First Edition: May 4, 2021

KHN: In Appalachia And The Mississippi Delta, Millions Face Long Drives To Stroke Care 
Debbie Cook was in her pajamas on a summer morning in 2019 when she got a call from her son: “Something bad is wrong with Granny.” The fear in his voice told Cook it was serious. She dialed 911 immediately, knowing it could take time for an ambulance to navigate the country roads in Fentress County, Tennessee. (Pattani, Recht and Grey, 5/4)

KHN: Covid ‘Doesn’t Discriminate By Age’: Serious Cases On The Rise In Younger Adults
After spending much of the past year tending to elderly patients, doctors are seeing a clear demographic shift: young and middle-aged adults make up a growing share of the patients in covid-19 hospital wards. It’s both a sign of the country’s success in protecting the elderly through vaccination and an urgent reminder that younger generations will pay a heavy price if the outbreak is allowed to simmer in communities across the country. (Stone, 5/4)

KHN: Democrats Disagree About How To Spend Potential Prescription Drug Windfall 
One of the few surprises in President Joe Biden’s social safety-net proposal, the American Families Plan, was something that didn’t make it into the final version: any mention of reining in the price of prescription drugs. The American Families Plan, the second part of Biden’s expansive “infrastructure” agenda, includes sweeping programs aimed at boosting access to child care, higher education and paid family leave. But despite White House signals in March that health also would be a major part of the package, the only health proposal was one that would make permanent the temporary subsidy increases, passed as part of the covid relief bill earlier this spring, on insurance purchased through the Affordable Care Act’s health exchanges. (Rovner, 5/4)

KHN: Covered California Says Health Insurance Just Got Too Cheap To Ignore 
If you are uninsured because health coverage seemed too expensive the last time you looked, it’s time to look again. A new federal law could make it a whole lot cheaper to buy your own insurance if you don’t get coverage through an employer or a government insurance program such as Medicare or Medicaid. (Wolfson, 5/4)

The New York Times: FDA Set To Authorize Pfizer Vaccine For Adolescents By Early Next Week
The Food and Drug Administration is preparing to authorize use of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine in adolescents 12 to 15 years old by early next week, according to federal officials familiar with the agency’s plans, opening up the U.S. vaccination campaign to millions more people. ... The clearance, in the form of an amendment to the existing emergency use authorization for the Pfizer vaccine, could come as early as late this week. If it is granted, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel is likely to meet the following day to review the clinical trial data and make recommendations for the vaccine’s use in adolescents. (Weiland, Mandavilli and LaFraniere, 5/3)

AP: FDA Expected To OK Pfizer Vaccine For Teens Within Week
The FDA action will be followed by a meeting of a federal vaccine advisory committee to discuss whether to recommend the shot for 12- to 15-year-olds. Shots could begin after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention adopts the committee’s recommendation. Those steps could be completed in a matter of days. The New York Times first reported on the expected timing for the authorization. (Miller and Lemire, 5/3)

The New York Times' Original Story: Reaching ‘Herd Immunity’ Is Unlikely In The U.S., Experts Now Believe

Fox News: ‘Herd Immunity’ Looking Unlikely In US, Report Says
There is a growing belief among scientists that the U.S. will not achieve ‘herd immunity’ when it comes to the coronavirus and there will be new flare-ups for the foreseeable future, but becoming less of a threat to the public. The New York Times reported that the reason is that the virus is mutating at a faster rate than vaccine jabs are being given. Rustom Antia, an evolutionary biologist at Emory University, told the paper that the virus is "unlikely to go away." (DeMarche, 5/4)

The New York Times: Bill And Melinda Gates Are Divorcing 
Bill and Melinda Gates, two of the richest people in the world, who reshaped philanthropy and public health with the fortune Mr. Gates made as a co-founder of Microsoft, said on Monday that they were divorcing. For decades, Mr. and Ms. Gates have been powerful forces on the world stage, their vast charitable contributions affording them access to the highest levels of government, business and the nonprofit sector. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, with an endowment of some $50 billion, has had immense influence in fields like global health and early-childhood education, and has made great strides in reducing deaths caused by malaria and other infectious diseases. Over the past year, the couple have been especially visible, regularly commenting on the worldwide fight against Covid-19 as their foundation spent more than $1 billion to combat the pandemic. (Gelles, Sorkin and Kulish, 5/3)

Reuters: Bill And Melinda Gates To Divorce, But Charitable Foundation To Remain Intact 
The Gates have backed widely praised programs in malaria and polio eradication, child nutrition and vaccines. The foundation last year committed some $1.75 billion to COVID-19 relief. In a joint petition for dissolution of marriage, the couple asserted their legal union was "irretrievably broken," but said they had reached agreement on how to divide their marital assets. No details of that accord were disclosed in the filing in King County Superior Court in Seattle. (Johnson and Ulmer, 5/3)

NBC News: Bill And Melinda Gates Are Getting Divorced, Future Of Foundation In Question
The couple in 2000 founded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a private philanthropic organization which funds research and advocacy work across the globe, including in some of the world's most impoverished nations. The foundation has given billions to support issues like global health, development and education, as well as combating climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic. ... The announcement sent shockwaves through the philanthropic industry, where the foundation holds enormous sway. (Stelloh, Byers and Popken, 5/3)

The Washington Post: New York Gov. Cuomo Stuns Broadway And Cultural World With Lifting Of Pandemic Capacity Restrictions On May 19
In a sweeping acceleration of efforts to reopen New York, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) announced Monday the lifting of all of the state's capacity restrictions on May 19 in restaurants, concert halls, bars, museums and theaters — including Broadway. The swiftness of the governor’s timetable stunned the arts community, much of which had been operating under the assumption that controls would remain in effect for several more months. (Marks, 5/3)

Fox News: Cuomo Says 'Major Reopening' Of New York To Begin May 19
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday announced that the state is preparing for a "major reopening" on May 19, with most coronavirus-induced capacity restrictions to be lifted at that time. "Beginning Wednesday, May 19 most capacity restrictions will end across the tri-state area," Cuomo said. "That includes retail stores, food service, gyms, fitness centers, amusement parks, and family entertainment centers, hair salons, barbershops, offices, museums, theaters, etc. No capacity restrictions on all of those activities." (Farber, 5/3)

Axios: NYC To Resume 24-Hour Subway Service, Businesses To Fully Reopen 
New York City will resume its 24-hour subway service on May 17, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday, along with fast-tracking the city's plans to fully reopen businesses. The return is a key part of the tri-state area's efforts to increase economic activity and bring back crowds. (Fernandez, 5/3)

The Hill: DeSantis Suspends Florida's Remaining COVID-19 Restrictions 
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) suspended all of the state’s remaining COVID-19 restrictions through an executive order Monday, calling it “the evidence-based thing to do” while citing the availability of vaccines. The Florida governor declared the suspension of restrictions at a press conference in St. Petersburg, Fla., where he signed a bill passed by the legislature last week that allows the governor to overrule local emergency orders starting July 1.  (Coleman, 5/3)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Mask Mandate Eased In Nevada
Nevadans fully vaccinated against COVID-19 may now move about outdoors mask-free following the state’s move to align local restrictions with the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Gov. Steve Sisolak signed the latest emergency directive Monday. The CDC’s new guidance was issued April 27. The governor’s directive includes language that will see Nevada track all future changes in guidance from the CDC. Fully vaccinated individuals are classified as those two weeks out from either their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. (Dentzer, 5/3)

San Francisco Chronicle: It's Official: Face Masks Are No Longer Required Outdoors In California For Fully Vaccinated
California updated its guidance on face coverings for fully vaccinated people Monday, matching recommendations made by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week. California’s Department of Public Health says face coverings are no longer required outdoors for fully vaccinated people except in crowded settings such as performances, festivals and sports events. People are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their last shot. Those who are not fully vaccinated should continue wearing face coverings outdoors when they can’t maintain distancing of at least six feet, the state says. (Vaziri, 5/3)

Bay Area News Group: How California's New Mask Guidelines Differ From The CDC's
Let’s say you’re walking down a busy street, or hiking on a popular trail, and see people coming the other way. The path you’re sharing is narrow and you’ll have to pass less than six feet from the other group. Do you need to put on a mask? According to the state of California, if you aren’t fully vaccinated, you do. That differs from new guidelines that the Centers for Disease Control released last week — and what epidemiologists who study how coronavirus spreads advise. Even if you aren’t vaccinated, the CDC suggested, the risk of transmitting the virus through that kind of fleeting contact in an outdoor setting is pretty much nonexistent. (Savidge, 5/3)

Philadelphia Inquirer: New Jersey Moves To Drop Many COVID-19 Restrictions And Reopen Much Of The State By Summer
New Jersey will lift many coronavirus restrictions later this month, Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday, removing limits on outdoor gatherings and allowing stores, restaurants, theaters, and other businesses to operate at full capacity as long as they keep patrons six feet apart. That requirement will continue to limit occupancy inside many restaurants, as well as places like salons and gyms. And masks are still required when distancing is not possible. (Steele and Rosenberg, 5/4)

AP: WA Events Can Increase Capacity With Vaccinated Sections
More people will be allowed at indoor and outdoor spectator events and indoor religious services if there are designated COVID-19 vaccination sections, under new guidance issued by Gov. Jay Inslee Monday. The change — which takes effect immediately — affects capacity at sporting events, graduations and other events for counties in the second and third phases of the state’s economic reopening plan. A vaccination card or other documentation that proves vaccination status will be needed for access to vaccination sections. (5/3)

The Boston Globe: New England Leads The Nation In Vaccination Rates, CDC Data Show
While concern is rising that fewer people may be stepping forward to get their coronavirus vaccinations, Massachusetts and other New England states lead the nation in the rate of people who have gotten at least their first shot of one of the vaccines. New Hampshire led the states with 60.7 percent of residents having gotten at least a first dose or a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. New Hampshire was followed by Massachusetts (57.3 percent), Vermont (56.6), Connecticut (55.6), and Maine (55.2). Decidedly non-New England Hawaii (53.7) was next on the list, but Rhode Island (53.3) followed quickly behind. (Finucane, 5/3)

Detroit Free Press: Michigan Hits COVID-19 Vaccine Milestone: 50% Have At Least One Shot
Michigan hit a new milestone Monday in the race to end the COVID-19 pandemic: 50% of residents age 16 and older — about 4 million people — have gotten at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. Health leaders have said it will take at least 70% of the population to be fully vaccinated to stop widespread outbreaks and protect the most vulnerable, though with more contagious variants of the virus circulating now in Michigan and nationally, that number may be higher. (Jordan Shamus, 5/3)

The Washington Post: Why Some Coronavirus Vaccine Skeptics Changed Their Minds 
Kim Simmons, a 61-year-old small-business owner in Illinois, vividly remembers the moment she went from vaccine skeptic to vaccine-ready: watching a Johns Hopkins University doctor on C-SPAN make the case for why the shots are safe. For Lauren Bergner, a 39-year-old homemaker in New Jersey, it was when she realized it would make it easier for her family to attend New York Yankees games, after the team announced fans would need to show proof of a negative coronavirus test or that they had been vaccinated. (Diamond, 5/3)

CBS News: More Than 20 States Not Ordering All Available Doses As COVID-19 Vaccinations Slow 
As the pace of vaccinations continues to slow across the country, more than 20 states are not ordering all the available COVID-19 vaccine doses allocated to them by the federal government, according to a CBS News tally.  ... CBS News reached out to health departments in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, and among the 38 states that responded, 22 said they weren't ordering all the doses available to them for the week of May 3. (Bayer and Tin, 5/3)

The Hill: Beers, Bucks And Bonuses: States Get Creative To Encourage Vaccinations 
It is not often that a state health department encourages residents to drink beer. But in New Jersey, the Department of Health will buy residents a pint of their own if those residents show proof they have been vaccinated against the coronavirus. “We’re not going to be afraid to try new things,” Gov. Phil Murphy (D) said as he unveiled the “shot and a beer” campaign. (Wilson, 5/3)

NBC News: New Jersey 'Shot And A Beer' Program Offers Free Beer To Those Who Get Covid-19 Vaccine
The state of New Jersey introduced a new program on Monday offering a free beer to those who get a Covid-19 vaccine in May. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced on Twitter that the state was teaming up with over a dozen breweries for the “Shot and a Beer” project. (Atkins, 5/3)

AP: West Virginia State Parks To Host Vaccine Clinics
West Virginia will have free vaccination clinics at state parks and forests through Memorial Day. Currently, clinics are open at 10 sites, and that will expand to all parks and forests on Memorial Day weekend. Vaccines are available to guests, employees and families of employees. (5/4)

Bay Area News Group: Bay Area Companies COVID Vaccine Balancing Act
Of the many problems confronting Bay Area companies as they move out of pandemic lockdowns and into the workplaces of the future, one issue is proving especially thorny: Do they make their workers get COVID shots? “The thing that I’m getting the most calls about right now is really, ‘What do we do about vaccinations? Can we mandate that all our employees get vaccinated? If we don’t mandate it, what happens if we have employees who don’t want to return to work unless everybody is vaccinated?'” said Bay Area labor lawyer Sandy Rappaport, who represents companies in matters of employment. “Employers are really struggling with it.” (Baron, 5/3)

Fox News: Don't Laminate COVID-19 Vaccination Card, Experts Warn
Several businesses offered to laminate people’s COVID-19 vaccination cards for free in a bid to keep them safe from damage, but several public health officials have advised against doing so for several reasons, one of which is the potential need to record booster doses. Another reason, a Florida health official warned, is that the heat from the laminating process could ruin the information on the card or make it difficult to read. (Hein, 5/3)

NPR: Children Now Account For 22% Of New U.S. COVID Cases. Why Is That?
The number of children contracting COVID-19 in the U.S. is much lower than the record highs set at the start of the new year, but children now account for more than a fifth of new coronavirus cases in states that release data by age, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. It's a statistic that may surprise many: Just one year ago, child COVID-19 cases made up only around 3% of the U.S. total. On Monday, the AAP said children represented 22.4% of new cases reported in the past week, accounting for 71,649 out of 319,601 cases. The latest report, drawn from data collected through April 29, illustrates how children's share of coronavirus infections has grown in recent weeks. (Chappell, 5/3)

Los Angeles Times: California Coronavirus Cases Fall As Oregon, Washington Surge
Even as Oregon and Washington face new COVID-19 surges, there is growing optimism that California remains in recovery mode as coronavirus cases continued to fall dramatically along with related deaths. California has continued to do better than any state, with the lowest per capita coronavirus case rate in the nation over the last week. Texas has double California’s rate; New York, quadruple; and Florida has nearly five times California’s case rate. Michigan still has the nation’s highest rate, 252 cases per 100,000 residents — nearly eight times California’s rate of 33 cases per 100,000 residents (the national figure i8s 102 cases per 100,000 residents over the past week). (Lin II and Money, 5/3)

Fox News: Novel Coronavirus Really Is Seasonal, Study Suggests
Warm temperatures and tropical climates may really help reduce the spread of COVID-19, a new study suggests. The study found that places with warm temperatures and long hours of sunlight — such as countries close to the equator and those experiencing summer — had a lower rate of COVID-19 cases, compared with countries farther away from the equator and those experiencing colder weather. The findings held even after the researchers took into account other factors that could affect both the spread of COVID-19 and the number of reported cases, such as a country's level of urbanization and the intensity of COVID-19 testing. (Rettner, 5/3)

Modern Healthcare: Questions Remain On Post-COVID Outpatient Care Outlook
While just about everyone expects that healthcare will continue to push into outpatient settings, whether the pandemic is strengthening that trend depends on whom you talk to. “Yes, the outpatient growth was already booming prior to the pandemic. To assuage consumer concerns, there is a need for an increased number of ambulatory settings today,” Earl Swensson Associates, an architectural firm based in Nashville, said in its response to Modern Healthcare’s 2021 Construction & Design Survey. (Butcher, 5/4)

AP: Insider Q&A: Ex-Biodefense Chief On Stopping The Next COVID
When COVID-19 hit the U.S. early last year, public health scientist Rick Bright had an up-close view of what worked and what didn’t. As head of the federal government’s biodefense agency Bright was responsible for securing tests, protective gear, drugs and vaccines. But he was demoted from that post last April after repeatedly clashing with political appointees over the response effort. Bright alleged in a still-pending whistleblower lawsuit that he was sidelined for objecting to the use of the unproven malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 patients. The drug was later deemed ineffective and too risky by health regulators. (Perrone, 5/3)

The New York Times: A Psychedelic Drug Passes a Big Test for PTSD Treatment
In an important step toward medical approval, MDMA, the illegal drug popularly known as Ecstasy or Molly, was shown to bring relief to those suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder when paired with talk therapy. Of the 90 people who took part in the new study, which is expected to be published later this month in Nature Medicine, those who received MDMA during therapy experienced a significantly greater reduction in the severity of their symptoms compared with those who received therapy and an inactive placebo. Two months after treatment, 67 percent of participants in the MDMA group no longer qualified for a diagnosis of PTSD, compared with 32 percent in the placebo group. (Nuwer, 5/3)

Stat: Sarepta’s More Potent Duchenne Treatment Shows Promise, Greater Toxicity
Sarepta Therapeutics said Monday that a second-generation medicine for patients with a certain type of Duchenne muscular dystrophy showed improved performance in laboratory tests over the biotech’s marketed treatment. In a small clinical trial, a monthly infusion of the new Sarepta drug, called SRP-5051, produced eight times more of the muscle protein dystrophin compared to weekly infusions of Exondys 51, the company’s existing product. (Feuerstein, 5/3)

Stat: Critics Say Colonoscopy Study Exploited Black Patients 
At a time when medical researchers are under pressure to increase diversity in clinical trials, a Johns Hopkins study is sparking outrage among some physicians because of its large number of Black patients. The controversy has stoked concerns that the institution infamous for its role in the Henrietta Lacks story may have once again exploited marginalized people for medical research. The university denies any wrongdoing and instead said it was simply providing a service to its local community, which has a mostly Black population. (St. Fleur, 5/4)

The Wall Street Journal: Blue Health Insurers Drop Revenue Rule That Limited Competition 
The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association said it dropped a rule that limited competition among its member insurers, moving to implement a key aspect of an antitrust settlement the companies reached last year with customers. The settlement hasn’t won final approval from the federal judge presiding over the litigation, so it isn’t being fully implemented. But last Tuesday the group of insurers formally lifted a cap on the share of the members’ revenue that could come from business not under a Blue Cross Blue Shield brand, one of the moves it had promised under the settlement. (Mathews, 5/3)

Modern Healthcare: How Insurers Are Working To Bridge Racial Gaps In Maternal Care
Year after year, it's the same story: The maternal mortality rate rises and the number of deaths among pregnant women of color are disproportionately high. In the U.S., Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women. Even in low-risk pregnancies, Black women are more likely to receive a C-section. Such procedures have been associated with increased rates of infection, bleeding and hospital readmissions. And infants born to Black women are more than twice as likely to die before reaching their first birthday compared to white babies. (Tepper, 5/4)

Stat: Roivant Sciences To Go Public Through $7.3 Billion SPAC Deal 
Roivant Sciences, the biotech company once pitched as a Berkshire Hathaway for the pharmaceutical industry, is going public, merging with a blank-check company at a $7.3 billion valuation. In a deal disclosed Monday, Roivant will combine with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, called Montes Archimedes Acquisition Corp., founded by private equity investor Jim Momtazee. Roivant gets the $411 million Montes raised in its initial public offering last year, plus another $200 million in new financing from a group of investors that includes Fidelity, Viking Global, SoftBank, and Palantir Technologies. (Garde, 5/3)

360Dx: Clinical Labs Report Sharp Declines In Coronavirus Molecular Testing
Over the last year, SARS-CoV-2 molecular testing has proved a boon for clinical labs, boosting their bottom lines even as routine testing volumes dropped during the pandemic. Recent financial reports from large national labs, however, show sharp declines in SARS-CoV-2 testing since the start of the year, indicating that this business is on the wane. During Labcorp's Q1 2021 earnings call this week, the company said that while it had averaged 112,000 molecular COVID-19 tests per day throughout the quarter, by the end of the quarter it was averaging around 80,000 tests per day. (Bonislawski, 5/3)

The Wall Street Journal: SmileDirectClub Shares Fall After Company Reports Cybersecurity Incident 
SmileDirectClub Inc. said a cyberattack last month disrupted the company’s operations and will hurt its sales this quarter. The disclosure sent shares lower in after-hours trading. The company, which sells teeth-straightening retainers, said in a securities filing that it was able to isolate the hack by shutting down affected systems and related manufacturing operations. (Nakrosis, 5/3)

Stat: Merck KGaA Unit Fined For Providing Misleading Info Prior To A Merger
The European Commission fined a unit of Merck KGaA $9 million for providing incorrect or misleading information during an investigation of a deal in which the drug maker spent $17 billion to acquire Sigma-Aldrich, which was a U.S. supplier of laboratory testing materials. The EC, which is the executive arm of the European Union, had approved the deal in June 2015, but only on the condition that the companies agreed to sell certain portions of their lab chemicals business. At the time, there were concerns the merger would reduce competition, because Merck (MKKGY) and Sigma-Aldrich were the two leading suppliers of solvents and inorganics. (Silverman, 5/3)

Stat: How A Startup Beat Health Care Heavyweights To Win Medicare’s AI Contest
A $1 million government contest to predict health problems with artificial intelligence attracted the heavyweights of industry and beyond — from Mayo Clinic, to IBM, to the data and consulting powerhouse Deloitte. But the winner of Medicare’s AI health outcomes challenge is a lesser-known startup from Austin, Texas, called ClosedLoop.ai. The company, whose victory was announced late Friday, bested 300 rivals with a system capable of forecasting adverse health events by crunching an array of data on patients. (Ross, 5/3)

Modern Healthcare: Kaiser Sees Success With Data-Driven Program To Reduce Homelessness
It’s been a little more than two years since Kaiser Permanente announced plans to address the problem of chronic homelessness through the use of data analytics. In an effort to better understand the dynamics of homelessness and offer more timely interventions for at-risk patients, Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser announced in 2019 it was investing $3 million over three years to use data analytics to provide real-time counts of homeless individuals within a community month-over-month. (Ross Johnson, 5/4)

Modern Healthcare: Medline Invests $1.5 Billion In Domestic Healthcare Supply Chain
Medline invested $1.5 billion to bolster the domestic supply chain, the Northfield, Ill.-based supplier announced Monday. Medline added new distribution centers, U.S.-based manufacturing plants and upgraded its technology over the past three years, which created 8,500 jobs, eight new distribution centers, nearly 150 manufacturing expansion projects and a new digital ordering platform, the organization said. The company plans to spend an additional $500 million this year as part of the initiative. (Kacik, 5/3)

Stat: Here Are 5 Virtual Physical Therapy Startups To Watch
Virtual physical therapy could almost be considered an oxymoron. Physical therapy, key to recovering from surgery or maintaining the strength and flexibility needed to deal with chronic pain, has traditionally put a premium on in-person instruction and can include hands-on massage and manipulation of the musculoskeletal system. And yet virtual physical therapy and rehabilitation clinics are multiplying and pulling in hefty investments. (Palmer, 5/4)

AP: Medical Equipment Venture To Invest $150M, Hiring 1,200
A company that makes personal protective equipment will open two factories near Lafayette, hiring more than 1,200 people. SafeSource Direct made the announcement Monday, saying it would invest $150 million in the venture. The company is a joint venture of Jefferson-based Ochsner Health, Louisiana’s largest hospital system, and Trax Development. SafeSource Direct will make and sell equipment to health care and other industries in Louisiana and nationwide. (5/3)

USA Today: Apple Watch May Track Blood Sugar Levels, Other Health Features
Your Apple Watch is apparently going to get a lot smarter in the months ahead. Future models may be able to measure blood sugar levels, blood pressure and blood alcohol, suggest revelations from one of Apple's suppliers. It's unknown whether all those features will be available in the Apple Watch 7, likely to be revealed this fall. U.K. company Rockley Photonics, which makes sensors for wearables, doesn't expect to deliver the silicon photonics chipsets needed for those health monitoring features until the first half of 2022, it said in documents filed in its process of becoming a publicly traded company. (Snider, 5/3)

The Wall Street Journal: Landmark Opioid Trial Opens In West Virginia 
In a highly anticipated trial, lawyers for a West Virginia county and city told a judge Monday that the nation’s three largest drug distributors should be held liable for helping spur a public-health crisis by ignoring mounting evidence for years that prescription drugs were being diverted for illegal use. “We intend to prove the simple truth that the distributor defendants sold a mountain of opioid pills into our community, fueling a modern opioid epidemic,” said Paul Farrell, an attorney for Cabell County, in a 90-minute opening statement in federal court in the state capital. (Maher and Randazzo, 5/3)

AP: Trial Against Opioid Distributors Begins In WVa
A trial began Monday in a lawsuit filed in West Virginia accusing three drug distributors of fueling a local opioid epidemic with excessively large shipments of painkillers over several years. The city of Huntington and Cabell County filed the lawsuit against drug distributors AmerisourceBergen Drug Co., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp. The trial is in federal court in Charleston. A judge last month rejected the companies’ attempt to dismiss the case. Hundreds of similar lawsuits have been filed across the country. (5/4)

CBS News: How The COVID-19 Pandemic Created A "Perfect Storm" For Opioid Addiction 
Recently-released data is painting a grim picture of the opioid epidemic that has gripped the United States — as the country is still grappling with the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than half a million Americans. "Some people are calling them twin pandemics that have collided," Harvard researcher Michael Barnett, Ph.D., said on CBSN Monday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 90,237 people in the U.S. died of opioid overdoses between October 2019 and September 2020. The figure is the highest ever recorded since the opioid crisis began in the late 1990s. (Elkind, 5/3)

AP: US Sets Pandemic-Era High For Air Travel, Over 1.6 Million 
The United States set another record for the number of air travelers since the pandemic set in, although passenger numbers remain far below 2019 levels. More than 1.6 million people were screened at U.S. airport checkpoints on Sunday, according to the Transportation Security Administration. That was the highest number screened since March 12 of last year when air travel began to plummet. (5/3)

NBC News: FAA Warns Of Spike In Unruly, Dangerous Passenger Behavior
The Federal Aviation Administration is warning air travelers about what it describes as a dramatic increase in unruly or dangerous behavior aboard passenger airplanes. ... The behavior in question includes passengers refusing to wear masks, drinking excessively and engaging in alleged physical or verbal assault, including what the agency describes as political intimidation and harassment of lawmakers. In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for example, a fistfight broke out amid a dispute over mask-wearing. In Washington, D.C., a passenger was escorted off a flight after arguing with flight attendants over the mask rule. (Costello, 5/3)

CBS News: Sports Stadiums Asking Fans For Their "Vaccine Passports"
Top officials at the NBA and MLB hope the worst of the coronavirus pandemic is behind them as teams start to welcome fans back into stadiums. But to watch the game live, a growing number of venues are asking visitors to prove they've gotten their shots by displaying what's called a "vaccine passport." Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, and Citi Field, home of the New York Mets, are among a longer list of sports spaces that now require digital vaccine verifications. Those teams and others have been using an app called Health Pass from technology company Clear for COVID-19 screening. In some cases, showing your status on Health Pass could be the difference between watching a game in person or at home. (Brooks, 5/3)

NBC News: Schools Are Sending Kids To Virtual Classes As Punishment. Advocates Say That Could Violate Their Rights.
Student advocates in six states told NBC News that they’re working with numerous students who’ve either been excluded from in-person classes or have been threatened with exclusion if their behavior doesn’t improve. School leaders may be acting in the interest of safety, but advocates say that removing students from in-person classes because of their behavior may violate those students’ rights, especially if they have disabilities. (Einhorn, 5/4)

Bloomberg: Impossible Foods Wins Ruling To Continue Use Of Key Additive
The federal appeals court in San Francisco on Monday upheld a decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve the use of soy leghemoglobin as a color additive in Impossible’s imitation beef patties. The 2019 decision removed a hurdle for Impossible in extending its burger sales from restaurants to grocery stores. Soy leghemoglobin, or “heme,” is a red, genetically modified ingredient that Impossible has long touted as the key to the Impossible Burger’s flavor. But its use has brought regulatory problems in the U.S. and barred the products from major foreign markets, including China and the European Union. Beyond Meat Inc., Impossible’s main competitor, often points to its GMO-free ingredient list in its marketing. (Van Voris and Shanker, 5/3)

CNN: One Of The World's Best Restaurants Is Going Vegan 
One of Eleven Madison Park's most iconic dishes has been whole roasted duck with daikon and plum -- it's a classic of the restaurant, and one its most long-standing offerings. But when the restaurant reopens next month after more than a year, that dish, and many others it has become known for, will no longer be available. The three-Michelin-starred New York restaurant will be going completely plant-based when it reopens next month, it announced Monday -- becoming one of the most high-profile restaurants to do so. (Asmelash, 5/3)

CIDRAP: Teen Exercise Drops During COVID-19 Stay-At-Home Orders 
Adolescents' use of tobacco, cannabis, and alcohol did not change with stay-at-home orders in northern rural California, but their physical activity dropped, according to a study today in JAMA Pediatrics. The researchers included two cohorts of 9th and 10th graders in their 1,006-person study: 521 who were enrolled in spring 2019 and 485 who were enrolled in fall 2019. Originally, the survey was designed to assess just physical activity and substance abuse in general, with an initial survey and a 6-month follow-up. The researchers had chosen this region because youth tobacco use is historically higher in small communities. (McLernon, 5/3)

Modern Healthcare: CVS To Provide Mental Healthcare In Retail Stores
CVS Health is stationing therapists at some of its nearly 10,000 retail stores, in a move to increase patient access to often overscheduled behavioral health providers. The services are in-network for all Aetna members, as CVS owns the insurer. The pilot program is available in a dozen stores in Houston, Philadelphia and Tampa, and CVS plans to expand to 34 locations this year in communities where mental healthcare is not readily available. (Tepper, 5/3)