First Edition: Jan. 9, 2023

KHN: In PA County Jails, Guards Use Pepper Spray And Stun Guns To Subdue People In Mental Crisis
An investigation of records from 25 county jails across Pennsylvania showed that nearly 1 in 3 "use of force" incidents by guards involved a confined person who was having a psychiatric crisis or who had a known mental illness. (Sholtis, 1/9)

KHN: California Senate’s New Health Chair To Prioritize Mental Health And Homelessness
California state Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman of Stockton has been appointed chair of the Senate’s influential health committee. A licensed social worker, Eggman said she will make mental health care and homelessness front-burner issues. (Bluth, 1/6)

KHN: Medicaid And Abortion Top Health Agenda For Montana Lawmakers
State lawmakers say their health care goals for the new legislative session are to lower costs and improve access to care. They’ll have to grapple with a full slate of other issues, as well. (Larson, 1/9)

KHN: Journalists Review 2022’s Top Health Stories And The CDC’s Policy On Remote Work
KHN and California Healthline staffers made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances. (1/7)

Stat: FDA Approves New Alzheimer's Drug Leqembi
The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved a new Alzheimer’s disease treatment that moderately slows cognitive decline in people with early-stage disease. The drug, called Leqembi, was developed by Eisai, the Japanese pharmaceutical company that also developed the first symptomatic treatment for Alzheimer’s 25 years ago. (Feuerstein, 1/6)

NPR: FDA Grants Alzheimer's Drug Leqembi Accelerated Approval
"This is a milestone for people eligible for this treatment, for their families, for the research community," says Maria Carrillo, chief science officer for the Alzheimer's Association. (Hamilton, 1/6)

The Wall Street Journal: New Alzheimer’s Drug Leqembi Will Be Out Of Reach For Most Patients
A sweeping Medicare rule issued last year will keep the newly approved Alzheimer’s disease drug Leqembi out of reach of most U.S. patients for months to come. The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved Eisai Co. and Biogen Inc.’s Leqembi, known generically as lecanemab, for the treatment of people with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease, the vast majority of whom are insured by Medicare. However, Medicare won’t pay for the drug unless patients are enrolled in government-sanctioned clinical trials, and no such studies are ongoing or planned. (Walker, 1/7)

AP: EXPLAINER: New Drug Slows Alzheimer's But Comes With Caveats
A new Alzheimer’s drug is hitting the market — the first with clear-cut evidence that it can slow, by several months, the mind-robbing disease. It’s a long-needed new treatment, but experts also are voicing a lot of caution: The drug isn’t a cure, it’s only intended for early-stage patients, requires IV doses every two weeks, and comes with some safety concerns. (Neergaard and Perrone, 1/7)

AP: New Guidance: Use Drugs, Surgery Early For Obesity In Kids
Children struggling with obesity should be evaluated and treated early and aggressively, including with medications for kids as young as 12 and surgery for those as young as 13, according to new guidelines released Monday. The longstanding practice of “watchful waiting,” or delaying treatment to see whether children and teens outgrow or overcome obesity on their own only worsens the problem that affects more than 14.4 million young people in the U.S. Left untreated, obesity can lead to lifelong health problems, including high blood pressure, diabetes and depression. (Aleccia, 1/9)

The Wall Street Journal: Pediatricians Recommend Weight-Loss Drugs For Obese Children
Children 12 or older who are obese should be offered medications for weight loss alongside lifestyle and behavioral counseling, according to guidelines published on Monday by the largest professional association of pediatricians in the U.S. The association also recommended that doctors offer to refer severely obese children 13 or older to surgeons to assess whether they would be good candidates for bariatric surgery. It said pediatricians should screen obese children for high cholesterol, diabetes and hypertension. (Toy, 1/9)

The Washington Post: New Variant XBB.1.5 Is ‘Most Transmissible’ Yet, Could Fuel Covid Wave
More than 70 percent of cases in the Northeast are believed to be XBB.1.5. While there is no evidence so far that XBB.1.5 is more virulent than its predecessors, a recent swirl of misinformation linking the rise of new variants to vaccination has cast a spotlight on this latest strain and raised concern among some health experts that it could further limit booster uptake. (Nirappil and Weber, 1/9)

The New York Times: Health Experts Warily Eye XBB.1.5, The Latest Omicron Subvariant
Three years into the pandemic, the coronavirus continues to impress virologists with its swift evolution. A young version, known as XBB.1.5, has quickly been spreading in the United States over the past few weeks. As of Friday, the Centers for Disease Control estimated that it made up 72 percent of new cases in the Northeast and 27.6 percent of cases across the country. (Zimmer, 1/7)

The Boston Globe: Latest Numbers Show Jump In COVID-19 Deaths As Expected Winter Surge Arrives
The virus that everyone wants to forget is surging, reminding us that life is not yet back to normal. During the week that ended Wednesday, 129 Massachusetts residents died of COVID-19, double the toll during the last week of November. Sixteen people died on Christmas Day, and eight on New Year’s Day, according to the latest data from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. (Freyer, 1/6)

The Hill: AstraZeneca’s Preventative COVID Treatment Likely Not Effective Against XBB.1.5: FDA
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Friday that AstraZeneca’s preventative monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19 is likely ineffective against the XBB.1.5 omicron subvariant due to its similarity to other mutations of the virus that are also not neutralized by the treatment. In a statement, the FDA said it “does not anticipate that Evusheld will neutralize XBB.1.5.” (Choi, 1/6)

NPR: RSV Recedes And Flu Peaks As A New COVID Variant Shoots 'Up Like A Rocket'
The good news is the worst appears to be over from the RSV surge that has been making life miserable for many children and their parents. RSV cases have been falling steadily since the end of November, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At the same time, the flu — which also came roaring back this fall after mostly disappearing for the previous two years — looks like it's finally receding in most places, according to the latest data out Friday from the CDC. (Stein, 1/6)

Stat: As Respiratory Diseases Rise, EPA Tightens Air Quality Standards
The Environmental Protection Agency announced on Friday more aggressive air quality standards for particulate matter, pollutants small enough to be inhaled and cause respiratory illness and other disease. The agency’s new rules would help clean the nation’s air and bring it more in line with the past decade of research on the harmful effects of particulate matter. (Cueto, 1/6)

CIDRAP: US Flu Markers Decline Further, But 13 More Pediatric Deaths Reported
Flu activity is still high, but it continues to drop in most regions, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its weekly report, which covers data ending Dec 31. Most markers declined, including the percentage of outpatient visits for flulike illness, which dropped from 6.1% to 5.4%. Also, the percentage of respiratory samples at clinical labs testing positive for influenza declined from 19.8% to 15.0%. (Schnirring, 1/6)

NBC News: China’s Covid Wave Threatens Another Snarl Of U.S. Medical Supply Chain
U.S. hospitals, health care companies and federal officials worked to lessen their dependence on China for medical goods after the first wave of Covid infections in 2020 laid bare the major role China plays in manufacturing such crucial items as masks, latex gloves and surgical gowns, along with the key drugs and components in many medical devices. (Pettypiece, 1/8)

AP: Drugstores Make Slow Headway On Staffing Problems
A rush of vaccines, virus tests and a busy flu season started overwhelming pharmacies more than a year ago, forcing many to temporarily close when workers weren’t available. Major drugstore chains have raised pay and dangled signing bonuses to add employees. They’re also emphasizing the lunch breaks and sending routine prescription work to other locations to improve conditions in their pandemic-battered pharmacies. (Murphy, 1/7)

Stat: Former FDA Commissioner On Loosened Restrictions On Abortion Pills
When the Food and Drug Administration lifted some — but not all — of its restrictions on an abortion pill this week, it raised questions about why these rules were there in the first place. Mifepristone, the drug in question, has been used by over 3.7 million Americans to end early pregnancies since its approval in 2000, is more than 97% effective, tends to have only mild side effects such as cramping, with severe ones occurring in fewer than 0.5% of patients. So why was it on a list of prescription drugs requiring extra precautions and red tape, alongside opioid painkillers? (Boodman, 1/7)

The 19th: House Republicans May Soon Vote On A ‘Born-Alive’ Abortion Bill
House Republican leaders have vowed swift action on a number of measures related to abortion this year — including one that compels health care providers to provide life-sustaining care to infants born after an attempted abortion. But, reproductive rights advocates and physicians say, the rights of infants born by any method, including after an attempted abortion, are already protected by a bipartisan 2002 law that established that infants have the rights of a full human. (Barclay and Luthra, 1/6)

NBC News: Epinephrine Costs Not Covered By Some High-Deductible Health Plans
For years, Meghan Neri paid $30 apiece for packages of epinephrine auto-injectors for her two adolescent children with food allergies. The price for four packs of the lifesaving medication was a manageable $120 a year. So Neri, 42, of Scituate, Massachusetts, was shocked when, in 2019, her family pharmacist said that each auto-injector pack would cost $600. (Edwards, Bauer and Thompson, 1/7)

CIDRAP: Studies Detail Omicron Immune Protection After Infection, Vaccination
Researchers in Portugal mined a national COVID-19 registry for data on more than 9.3 million vaccinated people 12 years or older from Jan 1 to Sep 14, 2022, a period of Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 predominance. The team compared previously infected people with their uninfected peers. In Portugal, virtually all people had received a vaccine booster dose. The research was published yesterday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. (Van Beusekom, 1/6)

CIDRAP: As More Organs Affected, Outcomes Worsen In Kids With Post-COVID Syndrome
A study of more than 4,100 US patients hospitalized with the post-COVID multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) suggests that deaths, length of stay, adverse drug reactions, and the proportion of Black patients rose along with the number of organ systems involved. (Van Beusekom, 1/6)

Fox News: Honey As An Alternative To Sugar? New Study Indicates The Health Benefits
Consuming raw honey from a single floral source may improve blood sugar control and lower cholesterol levels when taken within the context of a healthy diet, according to a recent study published in Nutrition Reviews. (Sudhakar, 1/7)

Politico: The Fight Over How To Deliver Bad News To Patients
Congress was full of good intentions when it directed the Department of Health and Human Services to make sure patients get their test results as soon as they’re available. But the implementation of that directive has set off a battle between doctors on one side and HHS and patient advocates on the other, and raised a fundamental question: How should patients get bad news? The debate underscores how medicine’s digital transformation is changing the doctor-patient relationship and upending ingrained practices. (Leonard, 1/9)

The Wall Street Journal: 71-Year-Old Cancer Patient Broke Trial Age Limits For A Chance At A Cure
After Mikhail Rubin learned his lethal blood disease had progressed, he decided that he wanted a stem-cell transplant through a clinical trial. But there was an obstacle: his age. Mr. Rubin, who is now 72, was too old to participate. Many cancer trials cap enrollment at age 65. Even when trials for older people are available, oncologists are reluctant to enroll elderly patients because frailties might make them less resilient against side effects from toxic treatments, according to a 2020 study in an American Cancer Society journal. People over 70 represent a growing share of the cancer-patient population but are vastly underrepresented in clinical trials, the study said. (Dockser Marcus, 1/8)

NBC News: Alcohol Liver Disease Rising Among Young People, Especially Women
Cirrhosis or severe liver disease used to be something that mostly struck people in middle age, or older. Increasingly, alcohol-related liver disease is killing younger people in the U.S. (Carroll, Martin and Essamuah, 1/8)

The Hill: Study: 1 In 4 Adults With Chronic Pain Turning To Cannabis
More than a quarter of U.S. adults suffering from chronic pain have turned to using cannabis to manage their discomfort, according to a new study published in JAMA Open Network. (O'Connell-Domenech, 1/6)

The New York Times: Tranq Dope: Animal Sedative Mixed With Fentanyl Brings Fresh Horror To US Drug Zones
In her shattered Philadelphia neighborhood, and increasingly in drug hot zones around the country, an animal tranquilizer called xylazine — known by street names like “tranq,” “tranq dope” and “zombie drug” — is being used to bulk up illicit fentanyl, making its impact even more devastating. Xylazine causes wounds that erupt with a scaly dead tissue called eschar; untreated, they can lead to amputation. (Hoffman, 1/7)

The Washington Post: A Teen Died Of A Fentanyl Overdose. The Man Who Sold The Pills Got 20 Years
“It should send a loud and clear message to drug dealers and drug traffickers,” Cole Finegan, the U.S. attorney for the District of Colorado, said in a news release. “Our law enforcement partners will track you down and we will prosecute you if you peddle this poison in our communities. Lives are at stake, and we will use every available tool to combat this deadly epidemic and stop these tragic losses.” (Melnick, 1/9)

NPR: VA Says It's Back On Track To End Veteran Homelessness
After several years of limited progress, an 11 percent drop since 2020 has encouraged advocates and VA officials. It's the biggest reduction in five years. There were 33,136 homeless vets in 2022 — down from 37,252 in 2020 according to the annual point in time count conducted by the VA, HUD and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. The same count found 582,462 homeless people in America - the Biden Administration says it's aiming to reduce that number 25 percent by 2025. (Lawrence, 1/7)

Anchorage Daily News: GCI Outage Shuts Down Some Alaska 911 Calls, Impacts Cell And Internet Service
A widespread GCI network outage Sunday shut down 911 calls from some users and caused intermittent internet and cell service outages in locations around Alaska, the company said. (1/8)

Anchorage Daily News: Alaska’s Medicaid Backlog Violates Federal And State Law, Attorneys Say
Alaska has violated state and federal law by failing to process Medicaid applications in a timely manner, according to an Anchorage-based civil rights law firm that settled a class-action lawsuit in federal court with the state three years ago. (Maguire, 1/7)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Lawsuit Claims Las Vegas Hospital Unsafely Discharged Patient, Causing Death
After spending New Year’s Day last year in the emergency room after a fall, 87-year-old Marciel Scott was discharged from Centennial Hills Hospital Medical Center in the middle of the night. (Hynes, 1/6)