First Edition: May 10, 2021
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KHN:
The Making Of Reluctant Activists: A Police Shooting In A Hospital Forces One Family To Rethink American Justice
The beer bottle that cracked over Christian Pean’s head unleashed rivulets of blood that ran down his face and seeped into the soil in which Harold and Paloma Pean were growing their three boys. At the time, Christian was a confident high school student, a football player in the suburbs of McAllen, Texas, a border city at the state’s southern tip where teenage boys — Hispanic, Black, white — sung along to rap songs, blaring out the N-word in careless refrain. “If you keep it up, we’re going to fight,” Christian warned a white boy who sang the racial epithet at a party one evening in the waning years of George W. Bush’s presidency. And they did. (Varney, 5/10)
KHN:
How Schools Can Help Kids Heal After The Pandemic’s Uncertainty
Kai Humphrey, 9, has been learning from home for more than a year. He badly misses his Washington, D.C., elementary school, along with his friends and the bustle of the classroom. “I will be the first person ever to have every single person in the world as my friend,” he said on a recent Zoom call, his sandy-brown hair hanging down to his shoulder blades. From Kai, this kind of proclamation doesn’t feel like bragging, more like exuberant kindness. (Turner and Herman, 5/10)
KHN:
From Covid Coverage To ‘Public Option’ Plans, Journalists Delve Into Details
KHN senior correspondent Julie Appleby discussed changes in insurance coverage for covid-19 care on Newsy on Thursday. ... KHN senior correspondent Mary Agnes Carey discussed Connecticut’s legislative efforts to pass a “public option” insurance plan on WNPR’s “Where We Live” on Wednesday. (5/8)
The Washington Post:
CDC Acknowledges Airborne Transmission
Federal health officials revised coronavirus guidance on Friday to acknowledge that people can get infected by inhaling very fine, aerosolized particles carrying the virus, following warnings from health experts since last year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised that airborne transmission is one of several ways the virus can spread, adding that people more than six feet away from others indoors can become infected, according to the agency’s website. (Hassan, Bellware and Kornfield, 5/7)
The New York Times:
Airborne Coronavirus Is A Threat, The C.D.C. Acknowledges
The new focus underscores the need for the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue standards for employers to address potential hazards in the workplace, some experts said. “They hadn’t talked much about aerosols and were more focused on droplets,” said David Michaels, an epidemiologist at George Washington School of Public Health and head of OSHA in the Obama administration. (Rabin and Anthes, 5/7)
The Wall Street Journal:
Covid-19 Restriction Guidance Could Ease As More Americans Get Vaccinated
Biden administration officials said Sunday that the U.S. is entering a new phase of the pandemic in which many vaccinated Americans can begin returning to normal activities and signaled that the federal government will further relax mask-wearing recommendations as more people get shots. “I would say we are turning the corner,” Jeff Zients, President Biden’s Covid-19 coordinator, told CNN’s “State of the Union.” The administration said last week it is focused on helping hesitant and hard-to-reach Americans get shots, with a goal of having 70% of the adult population receive at least one dose by July 4. (Restuccia, 5/9)
CNN:
It May Be Time To Relax Indoor Masks Mandates, Fauci Says
Dr. Anthony Fauci says federal guidance on wearing face coverings indoors may change soon. Sunday on ABC News, Fauci was asked whether it's time to start relaxing indoor masks requirements. Fauci replied, "I think so, and I think you're going to probably be seeing that as we go along, and as more people get vaccinated." (Mascarenhas and Maxouris, 5/9)
Fox News:
Mother's Day 2022: Fauci Predicts Country Will Be 'As Close To Back To Normal As We Can' By Next Year
Dr. Anthony Fauci predicted Sunday that America will be "as close to back to normal as we can" by next Mother’s Day if certain conditions are met. Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the White House's chief medical adviser, made the prediction during ABC’s "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos, who had asked him to "give everyone a sense of what the country is going to look like next Mother’s Day." "I hope that next Mother’s Day, we’re going to see a dramatic difference than what we’re seeing right now. I believe that we will be about as close to back to normal as we can. And there’s some conditions to that, George," Fauci said during the segment. "We’ve got to make sure that we get the overwhelming proportion of the population vaccinated." (Pagones, 5/9)
CNBC:
Fauci Says Face Masks Could Become Seasonal After Covid Pandemic
White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday that people may decide to wear masks during certain seasons when respiratory illnesses are more prevalent. “I think people have gotten used to the fact that wearing masks, clearly if you look at the data it diminishes respiratory diseases, we’ve had practically a non-existent flu season this year merely because people were doing the kinds of public health things that were directed predominately against Covid-19,” Fauci said during an interview on NBC Sunday program “Meet the Press.” (Macias, 5/9)
NBC News:
After Year With Virtually No Flu, Scientists Worry The Next Season Could Be A Bad One
More than a year after the pandemic started, Covid-19 is still ravaging parts of the world, but now scientists are warning that another virus could be a serious threat in the coming months: influenza. This season, the flu virtually disappeared, with less than 2,000 lab-confirmed cases in the United States to date, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a typical flu season, the U.S. could see more than 200,000 lab-confirmed cases by this time of year, a tiny fraction of the true number of cases, estimated to range from 9 million to 45 million annually. (Dunn, 5/9)
The Washington Post:
‘Where Is The Plan?’: Biden Pressed On Global Vaccine Strategy
Global allies want more clarity on how the United States plans to share its resources, know-how — and especially, its growing vaccine stockpile. Advocates say there’s no time to waste, pointing to virus surges crippling India and other countries that collectively reported more than 5 million cases in the past week. (Diamond and Pager, 5/9)
Politico:
Covid Response Chief Has No Regrets On Johnson & Johnson Pause
White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients said it was "not at all" a mistake to place a hold on the Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine, rebuffing the idea that doing so made vaccinating the country any more difficult. Speaking with CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday, Zients said if anything, the Food and Drug Administration's hold on the vaccine helped build confidence that people know that the FDA and the CDC are monitoring. (Choi, 5/9)
Fox News:
CDC's Nancy Messonnier, Who Warned Coronavirus Would Cause 'Severe' Disruption, Resigns
Dr. Nancy Messonnier, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) official who first warned last February "disruption to everyday life may be severe" as a result of coronavirus spread, is resigning. Messonnier reportedly sent an email to staff indicating that her last day would be May 14 and that she was taking on a new role with the nonprofit Skoll Foundation. When asked during Friday’s White House COVID-19 briefing to elaborate further on Messonnier’s decision, agency director Dr. Rochelle Walensky heaped praise on her career and achievements and wished her well, but declined to comment. (Hein, 5/8)
Politico:
Lockdown Mentality Still Holding The Economy Back, Banking Official Says
It’s not one specific thing related to Covid-19 that is keeping the economy down, but everything related to the pandemic, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis said on Sunday. Speaking on CBS News' “Face the Nation,” Neel Kashkari said it was a complex series of factors that led to Friday’s disappointing jobs report, which showed that only 266,000 jobs were created in April, far below expectations. (Cohen, 5/9)
ABC News:
White House Acknowledges Mysterious Health Attacks Occurred In US, Reviewing Intel On Incidents
The mysterious health incidents that have affected dozens of U.S. personnel around the globe have also occurred within the United States, the White House confirmed for the first time on Friday. The source of the illnesses, known as "Havana syndrome" after the first cluster of cases at the U.S. Embassy in Cuba, is still unknown. But there is growing pressure from Congress to figure out what has affected so many U.S. diplomats, spies and other officials -- and who or what is behind it. (Finnegan and Gittleson, 5/7)
USA Today:
More Than A Third Of Americans Vaccinated
Even as the pace of vaccinations falls in the U.S., the country reported passing two milestones on Friday: More than 150 million are now at least partially vaccinated, and more than a third of Americans are fully vaccinated, CDC data released Friday afternoon shows. Data shows about 111 million Americans are fully vaccinated, about 33% of the total population in the U.S., and another 150 million people have received their fist shot of the vaccine. But the pace of vaccinations has been slowing from its peak on April 10 of 4.6 million daily shots. Public health agencies are working harder to get shots in arms, a critical effort that could help President Joe Biden's new goal of 70% of Americans getting at least one shot by July 4. (Aspegren, Fernando and Hayes, 5/7)
Bloomberg:
CDC Limits Reviews Of Vaccinated But Infected, Spurring Concerns
Federal health officials this month decided to limit how they monitor vaccinated people who have been infected with Covid-19, drawing concern from some scientists who say that may mean missing needed data showing why and how it happens. At the end of April, more than 9,000 Americans were reported to be infected after being vaccinated, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While that’s a tiny percentage of the 95 million people fully inoculated at the time, researchers still want to find out what specific mechanisms may be spurring the infections. (Chen, 5/9)
Politico:
White House, State Officials Scramble To Get Docs’ Help With Lagging Vaccination Effort
The Biden administration and state health officials are rushing to overcome logistical hurdles to get more Covid-19 shots into doctors’ offices, believing that physicians who have largely been excluded from the inoculation effort so far could be key to boosting vaccination rates. For months, doctors have lobbied the White House and states to ship them doses, but officials instead focused their efforts on mass vaccination sites and other places that could quickly immunize hundreds or even thousands of people daily. With demand for shots now slipping faster than health experts expected, officials are now trying to steer doses to smaller, local sites like doctor offices that can make targeted efforts to reach people who are hesitant to get vaccinated or have faced other obstacles like lack of transportation. (Roubein and Goldberg, 5/9)
Modern Healthcare:
COVID-19 Vaccines In Primary Care Could Reduce Hesitancy
From offers for free beer to cash incentives, states are taking new approaches to encourage more people to vaccinate against COVID-19. The moves are a stark indicator of how demand for the vaccine has significantly decreased in recent weeks. While the incentives have generated attention, the interest could be short-lived. Healthcare stakeholders say a more substantial and sustainable approach would be to shift the focus of current vaccination strategies from mass vaccination sites to increasing access within primary and outpatient care. (Ross Johnson, 5/7)
AP:
Los Angeles To Offer Appointment-Free COVID-19 Vaccinations
Los Angeles residents will no longer need an appointment for COVID-19 vaccinations at city-run inoculation sites, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced Sunday. The city is prepared to administer over a quarter million vaccinations for the second week in a row, the mayor’s office said. Last week, Los Angeles stopped requiring appointments for some walk-up and mobile locations. Starting Monday, appointment-free options are available at all vaccination sites. People can still sign up ahead of time if they prefer. (5/9)
AP:
Minnesota Health Officials Get Creative With Vaccinations
Minnesota health officials are trying various strategies in an attempt to get people vaccinated and slow the spread of the coronavirus. Volunteer physicians are working with a brewery in St. Paul on a pop-up event that rewards those who get shots with a free beer. Vaccinations are being offered in the downtown bus depot in Duluth. An Elk River clinic is offering shots to patients who are seeking help for other health care needs. (5/9)
Fox News:
NJ Gov. Murphy Open To Paying People To Get COVID-19 Vaccine
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy says the state is considering paying people to get the COVID-19 vaccine. "We might, I think all things are on the table frankly," Murphy told FOX 5 New York in an interview. "We have to get to our objective, which is 70% of the adult population by the end of June." Last week, Murphy launched the "Operation Jersey Summer" campaign, which is aimed at helping the state reach its vaccination goal. As part of the campaign, Murphy launched the "Shot and a Beer" program, which will give state residents age 21 years and older a free beer with COVID-19 vaccinations starting in May. The program includes thirteen participating New Jersey-based breweries. (Manfredi, 5/9)
AP:
Vaccination Rate Among Arkansas Prison Staff Worries Experts
Sluggish COVID-19 vaccination rates for Arkansas prison workers are raising concerns about the prison system’s ability to ward off disease during the pandemic’s next phase and against more-contagious variants, according to public health and incarceration experts. About 42% of the more than 4,700 Arkansas Department of Corrections employees have received at least one shot, an agency spokeswoman said. The corrections department set a goal of vaccinating 80% of employees after shots were offered on Jan. 5, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported Sunday. (5/9)
Philadelphia Inquirer:
Esperanza Has Been A Success At Vaccinating Latinos, But Black Philadelphians Still Lag Behind
For Herbert and Ed Jackson, father and son, the decision to get vaccinated against COVID-19 has been complicated by fear, skepticism, and the logistics of receiving a shot. Herbert Jackson, 50, got his first dose May 3. He’s known people who died of the virus and works at a North Philadelphia paper factory, he said, and was worried about catching the virus there. “No one is masked” there, he said Wednesday afternoon, after meeting up on Hunting Park Avenue with his son, who just finished work as a security guard at Esperanza Academy Charter School. (Laughlin, 5/10)
AP:
2 Major Venues To Lift Virus Capacity Limits In Nashville
Two major Nashville venues will soon lift capacity restrictions as the city continues to reopen from implementing limitations on businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. News outlets report that Nashville Soccer Club will open at near capacity for its May 23 match. Face coverings will still be encouraged, but not required for outdoors. Meanwhile, Grand Ole Opry will begin weekly performances at full capacity on May 14 for the first time in more than a year. The indoor mask mandate will remain in place. (5/10)
AP:
Big Venues Set To Expand Capacity As State Eases Limits
Large event venues including TD Garden, Fenway Park and Gillette Stadium will be allowed to double their current capacities starting on Monday, and amusement parks will be permitted to reopen at half capacity as the state relaxes its COVID-19 restrictions. The state is scheduled to move to the next step in its reopening plan, allowing large indoor and outdoor venues to increase capacity from 12% to 25%. Gov. Charlie Baker announced the shift last month, saying the state’s coronavirus cases had fallen 20% since March. (5/9)
ABC News:
Oregon Church Won't Close After COVID-19 Outbreak Infected 74 Members, Pastor Says
Returning to the pulpit after a COVID-19 outbreak infected him, his wife and 72 members of their congregation, the senior pastor of an Oregon church said Sunday that he will not kowtow to pressure to close the doors to the house of worship. Pastor Scott Erickson of the Peoples Church in Salem, Oregon, began his Mother's Day sermon by addressing the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in his church and throughout the state. (Hutchinson, 5/9)
Fox News:
Colorado Identifies Indian Coronavirus Variant In At Least 5 Residents
Health officials in Colorado have identified five cases of a coronavirus variant first discovered in India. The cases involve five females in Mesa County who are all from different households, according to a news release posted Thursday. Officials said all individuals are between the ages of 30 and 65 years old and that the cases were identified through the sequencing of test samples. The variant, identified as B.1.617.2, is considered a "variant of interest (VOI)." (Hein, 5/8)
Reuters:
Around 20 People In France Detected With Indian COVID Variant -Health Minister
Around 20 people in France have been currently detected with the variant of COVID-19 first found in India, French Health Minister Olivier Veran told LCI TV on Monday. The World Health Organisation has described the Indian COVID variant as a "variant of interest", suggesting it may have mutations that would make the virus more transmissible, cause more severe disease or evade vaccine immunity. (5/10)
The Washington Post:
750 Covid-19 Victims In New York Still Stored In Refrigerated Trucks A Year Into Pandemic
As New York emerged as the center of the coronavirus pandemic last spring, the overwhelmed city began storing the bodies of victims in refrigerated trucks along the Brooklyn waterfront. More than a year later, hundreds remain in the makeshift morgues on the 39th Street Pier in Sunset Park. (Shammas, 5/9)
CIDRAP:
Obesity Tied To Higher COVID-19 Death Rates In Men
Hospitalized men with COVID-19 had higher in-hospital death rates if they were in obesity classes 2 and 3 (body mass index [BMI] of 35 to 40 kg/m2, respectively) compared with men in a normal-weight group, according to a study yesterday in the European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases. (5/7)
Houston Chronicle:
Online Trolls Take Anti-Vaxx Hate Speech To A New Level, Attacking Houston's Dr. Peter Hotez
Internet trolls unleashed a new wave of hate speech Thursday directed at Houston vaccine researcher Peter Hotez, a longtime nemesis of the anti-vaxx movement. The website Natural News, which promotes false conspiracy theories about 5G and Bill Gates, posted a story about Hotez at the top of its website. “Echoing the fascism of genocidal maniacs like Hitler and Stalin,” it said, “Peter Hotez displays his own brand of insanity by equating vaccine skeptics with cyber criminals and nuclear terrorism.” (Gray, 5/7)
The Wall Street Journal:
Walmart Deal Shows Expansion In Telehealth, New Front With Amazon
Walmart Inc. said Thursday it purchased telehealth provider MeMD and plans to offer nationwide virtual health care services, another sign of the retail behemoth’s healthcare ambitions. The acquisition will allow Walmart to expand its Walmart Health service around the country, the company said. The retail giant didn’t disclose the financial details of the transaction. (Nassauer and Winkler, 5/6)
Modern Healthcare:
Walmart To Acquire Telehealth Provider MeMD
Walmart on Thursday announced it plans to acquire MeMD, a multispeciality telehealth provider, in a move that will allow the company to grow its virtual care delivery nationwide. MeMD has provided medical and mental health services to consumers online since 2010. The company will serve as a feature of Walmart Health centers nationwide, in addition to in-person care. As a result, Walmart Health will be able to include urgent, behavioral and primary care to its list of virtual services. (Gellman, 5/7)
The New York Times:
Online Cheating Charges Upend Dartmouth Medical School
Sirey Zhang, a first-year student at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine, was on spring break in March when he received an email from administrators accusing him of cheating. Dartmouth had reviewed Mr. Zhang’s online activity on Canvas, its learning management system, during three remote exams, the email said. The data indicated that he had looked up course material related to one question during each test, honor code violations that could lead to expulsion, the email said. (Singer and Krolik, 5/9)
Modern Healthcare:
Healthcare Employment Remains Sluggish As Pandemic Continues
April brought more underwhelming employment news for healthcare employment, with nursing homes and hospitals continuing to shed jobs. Preliminary jobs numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show the number of jobs in healthcare dipped by an estimated 4,100 in April from the prior month, largely because the agency revised upward its preliminary March total by 19,100. Although healthcare employment gains have been underwhelming in recent months, the industry's April employment total of 16 million jobs was still much higher than its 14.9 million jobs in April 2020, the height of the pandemic's first wave. Healthcare employment is down 542,000 since February 2020. (Bannow, 5/7)
Axios:
U.S. Nursing Home Employment Is Way Down
Health care employment in the U.S. remained sluggish last month with a drop of about 19,500 nursing and residential care facility jobs, according to the latest labor report. It's the latest sign of the lingering economic hardship the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked on health care and, in particular, on the nursing home industry. (Reed, 5/10)
Modern Healthcare:
CMS Warns Hospitals Not Following Price Transparency Rules
CMS is sending warning letters to hospitals breaking new federal rules requiring them to make public the prices they negotiate with insurers, a CMS spokesperson confirmed. The regulation took effect on Jan. 1 and forces hospitals to publish a machine-readable file online containing their payer-negotiated rates. It also requires them to make available a consumer-friendly display of at least 300 shoppable services, including 70 specified by CMS. But hospitals don't need to post a list of shoppable services if they allow consumers to use a price estimator tool to calculate their out-of-pocket costs for all shoppable services. (Brady, 5/7)
Stat:
Why Health Tech Companies Are Investing So Heavily In Care Teams
Kristen Campbell often felt like she was treating patients without all the pieces of the puzzle in front of her. As a clinical dietician at a large medical center, she usually had 15 minutes to run through their medical history and squeeze in a new diet and exercise plan. It was only after taking a job with a virtual diabetes company — and joining a larger team of providers for patients — that she felt like she could see the whole picture. (Brodwin, 5/10)
Modern Healthcare:
Pharmacy Services, Medicare Advantage Bump Cigna's Revenue Up 6.5% Year-Over-Year
Strong performance in Cigna Corp.'s Evernorth health services division, investment portfolio and low member medical costs at the end of last year increased the company's revenue 6.5% year-over-year during the first quarter of 2021. The Bloomfield, Conn.-based insurer generated $40.9 billion in revenue during the first quarter, up from $38.4 billion during the same time in 2020. On an investor call, Chief Financial Officer Brian Evanko said the company benefited from its recent partnership with Amazon Prime Therapeutics, and named investments in its Express Scripts pharmacy benefit manager as a potential growth area going forward. (Tepper, 5/7)
Stat:
HHS Plans To Open Up Billions In Hospital Covid-19 Grants
The Biden administration plans to open applications for billions of dollars in grants for hospitals and other health care providers before the end of May after months of delay, according to three people familiar with the plans. Hospitals have pleaded with administration officials to release more funds, which Congress in December directed them to disburse. Currently, providers have only been reimbursed for a portion of their losses through June 2020. (Cohrs, 5/10)
Modern Healthcare:
Kaiser's Profit Rebounds To $2 Billion In First Quarter
Kaiser Permanente kicked off 2021 on a high note, having drawn $2 billion in profit in the first quarter. Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser's strong net income in the quarter ended March 31 was a significant swing from its $1.1 billion net loss in the prior-year period, according to results released Friday. But the not-for-profit system noted $2 billion is still down about 60% from its net income of $3.2 billion in the first quarter of 2019, about a year before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. (Bannow, 5/7)
Fierce Healthcare:
Scripps Health Says Malware Took Down Its Computer Networks As State Regulators Monitor The Situation
Scripps Health said the cyberattack last weekend that took down its IT systems stemmed from malware on its computer network. San Diego-based Scripps Health, which operates five hospitals in the region, is still offline following the cyberattack on Saturday, May 1 that has significantly disrupted care and forced medical personnel to use paper records. (Landi, 5/7)
Houston Chronicle:
River Oaks Clinic Field Trip Health Brings Ketamine-Based Therapy To Depression Treatment
Field Trip Health is not an ordinary clinic. Opening on May 10, the River Oaks facility will house Houston’s next ketamine-enhanced psychotherapy clinic. Here, patients can take psychedelic therapy in a space designed just for it. It’s located at 4310 Westheimer Road, Suite 220. While Ketamine is currently a schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act and is approved for use in hospitals and other medical settings as an anesthetic, FTH administers a ketamine-derived nasal spray drug called Esketamine that recently earned FDA-approval for those with treatment-resistant depression. (Nickerson, 5/8)
Stat:
Two Drug Makers, Two Commercial Launches — With Divergent Results
Biocryst Pharma did it. Aurinia Pharma did not. The “it” is a successful, commercial drug launch. Biocryst reported a better-than-expected $10.9 million in sales for its drug Orladeyo in the March quarter — the first public assessment of the medicine’s marketing progress since it was approved last December. (Feuerstein, 5/7)
Stat:
WHO, Global Regulatory Group Urge Pharma To Publish Clinical Study Reports
In a significant step toward greater transparency, the World Health Organization and the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities are urging drug makers to publish clinical study reports for new medicines and vaccines without redacting any confidential information. The agencies released a joint statement in which they explained their goal is to ensure research results are publicly accessible so that decision makers — notably, health authorities and physicians — have greater understanding about drugs and vaccines. The agencies also argued releasing trial information that is not redacted would boost public confidence in medical products. (Silverman, 5/7)
NBC News:
How Hospitals In California Lowered C-Section Rates For New Mothers
Providence St. Jude Medical Center is one of many California hospitals that in recent years have followed statewide initiatives and implemented interventions to reduce C-sections in low-risk first births — those involving single fetuses in the head-down position at 37 weeks or after. The efforts are working: A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that the rate of cesareans in low-risk first births in California declined from 26 percent in 2014, before the coordinated efforts began, to 22.8 percent in 2019. By comparison, during the same period, the rate nationwide stayed the same, at 26 percent. (Stenson, 5/9)
The New York Times:
From The Wastewater Drain, Solid Pandemic Data
Marc Johnson saw trouble in the water. Dr. Johnson, a virologist at the University of Missouri, had spent much of 2020 studying sewage, collecting wastewater from all over the state and analyzing it for fragments of the coronavirus. People with Covid-19 shed the virus in their stool, and as the coronavirus spread throughout Missouri, more and more of it began to appear in the state’s wastewater. In January, Dr. Johnson spotted something new in his water samples: traces of B.1.1.7, a more contagious variant that was first detected in Britain. (Anthes, 5/7)
Philadelphia Inquirer:
Heart Failure Can Occur During Pregnancy, And Black Women Fare Worse Than Others. Penn Doctors Are Starting To Find Out Why
For several days, Carmelita Murphy felt short of breath and her legs were swollen. She had given birth to a son, DJ, just two weeks earlier, so she figured those symptoms were part of the deal. Then came the really bad headache. After promising her mother that she would get it checked out, she went to bed that night in her Atlantic City apartment. But at 1 a.m., when she heard the baby cry and tried to get up, she felt dizzy and passed out. Murphy, then just 20 years old, had a condition normally seen in people many decades older: heart failure. (Avril, 5/9)
AP:
Tearful Reunions Mark Second Mother's Day Under Pandemic
Last Mother’s Day, they celebrated with bacon and eggs over FaceTime. This time, Jean Codianni of Los Angeles flew to New Jersey to surprise her 74-year-old mother, now that both have been vaccinated against the disease that has stolen uncountable hugs and kisses around the world. “You forget how your mom smells, how she looks. It’s like, she never looks as beautiful as the last time you saw her,” Codianni said. “We understand how privileged we are, how lucky we are. Hundreds of thousands of people don’t get to celebrate Mother’s Day, or are celebrating it under a veil of grief.” (Lauer, Liu and White, 5/9)
Opelika-Auburn News:
Auburn Family Starts Nonprofit Honoring Son Lost To Cancer
Whether through anger, denial, depression or guilt, everyone goes through their own ways of coping with the loss of someone they loved. For a few, they find the strength to transform that grief into ensuring that others don’t have to suffer the same loss they went through. The Power of Will, a nonprofit foundation dedicated to funding research and assisting families with loved ones suffering from sarcoma, was founded by the family of Will Hudson, a 26-year-old Auburn native who died in August 2020 after years of battling cancer. (Hosey, 5/9)
NBC News:
Walt Disney World, Universal Studios To End Temperature Checks For Guests
Walt Disney World Resorts announced this week that it will begin to phase out temperature checks at parks and facilities before the end of the month. The theme parks and related resorts will end temperature screenings for cast members on May 8 and for visiting guests on May 16, according to an announcement on Disney's website. The change comes as Florida begins to make adjustments to its local coronavirus regulations. (Vaughn, 5/7)
NBC News:
Workers At Ballparks And Theme Parks Have Mixed Feelings About Returning
After more than a year of being shut out, cashiers, food vendors, guest greeters and other workers are making their way back to America’s most beloved baseball stadiums, amusement parks and concert venues — but the great return is being met with changes and conflicting feelings of anxiety and excitement as tens of thousands of fans and visitors also make their way back. “You don’t know what’s going to happen,” said beer vendor Heidi Hashem, 46, at the beginning of the 2021 season. (Messenger and Pandise, 5/8)
BBC:
Elon Musk Reveals He Has Asperger's On Saturday Night Live
Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has revealed he has Asperger's syndrome while appearing on the US comedy sketch series Saturday Night Live (SNL). It is thought to be the first time Mr Musk has spoken about his condition. ... "I don't always have a lot of intonation or variation in how I speak... which I'm told makes for great comedy," he joked in his opening monologue. (5/9)
Politico:
America’s Most Conservative States Are Embracing Medical Pot
Many of the nation’s medical marijuana holdouts are giving in as pot activists make inroads this year with conservative strongholds — and are poised to notch more wins in the coming weeks. Medical marijuana bills are advancing in the Republican-controlled legislatures of North Carolina, Alabama and Kansas for the first time. Efforts to expand limited medical programs in bedrock conservative states like Texas and Louisiana also appear close to passage. (Zhang, Demko and Fertig, 5/9)
The Advocate:
As Key Vote To Legalize Marijuana In Louisiana Looms, Some Experts Say Downsides Exaggerated
Proponents and opponents of legalizing recreational marijuana are both mounting a furious last-minute lobbying effort ahead of a potentially decisive vote Monday on a bill before Louisiana’s conservative House of Representatives. The state’s sheriffs, who enjoy huge influence at the State Capitol, are asking lawmakers to vote “no” on Rep. Richard Nelson’s House Bill 699, which would legalize the drug for recreational use by adults over 21. They claim the measure, which has shown surprising viability, is rushed and ignores the downsides of legalization other states have experienced. On Saturday, the Louisiana Republican Party, which rarely wades into legislative issues, issued a "call to action" urging people to contact their lawmakers to get them to vote down the bill. (Karlin, 5/10)
AP:
Montana Nonprofit To Build Slaughterhouse For Food Bank Beef
A nonprofit in Montana plans to open a slaughterhouse that will kill and process cattle donated for food banks. The $2.5 million Producer Partnership plant outside Livingston will be able to process 300 animals per month by next year, the Billings Gazette reported. Ranchers who donate cattle for food banks will have access to the processing plant for their own retail sales. (5/9)
AP:
EU Agrees Potential 1.8 Billion-Dose Purchase Of Pfizer Jab
The European Union cemented its support for Pfizer-BioNTech and its novel COVID-19 vaccine technology Saturday by agreeing to a massive contract extension for a potential 1.8 billion doses through 2023. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said her office has approved a contract for a guaranteed 900 million doses with the same amount of doses as a future option. (Casert and Hatton, 5/8)
Reuters:
‘Cautious Hugging’ And Pints: UK PM Johnson To Ease England’s Lockdown
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will set out on Monday the next phase of lockdown easing in England, giving the green light to “cautious hugging” and allowing pubs to serve customers pints inside after months of strict measures. Aided by one of the fastest vaccine rollouts in the world, Britain's daily case and death numbers have dropped sharply - reporting just two fatalities on Sunday - enabling it to emerge from a lockdown imposed in January to tackle a second wave. (Faulconbridge and Holton, 5/10)
Fox News:
After Vaccine Rollout Success In UK, COVID Could Be ‘Eradicated’ By Winter, Says Top Scientist
An emeritus professor of bacteriology in the United Kingdom is predicting COVID-19 could be "eradicated" in the country by winter because of the success of the vaccine rollout, according to reports. "I don't see any reason of why we should need to go into lockdown again," Hugh Pennington told The Sun. "We are now getting close to China and Taiwan in effectively eradicating it within our own territory." A total of 1,770 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded in the United Kingdom on Sunday, with the week’s total of 14,659 cases down by 4.3% compared with the previous week, Reuters reported. (Miles, 5/9)