First Edition: May 11, 2022

KHN: Ripple Effects Of Abortion Restrictions Confuse Care For Miscarriages 
As the Supreme Court appears poised to return abortion regulation to the states, recent experience in Texas illustrates that medical care for miscarriages and dangerous ectopic pregnancies would also be threatened if restrictions become more widespread. One Texas law passed last year lists several medications as abortion-inducing drugs and largely bars their use for abortion after the seventh week of pregnancy. But two of those drugs, misoprostol and mifepristone, are the only drugs recommended in the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists guidelines for treating a patient after an early pregnancy loss. The other miscarriage treatment is a procedure described as surgical uterine evacuation to remove the pregnancy tissue — the same approach as for an abortion. (Huff, 5/11)

KHN: 1931 State Law Makes Abortion A Felony If ‘Roe’ Falls, Warns Michigan Attorney General
When Stephanie Mejia Arciñiega drove her friend to a Planned Parenthood clinic in Ann Arbor, Michigan, they were surrounded by anti-abortion protesters as soon as they tried to park. “They come up to your car super fast,” Mejia Arciñiega said. “You don’t want to run their feet over, so we had to stop and be like, ‘OK, no thank you.’ But then they started throwing a bunch of papers and resources at us. We tried to go inside, but we couldn’t.” (Wells, 5/11)

KHN: Senate GOP Puts Up Roadblocks To Bipartisan House Bill For Veterans’ Burn Pit Care 
Thousands of military veterans who are sick after being exposed to toxic smoke and dust while on duty are facing a Senate roadblock to ambitious legislation designed to provide them care. The Senate could start work as soon as this week on a bipartisan bill, called the Honoring Our PACT Act, that passed the House of Representatives in March. It would make it much easier for veterans to get health care and benefits from the Veterans Health Administration if they get sick because of the air they breathed around massive, open-air incineration pits. The military used those pits in war zones around the globe — sometimes the size of football fields — to burn anything from human and medical waste to plastics and munitions, setting it alight with jet fuel. (McAuliff, 5/11)

NBC News: Senate To Vote On Nationwide Abortion Bill Ahead Of Roe Decision
The Senate is set to vote Wednesday on advancing a Democratic-led bill that would enshrine broad protections for legal abortion nationwide, a move triggered by a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion that indicates Roe v. Wade will likely be overturned. The vote on the Women's Health Protection Act, which has passed the House, is all but certain to fail, with just 49 senators expected to support the measure, below the 60-vote requirement to defeat a Republican filibuster. (Kapur, 5/11)

The Boston Globe: Roe Vote Looks Doomed, But Democrats Press Ahead To Get Senators On The Record 
Lawmakers portrayed the vote as a way to harness the anger among some voters at Republicans who don’t support abortion rights, given polling that suggests a majority of Americans do not want the court to strike down Roe v. Wade. When pressed by a reporter on Tuesday, Democratic majority leader Chuck Schumer declined to provide a backup plan if the legislation fails to pass. (Baskar, 5/10)

The Wall Street Journal: In Reversal, Democrat Bob Casey Backs Abortion-Access Bill 
Sen. Bob Casey, a self-described pro-life Democrat, said that he would back his party’s measure to affirm the right to terminate a pregnancy before fetal viability, citing the new uncertainty surrounding abortion access as the Supreme Court weighs overturning Roe v. Wade. Last week, Politico published a leaked draft opinion suggesting that the Supreme Court was prepared to throw out court precedent ensuring abortion access. The court confirmed the draft’s authenticity but cautioned it wasn’t final. Mr. Casey, who has a mixed record on abortion-related legislation, pointed to the possible court ruling and proposed GOP-backed state and federal legislation restricting abortion for his shift. (Hughes, 5/10)

The Washington Post: Some Democrats Warn Abortion Rights Demonstrators Not To Go Overboard
While Democrats dismissed the Republican complaints as disingenuous, a person familiar with the White House’s thinking said that there is potential risk if the abortion rights demonstrations do turn violent, or if there is a marked uptick in vandalism targeting antiabortion groups and organizations. Democrats hope the draft opinion — and the expected final opinion in the coming weeks — will galvanize voters to turn out for the midterms and back their candidates. But if the passion turns violent, it could backfire, this person said. (Parker and Linskey, 5/10)

The Washington Post: Youngkin Gets Backlash Over Stance On Protests Outside Alito’s Home 
As abortion rights activists picketed outside the Alexandria home of Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. on Monday night, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin popped up on Twitter to say state police were nearby and “closely monitoring” the protests. Then came the backlash — from conservatives, who demanded that the new Republican governor order the troopers to arrest the demonstrators under a state law prohibiting picketing outside private residences — even though it’s up to local police, not state troopers, to enforce that law. (Vozzella and Schneider, 5/10)

The Washington Post: How The Rumor About Alito And An ‘Undisclosed Location’ Spread 
It has become a nugget embedded in the many reports and social media posts expressing outrage about protests at Supreme Court justices’ homes in support of Roe v. Wade: the idea that Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. was forced to vacate his residence for an “undisclosed location” out of fear for his safety. The only problem is that it doesn’t seem to be based on anything. It could turn out to be true that Alito and his family left their home — but various people spread the rumor without any actual reports substantiating it. And it provides a great case study in how a rumor gets laundered into supposed fact, making it all the way into the Twitter feeds of multiple U.S. senators. (Blake, 5/9)

AP: Noem's Appeal Of Abortion Pills Order Put On Hold
A federal appeals court on Tuesday ordered that a case between Planned Parenthood and the state of South Dakota be put on hold until the U.S. Supreme Court issues a decision in a separate case that could overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide. The South Dakota lawsuit is over a rule pushed by Republican Gov. Kristi Noem that would require abortion-seekers to make three separate visits to a doctor to take abortion pills. Planned Parenthood, which operates the state’s only clinic that regularly provides abortions, asserted that the rule would have ended its ability to provide medicine-induced abortions. (5/10)

USA Today: Wisconsin Abortion Law's 'Lifesaving' Exception Vague, Doctors Say
The abortion law that would go into effect in Wisconsin if Roe v. Wade is overturned dates to 1849. It is a ban with just one exception: the procedure can be performed if a doctor decides it "is necessary, or is advised by 2 other physicians as necessary, to save the life of the mother." Some state abortion laws have historically made exceptions for broader circumstances, like pregnancies that were a result of rape or incest, but terminating a pregnancy to save a patient's life has become a last hold-over in states that have enacted increasingly restrictive rules on the procedure. (Heim, 5/10)

The Washington Post: People Are Getting IUDs And Plan B Ahead Of A Possible Post-Roe Future
Last week, as soon as Sydney Phillip read about the leaked draft opinion suggesting the Supreme Court was poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, she booked an appointment to get an IUD. Intrauterine devices are one of the most effective forms of birth control, and getting the long-acting contraceptive had been a floating item on her medium-term to-do list. She’s been using the birth control pill, a method that has about a 7 percent failure rate for typical use. The potential consequences of that margin of error felt tolerable — until now. (Higgins, 5/10)

Houston Chronicle: Searches For 'Vasectomy' Spike In Texas After Roe V. Wade Leak
The leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade sent shock waves across the nation. It also appears to have driven interest in another topic: male birth control options. Google Trends data shows that searches for the word “vasectomy” spiked in Texas on May 3 and 4, the first two full days after Politico published an initial draft majority opinion indicating the Supreme Court was poised to overturn the landmark 1973 decision that established a constitutional right to abortion. Searches for “vasectomy” also skyrocketed elsewhere in the U.S. (MacDonald, 5/10)

The 19th: Exclusive: New Poll Captures How People With Disabilities Feel About Abortion
Disability has been used as something of a political football in the abortion debate. For decades, fetal abnormality and disability have been part of abortion-rights advocates’ argument that people need access to the procedure. Anti-abortion advocates, meanwhile, argue that disability-motivated abortion is discriminatory and devalues disabled life. But people with disabilities themselves have been largely absent from the public debate on abortion rights. Now, new poll results, shared exclusively with The 19th, shed light for the first time on how people with disabilities view the issue. (Luterman, 5/10)

USA Today: Abortion Bans Would Be Riskiest On Women In Maternity Care 'Deserts'
Women living in maternal health care “deserts” will face greater health and well-being risks if a draft opinion from the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade leads to state abortion bans, experts say. People who are pregnant or recently gave birth in areas lacking maternal health care – obstetricians, hospitals with delivery units or birth centers – already face a greater risk of death than mothers who live in areas with more robust medical access, research has shown. And experts say the risks are even greater in these areas for moms of color, who already have disproportionate maternal health outcomes. (Hassanein, 5/10)

Politico: Dems Edge Closer To Giving GOP A Border Vote As A Price For Covid Aid 
Two Senate Democratic leaders say they are willing to give Republicans a vote on reversing President Joe Biden’s move to end pandemic-era border restrictions, provided that the GOP then agrees to move a stalled $10 billion coronavirus aid deal. It’s a notable shift in Democratic strategy, weeks after the Covid aid package was sidetracked amid Republican demands for an amendment vote on Biden’s decision to lift the public health-related border restrictions. Now that a $40 billion Ukraine aid package is moving without the Covid funding boost that they’d hoped to pair it with, Senate Democrats are warming to the idea of letting Republicans have a vote on immigration if that’s what it takes to prepare the United States for a fall coronavirus surge. (Levine and Everett, 5/10)

The Hill: Future Of COVID-19 Funds In Doubt As Ukraine Aid Advances 
Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), the No. 2 Senate Democrat, said he was “concerned” when asked if he was worried that COVID-19 funding might not happen. “I’m sorry that the Republicans don’t share the sense of urgency,” he added. When it comes to COVID-19 funding, Republicans are insisting on a vote to reverse the Biden administration’s move to lift a Trump-era policy at the southern border, known as Title 42, that allows for rapid expulsion of migrants in the name of public health and prevents them from seeking asylum. (Sullivan, 5/10)

Axios: FDA Says It Is "Doing Everything In Our Power" To Improve Baby Formula Supply
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Tuesday that it is "doing everything in our power" to improve the supply of baby formula. The nation's baby formula shortage has intensified in recent weeks due to supply chain issues and a recent recall of Abbott Nutrition products. “We recognize that many consumers have been unable to access infant formula and critical medical foods they are accustomed to using and are frustrated by their inability to do so," said FDA commissioner Robert Califf in a statement. (Scribner, 5/10)

AP: Parents Hunting For Baby Formula As Shortage Spans US
On Tuesday, the FDA said it was working with U.S. manufacturers to increase their output and streamlining paperwork to allow more imports. For now, pediatricians and health workers are urging parents who can’t find formula to contact food banks or doctor’s offices. They warn against watering down formula to stretch supplies or using online DIY recipes. (Perrone and Hollingsworth, 5/10)

NPR: U.S. Gun-Related Homicide Rate Jumped Nearly 35% In 2020
The rate at which Americans were killed in gun homicides leapt by nearly 35% in 2020 to the highest level in more than 25 years, according to new research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Amid the pandemic and recession that followed, gun homicide rates grew most among groups that were already at higher risk, researchers found — including people in poor areas, young men, and Black people. In 2020, the firearm homicide rate was 6.1 per 100,000 Americans — up from 4.6 a year earlier. (Sullivan and Greenfieldboyce, 5/10)

Stat: Firearm Deaths And Disparities Both Grew In Pandemic’s First Year 
Guns were the weapons wielded in more than three-quarters of homicides in the U.S. during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, jumping 35% from 2019 to 2020 and marking the highest level since 1994, a new CDC analysis says. The suicide rate involving guns was stable at just over half of suicides, but there were increases in some groups of people. The most striking disparity came among young people. Guns killed Black children and young adults from 10 to 24 years old at a rate 21 times as high as among their white peers. “We’re losing too many of our nation’s children and young people, specifically Black boys and young Black men,” Debra Houry, acting principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an interview with STAT. “The difference between Blacks and whites in that age group for firearm homicide is just devastating.” (Cooney, 5/10)

The New York Times: Emergent Hid Evidence Of Covid Vaccine Problems At Plant, Report Says
Emergent BioSolutions, a longtime government contractor hired to produce hundreds of millions of coronavirus vaccine doses, hid evidence of quality control problems from Food and Drug Administration inspectors in February 2021 — six weeks before it alerted federal officials that 15 million doses had been contaminated. The disclosure came in a report released Tuesday by House Democrats, who said that all told, nearly 400 million doses of coronavirus vaccine manufactured by Emergent had to be destroyed “due to poor quality control.” Previous estimates of lost vaccine were far lower; no contaminated doses were ever released to the public. (Stolberg, Hamby and LaFraniere, 5/10)

The Washington Post: Emergent Sought To Conceal Vaccine Production Problems, House Report Says
Emergent said Tuesday it has been fully cooperative with government agencies and its manufacturing partners. It said the committee’s estimate of 400 million doses destroyed is inaccurate, based on a poor understanding of biomedical manufacturing. “Emergent has been open and forthcoming with the FDA, Congress and our partners about the work at our Bayview site and the challenges that were encountered including providing thousands of documents, willingly participating in a congressional hearing and inviting them to visit our facilities,” Emergent spokesman Matt Hartwig said in an email. (Rowland, 5/10)

AP: House Panel Alleges Cover-Up By Contract Vaccine Maker
The report said inexperienced staff and high turnover rates contributed to vaccine contamination. The problem-plagued Baltimore factory was shut down by the Food and Drug Administration in April 2021 due to the contamination. The company was forced to trash what was thought to be the equivalent of tens of millions of doses of vaccine it was making for Johnson & Johnson. The bulk vaccine had been contaminated with an ingredient for AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, which was being made in the same factory. (5/10)

AP: Pandemic Gets Tougher To Track As COVID Testing Plunges
Testing for COVID-19 has plummeted across the globe, making it much tougher for scientists to track the course of the pandemic and spot new, worrisome viral mutants as they emerge and spread. Experts say testing has dropped by 70 to 90% worldwide from the first to the second quarter of this year — the opposite of what they say should be happening with new omicron variants on the rise in places such as the United States and South Africa. (Ungar, 5/10)

ABC News: Breakthrough Deaths Comprise Increasing Proportion Of Those Who Died From COVID-19
A growing proportion of COVID-19 deaths are occurring among the vaccinated, a new ABC News analysis of federal data shows. In August of 2021, about 18.9% of COVID-19 deaths occurred among the vaccinated. Six months later, in February 2022, that proportional percent of deaths had increased to more than 40%. ... "These data should not be interpreted as vaccines not working. In fact, these real-world analyses continue to reaffirm the incredible protection these vaccines afford especially when up to date with boosters," said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist at Boston Children's Hospital and an ABC News contributor.(Mitropoulos, 5/10)

AP: Bill Gates Says He Has COVID, Experiencing Mild Symptoms
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said Tuesday he has tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms. Via Twitter, the billionaire philanthropist said he will isolate until he is again healthy. “I’m fortunate to be vaccinated and boosted and have access to testing and great medical care,” Gates wrote. (5/11)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. School Board Delays Student COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Without Any Discussion
The Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday unanimously approved a delay of a student vaccine mandate for COVID-19 that had been scheduled to take effect next fall, under a recommendation from Supt. Alberto Carvalho. The 8:30 p.m. vote at the conclusion of a nearly 12-hour board meeting took place without comment from either Carvalho or board members. It was a striking anticlimax after board members had determinedly adopted the vaccine requirement last year — and were resolute in defending it against lawsuits. (Blume, 5/10)

The Washington Post: Cruises Are Smashing Records Despite Covid On Board: ‘Life Goes On’
Linda Klauschie, 68, was ready last month to take her first cruise since 2019 — but she also assumed her ship would probably have coronavirus cases on board. So Klauschie, a retired mental health counselor from Albuquerque who is vaccinated and double-boosted, took precautions: She wore a KN95 mask to fly to and from New Orleans, where her back-to-back week-long cruises on the Carnival Glory started. She skipped the buffet when lines were long, kept a distance from other passengers whenever possible, wore a mask during shows and spent a lot of time taking the stairs. (Sampson, 5/10)

AP: Judge To Decide How Much Pharmacies Owe Over Opioid Crisis
A hearing has begun in federal court in Cleveland for a judge to determine how much CVS, Walgreens and Walmart pharmacies should pay two Ohio counties to help them ease the ongoing costs and problems caused by the opioid crisis. A jury in November found the pharmacy chains responsible for recklessly distributing massive amounts of pain pills in Lake and Trumbull counties. It was the first time pharmacies in the U.S. have been held responsible for the opioid crisis. (Gillispie, 5/10)

Modern Healthcare: Oscar Health Leaves Two States Amid Regulatory, Commercial Challenges
Oscar Health will exit Colorado and Arkansas in its push toward profitability, company executives said during its first-quarter earnings call. The insurtech does not expect the move to have a "significant or even close to material effect" on its profits for the year, Chief Financial Officer Scott Blackley said during the call. Oscar Health offered individual exchange plans in Arkansas for the first time in 2022. At the end of 2021, it counted 2,865 members in Colorado, or less than 1% of its total enrollees. (Tepper, 5/10)

The Boston Globe: Massachusetts Confirms State’s First Two Cases Of Unexplained Hepatitis In Children
Massachusetts is investigating two cases of pediatric hepatitis of unknown origin, the state’s first such cases since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a nationwide health alert April 21 asking doctors to look out for unexplained cases of liver damage in children. States have been watching for the condition since October, when five previously healthy young children with significant liver injury were identified in Alabama. The CDC said Friday it was tracking 109 children in 25 states and territories with the condition. The World Health Organization has reported cases in at least 11 countries, including more than 100 cases in the United Kingdom and a dozen each in Spain and Israel. (Bartlett, 5/10)

The Colorado Sun: Colorado Lawmakers Reject Effort To Ban Sale Of Flavored Tobacco, Nicotine
A heavily lobbied, bipartisan effort to ban the sale of flavored tobacco and nicotine products, including menthol cigarettes, in Colorado was rejected by a state Senate committee Tuesday morning, punting the issue back to cities and counties. The Senate Appropriations Committee voted 5-2 to reject House Bill 1064, with Democratic Sens. Robert Rodriguez and Rachel Zenzinger joining the three Republicans on the committee in voting against the measure. The legislation, which was aimed at reducing teen tobacco and nicotine use, faced slim odds of becoming law due to opposition from Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, who said that he would prefer the issue to be regulated at the local level. (Paul and Najmabadi, 5/10)

Colorado Sun: Colorado To Become First State With Right-To-Repair Law For Powered Wheelchairs
Julie Jennings needs a new seat cushion cover for her powered wheelchair. She can’t order the new cover directly from the manufacturer and make the fix herself. Instead, she must go through one of the company’s providers. The manufacturer treats seat cushions as durable medical equipment like walkers or canes that must go through proper FDA-approved repairs. “The technology is velcro and a zipper,” Jennings said. “I think I can handle that.” A bill on its way to Gov. Jared Polis could make it a lot easier for Jennings and other powered-wheelchair users to repair their equipment. House Bill 1031 would require manufacturers to make parts, tools, repair manuals and digital access available to powered wheelchair owners and independent repairers at reasonable prices. (Fleming, 5/10)

The New York Times: Why Heart Disease In Women Is So Often Missed Or Dismissed 
Heart disease is the leading cause of death among men and women in America, killing nearly 700,000 people a year. But studies have long shown that women are more likely than men to dismiss the warning signs of a heart attack, sometimes waiting hours or longer to call 911 or go to a hospital. Now researchers are trying to figure out why. They have found that women often hesitate to get help because they tend to have more subtle heart attack symptoms than men — but even when they do go to the hospital, health care providers are more likely to downplay their symptoms or delay treating them. Health authorities say that heart disease in women remains widely underdiagnosed and under treated, and that these factors contribute to worse outcomes among women and heightened rates of death from the disease. (O'Connor, 5/9)

CIDRAP: Unexplained Hepatitis Cases In Kids Rise To 348 In 20 Nations 
At a World Health Organization (WHO) media telebriefing today on a variety of global health issues, officials said 348 probable cases of hepatitis in children, potentially linked to adenovirus, have been reported from 20 countries across five global regions. Phillipa Easterbrook, MD, MPH, senior scientist with the WHO, said 70 more cases from 13 countries are pending confirmation. She said the cases reflect a mix of new and retrospective cases and that 6 countries have reported more than 5 cases. (Schnirring, 5/10)

Politico: EU Plans To Help Ukraine’s Food Exports Dodge Black Sea Blockade 
Brussels is going to propose a way for some food exports to get around Russia's Black Sea blockade, by taking the overland route. The European Commission will on Wednesday unveil a plan to significantly increase the amount of food that agricultural heavyweight Ukraine can deliver to hungry nations around the world via EU roads and railways. (Wax, 5/10)

AP: El Salvador Gives Woman Accused Of Abortion 30 Years Prison 
A court in El Salvador has sentenced a woman who suffered an obstetric emergency that ended her pregnancy to 30 years in prison for aggravated homicide, according to a nongovernmental organization assisting in her defense. The Citizen Group for the Decriminalization of Abortion said Tuesday in a statement that a woman they identified only as “Esme” was sentenced Monday. The woman had already been in pre-trial detention for two years following her arrest when she sought medical care in a public hospital. (5/10)

AP: Cardinal: Pope's Wheelchair Use An Example To Older Adults 
Pope Francis’ willingness to work despite knee pain that has made walking nearly impossible shows other older adults that they have wisdom and experience to offer younger generations, a top Vatican cardinal said Tuesday. Cardinal Kevin Farrell offered the assessment as he introduced Francis’ message for World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. In the message released Tuesday, the 85-year-old pope urged older people to consider advanced age a blessing. (Winfield, 5/10)

CIDRAP: WHO: Subvariants Fueling COVID Rises In More Than 50 Countries 
At a briefing today, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, the WHO's director-general, said the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants are driving South Africa's surge, with the BA.2 subvariant dominant across the world and COVID-19 cases rising in more than 50 nations. Relatively high population immunity from vaccination or previous infection are so far keeping hospitalizations and deaths at a lower levels than previous surges. "But this is not guaranteed for places where vaccination coverage is low." (Schnirring, 5/10)

AP: WHO Calls On Pfizer To Make Its COVID Pill More Available
The head of the World Health Organization called on Pfizer to make its COVID-19 treatment more widely available in poorer countries, saying Tuesday that the pharmaceutical company’s deal allowing generic producers to make the drug was insufficient. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a news briefing that Pfizer’s treatment was still too expensive. He noted that most countries in Latin America had no access to Pfizer’s drug, Paxlovid, which has been shown to cut the risk of COVID-19 hospitalization or death by up to 90%. (5/10)

AP: Norway Discards COVID-19 Vaccines As Supplies Exceed Demand
Norwegian health authorities said Tuesday that the country has a surplus of COVID-19 vaccines and has already discarded more than 137,000 doses because there is declining demand in low-income countries. The Norwegian Institute of Public Health said it plans a further disposal of doses if global demand does not change. In Norway there is high vaccine coverage while globally a demand for donations has fallen. (5/10)