First Edition: July 19, 2021

KHN: Novavax’s Effort To Vaccinate The World, From Zero To Not Quite Warp Speed 
On a sweltering June morning, Novavax CEO and covid vaccine maker Stanley Erck stood on a stage unmasked and did something that would have been unthinkable six months ago: He shook hands with Maryland’s governor. Erck was with Gov. Larry Hogan to announce Novavax’s global vaccine headquarters ― a campus expected to house laboratories and more than 800 employees. Hogan called Novavax’s future “bright” and marveled that more than 71% of the state’s adults had received at least one shot. (Tribble and Pradhan, 7/19)

KHN: Biden’s July Executive Order Includes Drug Pricing Provisions. But Will They Do Enough?
President Joe Biden’s executive order of July 9 included various steps toward making good on campaign promises to take on pharmaceutical companies by allowing the importation of prescription drugs and curbing the high cost of medicines. These issues were key to candidate Biden’s 2020 health care platform, which stated he would “stand up to abuse of power” by drugmakers. Biden promised on his campaign website that he would allow consumers to buy prescription drugs from other countries, as long as the Department of Health and Human Services deemed it safe. In speeches, candidate Biden also pledged to bring down drug costs by 60%. (Knight, 7/19)

KHN: Grab Your Mask And Notepad, We’re Headed Back To California’s State Capitol
The best part about returning to the pandemic-besieged state Capitol is that the elected officials are so unused to seeing us reporters after more than a year that some are occasionally extra chatty. The bad part is that the masks make it harder to eavesdrop on the rest of them. Much like the rest of the state — which is navigating ever-changing covid rules, such as whether vaccinated people should wear masks or how far apart schoolkids should be (3 vs. 6 feet) — the building is subject to a tangle of shifting requirements. All of us — the lawmakers, their staff, the press and the tourists — are making mistakes. (Bluth, 7/19)

KHN: Journalists’ Topics Range From Rural Pharmacy Deserts To Opioid Overdoses 
KHN senior Colorado correspondent Markian Hawryluk discussed how a rural Colorado town is crowdsourcing ways to get prescription medicines delivered on KUNC’s “Colorado Edition” on Monday. ... KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal discussed how medical education changed during the pandemic on NPR’s “Here and Now” on Tuesday. ... KHN freelancer Amy Worden chatted about high vaccine hesitancy among prison staffers on Newsy’s “Morning Rush” on Tuesday. (7/17)

Politico: Social Media Must Do More To Support Vaccination, Surgeon General Says 
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on Sunday dismissed the idea that the Biden administration is looking for a scapegoat and using Facebook misinformation as an excuse for missing its vaccination goals. “This is about the health of Americans and the reality is that misinformation is still spreading like wildfire in our country, aided and abetted by technology platforms,” Murthy said on "Fox News Sunday.'' “I have been in dialogue with a number of technology companies in good faith efforts to express my concerns to them and where they have taken positive steps. And some of them have, I’ve acknowledged that, as we should do, but what I've also said very clearly to them, privately and also publicly, is that it's not enough.” (Ward, 7/18)

The Hill: Surgeon General: 'We Are Still Seeing A Proliferation Of Misinformation Online'
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on Sunday said the U.S. is seeing a “proliferation of misinformation online,” as false information regarding COVID-19 and vaccinations is being amplified on social media platforms. “We are still seeing a proliferation of misinformation online, and we know that health misinformation harms people's health. It costs them their lives,” Murthy told host Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union.” (Schnell, 7/18)

The Hill: Surgeon General: 'I Am Worried About What Is To Come'
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on Sunday said he is “worried about what is to come” in the COVID-19 pandemic as cases increase throughout the U.S., primarily among those who are not vaccinated. “I am worried about what is to come because we are seeing increasing cases among the unvaccinated in particular. And while if you are vaccinated you are very well protected against hospitalization and death, unfortunately that is not true if you are not vaccinated,” Murthy told host Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union.” (Schnell, 7/18)

Axios: Fauci: Smallpox, Polio Would Be In U.S. If Misinformation Spread Like On COVID 
President Biden's chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, told CNN Saturday he's "certain" smallpox and polio would still be in the U.S. if vaccine misinformation spread like it has over COVID-19. Facebook doubled down in its defense Saturday against Biden's comments that social media platforms were "killing people" by allowing coronavirus vaccine misinformation on their sites. (Falconer, 7/18)

The Wall Street Journal: Biden’s Facebook Attack Followed Months Of Frustration Inside White House 
President Biden’s attack on Facebook Inc. on Friday followed months of mounting private frustration inside his administration over the social-media giant’s handling of vaccine misinformation, according to U.S. officials, bringing into public view tensions that could complicate efforts to stop the spread of Covid-19.The tough words between the White House and Silicon Valley escalated over the weekend, as Facebook issued a blunt statement accusing the Biden administration of distorting the facts. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who made the rounds on the Sunday talk shows in Washington, countered that social-media companies weren’t doing enough to clamp down on false statements about Covid-19 vaccines. (Restuccia and Needleman, 7/18)

CNBC: Facebook Refutes Biden Claim That It's ‘Killing People’ With Vaccine Misinformation
Facebook on Saturday refuted remarks made by President Joe Biden that social media platforms are “killing people” by allowing coronavirus vaccine misinformation on their services and argued that vaccine acceptance among its users has actually risen in the U.S. In a blog post, Guy Rosen, Facebook’s vice president of integrity, pointed to data suggesting that vaccine hesitancy among U.S. its users has declined by 50%, and 85% of users said they have been or would like to be vaccinated against Covid-19. (Newburger, 7/17)

Newsweek: Trump Claims Americans 'Refusing To Take The Vaccine' Due To Mistrust Of Biden Admin
Former President Donald Trump issued a statement on Sunday claiming that Americans are "refusing" to take the coronavirus vaccine due to mistrust of the Biden administration, the media and the 2020 presidential election results. "Joe Biden kept talking about how good of a job he's doing on the distribution of the Vaccine that was developed by Operation Warp Speed or, quite simply, the Trump Administration. He's not doing well at all," Trump's statement said. (Colarossi, 7/18)

Newsweek: Biden Gets 66 Percent Approval From Americans In His Handling Of Pandemic: Poll
President Joe Biden's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic is praised by a majority of Americans, a new poll shows. The CBS News/YouGov poll revealed that 26 percent of Americans believe Biden is doing a "very good" job at managing the pandemic while another 40 percent think he is doing a "somewhat good" job at it. Only 34 percent disapprove of the COVID-19 response, with 18 percent calling it "very bad" on Biden's part. (Hill, 7/18)

The Washington Post: Surgeon General Vivek Murthy Backs Localized Mask Mandates As Delta Variant Drives Rise In Covid Cases
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy said Sunday that he supports individual counties reinstating mask mandates to combat local surges of the coronavirus among unvaccinated people — like Los Angeles County did last week — as the pathogen’s highly contagious delta variant drives a spike in infections and the Biden administration seeks to project a sense of cautious optimism about the country’s return to normalcy. “It’s very reasonable for counties to take more mitigation measures like the mask rules you see coming out in L.A., and I anticipate that will happen in other parts of the country too,” Murthy said on ABC News’s “This Week.“ (Wang and Rowland, 7/18)

Fox News: Former Surgeon General Says CDC Mask Guidance 'Premature' And 'Wrong'
Former U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said coronavirus mask guidance may be "premature" or "wrong" in the face of potentially dangerous new variants. Adams served as surgeon general under former President Donald Trump, taking a prominent role throughout the early phase of the pandemic. He recently took to Twitter to voice his own regrets and concerns over mask mandates since then. "Last year Tony Fauci and I famously, prematurely, & wrongly advised against masks," Adams wrote in a rare admission of a misstep. "I felt it was the best call at the time, but now regret it." (Aitken, 7/18)

The New York Times: Wary And Weary, Los Angeles Largely Accepts Restored Mask Mandate 
Most customers dutifully took their masks on and off at the entrance of shops, where signs were posted to remind them of the policy and where, in some cases, complimentary masks were offered. Out-of-state tourists found themselves wearing masks for the first time in months, sometimes annoyed but largely compliant, and one restaurant employee who forgot about the mandate was able to secure a mask by running across the street and asking employees at the Starbucks if they had extras. “Some people think it’s a punishment,” said Lisa Liu, 38, who said she was fully vaccinated. She was shopping on Sunday and was interviewed outside a clothing store called Tazga. “But for me it’s a mask — it’s not a big deal.” (Craig and Albeck-Ripka, 7/18)

The Washington Post: Los Angeles County Sheriff Will Not Enforce Mask Mandate, Saying It Is ‘Not Backed By Science’
The Los Angeles County Sheriff announced that his department will not enforce a reinstated mask mandate, saying it is not backed by guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Scheduled to go into effect Saturday night, the mandate requires all residents, regardless of vaccination status, to wear masks indoors. Sheriff Alex Villanueva said that while the Los Angeles County Department of Health could enforce the order, “the underfunded/defunded Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will not expend our limited resources and instead ask for voluntary compliance.” Villanueva also encouraged the county Board of Supervisors and law enforcement to “establish mandates that are both achievable and supported by science.” (Hauptman, 7/17)

Fox News: Sacramento County Advises Vaccinated People Wear Masks Indoors
Sacramento County health officials are advising residents to wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status citing concerns about the rapid spread of the Delta COVID-19 variant. The guidance, which comes as Los Angeles County reinstates an indoor mask mandate, does not match the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance, or the state’s public health guidance, which says vaccinated individuals do not have to wear facial coverings. (Hein, 7/17)

The Wall Street Journal: CDC’s Covid-19 Cruise Guidelines To Stay In Place For Now 
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has highlighted his battle against the federal government over restarting cruises, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The CDC also didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. (Lovett, 7/18)

The Wall Street Journal: First Covid-19 Infections Among Athletes In Olympic Village Are Confirmed 
Two athletes staying at the Olympic Village in Tokyo have tested positive for Covid-19, the organizers of the Games said. The infections are the first confirmed cases among athletes in the village. The two athletes have been moved into a 14-day quarantine, the organizers said on Sunday. (Gale, 7/18)

The Wall Street Journal: Days Before The Olympics, More Athletes Test Positive For Covid-19
The long-feared possibility that the Covid-19 pandemic could disrupt the Tokyo Olympics is rapidly emerging as a reality, as Games organizers scramble to deal with a rising load of athletes and officials who are testing positive upon arrival in Japan. The stream of positive cases is quickly demonstrating how difficult it will be to stage one of the world’s largest events during a global pandemic. Tens of thousands of participants from more than 200 countries are entering a country where the vaccination rate of the local population remains low and the more-contagious Delta variant is spreading. (Bachman, Gale and Radnofsky, 7/18)

The Washington Post: Coco Gauff Withdraws From Tokyo Olympics After Testing Positive For Covid
Rising star Coco Gauff announced Sunday afternoon she won’t be able to compete at the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for the coronavirus. Gauff, 17, was to compete in singles and doubles at her first Olympics. She disclosed her positive test via Twitter, writing: “I am so disappointed to share the news that I have tested positive for covid and won’t be able to play in the Olympic Games in Tokyo. It has always been a dream of mine to represent the USA at the Olympics, and I hope there will be many more chances for me to make this come true in the future.” (Clarke, 7/18)

AP: Zero Risk? Virus Cases Test Olympic Organizers' Assurances
Two South African soccer players became the first athletes inside the Olympic Village to test positive for COVID-19, and other cases connected to the Tokyo Games were also confirmed Sunday, highlighting the herculean task organizers face to keep the virus contained while the world’s biggest sports event plays out. The positive tests came as some of the 11,000 athletes and thousands more team officials expected from across the globe began arriving, having traveled through a pandemic to get to Tokyo. (Wade, Kageyama and Imray, 7/18)

USA Today: New Infections Rising In Every State, Hospitalizations Boom
The number of new coronavirus infections is now rising in all 50 states and hospitalizations nationwide are increasing at an alarming rate, data out Sunday reveals. New infections rose in all 50 states Saturday, the third consecutive day, data from Johns Hopkins University shows. And more than 25,000 U.S. patients who likely had COVID-19 were in hospitals Saturday, up 24.1% from a week earlier. Throughout the week hospitals admitted 51,378 likely COVID patients, up 15%. And 6,198 adults with COVID-19 were in intensive-care units, up 25.7% from a week earlier. (Culver and Bacon, 7/18)

CIDRAP: US COVID-19 Cases Climb Steadily All Week
Not only did the moving 7-day average of new daily cases increased every day [last] week, but Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, said that 10% of US counties were recently reclassified as "high transmission risk" areas and 7% moved into the "substantial risk" category. Many of these areas, she added, corresponded with low vaccination rates. (McLernon, 7/16)

The New York Times: C.D.C. Director Warns Of A ‘Pandemic Of The Unvaccinated’ 
As the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus fuels outbreaks in the United States, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned on Friday that “this is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated.” Cases, hospitalizations and deaths remain far below last winter’s peak, and vaccines are effective against Delta, but the C.D.C. director, Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, urged people to get fully vaccinated to receive robust protection, pleading: “Do it for yourself, your family and for your community. And please do it to protect your young children who right now can’t get vaccinated themselves.” (Anthes and Petri, 7/16)

Politico: Poll: Unvaccinated Americans Least Concerned About Delta Variant 
Unvaccinated and partially vaccinated Americans, the groups most vulnerable to Covid, are the least concerned about the more contagious Delta variant, according to a CBS News poll. While 48 percent of "not fully/not vaccinated" respondents in the poll released Sunday said they were concerned about the Delta variant, 72 percent of fully vaccinated Americans are worried. (Ward, 7/18)

The Atlantic: The Delta Variant Is Surging In Missouri
Last week, Katie Towns, the acting director of the Springfield–Greene County Health Department, was concerned that the county’s daily cases were topping 250. On Wednesday, the daily count hit 405. This dramatic surge is the work of the super-contagious Delta variant, which now accounts for 95 percent of Greene County’s new cases, according to Towns. It is spreading easily because people have ditched their masks, crowded into indoor spaces, resumed travel, and resisted vaccinations. Just 40 percent of people in Greene County are fully vaccinated. In some nearby counties, less than 20 percent of people are. (Yong, 7/16)

Detroit Free Press: Hundreds Protest At Henry Ford Hospitals Over COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate
The signs spoke the sentiments. "No jab = no job" "My body, my choice. Let me call my own shots" "From heroes to zeros" Hundreds of people lined the sidewalk in front of Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital's main entrance Saturday to protest the health system's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees, contractors and others. "We were essential last year, and now we're your villains," one woman yelled. The scene was similar in front of Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, where, as in West Bloomfield, drivers of passing vehicles frequently honked to show support. There also were people protesting at three additional hospitals in the health system — Clinton Township, Wyandotte and Jackson — said organizer Amber Castro of Westland. (Hall and Stein, 7/17)

Newsweek: Vaccine Passport: The Government Can't Share Your Data, But Airlines Can
While these passports continue to garner visceral political reactions, differing from state to state, public companies and nongovernmental organizations have quietly rolled out passports of their own. American Airlines, United, and The Commons Project Foundation, a digital health non-profit, have all created their own passports. In accordance with the privacy policies of these passports, the companies and organizations that collect and store data pertaining to the COVID-19 vaccination status of individuals can share that information with third-party companies, including customs and border officials, business affiliates, contractors, and marketing providers—often for profit. (Rouhandeh and Green, 7/16)

Modern Healthcare: Association Of American Medical Colleges Pushes For Vaccine Mandate
Medical schools and teaching hospitals should require their workers to get the COVID-19 vaccine, the Association of American Medical Colleges told its members Friday. Unvaccinated Americans account for an overwhelming majority of new COVID-19 hospitalizations, said Dr. David Skorton, CEO of the association, adding that the virus continues to mutate. States with the highest spikes in new cases also have some of the country's lowest vaccination rates, according to data from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine's Coronavirus Tracking Center. (Kacik, 7/16)

Modern Healthcare: HHS Slates Funding To Address Healthcare Workforce Burnout
HHS on Friday said it would make approximately $103 million in American Rescue Plan funding available to tackle healthcare worker burnout and promote mental health in the industry. The funds, released by the Health Resources and Services Administration, will go toward several programs to help healthcare organizations in rural and medically underserved communities build resiliency among newer healthcare workers and mentor providers on how to respond to stressful situations. HRSA will distribute the money over a three-year period. (Devereaux, 7/16)

Modern Healthcare: First Half 2021 Marks Record High Healthcare Data Breaches
Healthcare providers, insurers and their business associates have already reported 360 data breaches to the federal government in the first half of 2021—outpacing the same period for all previous years. Those 360 breaches exposed data on nearly 23 million patients, according to data from HHS' Office for Civil Rights, which began maintaining a database of healthcare data breaches in 2010. Last year, organizations reported 270 breaches of 8 million patients' data in the first six months of the year; in 2019, around 230 breaches that exposed data on 11.2 million patients. (Kim Cohen, 7/16)

Modern Healthcare: Hospital-Run Retail Pharmacies At Risk Of Extinction
Intermountain Healthcare's decision to shutter most of its outpatient pharmacies underscores the increasing reality that hospital-owned retail pharmacies are a dying breed. Health systems have shown they're increasingly willing to outsource outpatient pharmacy services to CVS Health or Walgreens and part ways with what's often a money-losing endeavor. Only about one-quarter of health systems had a centralized retail or mail order pharmacy in 2019, according to the American Society of Health System Pharmacists. "I haven't seen too many of those left, to be honest," said Brian Tanquilut, a healthcare services analyst with Jefferies. (Bannow, 7/16)

The Boston Globe: Hasbro Children’s Hospital Selected To Help Improve Equity In Children’s Health Care
Hasbro Children’s Hospital is one of 12 pediatric facilities chosen to help transform child health care delivery in the U.S. The Providence-based hospital, which is owned by Lifespan Corp., is participating in a program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will work with the Center for Health Care Strategies to develop ways to make child health care “more equitable and family focused.” Each hospital in the program will receive a $2,500 stipend. Representatives from the 12 hospitals will meet once a month for nine months to create a guide to making pediatric health care more equitable. The work will focus on adopting anti-racist practices to advance health equity, co-creating equitable partnerships with families and providers, and identifying family strengths and health-related social needs to “promote resilience.” (Gagosz, 7/16)

Stat: Too Close For Comfort: FDA Shouldn't Loosen Conflict Rules For Expert Panels
Never mind the conflicts, there are drugs to approve. In a sorry turn of events, the Food and Drug Administration is facing a confidence-draining debacle thanks to its controversial approval of a pricey Alzheimer’s drug for which evidence appears suspect, at best. Approval standards are being questioned and the acting FDA commissioner asked a federal watchdog to probe its dealings with Biogen, because the company quietly worked to curry favor with a top FDA official in charge of reviewing its drug. (Silverman, 7/19)

Stat: Connecticut AG Accuses Some Sacklers Of Intimidation Over Purdue Talks
In the latest drama surrounding Purdue Pharma, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong lashed out at members of the Sackler family who control the drug maker for threatening to seek sanctions against several states that have panned a bankruptcy proposal filed by the company. In a blistering statement, Tong maintained that attorneys for the Raymond Sackler family on Thursday sought to “intimidate” Connecticut, three other states, and the District of Columbia by intending to file a motion that argued the governments lacked evidence to object to the bankruptcy plan. The motion, he added, was withdrawn on Friday morning under “considerable pressure.” (7/16)

Reuters: J&J Exploring Putting Talc Liabilities Into Bankruptcy
Johnson & Johnson is exploring a plan to offload liabilities from widespread Baby Powder litigation into a newly created business that would then seek bankruptcy protection, according to seven people familiar with the matter. During settlement discussions, one of the healthcare conglomerate’s attorneys has told plaintiffs’ lawyers that J&J could pursue the bankruptcy plan, which could result in lower payouts for cases that do not settle beforehand, some of the people said. Plaintiffs’ lawyers would initially be unable to stop J&J from taking such a step, though could pursue legal avenues to challenge it later. (Spector, Dinapoli and Levine, 7/19)

NBC News: During Pandemic, Hospitals See Rise In Alcohol-Related Liver Disease
Just months into the pandemic, Kelly White, a 52-year-old mother of three, found herself extremely nauseous and unable to handle alcohol. White, of Chicago, had been laid off when the country locked down, and she found herself at home with nothing to do. Having struggled with alcohol in the past, she found comfort in drinking, and began to increase her alcohol intake by threefold, often starting early in the morning and drinking throughout the day. (Syal, 7/17)

Sacramento Bee: Could Tarantulas Hold The Secret To Relieving Chronic Pain?
Using $1.5 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health, researchers at UC Davis, are looking into whether venom from the widely feared tarantula spider could help relieve chronic pain. “Spiders and scorpions have millions of years of evolution optimizing peptide, protein and small-molecule poisons in their venom, which we can take advantage of,” said Bruce Hammock, a distinguished professor of entomology who is working on the new pain reliever. “The same venoms that can cause pain and neurological dysfunction can also help nerves work better and reduce pain.” Hammock has decades of experience in developing a novel approach to relieving chronic pain. His Davis-based EicOsis earned a Fast Track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the development of an oral drug candidate, EC5026, which prevents the breakdown of compounds in the body that keep people from feeling pain out of proportion to their injury. (Anderson, 7/18)

Houston Chronicle: Dozens Affected By Chemical Leak At Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown In Spring
Thirty-one people were taken to hospitals Saturday afternoon after being affected by a chemical exposure at Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown in Spring, authorities said, as they closed the facility until further notice. A lifeguard first became sick in an area around a kiddie pool at the water park before more people, including children, started feeling ill, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said. Fifty-five people refused to be transported to a hospital by ambulance after being decontaminated by firefighters. (Serrano, 7/17)

The Wall Street Journal: Heat Waves, Wildfires Intensify In The West
Intense heat engulfed the Northern Rockies and High Plains, while high temperatures and dry air made matters worse for firefighters working to control dozens of wildfires burning across the parched West. State leaders had issued emergency orders activating resources before the weekend, while some local communities said the blazes were complicating plans for a resurgence of tourism and local events after an interruption during the Covid-19 pandemic. (Levitz and Lovett, 7/18)

Fox News: US Heat Wave Sparked Surge In Emergency Department Visits, CDC Report Finds
An intense heat wave affecting the Northwest caused a spike in emergency department (ED) visits for heat-related illness, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Oregon and Washington were most affected by the record-breaking heat, the CDC wrote, with temperatures in Portland climbing to 116 degrees Fahrenheit, over 40 degrees hotter than average monthly highs. While the country sees some 700 deaths due to heat illness each year, the agency warned that climate change will spur increases in fatalities in the years to come in the northwestern U.S. (Rivas, 7/17)

San Francisco Chronicle: West Nile Virus Found In Contra Costa County Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes infected with West Nile virus have been discovered in Contra Costa County several times this month, prompting officials to warn residents. The disclosure comes one week after California recorded its first West Nile virus death of the year in San Luis Obispo County. Mosquitoes with the virus have been collected from traps in agricultural areas near Byron and Brentwood at the eastern edge of the county, according to the Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control District. Entomologists tested insect samples for the disease, which is transmitted to humans by a bite from an infected mosquito. (Mishanec, 7/18)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Casino Smoking Ban Advocated By California Group
The battle to ban smoking in casinos is heating up again. Americans for Nonsmokers Rights, a California-based advocacy group seeking to ban smoking in casinos nationwide, has jumped on the record and near-record revenue performances of the nation’s casinos since full reopenings began a few months ago to push for smoke-free casinos. When Atlantic City casinos reported an all-time revenue record in the month of June, Americans for Nonsmokers Rights President and CEO Cynthia Hallett jumped to the conclusion that revenue and operating smoke-free are connected. (Velotta, 7/18)

The New York Times: Jury Awards $125 Million After Walmart Fires Woman With Down Syndrome 
On Thursday, a jury in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, in Green Bay, found that Walmart had violated the Americans With Disabilities Act, which bans discrimination based on an employee’s disability, and awarded Marlo Spaeth $125 million in punitive damages and $150,000 in compensatory damages. (Levenson, 7/18)

Philadelphia Inquirer: As U.S. Overdose Deaths Soar, Rhode Island Legalizes Supervised Injection Sites. Philly’s Effort Remains In Limbo
Rhode Island’s decision to allow sites where people in addiction can use drugs safely has sparked new optimism that momentum for the movement may be building despite Philadelphia’s own stalled bid to open a supervised injection site. The facilities, where medical workers can revive those who overdose and connect people to treatment, already exist in dozens of countries. But Rhode Island is the first state whose legislature approved a two-year pilot to open sites around the state. The governor recently signed the bill into law. (Whelan, 7/19)

AP: Henderson Water Usage Increased By 1B Gallons After COVID-19
The study found the shift to more people being at home during that time led to roughly 1.1 billion additional gallons of water being used in the city, according to the newspaper. Nicholas Irwin, an assistant professor of economics at UNLV and one of the authors of the study, said “the increase in residential water usage was so large that it overwhelmed that offsetting effect from schools being closed and from commercial buildings being closed. Increased handwashing due to the coronavirus likely contributed to the spike in water usage, according to the study. (7/18)

AP: Food Program Cards Can Be Used At Some SC Self Checkouts
Families who use a supplemental program to help get healthy foods for pregnant women and children can now use the self-checkout at two national chain stores in South Carolina. Walmart and Kroger are now taking electronic cards for the state Women, Infant, and Children program at their terminals without cashiers, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control said in a statement. (7/18)

Reuters: England's 'Freedom Day' Marred By Soaring Cases And Isolation Chaos
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's 'freedom day' ending over a year of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in England was marred on Monday by surging infections, warnings of supermarket shortages and his own forced self-isolation. Johnson's bet that he can get one of Europe's largest economies firing again because so many people are now vaccinated marks a new chapter in the global response to the coronavirus. (James, 7/19)

NPR: Vaccinated U.K. Health Secretary Tests Positive For COVID-19
Sajid Javid, the top government official tasked with leading the United Kingdom's coronavirus response, announced Saturday that he has tested positive for COVID-19 after being vaccinated. In a video posted to Twitter, the health secretary said he learned of his results from a rapid lateral flow test, generally used for people without coronavirus symptoms, and was awaiting a more accurate PCR test as he isolates at home. Javid said he took the test on Saturday after "feeling a bit groggy" the night before. He has had both doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and says his symptoms have so far been "very mild." (Held, 7/17)

Bloomberg: Canada Passes U.S. In Full Covid-19 Vaccinations Amid Gradual Border Reopening
Canada has fully vaccinated 48.8% of its population against Covid-19, overtaking the U.S. rate for the first time after a delayed start caused by procurement troubles and distribution bottlenecks. In the U.S, where vaccinations are plateauing in some regions, 48.5% of the population is fully inoculated. Of those old enough to get the vaccine in Canada, 55% have now received two doses, according to calculations by CTV News based on provincial and federal government data. Health authorities have approved the Pfizer Inc. shot for children 12 years and older. (Hagan, 7/18)

Bloomberg: Europe Gets Tough On Vaccinations As Threats Replace Incentives
In Athens, a Covid-19 vaccine will help get you into a bar. In Prague, it might win you an iPhone. But in some places, you’ll need it to keep your job. As governments across Europe push to get everyday life back to normal, the carrot-and-stick approach to inoculations is shifting more to the latter. In France, President Emmanuel Macron pledged a “summer of mobilizing for vaccinations,” with compulsory shots for health-care workers. Italy, Greece and the U.K. are going down the same road, moving toward making vaccinations a requirement for some. (Kresge and Nikas, 7/17)

The Washington Post: Chinese Veterinarian Dies From Rare Monkey B Virus
A man in China has died after contracting a rare infectious disease from primates, known as the Monkey B virus, Chinese health officials revealed in a report Saturday. The victim, a 53-year-old veterinarian based in Beijing, was the first documented human case of the virus in China. According to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the man worked in a research institute that specialized in nonhuman primate breeding and dissected two dead monkeys in March. He experienced nausea, vomiting and fever a month later, and died May 27. His blood and saliva samples were sent to the center in April, where researchers found evidence of the Monkey B virus. Two of his close contacts, a male doctor and a female nurse, tested negative for the virus, officials said. (Tan, 7/19)