First Edition: March 14, 2022

KHN: Despite Seniors’ Strong Desire To Age In Place, The Village Model Remains A Boutique Option 
Twenty years ago, a group of pioneering older adults in Boston created an innovative organization for people committed to aging in place: Beacon Hill Village, an all-in-one social club, volunteer collective, activity center, peer-to-peer support group, and network for various services. Its message of “we want to age our way in our homes and our community” was groundbreaking at the time and commanded widespread attention. Villages would mobilize neighbors to serve neighbors, anchor older adults in their communities, and become an essential part of the infrastructure for aging in place in America, experts predicted. (Graham, 3/14)

KHN: Listen: An Unsettling Investigation Into The Closure Of A Chain Of Pain Clinics
Last spring, Lags Medical Centers, a sprawling chain of pain clinics serving more than 20,000 patients in California, abruptly shuttered amid a cloaked state investigation into “credible allegations of fraud.” Tens of thousands of patients were left scrambling for care, most of them low-income Californians covered by state and federal insurance programs. Many have struggled for access to their medical records and to find doctors who would renew long-standing opioid prescriptions. In the months since, the state has declined to elaborate on the concerns that prompted its investigation, which is ongoing. (3/14)

KHN: Listen: What We’ve Learned After Two Years Of The Pandemic 
CNN’s Brian Stelter marks the two-year anniversary of the pandemic on his “Reliable Sources” podcast in conversation with KHN Editor-in-Chief Dr. Elisabeth Rosenthal and James Hamblin, a former staff writer at The Atlantic. The journalists discuss how society grappled with the trauma of the covid-19 pandemic and the governmental missteps that compounded that trauma. “Everyone has experienced the suffering of the pandemic in his or her or their own way,” said Rosenthal, “and so much of it feels unnecessary had we had a strong national response.” In particular, Rosenthal cited the failure to track health care workers lost on the front line and toxic politics that undermined public health agencies throughout the country. (3/11)

The Hill: Barack Obama Tests Positive For COVID-19 
Former President Obama shared on Sunday that he had tested positive for COVID-19 after experiencing some symptoms for "a couple days." "I just tested positive for COVID. I’ve had a scratchy throat for a couple days, but am feeling fine otherwise. Michelle and I are grateful to be vaccinated and boosted, and she has tested negative," Obama tweeted. "It’s a reminder to get vaccinated if you haven’t already, even as cases go down." (Choi, 3/13)

CNN: Barack Obama Tests Positive For Covid 
Obama, 60, had recently returned to Washington, DC, after spending much of the winter in Hawaii. He tested positive in DC, a person close to him said. The diagnosis makes Obama the second US President known to contract the virus after then-President Donald Trump announced he tested positive in October 2020, which was before vaccines were widely available in the US. (Saenz, 3/13)

CNN: A 4th Dose Of Covid-19 Vaccine Will Be Needed, Pfizer's CEO Says, But The Company Is Working On A Shot To Handle All Variants
To help fend off another wave of Covid-19, people will need a fourth dose of vaccine, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told CBS on Sunday. "Many variants are coming, and Omicron was the first one that was able to evade -- in a skillful way -- the immune protection that we're giving," Bourla told CBS' "Face the Nation." "The protection we are getting from the third (dose) it is good enough -- actually quite good for hospitalizations and deaths," Bourla said. But protection after three doses is "not that good against infections" and "doesn't last very long" when faced with a variant like Omicron. (Christensen and Yan, 3/13)

Axios: Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla: Fourth Shot Of COVID Vaccine "Is Necessary"
A fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine will be necessary in order to maintain manageable levels of hospitalizations and mild infections, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday. While fourth doses are already authorized for some immunocompromised people, NIAID director Anthony Fauci said last month that the possibility of another round of boosters was being "very carefully monitored." (Saric, 3/13)

AP: In America, A Few Days In March 2020 Echo Two Years Later
The conversations went like this: It will be just a few days. It can be kept at bay. There will be some inconvenience, sure, but the world will merely be paused — just a short break, out of an abundance of caution, and certainly not any kind of major grinding to a halt. Certainly not for two years. Certainly not for hundreds of thousands of Americans who were among us at that moment in mid-March 2020 — who lived through the beginning, watched it, worried about it (or didn’t), and who, plain and simple, aren’t here anymore. (Anthony, 3/13)

Vanity Fair: After Two Years Of Pandemic Life, A Sense Of Optimism, And Caution
It began, for most Americans, as reports of a “mysterious, pneumonialike illness” in China, buried deep in the news, under Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial and the Democratic primary campaign trail. The reality of the situation would set in suddenly and seismically, on one day —   March 11, 2020 — when, in rapid succession, the World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic; Trump announced a 30-day travel restriction from Europe in a primetime address; the NBA abruptly suspended its season; and Tom Hanks announced he and Rita Wilson had tested positive for the virus. Gradually, and then all at once, life changed: “It’s going to get worse,” Dr. Anthony Fauci told a House committee that day, exactly two years ago today. (Lutz, 3/11)

The New York Times: The Covid-19 Pandemic Has Lasted 2 Years. The Next Steps Are Divisive. 
It was two years ago that the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic, and after nearly one million deaths across the United States, the virus is far from gone. Rates of new infections, while improving, are still higher now than the beginning of last summer. But after signs of progress and exhaustion, even cities and states with the strictest coronavirus precautions have been rolling them back. For millions of Americans who kept their masks on and socially distanced long after much of the country abandoned safety measures, it is a moment that has stirred relief, but also disappointment, frustration and queasy ambivalence. (Healy and Wong, 3/12)

CNN: Here's What Could Lie Ahead For The Third Year Of The Pandemic 
Things seem to be looking up as the US crosses into year three of the Covid-19 pandemic. Vaccines still do a good job of keeping people alive and out of the hospital. There's increasing access to tests and treatments. The numbers of cases, hospitalizations and deaths are heading in the right direction. If living in a Covid world has taught us anything, however, it's that the coronavirus can surprise even the smartest public health experts, and the world certainly isn't out of the woods yet. A new variant could easily develop and slip past the protection of current treatments and vaccines, setting us back to what life was like in 2020. That makes it hard to predict what happens next week, let alone in a few months. However, based on what they're seeing now, here's what the experts think could happen in the next year of the pandemic. (Christensen, 3/13)

Anchorage Daily News: Two Years After COVID-19 Reached Alaska, Many Are Ready To Move On. But The Pandemic Persists.
Two years ago, Alaska identified its first COVID-19 case. Now, as the pandemic enters its third year, many Alaskans are eager to shake off the long pall of anxiety, illness and shutdowns and get back to whatever passes for normal. Most government mandates are gone. Vaccines are widely available for those who want them. Case counts and COVID-linked hospitalizations are down. (Berman and Hollander, 3/13)

NBC News: Covid Almost Killed Her. As Others’ Lives Return To Normal, She Wonders: Will Hers?
Tionna Hairston was on her third attempt to twist a cap off a bottle of water. It was a Friday morning in late February and the 26-year-old, still in her nightgown, needed to take her medication. The pills have become a part of her daily life since she had a heart attack and multiple strokes — complications of Covid-19. Hairston’s strokes ravaged her fine motor skills, making anything that demands a tight grip a source of frustration. (Chuck, 3/13)

AP: For Kids With COVID-19, Everyday Life Can Be A Struggle 
Eight-year-old Brooklynn Chiles fidgets on the hospital bed as she waits for the nurse at Children’s National Hospital. The white paper beneath her crinkles as she shifts to look at the medical objects in the room. She’s had coronavirus three times, and no one can figure out why. Brooklynn’s lucky, sort of. Each time she has tested positive, she has suffered no obvious symptoms. But her dad, Rodney, caught the virus — possibly from her — when she was positive back in September, and he died from it. (Long and Kaster, 3/14)

CIDRAP: Kids With Asthma Not At Higher Risk Of COVID-19, Study Finds
Children and adolescents diagnosed as having asthma are at similar risk for COVID-19 infection as those without asthma, according to a study today in Pediatrics that controlled for factors tied to SARS-CoV-2 testing. (Van Beusekom, 3/11)

CIDRAP: COVID Vaccine Uptake Low In Young US Kids In First Months Of Availability
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said COVID-19 vaccine uptake among children 5 to 11 years old in the United States remained low during the first 11 weeks of vaccine eligibility, especially in high social vulnerability index (SVI) areas. The research was published today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). (3/11)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Pandemic Isolation Left Young Children Behind On Social Skills. How One Cincinnati Provider Is Catching Them Up
The woman fell into tears as she told a children's behavioral health expert that her 4-year-old son was no longer permitted to attend a preschool because he did not behave well. How could she keep working and care for her child? "We have families who literally have had to quit their job," said April Kandil, director of campus-based programs at Best Point Education and Behavioral Health. "They're told, 'Your child can't be in school right now because of their behaviors.'" (DeMio, 3/13)

NPR: What's The COVID Risk In Your Area? CDC Maps Leave Some People Confused 
Cindy Watson would like some clarity from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Madison County, Iowa, where she lives, is categorized as having "low" COVID levels on the agency's new lookup tool for COVID-19 Community Levels – it's even colored an inviting green on the map. But when she looked at the agency's existing map of COVID transmission levels, the same county – and much of the country – was bright red and classified as "high." (Stone and Simmons-Duffin, 3/12)

The Hill: Lofgren Second House Dem To Test Positive For COVID-19 After Retreat
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) tested positive for a COVID-19 breakthrough case on Sunday, becoming the second lawmaker infected with the virus after attending the House Democratic retreat this past week. Lofgren, 74, wrote on Twitter that she got tested in accordance with post-travel protocol, and was experiencing mild symptoms. She said she is isolating and will work from home. (Schnell, 3/13)

Miami Herald: Recall Of Counterfeit Flowflex COVID-19 Rapid Home Test 
ACON Laboratories wants U.S. consumers to use its “Flowflex COVID-19 Antigen Home Test,” not its “Flowflex SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Test (Self-Testing)“ because the latter is a counterfeit test — in the United States. As ACON explained in its FDA-posted recall notice, it knows about “the U.S. distribution of unauthorized, adulterated and misbranded counterfeit product” with the Flowflex SARS-CoV-2 packaging. “ACON Laboratories is not importing the “Flowflex SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Test (Self-Testing)” into the U.S. as it is only authorized for sale in Europe and other markets,” the alert says. (Neal, 3/13)

AP: US Ends Asylum Restrictions For Children Traveling Alone 
Unaccompanied child migrants trying to enter the United States will no longer be denied a chance to seek asylum under new guidance announced by U.S. health authorities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in announcing the change late Friday night, said “that expulsion of unaccompanied noncitizen children is not warranted to protect the public health.” (3/12)

Politico: ‘You Will See The Wrath’ — Progressives Warn Biden Against Cutting Down Agenda 
President Joe Biden’s vision for building a vast “care economy” has collapsed — and Democrats fear their party’s political advantage with parents and caregivers could end up as collateral damage. More than a year into his term, Biden’s plan to invest hundreds of billions of dollars into child and eldercare programs is on the congressional backburner. An expanded tax credit that dramatically reduced child poverty expired and is unlikely to be revived. And the administration’s ambitions for guaranteeing free pre-kindergarten and paid family leave are struggling to gain widespread traction in Congress. (Cancryn and Daniels, 3/12)

Politico: Budget Deal Is Latest Sign Of Democrats’ Empty Weed Promises
On the brink of gaining control in Washington, Sen. Chuck Schumer said emphatically in 2020 that “I am going to do EVERYTHING I can to end the federal prohibition on marijuana” if Democrats took back the Senate. But 14 months since winning, Senate Democrats haven’t even succeeded at changing the little things. (Fertig, 3/13)

The 19th: Nursing Home Workers Praise Reforms Proposed In State Of The Union
President Joe Biden last week rolled out an ambitious set of proposals to improve the quality of America’s nursing homes. The plan, released in advance of the State of the Union address, promises to increase federal staff ratio requirements, tighten infection control and take other measures to improve conditions in the places that have borne the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed reforms would affect not just the residents of nursing homes, but also the staff workers — the majority of whom are women, disproportionately women of color — who have kept these centers running through unprecedented times. (Luterman, 3/11)

Stat: CMS Administrator Pushes For Congress To Act On Drug Prices
When Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, the Biden official who oversees the Medicare and Medicaid health insurance programs, sat down with New York government officials and reporters on Friday morning it was already, perhaps, a historic event. “I don’t know if the CMS administrator has ever visited Washington Heights,” said Mark Levine, the Manhattan borough president. Unfortunately, aside from the fact that the conversation was happening in the bustling neighborhood at Manhattan’s apex, little history was made. Instead there was broad agreement that high drug prices are a huge health problem, even if it isn’t clear what immediate steps can be taken to control them. (Herper, 3/11

The 19th: Abortion Providers’ Main Legal Challenge To Texas’ Six-Week Abortion Ban Is Effectively Over
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to block the law. In December, it ruled that abortion providers could challenge the law, but only on very narrow grounds. The Supreme Court’s conservative majority ruled abortion providers could sue state medical licensing officials — health boards, for example — that are empowered to penalize health care providers who violate the abortion ban. But in a loss for the providers, the justices said they could not sue state officials who helped process the civil lawsuits that constitute SB 8’s main penalty. At the time, legal experts suggested that the decision significantly weakened abortion providers’ odds of eventually getting the law blocked. And the Friday decision from the Texas Supreme Court suggests they were right. (Luthra and Rodriguez, 3/11)

AP: Texas Clinics’ Lawsuit Over Abortion Ban ‘Effectively Over’ 
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday dealt essentially a final blow to abortion clinics’ best hopes of stopping a restrictive law that has sharply curtailed the number of abortions in the state since September and will now fully stay in place for the foreseeable future. The ruling by the all-Republican court was not unexpected, but it slammed the door on what little path forward the U.S. Supreme Court had allowed Texas clinics after having twice declined to stop a ban on abortions after roughly six weeks of pregnancy. (Weber and Stengle, 3/11)

Modern Healthcare: Jury Sides With Sutter Health In Federal Antitrust Case
A jury sided with Sutter Health on Friday in the long-running federal lawsuit accusing the health system of anticompetitive business practices that drove up healthcare costs by more than $400 million. The unanimous verdict means Sacramento, California-based Sutter has successfully defended against claims that it illegally forced insurers to include all 24 of its hospitals in their contracts, a practice known as tying. The 10-member jury also found Sutter did not force health plans into contracts that prevented them from steering patients to lower-cost, non-Sutter hospitals. (Bannow, 3/11)

Bloomberg: Sanofi Cancer Drug Fails Test In Blow To Possible Blockbuster 
Sanofi’s experimental cancer medicine amcenestrant failed in an intermediate clinical test for breast cancer, dealing a blow to one of the French drugmaker’s potential future blockbusters. The patients who got the drug, rather than endocrine treatment, didn’t live longer without the disease progressing -- a key benefit measure known as progession-free survival -- in the phase 2 trial, Sanofi said Monday. The stock fell as much as 6.2% in Paris trading, the steepest drop in almost two years. (Fourcasde and Loh, 3/14)

AP: Tulane To Study Estrogen's Contradictory Dementia Effects 
A five-year study by the Tulane University Brain Institute will focus on understanding why estrogen therapy helps protect some women from age-related brain problems, while other women do not benefit from the therapy. The $14 million study will be funded by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health, the university said in a Monday news release. The university notes that estrogen therapy may not benefit all women, especially those with hypertension and Type 2 diabetes. (3/12)

The Washington Post: The Most-Fit Are 33 Percent Less Likely To Develop Alzheimer’s, Report Says 
The more fit you are, the less likely you may be to develop Alzheimer’s disease — with those who are the most fit having a 33 percent lower risk for this dementia than the least fit, according to a report to be presented to the American Academy of Neurology at its annual meeting next month. (Searing, 3/13)

Stat: What To Know About Amylyx's ALS Drug And A Closely Watched Meeting
Amylyx Pharmaceuticals is one heck of an encore. On March 30, the Food and Drug Administration is bringing together outside experts in neurology to review an experimental drug from Amylyx for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. The hearing is expected to be closely watched by ALS patients and their advocates, given the significant need for new treatments for the disease. But the hearing is likely to garner extra attention because it’s the first meeting of the FDA advisory group since it met in November 2020 and voted unanimously against the approval of Aduhelm, Biogen’s drug for Alzheimer’s disease. The FDA later ignored that recommendation and approved the medication, leading to the resignation of three members of the panel and an uproar over whether the agency had compromised its standards. (Feuerstein, 3/14)

Stat: Will Medicaid Patients Be Able To Access Gene Therapies For Sickle Cell?
Gary Puckrein sees a dilemma coming that has him excited, and at the same time, worried. In the next year or so, U.S. regulators may approve gene therapies – one developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and another by Bluebird Bio – to treat sickle cell disease, an inherited group of blood disorders that affect an estimated 100,000 Americans. The condition is particularly prevalent among Black people, with 1 of every 365 Black individuals in the U.S. born with the condition, which can cause significant pain, infections, and lead to an early death. Any treatment would be welcome news, especially since a gene therapy holds the promise of eradicating the illness with potentially just one treatment. But gene therapies are widely expected to come with a high price tag — and it’s estimated that roughly 40% of sickle cell patients are covered by Medicaid. That is raising concern that state Medicaid officials may soon face a struggle for coverage. (Silverman, 3/14)

ABC News: Colorectal Cancer Screenings Urged As US Deaths Could Top 52,000 This Year
Colorectal cancer is expected to claim the lives of more than 52,000 Americans this year, according to the American Cancer Society. This is why, as the world tries to return to a sort of normalcy after the COVID-19 pandemic, doctors say health screenings -- particularly for cancer -- should be made an urgent priority. (Sharma, 3/13)

The Wall Street Journal: Puff Bar, Other E-Cigarette Makers To Get More Scrutiny Under Spending Bill 
The Food and Drug Administration will gain authority over Puff Bar and other e-cigarettes made with synthetic nicotine under the government spending bill expected to be signed by President Biden. The bill closes a loophole that allowed Puff Bar to stay on the market—and soar in popularity among teenagers—despite an order from the FDA to stop selling its fruity, disposable vaporizers. After the agency’s order in 2020, Puff Bar reformulated its products to use nicotine that wasn’t derived from tobacco. The FDA regulates tobacco products and smoking-cessation devices such as nicotine gum, but synthetic-nicotine vaporizers haven’t fallen under its jurisdiction, until now. (Maloney, 3/13)

Bloomberg: Texas Rule Targeting Transgender Kids Blocked By Judge For Now 
Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s effort to crack down on most health-care practices for transgender children was temporarily blocked statewide by a judge who ruled the Republican exceeded his authority. Abbott’s Feb. 22 directive to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to consider gender-affirming care for minors to be “child abuse” violates the separation of powers because it has the effect of a new law “without new legislation,” Judge Amy Clark Meachum said Friday in Austin. (Larson, 3/11)

CBS News: Florida And Texas Governors Face Business Backlash Over Anti-LGBTQ Moves 
Another fight over LGBTQ rights is playing out in Texas, where companies including Apple, Alphabet, Johnson & Johnson, Macy's and REI have signed onto an ad condemning an order by Gov. Greg Abbott that equates gender-affirming health care for transgender teenagers to child abuse. "Discrimination is bad for business," declare the digital ads and full-page advertisement in Friday's Dallas Morning News. (Gibson, 3/11)

The Washington Post: Disney To Pause All Political Donations In The Wake Of Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill
Disney announced on Friday that it would pause all political donations in Florida in the wake of a controversial state bill that restricts discussion of LGBTQ issues in public schools. Over the last few weeks, the company had received criticism for remaining silent about what critics call the “don’t say gay” bill, which is expected to be signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). In a statement sent to employees on Friday, Disney CEO Bob Chapek also announced that the company would increase support for advocacy groups fighting similar laws elsewhere (such as one recently introduced in Georgia) and would reassess Disney’s political donation policies. (Ables, 3/12)

Bloomberg: Missouri Anti-Abortion Bill Sows Confusion Over Ectopic Pregnancies
State lawmakers around the country are ramping up efforts to curtail abortion in all forms. But one Missouri bill in particular is drawing ire for criminalizing the use of certain drugs to treat ectopic pregnancies, which are not viable and potentially life-threatening. Here's a quick rundown on the medical issues associated with the condition and how it fits into the current abortion debate. (Ceron and Muller, 3/11)

AP: Invasive Ant That Can Deliver Painful Sting Found In Indiana
An invasive ant that can deliver a painful sting has been found in Indiana for the first time, a Purdue University insect expert says. The Asian needle ant has traveled southern states like Florida and Georgia for several years. But it was recently discovered in the Evansville area — the furthest north the ant has ventured, said Timothy Gibb, a Purdue University entomologist. (3/13)

AP: Assisted Living Facility Worker Charged After Woman's Death 
An employee of an Iowa assisted living facility is now facing charges related to the Jan. 21 death of a 77-year-old resident. KCCI-TV reports that 30-year-old Catherine Forkpa of Ankeny has been charged with dependent adult abuse and intentional reckless abuse. (3/13)

AP: Officials: Legionella Detected At 2 Illinois Prisons 
Legionella bacteria has been detected at two Illinois Department of Corrections facilities. Routine water testing this week found legionella at the Stateville Correctional Center and Joliet Treatment Center, the Illinois departments of Public Health and Corrections announced Friday. (3/12)

Omaha World-Herald: Omaha City Council Will Consider Stripping Health Director Of Pandemic Authority
A proposal heading before the Omaha City Council on Tuesday would strip decision-making powers from the city health director in the event of an epidemic. Under the proposed ordinance, the city health director would only have the power to certify the presence of an epidemic. After a threat is recognized, a newly established special epidemic health director would be responsible for coming up with a plan to manage it. (Stephens, 3/12)

AP: W. Virginia Senate Blows Deadline To Pass Teaching Race Bill 
The West Virginia Legislature’s Republican supermajority failed to pass a controversial bill restricting how race is taught in public schools because they missed a midnight deadline in the final moments of the 2022 session, a state Senate spokesperson confirmed early Sunday. Lawmakers had spent weeks during the legislative session debating and advancing proposed bills similar to the “Anti-Racism Act of 2022.” It wasn’t immediately clear why Republicans waited until late Saturday to take the final vote. The act had passed the Senate and House overwhelmingly, and the late-night vote was merely to greenlight the House’s version. (Willingham, 3/13)

CBS News: Ukraine Says Power Has Been Restored To Chernobyl Plant 
Ukraine says it has restored a broken power line to the Chernobyl power plant, which in 1986 was the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster. The plant is currently held by Russian troops. Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said that "heroes" from the national power grid company managed to restore the connection. The power is used to run pumps that keep spent nuclear fuel cool to prevent radiation leaks. (3/13)

Axios: The Other Lurking Threat To America's Public Health
Former federal officials are warning that the U.S. isn't ready for the possibility of biological warfare, just as it failed to prepare for pandemics, and that it's time to invest more in countermeasures. Though there's no immediate threat, concern that Russia may use biological or chemical weapons against Ukraine underscores the need to prepare for worst-case scenarios. "We need to be prepared to be able to respond to the next crisis, whatever that might be. It may be another emerging infectious disease, it may be an intentional biochemical event ... we can't predict that," said Robert Kadlec, who was the HHS assistant secretary for preparedness and response during the Trump administration. (Owens, 3/14)

Reuters: Flow Of Health Supplies Is Reaching Ukraine, WHO Says 
A flow of medical gear and equipment, including trauma kits, is reaching Ukraine to prop up a health care system grappling with a shortage of supplies amid Russia's invasion, the World Health Organization said on Monday. Supply chains have been severely disrupted, with many distributors knocked out, some stockpiles out of reach because of military operations, supplies of medicine running low, as hospitals struggle to care for the sick and wounded, it said. ...WHO was working with partners to alleviate shortages of critical equipment and medication such as oxygen and insulin, surgical supplies, anaesthetics, and transfusion kits, it added. (3/14)

AP: Pregnant Woman, Baby Die After Russia Bombed Maternity Ward
A pregnant woman and her baby have died after Russia bombed the maternity hospital where she was meant to give birth, The Associated Press has learned. Images of the woman being rushed to an ambulance on a stretcher had circled the world, epitomizing the horror of an attack on humanity’s most innocent. In video and photos shot Wednesday by AP journalists after the attack on the hospital, the woman was seen stroking her bloodied lower abdomen as rescuers rushed her through the rubble in the besieged city of Mariupol, her blanched face mirroring her shock at what had just happened. It was among the most brutal moments so far in Russia’s now 19-day-old war on Ukraine. (Chernov, 3/14)

Reuters: World Faces Food Crisis Due To Ukraine War, Russian Billionaire Melnichenko Says
A global food crisis looms unless the war in Ukraine is stopped because fertiliser prices are soaring so fast that many farmers can no longer afford soil nutrients, Russian fertiliser and coal billionaire Andrei Melnichenko said on Monday. Several of Russia's richest businessmen have publicly called for peace since President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion on Feb. 24, including Mikhail Fridman, Pyotr Aven and Oleg Deripaska. (Faulconbridge, 3/14)

The Wall Street Journal: Russia-Ukraine War Threatens Wheat Supply, Jolts Prices 
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine threatens a big portion of the world’s wheat supply and has sent prices on a dizzying ride to new highs as well as the sharpest weekly drop in years. Wheat stockpiles were already running low and prices were the highest in years thanks to two years of poor growing weather when Russia’s attack jammed up Black Sea trading and endangered nearly a third of the world’s exports. The invasion prompted fears of food shortages in countries fed with imported grain and pushed prices to new highs. (Dezember, 3/13)

Stat: In Ukraine, He Was Creating The Building Blocks For Drug Developers 
It was just last month, with the Covid-19 situation having calmed down in Kyiv, that Ivan Kondratov had been able to return to his office a couple days per week. He managed a slew of medicinal chemistry projects, including the building of “target libraries” for clients, mostly large biopharma companies around the world. His employer, Enamine, had become a pillar of global drug development, its Rolodex of clients steadily growing along with its catalog of chemical compounds for drugmakers to test in creating potential treatments. But on Feb. 24, all of that came to a halt as Kondratov and hundreds of thousands of other Ukrainians were stunned awake by the sound of explosions. And everything changed for the chemists and scientists. (Cueto, 3/14)

CNN: WHO Says War In Ukraine Could Make The Covid-19 Pandemic Worse 
The World Health Organization (WHO) said Sunday it is concerned the war in Ukraine could worsen the Covid-19 pandemic, and it is trying to do more to limit the spread of infectious diseases. Cases in the region are down from the previous week, but there's significant risk there will be more severe disease and death due to low vaccination rates in Ukraine, as well as among the more than two million who've fled the country to surrounding areas, regions also with low vaccination rates. Ukraine's Covid-19 vaccination rate is around 34%, while neighboring Moldova's is around 29%, according to Our World In Data. There have been a total of 791,021 new cases of Covid-19 and 8,012 new deaths in Ukraine and in surrounding countries between March 3 and 9, a WHO situation report published Sunday said. (Christensen, 3/13)

Bloomberg: China Locks Down World’s Second-Tallest Building In Covid Fight 
Shanghai Tower was locked down Monday, trapping workers and visitors inside as authorities race to contain a spreading Covid-19 outbreak that’s ensnared China’s financial and tech hubs. China’s tallest building and the second-tallest in the world after Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the 128-floor skyscraper was locked down as required by virus control measures from health authorities, according to a statement from its property management firm. (3/14)