts, since Georgia sued the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services over the agency's decision to pull approval for the state's planned requirements. (Goldman, 4/18)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Proposes $1.6 Billion Increase To Inpatient Hospital Pay For FY23
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Monday proposed bumping up inpatient hospital payments by approximately $1.6 billion in fiscal 2023. The proposed Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System rule represents a 3.2% increase in fiscal 2023 payments from the year before. CMS also wants to add health equity measures to the hospital inpatient quality reporting program, including one that tracks hospital commitment to health equity, and officially suggested the "birthing friendly" hospital designation it announced last week. CMS asked for feedback last year on how to advance health equity through quality measurement. (Goldman, 4/18)

Stat: Nation’s Top Cancer Hospitals Slap Hefty Markups On Drugs, Study Says
The nation’s preeminent cancer hospitals are charging commercial health insurers anywhere from double to seven times their costs of acquiring cancer drugs, a new study shows. Most top cancer institutions also are keeping their drug prices secret in direct violation of federal law, potentially exposing themselves to fines. The findings reinforce how cancer care, especially the drugs, generates significant revenue for hospitals, and how markups on drugs potentially put insured cancer patients in financially perilous situations. (Herman, 4/18)

The New York Times: Scientists Question Data Behind An Experimental Alzheimer’s Drug 
A small biotech company that trumpeted an exciting new treatment for Alzheimer’s disease is now under fire for irregularities in its research results, after several studies related to its work were retracted or questioned by scientific journals. The company, Cassava Sciences, based in Austin, Texas, announced last summer that its drug, simufilam, improved cognition in Alzheimer’s patients in a small clinical trial, describing it as the first such advance in treatment of the disease. Cassava later initiated a larger trial. (Mandavilli, 4/18)

The Wall Street Journal: Contaminated-Baby-Formula Investigation Turns Murky 
A federal investigation into popular baby formulas and serious infant bacterial infections has been complicated by conflicting evidence that could make it difficult to prove or disprove a definitive connection, government officials and food-safety experts say. Federal officials received complaints over four months beginning last September of four babies who were hospitalized with rare bacterial infections after being fed powdered baby formula made at an Abbott Laboratories manufacturing plant in Sturgis, Mich. Two of the babies later died. (Walker, 4/18)

NBC News: Viagra And Nitrates Don’t Mix, So How Are Some Men Still Taking Both?
As any sports fan knows, thanks to the incessant drumbeat of game-time Viagra and Cialis commercials, mixing erectile dysfunction drugs with nitrates for chest pain can cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. Most medical guidelines strongly warn men not to take both types of medications. Researchers in Denmark and the U.S., however, have recently found that a substantial number of men are nevertheless obtaining overlapping prescriptions for both classes of drugs. But evidence suggests that they don’t appear to suffer negative health outcomes, such as heart attacks, as a result. (Ryan, 4/18)

AP: Doctors Suggest New Names For Low-Grade Prostate Cancer
A cancer diagnosis is scary. Some doctors say it’s time to rename low-grade prostate cancer to eliminate the alarming C-word. Cancer cells develop in nearly all prostates as men age, and most prostate cancers are harmless. About 34,000 Americans die from prostate cancer annually, but treating the disease can lead to sexual dysfunction and incontinence. Changing the name could lead more low-risk patients to skip unnecessary surgery and radiation. (Johnson, 4/18)

AP: Abortion Training Under Threat For Med Students, Residents
Browse any medical dictionary, and before hitting appendectomy and anesthesia, you’ll find abortion. The first two procedures are part of standard physician education. But for many U.S. medical school students and residents who want to learn about abortions, options are scarce. And new restrictions are piling up: Within the past year, bills or laws seeking to limit abortion education have been proposed or enacted in at least eight states. The changes are coming from abortion opponents emboldened by new limits on the procedure itself, as well as a pending Supreme Court decision that could upend the landmark Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion. (Tanner, 4/18)

Bloomberg: Pandemic Health-Tech Boom In U.S. Loses Momentum
The wild boom in health-tech funding that followed Covid-19 is starting to fade. The pandemic triggered a record wave of investment in new health-care companies. Doctors were forced to figure out how to practice online almost overnight, and Covid’s devastation exposed the systemic failings of American health care. Entrepreneurs with thoughts about how to fix them Zoomed into meetings with VCs looking for places to put their money in an economy walloped by Covid. Big checks were written, setting records for investment in digital health. In the U.S., investors put $29 billion into digital health last year, double the level of 2020 and up from about $1 billion a decade earlier. (Tozzi, 4/18)

Stat: PETA Urges USDA To Probe Research Facilities Over Monkey Shipments
A prominent animal rights group asked U.S. authorities to investigate leading medical research labs for allegedly violating federal law after finding dozens of instances where nearly 2,000 monkeys were shipped between facilities without required veterinary inspections. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals cited documents obtained from several state agencies that indicated timely inspections did not take place before or after the monkeys were shipped across state lines. These documents must be completed no more than 10 days before monkeys are delivered. Carriers may only accept monkeys for shipping if they are accompanied by a valid veterinary inspection certificates. (Silverman, 4/18)

AP: J&J's Janssen Settles With WVa For $99M In Opioid Lawsuit
West Virginia will receive $99 million in a settlement finalized Monday with Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. over the drugmaker’s role in perpetuating the opioid crisis in the state that has long led the nation in drug overdose deaths. State Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said during a news briefing that he believes West Virginia’s settlement is the largest in the country per capita with Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen, which has faced opioid litigation in dozens of communities throughout the U.S. (Willingham, 4/18)

CNN: William Husel: Jury Deadlocked In Murder Trial Of Ohio Doctor Accused Of Overprescribing Fentanyl To The Dying 
Jurors in Ohio said Monday they are at an impasse and cannot reach a unanimous verdict in the murder trial of William Husel, the doctor accused of overprescribing the powerful opioid fentanyl to his critically ill patients and hastening their deaths. Franklin County Judge Michael Holbrook instructed the jurors to continue their deliberations, which began April 12. ... After several more hours of deliberations, the jury sent a note to the court asking for additional guidance on the definition of “reasonable doubt.” The judge directed them to the definition in the jury instructions without providing further context. The jury did not reach a verdict Monday and will return Tuesday at 9 a.m. to begin their fifth day of deliberations. (Levenson, Casarez and Vitagliano, 4/18)

AP: Pennsylvania Health Department To Get New Acting Secretary 
Pennsylvania’s acting health secretary is leaving the job and Gov. Tom Wolf said Monday his physician general will take over leadership of the department. Wolf said Keara Klinepeter’s last day is Friday. He plans to name Physician General Dr. Denise Johnson to succeed her as acting health secretary. Klinepeter has been acting secretary since her predecessor, Alison Beam, left at the end of 2021.Klinepeter has been deeply involved in the government’s handling of COVID-19, including as special advisor to the secretary and executive deputy secretary. (4/18)

The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Grapples With How To Remove People From Medicaid
More than 400,000 Ohioans may lose Medicaid coverage – government-paid health insurance for low-income or disabled people – this summer when the federal government's COVID-19 emergency declaration ends, according to the Commonwealth Fund. Under the declaration, Ohio and other states were unable to take people off Medicaid, even if they became ineligible. Around 3.3 million Ohioans were enrolled in Medicaid this fiscal year as of February, an increase from around 2.8 million from 2020. But that declaration is set to end July 15, and many don't expect it to be renewed. (Wu, 4/19)

The Washington Post: A Food Pantry’s Closure Means More Than Lost Meals For Hundreds Of Families 
It was Friday, and for more than a decade, Fridays had been when the food deliveries arrived. Around 15,000 pounds of food were expected this morning. Volunteers were hauling the first boxes off a truck. Stacy Downey, 52, was determined, if possible, to treat this day like any other, so she was now standing outside the Little Food Pantry That Could, shoulders hunched against the morning cold, sliding into her familiar workday routine. “How much red?” she asked, leaning over boxes of peppers. “Do we have any yellow? Orange? The greens ones are okay but they are not as popular as the red, yellow or orange.” (Swenson, 4/18)

Houston Chronicle: Texas County Has The 2nd Highest Alzheimer’s Rate In The US. Why?
The disease took Noemi Fleming’s elderly mother slowly, the first hints in repeated anecdotes or phrases. Then misplaced keys and bills. Then, Fleming caught her mother walking outside in the middle of the night, looking for the newspaper. “Mama, it’s 1 o’clock in the morning,” Fleming would tell her. “The newspaper doesn’t get here until 8.” Fleming’s mother died at 91 in their hometown of Rio Grande City after a two-decade battle with Alzheimer’s, a brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills. The family’s story is a familiar one in Starr County, a mostly rural, heavily Hispanic county of about 65,000 on the Texas-Mexico border, where about 26 percent of Medicare beneficiaries have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and related dementias. That rate is the second highest among all U.S. counties, according to Medicare data. (Gill, 4/18)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Why You May Need To Drink More Water In Your 60s
It is estimated that 40% of community-dwelling older adults may be chronically underhydrated. A study published in the Journal of Physiology found older adults should drink more water in order to regulate their body temperature. The researchers studied young and older men’s body temperature when exercising. As you exercise, your body’s temperature regulation adjusts how much you sweat to prevent further water loss and dehydration. However, the study found that as you age, the ability to regulate your body’s temperature decreases, making older adults more susceptible to dehydration. (Ramakrishnan, 4/18)

The New York Times: The Pandemic Has Been Hard On Our Feet 
There is no hard data on the increase in foot pain, but Dr. James Christina, the executive director of the American Podiatric Medical Association, said it’s been a clear trend for many of his 12,000 members. Members like Dr. Rock Positano, the co-director of the Non-surgical Foot and Ankle Service at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, who has seen foot pain increase so much — 20 to 30 percent — that he called the phenomenon “pandemic foot.” (Altman, 4/18)

CBS News: Safety Sensors On Florida Free Fall Ride Were Manually Adjusted In "Unsafe" Way Before Teen's Fatal Accident, Report Finds
The 14-year-old who died after falling from a thrill ride in Florida last month was in a seat that had previously been manually adjusted in a way that made the ride "unsafe," a report released this week by forensic investigators found. Quest Engineering and Failure Analysis' report found that the adjustment to the seat that Tyre Sampson fell from prevented safety sensors from shutting the ride down, even though the space between the seat and harness harness was too wide. (Jones, 4/18)

CBS News: GE Recall: Refrigerators Sold At Home Depot, Lowe's And Best Buy Recalled After 37 Injuries
GE Appliances is recalling six models of free-standing French door refrigerators sold nationwide because of handles that may detach, posing a fall risk to those trying to pull the freezer doors open. Louisville, Kentucky-based GE has received 71 reports of freezer drawer handles detaching, resulting in 37 injuries, including three serious falls, the company said Thursday in a notice posted by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. GE is a division of Chinese multinational Haier Group. (Gibson, 4/18)

Bloomberg: China Covid: Shanghai Reports Seven More Deaths In Current Omicron Outbreak
Shanghai reported another seven Covid-19 deaths as the financial hub grapples with a record outbreak that’s brought unprecedented disruptions to residents and threatens the country’s economic growth. The people who died were aged between 60 and 101 and had severe underlying health conditions, and follow three deaths announced on Monday. Shanghai reported 20,416 new infections, a decline from a recent peak though still elevated as the coronavirus continues to spread through the city. (Shanghai, 4/19)

CIDRAP: Worldwide COVID-19 Deaths Increased 6% On Weekends Amid Pandemic
A global analysis of nearly 6 million COVID-19 deaths over 2 years reveals that 6% more occurred on weekends than on weekdays in all countries except Germany, according to data to be presented at the annual congress of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) Apr 23 to 26 in Portugal. ... The study authors said the higher weekend death rate may have been due to lower hospital efficiency, uneven staffing levels, a different mix of personnel expertise, variable hours, reduced capacity, or delays in reporting. (4/18)