First Edition: Dec. 23, 2021

KHN: As Patients Fell Ill With Covid Inside Hospitals, Government Oversight Fell Short 
One by one, the nurses taking care of actress Judi Evans at Riverside Community Hospital kept calling out sick. Patients were coughing as staffers wheeled the maskless soap opera star around the California hospital while treating her for injuries from a horseback fall in May 2020, Evans said. She remembered they took her to a room to remove blood from her compressed lung where another maskless patient was also getting his lung drained. He was crying out that he didn’t want to die of covid. (Weber and Jewett, 12/23)

KHN: Nursing Homes Bleed Staff As Amazon Lures Low-Wage Workers With Prime Packages
The sleek corporate offices of one of Amazon’s air freight contractors looms over Villaspring of Erlanger, a stately nursing home perched on a hillside in this Cincinnati suburb. Amazon Prime Air cargo planes departing from a recently opened Amazon Air Hub roar overhead. Its Prime semi-trucks speed along the highway, rumbling the nursing home’s windows. This is daily life in the shadow of Amazon. “We haven’t even seen the worst of it yet,” said John Muller, chief operating officer of Carespring, Villaspring’s operator. “They are still finishing the Air Hub.” (Varney, 12/23)

KHN: Deep Roots Help This Chicago Pharmacist Avoid Creating Another Drugstore Desert 
Del-Kar Pharmacy in the North Lawndale neighborhood has had a front-row seat to history. Martin Luther King Jr. bought his daily newspaper there when he lived in Chicago in the late 1960s. The Black Panthers’ local headquarters was a block away, and the pharmacy shared a building with the Conservative Vice Lords, a notorious street gang whose members still check in on owner-pharmacist Edwin Muldrow today. (Hawryluk, 12/23)

KHN: An Anesthesiology Practice’s Busy Day In Court Collecting On Surprise Bills
Owen Loney’s surprise bill resulted from an emergency appendectomy in 2019 at a Richmond, Virginia, hospital. Insurance covered most of the cost of the hospital stay, he said. He didn’t pay much attention to a bill he received from Commonwealth Anesthesia Associates and expected his insurance to cover it. A few months ago, he got a notice that Commonwealth was suing him in Richmond General District Court for $1,870 for putting him under during the surgery, court records show. (Hancock, 12/23)

KHN: Rural Communities Left Hurting Without A Hospital, Ambulance Or Doctors Nearby
Georgia’s Echols County, which borders Florida, could be called a health care desert. It has no hospital, no local ambulances. A medical provider comes to treat patients at a migrant farmworker clinic but, other than a small public health department with two full-time employees, that’s about the extent of the medical care in the rural county of 4,000 people. (Miller, 12/23)

KHN: Watch: One City’s Effort To Raise Vaccination Rates Among Black Residents
About 72% of Americans have received at least one dose of a covid-19 vaccine. During much of the vaccine rollout, Hispanic and Black Americans have been less likely than white Americans to get vaccinated. The gap between white and Hispanic Americans has largely closed, but the vaccination rate for the Black community still lags significantly behind. KHN correspondent Sarah Varney and PBS NewsHour producer Jason Kane report on how Hartford, Connecticut, has tried to close the gap in vaccination rates. (Varney and Kane, 12/23)

KHN: Record Number Of Americans Sign Up For ACA Health Insurance 
President Joe Biden’s top health advisers credited the increased government subsidies, which lowered out-of-pocket costs, for the surge in enrollment. They also said enhanced personal assistance and outreach helped connect more people to health insurance plans. Some of the largest increases are in Florida, Texas, Georgia and nine other states that have not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. (Galewitz and Miller, 12/23)

KHN: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Manchin Blows Up Biden’s ‘Build Back Better’ 
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) dashed the hopes of President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats for passage of the giant “Build Back Better” bill before the end of the year, when he announced his opposition to the measure in an interview on “Fox News Sunday.” Democrats still hope to salvage at least some pieces of the bill, but the effort will drag into the 2022 midterm election year. (12/22)

AP: Pfizer Pill Becomes 1st US-Authorized Home COVID Treatment 
The long-awaited milestone comes as U.S. cases, hospitalizations and deaths are all rising and health officials warn of a tsunami of new infections from the omicron variant that could overwhelm hospitals. The drug, Paxlovid, is a faster way to treat early COVID-19 infections, though initial supplies will be extremely limited. All of the previously authorized drugs against the disease require an IV or an injection. An antiviral pill from Merck also is expected to soon win authorization. But Pfizer’s drug is all but certain to be the preferred option because of its mild side effects and superior effectiveness, including a nearly 90% reduction in hospitalizations and deaths among patients most likely to get severe disease. (Perrone, 12/22)

Stat: FDA Authorizes Pfizer Pill To Treat Covid-19 In Patients As Young As 12
Initial supplies of Paxlovid will be limited. Pfizer has said it expects to produce more than 180,000 courses of the treatment this year. The company said Wednesday it now expects to provide 120 million courses by the end of 2022, up from 80 million previously, thanks in part to new contract manufacturers. Pfizer has contracted with the U.S. government to provide 10 million courses by the end of 2022 at a cost of $5.29 billion. (Herper, 12/22)

NBC News: FDA Authorizes First Covid Pill, From Pfizer, For Emergency Use
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement Wednesday that the company is ready to begin delivery of the drug to the U.S. "immediately." "This breakthrough therapy, which has been shown to significantly reduce hospitalizations and deaths and can be taken at home, will change the way we treat Covid-19, and hopefully help reduce some of the significant pressures facing our healthcare and hospital systems,” he said. The FDA did not seek the advice of its independent advisory panel, called the Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee, when it reviewed data on Pfizer's pill. (Lovelace Jr., 12/22)

The Washington Post: Remdesivir Can Help When Used On An Outpatient Basis 
The antiviral drug remdesivir can help keep unvaccinated people at risk of severe covid-19 out of hospitals, according to a study that found the treatment reduced hospitalization and death by 87 percent when given soon after diagnosis. (Goldstein, 12/22)

AP: Biden Negative For COVID-19 After Close Contact, VP Exposed
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris both tested negative for COVID-19 on Wednesday following separate incidents in which they were had close contact with aides who later tested positive for the coronavirus, the White House said. The incidents underscore how troublesome the pandemic is becoming inside the White House. (Superville, 12/23)

NBC News: Jim Clyburn Tests Positive For Covid After Seeing Biden Last Week
House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday, he said in a statement. Clyburn, D-S.C., said he is asymptomatic. He said that he is fully vaccinated and that he had a booster shot in September. Clyburn was with President Joe Biden on Friday when Biden traveled to South Carolina to speak to graduates of South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, Clyburn's alma mater. (Satlin, 12/22)

The Washington Post: Biden Says He Will Run For Reelection In 2024 If He’s In Good Health
President Biden on Wednesday said he would run for reelection in 2024 if he’s “in good health,” adding that he was eager to possibly face Donald Trump.The president, confirming his past comment that he would seek four more years in the White House, said during an interview with “ABC World News Tonight” anchor David Muir that he would run again if his health did not deteriorate. Asked whether he would run against Trump if the former president was the Republican nominee, Biden chuckled and said he would. “Why would I not run against Donald Trump as the nominee?” Biden said. “That would increase the prospect of running.” (Kornfield, 12/22)

The New York Times: Biden Promised 500 Million Tests, But Americans Will Have To Wait 
President Biden promised Americans he is making 500 million coronavirus tests available free of charge, but help is at least weeks away — if not longer — for anxious Americans facing a surge of new virus cases. Mr. Biden’s administration has not yet signed a contract to buy the tests, and the website to order them will not be up until January. Officials have not said how many tests people will be able to order or how quickly they will be shipped once they begin to be available next month. Manufacturers say they are already producing tests as fast as they can. (Shear and Stolberg, 12/22)

The New York Times: The Biden Administration Plans To Buy More Covid Treatments, But Doctors Are Nervous About The Coming Weeks.
The White House announced Wednesday that it was ramping up purchases of Covid treatments, as federal health officials tried to reassure Americans that it was safe to travel during the holiday season — so long as they are vaccinated and avoid large gatherings. ... Jeffrey D. Zients, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said the administration would double its existing supply — to more than one million doses — of sotrovimab, a monoclonal antibody treatment made by GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology that is expected to work for Omicron cases. The drug, aimed at preventing high-risk Covid patients from developing severe disease, has been in very limited supply. (Stolberg, Jewett and Robbins, 12/23)

CNN: Supreme Court Schedules January 7 Oral Arguments In Challenges To Biden Vaccine Mandates 
The Supreme Court said Wednesday it is scheduling oral arguments for January 7 in the cases challenging the Biden administration's Covid-19 vaccine requirements for large employers and certain health care workers. The arguments were scheduled after Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh were asked to intervene in lower court disputes over the mandates. Kavanaugh had been asked by challengers to the employer mandate to reverse an appeals court ruling that said the administration could enforce its vaccine-or-testing rules for large companies. (Sneed and de Vogue, 12/22)

The Washington Post: Supreme Court Sets Special Hearing For Biden's Vaccine Rules For Health-Care Workers, Private Businesses
It is highly unusual for the justices to schedule such hearings on emergency requests. Both will be considered Jan. 7, the Friday before the court was to resume its normal schedule of oral arguments. One of the cases involves a rule from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that requires employers with 100 or more workers to have staff vaccinated or tested on a regular basis. The other is from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and it requires vaccination for workers at facilities that receive federal funds tied to those programs. (Barnes, 12/22)

The New York Times: Omicron Infections Seem To Be Milder, Three Research Teams Report
Three separate teams of scientists on two continents have found that Omicron infections more often result in mild illness than earlier variants of the coronavirus, offering hope that the current surge may not be quite as catastrophic as feared despite skyrocketing caseloads. The researchers examined Omicron’s course through populations in South Africa, Scotland and England. The results in each setting, while still preliminary, all suggested that the variant was less likely to send people in hospitals. (Zimmer and Anthes, 12/22)

Bloomberg: Omicron Vs. Delta: Hospitalization Risk Is Far Lower With New Variant
The highly contagious new strain could still overwhelm health-care systems as infections soar globally. ... “It’s important that we don’t get ahead of ourselves,” said Jim McMenamin, national Covid-19 incident director for Public Health Scotland, which conducted the Scottish study with the University of Edinburgh and the University of Strathclyde. “A smaller proportion of a greater number of cases requiring treatment might still mean a substantial number of people that may experience severe Covid.” (Kresge, 12/22)

The Washington Post: Driven By Omicron, U.S. Cases Surpass Summer Delta Peak
The United States logged a seven-day average coronavirus case count of 168,981 on Wednesday, amid a nationwide spike driven partly by the omicron variant, Washington Post figures show, surpassing a summer peak of just over 165,000 infections on Sept. 1.The tally comes as preliminary data suggests omicron is significantly more contagious than previous versions of the coronavirus. (Jeong and Francis, 12/23)

USA Today: 'Enormous Spread Of Omicron' May Bring 140M New COVID Infections To US In The Next Two Months, Model Predicts
As the omicron variant continues to spread throughout the world, new modeling data shows the latest strain may cause millions more new infections per day in the U.S. but fewer hospitalizations and deaths compared to the delta variant. Researchers at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine revised its COVID-19 modeling to include updated information about the omicron variant. They found the U.S. may see a total of about 140 million new infections from Jan. 1 to March 1, 2022, peaking in late-January at about 2.8 million new daily infections. (Rodriguez, 12/22)

San Francisco Chronicle: Newsom Says Over Half Of California Cases Are Omicron As He Lays Out Plan For Testing, Boosters
California’s 2 million health care workers will have to get a COVID booster shot by Feb. 1, and those who have yet to be boosted will have to undergo testing twice a week until they do, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday. Newsom also announced a state schools testing program that will provide one to two rapid tests for every K-12 student in public schools as they return to classrooms from winter break. The state will also expand operating hours at state-run testing centers that have reached capacity. (Ho, 12/22)

Politico: Newsom, Unions Commit To Keeping ‘Our Classrooms Open’
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday pledged to keep California schools open in a statement he issued with the state's influential teachers unions the day after President Joe Biden said K-12 classrooms must not close. "As we approach the new year, we reaffirm our shared commitment to one another, to our parents and to our students: to keep each other safe and to keep our classrooms open," the joint statement said. It was signed by unions including the powerful California Teachers Association, one of Sacramento's biggest lobbying forces. (Luthi, 12/22)

Houston Chronicle: Texas COVID Deaths Are 35 Percent Higher In 2021 Than First Year Of Pandemic
Texas has recorded more COVID-19 deaths in 2021 than in the first year of the pandemic, even though vaccines have been available for all adults since March. The first case of COVID-19 in the United States was recorded in February 2020, and the pandemic was declared the following month. The current year began amid a winter surge of infections, which was followed by a rapid rise in vaccinations in the spring that later ebbed. The climbing death toll, public health experts said, is almost entirely driven by people who are unvaccinated. From mid-January through October, just 8 percent of Texas virus deaths were among inoculated residents. (Despart, 12/22)

NBC News: You Just Tested Positive For Covid. Here’s What To Do Next
For those who have Covid, the CDC recommends isolating for 10 days from the onset of symptoms, with the first day of symptoms counting as day zero. People who are asymptomatic should isolate for 10 days from the date they were tested. Isolating means staying home and avoiding others. (Chuck, 12/22)

Bloomberg: Best Masks For Covid? Cloth Masks Could Be Bad Against Omicron, Expert Says
Omicron is once again making people think twice before reaching out for their colorful, reusable cloth face masks. “They can be really good or really terrible,” depending on what fabric is used, said Trish Greenhalgh, professor of primary health care services at the University of Oxford. Double or triple-layer masks made of a mix of materials can be more effective, but most cloth coverings are just “fashion accessories,” according to Greenhalgh. (Anghel, 12/22)

Stat: Regulator: Need For Omicron Vaccine Depends On Staying Power Of Variant
Whether Americans will need additional vaccines specifically tailored to the rapidly spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus may depend on how long it circulates in the United States, a top regulator told STAT in an interview Wednesday. “If it turns out that Omicron is the new variant that actually things settle into, well then of course we will probably need an Omicron-specific vaccine,” said Peter Marks, the Food and Drug Administration’s top vaccine regulator. “On the other hand, if this is just a variant that’s passing through and we get [a new variant] in a month or two, we won’t need that.” (Florko, 12/22)

Fox News: Army Develops COVID-19 Vaccine That May Provide Protection Against All Variants
The U.S. Army has developed a vaccine it says may provide protection against all COVID-19 variants. The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) developed a 24-sided object to which it attached various protein spikes from coronavirus variants. The vaccine has completed phase 1 trials, but researchers have yet to test it against the omicron variant, an Army spokesman told Fox News. Researchers received a sample in early 2020 and focused efforts on developing a vaccine that would work against potential variants. Two years later, the initial results show promise. (Aitken, 12/22)

The Washington Post: UCLA, Columbia, Duke Plan Temporary Shift To Virtual Instruction In January 
Columbia University, Duke University and the University of California at Los Angeles will start with remote classes in January, part of a growing number of colleges choosing a temporary pivot online as coronavirus cases rise and the omicron variant spreads nationally. (Svrluga, 12/22)

The Boston Globe: On College Campuses, Omicron Is Fueling More Stress For Students As It Causes Another Round Of Closures
The Omicron variant of the coronavirus is compounding pressure on college students and administrators, prompting some to announce at least a temporary return to remote learning in January at the same time that many students are feeling more stressed out and exhausted than ever. This semester, many students had finally gotten into the groove of in-person learning and teaching and finally felt connected to their peers, but in the past two weeks, the variant has begun to tear across campuses. Harvard graduate student Tanush Jagdish, an evolutionary biologist whose lab also helped Harvard set up its COVID testing lab, said he hopes the university switches back to in-person classes after the first few weeks of the semester. (Krantz, 12/22)

The Wall Street Journal: The Covid War Of Attrition That Could Decide College Football’s National Title
The organizers of the biggest games of the college football season have reached a decision that once would have sounded completely ridiculous: The winner of the national championship this season may not even have to step onto the field. With the Omicron variant surging, the possibility of disruption to the college bowl season is high. On Wednesday, for example, Texas A&M said it doesn’t have enough available scholarship players and will no longer play in the Gator Bowl, which is scheduled to be held on Dec. 31 in Jacksonville, Fla. (Diamond, 12/22)

NPR: Chicago And Boston Will Require Proof Of Vaccination In Indoor Settings
Residents of Chicago and Boston will soon be required to show proof of full vaccination in order to enter indoor spaces like gyms, restaurants and entertainment venues, in the latest example of cities tightening public health rules to combat the spread of the omicron variant. The Chicago Department of Public Health announced Tuesday that beginning Jan. 3, the city will require everyone ages 5 and up to be fully vaccinated in order to access indoor dining, fitness and recreation venues. They must present either their vaccination card, a photocopy of it, a digital record or a printed record from their vaccine provider. (Treisman, 12/22)

The Washington Post: D.C. To Require Coronavirus Vaccination To Enter Most Businesses 
People 12 and older will be required to show proof of coronavirus vaccination to enter many businesses in D.C., including restaurants, starting in mid-January under rules that Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) announced Wednesday. (Brice-Saddler, Weil and Portnoy, 12/22)

Bloomberg: Covid Surge: Omicron Triggers Mandatory Mask Order In Colorado Ski Country
A surge in Covid-19 cases -- believed to be the omicron variant - is triggering a mandatory mask order in Colorado ski country at the peak of the holiday travel season. The Eagle County Board of Health, meeting in an emergency session Wednesday, reinstated an indoor mask mandate “regardless of vaccination status.” The popular resort towns of Vail and Avon are located in Eagle County. (Del Giudice, 12/22)

The Boston Globe: Leaders Of 9 Massachusetts Hospitals Ask The Public To Do 5 Things To Help Control COVID-19 Surge
Leading health experts warn that Massachusetts hospital capacities have reached a “crisis point” due to rising COVID-19 cases and are urgently pleading with the public to take five steps to lessen the strain on its healthcare system. In a joint statement signed by the leaders of nine state hospitals Wednesday, health experts said emergency rooms and hospitals are “nearing full capacity” as the Omicron variant dominates the region ahead of the holiday season. Here are the five crucial steps residents can take to ease the COVID-19 strain on hospitals, as outlined by the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association. (Redefer, 12/22)

Politico: Hospitals Grapple With Omicron — And Legal Brawl Over Vaccinating Staff
With Omicron cases surging and health care workers in short supply, hospitals and nursing homes are grappling with a patchwork of rules for vaccinating their staff against Covid-19 and in some cases begging off immunization requirements the Biden administration expected to start enforcing on Jan. 4. Court challenges brought by mostly Republican states have frozen the administration’s vaccine mandates for health workers in 25 states, upsetting an already delicate balance between patient safety and pandemic readiness as health facilities brace for a wintertime surge of cases. (Levy, 12/22)

Burlington Free Press: FEMA Sends First Responders To UVM Medical Center To Help With Omicron Variant Surge
The Federal Emergency Management Agency sent 20 first responders to UVM Medical Center on Dec. 17 to help with record numbers of patients, many of whom are "very sick" with COVID-19 or other serious conditions, according to a news release. "We are very thankful that the State of Vermont advocated for these federally funded resources and that we have been able to receive some of the deployment from across the state to shore up critical staffing areas," Dr. Stephen Leffler, president and chief operating officer of UVM Medical Center, said in a news release. (D'Ambrosio, 12/23)

AP: California Sets Feb. 1 Deadline For Health Worker Boosters
California’s roughly 2.5 million health care workers have until Feb. 1 to get a coronavirus vaccine booster shot or risk losing their jobs, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday. Newsom gave more details on the booster mandate during a Wednesday news conference at a vaccine clinic in Oakland. He had initially announced the new rule on Tuesday afternoon. (Beam, 12/23)

The New York Times: National Guard Empties Bedpans and Clips Toenails at Nursing Homes
Over the past two weeks, 30 Guard members have been working as certified nursing assistants at North Ridge Health and Rehab, a sprawling nursing home in suburban Minneapolis, which has been so badly hobbled by an exodus of employees that administrators have been forced to mothball entire wings, severely limiting new admissions. (Jacobs, 12/22)

The Wall Street Journal: Amazon To Require All U.S. Warehouse Workers To Wear Masks Again 
Amazon.com Inc. said all workers at its hundreds of U.S. warehouses will have to wear masks again starting Wednesday, a mandate prompted by the rapid spread of the coronavirus’s Omicron variant. (Needleman, 12/22)

CNN: Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship Prevented From Entering 2 Island Nations Due To Covid-19 Outbreak
A Royal Caribbean cruise ship was denied entry into two island nations after 55 fully vaccinated crew members and passengers contracted Covid-19 only days after the ship had set sail from Fort Lauderdale, the Miami Herald reported Wednesday. Odyssey of the Seas was barred from entering Curacao and Aruba, effectively remaining at sea until its planned return December 26 to Fort Lauderdale, according to the Herald. (Alonso and Elamroussi, 12/22)

AP: Man Who Kept Diner Open To Pay Bills Dies After COVID-19
A man who defied state orders and kept his restaurant open last year during the pandemic, partly to pay medical bills, has died of complications from COVID-19. John Parney, 62, operated the Quincy Diner in Quincy in southern Michigan. He was admitted to a hospital with COVID-19 in September, went home but quickly developed significant health problems that put him back in the hospital, according to a GoFundMe page. (12/23)

Crain's Detroit Business: Chicago Using Wastewater To Predict COVID Outbreaks
Using samples from local sewage systems is proving to be a useful tool in helping identify COVID hotspots and predict spread throughout communities. Over the past several months, a group of public health and academic scientists organized by the Discovery Partners Institute have been testing wastewater throughout Chicago and Illinois to monitor outbreaks. The programs could help pave the way for permanent water surveillance that would monitor other dangerous illnesses. (Davis, 12/22)

Bloomberg: Omicron Brings Risks To Pregnant Women Unvaccinated For Covid
The omicron variant is heightening risks for this little-talked-about demographic: pregnant women. Left out of early vaccine trials and faced with confusing messages and misinformation on the dangers to their unborn children, a disproportionately large number of pregnant women have steered clear of Covid shots. About 75% of expectant mothers in the U.K. and about 65% in the U.S. remain unvaccinated, making them among the groups most at risk of getting infected and being exposed to severe forms of the disease as the fast-spreading omicron strain sweeps across the globe. (Ring, 12/23)

CIDRAP: 1 In 4 With Metabolic Syndrome And COVID At Risk For Breathing Distress 
An international study of 29,040 hospitalized adult COVID-19 patients finds that metabolic syndrome was tied to significantly greater odds of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and death. While obesity, diabetes, and hypertension are known risk factors for severe COVID-19, the researchers said that little was known about the risk of metabolic syndrome—a cluster of conditions that includes high blood pressure, high blood glucose, excess fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol levels. Metabolic syndrome, a chronic low-grade inflammatory state, is a risk factor for heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. (Van Beusekom, 12/22)

Fox News: COVID Patients Reporting Residual Voice Problems After Infection
After the initial phase of Covid-19, some patients are experiencing problems with their voice, health experts told Fox News. These voice issues include hoarseness, quality of voice, and a condition called vocal fatigue, which can have an impact on a person’s quality of life, speech professionals told Fox News. "If a patient is feeling fatigued after using their voice, they may tend to not want to communicate as often as usual. They may withdraw from social activities as speaking becomes taxing and no longer pleasurable. A patient may not be able to perform their regular duties in their workplace as speaking is too difficult," Catherine Crowley, PhD., CCC-SLP, who is the Chair of the Communication Sciences and Disorders School of Health Professions and Nursing at LIU Post in Brookville, N.Y., told Fox News during an interview. (McGorry, 12/22)

USA Today: Will Having COVID Affect Fertility? Virus Linked To Low Sperm Count
Couples hoping to become pregnant have another reason to take precautions against COVID-19 – the virus might reduce sperm counts, making it harder to conceive a baby, according to a new study. The peer-reviewed study, published on Monday in the Fertility and Sterility journal, took samples from 120 men in Belgium averaging about 35-years-old. Research found that sperm count was reduced in 37% of men tested less than one month after COVID-19 infection. One to two months after infection, sperm counts were reduced in 29% of men tested, and 6% of men showed reduced sperm counts  two months past infection. (Miranda, 12/22)

CBS News: Potential Breast Cancer Vaccine Undergoing Testing
A potential vaccine that would prevent the most deadly and aggressive type of breast cancer — triple-negative breast cancer — is undergoing testing. The key protein for the vaccine, which would be a "holy grail" of cancer treatment, was found through "a matter of luck and tenacity in going through databases and looking for proteins," Dr. Vincent Tuohy said, almost like finding a needle in a haystack. The vaccine works by jumpstarting the immune system and attacking any tumors that contain a specific protein that should not be present unless a woman is lactating. (Narula, 12/22)

Modern Healthcare: Envision Sued Over Role In California Emergency Departments
A physician group's lawsuit against Envision Healthcare will test the limits of California's ban on the corporate practice of medicine. The American Academy of Emergency Medicine Physician Group argues that Envision's emergency department contract with Placentia-Linda Hospital in Placentia violates state law because it takes too much decision-making power away from doctors—something the state law seeks to prevent—and places it with Envision, which is owned by the private equity firm Kravis, Kohlberg and Roberts. (Bannow, 12/22)

AP: Jurors In The Elizabeth Holmes Trial May Take Next Week Off 
The jurors responsible for assessing 11 charges of fraud and conspiracy against former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes are scheduled to begin their third day of deliberations on Thursday. If they haven’t reached a verdict by the end of the day, U.S. District Judge Edward Davila and the attorneys for both sides will discuss the possibility of taking a break until Jan. 3. The jury had originally signaled that it was willing to deliberate during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. (Liedtke, 12/23)

Modern Healthcare: More Employers, Unions Shifting Retirees From Traditional Medicare To MA
Come April 2022, more than a quarter million retired New York City government workers and their dependents are expected to transition from traditional Medicare to privatized health insurance. The city's move to insure retirees under a Medicare Advantage plan represents a trend among self-insured customers that has accelerated nationwide over the past decade. In December, 5 million MA members came from group plans sponsored by unions or employers, up 6% year-over-year and 132% from the 2.1 million enrollees a decade ago, according to the latest federal data. While enrollment through group plans represents a small portion of the 27.2 million total MA enrollees, these plans are growing in popularity as companies look to attract and retain talent during the Great Resignation and governments look to cut healthcare costs and offer additional benefits, said Brad Ellis, senior director of insurance at Fitch Ratings. (Tepper, 12/23)

CNBC: You May Have Just A Short Time Left To Spend Your FSA Money
If you still have money in your flexible spending account, be aware that you may have only another week or so to spend it. Congressional action loosened FSA rules for 2020 and 2021 as a way to give workers more time to spend unused funds, yet many companies did not adopt the temporary changes. This means you could face a Dec. 31 deadline to use any remaining money or lose it. (O'Brien, 12/22)

Stat: 3 Contentious Decisions The FDA Will Make In 2022 
It’s going to be a bumpy 2022 for the Food and Drug Administration. Even as the agency waits for the Senate to confirm a permanent leader, it’s gearing up for a battle with lawmakers over the future of the user-fee program that provides nearly half its revenue. On top of that, it is still struggling to keep up with responding to the Covid-19 pandemic. The FDA is also gearing up for some of the most monumental decisions in recent memory. The decisions span the FDA’s vast portfolio, but they have one thing in common: They’re going to generate outsized controversy, and could even land the agency in court. (Florko, 12/23)

The Washington Post: Ted Kaczynski, The 79-Year-Old Unabomber, Transferred To Prison Medical Facility 
Theodore Kaczynski — who came to be known as the “Unabomber” for killing three people and injuring many more in a series of mail bombings over 17 years — has been transferred to a federal prison medical facility known for treating inmates with significant health problems, a Federal Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman said Wednesday. (Zapotosky, 12/22)

Reuters: AstraZeneca Vaccine Booster Works Against Omicron, Oxford Lab Study Finds 
A three-dose course of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine is effective against the rapidly-spreading Omicron coronavirus variant, the pharmaceutical company said on Thursday, citing data from an Oxford University lab study. (Aripaka, 12/23)

Bloomberg: Sinovac Vaccine Efficacy: Three Doses Fail To Protect Against Omicron In Study
Two doses and a booster of the Covid-19 vaccine made by China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd., one of the most widely used in the world, didn’t produce sufficient levels of neutralizing antibodies to protect against the omicron variant, a laboratory study found. The research suggests that people who’ve received Sinovac’s shot, known as CoronaVac, should seek out a different vaccine for their booster: Getting Germany’s BioNTech SE’s messenger RNA as a third dose saw those previously fully vaccinated with CoronaVac significantly improve in protective levels of antibodies against omicron, according to the study from the University of Hong Kong and The Chinese University of Hong Kong. (Hong, 12/23)

AP: China Puts 13 Million Residents In Lockdown Ahead Of Games 
China is redoubling efforts to control new virus outbreaks with a lockdown of the 13 million residents of the northern city of Xi’an following a spike in coronavirus cases. The measure comes just weeks before the country hosts the Winter Olympics in Beijing, roughly 1,000 kilometers (6210 miles) to the west. (12/23)

Reuters: Winter Olympics: China Expects COVID Cases Due To Games Arrivals, Flags Omicron Risk
Organisers of the Beijing Winter Olympics said on Thursday they expect a "certain number" of COVID-19 cases in China due to foreigners arriving for the Games, and strongly urged participants to get vaccination boosters due to the spread of the Omicron variant. Officials also sought to alleviate concerns about health care for participants prompted by COVID as well as an accident last month in a luge training session at the Beijing venue during which a Polish slider suffered a severe leg injury. (Tian, 12/23)