First Edition: June 11, 2024

KFF Health News: Bird Flu Tests Are Hard To Get. So How Will We Know When To Sound The Pandemic Alarm? 
Stanford University infectious disease doctor Abraar Karan has seen a lot of patients with runny noses, fevers, and irritated eyes lately. Such symptoms could signal allergies, covid, or a cold. This year, there’s another suspect, bird flu — but there’s no way for most doctors to know. If the government doesn’t prepare to ramp up H5N1 bird flu testing, he and other researchers warn, the United States could be caught off guard again by a pandemic. (Maxmen and Allen, 6/11)

KFF Health News: Biden Plan To Save Medicare Patients Money On Drugs Risks Empty Shelves, Pharmacists Say
Months into a new Biden administration policy intended to lower drug costs for Medicare patients, independent pharmacists say they’re struggling to afford to keep some prescription drugs in stock.This story also ran on Fortune. It can be republished for free.“It would not matter if the governor himself walked in and said, ‘I need to get this prescription filled,’” said Clint Hopkins, a pharmacist and co-owner of Pucci’s Pharmacy in Sacramento, California. “If I’m losing money on it, it’s a no.” (Jaffe, 6/11)

Reuters: U.S. Unveils New Task Force Aimed At Cracking Down On Illicit E-Cigarettes
The U.S. Justice Department and the Food and Drug Administration on Monday launched a new task force that will take aim at the sale and distribution of illicit e-cigarettes, in a move to protect youth from illegal vaping products. The new enforcement effort comes after the FDA issued more than 1,100 warning letters to manufacturers, importers, distributors, and retailers for illegally selling or distributing unauthorized new tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. (Lynch, 6/10)

Newsweek: Flavored Vape Bans Led To Increase In Teen Smoking: Study
Bans on flavored e-cigarettes —also known as vapes—may lead to an unintended increase in tobacco cigarette use, particularly among young adults, according to a recent analysis. Public health experts have long debated whether the availability of flavors such as fruit, candy, and mint significantly attract young people to vape products. Over the last decade, the immense popularity of vaping brands like Juul has led to piecemeal restrictions on flavored varieties. (The FDA banned Juul outright in 2022, but recently reversed course.) (Mesa, 6/10)

AP: Alzheimer's Drug That Can Slow Disease Gets Backing From FDA Advisers
A closely watched Alzheimer’s drug from Eli Lilly won the backing of federal health advisers on Monday, setting the stage for the treatment’s expected approval for people with mild dementia caused by the brain-robbing disease. Food and Drug Administration advisers voted unanimously that the drug’s ability to slow the disease outweighs its risks, including side effects like brain swelling and bleeding that will have to be monitored. (Perrone, 6/10)

Newsweek: Viagra May Help Prevent Dementia: 'Findings Are Very Encouraging'
Scientists at the U.K.'s University of Oxford have found a potential dementia treatment from an unlikely source: Viagra. Over 5 million Americans over the age of 65 live with dementia, according to 2014 data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dementia comes in different forms and is characterized by an impaired ability to remember, think and make decisions. (Dewan, 6/10)

Newsweek: Scientists Reveal Promising Way To Stave Off Cognitive Decline
The way we explore our environment might contribute to healthier brain aging, a new study suggests. The findings may offer new methods for staving off cognitive decline, as well as early biomarkers for Alzheimer's diagnosis. Spatial navigation is a skill we use every day, and it tends to decline as we age. Historically, this decline in navigational abilities was attributed to worsening spatial memory. But according to new research, it may also be due to changes in the ways that we explore new environments. (Dewan, 6/11)

Axios: Senate May Have The Votes To Scrap Biden's Nursing Home Staffing Mandate
A resolution aimed at overturning President Biden's controversial nursing home staffing minimums has a chance of passing the Senate. The vote would show the resistance to the first-of-its-kind standard and reveal a rift among Democrats, even though Biden would almost certainly veto the measure. (Knight and Sullivan, 6/11)

Modern Healthcare: Google, Microsoft To Offer Cybersecurity Help To Rural Hospitals
The White House is teaming with Microsoft and Google in a bid to help hospitals strengthen their cybersecurity in the face of escalating hacks. The tech firms have agreed to offer some hospitals free or discounted services, with a focus on rural facilities, the White House said Monday. (McAuliff, 6/10)

Reuters: Supreme Court Will Hear Case Claiming US Underpays Hospitals Serving Needy Patients
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a lawsuit by more than 200 hospitals that serve low-income populations accusing the federal government of shortchanging them on Medicare funding by about $1.5 billion per year. The hospitals, located in 32 states, are asking, opens new tab the court to overturn a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upholding the current method of determining funding used by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). (Pierson, 6/10)

Modern Healthcare: Elevance Medicare Advantage Star Ratings Lawsuit Sees Some Wins
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services must recalculate Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia’s Medicare Advantage star ratings, a federal court ruled Friday. Parent company Elevance Health sued over its scores in December, alleging CMS did not follow proper procedures when it modified how it assesses quality and distributes bonus payments to the highest-performing Medicare Advantage plans. SCAN Health Plan won a similar case before the same court last week. (Tepper, 6/10)

The New York Times: Chemical Makers Sue Over Rule To Rid Water Of ‘Forever Chemicals’
Chemical and manufacturing groups sued the federal government late Monday over a landmark drinking-water standard that would require cleanup of so-called forever chemicals linked to cancer and other health risks. The industry groups said that the government was exceeding its authority under the Safe Drinking Water Act by requiring that municipal water systems all but remove six synthetic chemicals, known by the acronym PFAS, that are present in the tap water of hundreds of millions of Americans. (Tabuchi, 6/10)

Reuters: Amneal, US FTC Win Order Removing Teva Inhaler Patents From FDA List 
Drugmaker Amneal Pharmaceuticals (AMRX.O), opens new tab with the backing of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission convinced a New Jersey federal court on Monday to remove five Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA.TA) patents from a U.S. Food and Drug Administration list of patents covering Teva's breathing drug ProAir HFA. U.S. District Judge Stanley Chesler agreed with Amneal and the FTC that Teva's patents only covered inhaler device technology, ordering it to remove the listings from the FDA's Orange Book and clearing an obstacle for Amneal's proposed generic. (Brittain, 6/10)

Stateline: Proposed Bill Would Make Air Travel Easier For New Parents Packing Breast Milk And Formula
As the summer travel season approaches, new parents may be navigating airports with their babies — and the complexities of keeping them fed. Despite federal guidelines for airport agents laying out how to treat nursing moms, stories about problem encounters with security sometimes go viral. (Brown, 6/10)

AP: FDA Warns On Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning In Pacific Northwest. What To Know
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says consumers should avoid eating shellfish from Oregon and Washington state as they may be contaminated with toxins that cause paralytic shellfish poisoning. At least 31 people have been sickened in Oregon so far, according to state health officials. (Rush, 6/10)

The New York Times: FDA Warns Against ‘Microdosing’ Mushroom Chocolate Bars Linked To Severe Illnesses
At least eight people in four states have fallen ill after eating Diamond Shruumz-brand Microdosing Chocolate Bars, including several who had seizures or lost consciousness and needed to be placed on ventilators. People also developed high blood pressure and abnormal heart rates. The Food and Drug Administration has warned people against consuming the bars, which are sold online and in smoke shops across the country and come in flavors like birthday cake and cookies and cream. (Blum, 6/10)

The Washington Post: Pharmacists Cite Highest Number Of Drug Shortages Since 2001
In the first three months of 2024, there were 323 active drug shortages, the highest number since 2001, according to research by the University of Utah Drug Information Service. The drug shortage data, collected quarterly, is generated from reports from health-care professionals, most of them pharmacists at hospitals and health systems, said Erin Fox, the lead researcher and the Drug Information Service’s director. (McMahan, 6/10)

CIDRAP: ECDC Report Highlights Rising Drug-Resistance In Gonorrhea
New surveillance data released today by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) shows dramatically rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR) amid a substantial increase in gonorrhea infections. Of the 4,396 Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates submitted by 23 European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries to the European Gonococcal Antimicrobial Surveillance Programme in 2022, 25.6% were resistant to azithromycin, compared with 14.2% in 2021. (Dall, 6/10)

The Wall Street Journal: Why Is Sunscreen Ingredient Titanium Dioxide In My Frozen Pizza And Candy?
If you have heard of titanium dioxide at all, you probably know it as an ingredient in sunscreen. But it is also used in lots of foods, from pizza and salsa to frosting and candy—and now, there is growing concern about the potential health risks of eating it. The ingredient helps block the sun’s rays when we slather it on our skin at the beach. Food makers use it to brighten up colors. ... Some research, mainly in animals, has suggested that eating it might be linked to immune system problems, inflammation and DNA damage that could lead to cancer. (Petersen, 6/10)

The Washington Post: Microplastics We Breathe Are Infiltrating Our Organs, Threatening Health
For years, scientists on the hunt for microplastics have found them almost everywhere. First, they spotted tiny pieces of plastic in the ocean, in the bodies of fish and mussels. ... Now researchers are discovering that microplastics are floating around us. They are suspended in the air on city streets and inside homes. One study found that people inhale or ingest on average 74,000 to 121,000 microplastic particles per year through breathing, eating and drinking. (Ducroquet and Osaka, 6/10)

Politico: LA Deaths Increase In An All-EV Future — Study
A large number of electric vehicles could worsen air quality in historically disadvantaged parts of Los Angeles, even though such broad adoption would have the opposite effect in other large U.S. cities, according to a new study. The peer-reviewed study, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, examined how local air quality would change if the country’s most populous cities — New York, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles — adopted large numbers of EVs by 2035. (Ferris, 6/10)

CIDRAP: Household Study Suggests Infants May Spread C Difficile
A small longitudinal household study suggests sharing of Clostridioides difficile strains is a common event in families caring for an infant, US researchers reported today in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. ... Although they were unable to demonstrate the directionality of C difficile transmission with certainty, the study authors say the data from the study support adding asymptomatically excreting infants and their families to the list of potential sources of community-associated CDI. (Dall, 6/10)

Stat: Statins May Not Be Needed By Millions Of People, Study Suggests
It’s a familiar scene for patients during a routine primary care visit. The doctor scans blood test results, notes high cholesterol flagged by a standard calculator to assess risk of heart attack or stroke, then decides — and ideally discusses — whether to recommend taking a statin to cut the risk over time. (Cooney, 6/10)

Stat: Heat Wave Can Put Hearts Into ‘Oxygen Debt,' Lab Experiment Shows
When temperatures soar, so do heart attacks. Now, a lab experiment explains just how temperatures climbing into Fahrenheit’s three-digits can cause ischemia and potential heart attacks, all while international efforts to limit long-term warming seem like they’re running out of time. (Cooney, 6/10)

CIDRAP: AHRQ Survey: 7% Of US Adults Reported Having Long COVID By Early 2023
New findings from a US survey from Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) scientists concludes that 6.9% of US adults—or almost 18 million adults—have ever had long COVID as of early 2023, confirming the results of previous surveys. AHRQ fielded the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) to a sample of 17,418 adults, which extrapolates to 259 million adults. The research was published late last week in JAMA. (Van Beusekom, 6/10)

CIDRAP: Paxlovid Tied To 34% Lower Risk Of Hospitalization In Adolescent COVID Patients
Treatment with the antiviral drug nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (Paxlovid) was linked to a 34% lower risk of all-cause hospitalization among COVID-19 patients aged 12 to 17 years, University of Hong Kong researchers report in Nature Communications. The investigators conducted an observational study that incorporated design characteristics from a hypothetical, randomized controlled trial among 49,378 non-hospitalized pediatric COVID-19 patients infected with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. (Van Beusekom, 6/10)

Reuters: Added Health Benefits Of Wegovy, Zepbound Could Attract More Men, Doctors Say
Evidence that weight-loss drugs like Novo Nordisk's (NOVOb.CO) Wegovy and Eli Lilly's (LLY.N) Zepbound can cut heart disease risk, treat sleep apnea and address other health issues may help convince more men to use them, five doctors who prescribe the medicines regularly told Reuters. Men prefer to shed extra pounds with diet and exercise changes before reaching for drugs, if they address their weight at all, doctors and three healthcare industry analysts said in interviews. (Satija and Roy, 6/10)

Politico: The Cuban Drug That Could Come To America
A U.S. biotech company received Food and Drug Administration approval recently to run a clinical trial in America for Heberprot-P, a drug developed in Cuba nearly two decades ago that helps heal diabetes foot ulcers that could otherwise lead to amputation. About 1 in 3 people with diabetes develop a foot ulcer during their lives, according to an article last year in JAMA. In the U.S., 1.6 million people are affected. About half of diabetic foot ulcers become infected, and 1 in 5 of those lead to amputation. (Paun, Payne, Odejimi, Schumaker and Reader, 6/10)

CNN: Plant-Based Ultraprocessed Foods Linked To Heart Disease, Early Death, Study Says
Want to reduce your risk of developing chronic disease and live longer while also helping the planet? Eat a plant-based diet, experts say. Does that mean you can fill your plate with boxed macaroni and cheese, deep-dish frozen veggie pizza or fast-food French fries and have a doughnut or three for dessert? While all of those ultraprocessed choices may be meat-free, they are not without risk, said Duane Mellor, a registered dietitian and senior teaching fellow at Aston Medical School in Birmingham, United Kingdom. (LaMotte, 6/10)

Stat: Prosthetic Arms Could Feature Tools Instead Of Mechanical Fingers
Nearly half of people with upper-limb prosthetics abandon them. They’re often uncomfortable, dysfunctional or just don’t feel like a part of someone’s body. But in a recent study in iScience, researchers made an unusual choice. They used virtual reality to try out bionic tools like tweezers or wrenches as hand prosthetics. The participants felt as or even more embodied with these tools compared with a “natural” hand. (Broderick, 6/11)

Stat: Medical Device Trials Still Don't Enroll Enough Women, Study Finds
Women have always been underrepresented in medical research. A new study reveals that not much has changed, especially when it comes to tests of cardiovascular devices. (Lawrence, 6/10)

Reuters: Moderna COVID/Flu Combo Vaccine Superior To Separate Shots In Trial
Moderna (MRNA.O) said on Monday its combination vaccine to protect against both COVID-19 and influenza generated a stronger immune response in adults aged 50 and over when compared to separate shots against the viruses in a late-stage trial. In the study, the combination using messenger RNA technology generated greater antibodies than currently marketed traditional flu vaccines and Moderna's Spikevax mRNA COVID shot, the company said. (Wingrove, 6/10)

Reuters: Abbott Secures FDA Clearance For Two Over-The-Counter Glucose Monitors
Abbott Laboratories said on Monday the U.S. health regulator had cleared the company's two new over-the-counter glucose monitoring devices, expanding its presence in a fast-growing, multi-billion-dollar market. The devices, one for the health-conscious and another for those with diabetes, follow the company's FreeStyle Libre, which generates over $1 billion every quarter and is sold under prescription for patients with diabetes. (Jain and Roy, 6/10)

Reuters: Dsm-Firmenich Sees Boost As Weight-Loss Drugs Spur Healthier Choices
The soaring popularity of weight-loss drugs are likely to spur demand for dietary supplements and healthier food formulations, creating growth opportunities for dsm-firmenich, the CEO of the flavours to nutrition company told Reuters. Drugs such as Novo Nordisk's (NOVOb.CO) Wegovy and Ozempic have taken the health industry by storm, offering the prospect of significant weight loss for obese people when combined with lifestyle changes such as healthier eating and exercise. (Rhodes and Allievi, 6/10)

Modern Healthcare: Healthcare Construction Growing Amid Inflation, Labor Shortages
Health systems are planning more construction projects focused on long-term growth and outpatient care, often renovating and repurposing existing facilities to support new services. About 60% of respondents to Modern Healthcare's 2024 Construction and Design Survey said the healthcare construction industry is growing, though inflation, high material costs and labor shortages continue to present challenges. (DeSilva, 6/10)

Modern Healthcare: Addus HomeCare Acquires Gentiva’s Home Care Business For $350M
Addus HomeCare extended its reach into the personal care space Monday, announcing a $350 million deal to acquire Gentiva’s home care business. The acquisition will help the Frisco, Texas-based company expand its footprint in Arizona, Arkansas, California and Tennessee and provide personal care services in three new states: Missouri, Texas and North Carolina. Addus already provides hospice services in Texas. (Eastabrook, 6/10)

Modern Healthcare: Oscar Health Shifts Focus From ACA Coverage To ICHRAs
Oscar Health is committed to the individual insurance market and in it for the long haul, executives said Friday. At the company's annual investor conference, senior leaders shared plans to shift Oscar Health's focus from traditional Affordable Care Act coverage to serving the individual market — including small and mid-sized employers — through individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements or ICHRAs. (Berryman, 6/10)

Axios: What Retail Titans Might Do Next On Health Care
Major retailers are abandoning or scaling back their ambitions to become health care providers — but don't look for them to pull out of the market entirely. Retailers hoping to grab a bigger piece of the $4.5 trillion health care market are likely to lean into their core strengths: consumer products, alongside some health services that don't require major investments, experts said. (Reed, 6/11)

The New York Times: Montana’s Suicide Rate Is Highest In The U.S., With Most Involving Guns
On a typical day, Ali Mullen races from her job at the county health department in Helena, Mont. ... a big pack of gummy bears keeps her going, stashed in her handbag next to a different sort of lifesaver: a gun lock that she carries almost everywhere she goes. In a sparsely populated state where many people own firearms, the small metal contraptions, which fit around a trigger and cost less than $10 on Amazon, are one way Montanans are trying to reduce the high rate of people who kill themselves. (Corkery, 6/10)

Modern Healthcare: Ascension Cyberattack: EHR Restored In Florida, Illinois, Alabama
Ascension is pushing to restore all electronic health records this week, and many of the affected states in its footprint are back online. Ascension has restored access to health records in Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Wisconsin and part of Texas, according to the nonprofit health system's website. That leaves facilities in four states and Washington, D.C., waiting to come back online. (Hudson and Broderick, 6/10)

Reuters: GSK Asks To Appeal Delaware Ruling Allowing Zantac Cases To Go Forward
GSK and other drugmakers on Monday asked a Delaware court for permission to appeal a ruling allowing more than 70,000 lawsuits claiming that heartburn drug Zantac causes cancer to go forward. If Judge Vivian Medinilla of Delaware Superior Court grants the petition, which is also joined by Pfizer, Sanofi, and Boehringer Ingelheim, the appeal will go directly to the Delaware Supreme Court. If she denies it, GSK said, the companies will ask the Supreme Court directly to hear the case. (Pierson, 6/11)

The Wall Street Journal: GSK Says Individual Plaintiff In Latest Zantac Case Dropped Claim
GSK said that a plaintiff in an Illinois lawsuit against the company voluntarily dismissed her case, one of many legal disputes alleging its discontinued drug Zantac caused cancer. The British pharmaceutical giant said late Monday that the trial was scheduled to start yesterday in Illinois, adding that it didn’t reach a settlement nor made any payments in exchange for the voluntary case dismissal. (Smolak, 6/11)

Axios New Orleans: As Conservative Media Pushes Raw Milk, Louisiana Set To Legalize Its Sale 
Louisiana lawmakers approved a bill to remove the state's total ban on raw milk sales, joining the majority of the country where the product is already available, if and when Gov. Jeff Landry signs the legislation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that consuming raw milk comes with big health risks, and that concern is growing as avian flu infects America's dairy cows. (Brasted, 6/10)