First Edition: May 25, 2022

KHN: The Blackfeet Nation’s Plight Underscores The Fentanyl Crisis On Reservations 
As the pandemic was setting in during summer 2020, Justin Lee Littledog called his mom to tell her he was moving from Texas back home to the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana with his girlfriend, stepson, and son. They moved in with his mom, Marla Ollinger, on a 300-acre ranch on the rolling prairie outside Browning and had what Ollinger remembers as the best summer of her life. “That was the first time I’ve gotten to meet Arlin, my first grandson,” Ollinger said. Another grandson was soon born, and Littledog found maintenance work at the casino in Browning to support his growing family. (Bolton, 5/25)

KHN: As ‘Trigger Law’ Looms, New Clinic Preps To Provide Abortions In Conservative Bastion
A modest, tan building sandwiched between a gas station and a small apartment house near this Western city’s downtown has become an unexpected focal point of America’s abortion debate, just weeks before Wyoming could outlaw the procedure. Inside, a nonprofit is renovating the space into a clinic that, beginning in June, would be the only one in Wyoming to provide procedural abortions. The Casper clinic also would become the closest option for people in what the nonprofit’s founders describe as an “abortion desert,” extending into western Nebraska and South Dakota. (Zionts, 5/25)

Fort Worth Star-Telegram: How To Talk To Kids About Tragedy After The Deadly School Shooting In Uvalde, Texas 
When terrible news breaks, such as Tuesday’s school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, our first instincts might be to shield children from the dangers of the world. But experts say that’s the wrong thing to do. We should expect school-aged children to talk about events in the news — like a mass shooting or a natural disaster — with their peers when they’re out of the house. (Cataudella, 5/24)

Los Angeles Times: Texas School Shooting: How To Help Kids Get Through Unspeakable Horror
The shooting in Texas is forcing parents and schools to once again confront how to talk to kids about violence. Experts have told The Times these are complex and sensitive conversations, but also vital — especially for the children of today, who’ve endured a pandemic. “And now, on top of all those already existing pandemic-related chronic stressors, many children and families may be overwhelmed with the added fear of sending their children to school,” said Katherine Williams, a child and adolescent psychologist and professor of psychiatry at UC San Diego. (Newberry, 5/24)

Austin American-Statesman: How To Talk To Your Kids About The Uvalde, Texas School Shooting
After the Las Vegas concert shooting in 2017, Jane Ripperger-Suhler, a child psychiatrist at Seton’s Texas Child Study Center, had this advice for parents about how much we should say about a mass shooting, and it’s good advice for what has happened today: We need to be careful about who is watching with TV with us and how we explain it. ... If [children] don’t seem to be able to move on after a few days, are afraid to go to school, are too scared to go to bed, are having physical symptoms of stress or behavior problems, get them help sooner rather than later, Ripperger-Suhler says. Be especially aware if a child has experience a trauma before. Watching this scene on TV will not cause post-traumatic stress disorder, she says, but it can be more traumatic and disturbing to some kids. (Villalpando, 5/24)

KXAN: Texas School Shooting: How To Talk To Your Kids About Tragedy
Dr. Brent D. Kaziny, medical director of emergency management at Texas Children’s Hospital, provided advice to KXAN on how parents should approach talking with their children about a traumatic event. “They may do things that parents don’t recognize…they’re having issues with the grieving process. Children that don’t wet the bed, may wet the bed. They may start talking in ‘baby-talk,'” Kaziny said. “For a parent that doesn’t know to look for things, that might be a challenge.” (Schnitker, 5/24)

WCVB Boston: Boston Youth Mental Health Experts Say It's Crucial To Address Texas School Shooting With Children
Parents in Massachusetts and around the country are facing a tough conversation with their children following Tuesday's deadly school shooting in Texas. The shooting may seem like an unspeakable horror, but mental health experts say it is crucial for parents to talk about it with their kids. "They really need to hear from parents that they are safe and there's lots of ways to tell that to kids," said Dr. Erica Lee, a psychologist at Boston Children's Hospital. Lee said as children are processing the tragedy, parents should use their words to establish a sense of safety. "Letting them know that you're doing everything that you can to protect them; that you would never send them to school if you thought they were going to be unsafe, the school has a good safety plan," Lee said.

MarketWatch: The Complicated, Fraught Connection Between Gun Violence And Mental Health 
Once again, lawmakers, mental-health professionals, gun-control advocates, the National Rifle Association and people across the land are searching for answers, and debating gun-control laws — or lack thereof — in the United States. “People with mental-health issues are more likely to be victims than perpetrators,” said Chethan Sathya, a pediatric trauma surgeon and director of Northwell Health’s Center for Gun Violence Prevention, headquartered in New Hyde Park, N.Y. “We have to be very careful how we talk about the link between the two,” he said. “When it comes to folks with mental-health issues these public-health strategies are important because they often involve the victims themselves.” (Fottrell, 5/24)

CBS News: One Organization Has Already Sent 25 Units Of Blood To Uvalde. Here's How You Can Help
Following a mass shooting at an elementary school in Texas that killed at least 19 children and two adults, a large blood bank in San Antonio, Texas, rushed 25 units of donated blood to the small town of Uvalde. Now, South Texas Blood and Tissue is asking the public for more donations. In a statement, the organization said it sent 15 units of low titer O whole blood, which is used in emergency situations because it can be transfused on-site or in an emergency vehicle, to Uvalde via helicopter. After receiving a request for more, they sent an additional 10 units of O negative blood to a hospital in Uvalde late Tuesday afternoon. (O'Kane, 5/24)

The Wall Street Journal: Abbott To Release 300,000 Specialty Baby Formula Cans 
Abbott Laboratories will release about 300,000 cans of a specialty infant formula for children in urgent medical need, while U.S. health regulators cleared the import of about 2 million cans of formula from the U.K. to try to mitigate a shortage. Abbott, of Abbott Park, Ill., said Tuesday it is releasing limited quantities of EleCare, an amino acid-based powder for infants with severe food allergies or gastrointestinal disorders. (Loftus, 5/24)

Reuters: U.S. FDA Allows Importing Of 2 Mln Baby Formula Cans From UK
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is easing regulations to allow infant formula imports from Britain, a move it said on Tuesday would bring around 2 million cans onto empty shelves by June to ease a nationwide shortage. The FDA said it was "exercising enforcement discretion" to allow Britain-based Kendal Nutricare to import certain infant formula products under the Kendamil brand that it has no safety or nutrition concerns over following an evaluation. (Aboulenein and Rajesh, 5/24)

Reuters: Danone Doubles Supply Of Some Baby Formula To U.S. Amid Shortage 
Danone SA [of France] has been doubling shipments to the United States of Neocate formula for infants allergic to cow's milk while Enfamil maker Reckitt is also working to boost supplies amid a nationwide shortage, company executives said on Wednesday. ... Danone - the world's second-biggest baby formula maker after Nestle but a relatively small player in the United States with less than 5% of market share - is stepping up supply of Neocate. ... The French company declined to say how many cans or tonnes of product it is exporting. (Naidu, 5/25)

Chicago Tribune: Abbott To Restart Formula Production June 4 At Its Michigan Facility, And Release EleCare Now 
Abbott Laboratories plans to restart production of infant formula at its Michigan facility June 4, and it will begin releasing specialty formula EleCare in the next several days, the company said Tuesday. The announcement comes amid a nationwide shortage of infant formula caused by supply chain issues and exacerbated by a recall of formulas made at Abbott’s Sturgis, Mich., facility. Abbott recalled a number of infant formulas produced at that facility in February as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it was investigating complaints of Cronobacter sakazakii infections among four babies who reportedly consumed formula made there. All four were hospitalized, and Cronobacter may have contributed to two babies’ deaths, according to the FDA. (Schencker, 5/24)

The Hill: FTC Opens Inquiry Into Baby Formula Shortage 
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced an inquiry Tuesday into the infant formula shortage and said it will assess the impact of mergers and acquisitions in the market. The agency said it will investigate bots reselling formula at “exorbitant prices” and seek public comment on the factors that “contributed to the shortage or hampered our ability to respond to it.” (Schonfeld, 5/24)

AP: FDA Chief To Detail Delays Inspecting Baby Formula Plant 
Federal plans to inspect a baby formula factory linked to the nationwide shortage were slowed by COVID-19, scheduling conflicts and other logistical problems, according to prepared testimony from the head of the Food and Drug Administration. FDA Commissioner Robert Califf is set to answer questions Wednesday from House lawmakers probing the events leading to the formula shortage, which has forced the U.S. to begin airlifting products from Europe while many parents still hunt for scarce supplies. (Perrone, 5/25)

Los Angeles Times: Monkeypox In California: 1st State Case Likely In Sacramento
California’s first suspected case of monkeypox has been publicly reported in Sacramento County. The person, who recently traveled to Europe, is isolating at home and isn’t in contact with other people, health officials said Tuesday. During a briefing Tuesday morning, Sacramento County Public Health Officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye said she was unable to provide the suspected patient’s gender or age but confirmed the person is a county resident. (Money and Lin II, 5/24)

NBC News: Monkeypox Symptoms: Veterinarian Who Got Virus Years Ago Describes Lesions, Flu-Like Symptoms
A veterinarian who contracted monkeypox during a U.S. outbreak in 2003 described the "scary" ordeal of becoming suddenly ill before authorities knew what was happening. Dr. Kurt Zaeske, who is now retired in Wisconsin, said he developed flu-like symptoms and lesions after coming into contact with a monkeypox-infected prairie dog through a client. Neither knew what had made the animal sick. (Silva, 5/24)

The Hill: Pandemic Disrupted HIV Prevention Efforts, CDC Report Says 
The COVID-19 pandemic severely hampered HIV testing in the U.S., leading to a significant drop-off in the number of diagnosed infections from 2019 to 2020, according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report. The agency’s annual HIV Surveillance Report found infections decreased 17 percent in 2020, from 36,940 to 30,635. But rather than good news, the numbers likely show an underdiagnosis because of a decrease in testing. It’s possible the number of infections is actually increasing. (Weixel, 5/24)

NBC News: Because Of Covid, 2020 Was A 'Lost Year' In The Fight Against HIV, Report Suggests
CDC officials have expressed concern that the extraordinary disruptions the country’s Covid response have caused to HIV-related services have inflicted collateral damage that could take years to undo. It even remains possible that, after decades of hard-fought declines, the national HIV transmission rate has crept up again. “We definitely had a hit from Covid-19,” said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, the director of the CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention. He called 2020 “a lost year” for the HIV fight, even amid the launch of a federal plan called Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S., or EHE. “We don’t really know where HIV transmission is going to land, but it’s something that we obviously are concerned about,” he added. (Ryan, 5/24)

Dallas Morning News: Cuellar-Cisneros Primary In S. Texas, A Referendum On Abortion, Too Close To Call
Nine-term Rep. Henry Cuellar of Laredo was battling for survival Tuesday night in a fierce South Texas congressional race that drew huge attention as a bellwether for the nation’s mood on reproductive rights. Cuellar, a rare anti-abortion Democrat, faced Jessica Cisneros, an immigration lawyer who nearly ousted him two years ago .Just after midnight, with a lead of 177 votes out of 45,211, Cuellar – who won his 2002 race by just 58 votes, after two recounts – declared victory, though Cisneros did not concede. “The votes are in, the margin will hold. We have won by 177 votes,” he tweeted .With the Supreme Court poised to overturn Roe vs. Wade, the 28th District became a battleground between the party’s establishment and insurgent progressive wings. (Gillman, 5/24)

Politico: Florida Republicans Eye Total Ban On Abortions
Florida Republican leaders are signaling they’re open to a complete ban on abortions next year if the Supreme Court overturns the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. Incoming state Senate and House leaders this week told POLITICO they aren’t immediately ready to pursue a strict ban on abortions but will follow the will of the GOP-led Legislature, which already voted to ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. That ban is the strictest in state history. (Sarkissian, 5/24)

AP: Democrats: Google Must Protect Privacy Of Abortion Patients
In their letter, the Democrats, who were led by Sen. Ron Wyden from Oregon, asks Google to stop collecting and keeping records of their customers’ every movement. Law enforcement officials routinely obtain court orders forcing Google to turn over its customers’ location information, the letter notes. This includes “geofence” orders, which are requests for Google to provide data about everyone who was near a specific location at a specific time. (Ortutay, 5/24)

The New York Times: Another Omicron Subvariant, Known As BA.2.12.1, Has Become The Dominant Form Among New U.S. Virus Cases. 
Another form of the Omicron subvariant BA.2 has become the dominant version among new U.S. coronavirus cases, according to federal estimates on Tuesday, a development that experts had forecast over the last few weeks. There was no indication yet that the new subvariant, known as BA.2.12.1, causes more severe disease than earlier forms did. BA.2.12.1 made up about 58 percent of all new U.S. cases, according to estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the week ending May 21. (Hassan, 5/25)

The New York Times: 1 In 5 Adult Covid Survivors In The U.S. May Develop Long Covid, Says CDC 
One in five adult Covid survivors under the age of 65 in the United States has experienced at least one health condition that could be considered long Covid, according to a large new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among patients 65 and older, the number is even higher: one in four. (Belluck, 5/24)

San Francisco Chronicle: Who’s At Risk For Long COVID? Huge Survey Of 100,000 People Contains New Clues
Results from a new survey of more than 100,000 COVID-19 survivors released Tuesday by the personal genetics company 23andMe offer further evidence of a biological cause for the persistent, sometimes debilitating syndrome known as long COVID. Although 23andMe is best known for analyzing customers’ DNA samples, the new study did not look at DNA. Rather, it collected thousands of survey responses from among the company’s genetic testing customers that shine light on who is most at risk for post-COVID problems. The results underscore what earlier, smaller studies have found, researchers said, and even contain new clues about what may be causing the confounding symptoms, which range from body aches to brain fog to chronic fatigue. (Asimov, 5/24)

The Hill: Employers Are Not Accommodating People Disabled By Long COVID, Activists Tell House Panel
Some people disabled by long COVID-19 are struggling in the workplace, with employers refusing to make accommodations for the new condition, disability activists told a House committee on Tuesday. During a hearing for the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion, witnesses detailed the challenges that disabled people continue to face in accessing financial services, equitable housing and work opportunities. (Choi, 5/24)

NBC News: CDC Warns Of 'Covid-19 Rebound' After Taking Paxlovid Antiviral Pills
The advisory affirmed a trend many patients and doctors have been discussing for at least a month. A case study posted online in late April sequenced virus samples from a 71-year-old man who saw his illness rebound after finishing Paxlovid. The study, which is under review by a medical journal, found no indication that the man had developed resistance to the drug; instead, the authors suggested that symptoms may recur “before natural immunity is sufficient to fully clear” the virus. More recently, three prominent doctors have documented so-called Paxlovid rebounds within their own households on Twitter. (Bendix, 5/24)

The Boston Globe: People Who Rebound With COVID-19 After Paxlovid May Be Highly Contagious, New Studies Suggest
Federal health regulators on Tuesday issued a warning that COVID-19 patients who have taken the antiviral treatment Paxlovid may experience a rebound and test positive again two to eight days after initial recovery. The warning comes more than a month after droves of patients began swapping accounts on social media of COVID rebounds after taking Paxlovid. The alert from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it continues to recommend Paxlovid for patients at high risk for serious complications from infection. It also said that people with a recurrence of COVID-19 symptoms, or a new positive test after having tested negative, should isolate again for at least five days. It added that people should wear a mask for a total of 10 days after rebound symptoms start. (Lazar, 5/24)

The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Vaccine And Drug Sales, Once Booming, Plateau 
The gold rush for drugmakers making Covid-19 vaccines and treatments might be over, as demand plateaus, supplies turn ample and the pandemic evolves. Merck & Co. and Johnson & Johnson are among the companies cutting sales expectations for pandemic products this year as they assess the outlook. Analysts, meantime, are lowering sales estimates for Covid-19 drugs such as Pfizer Inc.’s antiviral Paxlovid, citing softening demand and few new supply deals. (Hopkins, 5/24)

CIDRAP: Study Shows Fourth Dose Of Pfizer COVID Vaccine Wanes Faster Than Third
A study from Israel published today in BMJ shows that the effectiveness of a fourth dose of Pfizer-BioNTech's mRNA COVID vaccine waned faster than a third dose in adults ages 60 and older. ... To gauge breakthrough infections, the authors performed a matched analysis that compared positive cases to controls by week since vaccination. The added relative vaccine effectiveness of a fourth dose against infection quickly decreased over time, peaking during the third week at 65.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 63.0% to 67.1%) and falling to 22.0% (95% CI, 4.9% to 36.1%) by the end of the 10 week follow-up period, the authors said. (5/24)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: St. Louis Hospital Officials Push Masks Again, As COVID Cases Rise 
COVID-19 case rates and hospitalizations are again rising, and hospital officials here on Tuesday urged residents to reconsider wearing masks indoors. The St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force reported that the seven-day average of new COVID-19 admissions to area hospitals had doubled, to 32 on Monday, up from a low of 16 last month, and doctors expect rates to continue to rise. “We haven’t seen signs of that breaking,” said BJC Healthcare Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Clay Dunagan, who co-leads the task force. “So we expect that to continue to rise.” (Merrilees, 5/24)

AP: Oregon COVID Cases Rise, Hospitalizations To Peak June 9
Oregon is reporting some of the highest numbers of new COVID-19 cases since the pandemic started more than two years ago. The Oregon Health Authority reported nearly 12,000 new cases last week and the state is averaging 1,685 new cases a day, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported Tuesday. (5/24)

AP: Man Pleads Guilty To Sending Threatening Emails To Dr. Fauci 
A West Virginia man pleaded guilty Monday to sending emails that threatened Dr. Anthony Fauci and former National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins, federal prosecutors in Maryland said. Thomas Patrick Connally Jr., 56, most recently of Snowshoe, West Virginia, pleaded guilty to making threats against a federal official, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron announced in a news release. Connally also admitted threatening former Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine, a Massachusetts public health official and a religious leader in New Jersey. (5/24)

Modern Healthcare: Insurers Estimate No Surprises Act Blocked 2M Bills In Two Months
The No Surprises Act shielded private health insurance enrollees from an estimated 2 million surprise bills during the first two months of the year, according to a report health insurance industry groups released Tuesday. AHIP and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association surveyed more than 80 commercial health insurance companies, 31 of which responded. Those insurers represent 115 million commercial health plan members. These companies reported receiving 600,000 claims covered by the surprise billing law in January and February. Based on claims experiences from prior years and factoring in processing delays this year, the insurance groups estimate that the true amount of such bills at 2 million. (Berryman, 5/24)

Modern Healthcare: Advocate Aurora Health Sued For Allegedly Inflating Prices
A self-insured pharmacy sued Advocate Aurora Health on Tuesday for allegedly using all-or-nothing contracts to force Wisconsin employers to pay inflated prices rather than steer patients to lower-cost hospitals outside the health system. Advocate Aurora allegedly charges more than its competitors for routine services like a colonoscopy with a biopsy, which costs $10,700 at Advocate Aurora compared to $4,700 at Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin, according to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in a Wisconsin federal court by Uriel Pharmacy, which offers a self-funded health plan for its employees in East Troy, Wisconsin. The not-for-profit health system operates 27 hospitals in Wisconsin and Illinois. (Kacik, 5/24)

Modern Healthcare: AMA: Insurers Not Sticking To Prior Authorizations Deal From 2018
Health insurance companies haven't adequately implemented changes to the prior authorization process that insurers and providers devised in 2018, according to survey results the American Medical Association published Tuesday. Four years ago, the AMA, AHIP, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and other healthcare groups agreed to encourage reviews of medical services and drugs subject to prior authorization, better communication about prior authorization processes, exemptions for some physicians and services, policies to promote continuity of care, and the adoption of electronic prior authorization systems. But the AMA now says insurers haven't upheld their end of the bargain. (Goldman, 5/24)

WUSF Public Media: Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital Recognized As One Of The Nation’s Best For Pediatric Surge 
Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg is now a Level 1 Children’s Surgery Center. The designation means the hospital is among the top institutions in the country for pediatric surgery. The American College of Surgeons has awarded the status to only two other hospitals in Florida and fewer than 50 around the nation. For All Children’s, it comes just a few years after regulators demanded changes at the hospital because of a spike in the mortality rate among pediatric heart surgery patients. (Ochoa, 5/24)

Modern Healthcare: NFL Unveils HBCU Sports Medicine Initiative
The National Football League on Tuesday unveiled a partnership with historically Black colleges and universities to give 16 medical students an opportunity to practice sports medicine in the league. Starting next football season, the NFL Diversity in Sports Medicine Pipeline Initiative will give HBCU students a one-month clinical rotation at one of eight NFL teams: the Atlanta Falcons, Cincinnati Bengals, Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers, Tennessee Titans and Washington Commanders. (Abrams, 5/24)

Stat: Inclusion Of People With Disabilities Is 'Lacking' In Health Care, Researcher Says
Something as simple as getting a Covid-19 test can be complicated for Joshua Miele, a principal accessibility researcher at Amazon. Miele is blind. When he got his rapid test results at the STAT Health Tech Summit in San Francisco on Tuesday morning, the clinician handed a sheet of paper with his result not to Miele, but to a sighted STAT reporter standing beside him. That is just one example of the erasure people with disabilities face when seeking health care, especially when that care is unrelated to disability, he later told the audience at the Commonwealth Club. (Cueto, 5/24)

Indianapolis Star: Minutes After Lawmakers Override Veto Of Transgender Sports Ban, First Lawsuit Is Filed
Just minutes after the Indiana General Assembly overrode Gov. Eric Holcomb’s veto of the state’s ban on transgender girls playing girls school sports, the first lawsuit against the measure was filed. The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana is suing the Indianapolis Public Schools district on behalf of a 10-year-old transgender girl who will no longer be able to play softball on her school’s all-girls’ softball team. The child and her family were identified only by initials in the lawsuit. (Herron, 5/24)

AP: Montana Bars Birth Certificate Changes, Even With Surgery
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte’s administration says transgender people can not change their birth certificates even if they undergo gender-confirmation surgery, in defiance of a court order that temporarily blocked the Republican state’s bid to restrict transgender rights. The state health department said in an emergency rule that it would no longer record the category of “gender” on people’s birth certificates, replacing that category with a listing for “sex” — either male or female — that can be changed only in rare circumstances. (Brown, 5/24)

AP: Delaware Gov. John Carney Vetoes Marijuana Legalization Bill 
Delaware Gov. John Carney on Tuesday vetoed a bill to legalize possession of up to one ounce of marijuana by adults for recreational use, drawing the wrath of fellow Democrats who have fought for years to make weed legal. In vetoing the measure, Carney reiterated his previously expressed concerns about legalizing recreational pot — concerns that did not dissuade fellow Democrats from pushing the legislation through the General Assembly. (Chase, 5/24)

Oklahoman: Marijuana Products Recalled In Oklahoma Due To E. Coli, Salmonella
Oklahoma's state health department has shut down a medical marijuana testing lab after state regulators found more than 140 samples containing yeast, mold, salmonella and E. coli the lab allegedly reported as passing. The order immediately suspended the medical marijuana business license for Scale Laboratories in Oklahoma City. Scale is the trade name for Shiv Krupa LLC. On Friday, the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority issued a recall for 99 products related to the lab’s alleged rules violations. (Denwalt, 5/24)

Des Moines Register: Iowa Bill Eliminates Tampon Tax, Makes COVID Bonuses, Diapers Tax-Free
Iowans won't have to pay state taxes on the bonuses that Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds awarded to teachers, correctional officers, police officers and child care workers under a bill headed to her desk.  The same bill also eliminates sales tax on feminine hygiene products and the tax on child and adult diapers. The wide-ranging tax legislation won unanimous support in both the House and Senate on Monday. Lawmakers passed the bill Monday evening amid a flurry of other legislation as they drew closer to the end of the session. (Richardson, 5/24)

NBC News: Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy Defends His Statements On The State's Black Maternal Health
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., is under fire for comments he made about the state of Black maternal health in an interview with Politico last week. Cassidy said that while Black people make up a third of the state’s population and experience higher rates of pregnancy-related deaths, “if you correct our population for race, we’re not as much of an outlier as it’d otherwise appear.” (Bellamy-Walker, 5/23)

Los Angeles Times: UC Pays Record $700 Million In UCLA Gynecologist Sex Abuse Case
The University of California system agreed Tuesday to settle lawsuits brought by hundreds of alleged victims of a former UCLA gynecologist, bringing total litigation payouts to nearly $700 million, the largest ever related to sexual abuse involving a public university. The latest $374.4 million in settlements covers 312 former patients who sued alleging they were abused by Dr. James Heaps under the guise of medical examinations between 1983 and 2018. (Winton, 5/24)

AP: Boston Takes Additional Steps To Help The Homeless
Boston is taking additional steps to help people experiencing homelessness, substance abuse disorder and mental health issues to deter a recurrence of the humanitarian crisis at the city intersection that was once home to a sprawling homeless encampment, Mayor Michelle Wu said on Tuesday. Wu unveiled the city’s 11-point plan amid concerns that warmer weather will bring more people to the area known as Mass and Cass. (5/24)

Los Angeles Times: Report Shows L.A. Homeless Services Workers Throwing Out Food
A day after a news report captured Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority workers throwing away food meant for unhoused people, L.A. City Atty. Mike Feuer sent a letter to the agency demanding answers. The report, aired by KCBS-TV Channel 2 on Monday, showed LAHSA workers throwing cases of food into a dumpster. The news station said it had followed homeless services workers for months and used hidden cameras. Many were seen at the end of their work days folding empty boxes after presumably handing out the meals, according to KCBS. (Yee, 5/24)

ABC News: FDA Warns Against Storing Avocados In Water As Seen In Viral Social Media Hack 
A recent viral TikTok food hack has been dubbed unsafe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Videos of halved avocados submerged in bowls or containers of water have bubbled up on TikTok and other social media platforms over the past few months. ... But an FDA official told "Good Morning America" the agency "does not recommend this practice." "The main concern is with the possibility that any residual human pathogens (i.e. Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., etc.) that may be residing on the avocado surface may potentially multiply during the storage when submerged in water," the official said in a statement to "GMA." (McCarthy, 5/24)

The Wall Street Journal: Pfizer To Sell Vaccines, Drugs At Low Prices To Poorer Countries 
Pfizer Inc. will sell nearly two dozen of its patent-protected drugs and vaccines at not-for-profit prices to some of the world’s poorest countries. Under the program, Pfizer will begin shipping the medicines first to Ghana, Malawi, Rwanda, Senegal and Uganda before the end of this year, Chief Executive Albert Bourla said in an interview. (Hopkins, 5/25)

Bloomberg: Pfizer Slashes Drug Prices for Poorest Nations, Expanding Access
Pfizer Inc. plans to sell its entire portfolio of brand-name drugs at cost in as many as 45 lower-income countries, one of the most comprehensive and ambitious drug-access programs ever announced by a large pharmaceutical manufacturer. The initiative will start in five African countries with 23 drugs for cancer, rare illnesses, inflammatory conditions and infectious diseases. It will eventually include all of the New York-based company’s future therapies or vaccines. The drugs will be sold at the cost of manufacturing, Pfizer said, typically a fraction of their price in U.S. or European markets. The company also plans to invest in local health systems to improve diagnostic capabilities, get the drugs approved and make sure doctors know how to administer them. (Armstrong, 5/25)

Axios: Germany Orders 40k Smallpox Vaccines After Reporting Monkeypox Cases
Germany's health minister said Tuesday the country has ordered 40,000 smallpox vaccine doses as a precaution after Germany and other countries reported multiple monkeypox infections, Reuters reports. Cases of monkeypox, a disease rarely seen outside of western and central African countries, have been recently reported in multiple European countries. The World Health Organization's (WHO) European chief said last week that those outbreaks could spread in the summer as people gather for parties and festivals. (Knutson, 5/24)

AP: WHO Chief Tedros Reappointed To Second Five-Year Term 
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was reappointed to a second five-year term on Tuesday by the U.N. health agency’s member countries. No other candidate challenged Tedros for the post amid the ongoing difficulties of responding to the devastating coronavirus pandemic. (Cheng, 5/24)