First Edition: Jan. 7, 2022

KHN: Hospitals Recruit International Nurses To Fill Pandemic Shortages 
Before Mary Venus was offered a nursing job at a hospital here, she’d never heard of Billings or visited the United States. A native of the Philippines, she researched her prospective move via the internet, set aside her angst about the cold Montana winters and took the job, sight unseen. Venus has been in Billings since mid-November, working in a surgical recovery unit at Billings Clinic, Montana’s largest hospital in its most populous city. She and her husband moved into an apartment, bought a car and are settling in. They recently celebrated their first wedding anniversary. Maybe, she mused, this could be a “forever home.” (Ehli, 1/7)

KHN: California Ballot Will Be Heavy On Health Care
When Californians go to the polls later this year, they will confront contentious health care choices. Voters will weigh whether to overturn a state law that bans flavored tobacco products and will likely consider increasing the cap on medical malpractice awards. They may also vote on proposals that effectively legalize psychedelic mushrooms and regulating dialysis clinics. (Young, 1/7)

KHN: A Catch-22 Trips Up Some In Legal Guardianship Who Try To Regain Independence 
Ten years ago, Nicholas Clouse was riding shotgun in his friend’s Camaro when the car jerked and he felt himself flying through the air. Clouse’s head slammed against the passenger-side window. The traumatic brain injury he sustained in the wreck led to severe memory loss, headaches and insomnia. Clouse, who was 18 then, didn’t recognize his friends and family. (Barrett, 1/7)

KHN: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Contagion Confusion
The covid-19 pandemic is now entering its third year, and the ever-evolving health advice to combat an ever-evolving virus is leaving Americans more cranky and confused than ever. Meanwhile, covid isn’t the only health agenda item slipping from 2021 into 2022. Democrats on Capitol Hill are trying to figure out how to salvage President Joe Biden’s huge health and social spending bill, and the rise of prescription drug prices still angers many Americans. (1/6)

AP: Supreme Court Weighs Vaccine Rules Affecting More Than 80M 
The Supreme Court is taking up two major Biden administration efforts to bump up the nation’s vaccination rate against COVID-19 at a time of spiking coronavirus cases because of the omicron variant. The justices on the conservative-oriented court are hearing arguments Friday about whether to allow the administration to enforce a vaccine-or-testing requirement that applies to large employers and a separate vaccine mandate for most health care workers. The arguments were expected to last at least two hours. (Sherman and Gresko, 1/7)

The Hill: Former Biden Transition Advisors Call For Change In COVID-19 Strategy 
The authors made clear that COVID-19 is not endemic yet, and that the U.S. is far from that point. But they said the administration needs to clearly communicate the current goals and strategies, instead of shifting from one crisis to another. For instance, they said it was shortsighted for Biden to declare last summer that the U.S. has “gained the upper hand against this virus." (Weixel, 1/6)

PBS NewsHour: As Experts Say Biden Should Pivot On COVID, Harris Sees Current Strategy Making Progress
Vice President Kamala Harris stood by the White House’s approach to COVID-19 pandemic response on Thursday, saying the Biden-Harris administration has made progress over the last year and “we have, still, work to do.” While acknowledging that the pandemic at this moment “is extremely frustrating” for everyone, Harris told PBS NewsHour anchor and managing editor Judy Woodruff that vaccines, boosters and masks have helped schools and businesses reopen, noting, “We have seen progress… but there are still steps to go.” (Santhanham, 1/6)

The Washington Post: White House, USPS Finalizing Plans To Begin Shipping Coronavirus Test Kits To U.S. Households
The White House is finalizing details with the U.S. Postal Service to deliver 500 million coronavirus test kits to households across the country, according to four people familiar with the plans, kick-starting a key part of President Biden’s response to the raging omicron variant. The administration will launch a website allowing individuals to request the rapid tests, those people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss private planning sessions. Officials aim to begin shipping the kits by mid-January. (Bogage and Diamond, 1/6)

The Wall Street Journal: Cost Of Covid-19 Testing Exceeds $100 For Some Families As Omicron Surges 
Some families say they are spending hundreds of dollars on Covid-19 testing during the surge in cases across the country, as efforts by the Biden administration and local officials to distribute free tests lag behind the Omicron variant’s rapid spread. Facing hourslong lines at free testing sites, some people have turned to companies that sell more-convenient laboratory testing options, in some cases at prices of more than $200. And until the Biden administration begins making free Covid-19 testing more widely available, some people say they will continue to pay $20 or more for over-the-counter, at-home tests. (Restuccia and Abbott, 1/6)

The Washington Post: Should You Add A Throat Swab To Your At-Home Covid Test? Experts Disagree
People have posted anecdotal stories of having coronavirus symptoms and testing negative when using a rapid test kit as instructed (only swabbing their noses). But when they swabbed their throats as well as their noses, they said, the test came back positive. Some prominent experts have also started recommending the additional throat swab. (Chiu, 1/6)

The Washington Post: Fourth Vaccine Dose Could Be Needed In Fall, Moderna CEO Says
The chief executive of coronavirus vaccine-maker Moderna said Thursday that people are likely to need a second booster dose in the fall, with front-line workers and those 50 and older a particular priority as antibody levels wane. People who received booster shots this past fall are likely to have significant protection through winter, Stéphane Bancel said at a health-care conference hosted by Goldman Sachs. But he said the efficacy of boosters could dip by next fall: “I will be surprised when we get that data in the coming weeks that it’s holding nicely over time — I would expect that it’s not going to hold great.” (Jeong and Suliman, 1/7)

USA Today: COVID Pfizer Vaccine Won't Be Ready For Youngest Children For Months
Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine won't be available anytime soon for kids younger than 5. In early tests, the lower dose given to 2- to 5-year-olds didn't produce as much immune protection as did shots given to other age groups, a Pfizer scientist said at a federal advisory committee meeting Wednesday, expanding on information provided late last year. The company hopes a third dose of vaccine eight weeks after the first two shots will provide the desired effectiveness, Dr. Alejandra Gurtman, vice president of vaccine clinical research and development for Pfizer said at a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. (Weintraub, 1/6)

Fox News: FDA Ordered To Speed Up Release Of Approval Data For COVID-19 Vaccine
The Food and Drug Administration was ordered by a federal judge Thursday to release tens of thousands of more pages a month about the data used in its approval process for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. Public Health and Medical Professionals sued the FDA under a Freedom of Information Act that demanded more transparency, Reuters reported last month. The FDA—citing staffing issues—agreed to release 12,000 pages by the end of January and a "minimum" of 500 pages a month going forward, the report said. The group found that number unacceptable and said there are more than 400,000 pages of data needed, which could mean it may be 2097 before all the documents are made public. (DeMarche, 1/7)

Bloomberg: Covid Vaccines Can Delay Women’s Periods, Study Finds
However, questions remain over the effect of vaccines on other menstrual symptoms, such as bleeding, and the researchers said the study faced a number of limitations, such as the selection of women not using hormonal contraception. Another was that they chose individuals with consistent normal period lengths. They were more likely to be white, college educated, with lower body mass than the average U.S. citizen and therefore not nationally representative. (Kay, 1/7)

NPR: COVID Vaccines Can Cause Minor Menstrual Cycle Changes, Researchers Find
A new scientific study shows that vaccination can cause changes to the timing of menstruation. But it also shows the effects are temporary, more akin to a sore arm than a serious adverse event. "I think it's reassuring and also validating," says Dr. Alison Edelman, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, Ore. who led the study. The work appeared Thursday in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology. Edelman and other experts stress that individuals should get vaccinated, because the risks from COVID-19 remain high. (Brumfiel, 6/1)

The New York Times: Global Coronavirus Cases Top 300 Million 
It took more than a year for the world to record the first 100 million coronavirus cases, and half that time to tally the next 100 million. The third 100 million have come even faster, in barely five months, as large segments of countries, rich and poor alike, remain unvaccinated and a wily new variant has proved able to infect even those who are. (1/6)

USA Today: Vaccinated Americans Without Risk Factors Immune To Worst Of COVID
The skyrocketing number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and the increased frequency of breakthrough infections may be unsettling even for those who are vaccinated and boosted. The latest research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should offer some reassurance. A study of more than 1.2 million people who were fully vaccinated between December 2020 and October 2021 found only people with at least one risk factor had severe outcomes or death, and even among those the instances were rare, 1.5 per 10,000 participants. (Ortiz, Bacon and Thornton, 1/6)

Fox News: Omicron Should Not Be Categorized As Mild, WHO Says
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, said Thursday that while the COVID-19 omicron variant seems to be less severe than delta, it should not be categorized as mild. "Just like previous variants, omicron is hospitalizing people and it is killing people," he said. "In fact, the tsunami of cases is so huge and quick, that it is overwhelming health systems around the world." (DeMarche, 1/6)

NBC News: As Omicron Changes Infection Risk, Experts Share Their Approaches
NBC News asked four public health experts about their own personal behavior and risk calculus during this chapter of the pandemic. All of them advised vaccinated people to remain vigilant and conscientious — and not to return fully to pre-pandemic life — but there was no firm consensus around some activities like air travel. (Arkin, 1/6)

The Boston Globe: Mass. Hospitals Will Begin Reporting Primary Vs. Incidental COVID-19 Admissions On Monday, DPH Says
In a major shift, Massachusetts hospitals will soon begin reporting how many patients are admitted primarily due to COVID-19 versus those admitted for other ailments and also test positive for the virus. State public health officials currently count both types of admissions in its COVID-19 hospitalization totals. On Wednesday, the state reported that 2,426 patients with COVID-19 were in the hospital, almost exactly matching last winter’s peak of 2,428 on Jan. 4, 2021. But starting Monday, hospitals will begin reporting whether admissions are primary or incidental to COVID-19, the Department of Public Health said Thursday. That data will likely become public the following week. (Fatima, 1/6)

AP: Official: California COVID Surge Could Ease Next Month 
The California surge in coronavirus cases has shut down schools and sidelined thousands of police, firefighters, teachers and health care workers but officials are hoping it will be short-lived. “My hope is that, you know, by the time we get to February, we’re on the downside of seeing that massive amount of community transmission,” Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Thursday. (Melley, 1/7)

Los Angeles Times: Orange County Reports Third COVID-19 Death Of A Child Under 5
Orange County officials confirmed Thursday night that a child under the age of 5 died in December of complications from COVID-19. The announcement comes as cases are climbing in Orange County and throughout California, driven by the Omicron variant. “We have lost another precious young life to this terrible virus; it is our third pediatric death in Orange County since the start of the pandemic,” said Dr. Clayton Chau, the county’s health officer. “This is yet another somber reminder that we must continue to do everything we can to protect our loved ones, especially our little ones under 5 years of age who are not able to be vaccinated.” (Yee, 1/6)

The Hill: Navy Removes First Group Of Sailors To Refuse COVID-19 Vaccine 
The Navy has discharged a group of 20 sailors who refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine, the first to be removed following the service’s Nov. 28 deadline for sailors to get the shots. All 20 had recently enlisted and were booted as part of “Entry Level Separations,” removals that take place “during initial training periods within their first 180 days of active duty,” according to a Navy statement released Wednesday. (Mitchell, 1/6)   

Stat: Covid-19 Vaccine Pushback Is Stubbornly High Among White Evangelicals
Among white evangelicals, pushback against Covid-19 vaccines has remained stubbornly high, with polls in recent months suggesting between 30% and 40% refused to get vaccinated, the highest proportion among any religious group surveyed. So one group of researchers had an idea. Sociologists from Stanford and Columbia asked 1,765 unvaccinated, self-identified white Christians to watch a short video in which then-NIH Director Francis Collins — a white evangelical himself — answered questions about the safety and effectiveness of Covid vaccines. Participants also read an essay describing support for vaccination within the medical community. (Silberner, 1/7)

Modern Healthcare: Florida Regulator Threatens Fining Hospitals With COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates
A Florida agency that regulates hospitals is warning providers against implementing COVID-19 vaccine mandates for employees, citing a state law that forbids such rules and levies hefty fines on offenders. The state's Agency for Health Care Administration, which oversees hospitals and other healthcare facilities, sent a notice to providers Jan. 4 reminding them of a state law that prohibits private employers from imposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates. This puts providers in a tricky spot, as complying with Florida law would mean being out of compliance with two Biden administration vaccine mandates, both of which are in the midst of legal challenges. (Bannow, 1/6)

The New York Times: ‘Late Late Show’ Cancels Tapings After James Corden Tests Positive
James Corden joined the ranks of late-night TV hosts who have recently tested positive for the coronavirus, disclosing his diagnosis on Thursday as tapings of his CBS program, “The Late Late Show,” were halted for the next several days. (Itzkoff, 1/6)

The Hill: Feds Call For Boston Marathon Bomber's COVID-19 Relief Payment To Go Toward $101M He Owes Victims
Federal officials are calling for convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to contribute all of his remaining funds, including a $1,400 coronavirus relief payment, to the $101 million he owes victims and families. Acting U.S. Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell for the District of Massachusetts reportedly filed a motion on Wednesday calling for the courts to allow movement of funds from Tsarnaev’s account. If granted, the motion would allow the Bureau of Prisons to transfer all funds toward Tsarnaev’s outstanding payments. (Folmar, 1/6)

Stat: Pharma Boards Urged To Tie Exec Compensation To Covid-19 Vaccine Equity
More than 65 institutional investors are urging the directors of companies making Covid-19 vaccines to tie executive compensation to vaccine equity in hopes of holding management “accountable” for contributing to a global health problem. In a series of letters, the investors asked the heads of the board compensation committees at Pfizer (PFE), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Moderna (MRNA), and AstraZeneca (AZN) to adopt goals outlined recently by the World Health Organization to ensure 70% of the global population is vaccinated by the end of 2022. (Silverman, 1/6)

The Wall Street Journal: Jury In Elizabeth Holmes Trial Seized On Two ‘Smoking Guns’ To Convict Theranos Founder, Juror Says
In their second week of deliberations, jurors in the trial of Elizabeth Holmes seized on what one juror described as two “smoking guns” that sealed the fate of the Theranos Inc. founder. Huddled in a fifth-floor courtroom, the four women and eight men were grappling over whether she had defrauded large Theranos investors about her blood-testing startup. Jurors zeroed in on two pieces of evidence they believed showed Ms. Holmes intentionally lied to investors, said Susanna Stefanek, known throughout the trial as Juror No. 8. (Randazzo and Bobrowsky, 1/6)

WGBH: Medical Schools See Record Enrollment Increase Among Black Students
Sabrina Lima said her mom, a nurse, inspired her to pursue a career as a doctor. "I've been on medical missionary trips with her, so seeing her in medicine — she's this amazing woman,” she said. “I just love how she serves others, and I want to serve people in a similar way." Lima, the daughter of Haitian immigrants, began classes at the Tufts Medical School in the fall. She is part of a small group of Black students pursuing careers as physicians, though that number is increasing as schools adopt new procedures to attract and reduce barriers for students of color. (Carapezza, 1/6)

AP: The U.S. Recorded The Highest Number Of Rabies Deaths In A Decade Last Year
Five Americans died of rabies last year — the largest number in a decade — and health officials said Thursday that some of the people didn’t realize they had been infected or refused life-saving shots. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report on three of the deaths, all stemming from contact with bats. CDC officials said the deaths were tragic and could have been prevented. (1/6)

Stat: 3 Fatal Rabies Cases In U.S. Suggest Public Underestimates Infection Risks
One day last fall, a man in his 80s living in Lake County, Ill., woke up to find a bat on his neck. He caught the bat and turned it in to the health department for testing, which revealed the bat had rabies. The man was offered rabies treatment — but refused. “There were multiple hours of consultation over several weeks between the health department and this individual about the seriousness of his exposure, that the bat had tested positive and that vaccines were the only thing that would be guaranteed to save his life,” said Ryan Wallace, a veterinary medical officer and the lead of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s rabies epidemiology team. “He declined.” (Branswell, 1/6)

Stat: Study Suggests New Cause Of Down Syndrome: Cells Linked To Aging 
Down syndrome is the most common genetic disorder, impacting about 1 in 700 newborns around the world. At some point during their first hours and days of embryonic development, their dividing cells fail to properly wriggle a chromosome pair away from each other, leaving an extra copy where it shouldn’t be. Although scientists have known for more than six decades that this extra copy of chromosome 21 causes the cognitive impairment people with Down syndrome experience, exactly how it happens remains a matter of debate. The dominant hypothesis is that people with this syndrome make too much of the proteins encoded in the genes that reside on chromosome 21, and that this overexpression alters the timing, pattern, or extent of neurodevelopment. This theory has a name: the “gene dosage effect.” (Molteni, 1/6)

USA Today: COVID Vaccine MRNA Technology Offers Hope For Heart Disease Treatment
Combining technologies that proved hugely successful against cancer and in COVID-19 vaccines, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have shown they can effectively treat a leading cause of heart disease. For now the success has only been achieved in mice, but the milestone offers hope for millions of people whose heart muscle is damaged by scar tissue. There is no effective treatment for this fibrosis, which leads to heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States, said Dr. Jonathan Epstein, a Penn professor of cardiovascular research who helped lead the new work, published Thursday in the journal Science. (Weintraub, 1/6)

USA Today: Asthma In Kids: Nearly 2M New Cases Linked To Traffic Pollution A Year
As more motorists trade in old gas guzzlers for chic electric cars, new research on traffic-related air pollution suggests the switch could benefit millions of children every year. George Washington University researchers studied ground concentrations of nitrogen dioxide in big cities around the world while tracking new cases of asthma that developed in children from 2000 to 2019. They found nitrogen dioxide – a pollutant that primarily comes from tailpipe vehicle emissions –  may have caused nearly 2 million new cases of pediatric asthma every year, according to the study published Wednesday in the Lancet Planetary Health. (Rodriguez, 1/6)

AP: Investigators: Fire At Planned Parenthood Intentionally Set 
A fire that destroyed a Tennessee Planned Parenthood clinic was intentionally set, fire officials said Thursday. Officials are looking for a suspect and asked the public to provide tips to the Knoxville Fire Department, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported. (1/6)

AP: California AG: Don't File Murder Charges In Stillbirths
Prosecutors should not charge women with murder when a fetus dies, even if their behavior may have contributed to the death, California’s top law enforcement official said Thursday. Attorney General Rob Bonta acted after prosecutors in the San Joaquin Valley’s Kings County twice charged women with “fetal murder,” alleging their drug use led to stillbirths. He issued a statewide alert intended to advise law enforcement officials on how to interpret state law. (Thompson, 1/7)

AP: California Democrats Revive Universal Health Care Bill 
What could be the nation’s first universal health care system found new life on Thursday after California Democrats proposed steep tax hikes to pay for it, prompting strong opposition from insurers, doctors and Republicans at the start of an election year. Progressives in California’s Democratic-dominated state Legislature have long called for a universal health care system to replace the one that mostly relies on private insurance companies. But their plans have often stalled over questions about how to pay for it in a state with nearly 40 million residents. (Beam, 1/7)

CBS News: Florida Sheriff Hopes 2 Deputies' Suicides Will Be "Catalyst For Change" In Attitude Toward Mental Health
A Florida sheriff mourning the loss of two of his deputies who died by suicide within a matter of days said he hopes the tragedy will be a "catalyst for change" that will help "ease the stigma" surrounding mental health. St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara said the two deputies, Clayton Osteen and Victoria Pacheco, were the parents of a 1-month-old boy. (Sundby, 1/6)

Los Angeles Times: ‘Unwelcome Just About Everywhere’: Europe Tightens The Screws On The Unvaccinated
Across Western Europe — which, like much of the world, is coping with the wildfire spread of Omicron, the highly contagious coronavirus variant — the vaccine-hesitant are coming under mounting official pressure to get inoculated, if they are able. And that is triggering an impassioned backlash. In one European country after another, public health restrictions are steadily tightening. Italy declared a vaccination mandate for those over age 50. The biggest party in Germany’s governing coalition says it will decide by the end of March whether to try to push through a universal vaccination mandate. (El-Faizy and King, 1/7)

Bloomberg: Hospital Bed Shortage Shuts Down Canada While U.S. Stays Open
As omicron sweeps through North America, the U.S. and Canadian responses couldn’t be more different. U.S. states are largely open for business, while Canada’s biggest provinces are shutting down. The difference partly comes down to arithmetic: The U.S. health care system, which prioritizes free markets, provides more hospital beds per capita than the government-dominated Canadian system does. “I’m not advocating for that American market-driven system,” said Bob Bell, a physician who ran Ontario’s health bureaucracy from 2014 to 2018 and oversaw Toronto’s University Health Network before that. “But I am saying that in Canada, we have restricted hospital capacity excessively.” (Platt and Orland, 1/6)

The Wall Street Journal: Japan Criticizes U.S. Response After Omicron Spreads Near American Bases 
A surge in Covid-19 infections around U.S. military bases in Japan is generating tension between Tokyo and Washington after a loophole in entry rules for American soldiers accelerated the spread of the Omicron variant. Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Thursday in Japan asked Secretary of State Antony Blinken for U.S. service members to be restricted to their bases, and regions around bases called for emergency steps to prevent the spread of Covid-19. (Gale, 1/6)

Bloomberg: South African Study To Compare J&J, Pfizer Covid-19 Boosters
Researchers have started recruiting South African health workers to take part in a vaccine trial that will compare the use of Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer Inc. Covid-19 shots as boosters. The health workers being targeted for the study were part of an initial trial known as Sisonke that saw almost half a million people given an initial dose of J&J’s vaccine. The trial, which will be carried out by Johannesburg’s Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, will run for six months, according to an invitation to potential participants. Participants will be randomly allocated a full or half dose of a vaccine made by either J&J, or Pfizer and BioNTech SE. (Sguazzin, 1/7)

Reuters: Sinopharm Protein-Based Booster Stronger Against Omicron Than Earlier Shot - Study
A protein-based COVID-19 vaccine made by Sinopharm, when given as a booster after two doses of an earlier shot from the Chinese firm, elicited a stronger antibody response against the Omicron variant than a third dose of the original, a study showed. (Liu and Woo, 1/7)

The Washington Post: Israel Rolls Out Pfizer’s Paxlovid Covid Drug As Coronavirus Cases Spike 
As omicron infections surge, Israel has begun rolling out a newly approved Pfizer drug, using digital health records kept on nearly every citizen to identify those who are at high risk from covid-19 and are likely to benefit most from the treatment even before they become dangerously ill. Israel is one of the first countries to put Pfizer’s Paxlovid anti-viral pill into use, and doctors affiliated with the four publicly funded health-care networks here are now dispensing more than 100 courses a day, less than a week after the pill won approval. The drug is being dispatched to qualified patients’ homes almost as soon as they test positive for the coronavirus. (Hendrix, 1/6)