First Edition: May 24, 2021

KHN: Is Your Living Room The Future Of Hospital Care?
Major hospital systems are betting big money that the future of hospital care looks a lot like the inside of patients’ homes. Hospital-level care at home — some of it provided over the internet — is poised to grow after more than a decade as a niche offering, boosted both by hospitals eager to ease overcrowding during the pandemic and growing interest by insurers who want to slow health care spending. But a host of challenges remain, from deciding how much to pay for such services to which kinds of patients can safely benefit. (Appleby, 5/24)

KHN: Tips For Older Adults To Regain Their Game After Being Cooped Up For More Than A Year
Alice Herb, 88, an intrepid New Yorker, is used to walking miles around Manhattan. But after this year of being shut inside, trying to avoid covid-19, she’s noticed a big difference in how she feels. “Physically, I’m out of shape,” she told me. “The other day I took the subway for the first time, and I was out of breath climbing two flights of stairs to the street. That’s just not me.” Emotionally, Herb, a retired lawyer and journalist, is unusually hesitant about resuming activities even though she’s fully vaccinated. “You wonder: What if something happens? Maybe I shouldn’t be doing that. Maybe that’s dangerous,” she said. (Graham, 5/24)

KHN: No-Cancel Culture: How Telehealth Is Making It Easier To Keep That Therapy Session
When the covid-19 pandemic forced behavioral health providers to stop seeing patients in person and instead hold therapy sessions remotely, the switch produced an unintended, positive consequence: Fewer patients skipped appointments. That had long been a problem in mental health care. Some outpatient programs previously had no-show rates as high as 60%, according to several studies. (Berger, 5/24)

KHN: If You Are Vaccinated, You Can Dance The Night Away
Marissa Castrigno was walking through downtown Wilmington, North Carolina, when she spotted the sign in the window of one of her favorite dance clubs. After months of being shuttered by the pandemic, Ibiza Nightclub was reopening April 30, it announced. Thrilled, Castrigno immediately made plans with friends to be there. About 50 miles north in Jacksonville, Kennedy Swift learned of Ibiza’s reopening on social media. He, too, decided to attend with friends. (Pattani, 5/21)

KHN: KHN Journalists Comment On Abortion Case, Wasted Covid Doses
KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner discussed the Supreme Court’s decision to hear a challenge in an abortion case from Mississippi on Newsy on Tuesday. KHN freelancer Sara Reardon discussed allegations by a rail company that a clinic in Libby, Montana, is defrauding Medicare by overdiagnosing asbestos-related diseases on Montana Public Radio on May 13. (5/22)

CNBC: U.S. Covid Cases Hit Lowest Level Since June 2020
Covid cases in the U.S. have dropped to their lowest level since June as the nation prepares for Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of the summer travel season. The seven-day average of new infections is about 26,000 as of Sunday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. That is the lowest number since June of last year. (Repko, 5/23)

The New York Times: Coronavirus Cases And Deaths In The United States Drop To Lowest Levels In Nearly A Year
The United States is adding fewer than 30,000 cases a day for the first time since June of last year, and deaths are as low as they’ve been since last summer. In much of the country, the virus outlook is improving. Nearly 50 percent of Americans have received at least one vaccine shot, and though the pace has slowed, the share is still growing by about two percentage points per week. (Morales and Grullón Paz, 5/24)

CNN: Half Of States Have Fully Vaccinated At Least 50% Of Adults. We Need To Keep Going To Prevent Future Outbreaks, Official Says 
At least 25 states -- plus Washington, DC -- have now fully vaccinated at least half of their adults, data published Sunday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. Those states are Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, Washington state and Wisconsin. (Maxouris, 5/24)

The New York Times: CDC Is Investigating Heart Problems In A Few Young Covid-19 Vaccine Recipients
The group’s statement was sparse in details, saying only that there were “relatively few” cases and that they may be entirely unrelated to vaccination. The condition, called myocarditis, is an inflammation of the heart muscle, and can occur following certain infections. The C.D.C.’s review of the reports is in the early stages, and the agency has yet to determine whether there is any evidence that the vaccines caused the heart condition. The agency has posted guidance on its website urging doctors and clinicians to be alert to unusual heart symptoms among young people who had just received their shots. (Mandavilli, 5/22)

Axios: CDC Probes Rare Reports Of Myocarditis In Young Vaccinated People 
An advisory panel for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating a few reports of heart inflammation in young adults following their inoculation from two-dose mRNA vaccines. Although the CDC says reports of myocarditis, or heart inflammation, have not exceeded expected rates, the condition can lead to rapid or abnormal heart rhythms and even sudden cardiac death. (Rummier, 5/23)

NBC News: Faced With Anti-Vaccination Parents, Teens Are Helping One Another Get Covid Shots
The Gen Zer from Ohio who made a splash two years ago for defying his mother to get his childhood immunizations has a message for teenagers seeking Covid-19 vaccinations and getting pushback from their parents — get one if you can. Ethan Lindenberger, 20, got his first dose three weeks ago and said doing so “could save someone’s life.” “Teens faced with this have to weigh things like ‘I know vaccines are lifesaving, but I don’t want to become homeless,’” he said. “So I tell them if you can’t have that loving conversation with your parents and you’re of age, weigh those consequences seriously. (Gostanian and Siemaszko, 5/23)

Axios: Colleges Navigate Vaccine Hurdles For International Students 
As more colleges and universities announce COVID vaccine requirements for the fall, they are facing additional logistical challenges figuring out what that will look like for international students. Ensuring international students can get their vaccines is one big piece of safely reopening campuses — which, in turn, could also help reverse some of the dramatic enrollment declines U.S. colleges saw due to COVID-19. (Fernandez, 5/24)

The Washington Post: Kids Staying Masked Inside Classrooms Is ‘Reasonable’ For A Period Of Time, Former FDA Chief Says
Parents of children under 12, who are not yet eligible to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, will have to continue to make individual assessments about their risk, said Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration — even as officials cheer the steady decline in covid cases in the United States and the return to relative normalcy for many vaccinated adults. In an interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday, Gottlieb said about 85 percent of those above the age of 65 have been vaccinated, which has helped account for a drop in infections and hospitalizations. On Friday, the seven-day average of new coronavirus infections in the United States fell to 27,815, dropping below 30,000 for the first time in 11 months, according to state health department data compiled by The Washington Post. (Wang, 5/23)

The New York Times: Ventilation And Testing Can Help Keep U.S. Schools Open In Fall, Studies Suggest
Several Covid-19 mitigation measures — including improving ventilation, requiring adults to wear face masks and conducting frequent surveillance testing — can help schools stay open and students remain safe, two new studies suggest. The studies, which were published on Friday, come as many school districts are drawing up their plans for the fall. They also follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance that all schools teaching students from kindergarten through grade 12 should continue to have mask-wearing policies through the end of the 2020-21 school year, after the agency’s recent move to allow for vaccinated people to forgo wearing masks indoors. The agency also kept in place its suggestions to observe physical distancing and to test for coronavirus infections. (Anthes, 5/21)

Axios: Health Companies Get Into The School Reopening Business 
Health companies and startups are getting into the business of helping K-12 schools in the U.S. figure out how to safely reopen in person — and stay open in person — in the fall. Even as cases and deaths come down nationwide, experts worry about the unknowns the fall could bring as people retreat indoors. That's a particular concern with the uncertainty in child COVID vaccine uptake and adults' looming need for booster shots. (Fernandez, 5/24)

Axios: Study: Pandemic School Closures Will Cost The U.S. Economy Trillions 
The long-term economic cost of school closures could reach into the trillions, according to a paper released this week. Beyond the direct health damage caused by COVID-19, no other area will have as far-reaching impact as pandemic-driven school closures. (Walsh, 5/22)

Axios: Pandemic Exacerbates Massive Shortage Of Health Care Workers 
There are hundreds of open healthcare jobs for every applicant — and the shortfall is only growing. America is aging, and millions of recovering COVID patients will need long-term care, dramatically increasing the demand for physicians, nurses, and home health aides. But there aren't enough workers with the skills to fill these jobs. (Pandey, 5/21)

Politico: Nursing Homes Invoke Trump-Era Protections To Fight Lawsuits Over Covid Deaths
Nursing homes are increasingly seeking to shield themselves from a raft of wrongful death lawsuits from the families of Covid-19 victims by invoking new liability protections they received from Washington last year as the coronavirus tore through the facilities. About 200 lawsuits in nearly half the states have already been filed, and the industry says it’s bracing for many more in the coming months given the virus’ outsize toll on residents and staff. But an emergency preparedness law expanded by Congress last year limiting health providers’ exposure to coronavirus-related lawsuits — and the Trump administration’s broad interpretation of those protections — are upending litigation against nursing homes. (Luthi and Roubein, 5/22)

AP: Rand Paul Says He's Skipping Vaccine For Now, May Reconsider
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky said on a radio show he won’t be getting the COVID-19 vaccine, but that he might change his mind if people who previously contracted the disease are getting reinfected at a greater rate than those who are vaccinated. The Republican — more than a year after contracting COVID-19 — said on a podcast released Sunday on WABC-AM in New York that he doesn’t want the federal government ordering him around. (5/23)

The Wall Street Journal: Intelligence On Sick Staff At Wuhan Lab Fuels Debate On Covid-19 Origin
Three researchers from China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology became sick enough in November 2019 that they sought hospital care, according to a previously undisclosed U.S. intelligence report that could add weight to growing calls for a fuller probe of whether the Covid-19 virus may have escaped from the laboratory. The details of the reporting go beyond a State Department fact sheet, issued during the final days of the Trump administration, which said that several researchers at the lab, a center for the study of coronaviruses and other pathogens, became sick in autumn 2019 “with symptoms consistent with both Covid-19 and common seasonal illness.” (Gordon, Strobel and Hinshaw, 5/23)

Axios: What's At Stake For Employers In Congress's Drug Pricing Fight 
Employers and their workers have hundreds of billions of dollars at stake in the fight over House Democrats' drug pricing bill, according to a new West Health Policy Center analysis. If anyone has the political clout to take on the drug industry, it's employers. The House bill could reduce employer health spending by $195 billion between 2023 and 2029, West Health estimates, noting that this is a conservative scenario. (Owens, 5/21)

The Wall Street Journal: Elizabeth Holmes Jury To Hear Of Faulty Theranos Tests From Patients
Jurors will be able to hear limited evidence of Theranos Inc. founder Elizabeth Holmes’s wealth, and from customers who said they got faulty blood-test results, a judge concluded in a weekend order that will help shape her criminal fraud trial. Ms. Holmes faces multiple counts of mail fraud for allegedly deceiving investors, patients and doctors about Theranos’s blood-testing technology, which purported to test for a range of health conditions from a few drops of blood extracted from a finger prick. Ms. Holmes has pleaded not guilty and faces an August trial, after several delays due to the coronavirus pandemic and news that she is due to give birth in July. (Randazzo, 5/23)

The New York Times: Paul J. Hanly Jr., Top Litigator In Opioid Cases, Dies At 70
Paul J. Hanly Jr., a top trial lawyer who had been central to the current nationwide litigation against pharmaceutical companies and others in the supply chain for their role in the deadly opioid epidemic, died on Saturday at his home in Miami Beach. He was 70. The cause was anaplastic thyroid cancer, an extremely rare and aggressive disease, said Jayne Conroy, his longtime law partner. (Seelye, 5/22)

ABC News: How Greenlighting Pfizer's New Vaccine Storage Requirements Could Dramatically Improve Access
With little fanfare, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave Pfizer permission this week to store its COVID-19 vaccine in a typical refrigerator for one month -- freeing the vaccine from the need to be shipped in cumbersome boxes stuffed with dry ice. Among authorized COVID-19 vaccines, Pfizer's vaccine was notorious for its ultra-cold storage requirements. Now, as the only vaccine authorized for children ages 12 to 17, this new flexibility could dramatically accelerate the effort to vaccinate America's teens and adolescents. (Brownstein and Weintraub, 5/22)

Stat: Wealthy Nations, Drug Makers Offer Moves To Bridge Covid Vaccine Divide
The leaders of the world’s wealthiest nations and several drug makers took steps to widen equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines, such as issuing voluntary licenses to expand manufacturing, increasing donations to a global distribution program, and investing in production capacity in Africa. Specifically, the G20 leaders asked the World Health Organization and World Trade Organization to compile a report by October on obstacles to greater vaccine access. They also agreed to extend through 2022 a WHO program called Access to Covid-19 Tools Accelerator, or ACT Accelerator, which was created to develop, produce and distribute vaccines, diagnostics and therapies. (Silverman, 5/21)

Axios: Coronavirus Vaccine Mandates More Popular Than Vaccine Passports 
There's much higher public support for government-imposed vaccine mandates than businesses' use of "vaccine passports," even if they're called something else, according to recent surveys by the COVID States Project. Private businesses are increasingly responsible for making pandemic policy, but this polling suggests that it'd be much more popular for the government to take the stronger role, at least when it comes to vaccine requirements. (Owens, 5/24)

CNBC: Covid Vaccine Passports: Everything We Know So Far
Italy, Iceland, Greece and Spain now allow or are opening their borders to people who’ve been vaccinated or who recently tested negative for Covid-19. The European Union has agreed to open its borders to more vaccinated tourists, including from the U.S.The question is: How will individuals prove their vaccine or Covid status? (Josephs, 5/22)

Axios: Employers Dangle Rewards For COVID-19 Vaccines Despite Legal Hurdles 
Instead of mandating COVID-19 vaccination, more companies are offering employees cash, paid time off, and other financial incentives to get the shot. Employers are favoring "carrots" over "sticks" in the push to get more people vaccinated. But those carrots could run afoul of federal law — if the rewards are too big. (Herman, 5/24)

CNN: The Women Possibly At Higher Risk For Covid-19 That No One Is Talking About 
Last July, when her immediate family tested positive for Covid-19, Breanna Aguilar did not fit into any groups considered at higher risk for severe disease. She is 31 years old, a pet sitter and former fitness teacher who once ran a half marathon. She was, by most measures, healthy. When Aguilar got Covid-19 she lost her sense of taste, had mild fevers and muscle weakness. She could barely keep anything down yet gained about 30 pounds. Later, she developed pelvic pain, cystic acne, breast tenderness, headaches, brain fog and extreme fatigue. (Masi, 5/23)

Politico: How The Covid Vaccine Push Squeezed Out Drugs For Sick Patients
Coronavirus vaccines have reached American adults in record time, but the development of treatments for Covid-19 is stagnating — threatening efforts to stamp out clusters of infection and end the pandemic. While the Biden administration has committed to channeling billions of dollars into finding therapies, a key government agency that invests in drug development recently stopped reviewing requests for new treatments — in part because it doesn't have enough cash available, according to one senior health official. (Owermohle and Ellen Foley, 5/24)

AP: Pandemic Has Fueled Eating Disorder Surge In Teens, Adults
Many hospital beds are full. Waiting lists for outpatient treatment are bulging. And teens and adults seeking help for eating disorders are often finding it takes months to get an appointment. The pandemic created treacherous conditions for eating disorders, leading to a surge of new cases and relapses that is not abating as restrictions are loosened and COVID-19 cases subside in many places, doctors and other specialists say. “We are absolutely seeing massive increases,” said Jennifer Wildes, an associate psychiatry professor and director of an outpatient eating disorders program at the University of Chicago Medicine. Some patients are waiting four to five months to get treatment such as psychotherapy and sometimes medication. Waits usually lasted only a few weeks pre-pandemic, Wildes said. (Tanner, 5/23)

NBC News: Nearly 1 In 10 Teens Identify As Gender-Diverse In Pittsburgh Study
The number of young people who are gender-diverse — including transgender, nonbinary and genderqueer — may be significantly higher than previously thought, according to a new study. Researchers in Pittsburgh found that nearly 1 in 10 students in over a dozen public high schools identified as gender-diverse — five times the current national estimates. Gender diversity refers to people whose gender identities or gender expressions differ from the sexes they were assigned at birth, according to the American Psychological Association. (Avery, 5/21)

CIDRAP: CDC Confirms 163 Salmonella Illnesses Linked To Backyard Poultry
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed 163 new Salmonella infections in 43 states that are linked to backyard poultry. A total of 34 people have been hospitalized, but no deaths have been recorded. Case-patients range in age from less than 1 to 87 years, with a median age of 24. But a third of the cases occurred in children under the age of 5 years, the CDC said. Of 92 patients interviewed, 81 (88%) reported contact with backyard poultry before falling ill. (5/21)

Health News Florida: Study Could Ease FDA Blood-Donation Restrictions For Gay Men 
A pilot study with three of the nation's largest blood donation organizations could help the FDA change its blood-donation restrictions for men who have sex with men. Current FDA guidelines say that men who have sex with men must wait three months before they can donate blood. The study by OneBlood, the American Red Cross and Vitalant will determine whether the FDA should replace its three- month waiting period with an individual risk assessment. (Prieur, 5/21)

NBC News: 'Mind-Boggling': Pedestrian Deaths Surged In 2020, Despite Fewer Cars On The Road
Pedestrians deaths in 2020 increased by 21 percent from 2019 — the largest annual increase since such data collection began in the mid-1970s — according to a report released Thursday by the Governors Highway Safety Association. The figure is particularly striking because there were fewer drivers on the road for much of 2020, as Americans hunkered down due to the Covid-19 pandemic. "All of the metrics indicate there were fewer people on the roads, and so you would expect to see fewer traffic deaths, but it's the opposite," said Richard Retting, a safety researcher the GHSA contracted to do the data analysis. "It's kind of mind-boggling." (Edwards, 5/21)

NBC News: 50 Years Later, The Culture Wars Debate Over The Child Care Crisis Has Barely Budged
In 1971, President Richard Nixon vetoed a bipartisan bill that would have laid the groundwork for a national child care system, saying it would have placed the government on "the side of communal approaches to child rearing [and] against the family-centered approach." Fifty years later, as President Joe Biden makes subsidized child care for low- and middle-income families a major plank of his legislative agenda, the socially conservative argument against his plan sounds much the same as the one Nixon aide Pat Buchanan was making when he wrote that veto message. (Smith, 5/24)

The Wall Street Journal: How Covid-19 Is Helping To Change The Doctor’s Waiting Room
Historically, the waiting room has served several functions. It is where doctors collect all of the necessary information (and then some) from patients via the dreaded clipboard. It is where patients settle their bills, often through a pane of glass or plastic with a receptionist behind it. And, of course, it is a holding pen for patients to wait until the doctor is ready to see them. Now healthcare providers are using technology and redesigning their facilities to change the experience and bring much of it out of the waiting room. “There should be no waiting room,” says Dr. Rahul Khare, chief executive of Innovative Care clinics in the Chicago area. “We should do what we can to eliminate that.” (Kornelis, 5/23)

Stat: Health Care Providers Hope To Cash In Through Congress' Earmark Process
Earmarks are back, and so is the health care industry’s insatiable appetite to get a piece of them. A decade ago, Republicans banned the congressional funding process that allowed lawmakers to request earmarks, or money for pet projects in their home districts. But with Democrats in charge of both chambers of Congress, the requests are being permitted again, with some caveats. (Cohrs, 5/24)

Stat: Freenome, High-Profile Liquid Biopsy Company, Quietly Replaces Its CEO
Freenome, a high-profile startup that aims to develop a blood test to detect colon cancer, has quietly replaced its co-founder and chief executive, Gabriel Otte. The company’s chief business officer, Mike Nolan, a long-time veteran of the genomics and diagnostic industries, is Freenome’s new CEO. He was identified as such in a Freenome press release on Friday about new data on its experimental test; he is also listed as CEO on Freenome’s website and on his own LinkedIn profile. (Herper, 5/21)

Health News Florida: Report Points To Benefits Of Florida Medicaid Expansion 
Florida could add 134,700 jobs, lower the number of uninsured residents by 852,000 and pump billions of additional federal dollars into the economy if it would expand Medicaid to low-income adults without children, according to a report released Thursday. The Commonwealth Fund, a New York-based organization that focuses on health care issues, released the report, which said expanding Medicaid in Florida would add 61,600 health-care jobs from 2022 to 2025. It also said an expansion would lead to job increases in the construction, retail, finance and insurance sectors. (Sexton, 5/21)

Health News Florida: Florida Report Shows Vaccinations Lag Among Blacks
More than 9.8 million people have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in Florida since the first round of shots arrived in the state in December. But a report Thursday by the Florida Department of Health said just 7 percent of the vaccinated people have been identified as Black. By comparison, about 66 percent have been identified as white. Another 15 percent were listed as “unknown,” and 11 percent were identified as “other.”Less than 1 percent were categorized as American Indian or Alaskan. (5/21)

Georgia Health News: Black, Latino Georgians Lag Behind Whites In COVID Shots, Report Says 
Blacks and Latinos in Georgia have significantly lower COVID-19 vaccination rates than whites, a newly released Kaiser Health News analysis shows. Thirty percent of whites in Georgia have had at least one shot, yet they trail another group — Asians, who are at 44 percent. The data were provided to KHN by the CDC in response to a public records request. But nearly half of the vaccination records are missing race or ethnicity information, KHN reported, which would mean the statistics are far from complete. (Miller, 5/21)

The Hill: 12 New COVID-19 Cases, 2 Deaths Reported Among Navajo Nation
The Navajo Nation on Saturday reported 12 new COVID-19 cases and two deaths, according to the Navajo Department of Health. Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said in a statement on Twitter that health officials reported the total number of deaths for the tribe was 1,299 with the total number of cases being 30,767. More than 29,000 of those infected have recovered from their symptoms. Nez continued to encourage the tribe to take health precautions associated with COVID-19. (Oshin, 5/23)

The Hill: UK Variant Now Dominant In Los Angeles County
The Los Angeles County Health Department revealed on Saturday that the dominant coronavirus strain in the area originated in the United Kingdom. The department reported that the U.K. variant was detected more than half of the 40 specimens analyzed by the L.A. County Public Health Laboratory in the past week. The lab also discovered the Brazilian and South African variants. Two California variants were previously the most common strains circulating the county, the department noted, but testing in the past week did not detect either of the variants. (Schnell, 5/23)

The Baltimore Sun: ‘It’s Kind Of Weird To See People Without Masks Now’: Marylanders, Retailers Navigate (Mostly) Relaxed Mandates 
When Jules Abbott visited a liquor store in Bel Air earlier this month, she was surprised to see about half the shop’s customers without face masks. Beverage samples had even returned to the store. But Abbott kept her mask on. It just didn’t feel right to go without something that had been such an integral part of her life for the past year, she said. (Condon and Louis, 5/24)

The Baltimore Sun: How Can I Enter Maryland’s Vaccine Lottery? What Are The Odds Of Winning Cash? 
Flanked by a Lotto-ball mascot, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan laid out the stakes: Forty daily drawings for $40,000 each and a $400,000 Fourth of July jackpot, he said. Get one coronavirus vaccine shot and you’ve got a chance for a share of the cash. As the Republican governor put it last week, “Get your shot for a shot to win.” (Mann and Wood, 5/24)

AP: Mainers Can Remove Masks Indoors Starting Today
The day has arrived for Maine residents who want to stop wearing a mask. The state’s new guidance about mask use during the coronavirus pandemic takes effect on Monday. Mainers no longer have to wear a face covering in most indoor settings, except for schoolchildren 5 and older. Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, made the decision in mid-May to align the state rules with the latest guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The state is also lifting physical distancing requirements at indoor public settings where people are eating or drinking, such as bars and restaurants. (5/24)

CBS News: Latin America Surpasses 1 Million COVID-19 Deaths
More than 1 million total COVID-19 deaths have been reported in Latin America and the Caribbean as of Saturday, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University. The region — which accounts for 8% of the world population — has reported approximately 29% of all global COVID fatalities. "This is a tragic milestone for everyone in the region," Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Carissa F. Etienne said Friday in a statement. "This pandemic is far from over, and it is hitting Latin America and the Caribbean severely, affecting our health, our economies, and entire societies." (Powell, 5/23)

The Washington Post: Coronavirus Live Updates: India Records Another Record Death Toll, With The Total Now Exceeding 300,000
Ravaged by a brutal second wave, India recorded 4,454 deaths on Monday, making it the third country in the world after the United States and Brazil to surpass more than 300,000 coronavirus deaths. It also added nearly 220,000 fresh cases, a big drop from its peak of over 414,000 in early May. The virus has receded from major cities like Mumbai and Delhi as hospital beds free up and oxygen shortages ease. But its spread into rural areas remains a worry. People in the countryside are reporting deaths after covid-like symptoms without ever being tested or treated for the virus. (Masih and Schemm, 5/24)

The Washington Post: Indian American Doctors Offer Help From Afar To Ease Indian Health Care Crisis
Anup Katyal, an intensive care physician in Missouri, was finally getting a break from treating hundreds of covid-19 patients at the hospital where he works. Then, catastrophe descended on India, his homeland. Each day since, he has awakened to a flurry of messages from 20 relatives, friends and fellow doctors in India seeking medical advice. And then, before bed, he has hopped on Zoom with a family in New Delhi who contracted the virus and turned to a physician 7,700 miles away because local doctors turned off their phones and shuttered their offices. (Nirappil, 5/24)

Axios: At Least 100 COVID-19 Cases On Everest, Guide Says 
A Mount Everest climbing expert on Saturday told the AP there are at least 100 active coronavirus cases at the base camp. The remarks from Lukas Furtenbach contradict statements from Nepalese officials who have denied knowledge of active infections among climbers and support staff during this season, AP reports. (Gonzalez, 5/22)

The Washington Post: France Records Lowest Daily Covid-19 Death Toll In Seven Months
France on Sunday reported its lowest daily covid-19 death toll in more than seven months, registering 70 virus-related fatalities as restrictions eased and vaccinations picked up speed. The European nation’s seven-day moving average of daily new coronavirus cases fell below 13,000 for the first time since the end of 2020, Reuters reported. France has confirmed at least 5.6 million coronavirus infections since the pandemic began, including more than 108,000 deaths. (Cunningham, 5/24)

The Hill: Germany Bans Most Travel From UK Amid Concerns Of Contagious Variants
Germany on Friday issued a ban on most travel from the United Kingdom (U.K.), citing concerns about the spread of more infectious variants, including a new variant found in India, throughout the country. The restrictions came the same day the Robert Koch Institute, Germany’s disease control and prevention agency, added Great Britain and Northern Ireland among its list of international areas of concern, labeling it a “virus variant area.” (Castronuovo, 5/22)

AP: Japan Opens Mass Vaccination Centers 2 Months Before Games
Japan mobilized military doctors and nurses to give shots to elderly people in Tokyo and Osaka on Monday as the government desperately tries to accelerate its vaccination rollout and curb coronavirus infections just two months before hosting the Olympics. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is determined to hold the Olympics in Tokyo after a one-year delay and has made an ambitious pledge to finish vaccinating the country’s 36 million elderly people by the end of July, despite skepticism it’s possible. Worries about public safety while many Japanese remain unvaccinated have prompted growing protests and calls for canceling the Games set to start on July 23. (Yamaguchi, 5/24)