First Edition: Dec. 16, 2022

KHN: To Combat Gun Violence, This Artist Turns Ammunition Into Art
As a child, Mykael Ash enjoyed picking up seashells near the Mississippi Gulf Coast. His grandfather lives there, so trips to the beach were a regular part of life. “It’s peaceful energy,” Ash said. “Especially when you put that seashell to your ear.” At age 32, he still collects shells. But the terrain is different in this city of 18,000 people. Ash walks on concrete instead of sand, picking up shells left by bullets as he walks through the city for exercise. “It just hit me one day,” he said: He could use the shell casings in his artwork. (Anthony, 12/16)

KHN: Is Legislation To Safeguard Americans Against Superbugs A Boondoggle Or Breakthrough? 
With time running out in the 2022 congressional session, a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers and infectious disease specialists is scrambling to pass a bill aimed at spurring the development of antibiotics to combat the deadly spread of drug-resistant pathogens. The PASTEUR Act, as amended, would provide $6 billion in federal funding over several years to give drugmakers incentive to develop and manufacture lifesaving medications for the small but growing number of infections highly resistant to antibiotics. (Szabo and Allen, 12/16)

KHN: Why Medicaid Expansion Ballots May Hit A Dead End After A Fleeting Victory In South Dakota 
Republican-led legislatures have repeatedly thwarted Medicaid expansion in a dozen conservative states, despite high numbers of uninsured residents. In recent years, supporters of expansion have found success with another strategy: letting voters decide. Since 2017, Medicaid expansion has passed in seven states where the issue was put on the ballot, adopting the Affordable Care Act provision that would grant health insurance to hundreds of thousands living at or near the poverty line. (Pradhan and Chang, 12/16)

KHN: Readers And Tweeters Chime In On Disability Rights And Drug Discounts 
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories. (12/16)

KHN: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Health Spending? Only Congress Knows
Congress has a tentative framework for government spending through this fiscal year. Now, lawmakers must fill in the blanks, including on key health care provisions, and get it passed. The Biden administration will send more free covid-19 home tests to Americans after initial fears the program was running out of money. And there’s plenty of news coming in from the states, where this week a Texas judge tossed out a lawsuit based on the state’s so-called vigilante abortion law, and the governor of Florida is asking for a grand jury investigation into harm caused by covid vaccines. (12/15)

The New York Times: E.R. Doctors Misdiagnose Patients With Unusual Symptoms 
As many as 250,000 people die every year because they are misdiagnosed in the emergency room, with doctors failing to identify serious medical conditions like stroke, sepsis and pneumonia, according to a new analysis from the federal government. The study, released Thursday by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, estimates roughly 7.4 million people are inaccurately diagnosed of the 130 million annual visits to hospital emergency departments in the United States. Some 370,000 patients may suffer serious harm as a result. (Abelson, 12/15)

The New York Times: Congress Clears Military Bill Repealing Vaccine Mandate For Troops 
The Senate on Thursday gave final approval to an $858 billion military policy bill that would rescind the Pentagon’s mandate that troops receive the coronavirus vaccine, defying President Biden’s objections and sending to his desk a bill that paved the way for a massive increase in spending on the military. The vote was 83 to 11, an overwhelmingly bipartisan margin that reflected support in both parties for boosting the Pentagon’s budget by $45 billion over Mr. Biden’s request, as lawmakers in both parties argued that the protracted war in Ukraine and an emboldened China had changed the nation’s security posture. (Edmondson, 12/15)

The Washington Post: Trump Downplayed Drumbeat Of Intelligence Warnings On Covid, Report Finds 
Beginning in late January 2020, U.S. intelligence agencies reported to senior Trump administration officials that the coronavirus spreading in China threatened to become a pandemic and spark a global health crisis. But then-President Trump’s public statements over the next two months “did not reflect the increasingly stark warnings coursing through intelligence channels,” including the president’s daily brief, available to Trump and senior members of his administration, according to a report issued Thursday by the House Intelligence Committee. (Harris, 12/15)

Politico: Report: Intelligence Agencies Didn’t Move Fast Enough To Collect Covid Data 
The intelligence community was not prepared for the Covid-19 pandemic and did not move quickly enough to gather information about the spread of the virus, according to a report released Thursday by Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee. The report looks at the intelligence community’s response to Covid-19, particularly in the early days of 2020. The intelligence agencies’ clandestine collectors largely focused on analyzing data about the virus that was already being discussed openly by public health officials and experts across the world, the report said, arguing that they moved too slowly to collect clandestine information. (Banco, 12/15)

NBC News: CDC Director Warns Vaccine Misinformation Is A Public Health Threat
Doctors' appointments missed during the first years of Covid contributed to a dip in childhood vaccination rates, but it's the onslaught of vaccine disinformation that continues to put young kids at risk for preventable death and disease, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, told NBC News. "As I think about the challenges that we have to public health vaccine, misinformation is among the biggest threats," she said. (Edwards, 12/16)

Reuters: Philadelphia Schools Will Require Masks As U.S. COVID Cases Spike 
Public school students in Philadelphia will have to wear face coverings at school for 10 days after their winter break, officials said, as communities around the country contend with another surge of COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses. The mandate, which will run from Jan. 3-13, is aimed at reducing the spread of respiratory illnesses after a holiday season likely filled with more social gatherings and increased exposure, the school district said in a statement on Thursday. (12/15)

The Washington Post: Masking Can Be Required In Classes For Virginia Students With Disabilities 
Parents of students with disabilities in Virginia public schools have won the right to require that their children’s peers and teachers wear masks, after the state government agreed to a settlement with several families who had filed a lawsuit challenging a statewide mask-optional policy. (Natanson, 12/15)

The CT Mirror: CT COVID Hospitalizations Up 58%; Officials Urge Masking Indoors
Connecticut’s COVID hospitalizations have risen by 58% over the last four weeks, and with families and colleagues preparing to gather for the holidays, health officials are urging people to don masks indoors and consider the well-being of others as they go about the seasonal bustle. (Carlesso, 12/15)

AP: New Hampshire Restarts COVID Wastewater Surveillance Program 
A wastewater surveillance program to monitor COVID-19 levels in communities across New Hampshire has been started by the state’s Department of Health and Human Services. (12/15)

The Baltimore Sun: State Ramps Up COVID Testing, Treatment In Baltimore As Cases Climb 
The Maryland Department of Health announced Thursday that it is offering more access to COVID tests and treatment in Baltimore as more people are being sickened by the virus. Maryland has seen an increase in COVID hospitalizations and positivity rate since Thanksgiving, and the department of health wants residents to know that tests and treatment are available ahead of the December holidays. (Bologna, 12/15)

Bloomberg: Do Covid Tests Expire? Breaking Down Expiration Dates
With the US health officials preparing to distribute free at-home Covid-19 tests again, people who stocked up during the omicron surge may be wondering if they are still good. (Rupp and Lauerman, 12/15)

The Washington Post: How A Viral Siege Is Making Some People Sick For Weeks, Even Months
It started in mid-September with Vance, 5, who came down with RSV and wheezed so badly that his skin was pulling in and out of his ribs with every breath. His little brother Banks, then 11 months old, caught it too. Things were just starting to get better in October, when the boys caught a nasty cold that resulted in more sleepless nights. In November, the flu hit, bringing fevers of 102 degrees. “It feels like a never-ending cycle,” said their mom, Michelle Huber of Louisville. “We are beyond exhausted.” (Cha, 12/15)

Axios: America's Historically Bad Flu Season May Be Peaking
The U.S. has been pummeled by respiratory illness, including a harsher flu season than we've seen in years. But new data indicates the outbreak may be peaking. The CDC estimates there have been at least 13 million illnesses, 120,000 hospitalizations and 7,300 deaths, including 21 pediatric deaths, from the seasonal flu. (Reed, 12/16)

The New York Times: Covid May Spread From Corpses, Scientists Report 
Like a zombie in a horror film, the coronavirus can persist in the bodies of infected patients well after death, even spreading to others, according to two startling studies. The risk of contagion is mainly to those who handle cadavers, like pathologists, medical examiners and health care workers, and in settings like hospitals and nursing homes, where many deaths may occur. While transmission from corpses is not likely to be a major factor in the pandemic, bereaved family members should exercise caution, experts said. (Mandavilli, 12/15)

CIDRAP: Autopsies Show COVID-19 Virus In Brain, Elsewhere In Body
An analysis of tissue samples from the autopsies of 44 people who died with COVID-19 shows that SAR-CoV-2 virus spread throughout the body—including into the brain—and that it lingered for almost 8 months. The study was published yesterday in Nature. (Wappes, 12/15)

CIDRAP: Physical Activity Cuts Risk Of Poor COVID Outcomes, Study Finds
Adults who were more physically active before testing positive for COVID-19 were at lower risk for hospitalization, clinical deterioration, and death by 90 days, finds a study published yesterday in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Kaiser Permanente Southern California researchers led the study of the electronic health records of 194,191 patients diagnosed as having COVID-19 from Jan 1, 2020, to May 31, 2021, before vaccines were widely available. (Van Beusekom, 12/15)

The Hill: Long COVID Rehab Program Produces ‘Impressive’ Results
A rehabilitation program for long COVID symptoms in the United Kingdom shows “impressive” results, according to a new paper in the Journal of Medical Virology. ... Over the course of six weeks, 31 participants followed the World Health Organisation (WHO) CR-10 Borg pacing protocol, which includes five levels of activity. The protocol rates how active a patient is and what level they are at based on a scale of 0 to 10 where 0 is the lowest level of exertion and 10 is the highest. There are suggested activities for different levels like breathing exercises, gentle walking, jogging and resistance exercises. The more rigorous levels included activities like running, swimming and dancing. (Hou, 12/15)

Fortune: People Who Skipped Their COVID Vaccine Are At Higher Risk Of Traffic Accidents, According To A New Study
If you passed on getting the COVID vaccine, you might be a lot more likely to get into a car crash. Or at least those are the findings of a new study published this month in The American Journal of Medicine. ... [Researchers] found that the unvaccinated people were 72% more likely to be involved in a severe traffic crash—in which at least one person was transported to the hospital—than those who were vaccinated. ... Of course, skipping a COVID vaccine does not mean that someone will get into a car crash. Instead, the authors theorize that people who resist public health recommendations might also “neglect basic road safety guidelines.” (Prater, 12/13)

CNBC: Covid News: Most Nursing Home Residents Have Not Received Omicron Booster
Less than 50% of nursing home residents, one of the country’s most vulnerable populations to severe illness from Covid-19, have received an omicron booster ahead of an expected wave of infection this winter. (Kimball, 12/15)

Stat: Drugmakers Seek New Standards For Covid Antibody Drugs
Biotech executives and a handful of academics pleaded with U.S. and European regulators on Thursday to adopt new standards for approving antibody drugs against Covid, particularly for immunocompromised and other vulnerable patients. (Mast, 12/15)

Fortune: Tamiflu: Is The In-Demand Flu Treatment Safe To Take?
A study out of Vanderbilt University Medical Center is set to explore the neurological impact of the flu treatment. According to researchers, some flu patients have experienced “neuropsychiatric symptoms, such as behavior changes, hallucinations, and even attempted suicide,” says the VUMC Reporter. However, it’s unknown whether the symptoms are the result of the infection itself or Tamiflu. (Payton, 12/14)

Stat: To Fix Pulse Oximeters, The FDA Asked This Lab To Find Answers
The discovery that fingertip oxygen-measuring devices might contribute to health disparities because they appear to work less well on patients with darker skin has roiled the world of pulse oximetry, a $2 billion industry that now faces stricter regulations and pressure to address bias in the development and testing of its devices. (McFarling, 12/16)

AP: California To End Mandatory Pay For Workers With COVID
California will stop making companies pay employees who can’t work because they caught the coronavirus while on the job. For the past two years, California workplace regulators have tried to slow the spread of the coronavirus by requiring infected workers to stay home while also guaranteeing them they would still be paid. But Thursday, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board voted to end that rule in 2023 — in part because the rule has become harder to enforce. (Beam, 12/15)

CIDRAP: Report Describes Mpox Infections Tied To Tattoo Parlor 
Piercing or tattooing appears to be the vehicle that left 21 people infected with mpox virus (MPXV) after visiting the same tattoo parlor in Cadiz, Spain, during 2 weeks in July, according to a report yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine. From July 6 to July 19, the parlor served 58 customers, and 21 of them (36%) became infected with the virus. Of the mpox patients, 14 (67%) were female, and 9 (43%) were children. The median patient age was 26. (Wappes, 12/15)

USA Today: Common Process By Which People Get Pregnant Is In Legal Jeopardy. Some Democrats Want To Legally Protect IVF
Democratic senators are trying to legally protect the right to use in vitro fertilization after the fall of Roe v. Wade not only ended the constitutional right to abortion but also threw into question the fate of IVF. Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Patty Murray, along with Rep. Susan Wild, are introducing the new legislation, called the Right to Build Families Act of 2022. (Hughes and Fernando, 12/15)

Bay Area News Group: Harry And Meghan's Claim About Miscarriage Pushes Common Misperception
UK’s National Health Services (NHS) said it’s “a common misperception” that a mother’s emotional state, including anxiety or depression, is tied to an increased risk of miscarriage, which is generally described as the death of a fetus before the 20th week of pregnancy. This misperception is in the same category as fears that a woman can harm her fetus by exercising, lifting something heavy, having sex, eating spicy food, standing or sitting long hours at work or experiencing a shock or fright, according to the NHS. (Ross, 12/15)

Grand Rapids Business Journal: Trinity Health Michigan Offers Employees Daily Pay Option In 2023
Trinity Health soon will offer employees the option to be paid by the day, a new effort by the major healthcare system to attract and retain employees and provide its workforce another option for financial stability. The U.S. healthcare system is struggling to maintain employees at all levels as nurses, physicians and even CEOs struggle with burnout and battle to bounce back from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Poirier, 12/15)

Axios: Non-Profit Hospitals' Staffing Woes Ease, New Research Shows
Despite the "tripledemic" and continued high employee turnover, non-profit hospitals' staffing crunch is showing signs of lifting, Fitch Ratings concludes. Fitch cites Bureau of Labor Statistics data showing hospital and ambulatory health services payrolls increased by 11,000 and 23,300, respectively, from October to November while job openings for the health and social assistance sector declined in October. (Bettelheim, 12/15)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Hundreds Picket Outside Las Vegas Hospital For New Union Contract
For the second time in recent months, more than a hundred picketers were outside Valley Hospital Medical Center Thursday demanding a fair contract for hospital support staff. About 90 support staff at the medical center have been in contract negotiations since the end of 2016. They claim their wages have stagnated and they fear a reduction of benefits could happen. (Hemmersmeier, 12/15)

Modern Healthcare: Mayo Clinic's Billing Practices In Question By Minnesota Attorney General
The office of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) is looking into Mayo Clinic's billing practices after a local media outlet reported the health system sued low-income patients for unpaid balances. The Rochester Post Bulletin, which published the investigation last month, interviewed 20 sued patients and found 14 appeared to have been eligible for free or discounted services. (Hudson, 12/15)

Stat: Inflation Caused Another Big Drop In Net Drug Prices, Analysis Finds
Amid ongoing debate over the cost of prescription medicines, a new analysis finds that brand-name drugmakers increased their wholesale prices by 4.8% in the third quarter this year, up slightly from 4.2% a year earlier and 4.9% in the previous quarter. But when accounting for inflation, wholesale prices fell by 3.1%, and inflationary pressures are likely to push wholesale prices still higher. (Silverman, 12/15)

Stat: AbbVie Exits Major Pharmaceutical Industry Lobbying Groups 
The maker of one of the world’s most profitable medicines is exiting the pharmaceutical industry’s two major lobbying organizations next year, just as Washington pledges to crack down on high drug costs. (Cohrs and Owermohle, 12/15)

Stat: Notices Of Concern Issued On Papers By Stanford President 
The leading journals Science and Cell on Thursday issued “expressions of concern” on papers co-authored by Stanford University president Marc Tessier-Lavigne, who is under investigation over allegations of research misconduct. (Joseph, 12/15)

NPR: Court Rules That Law Requires Former Research Chimps To Go To A Sanctuary
A federal judge has ruled that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) violated the law when it determined that former research chimpanzees in New Mexico would not move to a sanctuary in Louisiana known as Chimp Haven. (Greenfieldboyce, 12/15)

WUSF Public Media: Alzheimer's Treatment Built On Sarasota Research Heads Toward FDA Approval
Thirty years ago, doctors with Sarasota's Roskamp Institute were the first to discover genetic causes of Alzheimer’s Disease. Now, a drug built on their findings, is likely heading for FDA approval. (Carter, 12/15)

AP: Ohio Lawmakers OK Sweeping Criminal Justice Law Changes 
The bill, which received bipartisan support, also would decriminalize fentanyl test strips, make strangulation a separate offense, outlaw fertility fraud by doctors, and mandate age-appropriate education about child sexual abuse prevention in schools, among other changes. (Hendrickson, 12/15)

North Carolina Health News: No Guidelines For Drug Testing Pregnant Patients 
In 2003, Congress enacted the Keeping Children and Families Safe Act. The new law was intended to strengthen programs that prevent child abuse and neglect, including improved training for child welfare workers and better connections between social service departments and community mental health agencies. Included in its 33 pages is the mandate that each state create a process to identify infants exposed to drugs in-utero and intervene in some way. But, nearly 20 years later, that hasn’t happened. (Donnelly-DeRoven, 12/16)

Los Angeles Times: 'Gimme Shelter': Why It's So Hard For Homeless People To Get Healthcare
Many homeless Californians have significant chronic health problems. But comparatively few receive the healthcare they need. The latest estimate of California’s homeless population tops 173,000, but less than one-third who are enrolled in the state’s healthcare program for low-income residents have ever seen a primary care doctor. (Dillon, 12/15)

Climate Central and ADAPT: After Ian And Nicole, Experts Warn Of Health Risks From Blue-Green Algae
Shannon Valentine-Sanders had been suffering from mysterious symptoms for a couple weeks last year when she vaguely remembers sending an emergency alert to her family from a KFC parking lot in Matlacha, on Florida’s Southwest coast. “I didn’t know where I was,” she says. “I thought I was drugged or poisoned or something.” Seeing her pain, exhaustion and forgetfulness, hospital doctors connected her illness to toxins secreted by blue-green algae floating in mats around the sailboat she’d lived on over the summer. (Upton, DeFonza and Rivers, 12/15)

The Boston Globe: Stray Cat In Dorchester Tests Positive For Rabies
Boston health officials announced that a stray cat found outdoors in Dorchester Monday tested positive for rabies, and they urge anyone who may have encountered the cat to seek medical advice. (Allen, 12/15)

Reuters: Global Stockpile Of Cholera Vaccines 'Empty Or Extremely Low' - WHO 
A World Health Organization official said on Friday that the global stockpile of cholera vaccines it helps manage is "currently empty or extremely low" amid a resurgence of the disease around the world. The U.N. health agency says there are around 30 countries around the world that have reported cholera outbreaks this year which is about a third higher than a typical year. (12/16)