First Edition: February 23, 2022

KHN: An $80,000 Tab For Newborns Lays Out A Loophole In The New Law To Curb Surprise Bills
When Greg and Sugar Bull were ready to start a family, health challenges necessitated that they work with a gestational surrogate. The woman who carried and gave birth to their twins lived two states away. The pregnancy went well until the surrogate experienced high blood pressure and other symptoms of preeclampsia, which could have harmed her and the babies. Doctors ordered an emergency delivery at 34 weeks’ gestation. Both infants had to spend more than a week in the neonatal intensive care unit. (Hancock, 2/23)

KHN: Targeted By Politicians, Trans Youth Struggle With Growing Fear And Mental Health Concerns
Charlie Apple had experienced people calling into question his humanity, suggesting he was just a confused kid or even a moral aberration. As a transgender teen, he had accepted that his future could include discrimination, verbal abuse, and violence. The sense of peace he said he felt in transitioning physically, however, was worth the risk. Still, it was especially painful last year, Apple said, when Texas lawmakers used the same sort of dehumanizing language he’d heard on the playground as they debated whether to deny trans kids everything from participation in sports to gender-affirming medical care. (West, 2/23)

KHN: Other States Keep Watchful Eye On Snags In Washington’s Pioneering Public-Option Plan 
With prospects dim for the U.S. to adopt a single-payer “Medicare for All” program, health care reform advocates turned instead to an insurance plan designed by the government that could compete with private insurance plans sold on the health care exchanges. The idea behind this “public option” is that it could ultimately expand health care access by making a lower-cost plan available to consumers. ... Washington state, in its second year of offering the nation’s first public-option health insurance plan, has learned an important lesson: If you want hospitals to participate, you’re probably going to have to force them. (Hawryluk, 2/23)

AP: Bill To Ban Youth Gender Confirmation Surgery Introduced
Legislation that would make it illegal to perform gender confirmation surgery on juveniles was introduced in the Idaho House State Affairs Committee on Tuesday. Rep. Bruce Skaug, a Republican from Nampa, said the bill, if approved, would modify the state’s current law against female genital mutilation to include boys and make it clear that performing gender confirmation surgery on a child is a felony. The proposal includes exceptions for birth defects and “verifiable chromosomal disorders,” he said. “The types of surgeries and actions proscribed in the bill are often irreversible, or at the very least cause permanent damage on a child that I believe is too young to be making those decisions,” Skaug told the committee. (2/22)

Bloomberg: Texas Attorney General Declares Sex-Change Procedures For Trans Kids Child Abuse
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton declared that sex-change procedures involving transitioning minors constitute child abuse under state law. Paxton cited measures including gender-reassignment surgery and the prescribing of so-called puberty blockers in the order released on Monday. “There is no doubt that these procedures are ‘abuse’ under Texas law, and thus must be halted,” Paxton said in a statement. “I’ll do everything I can to protect against those who take advantage of and harm young Texans.” (Carroll and Ceron, 2/21)

The Hill: Amendment In Florida Bill To 'Out' Students Is Withdrawn
Florida state Rep. Joe Harding (R) on Tuesday withdrew an amendment to his Parental Rights in Education act – known to its critics as “Don’t Say Gay” – that would have required school principals to inform a student’s parents of their sexual orientation within six weeks of learning they were not straight. Harding had introduced the amendment Friday, and removed it just before a House question and answer session on Tuesday. The amendment had instructed school principals “to develop a plan, using all available governmental resources, to disclose such information within 6 weeks after the decision to withhold such information from the parent.” (Migdon, 2/22)

The Washington Post: Mask Mandates Have Ended In All But One State As Retailers And Cruises Follow Suit
As coronavirus cases continue to decline across the country, all states but one — Hawaii — have dropped their mask mandates or have made plans to do so in the coming weeks. This week, Target and Apple stores joined other retailers in pulling back their own mandates. In recent days, some cruise lines — including Norwegian and Royal Caribbean International — said they are relaxing mask requirements for vaccinated passengers after putting stricter rules in place during the omicron surge. The industry was hit hard early in the pandemic as horror stories of onboard outbreaks made international headlines. (Cheng and Timsit, 2/23)

The New York Times: Most N.Y. Voters In Poll Want More Data Before School Mask Mandate Ends
While New York State officials have begun lifting certain coronavirus pandemic restrictions, not all residents are happy to see them go, according to a new poll released Tuesday by the Siena College Research Institute. Forty-five percent of registered voters in the survey said the state should have kept in place its rule requiring masks or proof of full vaccination in indoor public places, which was recently rescinded. Some 31 percent said the mandate should have been ended earlier, and 20 percent said it ended at the right time, the poll found. (Fadulu, 2/23)

The Wall Street Journal: Masks In Schools: Districts Get Caught Between Health Authorities And Parent Pushback
Schools have once again become a battleground over pandemic masking, with districts facing rising public pressure to drop mandatory mask requirements even as public-health agencies largely advise keeping students and teachers in face coverings. As the latest Covid-19 wave wanes, more states are lifting mask mandates for restaurants and businesses, but many school requirements remain. Disagreements are leading to heated school board meetings and divided communities, just months after similar tensions flared up during the return to in-person learning in the fall. (Randazzo, 2/23)

The New York Times: Chicago Will End Its Mask Mandate For Many Public Spaces
Chicago will end its mask and vaccine mandate for some public places such as restaurants starting on Monday after a recent plunge in cases of the Omicron variant, the city’s mayor said on Tuesday. The move aligns with Illinois’s plan to end a statewide indoor mask mandate that same day.The announcement by Mayor Lori Lightfoot does not apply to some spaces — notably health care settings and public transit, where masks will still be required. (Patel, 2/23)

AP: Maryland Board Votes To Let Local Schools Decide On Masks
The Maryland State Board of Education voted Tuesday to allow local school districts to decide whether students must wear face coverings in school, sending the proposal to end an emergency order to a legislative committee to make a final decision. Citing improvements in COVID-19 health metrics, the board voted 12-2 to rescind the order on March 1. Still, the Maryland General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive, and Legislative Review has the last say on the matter. (Witte, 2/22)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Could Relax Mask Rules In Some Places, Officials Say
Vaccinated Los Angeles County residents may soon be able to go maskless in indoor settings that check for proof that they’ve received their doses, county officials said Tuesday. Details of that forthcoming shift remain scarce, but such a change would be a potentially significant loosening of rules in a region that has been more reluctant to relax such requirements even as the Omicron wave recedes. (Money and Lin II, 2/22)

Bloomberg: U.S. Supreme Court Spurns Bid For Religious Opt-Out From Covid Vaccine Rule 
Maine is one of three states, along with New York and Rhode Island, that require vaccination of health-care workers and allow exemptions only for medical reasons. Although the Supreme Court has limited the federal government’s power to require Covid shots or tests, the justices have allowed state and local mandates, even without religious exemptions. The court left in force New York’s requirement in December. The Supreme Court had already rejected the Maine challengers in October, when over three dissents the justices refused to intervene on an emergency basis. (Stohr, 2/22)

Politico: More GOP States Now Wagering On Vaccine ‘Passports’ Technology
Several Republican-leaning states that eschewed so-called vaccine passports over concerns that they limited freedom are now embracing the technology behind them so that their residents can travel and get their immunization and health records online. The technology — which allows proof of Covid-19 vaccination to be digitized and often includes a QR code — had been touted by supporters, largely in Democratic-leaning states, as a way to facilitate safer reopening after pandemic-related shutdowns. (Leonard, 2/23)

The Washington Post: Five Months Post-Covid, Nicole Murphy’s Heart Rate Is Still Doing Strange Things
Five months after being infected with the coronavirus, Nicole Murphy’s pulse rate is going berserk. Normally in the 70s, which is ideal, it has been jumping to 160, 170 and sometimes 210 beats per minute even when she is at rest — putting her at risk of a heart attack, heart failure or stroke. No one seems to be able to pinpoint why. She’s only 44, never had heart issues, and when a cardiologist near her hometown of Wellsville, Ohio, ran all of the standard tests, “he literally threw up his hands when he saw the results,” she recalled. Her blood pressure was perfect, there were no signs of clogged arteries, and her heart was expanding and contracting well. (Eunjung Cha, 2/21)

CNBC: Covid Infections Plummet 90% From U.S. Pandemic High, States Lift Mask Mandates
U.S. health officials are optimistic, albeit cautiously, the country has turned the corner on the unprecedented wave of infection caused by the omicron Covid variant as new cases plummet 90% from a pandemic record set just five weeks ago. As the nation emerges from the omicron wave, U.S. and state leaders are trying to mentally move past the crisis that has gripped everyone since the pandemic began two years ago. Public health leaders have begun rolling out plans to deal with the virus as a persistent but manageable risk in the future. (Kimball and Rattner, 2/22)

AP: Indiana Hospitals Less Stressed As COVID-19 Surge Passes
Officials at Indiana’s largest hospital system said Tuesday that its hospitals have weathered the worst of the latest COVID-19 surge although they are still treating hundreds of patients with the illness. The update from IU Health officials came as Indiana has seen steep declines in the past month in COVID-19 deaths, hospitalizations and new infections from the surge brought on by the delta and omicron variants. (Davies, 2/22)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Three Louisiana Children Died Of COVID Over The Past Week; Total Now At 21
Three more Louisiana children died of COVID-19 in the last week, bringing the total number of kids who have been lost to the pandemic to 21, state officials said Tuesday. Two of the recent deaths were in children under 5 years old, a group that is too young to be vaccinated. The third death was in a child between the ages of 5 and 17. (Woodruff, 2/22)

CNN: As Omicron Cases Fall, Doctors Anxiously Await Possible Surge Of Dangerous Child Complication MIS-C 
After the Omicron coronavirus variant made a record number of US children sick in January, children's hospitals across the United States braced for what has come with every other spike in the Covid-19 pandemic: cases of a rare but dangerous condition called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, commonly known as MIS-C. But a number of hospitals say the expected surge in cases hasn't showed up -- at least not yet. MIS-C can follow Covid-19 even some weeks after infection. It can cause parts of the body to become inflamed, and it can affect major organs including the kidneys, brain, lungs and heart. (Christensen, 2/22)

Milkwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Health Official Cautions Against Calling End To Pandemic
Milwaukee County's chief health policy adviser is cautioning the public on calling an end to the pandemic, citing high COVID-19 hospitalizations and waning vaccination levels. "Though many of us want to be done with the pandemic, the pandemic is likely not done with us," Ben Weston, chief health policy adviser with Milwaukee County, said in Tuesday's COVID-19 briefing. (Bentley, 2/23)

CIDRAP: COVID-19 Patient ZIP Codes May Affect Disease Severity
A pooled cross-sectional study in the Annals of Internal Medicine finds that COVID-19 patients' ZIP codes may affect clinical outcomes, with patients from high-vulnerability neighborhoods more likely to be hospitalized for infections. The study is based on data from 2,309 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 at 38 Michigan hospitals. Medical history was compared with patients' social vulnerability index (SVI), which takes into account the local area's average income, education level, household density to percentage of households led by single parents, and homes in which English is the not the primary language. (2/22)

AP: WHO: New COVID Cases Fall For The 3rd Week, Deaths Also Drop
The number of new coronavirus cases around the world fell 21% in the last week, marking the third consecutive week that COVID-19 cases have dropped, the World Health Organization said Tuesday. In the U.N. health agency’s weekly pandemic report, WHO said there were more than 12 million new coronavirus infections last week. The number of new COVID-19 deaths fell 8% to about 67,000 worldwide, the first time that weekly deaths have fallen since early January. (2/22)

Reuters: COVID Vaccine Supply For Global Programme Outstrips Demand For First Time
The global project to share COVID-19 vaccines is struggling to place more than 300 million doses in the latest sign the problem with vaccinating the world is now more about demand than supply. Last year, wealthy nations snapped most of the available shots to inoculate their own citizens first, meaning less than a third of people in low-income countries have been vaccinated so far compared with more than 70% in richer nations. As supply and donations have ramped up, however, poorer nations are facing hurdles such as gaps in cold-chain shortage, vaccine hesitancy and a lack of money to support distribution networks, public health officials told Reuters. (Guarascio and Rigby, 2/23)

Politico: Africa CDC To Ask World To Pause Covid-19 Vaccine Donations
The Africa CDC will ask that all Covid-19 vaccine donations be paused until the third or fourth quarter of this year, the director of the agency told POLITICO. John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said the primary challenge for vaccinating the continent is no longer supply shortages but logistics challenges and vaccine hesitancy — leading the agency and the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust to seek the delay. (Payne, 2/22)

Bloomberg: Moderna Inks Latin America Deal in Bid to Expand Vaccine Reach
Moderna Inc. has signed a deal with a Uruguayan pharmaceutical company in a bid to expand its reach across Latin America. The Covid-19 vaccine maker announced the distribution deal Tuesday with Adium Pharma SA to market the shots in 18 countries in the region including Brazil and Mexico. The shots will be supplied from Moderna’s plants in the U.S. and Europe, said Roman Saglio, head of commercial alliances for Latin America. (Navarro, 2/22)

The New York Times: ‘Our Life And Our Freedom Are Not As Important’: High-Risk People In England React To The Rules Lifting
The government has said that it is ending the remainder of virus restrictions to help the country shift to more of an approach of living with the virus. But some critics say the move is premature and overlooks those who are most clinically vulnerable, especially the hundreds of thousands who are immunocompromised. In the United States, many immunocompromised and higher-risk people have also felt left behind by the flurry of lifted restrictions. “What happened yesterday has been very concerning for the people we work with,” said Gemma Peters, the chief executive of Blood Cancer UK, a charity that funds research into blood cancer. (Bubola, 2/22)

Idaho Statesman: Chemical In COVID Test Kits Can Cause Sickness If Ingested, Experts Say
While at-home COVID-19 tests are considered safe and effective when used properly, a chemical found in some popular kits is leading to an increase in calls to poison control centers. Sodium azide is potentially deadly in large amounts, but only small quantities are present in testing kits — enough to cause low blood pressure, heart palpitations, headache and dizziness if ingested, or burning and irritation to exposed skin, experts say. (Willetts, 2/22)

The Hill: Capitol Police Prepare For Possible Vax Protest
It could be D.C.’s turn to deal with trucker protests against COVID-19 measures soon.  Washington, D.C., law enforcement agencies have asked the Pentagon for assistance ahead of President Biden’s first State of the Union address next week, an event expected to coincide with truck convoy protests. The U.S. Capitol Police and the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency asked for D.C. National Guard personnel “to provide support at traffic control points in and around the District to help ... address potential challenges stemming from possible disruptions at key traffic arteries,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a statement Tuesday. (Sullivan, Weixel and Choi, 2/22)

The Hill: Pentagon Approves Request For National Guard Deployment Ahead Of DC Trucker Convoy
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has approved hundreds of unarmed National Guard troops to be deployed in Washington, D.C., ahead of a truck convoy protest against pandemic restrictions that is expected to coincide with President Biden's first State of the Union address. The Department of Defense (DOD) said that Austin had approved a request that had been made by the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) for assistance from National Guard members. (Choi, 2/22)

Stat: FDA Asks Congress For More Power To Regulate Certain Diagnostic Tests
The Food and Drug Administration is asking Congress for more power to regulate prenatal tests that help identify genetic issues during pregnancy. The agency’s request came in response to a letter from nearly 100 Republican lawmakers who probed how the FDA was regulating these tests after a New York Times investigation found the five most common prenatal tests frequently provided inaccurate results. In a new letter to lawmakers obtained by STAT, the FDA admits that it has only limited powers to regulate such products — so limited that for the most part, it doesn’t review them at all. The agency goes on to urge Congress to pass legislation giving the agency greater oversight powers in the sphere. (Florko, 2/23)

The Wall Street Journal: Push To Relax Marijuana Laws Hits Roadblocks
Facing a tough midterm election and divisions in Congress, the Biden administration is sidestepping the politically sensitive issue of loosening marijuana laws even as the idea has gained support of most Americans. More than half of U.S. states have legalized cannabis use for some purposes. Lawmakers have proposed decriminalizing marijuana, which would entail reduced penalties for users, and have pushed for giving the industry access to banking services. Those promoting changes include a diverse range of political figures, from former Republican House Speaker John Boehner to progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.). (Leary, 2/22)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Firestone Polymers Of Sulphur To Pay More Than $3.35M To Settle Air Pollution Complaints
Synthetic rubber manufacturer Firestone Polymers of Sulphur will pay a $3.35 million fine to settle allegations that it emitted illegally excessive amounts of toxic chemicals, federal and state officials said Tuesday. Acting on behalf of the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Environmental Quality, the federal Department of Justice filed a complaint in U.S. District Court against Firestone in September, accusing it of emitting large amounts of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and other hazardous chemicals, officials said. Those emissions ran afoul of the federal Clean Air Act and other anti-pollution laws. (Schleifstein, 2/23)

Reuters: Fund Tackling AIDS, TB, Malaria Seeks $18 Bln To Reverse COVID Disruptions
At least $18 billion is needed to get the fight against malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS back on track from disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a global health fund said on Wednesday. The target for 2024-2026 is $4 billion more than the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria raised in its previous fund raising session in 2019. The $18 billion aims to reverse setbacks in its global efforts on disease testing, prevention and treatment caused by the pandemic, the Geneva-based aid body said. (Maddipatla, 2/22)

AP: Pregnancy-Related Deaths Climbed In Pandemic's First Year
Pregnancy-related deaths for U.S. mothers climbed higher in the pandemic’s first year, continuing a decades-long trend that disproportionately affects Black people, according to a government report released Wednesday. Overall in 2020, there were almost 24 deaths per 100,000 births, or 861 deaths total — numbers that reflect mothers dying during pregnancy, childbirth or the year after. The rate was 20 per 100,000 in 2019. Among Black people, there were 55 maternal deaths per 100,000 births — almost triple the rate for whites. (Tanner, 2/23)

Bloomberg: U.S. Black Maternal Mortality Rate Triple That Of White, Hispanic Women In 2020
The U.S. maternal mortality rate — already high compared to other wealthy countries — has increased, with Black women faring far worse than their White peers, according to new data. In 2020, 861 women died of maternal causes in the U.S., up from 754 in 2019, according to a report released Wednesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That puts the 2020 maternal mortality rate at 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live births, a figure that is more than double the rate in countries including the U.K., Canada or France. (Butler, 2/23)

AP: S. Dakota Governor, Fellow Republicans Target Abortion Pills
Gov. Kristi Noem’s proposal to make South Dakota one of the hardest places in the country to get abortion pills gained support Tuesday from Republicans in the state House, even though a federal judge has halted a similar rule from taking effect there. Every Republican on the South Dakota House‘s Health and Human Services committee voted to advance the bill for a vote in the full chamber this week. The bill would require women seeking an abortion to make three separate trips to a doctor in order to take abortion pills. Women in South Dakota can currently get both drugs in the two-dose regimen during a single visit and take the second dose at home. (Groves, 2/22)

Indianapolis Star: Senate Votes to Criminalize Coerced Abortion. Opponents Say It Stigmatizes the Procedure.
The Indiana Senate approved new abortion regulations on Tuesday by a 38-10 vote in an attempt to limit "coerced" abortions. ... Under House Bill 1217 any pregnant woman seeking an abortion would have to be informed both orally and in writing that no one can coerce the pregnant woman to have an abortion. If an abortion clinic employee suspects someone is being coerced — a Level 6 felony under the bill — they clinic must report it to law enforcement, who must then investigate. (Lange, 2/22)

Bloomberg: Infant Formula Survey Shows ‘Pervasive, Aggressive’ Marketing
Infant formula makers are systematically targeting women through social media and health-care professionals to gain influence over feeding decisions, according to a study the World Health Organization says is the largest ever. More than half of the parents and pregnant women surveyed said they’ve been targeted with formula-milk marketing, according to the report. The study was commissioned by Unicef and the WHO, which has been trying for years to rein in such promotions, calling them disruptive to efforts to increase the rate of breastfeeding around the world. (Gretler, 2/22)

Press Association: First Ever Recording Of Dying Brain May Shed Light On Our Final Moments
Scientists may be closer to answering an age-old question about what happens to the human brain as we die. Neuroscientists accidentally recorded a dying brain while they were using electroencephalography (EEG) to detect and treat seizures in an 87-year-old man and the patient suffered a heart attack. It was the first time ever that scientists had recorded the activity of a dying human brain. The rhythmic brain wave patterns which were recorded during the man's time of death were observed to be similar to those occurring during dreaming, memory recall and meditation. (2/23)

ScienceDaily: A Study Uncovers The 'Grammar' Behind Human Gene Regulation: The Logic That Controls Gene Regulation In Human Cells 
A research group has discovered the logic that controls gene regulation in human cells. In the future, this new knowledge can be applied to, for example, investigating cancers and other genetic diseases. (University of Helsinki, 2/22)

Reuters: Moderna Begins Late-Stage Study Of RSV Vaccine Using MRNA Technology
Moderna Inc said on Tuesday it had begun a late-stage study of its vaccine for Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) based on the same technology used to develop its COVID-19 shots. The only approved product using messenger RNA (mRNA)is COVID-19 vaccine, but Moderna and rival Pfizer are rushing to tap the potential of the technology to target diseases such as shingles and cancer. Moderna is developing a vaccine for flu using mRNA technology and said on Friday it would develop three more shots, including one for viral infection shingles. (2/23)

ScienceDaily: Obesity: What Does Immunity Have To Do With It? New Findings May Represent A Promising Approach For Obesity Treatment And Its Complications 
As organisms grow, older cells can undergo a phenomenon called senescence. This process defines a cell state where cells permanently stop dividing but do not die. Senescent cells secrete toxic pro-inflammatory factors contributing to the development of many diseases. Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have shown that obesity in experimental models led to senescence of macrophages, an immune cell subtype within fat or adipose tissue. (Boston University School of Medicine, 2/22)

CIDRAP: VA Study Finds Most Dental Antibiotic Prophylaxis Prescriptions Improper
Another study of antibiotic prescribing by Veterans' Affairs (VA) dentists found that five of every six prescriptions for antibiotic prophylaxis were inconsistent with guidelines, researchers reported today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. The cross-sectional study of visits to VA dentists from 2015 through 2019 examined all antibiotics prescribed within 7 days of a visit in the absence of an oral infection. In the primary analysis, antibiotic prophylaxis was considered appropriate only if it was associated with a visit that involved manipulation of gingival tissue and if the patient had a cardiac condition at the highest risk of an adverse outcome from infective endocarditis according to guidelines. (2/22)

Fox News: Relatives Of Patients With Severe COVID-19 More Likely To Experience PTSD: Study
Family members of patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU) for COVID-19 were more likely to have symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than those of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) from another illness, according to researchers. In a study published in JAMA Network, a team of French authors conducted a prospective cohort study in 23 ICUs in France from January to June 2020 – and a final follow-up in October 2020. (Musto, 2/22)

Reuters: Reinfections With Omicron Subvariants Are Rare, Danish Study Finds
Getting infected twice with two different Omicron coronavirus subvariants is possible, but rarely happens, a Danish study has found. In Denmark, a more infectious sublineage of the Omicron coronavirus variant known as BA.2 has quickly dethroned the "original" BA.1 variant, which is the most common worldwide, but it has remained unclear whether a person could get infected by both variants. A new study, led by researchers at Denmark's top infectious disease authority, Statens Serum Institut (SSI), shows that people infected with BA.1 can get infected with BA.2 shortly afterwards, but that it is a rare occurrence. (2/23)

CIDRAP: 3 COVID Vaccine Doses 99% Effective Against Omicron, Delta Hospitalization
Three doses of the Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccine were more effective against infection with the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant than against Omicron but were highly protective against hospitalization with either subtype, according to a study yesterday in Nature Medicine. A team led by Kaiser Permanente Southern California researchers conducted a test-negative case-control study among 26,683 COVID-19 cases caused by the Delta or Omicron variants in December 2021. Of all cases, 16% were Delta, and 84% were Omicron. The incidence of Omicron infections in Southern California increased from 1.2% to 94.1% from Dec 6 to 31. (Van Beusekom, 2/22)

The Washington Post: Covid Vaccine Protection Was Much Weaker Against Omicron, Data Shows
While coronavirus shots still provided protection during the omicron wave, the shield of coverage they offered was weaker than during other surges, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The change resulted in much higher rates of infection, hospitalization and death for fully vaccinated adults and even for people who had received boosters. The decline in protection continued a pattern driven by coronavirus vaccines’ reduced effectiveness over time, combined with the increasing contagiousness of the delta and omicron waves. (Keating and Ahmed, 2/22)

CIDRAP: Study Highlights Rare BA.2 Subvariant Reinfections After Omicron COVID-19
Infection with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2 subvariant shortly after an initial infection with the Omicron BA.1 subvariant—the original Omicron strain—is rare, occurring mostly in young, unvaccinated people with mild symptoms, according to a non–peer-reviewed Danish study. In the study, published today on the medRxiv preprint server, researchers at the Statens Serum Institut in Denmark analyzed the subgenomic and genomic RNA of viruses responsible for a randomly selected group of 263 paired samples from more than 1.8 million COVID-19 patients. The study period was Nov 22, 2021, when Omicron was first identified in that country, to Feb 11, 2022. The BA.2 variant now accounts for most COVID-19 cases in Denmark. (2/22)

CIDRAP: US Researchers Confirm SARS-CoV-2 Alpha, Delta Variants In Deer
A new preprint study describes detection of both Alpha and Delta SARS-CoV-2 variants in white-tailed deer in Pennsylvania—the first known detections of those strains in deer—with 18 of 93 nasal swab samples (19.3%) testing positive, adding to growing evidence that deer are a reservoir for the virus in the United States. The study was published on medRxiv and has not been peer-reviewed. (2/22)

Reuters: Very Small Blood Clot Risk After First AstraZeneca COVID Shot - UK Studies
A large study into rare blood clots linked with AstraZeneca's (AZN.L) COVID-19 vaccine found between just one and three cases per million, and only after the first dose, shedding fresh light on the side-effects from the shot. Researchers have sought to analyse any link between COVID-19 vaccines and rare blood clots in the brain, arteries or veins - sometimes accompanied by low platelets, reports of which led many nations last year to pause use of the AstraZeneca shot, which was developed with Oxford University. (Aripaka, 2/22)

Fox News: WHO Unveils New Guide To Help Protect Health Workers Who Are Burned Out
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) have published a new guide on developing and implementing stronger occupational health and safety programs for health workers. In a news release, the WHO said the agencies recommended programs at the national, sub-national and health facility levels – with all programs covering infectious, ergonomic, physical, chemical and psycho-social occupational hazards. (Musto, 2/22)

Stat: Report Spotlighted Racism In Medicine. Why Has So Little Changed? 
The 764-page report minces no words about the inequality rife throughout medical care: “Racial and ethnic minorities experience a lower quality of health services, and are less likely to receive even routine medical procedures than are white Americans.” Those words might have been written recently, amid a pandemic that has disproportionately sickened and killed people of color. In fact, they were written two decades ago. (McFarling, 2/23)

The New York Times: To Fill Empty Retail Space, Landlords Tap Doctors And Dentists
The next time you get your teeth cleaned or blood pressure checked, you may be doing so in a space once outfitted with face creams and frying pans. Health care providers are increasingly choosing former stores for their offices and clinics, in a trend known as medtail — a reflection of the medical industry’s migration to retail properties. The pandemic has accelerated their embrace of retail space. Taking advantage of depressed rents, medical providers are opening facilities in storefronts on city streets and moving into malls and shopping centers in suburban and rural areas, sometimes occupying the hulking shells vacated by big-box and department stores. (Margolies, 2/22)

Bloomberg: Glaxo Names Consumer-Health Unit Haleon Ahead of Split
GlaxoSmithKline Plc has given its consumer-health unit a new name -- Haleon -- as the U.K. pharmaceutical company prepares to spin off the maker of Panadol painkillers and Sensodyne toothpaste this summer. The company is nearing its biggest shakeup in two decades following the rejection of Unilever Plc’s multiple bids for the consumer arm in recent months. Glaxo plans to update investors on the unit’s strategy, finances and growth ambitions on Feb. 28. (Paton, 2/22)

Stat: Pfizer To Halt Controversial Contracting With Dutch Hospitals
In response to a probe by Dutch authorities, Pfizer (PFE) has agreed to end a controversial practice of reducing discounts to hospitals that cut back on purchases of a medicine, which regulators said unfairly discouraged health systems from switching to lower cost versions. After the patent expired nearly seven years ago for the active ingredient in Enbrel, which is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune disorders, a pair of rival medicines became available. Until then, Enbrel was the second most widely prescribed therapy for such maladies. Eventually, Pfizer began reducing discounts if hospital purchases of Enbrel declined more than a pre-specified percentage. (Silverman, 2/22)

Stat: California Officials Win An Empty Victory As They Try To Salvage A Pay-To-Delay Law 
In a closely watched battle, California officials convinced a federal judge to modify a temporary hold on a law that bans so-called pay-to-delay deals between pharmaceutical companies, a contentious issue that has factored into the larger debate over the cost of prescription medicines. But as a practical matter, the ruling likely amounts to an empty victory for the state, because little may change. At issue is a law that went into effect in the fall of 2019 that made California the first state in the nation to outlaw pay-to-delay deals, a step California officials said was necessary to prevent drug companies from thwarting competition and maintaining higher prices. The move was also significant because California is generally seen as a bellwether state. (Silverman, 2/22)

The Wall Street Journal: Rise In Non-Covid-19 Deaths Hits Life Insurers
U.S. life insurers, as expected, made a large number of Covid-19 death-benefit payouts last year. More surprisingly, many saw a jump in other death claims, too. Industry executives and actuaries believe many of these other fatalities are tied to delays in medical care as a result of lockdowns in 2020, and then, later, people’s fears of seeking out treatment and trouble lining up appointments. Some insurers see continued high levels of these deaths for some time, even if Covid-19 deaths decline this year. (Scism, 2/23)

The Wall Street Journal: Investors Inject Over $325 Million In Kidney-Care Provider Somatus
Somatus Inc., which partners with insurers and medical practitioners to provide preventive kidney disease care, has raised a new round of capital in a deal that values the business at more than $2.5 billion. (Cooper, 2/22)

Bloomberg: NYC Begins Plan To Move Homeless From Subway As Crime Surges
New York City began its push to remove subway riders using the transit system for shelter, part of a strategy to reduce crime and restore confidence in the nation’s largest public transportation network. Teams from the departments of homeless services and of health and mental hygiene went out early Tuesday to talk with riders who lacked housing and help them find shelter, Jason Wilcox, the New York City Police Department’s transit chief, said during  Metropolitan Transportation Authority committee hearings on Tuesday. The outreach “went fairly seamlessly,” according to Wilcox, who didn’t say how many individuals have been removed. (Kaske, 2/22)

Des Moines Register: Iowa Supreme Court To Rule On COVID Insurance Claims By Wakonda Club
Two cases before the Iowa Supreme Court could decide whether Iowa restauranteurs are in line for millions of dollars to compensate them for business lost in the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lawyers for the Wakonda Club, the landmark Des Moines golf course and country club, claimed in oral arguments Monday that the club's insurer should cover hundreds of thousands of dollars in income lost during a state-ordered closure in spring 2020. (Morris, 2/22)