First Edition: Dec. 15, 2021

KHN: Mattresses And Mold Removal: Medi-Cal To Offer Unconventional Treatments To Asthma Patients 
Growing up amid the dusty agricultural fields of the Central Valley, Ruby Marentes-Cabrera can’t recall a time when it wasn’t difficult to breathe. Diagnosed with asthma early in childhood, the ninth grader has come to detest the pistachio trees that surround her home because the dust, pesticides and other allergens that blow off the orchards often trigger an asthma attack — even infiltrating her home so that simple chores like vacuuming can be dangerous. (Hart, 12/15)

KHN: Colorado Hospitals In ‘Critical Condition’ As State Weathers Another Surge
Harold Burch’s home has a spectacular view in Paonia, a rural part of Colorado’s Western Slope at the foot of Mount Lamborn. But the landscape has been little consolation to the 60-year-old as he has battled a cascade of health problems during the pandemic. “It’s been a real rodeo,” Burch said. “It’s been a lot of ups and downs and lately it’s been mostly just downers.” Burch has battled chronic osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis and has had two major intestinal surgeries. One specialist he was seeing left her practice last year. Another wouldn’t accept his insurance. Then, Nov. 1, he started experiencing major stomach pain. (Daley, 12/15)

PBS NewsHour: Nurse Who Got First Authorized U.S. COVID Vaccine: ‘We Cannot Continue To Live Like This’
One year ago, nurse Sandra Lindsay sat down in a slate blue chair at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York, rolled up her white sleeve and made history. Lindsay arrived at work that Monday knowing she would be among the first people in her hospital – and the United States – to get vaccinated against the deadly coronavirus. But she had no idea she would be the first, outside of clinical trials. (Santhanham, 12/14)

Stat: Pfizer's Covid Pill Remains 89% Effective In Final Analysis, Company Says
Paxlovid, Pfizer’s pill to treat Covid-19, retained its 89% efficacy at preventing hospitalization and death in the full results of a study of 2,246 high-risk patients, the company said Tuesday. In early November, Pfizer had released interim results from the first 1,219 patients in the study. But another oral antiviral targeting Covid, from Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, had seen estimates of its efficacy at preventing hospitalization drop from 50% to 30% between an interim result and a final one. A panel of experts advising the Food and Drug Administration on Nov. 30 recommended 13-11 that the Merck pill, molnupiravir, should be authorized for emergency use. The FDA has not announced a decision. (Herper, 12/14)

NPR: Pfizer COVID-19 Pill Data Shows Effectiveness Against Severe Disease
The company also looked at the effect of the drug on suppressing the amount of virus in the body, the so-called viral load, and found it led to a tenfold drop compared with a placebo. A reduction in viral load could reduce people's infectiousness. (Hensley, 12/14)

Axios: Biden Orders Enough Pfizer Antiviral Pills To Treat 10 Million Americans 
President Biden said Tuesday his administration has ordered enough of Pfizer's COVID-19 antiviral pills to treat 10 million Americans, after the company reported the drug reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by 89% in high-risk adults. Oral antiviral drugs designed to prevent or treat COVID-19 could be key pandemic-fighting tools — something Biden noted in his announcement hours before the coronavirus death toll surpassed 800,000 in the U.S. (Falconer, 12/14)

Stat: CDC Data Indicate Omicron Is Starting To Eat Into Delta's U.S. Dominance
Experts have said it appears Omicron is taking over faster than Delta did as it became dominant globally earlier this year. Current data from South Africa — which had some of the first detected Omicron cases — indicate that Omicron is causing milder infections than other forms of the coronavirus, perhaps not because of a change in the virus’ inherent virulence, but because prior infections and vaccinations are keeping people from developing serious illness. But experts caution that by leading to more cases overall, better spreading viruses can cause higher numbers of severe infections, even if the rate of serious disease is lower. (Joseph, 12/14)

Fox News: Omicron COVID-19 Variant Now Accounts For 2.9% Of All Cases In The United States
The omicron variant of COVID-19, which was first detected in the United States at the beginning of this month, now accounts for 2.9% of all cases in the country, according to data released by the CDC on Tuesday. The delta variant is still dominant, accounting for 96.7% of all cases for the week that ended on Dec. 11, but omicron is gaining ground as it accounted for just 0.4% the previous week. Omicron was originally discovered in South Africa, where it is currently driving a surge in infections, and was named a variant of concern by the World Health Organization on Nov. 26. (Best, 12/14)

Bloomberg: J&J Shot Loses Antibody Protection Against Omicron In Lab Study
Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine produced virtually no antibody protection against the omicron coronavirus variant in a laboratory experiment, underlining the new strain’s ability to get around one pillar of the body’s defenses. The vaccine appears to provide some defense against omicron, perhaps via other means such as stimulation of immune cells, according to Penny Moore, a South African virologist. The findings are consistent with other studies that show a partial loss of potency against Covid-19 for a number of vaccines, with J&J’s antibody protection looking particularly weak in the lab test. (Sguazzin, 12/14)

Bloomberg: Sinovac Provides Inadequate Shield Against Omicron, Studies Show
The vaccine made by Sinovac Biotech Ltd., one of the most widely used in the world, doesn’t provide sufficient antibodies in two doses to neutralize the omicron variant and boosters will likely be needed to improve protection, initial lab findings showed. While the first two studies to be released on the Chinese shot and omicron diverged on how much the vaccine’s immune response is degraded, they both indicated the standard two-dose course would not be enough, raising uncertainty over a shot relied on by millions of people in China and the developing world to protect against Covid-19. (Hong, 12/14)

NPR: Cornell Shuts Down Its Ithaca Campus After Significant Signs Of Omicron Variant Found
Cornell University is shutting down its Ithaca, N.Y., campus and is moving to "alert level red" — its highest alert level — due to what officials say is a rapid spread of COVID-19 cases among students. As of Tuesday afternoon, the campus reported 469 active student cases of the coronavirus and that, for the week of Dec. 6, about 3% of tests were positive among the students tested, according to Cornell's online COVID-19 dashboard. In an online letter to students, Cornell University President Martha Pollack said the campus's COVID-19 testing lab team detected evidence of the omicron variant "in a significant number of Monday's positive student samples." (Franklin, 12/14)

AP: Colleges Go Back To Drawing Board — Again — To Fight Virus
After a fall with few coronavirus cases, officials at Syracuse University were “feeling pretty good” about the spring term, said Kent Syverud, the upstate New York school’s chancellor. “But omicron has changed that,” Syverud said. “It has made us go back and say, until we know more about this variant for sure, we’re going to have to reinstate some precautions.” Last week, Syracuse announced that all eligible students and employees must get COVID-19 booster shots before the spring term. Students will also face a round of virus tests when they return, and officials are weighing whether to extend an existing mask mandate. (Binkley, 12/15)

USA Today: More Than 40% Of People With COVID-19 Never Show Symptoms, Study Finds. What Experts Have Learned About These Cases
Health officials have long wondered how many people who get COVID-19 show no symptoms. Because those who don't feel sick rarely get tested, experts have only been able to estimate the number of such asymptomatic cases. But new research now shows more than 40% of those who tested positive for COVID-19 were asymptomatic, according to the study published Tuesday in JAMA Network Open. Researchers looked at 95 studies from January 2020 to February 2021 consisting of nearly 30 million people in Asia, Europe, North America, South America and Africa. More than 60% of confirmed COVID-19 cases among people under 20 were asymptomatic; nearly 50% in people 20 to 39; about 32% in people 40 to 59, and about 33% in those over 60. (Rodriguez, 12/14)

Dallas Morning News: Tenet Healthcare, Medical City’s Parent Among Hospitals Dropping Vaccine Mandate For Workers
A number of hospitals are walking away from vaccine requirements for their staffs in the wake of court rulings that have blocked the White House’s vaccine rule for many health care centers. These hospital groups include Farmers Branch-based Tenet Healthcare, Christian medical center AdventHealth, the Cleveland Clinic and Nashville-based HCA Healthcare, which operates the Medical City hospitals in Dallas-Fort Worth. Together, the companies comprise more than 300 hospitals and 500,000 employees. (12/14)

Los Angeles Times: LAUSD Approves Student Vaccine Mandate Delay To Fall 2022
The Los Angeles school board agreed Tuesday to delay enforcement of its student COVID-19 vaccine mandate from Jan. 10 to fall 2022, citing concerns over disrupting learning and the monumental task of transferring tens of thousands of students into independent study. The decision came after interim Supt. Megan K. Reilly laid out a plan Friday to push back the deadline because the district was confronted with the reality that about 28,000 students had not complied and under the rules would be barred from in-person schooling and enrolled in independent study. (Gomez, 12/14)

CNBC: Google Employees To Lose Pay If Don't Comply With Vaccination Policy
Google has told its employees that they will lose pay — and will eventually be fired — if they don’t comply with the company’s Covid-19 vaccination policy, according to internal documents viewed by CNBC. A memo circulated by leadership said employees had until Dec. 3 to declare their vaccination status and upload documentation showing proof, or to apply for a medical or religious exemption. The company said after that date it would start contacting employees who hadn’t uploaded their status or were unvaccinated, as well as those whose exemption requests weren’t approved. (Elias, 12/14)

AP: Kroger Cuts Benefits For Some Staffers
Kroger, the country's biggest traditional grocery chain, is ending some benefits for unvaccinated workers as big employers attempt to compel more of their workforce to become vaccinated with cases of Covid-19 again rising. (12/15)

The Hill: Florida Returns Funding To School Districts Penalized For Mask Mandates 
The Florida Department of Education (DOE) has reimbursed money it withheld from eight school districts across the state that enacted mask mandates earlier this year. The DOE said it returned $877,851 that was withheld from Alachua County, Brevard County, Broward County, Duval County, Leon County, Miami-Dade County, Orange County and Palm Beach County. (Weixel, 12/14)

Stateline: More States To Provide Free Home COVID Test Kits
New Jersey announced yesterday that it is joining New Hampshire and Washington state in sending free COVID-19 testing kits to the homes of residents who request them. New Hampshire made rapid tests available late last month, while Washington state began offering them to residents of nine counties starting in mid-November. Meanwhile, Massachusetts announced today that it will send 2 million free rapid test kits to 102 cities and towns in the state that have the highest proportion of families living in poverty, so officials can distribute to them residents. (Ollove, 12/14)

Axios: COVID May Qualify As Disability Under ADA, EEOC Says 
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated guidance on COVID-19 on Tuesday stating that employees who have had the disease may be protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The updated guidance expands on previous announcements that people with long-haul COVID could qualify for disability resources. Not everyone who tests positive will qualify and the EEOC said that employers must individually evaluate each employee to determine if they meet the requirements. (Frazier, 12/14)

The Wall Street Journal: Arizona Asks Supreme Court To Reinstate Abortion Law 
The state of Arizona asked the Supreme Court Tuesday for an emergency order reinstating a law passed earlier this year that imposes criminal penalties for abortions performed because of fetal genetic abnormalities. Lower courts, noting the law likely violated Supreme Court precedents entitling women to end unwanted pregnancies, have blocked enforcement of the measure while a challenge filed by abortion providers and allied nonprofit organizations proceeds. (Bravin, 12/14)

The Hill: Arizona Asks Supreme Court To Permit Ban On Abortion For Genetic Conditions 
Arizona’s Republican attorney general on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to allow the state’s ban on abortions based on genetic abnormalities to go into effect. The request by Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) marks the latest in a series of clashes over GOP-crafted abortion restrictions to be directed to the justices this term as the court weighs the fate of its 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade. (Kruzel, 12/14)

Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ahead Of Supreme Court Decision, Pro-Choice Groups Map Path Forward
Even as pro-choice activists protested here at “Ground Zero” for the nation’s fight over abortion, they were already shaping strategies for a post-Roe v. Wade world. National pro-choice organizers at NARAL had wanted Mississippians to demonstrate in Washington, D.C., outside the U.S. Supreme Court building on Dec. 1 as the nation’s high court heard arguments in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The case challenges the state’s law that bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. (Cunningham, 12/13)

Stat: Califf Sails Through Confirmation Hearing For FDA Job, Despite Tensions Over Opioids
Robert Califf escaped largely unscathed from a two-hour hearing Tuesday vetting him to be commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. He gushed about his love of high-quality data, skillfully navigated questions on hot-button topics like abortion and drug pricing, and even had personal anecdotes about Covid-19 testing and opioid prescribing at the ready. His only stumble came when he clearly frustrated lawmakers with his responses to pointed questions about the FDA’s approach toward approving opioid drugs, including its general reluctance to crack down on long-term prescribing of opioids and its recent decisions to approve new high-dose opioids. (Florko, 12/14)

Modern Healthcare: Goldman Sachs Projects Positive 2022 For Big Insurers
Global investment bank Goldman Sachs on Tuesday kicked off its equity coverage of publicly traded U.S. health insurers with a lengthy inaugural report that generally gave a rosy outlook for the sector. Goldman initiated coverage of 10 insurers, half of which received 'buy' ratings in the newest report: UnitedHealth Group, Anthem, CVS Health, Molina Healthcare and Alignment Healthcare. Another four were rated 'neutral:' Humana, Cigna, Centene and Bright Health Group. Just one, Oscar Health, got a 'sell' rating. (Bannow, 12/14)

Modern Healthcare: Hospitals Innovated Safety Practices To Keep Patients From Harm During Pandemic
The novel coronavirus forced hospitals to quicken the pace when it comes to safety improvement, which was a departure from what's normally a glacial pace. As the virus continues to mutate, hospital administrators now see that some of the changes they implemented to react quickly back in 2020 should stay in place. From allowing patients to sleep longer to instituting daily escalation huddles, there are processes that will likely stick around long even after COVID-19's severe consequences fade because they've enhanced safety and quality. (Gillespie, 12/14)

Stat: New High-Dose Treatments For Opioid Overdoses Raise Questions
At a time when a record number of Americans have died from drug overdoses — with the vast majority involving opioids — the recent approval of two new forms of naloxone, a drug that reverses opioid overdoses, would seem to be welcomed. Instead, the medicines are opening a fierce debate over whether they could make matters worse. (Farah, 12/15)

San Francisco Chronicle: San Francisco Becomes First City To Require Sick Leave For Nannies, Cleaners, Gardeners
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously passed ground-breaking legislation to provide paid sick leave for cleaners, nannies, gardeners and other domestic workers. The measure — the first of its kind in the country — would affect some 10,000 people in San Francisco who work in private homes to clean, cook, tend children, garden, do personal organizing, or provide non-medical care for disabled people or seniors. This workforce is typically low-paid with many women and immigrants, supporters said. (Said, 12/14)

San Francisco Chronicle: S.F. Takes Big Step Toward Opening A Supervised Drug Use Site
San Francisco could be one step closer to opening a supervised drug use site after the Board of Supervisors approved the purchase of property for that purpose. Though supervised consumption sites are currently illegal under federal and state law, Mayor London Breed, backed by many supervisors, is pushing to open one. The approved agreement to purchase adjacent properties at 822 Geary St. and 629 Hyde St. for $6.32 million stated that the buildings would be used to serve people with behavioral health needs, not specifically for a supervised drug consumption site. (Moench, 12/14)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Willingboro's Drinking Water Exceeded A ‘Forever Chemical’ Standard And A Well Had To Be Closed
The Willingboro Municipal Utilities Authority is notifying residents that drinking water recently exceeded a state level set for PFOS, one of the “forever chemicals” that do not break down in the body or environment. The MUA said PFOS was detected at 15 parts per trillion based on a running annual average. The state allowable maximum is 13 ppt. The agency, which also provides water for neighboring Westampton Township, posted the notice Dec. 8 on its website. Officials for the MUA could not be reached immediately Tuesday for comment. (Kummer, 12/14)

AP: 'Forever Chemicals' Found In Some Central Maine Chicken Eggs
Chicken eggs from two homesteads in central Maine contain elevated levels of toxic industrial compounds that are associated with serious health conditions, the state’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention has found. The Bangor Daily News reported the egg contamination on Tuesday, just three weeks after authorities said deer harvested by hunters in the same Fairfield area should not be consumed as food because of elevated levels of the compounds. (12/14)

The Boston Globe: R.I. Child Advocate Sounds The Alarm, Saying ‘It Has Never Been This Bad’
Rhode Island’s child advocate sounded the alarm Tuesday, telling a state Senate committee that children in state care are not getting the services they need and are often being shipped out of state. Jennifer Griffith noted that she and others had come before the Senate oversight committee two months ago, warning about a mounting crisis within the state Department of Children, Youth and Families. “When I tell you that the situation has become much more dire and frankly dangerous in the last 60 days, I am telling you the truth,” Griffith said. “I am telling you that we are at an extreme level of desperation.” (Fitzpatrick, 12/14)

CIDRAP: Nebraska Confirms First Locally Acquired Cases Of Lyme Disease
Nebraska health officials yesterday reported the state's first two locally acquired Lyme disease infections and the first detection of Borellia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes the disease, in Nebraska's black-legged tick populations. In a joint statement with other health departments, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (NDHHS) said the two patients were likely exposed around the same time at nearby sites in Thurston County in northeastern Nebraska. (12/14)

NPR: Ex-NFL Player Phillip Adams Who Killed 6 People Had CTE, Doctors Say
A former NFL player who shot and killed six people and then took his own life in April was suffering from a severe medical condition brought on by repeated head trauma, doctors announced Tuesday. Boston University neuropathologists said Phillip Adams had CTE — or chronic traumatic encephalopathy — a degenerative brain disease found in many former football players. "Phillip Adams had an extraordinary amount of CTE pathology in the frontal lobe, the area of the brain behind the forehead. Frontal lobe damage is associated with violent, impulsive or explosive behavior, a 'short fuse,' and lack of self-control," Dr. Ann McKee, director of the Boston University CTE Center, said in a statement. (Hernandez, 12/14)

AP: EU Official: Omicron To Be Dominant Variant By Mid-January
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday that omicron is expected to be the dominant coronavirus variant in the 27-nation bloc by mid-January. The head of the EU’s executive branch said the bloc is well prepared to fight omicron with 66.6% of the European population now fully vaccinated against the virus. Von der Leyen said she is confident the EU has the “strength” and “means” to overcome the disease, although expressing her disappointment that once again year-end celebrations will be disturbed by the pandemic. (Petrequin, 12/15)

The Washington Post: CDC Puts Italy On Its Level 4 Travel List 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned people not to travel to Italy, placing one of Europe’s top tourist destinations on its highest-risk category for the coronavirus. The agency also added the Danish autonomous territory of Greenland and the small African island of Mauritius to its avoid travel list. (Villegas, 12/14)

Reuters: Pfizer Set To Oust AstraZeneca As Top Supplier Of COVID-19 Shots To Poor Nations
Pfizer and BioNtech are set to displace AstraZeneca as the main suppliers of COVID-19 vaccines to the global COVAX programme at the start of 2022, a shift that shows the increasing importance of their shot for poorer states. The expected change comes with headaches for receiving countries that lack sufficient cold storage capacity to handle the Pfizer vaccine, and amid risks of a shortage of syringes needed to administer that shot. (Guarascio, 12/15)

Reuters: Sanofi, GSK Delay Data On COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Candidate Til 2022
Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline said on Wednesday they expect data from late-stage clinical trials of its booster dose of their COVID-19 vaccine candidate in the first quarter, instead of this year, another delay for the potential shot. The news came as the French and British partners said preliminary data from trials showed the single-dose booster provided strong immune responses. (Van Overstraeten, 12/15)