First Edition: August 4, 2021

KHN: ‘Wisdom And Fear’ Lead 90% Of U.S. Seniors To Covid Vaccines
Amid the latest surge in covid-19 cases and hospitalizations, the United States on Tuesday hit a milestone that some thought was unattainable: 90% of people 65 and older are at least partly vaccinated against the disease. That’s more than 49 million seniors vaccinated. Overall, 70% of adults have been inoculated, at least partly, and nearly 68% of people over 12. (Galewitz, 8/4)

KHN: Analysis: Don’t Want A Vaccine? Be Prepared To Pay More For Insurance
America’s covid-19 vaccination rate is around 60% for ages 12 and up. That’s not enough to reach so-called herd immunity, and in states like Missouri — where a number of counties have vaccination rates under 25% — hospitals are overwhelmed by serious outbreaks of the more contagious delta variant. The vaccine resisters offer all kinds of reasons for refusing the free shots and for ignoring efforts to nudge them to get inoculated. Campaigns urging Americans to get vaccinated for their health, for their grandparents, for their neighbors, or to get free doughnuts or a free joint haven’t done the trick. States have even held lotteries with a chance to win millions or a college scholarship. (Rosenthal and Kramon, 8/4)

AP: CDC Issues New Eviction Ban For Most Of US Through Oct. 3
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a new eviction moratorium that would last until Oct. 3, as the Biden administration sought to quell intensifying criticism from progressives that it was allowing vulnerable renters to lose their homes during a pandemic. The ban announced Tuesday could help keep millions in their homes as the coronavirus’ delta variant has spread and states have been slow to release federal rental aid. It would temporarily halt evictions in counties with “substantial and high levels” of virus transmissions and would cover areas where 90% of the U.S. population lives. (Boak, Mascaro and Lemire, 8/4)

The Washington Post: CDC Announces New Eviction Plan After Backlash From Democrats
The 19-page order lists criminal penalties including fines and jail time if someone is found to have violated the eviction moratorium. The Biden administration had previously said it had no legal authority to extend a separate national eviction moratorium that lapsed over the weekend. A statement from CDC Director Rochelle Walensky on Tuesday evening pointed to the emergence of the delta variant and said “it is imperative that public health authorities act quickly to mitigate such an increase of evictions, which could increase the likelihood of new spikes in SARS-CoV-2 transmission.” (Stein, Pager, Min Kim and Romm, 8/3)

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Has Shared 110 Million Covid-19 Vaccine Doses Overseas
The figures come about a month behind the White House’s June goal of delivering 80 million doses overseas, part of a greater vaccine-donation drive by the U.S. in the coming months. Mr. Biden marked the vaccine-sharing milestone in remarks from the White House about the status of global vaccination efforts amid growing concerns about the highly contagious Delta variant both at home and abroad. “In the fight against Covid-19, the United States is committed to be the arsenal of vaccines,” Mr. Biden said, emphasizing that all of the doses had been donated with “no favoritism and no strings attached.” (Siddiqui, 8/3)

NPR: U.S. Leads World With 110 Million COVID Vaccine Donations — And Promises More
These initial U.S. donated doses are just a first step for the projected 11 billion vaccines needed to vaccinate 70% of the world's population and bring the pandemic under control, according to the World Health Organization. And providing doses to other countries is a quasi-Herculean task. "Sharing vaccine doses isn't quite as easy as just putting them on a plane and calling somebody at the other end and telling them when they'll arrive," said Gayle Smith, the global COVID-19 response coordinator at the State Department. (Keith and Stone, 8/3)

The Washington Post: Biden Administration Preparing To Offer Vaccines To Migrants Along Mexico Border
The Biden administration is preparing to begin offering coronavirus vaccine to migrants in U.S. custody along the Mexico border, where illegal crossings are at their highest levels in over two decades and health officials are struggling with soaring numbers of infections, according to two Department of Homeland Security officials with knowledge of the plan. Until now, only a limited number of migrants have received vaccine while held in longer-term U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities. Under the broad outlines of the new plan, DHS would vaccinate migrants soon after they cross into the United States as they await processing by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. (Miroff and Sacchetti, 8/3)

The Wall Street Journal: Federal Judge Blocks Texas Ban On Transporting Migrants
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked an executive order by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott that banned the transportation of migrants within the state by anyone other than law enforcement, an initial legal victory for the Biden administration. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone in El Paso granted the Justice Department’s request for a temporary restraining order against the ban, saying the department was likely to prevail on arguments that the Texas ban unconstitutionally interfered with the federal government’s operations and conflicted with U.S. immigration law. (Kendall, 8/3)

The New York Times: Biden Says Cuomo 'Should Resign' Amid Sexual Harassment Findings
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women, including current and former government workers, whose accounts of unwanted touching and inappropriate comments were corroborated in a damning report released on Tuesday by the New York State attorney general, Letitia James. The 165-page report prompted multiple calls for Mr. Cuomo to resign, including from President Biden, a longtime ally of the governor, and it cast doubt on Mr. Cuomo’s political future. The Democratic speaker of the State Assembly said on Tuesday that he intended to quicken the pace of a separate impeachment inquiry, adding that Mr. Cuomo “can no longer remain in office.” (Ferré-Sadurní, 8/3)

Politico: Senators Introduce Bill To Push White House On 'Havana Syndrome' Investigation
A bipartisan group of senators unveiled legislation on Tuesday aimed at improving the U.S. government’s sprawling investigations of and response to the mysterious brain injuries affecting hundreds of American officials and personnel around the world. The bill, introduced by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), represents Congress’s latest bid to boost the Biden administration's efforts to get to the bottom of what has been dubbed “Havana syndrome” — so named after dozens of U.S. officials there were afflicted with suspicious ailments. The bill comes after POLITICO first reported earlier this year that U.S. officials were sounding the alarm to Congress about Americans’ increasing vulnerability to these incidents, which officials have struggled to understand. (Desiderio, 8/3)

The Wall Street Journal: Two More Police Officers Who Responded To Jan. 6 Capitol Attack Died By Suicide
Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department said that two more officers who responded to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol have died by suicide. That raises to four the known number of suicides by police officers who defended the complex after supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol, temporarily interrupting the certification of President Biden’s victory in the November election. The toll comprises three officers from the Metropolitan Police Department and one officer from the Capitol Police. (Corse, 8/3)

The Washington Post: Biden Tells Governors To ‘Get Out Of The Way’ If They Won’t Help On Vaccines
President Biden on Tuesday denounced Republican officials who have blocked efforts to mandate vaccines, as he encouraged cities and states to require that individuals show proof of vaccination to visit restaurants and other public spaces. In a notable toughening of his message, the president called out Republican governors who have banned businesses and universities from requiring vaccines or defied masking guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Pager, 8/3)

Axios: Biden Voices Support For Private Sector Vaccine Requirements 
President Biden said Tuesday that he supports efforts by private businesses to require coronavirus vaccines. Biden's comments come hours after New York City announced it would demand proof of vaccination for indoor activities, including trips to gyms and restaurants. Asked whether he thought more cities and states should institute similar rules, Biden replied, "I do." (Saric, 8/3)

The New York Times: The F.D.A. Could Grant Full Approval To Pfizer’s Vaccine By Early September
With a surge of Covid-19 infections ripping through much of the United States, the Food and Drug Administration has accelerated its timetable to fully approve the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, aiming to complete the process by the start of next month, people familiar with the effort said. President Biden said last week that he expected a fully approved vaccine in early fall. But the F.D.A.’s unofficial deadline is Labor Day or sooner, according to several people familiar with the plan. The agency said in a statement that its leaders recognized that approval might increase public confidence and had “taken an all-hands-on-deck approach” to the work. (LaFraniere and Weiland, 8/4)

The New York Times: Is The Delta Variant Making Younger Adults ‘Sicker, Quicker’?
Recently, a 28-year-old patient died of Covid-19 at CoxHealth Medical Center in Springfield, Mo. Last week, a 21-year-old college student was admitted to intensive care. Many of the patients with Covid-19 now arriving at the hospital are not just unvaccinated — they are much younger than 50, a stark departure from the frail, older patients seen when the pandemic first surged last year. In Baton Rouge, La., young adults with none of the usual risk factors for severe forms of the disease — such as obesity or diabetes — are also arriving in E.R.s, desperately ill. It isn’t clear why they are so sick. (Caryn Rabin, 8/3)

Bloomberg: Delta Variant Spread Seen Pushing Covid Herd Immunity Threshold Above 80% 
The spread of the delta coronavirus variant has pushed the threshold for herd immunity to well over 80% and potentially approaching 90%, according to an Infectious Diseases Society of America briefing on Tuesday. That represents a “much higher” bar than previous estimates of 60% to 70%, because delta is twice as transmissible, said Richard Franco, an assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. (Court, 8/3)

The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Patients Overwhelm Busy Hospitals As Delta Variant Spreads
The latest wave of Covid-19 hospitalizations is crashing into patients returning for care for other ailments, overtaxing some facilities and exhausting their doctors and nurses. Surgeries and treatments for cancer, heart disease and other common conditions have rebounded this year, filling beds at many hospitals. At the same time, other respiratory viruses, such as RSV, have re-emerged along with public gatherings, adding to hospital strain. Now some hospitals are treating more Covid-19 patients than ever before as the highly contagious Delta variant spreads, particularly where vaccination rates are lower. This new chapter of the protracted pandemic has exhausted hospital staff. (Evans and Wernau, 8/4)

NBC News: Unvaccinated Americans Not Changing Their Behavior, Report Finds
Unvaccinated Americans believe the vaccines are more dangerous than Covid-19, while vaccinated Americans believe the delta variant is worrisome enough that they continue to mask in public and avoid large gatherings. And even though almost 165 million people in the U.S. are fully vaccinated and the delta variant is raging across the country, the percentage of U.S. adults who say they oppose the Covid vaccines has remained unchanged since December, according to a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation. The survey's findings, published Wednesday, show some of the striking differences between the two groups and the challenges facing public health officials. (Edwards, 8/4)

Axios: Americans Once Again Think The Worst Of The Pandemic Is Yet To Come 
A majority of Americans now, once again, say the worst of the pandemic is yet to come, per new Harris polling provided exclusively to Axios. We took a brief hiatus from worrying about the pandemic, but the Delta variant and the response to it appear to have sent us back to a dark place. “It’s clear we are still far from ‘Mission Accomplished’ on COVID," said Harris Poll CEO John Gerzema. (Owens, 8/4)

Axios: Tyson Foods Mandates COVID Vaccines For All U.S. Employees 
Tyson Foods will require all of its employees in the U.S. to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, the company said Tuesday. The move makes Tyson Foods the largest U.S. food company — with 139,000 team members — to require vaccinations among all its employees. To date, less than half of all U.S. Tyson Foods employees, about 56,000, have been vaccinated. (Doherty, 8/3)

AP: Pushback Challenges Vaccination Requirements At US Colleges
The quickly approaching fall semester has America’s colleges under pressure to decide how far they should go to guard their campuses against COVID-19 while navigating legal and political questions and rising infection rates. Hundreds of colleges nationwide have told students in recent months they must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before classes begin. California State University, the country’s largest four-year public university system, joined the list last week, along with Michigan State University and the University of Michigan. Their announcements cited concerns about the highly contagious delta variant and came as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued updated mask guidelines based on new research regarding its spread. (Davies, 8/3)

AP: WVU Aims To Reach 80% COVID-19 Vaccination Rate By Sept. 1
West Virginia University is asking its students, faculty and staff to get vaccinated for the coronavirus as it tries to keep pace with the rest of the state. The university will develop additional enforcement and safety protocols for unvaccinated individuals if WVU does not reach an 80% rate of full vaccinations for its employees and students by Sept. 1. Those measures include increased testing frequency and penalties for failure to comply with COVID-19 related requirements, WVU said Tuesday in a statement. Vaccinations are not required but are strongly encouraged for WVU students and employees. (8/4)

The New York Times: Most Children Recover Quickly From Covid, But Some Have Lingering Symptoms, A Study Says
Most children with Covid-19 recover within a week, but a small percentage experience long-term symptoms, according to a new study of more than 1,700 British children. The researchers found that 4.4 percent of children had symptoms that last four weeks or longer, while 1.8 percent have symptoms that last for eight weeks or longer. The findings suggest that what has sometimes been called “long Covid” may be rarer in children than adults. In a previous study, some of the same researchers found that 13.3 percent of adults with Covid-19 had symptoms that lasted at least four weeks and 4.5 percent had symptoms that lasted at least eight weeks. (Anthes, 8/4)

CNBC: J&J Covid Vaccine Recipients Can Get Supplemental Pfizer Or Moderna Dose In San Francisco
The San Francisco Department of Public Health and Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital said Tuesday they are allowing patients who received Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose Covid-19 vaccine to get a second shot produced by either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna. J&J recipients can make a special request to get a “supplemental dose” of an mRNA vaccine, city health officials said in a statement to CNBC, declining to call the second shots “boosters.” J&J’s vaccine requires only one dose and recipients are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the shot. (Lovelace Jr., 8/3)

CNN: US Comes In Last In Health Care Rankings 
The US once again ranked last in access to health care, equity and outcomes among high-income countries, despite spending a far greater share of its economy on health care, a new report released Wednesday has found. The nation has landed in the basement in all seven studies the Commonwealth Fund has conducted since 2004. The US is the only one of the 11 countries surveyed not to have universal health insurance coverage. (Luhby, 8/4)

CNBC: 1 In 3 People Say Return-To-Office Negatively Impacted Mental Health
Roughly 1 in 3 workers back in the workplace said the return-to-office shift negatively impacted their mental health, according to a June McKinsey survey of 1,602 employed people. Workers who experienced declines in their mental health were five times more likely to report taking on reduced responsibility at work. Meanwhile, another 1 in 3 workers said going back to an office had a positive impact on their mental health, with the primary benefit being they feel more engaged upon their return. (Liu, 8/3)

NBC News: Offspring Drummer Says He's Been Booted From Band For Not Getting Vaccinated
Pete Parada, the drummer for the Offspring, has found out the hard way that some businesses — and even bands — are drawing a hard line on requiring vaccinations to come back to work. He posted on his social media Tuesday that he's been ousted from the group because he won't agree to get the Covid vaccine. Beyond being replaced on an upcoming tour, Parada says he's been told not to show up at the studio, either, even though he claims to have a legitimate medical reason for not getting the vaccine. (Variety, 8/3)

CIDRAP: Study Examines Ways To Cut Antibiotics In Terminal Cancer Patients
A single-center study of terminal cancer patients found a high rate of antibiotic use within the last 30 days of life, with significantly lower use among those who asked for limited antimicrobial treatment, researchers reported yesterday in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. Despite uncertain benefits and the risk of adverse events and antimicrobial resistance, antimicrobial use in patients with terminal cancer is frequently continued after transition to comfort care and discontinued less than 1 day prior to death. To determine whether completing a Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) form and an accompanying antimicrobial preferences document had any relationship with antimicrobial use at the end of life, researchers from the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center conducted a retrospective study of patients who died at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance from Jan 1, 2016, through Jun 30, 2019. (8/3)

CIDRAP: Stewardship Steps Tied To Less Antibiotic Use In COVID-19 Patients
A retrospective study of patients in Kentucky suggests antibiotic stewardship interventions may safely cut antibiotic use in COVID-19 patients, researchers reported yesterday in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. Among 173 patients who received antibiotics for COVID-19 from June through July 2020 at a community healthcare system in Louisville, 91 (52.6%) met criteria for early discontinuation of antibiotics, and 82 patients (47.7%) were in the late-discontinuation group. The decision to discontinue antibiotics in COVID-19 patients without bacterial co-infection was made by trained clinical pharmacists who were part of the hospital's antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) team. (8/3)

Fierce Healthcare: Study: Medicaid Expansion Cuts Down Uninsured Surgical Hospitalizations
Medicaid expansion is associated with a reduction in surgical hospitalizations among the uninsured, a new study shows. Research published in Health Affairs examined state-level data across 44 states and patient-level data across four states to compare such hospitalizations in expansion and non-expansion states. Patients admitted for surgery largely first presented to the emergency department, and in 99% of cases their care would likely result in catastrophic visit costs, according to the study. In states that expanded Medicaid, the rate of uninsured discharges for these surgeries was lower, at 7.85 per 100,000. (Minemyer, 8/3)

Stat: FDA Warns Importer After Drug Ingredients Found Stored Near Weed Killer
What do weed killer, engine antifreeze coolant, dry wall repair products, and active pharmaceutical ingredients have in common? They were all stored in the same room at Syntec Pharma, which imports active ingredients and up until recently, was also repackaging them. Not only that, the company also comingled personal food items and some “unidentified” products in unlabeled aluminum bags in a refrigerator used to store – yes, you guessed correctly – active ingredients and chemicals. (Silverman, 8/3)

Crain's Chicago Business: Healthcare SPAC Raises $250 Million 
A Chicago-based SPAC looking for healthcare deal raised $250 million. Healthwell Acquisition is led by healthcare executive Alyssa Rapp, who previously led private equity-backed Surgical Solutions and teaches at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Healthwell's board includes former Playboy Enterprises CEO Christie Hefner and former Deloitte senior executive Carl Allegretti. Olufunmilayo Falusi Olopade, a top U of C cancer researcher, is an adviser. (8/3)

Axios: AbbVie Continues To Grow U.S. Sales Of Humira 
Sales of Abbvie's blockbuster anti-inflammatory drug Humira have declined internationally, as cheaper copycats known as biosimilars gain more traction in Europe. But Humira sales continued to rise in the U.S. last quarter because Humira biosimilars are locked out of the country until 2023. Cheaper versions of Humira exist, but Americans don't have access to them due entirely to AbbVie's "legal strategy" of delaying entry. (Herman, 8/4)

Modern Healthcare: Private Equity Firm Doubles Down On Value-Based Care 
Private equity firm, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, launched a platform Tuesday that funnels money into healthcare providers and payers using value-based care payment models. The firm has invested an initial $300 million in the portfolio company named Valtruis. "We believe Valtruis is well positioned to leverage WCAS's longstanding relationships and history of building market-leading healthcare businesses... to accelerate the adoption of value-based care," said David Caluori, general partner at WCAS, in a statement. (Gellman, 8/3)

Modern Healthcare: Ex-Rennova Employees Demand Payment After Hospital Closure 
A lab test company turned hospital operator may owe hundreds of thousands of dollars to former employees of a rural Tennessee hospital it abruptly shuttered. A class-action settlement agreement between West Palm Beach, Florida-based Rennova Health and former employees at Jamestown Regional Medical Center in Jamestown, Tennessee, is scheduled for final court approval Sept. 10. (Bannow, 8/3)

AP: Tennessee Won't Incentivize Covid Shots — But Pays To Vax Cows
Tennessee has sent nearly half a million dollars to farmers who have vaccinated their cattle against respiratory diseases and other maladies over the past two years. But Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who grew up on his family's ranch and refers to himself as a cattle farmer in his Twitter profile, has been far less enthusiastic about incentivizing herd immunity among humans. (8/3)

AP: More Than 150,000 More Oklahomans Now Qualified For Medicaid
More than 150,000 Oklahomans have qualified for Medicaid under an expansion of the program approved by voters, and state health officials say they suspect many more Oklahomans are eligible but haven’t yet applied. The Oklahoma Health Care Authority reported Monday that 154,316 Oklahomans have qualified for the additional health benefits. Of those, nearly 91,000 live in urban areas and about 63,000 in rural Oklahoma. About half are between 19 and 34 years old. (8/3)

Associated Press: North Carolina Senate OKs Parental Consent For Children's Virus Vaccine 
Young people would need parental permission now before receiving the COVID-19 vaccine in North Carolina legislation approved unanimously Tuesday by the state Senate. The bill, which now must return to the House for consideration, contains a parent or guardian requirement for vaccines approved by federal regulators for emergency use, such as the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. It's currently the only coronavirus vaccine available to children as young as 12.

NBC News: Virginia Covid Patient Goes From 'Invincible' To Hospital-Bed Vaccine Advocate
An unvaccinated Virginia man who’s been hospitalized with Covid-19 is using social media to urge others to go out and get the shot.Travis Campbell, 43, has been in the hospital for more than a week with complications from the virus, which also infected his wife and two of their children. (Ciechalski, 8/3)

Modern Healthcare: Arizona, Colorado Health Information Exchanges Merge 
The Colorado Regional Health Information Organization and Health Current in Arizona have completed a merger they initiated last year, they announced Tuesday. The two health information exchanges will now operate as a combined not-for-profit regional HIE dubbed Contexture. CORHIO and Health Current disclosed plans to merge in late 2020 and signed an affiliation agreement earlier this year. Contexture will serve roughly 1,800 healthcare organizations in Colorado and Arizona. (Cohen, 8/3)

ABC News: Summer Camp Aims To Get At-Risk Kids Off The Streets, Away From Gun Violence 
In response to an unprecedented spike in gun violence this year, one district in Miami launched a summer camp program to protect at-risk children and teenagers. SafeSummers partnered with seven local community-based organizations to offer full-time summer programming to nearly 400 children and teens in District 8 of Miami-Dade County, an area with high crime and poverty rates. Violence is up 15% in the first half of 2021 compared to last year, according to the Miami-Dade Police Department. (Choi, 8/3)

AP: DeSantis Won't Move On Masks As Florida COVID Wards Swell
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday downplayed a spike in COVID-19 cases that’s shattered state hospitalization records and strongly reiterated his vow not to impose a mask mandate or any business restrictions. With the much more contagious delta variant now spreading exponentially, Florida hit 11,515 hospitalized patients Tuesday, breaking last year’s record for the third straight day and up from just 1,000 in mid-June. (Spencer, Gomez Licon and Kennedy, 8/3)

Axios: Florida School District Reverses Mask Mandate After DeSantis' Funding Threat 
Florida's second-largest school district on Monday said it will no longer impose a mask mandate after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) threatened to withhold funding from districts that require face coverings. Broward County Public Schools announced last week that it would require mask use after the CDC issued new guidance recommending universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students and visitors to K-12 schools this incoming school year, regardless of vaccination status. (Reyes, 8/3)

Politico: New York City To Mandate Vaccines For Indoor Restaurants, Gyms, Performances
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a new policy Tuesday that requires people to show proof of Covid-19 vaccination to dine inside restaurants, work out at a gym, attend a play or go out dancing. The new program to “unlock New York City” will begin Aug. 16, with enforcement set to start Sept. 13, according to City Hall. Enforcement will fall to the city health department and businesses could be fined, though the details still need to be worked out in the coming weeks, the mayor said. (Eisenberg, 8/3)

NPR: New York City To Require Proof Of Vaccination For Indoor Businesses
New York City will require workers and patrons at indoor businesses to show proof of vaccination starting on Sept. 13, becoming the first major U.S. city to take such action amid a surge of new cases nationwide driven by the highly transmissible delta variant. The new mandate announced Tuesday, dubbed the "Key to NYC Pass," will apply to indoor dining, gyms and entertainment venues. "The Key to New York City. When you hear those words, I want you to imagine the notion that because someone's vaccinated they can do all the amazing things that are available in this city," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. (Hernandez, 8/3)

ABC News: Alabama Offering $5 In Canteen Credit To Prisoners Who Get Vaccinated 
As coronavirus cases in Alabama prisons continue to rise, the state Department of Corrections is offering incarcerated individuals incentives to get vaccinated. Both inmates who get the vaccine and those who've already gotten it will get $5 in canteen credit. (Ibssa, 8/4)

The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Gov. Hogan Not Considering Reinstating Statewide Mask Mandate As Some Counties Tighten Guidance
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Tuesday that reinstating a statewide mask mandate is not on the table. But with coronavirus infections and hospitalizations on the rise again, some schools, local governments and businesses are requiring Marylanders to mask up again — leading to a fractured set of rules and confusion about when and where masks should be worn. (Miller, Wood and Cohn, 8/3)

CIDRAP: Ontario's Stillbirth And Preterm Births Not Affected In Pandemic, Study Says
Ontario hospitals did not see any significant changes in preterm or stillbirth rates after the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, according to a study today in CMAJ. The researchers looked at 2,465,397 pregnancies in Ontario hospitals, including 13,781 stillbirths, from July 2002 to December 2020. During the pandemic era, defined as January to December 2020, both preterm birth rates and stillbirth rates did not see any "special cause variations," or significant and unusual variations, data showed. (8/3)

AP: Pope Resumes Public Audiences Month After Major Surgery
Pope Francis resumed his routine of holding weekly audiences with the general public a month after he underwent bowel surgery, and during the much-awaited appearance Wednesday he recalled the anniversary of the devastating Beirut port explosion and expressed the desire to someday visit Lebanon. Francis walked unaided to the center of the stage of a Vatican auditorium before taking his seat in an upholstered chair and then addressing an audience of several hundred pilgrims and tourists, who wore masks as a precaution against COVID-19. (D'Emilio, 8/4)

The Washington Post: Germany, France And U.K. Prepare For Covid Vaccine Boosters Starting In September
European nations have been among the most successful in the world at getting their residents vaccinated against the novel coronavirus. Now, some will be among the first to dole out booster shots. The small but growing group that is planning additional shots for the fully inoculated includes some of the continent’s richest and most populous countries, potentially setting a precedent and marking a new phase of the vaccination campaign. (Thebault and Brady, 8/3)

The New York Times: Cyberattackers Shut Down Vaccine Bookings For Rome And Its Region
The Lazio region of Italy, which includes Rome, has been unable to offer vaccination appointments online for three days because of a cyberattack on its website over the weekend, part of what the authorities said was probably Italy’s most serious ransomware case to date. Ransomware attacks, in which criminals break into a computer system, encrypt the data it contains and demand money to release it, have struck health care systems in many countries, paralyzing hospitals, clinics and testing centers from California to Ireland and New Zealand. The attack in Italy is one of the largest to affect a vaccination campaign, raising alarms about its potential impact. (Bubola, 8/4)

The New York Times: The Greek Synchronized Swimming Team Withdraws From The Games After 4 Athletes Test Positive For The Coronavirus
The Greek synchronized swimming team has withdrawn from the Olympics because four of its members tested positive for the coronavirus, requiring the entire team to leave the athletes’ village in Tokyo. The Hellenic Olympic Committee said in a statement that “there will be no Greek representation” in the duet or group events in synchronized swimming. All members of the team were transferred to a quarantine hotel, the committee said. (Bengali, 8/3)

Reuters: Japan Warns Of Unprecedented COVID Spread As Tokyo Cases Hit New Record
Japan warned on Wednesday that coronavirus infections were surging at an unprecedented pace as new cases hit a record high in Tokyo, overshadowing the Olympics and adding to doubts over the government's handling of the pandemic. The Delta variant was leading to a spread of infections "unseen in the past", Health Minister Norihisa Tamura said as he defended a new policy of asking patients with milder symptoms to isolate at home rather than going to hospital. (Kihara, 8/4)

The Washington Post: Kim Jong Un’s Mysterious Head Bandage Fuels Further Speculation Over His Health
North Korea’s Kim Jong Un was recently photographed out in public with what appeared to be a large green spot on the back of his head, once again fueling speculation about his health — long a topic of global fascination. Another image showed him sporting an oblong bandage over the mark. The bruise and bandage appeared toward the right side of the 37-year-old dictator’s head during a military meeting held July 24-27, per NK News, a platform dedicated to covering the secretive country. The site added that the mark was visible at other events held between July 27 and 29. (Hassan, 8/3)