Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Edition: Jan. 19, 2023
KHN: A $30 Million Gift To Build An Addiction Treatment Center. Then Staffers Had To Run It
The question came out of the blue, or so it seemed to Crossing Healthcare CEO Tanya Andricks: If you had $30 million to design an addiction treatment facility, how would you do it? The interim sheriff of Macon County, Illinois, posed the question in 2018 as he and Andricks discussed the community’s needs. When she responded that she’d have to do some research, she was told not to take too long because the offer wouldn’t be there forever. “I thought: ‘Oh, my God, he’s serious,’” Andricks said. (Sable-Smith, 1/19)
KHN: Readers And Tweeters Diagnose Greed And Chronic Pain Within US Health Care System
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories. (1/19)
Stat: HIV Vaccine Being Developed By Johnson & Johnson Fails Trial
Yet another experimental HIV vaccine has failed. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases reported Wednesday that a Phase 3 clinical trial of a vaccine was stopped because the vaccine was ineffective at preventing HIV infection. The vaccine was being developed by Janssen, the vaccine division of Johnson & Johnson. (Branswell, 1/18)
Reuters: J&J To Discontinue HIV Vaccine Trial
The trial involved administering two different types of a shot, which uses a cold-causing virus to deliver the genetic code of HIV, spread over four vaccination visits in a year. J&J used similar technology for its COVID-19 vaccine. The study, which began in 2019, was conducted at over 50 sites and included about 3,900 gay men and transgender people - groups that are considered vulnerable to the infection. (Leo, 1/18)
NBC News: Another Major HIV Vaccine Trial Fails
“It’s obviously disappointing,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, who as the long-time head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) was an integral partner in the trial, said of the vaccine’s failure. However, he said, “there are a lot of other approaches” early in the HIV-vaccine research pipeline that he finds promising. (Ryan and Lavietas, 1/18)
Axios: Report: Mothers In States With Abortion Bans Nearly 3 Times More Likely To Die
Women in states with abortion bans are nearly three times more likely to die during pregnancy, childbirth or soon after giving birth, according to a report from the Gender Equity Policy Institute shared first with Axios. (Gonzalez, 1/19)
The Hill: FDA Argues Public Harm If Court Reverses Abortion Pill Approval
A lawsuit challenging the decades-old Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of mifepristone has no merit, and a Texas judge should reject a request for a court order revoking that approval, the Biden administration argued in a Tuesday filing. The FDA said granting the request from anti-abortion groups would be “unprecedented.” (Weixel, 1/18)
AP: Indiana's Top Court Hearing Challenge To State Abortion Ban
The fate of Indiana’s Republican-backed abortion ban on Thursday goes before the state Supreme Court as it hears arguments on whether it violates privacy protections under the state constitution. Abortions have been allowed to continue in the state since a county judge blocked the law from being enforced in September, a week after the law approved in August had taken effect. Indiana became the first state to enact tighter abortion restrictions after the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated federal protections by overturning Roe v. Wade in June. (Davies, 1/19)
Bangor Daily News: Maine’s Catholic Bishop Calls Janet Mills ‘Radical And Extreme’ On Abortion
Maine’s Catholic bishop denounced Gov. Janet Mills’ new proposals to expand abortion access Wednesday, calling the policies “radical and extreme.” The Democratic governor backed a raft of bills on the subject at a Tuesday news conference, headlined by one that would allow abortions after fetal viability if doctors find them medically necessary, a practice currently prohibited under Maine law. (Marino Jr., 1/18)
The New Republic: In Major Rebuke, New York Committee Rejects Kathy Hochul’s Court Pick
New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s controversial nominee to lead the state’s highest court has been rejected. In a Wednesday hearing, the state’s Senate Judiciary Committee voted to prevent Judge Hector LaSalle from advancing to a Senate-wide vote, setting up a likely legal fight between Democrats in the state. ... New York Senate Democrats voted against LaSalle due to concerns over his judicial record on labor, abortion, and criminal justice. (Thakker, 1/18)
Gothamist: 3 NYC Sexual Health Clinics Still Shuttered As Adams Seeks To Expand Abortion Access
Of the city’s eight brick-and-mortar sexual health clinics, three are yet to resume services since being shut down and repurposed for COVID-19 testing and vaccinations, according to the city health department. The health department has attributed the closures to staffing shortages, a widespread problem across city agencies. (Kim, 1/18)
The Hill: Harris To Mark 50th Anniversary Of Roe Ruling With Speech In Florida
Vice President Harris will deliver remarks in Florida on Sunday to mark the 50th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling, aiming to put the spotlight back on abortion rights following last summer’s ruling that struck down the precedent set by Roe. Harris will travel to Florida where Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) last year signed into law a ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, to highlight the administration’s efforts to protect reproductive rights and abortion access. (Samuels and Gangitano, 1/18)
AP: US Divided Over Roe's Repeal As Abortion Foes Gird For March
Anti-abortion activists will have multiple reasons to celebrate — and some reasons for unease — when they gather Friday in Washington for the annual March for Life. The march, which includes a rally drawing abortion opponents from across the nation, has been held annually since January 1974 — a year after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision established a nationwide right to abortion. (Crary, 1/18)
WCBU: Peoria's Planned Parenthood Will Close For Months After Arson Fire
The Planned Parenthood clinic in Peoria is expected to remain closed for months after a so-called incendiary device was thrown through a window late Sunday night. Peoria Fire Department battalion chief Jeff Hascall said fire and smoke was showing from one of the front windows of the Planned Parenthood clinic on Knoxville Avenue when crews responded to a call there. (Shelley and Deacon, 1/18)
Stat: Post-Dobbs, Pathologists Who Study Pregnancy Loss Walk A Thin Line
When Mana Parast examines a placenta, she knows she may never find the answers she seeks. She’s hunting for clues — strips of dead tissue that signal autoimmune disease, white blood cells in the lining of the umbilical cord that point to an infection, thickening that could suggest blood wasn’t flowing freely to the fetus. She wants to be able to tell a parent what she thinks went wrong. (Cummins, 1/19)
Bloomberg: Covid-19 Immunity Lasts At Least A Year After Infection Plus Shots
People who have been both previously infected and vaccinated against Covid-19 get long-lasting protection against severe disease and hospitalization, a large international study found. The combination prevented more than 97% of severe disease or hospitalization for up to 12 months after infection or initial immunization, whichever was most recent, according to a report from the World Health Organization. (Meghjani, 1/18)
Fortune: ‘Hybrid’ COVID Immunity From Vaccination And Infection Is Superior To That From Infection Alone, New WHO-Backed Study Finds
So-called “hybrid immunity”—from vaccination and infection—offers better protection against severe disease and hospitalization from COVID than immunity from infection alone, according to a new study published in The Lancet. The study provides public health officials and policy-makers with recommendations on priorities when running vaccination campaigns, and on the potential frequency of booster shots going forward. The World Health Organization, which collaborated on the study, touted it Wednesday for “demonstrating the advantages of vaccination even after people have had COVID-19.” (Prater, 1/18)
Becker's Hospital Review: 'Tripledemic' Has Peaked, CDC Data Suggests
The weekly rate of emergency department visits and hospitalizations for flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus peaked in early December, new CDC data shows. The CDC unveiled two data dashboards Jan. 17 that track emergency department visits and hospitalizations for COVID-19, flu and RSV. (Bean, 1/18)
San Francisco Chronicle: Internet Searches Can Predict Outbreaks, Study Finds
Google searches, Twitter posts and other online activity usually used to cull data for advertisers could also be used as an early warning system for COVID-19 surges, according to a team of scientists from Northeastern University. (Vaziri and Beamish, 1/18)
Reuters: Fed Chief Powell Tests Positive For COVID, Has Mild Symptoms
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday and is experiencing mild symptoms from the virus, the U.S. central bank said in a statement. Powell, who turns 70 next month, is up to date on his COVID-19 vaccines and boosters, and is working remotely while isolating at home, the Fed said. (Saphir, 1/18)
Axios: GOP Introduces Bill To End Public Health Emergency
Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) launched a House Republican effort Tuesday to officially declare an end to the COVID-19 public health emergency. The measure could set up a symbolic vote similar to the one the Senate took last year that President Joe Biden would likely veto. (Reed, 1/18)
CIDRAP: More Than 65 Million People Around The World May Have Long COVID
Worldwide, at least 65 million people have long COVID, and that is likely an underestimate, finds a review article published late last week in Nature Reviews Microbiology. ... The researchers said that the number of affected COVID-19 survivors was based on the estimated global rate of 10% of infected people and the more than 651 million documented cases. They cited the lack of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test availability at the beginning of the pandemic and the high false-negative rate of rapid antigen tests as reasons for suspecting an undercount. (Van Beusekom, 1/18)
USA Today: Why Nursing Home Vaccination Rates Are Still Low Despite Biden's Push
Heading into the winter months when COVID-19 cases spike, the Biden administration knew they had a problem. Less than half of nursing home residents across the country, who are at higher risk of seriousness illness and death from COVID, were up to date on their vaccines. (Groppe and Fraser, 1/19)
Reuters: EU Drug Regulator Has Not Seen Signal Of Possible Pfizer COVID Shot Stroke Link
The European Union's drug regulator has not identified any safety signals in the region related to U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech's updated COVID-19 shot, the agency said on Wednesday. On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that a safety monitoring system had flagged that the shot could possibly be linked to a type of brain stroke in older adults, according to preliminary data. (1/18)
CNBC: Novartis CEO Says Covid To Become Endemic, Calls For Better Pandemic Preparedness
The chief executive of Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis on Thursday warned the coronavirus pandemic will likely settle into an endemic phase and renewed calls for policymakers to sufficiently finance pandemic preparedness. (Meredith, 1/19)
Axios: Watchdog Faults HHS Oversight Of Research On Possible Pandemic Pathogens
The federal health department's framework for monitoring high-risk research on viruses and other agents that can cause pandemics doesn't meet key criteria for effective oversight, a new watchdog report concludes. The Government Accountability Office found HHS has an unclear policy for reviewing and approving research involving pathogens that are altered to make them more transmissible or deadly — and that other policy gaps may allow the research to occur without appropriate oversight. (Bettelheim, 1/19)
The Washington Post: Covid Lab Leak Theory Put Virologists' Work In The Spotlight
Critics view pathogen research as the Wild West of science. Virologists have faced online abuse and even death threats amid fears that what they do is dangerous. Above all, conjectures that the coronavirus pandemic might have originated from secret laboratory research have cast a shadow over the field. Independent of that rancorous debate about covid’s origin, the National Institutes of Health is preparing an overhaul of the policies on government-funded research, with draft recommendations by its biosecurity board expected to be released Friday. (Achenbach, 1/18)
Roll Call: NIH Missing Top Leadership At Start Of A Divided Congress
The departure of two key public health leaders at the National Institutes of Health has created vacancies some worry could present a hurdle to NIH’s agenda in the new Congress. The Biden administration has yet to nominate a permanent replacement for former NIH Director Francis Collins, who stepped down from the post in December 2021. And efforts to replace the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci, who left in December of last year, are underway. (Cohen, 1/18)
Modern Healthcare: Teladoc Health Layoffs: CEO Jason Gorevic Announces 300 Cuts
Teladoc Health is laying off 300 employees or 6% of its workforce, CEO Jason Gorevic said in an email to employees Wednesday. Gorevic said the telehealth company is eliminating redundant non-clinical roles that resulted from its $18.5 billion acquisition of digital health company Livongo Health in 2020. He also said the company is pushing towards a path to profitability. (Perna, 1/18)
Stat: Hip, Knee Replacements Go Better Via High-Volume Surgeons
A new study underscores the importance of the adage “practice makes perfect,” especially when it comes to surgery. It’s long been understood that the frequency at which surgeons perform and hospitals host complex procedures has a bearing on how patients fare, but the study from the Clarify Health Institute makes the link even clearer. (Bannow, 1/18)
Stateline: New Gun Restrictions Are Coming In States Where Democrats Reign
Illinois lawmakers wasted no time in the new legislative session, taking just five days to pass major gun safety measures that include a ban on semi-automatic rifles, high-capacity magazines and gun attachments that simulate automatic fire. (Vasilogambros, 1/19)
The Hill: Supreme Court Again Declines To Pause New York Gun Regs
The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a group of firearms dealers’ emergency request to block various gun control measures recently passed in New York that they argued were unconstitutional and hurt their businesses. The brief order, which had no noted dissents, marks the justices’ second denial this month of a request to block portions of New York’s new gun regulations, which have faced numerous legal challenges under the high court’s expansion of Second Amendment protections in June. (Schonfeld, 1/18)
Sacramento Bee: As More Shooters Wear Body Armor, A California Bill Would Ban Most Bullet-Proof Vest Ownership
Most Californians would be banned from purchasing or taking possession of body armor, such as a bullet-proof vest, under a bill now being considered by state lawmakers. Assembly Bill 92, introduced by Assemblyman Damon Connolly, D-San Rafael, comes as a response to many high-profile mass shootings where the shooter wore body armor. That includes the 2015 massacre in San Bernardino, where two people wearing tactical gear killed 14 people at a holiday gathering. (Sheeler, 1/17)
Reuters: U.S. Mayors Meet In Washington To Tackle Mental Illness, Immigration
Mayors from across the United States gathered in Washington for their annual winter conference this week to tackle major issues facing their cities, with mental health, addiction and mass migration high on their lists. ... Mayors are determined to tackle the suffering they see on their streets, said Reno, Nevada, Mayor Hillary Schieve. "That is the No. 1 issue in every city," Schieve, an independent, said at a news conference, adding that she personally wanted to see an end to "treating jails as mental health hospitals." (Borter, 1/18)
Reuters: Walgreens To Pay $83 Mln To Settle West Virginia's Opioid Claims
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc has agreed to pay West Virginia $83 million to settle the state's lawsuit accusing it of fueling the opioid epidemic there through lax oversight of its pill sales. The deal, announced Wednesday by West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, is not part of a $5.7 billion nationwide settlement Walgreens reached with state and local governments last year. (Pierson, 1/18)
San Francisco Chronicle: SF Fatal Drug Overdose Epidemic Not Improving, New Data Suggests
San Francisco’s drug crisis shows no sign of abating, with 2022 nearly as deadly as the prior year, new data on fatal overdoses reveals. Throughout the year, 620 people fell victim to the epidemic, according to new figures released Wednesday by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner — a slight dip from the year prior when 640 people died of an overdose. (Thadani, 1/18)
Politico: DeSantis Targets Trans Health Care In Florida Universities
The DeSantis administration is requesting a trove of information on individuals who receive gender-affirming treatments at Florida universities, furthering its practice of questioning or scaling back treatment for transgender people. In a blanket request to 12 state universities, top officials with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis are seeking data on the number of individuals who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria or received treatment in campus clinics across Florida. It’s unclear what exactly DeSantis intends to do with the information, but his administration says it involves “governing institutional resources and protecting the public interest.” (Atterbury, 1/18)
CIDRAP: Researchers Identify Candida Auris In Nevada Wastewater
A team of researchers from Nevada and Utah this week reported the detection of Candida auris in samples from a wastewater treatment plant. ... The authors say the findings highlight the potential utility of community-level wastewater surveillance for C auris, which spreads easily in healthcare settings and can cause severe and deadly infections in patients who have compromised immune systems. (Dall, 1/18)
AP: Flavored Cannabis Marketing Is Criticized For Targeting Kids
For decades, health advocates have chided the tobacco industry for marketing harmful nicotine products to children, resulting in more cities and states, like New York, outlawing flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. Now as cannabis shops proliferate across the country, the same concerns are growing over the packaging and marketing of flavored cannabis that critics say could entice children to partake of products labeled “mad mango,” “loud lemon” and “peach dream.” (Calvan, 1/19)
The Washington Post: Yale Changes Mental Health Policies For Students In Crisis
Yale University unveiled sweeping changes Wednesday that will allow students suffering from mental health problems to take time off without losing health insurance or facing a daunting application process for reinstatement — policies that have been under increasing fire from students and alumni. Under the new policy, students in mental crisis will be able to take leaves of absences instead of being forced to withdraw, and they can return to classes when they feel ready, Dean of Yale College Pericles Lewis told students in an email. (Wan, 1/18)
Stat: Is Social Media Bad For Teens' Developing Brains?
Today’s teens and tweens have never known a world without social media. There are still a lot of open questions about how sites like TikTok and Instagram may shape their development — and stories focusing on the potential negative impacts of social media tend to dominate the news. But a recent study published in JAMA Pediatrics is the latest in a growing body of research that suggests the relationship that young people have with social media is too complicated to be categorized as simply good or bad. (Fitzgerald, 1/19)
The Mercury News: Vitamin D Study: People With Higher BMI Experience Less Benefits, 'Diminished Outcomes'
Vitamin D might be metabolized differently in people with a higher body mass index, according to a new study from Boston researchers who found that the vitamin’s benefits may depend on someone’s body weight. Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital concluded that people with an elevated BMI had a “blunted response” to vitamin D supplementation — which the scientists said explains differences in outcomes, such as cancer, diabetes, and autoimmune disease. (Sobey, 1/18)
CIDRAP: WHO Announces Effort To Speed Development Of TB Vaccines
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced plans yesterday to accelerate the licensing and use of effective vaccines against tuberculosis (TB). ... There is currently only one licensed TB vaccine in use—the bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine—but it is 100 years old and only effective in children under 5. (Dall, 1/18)
The New York Times: Canada’s New Guidelines For Alcohol Say ‘No Amount’ Is Healthy
Canadian health officials have overhauled their guidelines for alcohol consumption, warning that no amount is healthy and recommending that people reduce drinking as much as possible. The new guidelines, issued Tuesday, represent a major shift from the previous ones introduced in 2011, which recommended that women consume no more than 10 drinks per week and that men limit themselves to 15. (Levenson, 1/18)
