First Edition: June 17, 2021

KHN: Device Makers Have Funneled Billions To Orthopedic Surgeons Who Use Their Products
Dr. Kingsley R. Chin was little more than a decade out of Harvard Medical School when sales of his spine surgical implants took off. Chin has patented more than 40 pieces of such hardware, including doughnut-shaped plastic cages, titanium screws and other products used to repair spines — generating $100 million for his company SpineFrontier, according to government officials. (Schulte and Lucas, 6/17)

KHN: It’s About To Get Tougher For Transgender People In Montana To Amend Birth Certificates 
Kyndra Nevin recalls with dread having to ask a Montana judge to sign an order documenting that she’d had gender-confirmation surgery so she could change the gender on her birth certificate to female. Nevin, a Bozeman resident and now 55, said the process she went through about a decade ago was humiliating and she continually worried the judge would deny her request. “I had to out myself just to get that court order, to basically every court staff member that I came in contact with,” she said. “Until it was all said and done, I was never sure if it was going to be OK.” (Halland, 6/17)

KHN: Not All Experts Are Ready To Vaccinate Kids Against Covid 
Lucien Wiggins, 12, arrived at Tufts Children’s Hospital by ambulance June 7 with chest pains, dizziness and high levels of a protein in his blood that indicated inflammation of his heart. The symptoms had begun a day earlier, the morning after his second vaccination with the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA shot. For Dr. Sara Ross, chief of pediatric critical care at the Boston hospital, the event confirmed a doubt she’d been nursing: Was the country pushing its luck by vaccinating children against covid at a time when the disease was relatively mild in the young — and skepticism of vaccines was frighteningly high? (Allen, 6/17)

KHN: Unvaccinated, Homebound And Now Hospitalized With Covid In New York City 
Dr. Leora Horwitz treats fewer and fewer covid patients at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City. Still, she thinks there are too many. And they almost all have something in common. “I’ve only had one patient who was vaccinated, and he was being treated for cancer with chemotherapy,” she said, reflecting recent research on the vaccines’ limited effectiveness for cancer patients. “Everyone else hasn’t been vaccinated.” (Mogul, 6/16)

The New York Times: CureVac’s Covid-19 Vaccine Disappoints In Clinical Trial
The German company CureVac delivered disappointing preliminary results on Wednesday from a clinical trial of its Covid-19 vaccine, dimming hopes that it could help fill the world’s great need. The trial, which included 40,000 volunteers in Latin America and Europe, estimated that CureVac’s mRNA vaccine had an efficacy of just 47 percent, among the lowest reported so far from any Covid-19 vaccine maker. The trial will continue as researchers monitor volunteers for new cases of Covid-19, with a final analysis expected in two to three weeks. (Zimmer, 6/16)

USA Today: CureVac Releases Disappointing Vaccine Trial Results, Citing Variants
A vaccine developed by German company CureVac is just 47% efficacious against COVID-19, according to clinical trial data released Wednesday. In a study of about 40,000 people in Latin America and Europe, there were 134 cases, according to the release. Of 124 cases sequenced, just one was attributable to the original COVID-19 strain, and more than half were caused by "variants of concern," according to CureVac. (Bacon, Aspegren and Hauck, 6/16)

AP: Interim Trial Data Shows Low Effectiveness For CureVac Shot
German vaccine maker CureVac said Wednesday that interim data from late-stage testing of its coronavirus shot show a comparatively low effectiveness in protecting people against COVID-19. The results appear to be a significant setback for CureVac’s efforts to develop a coronavirus vaccine, and the company’s stock value tumbled in after-hours trading. (Jordans, 6/16)

Axios: U.S. Buys 200 Million Additional Doses Of Moderna’s COVID Vaccine 
The Biden administration has purchased an additional 200 million doses of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine, the biotech company announced Wednesday. Moderna and the Biden administration say the additional doses could be used to vaccinate children or — if necessary — as a booster shot. (Knutson, 6/16)

Stat: AMA Delegates Vote To Support Controversial Covid-19 IP Waiver
The American Medical Association delegates voted at their annual meeting to support a controversial proposal to temporarily waive intellectual property protections for Covid-19 vaccines, the latest bid to widen distribution to low and middle-income countries. The show of support comes amid growing anxiety that a large swath of the world’s population will remain vulnerable to the coronavirus and its variants. At the outset of the pandemic, wealthy nations raced to sign deals with vaccine makers and now account for nearly half of the 12.2 billion doses locked up in purchase agreements, according to the Duke Global Health Innovation Center. (Silverman, 6/16)

Politico: Trump Rails Against Covid Vaccines For ‘Very Young People’ 
Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday railed against Covid-19 vaccines for school-aged children, falsely making his point by saying that young people — though he didn’t specify which ages — were “not affected or affected badly” by the coronavirus. Trump’s claims in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Wednesday night come as older Americans have been vaccinated against Covid at high rates in the U.S. Last month, the Food and Drug Administration said Pfizer’s Covid shot could be given to children 12-15 years old — making it the first vaccine available for Americans under 16. Vaccine manufacturers and regulators are now turning their attention to making sure shots are safe and effective for younger children. (Ward, 6/16)

NBC News: Wuhan Lab Leak Theory: Behind The Science And Origin Of Covid
Alina Chan isn't saying the coronavirus definitely leaked from a lab in China. What she is saying is what more scientists have grown comfortable discussing publicly: There's no clear evidence either way. "I know a lot of people want to have a smoking gun," said Chan, a postdoctoral associate at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University who specializes in genetic engineering and has been vocal about the need to investigate the possibility of a lab leak. "It's more like breadcrumbs everywhere, and they're not always leading in one direction. It's like the whole floor is covered in breadcrumbs." (Chow, 6/16)

Reuters: China Disease Expert Says COVID-19 Origins Probe Should Shift To U.S.
A senior Chinese epidemiologist said the United States should be the priority in the next phase of investigations into the origin of COVID-19 after a study showed the disease could have been circulating there as early as December 2019, state media said on Thursday. The study, published this week by the U.S. National Institutes for Health (NIH), showed that at least seven people in five U.S. states were infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, weeks before the United States reported its first official cases. (6/17)

Politico: Hamburgers, Fauci And Election Fraud: How Biden World Combats Disinformation 
As Joe Biden walked out of a recent briefing, a reporter called out one last, unrelated question.“Mr. President, do you still have confidence in Dr. Fauci?” Biden popped his head back into the room, “Yes, I'm very confident in Dr. Fauci,” Biden said. No one would have expected the president to answer the question any differently. Anthony Fauci is his chief adviser on the Covid-19 pandemic, a celebrated infectious disease expert, and, for much of his lengthy career, one of the most trusted voices in all of government. For the White House, however, the fact that the question was even asked set off alarm bells. (Korecki, 6/16)

Stat: Lawmakers Revive Bills To Accelerate The Development Of New Antibiotics
After months of anticipation, a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is reintroducing bills in the Senate and the House that supporters hope will jump-start the development of novel antibiotics to combat drug-resistant bacteria. The legislation, called the PASTEUR Act, would provide upfront payments anywhere from $750 million to $3 billion to a drug developer in exchange for unlimited access to its antibiotic. The “subscription model” would enable drug companies to recover their investments in research and development and make an appropriate profit without having to sell large amounts of antibiotics to survive financially. (Silverman, 6/16)

Modern Healthcare: Federal Judge Keeps 340B Suit Against HHS Alive
A federal judge on Wednesday refused HHS' request to dismiss AstraZeneca's challenge to a December advisory opinion from Health and Human Resources Administration blocking drugmakers from charging a covered entity more than the ceiling price for 340B drugs. U.S. District Judge Leonard Stark in Delaware didn't rule on the wisdom of the policy but said that the government's position on drugmakers' obligations under the 340B program had shifted over time. Congress didn't clearly address the issue of contract pharmacies when it created the drug discount program more than two decades ago, he said. (Brady, 6/16)

The Washington Post: Title IX Protects Transgender Students, Says Education Department 
The U.S. Education Department said Wednesday that the federal law that bans sex-based discrimination in education extends to gay and transgender students, the latest move in a broad effort by the Biden administration to roll back Trump-era restrictions on transgender students’ rights. The department said Wednesday that its new position comes out of its interpretation of a landmark Supreme Court decision a year ago in Bostock v. Clayton County, which extended protections in the Civil Rights Act against discrimination in the workplace to gay and transgender Americans. (Strauss, 6/16)

USA Today: Low Vaccine Rates In Face Of Delta, Gamma COVID Variants Worry Experts
The nation will have to remain vigilant against variants this summer and fall. First, there is the alpha variant, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated made up 66% of U.S. cases in April. The variant, first documented in the UK, is considered more transmissible and perhaps deadlier than the original strain. Then, there's the delta variant, which tore through India last month and delayed the United Kingdom's reopening plan. Now it accounts for about 6-10% of coronavirus infections in the U.S., according to the CDC. But the variant that keeps Washington state epidemiologist Dr. Scott Lindquist "up at night?" The gamma variant, which now accounts for 16% of cases in the state and is the fastest-rising, according to the Seattle Times. (Aspegren, 6/17)

AP: Vaccine Effort Turns Into Slog As Infectious Variant Spreads
As cases tumble and states reopen, the potential final stage in the U.S. campaign to vanquish COVID-19 is turning into a slog, with a worrisome variant gaining a bigger foothold and lotteries and other prizes failing to persuade some Americans to get vaccinated. “The last half, the last mile, the last quarter-mile always requires more effort,” Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said Wednesday. (Smith, 6/16)

CNN: These Communities Remain At High Risk For Dangerous Covid-19 Variants Rapidly Increasing In US, Expert Warns 
The country continued this week on a path to reopening from the Covid-19 pandemic, with major population centers such as New York and California pulling back on restrictions following increased vaccinations and lowered infections. Yet with overall vaccination rates in the US slowing this month when compared to highs in April, health officials are raising awareness about the uneven distribution of vaccines in different parts of the country. (Caldwell, 6/17)

CNN: Delta Variant: How Worried Should You Be? 
The Covid news is contradictory. The country is more open every day and getting back to normal. People who want a vaccine should already have it. Sports stadiums are packed. Airlines are full. Restaurants are booked. But as the US passes 600,000 confirmed Covid deaths, there are also warnings about the rise of a new Covid strain, the Delta variant, taking over in the US. It's hard to understand how worried to be. (Wolf, 6/16)

Reuters: Delta Variant Fueled 50% Rise In English COVID Prevalence -Study
The rapid spread of the Delta coronavirus variant has driven a 50% rise in infections in England since May, a large prevalence study led by Imperial College London found on Thursday after Prime Minister Boris Johnson delayed the end of restrictions. The government said the data supported Johnson’s decision to push back the end of COVID restrictions in England to July 19, citing the threat of the Delta variant first identified in India, and the need to vaccinate more people. (6/16)

The Washington Post: As Coronavirus Recedes, Colds And Common Viruses Are Back — Especially Among Children 
The comeback of ordinary viruses is widely regarded as a dark underside of a season in which the coronavirus has been receding in much of the nation as vaccinations provide protection. As a result, people are shedding masks and abandoning social distancing — and resuming spreading viral droplets. (Goldstein and Nirappil, 6/16)

The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore City To Lift Mask Mandate July 1 Following End Of Maryland’s COVID-19 State Of Emergency 
Starting July 1, Baltimore will lift its citywide mask mandate and state of emergency, a decision that came just one day after Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced the same measures for the state. Mayor Brandon Scott and health commissioner Dr. Letitia Dzirasa, speaking at a news conference Wednesday outside the Baltimore City Health Department, said the move validates the “incredible progress” the city has made in mitigating the infections, deaths and hospitalizations caused by the virus. (Miller, 6/16)

San Francisco Chronicle: Uber Requires Masks On Rides, Even For Those Who Are Vaccinated
The ride-sharing company detailed its “no mask, no ride” policy to app users on Wednesday, saying it will continue to require all customers to wear masks in its vehicles. “To help keep each other safe, all riders and drivers are required to wear a mask when using Uber,” it said in an email, adding “if you have received the COVID-19 vaccine, you are still required to wear a mask when using Uber.” The app will require customers to complete a safety checklist before using its service. (Vaziri, Beamish and Fracassa, 6/16)

AP: California To Loosen Worksite Pandemic Rules Amid Reopening
California regulators on Thursday are set to approve revised worksite pandemic rules that allow fully vaccinated employees the same freedoms as when they are off the job. The revised regulations would conform with general state guidelines that took effect Tuesday by ending most mask rules for people who are vaccinated against the coronavirus. (Thompson, 6/17)

CBS News: Nearly 900 New Yorkers Who Got COVID-19 Vaccine In Times Square Received Expired Doses 
Almost 900 people were injected with expired Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine doses at a vaccination site in New York's Times Square last week, CBS New York reports. The New York State Health Department is recommending that they schedule another Pfizer shot. Eight-hundred-ninety-nine people got the injections at the former NFL Experience building between June 5 and 10. (Howard, 6/16)

ABC News: Texas Man Who Declined COVID-19 Vaccine Speaks Out After Undergoing Double Lung Transplant
Joshua Garza had a chance to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in January but he passed it up, thinking he didn't really need it. Now, the 43-year-old Texan is hoping to inspire others to get the shot after he became so ill following his COVID-19 diagnosis that he needed a rare double lung transplant to survive. (Deliso, 6/16)

CNN: Families Mourn The Loss Of Loved Ones Who Hesitated On The Covid-19 Vaccine 
Mike Lewis Jr. was on a call with the doctor last month when he heard the sudden and frantic beeping of machines.His father, also named Mike Lewis, was being treated for Covid-19 at a hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. The doctor called to say Lewis' heart had stopped earlier in the day, but they revived him and put him on a ventilator. During that call, however, his heart stopped again. Lewis Jr. described hearing a chaotic scene in the background before the doctor quickly hung up. (Killough and Lavandera, 4/16)

Modern Healthcare: AMA Policy Will Support Long-Haul COVID Research
The policy, adopted during a special meeting of the AMA's House of Delegates, calls for federal funding to research prevention, control, and treatment of long haul COVID—also known as post-acute sequelae infection, or PASC. Various studies have shown that between 10% and 30% of patients suffer from long-term symptoms. A JAMA Network study published in February found that 30% of patients who were followed for up to nine months post infection reported persistent symptoms, including fatigue, loss of sense of smell or taste, and brain fog. And a study by FAIR Health showed 19% of individuals who recovered from an asymptomatic COVID-19 inflection developed symptoms of PASC. (Gellman, 6/16)

Reuters: Pfizer's Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug Shows Benefit In COVID-19 Pneumonia 
Pfizer Inc. said on Wednesday its oral rheumatoid arthritis drug Xeljanz reduced death or respiratory failure in hospitalized COVID-19 patients with pneumonia in Brazil, meeting the study's main goal. Results of the study, which tested the drug in 289 hospitalized adult patients with the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus, were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. (6/16)

Detroit Free Press: Spectrum Health Now Allows 2 Visitors A Day For COVID-Positive Patients
In a reversal of long-standing pandemic restrictions, Grand Rapids-based Spectrum Health announced Wednesday that COVID-19 patients getting treatment at its 14 hospitals now will be able to have two visitors per day — even if those patients are infectious. "We've really been looking forward to the day when we can make sure that we can get loved ones (in to visit) some of these very long-term, very sick patients," said Chad Tuttle, senior vice president of hospital operations for the health system. (Jordan Shamus, 6/17)

Fox News: Biogen's Debated Alzheimer's Drug Given To First Patient
A Rhode Island man became the first patient worldwide to receive Biogen’s hotly debated Alzheimer’s drug outside of a clinical trial on Wednesday, a hospital spokesperson confirmed to Fox News. Marc Archambault, 70 of Wakefield, received the infusion shortly before noon at Butler Hospital in Providence, according to spokesperson Raina Smith of Care New England. The patient met the criteria for people diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer’s disease, Smith said. (Rivas, 6/16)

Modern Healthcare: U.S. Drug Spending Projected To Spike With New Alzheimer's Drug
U.S. prescription drug spending will jump at least 8% by the mid-2020s as a controversial new Alzheimer's disease drug hits the market, a new analysis finds. The intravenous drug aducanumab, marketed under the name Aduhelm, will comprise more than 1% of all national health spending by the mid-2020s, according to the report released Wednesday by the not-for-profit research group Altarum. It will grow non-retail drug spending—those administered in hospitals or clinics—by at least 25%. (Bannow, 6/16)

Bloomberg: Mobile Health Apps Plagued By Privacy Issues, Study Finds
Health and fitness apps, which help mobile-phone users track everything from calorie intake to menstruation dates, can access and share personal data in a way that’s concerning, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal. The analysis of more than 20,000 apps found that inadequate privacy disclosures for many of them prevented users from making informed choices about their data. One third could collect user email addresses and many more transmitted data to third parties such as advertisers. (Gemmell, 6/16)

CIDRAP: VA Must Modernize Supply Chain Amid COVID-19, GAO Says
In the Government Accountability Office's (GAO's) latest report yesterday, the agency recommends that the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) develop a supply chain management strategy, including an explanation of how all its supply chain initiatives relate to each other. Currently, the VA's main supply chain initiatives are around implementing the Department of Defense's (DOD's) Defense Medical Logistics Standard Support (DMLSS) inventory system, creating four regional readiness centers for critical medical supplies, and participating in the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Warstopper Program, which would increase its access to critical medical supplies during emergencies. However, as GAO notes throughout the report, these efforts are either in their early stages or have already been delayed. (McLernon, 6/16)

Modern Healthcare: Steward Health Care To Pay $1.1 Billion For Five Tenet Hospitals
Steward Health Care will pay Tenet Healthcare Corp. $1.1 billion for five of its Florida hospitals, the Dallas-based for-profit health systems announced late Wednesday. Steward will acquire Coral Gables Hospital, Florida Medical Center, Hialeah Hospital, North Shore Medical Center and Palmetto General Hospital. As part of the agreement, Steward will still use Tenet's Conifer Health Solutions subsidiary for the hospitals' revenue cycle management and Tenet's United Surgical Partners International will continue to operate the associated ambulatory facilities. (Kacik, 6/16)

Axios: Anthem Joins Insurer-Backed Generic Drugs Effort 
A new initiative aiming to create cheaper generic drugs for retail pharmacies signed on Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield — one the largest insurers in the U.S. — as well as drug manufacturer Catalent as partners, officials announced this morning. The newly-named CivicaScript, a subsidiary of the hospital-owned non-profit drug maker Civica Rx, is the latest effort by the health care industry to get control of generic drug prices. (Reed, 6/16)

AP: UT Health Center: $1.5M Sexual Assault Nurse Training Grant
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s College of Nursing has secured a $1.5 million federal grant to expand training and certification for nurses caring for sexual assault victims. On Wednesday, the center in Memphis announced that the three-year grant from the Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration will expand the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program in West Tennessee. (6/17)

Stat: Planned Changes At Open Society Has Medicine Advocacy Groups On Edge
The Open Society Foundations, one of the world’s largest backers of public health initiatives, is undergoing a “significant” reorganization that will affect grant decision-making, a shift that has created anxiety among advocacy groups that work on access to medicines. The changes at the OSF, which was founded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros, are still being finalized, although grants will be handled by different OSF offices, according to a foundation spokesperson. She insisted “it is too early to tell” how advocacy groups will be affected, but maintained the contemplated changes may result in “significantly bigger” discretionary funds for public health programming. (Silverman, 6/17)

Modern Healthcare: Sequencing Study Uncovers MERS-Related COVID In Swiss Bats
Researchers have identified dozens of DNA and RNA viruses in stationary and migratory bat species in Switzerland, including a coronavirus related to the MERS-CoV behind Middle East respiratory syndrome. For a paper published in PLOS One on Wednesday, a team from the University of Zurich and the Bat Foundation Switzerland did DNA sequencing and RNA sequencing on fecal, stool, or organ tissue samples from some 7,000 bats spanning 18 species found at sites in Switzerland over several years. By comparing sequences in these samples to those from available databases, they tracked down representatives from more than three dozen viral families — a set that contained viruses in 16 viral families linked to infections in other vertebrate species. (6/16)

NBC News: Dentists See Rise In Cosmetic Dentistry Requests As Pandemic Restrictions Ease
Cosmetic dentist Kourosh Maddahi noticed a trend among his patients in Beverly Hills, California, beginning around March: Demand for treatments, everything from teeth whitening to full smile-makeovers, was higher than pre-pandemic levels. Even international virtual consultations restarted as people again consider traveling to the United States for cosmetic dentistry work. Why now? Maddahi said the main reason his patients have been giving is: “I’m not scared anymore.” (Silva, 6/16)

CBS News: Hackers Can Spy On Peloton Bike And Treadmill Users 
Peloton says it has fixed a security flaw in the fitness equipment maker's stationary bike and treadmill products that potentially allowed hackers to spy on users and even control their exercise machines. Security software company McAfee identified the vulnerability, warning that someone with physical access to Peloton's Bike+ and Tread+ products could gain control of the devices through a USB port on the interactive tablet mounted on the machines that are used to stream live workouts. (Cerullo, 6/16)

NPR: Royal Caribbean's Launch Of Its New Megaship Just Got Sidelined By COVID Cases
Royal Caribbean's new megaship, Odyssey of the Seas, was supposed to hail the company's return to business as near-usual this summer. But the ship's launch is now delayed after eight crew members tested positive for the coronavirus. Its first scheduled trips are now canceled. The Odyssey of the Seas had been slated to make its debut sail with paying passengers on July 3 — more than a year after the pandemic hobbled the cruise ship industry. Its first voyage is now delayed for four weeks, until July 31. By then, summer will be nearly halfway over. "While disappointing, this is the right decision for the health and well-being of our crew and guests," Royal Caribbean CEO Michael Bayley said as he announced the delay. (Chappell, 6/16)

San Francisco Chronicle: NFL, Players Union Strike Deal On COVID Protocols, Lift Restrictions For Fully Vaccinated
The NFL and its Players Association agreed to updated COVID-19 protocols Wednesday for training camp and the coming preseason, and the guidelines clearly incentivize players to get vaccinated. Among the requirements for players who are not fully vaccinated: daily coronavirus testing, masks at team facilities and during travel, physical distancing, quarantine after high-risk exposure to COVID, a 15-player limit in the weight room and not leaving the team hotel to eat in restaurants. (Kroichick, 6/16)

ABC News: Court Voids Ruling That Sperm Donor Must Pay Child Support
When it comes to deciding whether a sperm donor should pay child support, a judge should follow the paternity laws of the state where the child is conceived, a North Carolina appeals court ruled this week. The case involved Anthony Garrelts, a North Carolina man who agreed by a “verbal contract” to provide artificial insemination for Ericka Glenn, who wanted to raise a child with her partner. Glenn and Garrelts met in Virginia, and the insemination and pregnancy occurred there before the child was born in late 2011. Glenn — the only parent mentioned on the birth certificate — moved with the child in 2014 to California, where she received public benefits. (Robertson, 6/16)

CBS News: With Moratorium Ending, More Than 8 Million Households Face Foreclosure Or Eviction 
Even as the nation rebounds from the coronavirus pandemic, more than 2 million homeowners are behind on their mortgages and risk being forced out of their homes in a matter of weeks, a new Harvard University housing report warns. Most of the homeowners at risk of foreclosure are either low-income or families of color, said researchers who published the 2021 State of the Nation's Housing report. Congress has dedicated $10 billion to help homeowners get caught up on payments, but it's unclear if that funding will make it to families before mortgage companies begin sending out foreclosure notices, researchers say. (Brooks, 6/16)

The Washington Post: North Carolina's 20-Week Abortion Ban Is Unconstitutional 
North Carolina’s decades-old ban on abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy is unconstitutional and poses a credible threat of prosecution to abortion providers, a federal appeals court unanimously affirmed Wednesday. The ruling comes one month after the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will review a case challenging Mississippi’s restrictive ban and consider whether “all pre-viability prohibitions on elective abortions” are unconstitutional. (Marimow, 6/16)

Fox News: Connecticut Confirms 2 Powassan Virus Infections: What To Know About Tick-Borne Illness
Health officials in Connecticut announced the state’s first two cases of Powassan virus detected in 2021. The cases, which stem from an infected tick bite, involved patients between 50-79 years of age who fell ill during the third week of April and required hospitalization. The patients, one from Fairfield County and one from New Haven County, were treated for central nervous system disease and have since been discharged and are recovering. The state reported just two cases last year, and 10 cases total spanning 2016-2020, two of which were fatal. (Hein, 6/16)

Modern Healthcare: Colorado Healthcare, Prescription Drug Bills Are Now Laws
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday signed into law legislation requiring insurers to offer a standard state-supervised health plan to people and small business. The law also provides for sanctions for hospitals and other healthcare providers that don't participate in lowering costs. What was once envisioned as a so-called "public option" to be offered by the state became a plan passed during the just-concluded legislative session that requires premium reductions by 2025 of 15% from plans now offered. (6/16)

The New York Times: 8,000 Homeless People To Be Moved From Hotels To Shelters, New York Says 
New York City plans to move about 8,000 homeless people out of hotel rooms and back to barrackslike dorm shelters by the end of July so that the hotels can reopen to the general public, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Wednesday. When the pandemic lockdown began last spring, New York City moved the people out of the shelters, where in some cases as many as 60 adults stayed in a single room, to safeguard them from the coronavirus. Now, with social distancing restrictions lifted and an economic recovery on the line, the city is raring to fill those hotel rooms with tourists. (Newman, 6/16)

The Hill: Montana Governor Donates First-Quarter Salary To Drug Treatment Center
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) will be donating the first quarter of his salary to a drug treatment facility in the state. One Health Bighorn, a medical facility that also does drug treatment, is set to receive money from the governor, upholding a promise he made to donate his salary to multiple groups throughout his tenure, The Associated Press reported. (Lonas, 6/16)

AP: Dead 'Murder Hornet' Found Near Seattle Is First In U.S. This Year
Scientists have found a dead Asian giant hornet north of Seattle, the first so-called murder hornet discovered in the country this year, federal and state investigators said Wednesday. Entomologists from the state and U.S. Agriculture departments said it's the first confirmed report from Snohomish County, north of Seattle, and appears to be unrelated to the 2019 and 2020 findings of the hornets in Canada and Whatcom County, along the Canadian border, that gained widespread attention. (6/17)

The Boston Globe: The State’s Second-Biggest Health Insurer Has A Buzzy New Name
The company formed by the merger of two big Massachusetts health insurers has a buzzy new name: Point32Health. Tufts Health Plan and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care merged in January but did not name the new company they created, until Wednesday. The new moniker refers to the 32 points on a compass and was chosen to highlight the company’s stated goal of helping people navigate health care. “We wanted something unique and distinct that would stand out in the marketplace,” said Richard O’Connor, chief marketing officer of Point32Health. “We wanted to do something different.” (Dayal McCluskey, 6/16)

Los Angeles Times: Court Orders California To Treat Mentally Ill Defendants
A state appeals court has ordered California to move disabled inmates found mentally incompetent to stand trial out of jails and into treatment. A three-judge panel of the 2nd District Court of Appeal in San Francisco set a deadline of 28 days for the state to move mentally ill and intellectually disabled defendants into hospitals or treatment programs after a court has found them too impaired to stand trial. Those defendants now often spend months in jail, where lawyers say they have died of suicide or suffered abuse while awaiting medical attention. (Dolan, 6/16)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. Moves To Ban Selling Flavored Tobacco, But Exempts Some Hookah Sales
Tobacco products that come in sweet, fruity and minty flavors could soon be banned from store shelves in Los Angeles, under a proposal backed Wednesday by the City Council. Council members voted to ask city attorneys to start drafting the ban on selling flavored tobacco products, which has been sought by a coalition of youth and public health advocates. Backers of the ban argue that such products — including liquid pods for electronic cigarettes, menthols and flavored cigars — have been a gateway to hooking teens on nicotine. (Alpert Reyes, 6/16)

Los Angeles Times: City Of L.A. Asks Court To Toss Out Lawsuit Seeking Skid Row Clearance
The city of Los Angeles filed a motion on Wednesday seeking dismissal of what it called a “misguided” lawsuit that attempts to compel local government to provide shelter to thousands of homeless people living on downtown sidewalks and next to freeways. Lawyers for the city argue that while homelessness is “among the greatest challenges facing our region,” efforts to address it through the lawsuit filed in federal court last year against the city and county are misplaced. (6/16)

AP: EU Members Agree To Lift Travel Restrictions On US Tourists
The European Union is recommending that its 27 member countries start lifting restrictions on tourists from the United States.EU members agreed Wednesday to add the U.S. to the list of countries for which they should gradually remove restrictions on non-essential travel. The move was adopted during a meeting in Brussels of permanent representatives to the bloc. The recommendation is non-binding, and national governments have authority to require test results or vaccination records and to set other entry conditions. (6/16)

Bloomberg: Coronavirus Is Spreading Rapidly In England, Study Finds
The prevalence of Covid-19 in England is increasing exponentially, driven by younger age groups that haven’t been vaccinated, according to the latest round of results from the React-1 study. The research, led by Imperial College London, shows the national prevalence of the virus has increased by 50% in its latest round of analysis recorded between May 20 and June 7, compared with its last round from April 15 to May 3. A doubling time of around every 11 days was now estimated, with the R number at 1.44, the report said. It also found a re-convergence between prevalence and the pattern of hospitalizations and deaths since late April for those under 65. (Gemmell, 6/17)

CIDRAP: Global COVID Cases Continue Decline, Though Many Countries Still Struggle 
Weekly COVID-19 cases dropped to their lowest level since February, though many countries are still struggling with sparse vaccine supply, the spread of variants, and overburdened health systems, the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday in its weekly snapshot of the pandemic. In other developments, the WHO said it is tracking one more variant of concern, first seen in Peru and called Lambda, which has genetic markers suggesting that it is more transmissible. (Schnirring, 6/16)

The Washington Post: Tokyo Set To Lift State Of Emergency Ahead Of Olympics 
The Japanese government is slated to end a state of emergency covering Tokyo and several other large metropolitan areas as planned this Sunday, as coronavirus cases fall and vaccinations increase. The relaxation of restrictions — which could allow hospitality establishments to serve alcohol within certain hours — is likely to be followed by a “quasi-emergency” that keeps some distancing measures in place, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said Thursday. Japanese media had previously reported that the government was mulling keeping Tokyo in a reduced state of alert throughout the 2020 Games, which start on July 23. (Ang and Berger, 6/17)