First Edition: Aug. 26, 2021

KHN: What Missouri Learned The Hard Way About Rapid Covid Testing In Schools
Early in the tumultuous 2020-21 school year, Missouri officials made a big gamble: set aside roughly 1 million rapid covid tests for the state’s K-12 schools in hopes of quickly identifying sick students or staff members. The Trump administration had spent $760 million to procure 150 million rapid-response antigen tests from Abbott Laboratories, including 1.75 million allotted for Missouri, telling states to use them as they saw fit. Nearly 400 Missouri charter, private and public school districts applied. Given supply constraints, each was offered one test per person, according to interviews with school officials and documents KHN obtained in response to a public records request. What began as an ambitious plan landed with a thud. Few of the tests were used; according to state data updated in early June, schools reported using just 32,300. (Pradhan, 8/26)

KHN: Apple, Bose And Others Pump Up The Volume On Hearing Aid Options, Filling Void Left By FDA
Spurred by decades of complaints about the high cost of hearing aids, Congress passed a law in 2017 to allow over-the-counter sales, with hopes it would boost competition and lower prices. Four years later, federal regulators have yet to issue rules to implement the law. But changes in the industry are offering consumers relief. In August 2017, President Donald Trump signed the legislation that called for the Food and Drug Administration to issue regulations by 2020 for hearing aids that could be sold in stores without a prescription or a visit to an audiologist or other hearing specialist. That hasn’t happened yet, and President Joe Biden last month ordered the FDA to produce those rules for over-the-counter (OTC) purchases by mid-November. That means it will likely take at least until next summer for consumers to feel the direct effects of the law. (Galewitz, 8/26)

KHN: New Montana Law Sows Confusion, Defiance Over School Quarantines 
As classes get underway this week and next, Montana school and county health officials are grappling with how a new state law that bans vaccine discrimination should apply to quarantine orders for students and staffers exposed to covid-19. It’s the latest fallout from the law that says businesses and governmental entities can’t treat people differently based on vaccination status. The law makes Montana the only state that prohibits both public and private employers — including hospitals — from requiring workers to get vaccinated against covid. (Bolton, 8/26)

The Wall Street Journal: Biden Administration Likely To Approve Covid-19 Boosters At Six Months
Federal regulators are likely to approve a Covid-19 booster shot for vaccinated adults starting at least six months after the previous dose rather than the eight-month gap they previously announced, a person familiar with the plans said, as the Biden administration steps up preparations for delivering boosters to the public. Data from vaccine manufacturers and other countries under review by the Food and Drug Administration is based on boosters being given at six months, the person said. The person said approval for boosters for all three Covid-19 shots being administered in the U.S.—those manufactured by Pfizer Inc. and partner BioNTech SE, Moderna Inc. and Johnson & Johnson —is expected in mid-September. (Armour and Hopkins, 8/26)

The Washington Post: FDA Approval Not Swaying Some Vaccine Holdouts 
For five months, Chris Brummett has ignored his wife’s pleas that he get a coronavirus vaccine. He cares even less that federal regulators finally issued a long-awaited approval for one of them. “My wife is on me all the time to do it,” said Brummett, 43, from Jackson County, Ind., who followed news this week of the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine. But Brummett, a libertarian critical of both the Biden and Trump administrations, said he’s struggling to trust any government messages about the virus. “I guess for now it’s a no for me.” (Diamond, 8/25)

CBS News: Some Hesitant Americans Get COVID Vaccine After Pfizer Gets Full FDA Approval: "There's Really No Running Away From It Anymore" 
It was the Food and Drug Administration's Monday announcement that it has granted full approval to Pfizer and BioNTech for their COVID-19 vaccine that convinced 19-year-old Cailin Magee to line up at a vaccine clinic at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and get the shot. "I was being ignorant. There's really no running away from it anymore," Magee told CBS News' David Begnaud. After the approval, President Biden encouraged more people who were waiting for the FDA's approval to get the vaccine—calling the FDA's approval the "gold standard." (8/24)

The New York Times: Heart Problem More Common After Covid-19 Than After Vaccination, Study Finds
The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is associated with an increased risk of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, a large new study from Israel confirms. But the side effect remains rare, and Covid-19 is more likely to cause myocarditis than the vaccine is, scientists reported on Wednesday. The research, which is based on the electronic health records of about two million people who are 16 or older, provides a comprehensive look at the real-wold incidence of various adverse events after both vaccination and infection with the coronavirus. (Anthes and Weiland, 8/25)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Will Not Immediately Remove Nursing Homes From Medicare And Medicaid Over Vaccine Requirement
CMS will not immediately remove nursing homes from Medicaid and Medicare if they do not adhere to the employee staff vaccination requirement announced last week, administrators said during a call with industry stakeholders on Wednesday. Instead, CMS will take a stepwise approach to enforcing the mandate. Nursing homes will first be notified they are not in compliance with the regulation, then assessed civil monetary penalties, then denied payment, and ultimately removed from the program if they do not comply. (Christ, 8/25)

The Washington Post: Delta Air Lines: Employees Must Be Vaccinated Or Pay Health Insurance Surcharge 
Delta Air Lines said Wednesday that it will require employees to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or face the alternative of weekly testing and a $200 monthly surcharge for health insurance. Chief executive Ed Bastian outlined the new policies in a memo to the airline’s 68,000 employees, saying that with the Food and Drug Administration’s full approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine this week, “the time to get vaccinated is now.” (Duncan, 8/25)

Politico: Delta Air Lines Health Surcharge For Vaccines Could Cascade Across Industries
Unvaccinated Delta Air Lines employees will soon be forced to pay an additional $200 per month for the company's health care plan, making the Georgia-based airline the first such major U.S. company to tie vaccination status to health care costs, a move other industries could soon follow. Delta CEO Ed Bastian, in a memo to employees published online Wednesday, said the $200 surcharge for unvaccinated Delta employees is meant to offset medical costs from a coronavirus infection, which is more likely to occur in unvaccinated individuals. Health care costs for Covid, especially those who need to be hospitalized, can be steep; Delta said the average hospital stay for Covid has cost the airline $50,000 per person. (Mueller, Pawlyk and Monnay, 8/25)

The Hill: Air Canada To Require COVID-19 Vaccine For Employees 
Air Canada on Wednesday joined other major airlines in implementing a vaccine mandate for its employees, giving workers until the end of October to get fully vaccinated or risk losing their job. The Montreal-based airline said in a press release that all employees will need to provide proof of vaccination by Oct. 30, noting that regular testing “will not be offered as an alternative.” (Castronuovo, 8/25)

Houston Chronicle: Abbott Again Bans Vaccine Mandates, Adds Issue To Special Session Agenda
Gov. Greg Abbott issued a new executive order on Wednesday clarifying that no localities or school districts can require their employees to get the COVID vaccine, after the federal approval of the Pfizer doses earlier this week muddied his previous directive on the matter. Abbott’s new order, like the previous one, prohibits public institutions — including state agencies, universities, local governments, public schools and any other entities that receive public funding — from compelling employees to get the shots or asking people who use their services for proof of vaccination. (Harris, 8/25)

The Washington Post: The GOP Struggles With What To Do On Employer Vaccine Mandates 
President Biden this week responded to the Food and Drug Administration’s full authorization of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine by calling on employers around the country to mandate it for their employees — which it seems many will. And Republicans as a party don’t seem to know what to do with that. In the days since the FDA’s authorization and Biden’s call, Republicans who have otherwise fought tooth and nail against vaccine mandates have been surprisingly quiet about the prospect of employer mandates. And the few who have spoken out have generally said employers should be allowed to implement them. (Blake, 4/25)

AP: Only Vaccinated Personnel In Locker Rooms On NFL Game Days 
The NFL has mandated that only fully vaccinated personnel, with a maximum of 50 people, will have access to locker rooms while players are present on game days. In a memo sent to the 32 teams and obtained by The Associated Press, the policy becomes effective immediately. The personnel covered by the policy includes coaches, athletic trainers, equipment staffers, one general manager, one team security representative, three club communications media workers and one clubhouse support staffer. (Wilner, 8/25)

The Washington Post: NFL Teams With Unvaccinated QBs Facing A Long Season
The New England Patriots gathered for practice Tuesday in Foxborough, Mass., without quarterback Cam Newton, who is barred from in-person team activities for much of this week because of what the team called a “misunderstanding” about testing and the NFL’s coronavirus protocols. Coach Bill Belichick provided few details about Newton’s situation. But Belichick acknowledged that the circumstances created an on-field opportunity for Newton’s rookie understudy, Mac Jones, while representing a competitive disadvantage for Newton. (Maske, 8/25)

Crain's Chicago Business: Chicago's Northwestern Medicine Mandates COVID Vaccines For Employees
Northwestern Medicine is the latest Chicago-area health system to require that workers be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The announcement follows full FDA approval for Pfizer’s two-dose vaccine and mandates at 11 of the largest local health systems. Northwestern workers must be fully vaccinated by Oct. 31, the 11-hospital system said in a statement today, noting that nearly 80 percent of doctors and staff already got their shots. Employees can apply for medical and religious exemptions. (Goldberg, 8/25)

CBS News: Nebraska Job Ad For Nurses Touts Lack Of Vaccination Requirement 
Nebraska's veterans affairs agency is facing questions from a state lawmaker after it published job advertisements for nurses touting the fact that the state doesn't require its employees to get coronavirus vaccinations. The ads on a state jobs website prominently note the lack of vaccination requirements for state employees, right after mentioning a $5,000 hiring bonus. In a separate mail advertisement, the state lists "No mandated COVID-19 vaccination" as one of the "many great benefits" of its nursing jobs. (8/25)

CNN: Vaccine Exemption: Roman Catholic Diocese Of Las Vegas Will Not Issue Religious Exemptions For Covid-19 Vaccine 
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Vegas will not issue letters of exemption for the Covid-19 vaccine on religious grounds, the diocese told pastors Monday. After "careful and prayerful consideration" based on reports from pastors in the diocese that they have received a small amount of such requests, Bishop George Leo Thomas said he believed that issuing vaccine exemptions would contradict guidance from Pope Francis, according to a communication obtained by CNN. (Holcombe and Boyette, 8/26)

The Washington Post: Hospitalizations Hit 100,000 In United States For First Time Since January 
There are more than 100,000 people hospitalized with covid-19 in the United States, a level not seen since Jan. 30 — when coronavirus vaccines were not widely available — as the country grapples with the delta variant’s spread. Hospitalizations are highest across the South, where every state in the region has a higher portion of its population currently hospitalized with covid-19 than the national level, according to a Washington Post database. More than 17,000 people are currently hospitalized with covid-19 in Florida, which has the most hospitalizations for covid-19 of any state in the country, followed by Texas, which has more than 14,000. (Pietsch and Dupree, 8/26)

The Hill: Three-Quarters Of ICU Beds Across Country Are Full
Hospitals report that three-quarters of the intensive care units in the United States are full, as COVID-19 continues to rampage the country. Federal data shows almost 77.3 percent of all ICU beds are occupied with 28 percent of those beds filled with confirmed COVID-19 patients, according to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Almost half of all states report their hospitals’ ICUs have exceeded 75 percent capacity. (Coleman, 8/25)

CIDRAP: US Pediatric COVID-19 Cases Now Match Winter Surge 
More than 180,000 COVID-19 cases in US children were recorded in the week ending on Aug 19, reaching levels of the winter surge, according to the latest data from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). More than one in five (22.4%) reported cases that week were in children. "After declining in early summer, child cases have increased exponentially, with over a four-fold increase the past month, rising from about 38,000 cases the week ending July 22 to 180,000 the past week," the AAP said in their report. (Soucheray, 8/25)

NBC News: In Covid ICUs, Doctors See A Surge In Critically Ill Pregnant Women
As the delta variant drives a surge in hospitalizations across the South, doctors say they’re seeing an unprecedented number of pregnant women critically ill with Covid-19."None of us has ever seen this magnitude of really, really sick women at one time," said Dr. Akila Subramaniam, an associate professor at the University of Alabama’s Birmingham Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine. Subramaniam and her colleagues estimate a tripling — or even quadrupling — of pregnant patients hospitalized with Covid. (Edwards, 8/25)

The New York Times: Florida Sees Worst Of Pandemic So Far 
More people in Florida are catching the coronavirus, being hospitalized and dying of Covid-19 now than at any previous point in the pandemic, underscoring the perils of limiting public health measures as the Delta variant rips through the state. This week, 227 virus deaths were being reported each day in Florida, on average, as of Tuesday, a record for the state and by far the most in the United States right now. The average for new known cases reached 23,314 a day on the weekend, 30 percent higher than the state’s previous peak in January, according to a New York Times database. Across the country, new deaths have climbed to more than 1,000 a day, on average. (Levin, 8/26)

The Washington Post: Oklahoma Nurses And Doctors Beg Unvaccinated To Help Stressed ICUs: ‘I Have Zipped Up Too Many Body Bags’
Exhausted nurses are pleading with the unvaccinated in Oklahoma to do their part as the state faces a surge in coronavirus hospitalizations that is forcing officials to expedite medical licenses to increase the number of front-line workers. At SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City, half of the covid-19 patients were on ventilators, reported KFOR-TV. Amy Petitt, an ICU charge nurse at the hospital, fought through tears during a tour of a hospital pushed to its limits by the highly transmissible delta variant. Ninety percent of the 79 covid patients in St. Anthony’s ICU are unvaccinated, Tammy Powell, president of the hospital, told The Washington Post. (Bella, 8/26)

CNN: Mississippi's Nurses Are Resigning To Protect Themselves From Covid-19 Burnout 
Earlier this month, Mississippi ICU nurse Nichole Atherton resigned, worn down by the stress, young patients and preventable deaths that have overwhelmed the state's hospitals during the Covid-19 pandemic. "It looks heroic," Atherton, of Singing River Ocean Springs Hospital, told CNN. "But that's not what it is. It's sweaty and hard and chaotic and bloody. And it's hard to live in this every day and then go home and live a normal life." (Holcombe, Hill and Dolan, 8/25)

Houston Chronicle: Houston Ambulances Face Lengthy Wait Times At ERs As COVID Patients Flood Hospitals
In a sweltering shopping center parking lot off Interstate 45 Thursday morning, Houston Fire Department paramedic Josh Walls tried to find a hospital to take his patient. “Negative,” came the reply on the radio. “All of TMC is on divert.” The six hospitals in the Texas Medical Center with emergency departments were asking ambulances to take patients elsewhere because they were at capacity. The patient, a 29-year-old construction worker with chest pain, asked to be taken to Northwest Houston Hospital. The dispatcher said it, too, was on divert status. Walls and his partner Valentin “Beau” Beauliere took him there anyway. (Despart, 8/25)

Politico: Hochul Adds 12,000 Deaths To Covid Tally, Departing From Cuomo Methods
Gov. Kathy Hochul, in one of her first acts as the new leader of New York, overhauled how the state releases Covid-19 death data to ensure that it is more consistent with federal reporting standards — an issue that dogged former Gov. Andrew Cuomo administration and sparked allegations of a coverup. The Hochul administration’s first Covid-19 update released Tuesday recognized an additional 12,000 Covid deaths that had been previously excluded from the state’s official tally. It showed both the deaths that health care facilities report through the state’s Health Electronic Response Data System — a total of 43,415 — as well as those reported to and compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — a total of 55,395. (Young, 8/25)

The Washington Post: No, There Weren’t Thousands Of Covid Deaths In New York That No One Reported 
During a Wednesday interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) — at that point on the job for less than 40 hours — announced that her state was going to provide a more accurate accounting of fatalities related to covid-19 moving forward. “We’re now releasing more data than had been released before publicly, so people know the nursing home deaths and the hospital deaths are consistent with what’s being displayed by the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention],” Hochul said. “There’s a lot of things that weren’t happening, and I’m going to make them happen. Transparency will be the hallmark of my administration.” (Bump, 8/25)

USA Today: New Mexico And Ohio To Curb Care Due To Rising COVID Hospitalizations
New Mexico's top health officials have had to establish a waiting list for intensive care unit beds for the first time ever and they're warning that the state is about a week away from having to ration medical care as coronavirus infections climb and nurses are in short supply. Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. David Scrase said there was a 20% increase in COVID patients in just the last day, and that New Mexico is on pace to surpass its worst-case projections for cases and hospitalizations. Data shows 90% of the cases since February have been among the unvaccinated. (Hayes, 8/26)

The Washington Post: Arkansas Jail Gives Detainees Ivermectin For Covid-19 Despite FDA Warnings Over Drug 
An Arkansas jail and its health-care provider are facing criticisms of “medical experimentation” because the jail’s medical staff has been treating covid-19 patients with ivermectin, a drug commonly used for deworming livestock. Washington County Justice of the Peace Eva Madison (D) said she heard reports of the practice Tuesday after a county employee visited a Karas Health Care coronavirus testing site at the Washington County Detention Center in Fayetteville and was prescribed ivermectin despite testing negative for the coronavirus. (Bellware, 8/25)

AP: Alaska Mayor Promotes Debunked Treatment For COVID-19 
An Alaska borough mayor, who says he is not a medical professional, has promoted a debunked treatment for COVID-19 that is intended more for farm animals. Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce has publicly backed the use of ivermectin, an anti-parasitic deworming drug, the Peninsula Clarion reported Wednesday. (8/25)

USA Today: Ivermectin Shortages And Related Poison Control Calls Concern Experts
Poison control centers across the nation have received an uptick in calls about the drug ivermectin, an anti-parasitic medicine often used to treat cattle and pigs. Gaylord Lopez, executive director for the Georgia Poison Control Center, told USA TODAY they have already received 15 to 16 calls in August compared to the typical one call a month. Lopez said one woman called the center after purchasing the sheep version but didn't have any side effects. Others have called the center and reported significant symptoms ranging from extreme vomiting to blurred vision, he added. (Gilbert, 8/25)

NBC News: South Dakota Covid Cases Quintuple After Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
Two weeks after the annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, reported Covid infections in the state have risen nearly sixfold. South Dakota counted 3,819 new cases in the past two weeks, including seven deaths, up from 644 cases in the 14 days preceding it. That makes it the state with the largest percent increase in Covid cases in the past two weeks. (Kesslen and Murphy, 8/25)

NBC News: 84 Employees Of LAPD Test Positive For Covid, Nearly Doubling Cases In One Week
The Los Angeles Police Department said over 80 of its employees have tested positive for Covid-19 in the past week, nearly doubling its case numbers from the previous week as its vaccination rate hovers below 50 percent. Of the 84 cases, 26 were at the city's Central Division station, NBC Los Angeles reported. The data from the department show that the overall weekly numbers have doubled as the vaccination rate within the police department remains around 47 percent, according to NBC Los Angeles. (Fitzsimons, 8/25)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. Unified Reports First Classroom Coronavirus Outbreak
Los Angeles school officials on Wednesday confirmed the first coronavirus outbreak in the district at Grant Elementary School in Hollywood, sending home an entire classroom of children. “The cases are concentrated in a single classroom and Los Angeles Unified is fully cooperating with the Department of Public Health,” the district said in a statement. “The district has alerted all those potentially impacted and the quarantined class has been provided with instructional materials to continue their studies.” (Blume, 8/25)

NBC News and AP: Covid Prompts School District In Texas Town To Quarantine For Two Weeks
A Covid-19 outbreak sweeping through a small West Texas town has shut down businesses and forced staff and students in its school district to quarantine for at least two weeks. Students had returned to classrooms in Iraan, Texas, for only a week when they were told their schools would have to be closed because of a Covid outbreak, said Tracy Canter, superintendent of the Iraan-Sheffield Independent School District, in a letter to the community posted on the district's Facebook page. (Planas, 8/25)

The Boston Globe: Mass. Public School Students And Staff Are Now Required To Wear Masks Indoors Until At Least Oct. 1
Massachusetts public school students and staff are required to wear masks inside school buildings effective immediately, regardless of vaccination status, according to a mandate issued Wednesday by Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley. Under the requirement, most people will be required to wear masks until at least Oct. 1, with just a handful of exceptions. After that date, schools that have 80 percent or more of their students and staff fully vaccinated will be allowed to drop the mandate for vaccinated people only; unvaccinated students and staff would still be required to wear masks. (Gans, 8/25)

AP: Masks Ordered For Most Florida Students, Defying DeSantis
Just over half of Florida’s 2.8 million public school students now face mandates to wear masks in classrooms as a courtroom battle continues over efforts by Gov. Ron DeSantis to leave such decisions up to parents. A majority of school board members in Orange County told the superintendent on Tuesday to require most students to wear masks, and agreed with her recommendation to keep the mandate through Oct. 30. (Anderson, 8/26)

The Hill: Iowa Governor Facing Lawsuits Over Mask Mandate Bans, Cutting Federal Benefits 
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) is facing two lawsuits over a ban on mask mandates and her decision to cut federal pandemic unemployment benefits. Frances Parr, a mother of two boys, filed a lawsuit in state court on Monday seeking to require the state to issue a universal mask mandate for schools, at least temporarily, according to a copy of the complaint published by The Des Moines Register. (Williams, 8/25)

The Hill: Florida Hospital Removes Doctor For Offering Parents $50 Mask Opt-Out Letters
A Florida hospital said it removed a local doctor who posted on social media that he would provide mask opt-out letters at a price of $50 each for parents who did not want their children to be required to comply with school mask mandates. The Capital Regional Medical Center (CRMC) in Tallahassee said it had been notified of Facebook posts by Brian Warden, a recent medical school graduate who moved from Philadelphia to Tallahassee to work for a physicians group that contracted with the hospital, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.  (Castronuovo, 8/25)

The Hill: Anti-Mask Protesters Disrupt Connecticut Governor's Back-To-School Event 
Anti-mask protesters disrupted Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont’s (D) back-to-school event Wednesday evening, that eventually resulted in him being followed to his vehicle. Lamont was hosting a back-to-school roundtable Wednesday with education and public health officials about returning to schools safely. All of the attendees at the roundtable, including the governor, were wearing masks. (Williams, 8/25)

NPR: An LAFD Captain Is Under Investigation After An Anti-Vaccine Mandate Video Rant
A Los Angeles City Fire Department captain who railed against the city, the department and his own union leaders over an imminent vaccine mandate for all city workers is under an internal investigation. "I am so hopping mad right now, you have no idea. My head could pop," Capt. Cristian Granucci told viewers as he launched into a 12-minute video rant on Monday in which he threatened to sue the local firefighters union and the city. (Romo, 8/25)

Modern Healthcare: HCA Opens New Nashville Nursing Campus 
HCA Healthcare has expanded its nurse pipeline with a new campus located in its headquarter city of Nashville, Tennessee. The move, announced on Wednesday, marks the third new campus the Galen College of Nursing has opened since being acquired by HCA in January 2020. Other campuses are in Miami and Austin. Galen now has a total of eight campuses, with existing ones in Louisville and Hazard, Kentucky, San Antonio, Texas, Tampa Bay, Florida, and Cincinnati, Ohio. (Ross Johnson, 8/25)

Modern Healthcare: Intermountain Healthcare Raises Minimum Wage To $15
Intermountain Healthcare will increase its minimum wage to $15 for clinical and non-clinical workers effective Sept. 19, the company announced Wednesday. About 2,200 employees who make less than $15 per hour will get a pay boost. Intermountain also will give raises to 12,800 workers who currently earn more than $15 per hour. Most wage hikes will be between 3%-7%, resulting in a total cost of $29 million, according to Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Healthcare. All employees already received raises in April, and some nurses received another in June. (Christ, 8/25)

Modern Healthcare: Payers, Patient Advocates Warn Against Overuse Of Arbitration In Surprise Billing Disputes
Patient advocates, unions and business groups are urging President Joe Biden's administration to make clear that arbitration should only be used as a "last resort" in out-of-network billing disputes. In a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and other cabinet officers, AFL-CIO, the American Benefits Council and dozens of other groups representing large employers, union members and patients expressed concern that providers could abuse the arbitration process under the new surprise billing ban to inflate costs. (Hellmann, 8/25)

Stat: Sesen Bio Pulls E.U. Application For FDA-Rejected Cancer Drug
Sesen Bio, a small biotech firm whose investigational cancer treatment once seemed poised for approval, said Wednesday that it had withdrawn its application to market the drug in Europe. The news follows the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to reject Sesen’s drug, called Vicineum, on Aug. 13. (Garde, 8/25)

NBC News: Pet Project: Biden Signs Bill Providing Service Dogs For Struggling Veterans
President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed into law a pilot program to connect veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder with service dogs. The Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers for Veterans Therapy Act — PAWS — requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish a five-year program to provide service dogs and training to veterans with PTSD. (Gregorian, 8/26)

The Washington Post: GAO Says Government Plans To Expand Its Use Of Facial Recognition
The federal government plans to expand its use of facial recognition to pursue criminals and scan for threats, an internal survey has found, even as concerns grow about the technology’s potential for contributing to improper surveillance and false arrests. Ten federal agencies — the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Interior, Justice, State, Treasury and Veterans Affairs — told the Government Accountability Office they intend to grow their facial recognition capabilities by 2023, the GAO said in a report posted to its website Tuesday. (Harwell, 8/25)

NBC News: California's Mountain Getaway Of Lake Tahoe Inundated By Smoke
The Lake Tahoe region, the pristine getaway for generations of visitors from California's urban coast, is in the midst of a big-city problem of its own: terrible air quality. The culprit is the 126,182-acre Caldor Fire to the south, and possibly spot fires from the 82 percent-contained Tamarack Fire, also to the south, officials said. Purple Air, a company that sells home air quality monitors and publishes regional results from the resulting virtual network, reported Wednesday that the area had the worst air quality in the world. (Romero, 8/25)

Fox News: Nicotine, Prescription Drug Misuse Climbed Among American Youth Amid Pandemic: Study
Overall rates of drug use among American adolescents held stable six months into COVID-19 pandemic, however shifting trends indicated an uptick in nicotine and prescription drug misuse while alcohol use fell. Federally-backed research published in the Journal of Adolescent Health drew from surveys of over 7,800 kids aged 10-14 enrolled in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study (ABCD), said to be the largest-ever long-term U.S. study of brain development and pediatric health. Results also suggested young teens who experienced severe stress, anxiety or depression, or familial economic hardship were at highest risk of using substances. (Rivas, 8/25)

CNN: Deli Meats Linked To Multi-State Salmonella Sicknesses 
A dozen people have been hospitalized with salmonella and two dozen sickened as of August 24 in multistate outbreaks of two different strains of salmonella, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday. People who became sick reported eating salami, prosciutto and other deli meats that can be found in antipasto or charcuterie assortments before their illness. (LaMotte, 8/25)

Reuters: Japan Suspends 1.6 Mln Doses Of Moderna Shot Days After Contamination Reports
Japan suspended the use of 1.63 million doses of Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, more than a week after the domestic distributor received reports of contaminants in some vials. Both Japan and Moderna said that no safety or efficacy issues had been identified and that the suspension was just a precaution. But the move prompted several Japanese companies to cancel worker vaccinations planned for Thursday. (8/26)

Bloomberg: Thousands Of Covid Patients Turned Away From Japan’s Hospitals
Japan’s worst Covid-19 outbreak yet has thrown a spotlight on the inability of the country’s otherwise highly regarded medical system to adapt quickly to emergencies and its lack of reform to meet such needs. As new cases surged to more than 25,000 a day this month driven by the delta variant, the number of medical emergencies nationwide that required an ambulance dispatch, but had difficulty finding a hospital to accept the patient, rose for six straight weeks to a historic high, according to data from Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency. (Du and Huang, 8/26)

The New York Times: Biden Falls Short On U.S. Vaccine 'Arsenal' Pledge, Experts Say 
President Biden, who has pledged to fight the coronavirus pandemic by making the United States the “arsenal of vaccines” for the world, is under increasing criticism from public health experts, global health advocates and even Democrats in Congress who say he is nowhere near fulfilling his promise. Mr. Biden has either donated or pledged about 600 million vaccine doses to other countries — a small fraction of the 11 billion that experts say are needed to slow the spread of the virus worldwide. His administration has also taken steps to expand Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing in the United States and India, and is supporting production in South Africa and Senegal to expand access to locally produced vaccines in Africa. (Stolberg, 8/25)

Reuters: Sydney Hospitals Erect Emergency Tents As COVID-19 Cases Hit Record
Australia's new daily cases of COVID-19 topped 1,000 on Thursday for the first time since the global pandemic began, as two major hospitals in Sydney set up emergency outdoor tents to help deal with a rise in patients. Sydney, the country's largest city and the epicentre of the current outbreak, is struggling to stamp out a surge in the fast-spreading Delta variant, with daily infections hitting record levels even after two months under lockdown. (Jose, 8/25)

Bloomberg: Ardern Says Strict Lockdown Is Working Even As Delta Cases Grow
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said a nationwide lockdown is working and she remains committed to stamping out a delta outbreak of coronavirus even as case numbers continue to grow. “Overall, lockdown is having an impact,” Ardern told a news conference Thursday in Wellington. “No one wants to use lockdowns forever and I can tell you now that is not our intention. But for now, while we vaccinate, elimination is the goal, and we can do it.” (Brockett, 8/26)

The Washington Post: Taliban Takeover Could Drive Coronavirus Crisis As Vaccinations Plummet 
As thousands of Afghans flee the Taliban takeover, thronging the Kabul airport and huddling in camps, aid agencies are warning that the overcrowded conditions could bring a new surge in coronavirus cases. The turmoil, the United Nations said this week, has already hindered its ability to respond. The compounding health and security crises come as the country’s already struggling health-care system reels under the weight of conflict, supply shortages exacerbated by the choke point at Kabul airport, widespread displacement and a long-standing lack of resources. (Cunningham, 8/25)