First Edition: November 24, 2021

KHN: It Takes A Team: A Doctor With Terminal Cancer Relies On A Close-Knit Group In Her Final Days
The decisions have been gut-wrenching. Should she try another round of chemotherapy, even though she barely tolerated the last one? Should she continue eating, although it’s getting difficult? Should she take more painkillers, even if she ends up heavily sedated? Dr. Susan Massad, 83, has been making these choices with a group of close friends and family — a “health team” she created in 2014 after learning her breast cancer had metastasized to her spine. Since then, doctors have found cancer in her colon and pancreas, too. (Graham, 11/24)

KHN: Florida Sen. Rick Scott Off Base In Claim That Rise In Medicare Premiums Is Due To Inflation
Republicans blame President Joe Biden for this year’s historic surge in inflation, reflected in higher prices for almost everything — from cars and gas to food and housing. They see last month’s 6.2% annual inflation rate — the highest in decades and mostly driven by an increase in consumer spending and supply issues related to the covid-19 pandemic — as a ticket to taking back control of Congress in next year’s midterm elections. A key voting bloc will be older Americans, and the GOP aims to illustrate how much worse life has grown for them under the Biden administration. (Galewitz, 11/24)

KHN: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: The Big Biden Budget Bill Passes The House
President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” social spending bill passed the House last week, but the legislation faces a new and different set of hurdles in the Senate, where it will need the support of every single Democrat, plus approval by the Senate parliamentarian. Meanwhile, covid-19 is surging again in Europe as well as in many parts of the United States, just as travel picks up for the holidays. And the Supreme Court prepares to hear oral arguments in an abortion case out of Mississippi that could lead to the weakening or overturning of Roe v. Wade — and could upend the political landscape in the U.S. (11/23)

The New York Times: CVS, Walgreens And Walmart Fueled Opioid Crisis, Jury Finds
A federal jury in Cleveland on Tuesday found that three of the nation’s largest pharmacy chains — CVS Health, Walmart and Walgreens — had substantially contributed to the crisis of opioid overdoses and deaths in two Ohio counties, the first time the retail segment of the drug industry has been held accountable in the decades-long epidemic. After hearings in the spring, the trial judge will determine how much each company should pay the counties. The verdict — the first from a jury in an opioid case — was encouraging to plaintiffs in thousands of lawsuits nationwide because they are all relying on the same legal strategy: that pharmaceutical companies contributed to a “public nuisance,” a claim that plaintiffs contend covers the public health crisis created by opioids. (Hoffman, 11/23)

The Washington Post: CVS, Walgreens And Walmart Are Responsible For Flooding Ohio Counties With Pain Pills, Jury Says
Lake and Trumbull counties, which argued that the pharmacies did not stop mass quantities of opioid drugs from reaching the black market, said the decision was “a milestone victory” after a months-long federal trial against CVS, Walgreens and Walmart, which have denied wrongdoing. The three companies say they plan to appeal the verdict. U.S. District Judge Dan A. Polster in Cleveland is expected in April or May to decide how much the companies will pay the two counties, according to the counties’ attorneys, who estimate the toll of the epidemic to cost more than $1 billion for each of the counties. Other pharmacies, Rite Aid and Giant Eagle, previously settled with the counties for undisclosed sums. (Kornfield and Bernstein, 11/23)

AP: Jury Holds Pharmacies Responsible For Role In Opioid Crisis
CVS, Walgreens and Walmart pharmacies recklessly distributed massive amounts of pain pills in two Ohio counties, a federal jury said Tuesday in a verdict that could set the tone for U.S. city and county governments that want to hold pharmacies accountable for their roles in the opioid crisis. Lake and Trumbull counties blamed the three chain pharmacies for not stopping the flood of pills that caused hundreds of overdose deaths and cost each of the two counties about $1 billion, said their attorney, who in court compared the pharmacies’ dispensing to a gumball machine. How much the pharmacies must pay in damages will be decided in the spring by a federal judge. (Seewer, 11/23)

The Washington Post: Justice Dept. Asks Court To Reinstate Biden’s Vaccination Policy For Businesses
In its ruling against the Biden administration earlier this month, the 5th Circuit repeatedly referred to the policy as a “mandate.” “Rather than a delicately handled scalpel, the Mandate is a one-size fits-all sledgehammer that makes hardly any attempt to account for differences in workplaces (and workers) that have more than a little bearing on workers’ varying degrees of susceptibility to the supposedly ‘grave danger’ the Mandate purports to address,” according to the opinion from a panel of three judges nominated by Republican presidents. (Marimow, 11/23)

Reuters: Biden Administration Seeks To Reinstate Workplace COVID Vaccine Rule 
Delaying the rule by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that requires employees to be vaccinated or tested weekly would lead to thousands of hospitalizations and deaths, the administration said in a filing with the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The White House asked for the rule to be reinstated immediately, but the court set a briefing schedule that runs through Dec. 10. (Hals, 11/24)

AP: Settlement Appears Over In Med Students' Vaccine Lawsuit
The settlement may be off in a lawsuit filed by three medical students who sought an exemption from a north Louisiana medical college’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements on religious grounds. The students’ attorneys filed papers in federal court in Monroe on Tuesday, seeking permission to submit an amended complaint in the lawsuit against the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine in Monroe. Last month, a judge signed a settlement in the lawsuit, stating the college formally agreed to exempt the students from its vaccination requirement. The judge had issued a temporary order in favor of the three students in August. (McGill, 11/24)

The Hill: US Automakers, Union Agree To Not Require Coronavirus Vaccines For Workers
Detroit's three big automakers — General Motors, Ford and Chrysler parent Stellantis — announced on Tuesday that they are not yet mandating vaccines for thousands of workers. The United Auto Workers (UAW) issued a joint statement with the companies saying they would require masking at work sites despite not mandating vaccines. The unionized workers will, however, be asked to report their vaccination status on a voluntary basis. The statement said the groups would continue "to urge all members, coworkers, and their families to get vaccinated and get booster vaccinations against COVID-19, while understanding that there are personal reasons that may prevent some members from being vaccinated, such as health issues or religious beliefs." (Beals, 11/23)

AP: Medical Groups Argue Against Indiana Vaccine Mandate Limits
Numerous Indiana medical and business groups argued Tuesday against a Republican proposal aimed at ending the statewide COVID-19 public health emergency and forcing broad exemptions from workplace vaccination requirements. The proposed changes to state law faced criticism during a legislative committee hearing that it wrongly sends a message that the coronavirus pandemic is over at a time when Indiana’s infections and hospitalizations are rising again. Republican House Majority Leader Matt Lehman presented the proposal as a step toward protecting individual rights by allowing workers to claim medical or religious exemptions if their employers required COVID-19 vaccinations. (Davies, 11/23)

Fox News: School Staff Shortages Nationwide Could Lead To Changes In Vaccine Mandates
Thanksgiving break has been extended for hundreds of thousands of public school students across the country, as the number of educators in schools dips below critical mass. The situation has become so dire that some districts are considering walking back previous COVID-19 vaccination requirements for staff. In Western Michigan, 20 schools canceled classes for the entirety of the week. (Hoff, 11/23)

Bloomberg: Even in Highly Vaccinated New England, Hospitals Are Suffering
The northern New England states of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, all highly vaccinated, are suffering from surges that are taxing hospitals beset by staff shortages and sicker-than-usual patients. New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu told reporters Tuesday that the state is seeing its highest level of Covid-19 since the pandemic began, averaging about 1,000 new infections per day. He issued an executive order to help hospitals use their space more flexibly to add capacity. (Goldberg, 11/23)

Bloomberg: Hospitals Seek Military Help in Michigan Amid Covid Overflow
Henry Ford Health System has seen Covid-19 cases soar by 50% in three weeks, straining staff and care at the Detroit-based network of five major hospitals in southeast Michigan. On Tuesday, statewide Covid hospitalizations reached 4,085, approaching the record of 4,640 set in April 2020 at the onset of the pandemic. Michigan’s hospitals, with the help of Governor Gretchen Whitmer, have asked the U.S. Department of Defense to provide emergency staff, said Brian Peters, chief executive officer of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association. (Naughton and Edney, 11/23)

The Hill: Massachusetts Governor Orders Some Hospitals To Delay Nonessential Procedures
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) signed an emergency declaration on Tuesday ordering some hospitals to delay nonessential procedures due to staffing shortages. The governor, along with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, said hospitals that do not have the capacity or staff for patients will have to delay nonessential procedures. The guidance was also made in coordination with the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association. (Lonas, 11/23)

Los Angeles Times: Central California Begs To Send COVID-19 Patients To L.A. 
The COVID-19 surge still affecting Central California is so dire that health officials are pleading with state officials to make it easier to transfer hospital patients to areas like Los Angeles County. “We don’t have enough hospitals to serve the population and the needs,” said Dr. Rais Vohra, the Fresno County interim health officer. Hospitals across the entire San Joaquin Valley are “often running over capacity, so that they’re holding dozens and dozens of patients in the emergency department.” (Lin II, 11/23)

AP: Arizona Hospital Executives Issue Plea As Virus Cases Rise
Hospital executives and public health authorities across Arizona pleaded Tuesday for people to get vaccinated and do everything possible to avoid spreading the coronavirus as they gird for another surge in cases that threatens once again to overwhelm the state’s health care system. The numbers of coronavirus infections and hospital stays are trending up, as they did this time last year as families gathered for the holidays, culminating in a crushing demand at hospitals. “Our messaging today is to ask for assistance. We need less COVID patients,” Dr. Marjorie Bessel, the chief medical officer at Banner Health, said during a news conference with the top doctors from the state’s major health care systems. (Cooper and Davenport, 11/23)

The Boston Globe: Baker Administration Instructs Some Hospitals To Reduce Non-Urgent, Scheduled Procedures Amid Strain On Hospital Capacity
Beginning next week, hospitals in Massachusetts with limited capacity will be required to reduce certain non-urgent, scheduled procedures amid a strain on hospital capacity, the Baker administration announced Tuesday. The new public health order goes into effect Nov. 29, the state’s Executive Office of Health and Human Services said in a statement. It comes amid several contributing factors, including a staffing shortage, which has contributed to the loss of about 500 medical and intensive care unit beds, and a surge in hospitalizations that arises every year after Thanksgiving through January, the statement said. (Kaufman and Freyer, 11/23)

AP: Baker: Some Hospitals Must Postpone Non-Essential Procedures
Any hospital or hospital system facing limited capacity to care for patients will be required to reduce non-essential, non-urgent scheduled procedures beginning Monday under an emergency order announced Tuesday by Gov. Charlie Baker. The goal of the order is to protect patients and the health care workforce — and ensure capacity for immediate health care needs — in response to a range of challenges putting pressure on the state’s hospitals. (11/23)

The New York Times: With Cases Surging, Officials In The Buffalo Area Are The First In New York To Bring Back A Mask Mandate
With daily coronavirus case rates reaching record numbers and area hospitals more than 90 percent full, local officials in the Buffalo area reinstituted a mask mandate for all indoor public spaces that went into effect on Tuesday. “We really need to keep the hospitals from being inundated,” Mark Poloncarz, the Erie County executive, said on Monday in a news conference announcing the new policy. “These numbers are not good.” The mask mandate applies to all staff and patrons at stores, restaurants, bars, salons, and other public indoor spaces in the county, regardless of their vaccination status. It is the first phase of what Mr. Poloncarz warned would be increasing restrictions if virus numbers do not begin to stabilize. (Otterman, 11/23)

Bloomberg: Denver Renews Mask Mandate as Covid-19 Cases Mount
Denver is renewing a Covid-19 mask mandate, requiring face coverings for businesses and other indoor public spaces until Jan. 3 unless venues check vaccine cards at the door, Mayor Michael Hancock said Tuesday. The order takes effect Wednesday. Neighboring counties have taken similar steps. A recent surge in Covid-19 hospitalizations across Colorado puts the health care system at risk, Hancock said at a news conference. (Del Giudice, 11/23)

The New York Times: About 1.2 Million Extra Vaccine Doses Were Reported In Pennsylvania, According To The C.D.C.
In the largest revision of state vaccination numbers to date, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated those for Pennsylvania, which had counted about 1.2 million more doses than had actually been administered. The C.D.C. said the data, updated almost every day on its website, had been corrected. As of Tuesday evening, about 81 percent of people in Pennsylvania had received at least one shot of a vaccine, according to C.D.C. data, whereas on Monday the data indicated that about 84 percent of people in the state had gotten a shot. The agency has been periodically revising vaccination numbers in states since July 14. Altogether, the C.D.C. and the states have reduced the number of reported doses in the U.S. by about 2 million. (Craig and White, 11/23)

CNBC: Gottlieb Says Breakthrough Covid Infections More Common Than People Realize Due To Weak Monitoring
Anyone who received a Covid vaccine in the earliest stages of the rollout should register for their booster shots because “there’s probably more infection happening among the vaccinated population” than the U.S. is currently monitoring, Pfizer board member Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Monday. The effectiveness of Covid vaccines is proven to diminish over time, and Gottlieb said breakthrough infections are likely to occur in individuals almost a year removed from becoming fully immunized. But boosters offer an “almost immediate” effect of restoring the antibody protection offered by vaccines to their original levels, the former Food and Drug Administration commissioner noted. (Towey, 11/22)

Reuters: Fauci Says Vast Majority Of Vaccinated Americans Should Get A COVID-19 Booster
Top U.S. infectious disease official Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday the vast majority of Americans who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 should receive a booster shot, and that an additional dose could eventually become the country's standard for determining who is fully vaccinated. Fauci and other disease experts have said they expect that COVID-19 will transition this spring from a pandemic phase in the United States to an endemic disease, meaning that the virus will continue to circulate at a lower level, causing smaller, less disruptive but still significant outbreaks in the coming years. (Gershberg and Steenhuysen, 11/23)

ABC News: COVID-19 Live Updates: Unvaccinated 14 Times More Likely To Die, CDC Says
As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.1 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 773,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering. Just 59.2% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Shapiro, 11/24)

The Boston Globe: The Latest Advice On COVID Is So Clear! Definitely Gather With Your Family! Or Maybe Don’t!
Phew! Finally, as the holiday dawns, clarity! You can gather with your family over Thanksgiving if you’re fully vaccinated! But also: COVID cases are skyrocketing and the unvaxxed grandkids might kill you. So maybe stay home. You can eat in a packed restaurant now! The germs can’t get you as long as you’re at your table. But strap that mask on when you dart into a deserted boutique. And mask up when you’re sitting nearly alone in a cavernous office! But hey, be part of the team and come out for drinks to say goodbye to Nicole. ... Welcome to the season of COVID confusion. (Teitell, 11/23)

Stat: Trevor Bedford On Annual Covid Boosters And The Inevitable Next Pandemic
In January 2020, computational biologist Trevor Bedford told STAT’s Helen Branswell about the then-new coronavirus: “If it’s not contained shortly, I think we are looking at a pandemic.” Talk about a prediction. Last week at the 2021 STAT Summit, Branswell again caught up with Bedford, a scientist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and an expert on viral evolution and epidemiology. They talked about the future of the coronavirus and antigenic drift (essentially, whether the virus mutates in ways that escape the protection generated by vaccines or earlier infections), as well as what’s in store for flu season, and what might lie ahead with the next pandemic. (Joseph, 11/24)

AP: US To Require Vaccines For All Border Crossers In January
President Joe Biden will require essential, nonresident travelers crossing U.S. land borders, such as truck drivers, government and emergency response officials, to be fully vaccinated beginning on Jan. 22, the administration planned to announce Tuesday. A senior administration official said the requirement, which the White House previewed in October, brings the rules for essential travelers in line with those that took effect earlier this month for leisure travelers, when the U.S. reopened its borders to fully vaccinated individuals. (Miller, 11/23)

Politico: FDA Nomination Slips After Biden Admin Fails To Send Papers To Congress
A plan to speed Robert Califf’s nomination for FDA commissioner through the Senate next month is on hold after the Biden administration failed to submit the necessary paperwork to Congress in time, three people with knowledge of the matter told POLITICO. The delay means that Califf is now unlikely to get a confirmation hearing until mid-December at the earliest, effectively ruling out the possibility of a full Senate floor vote on his appointment before the end of the year. (Cancryn, 11/23)

Stat: Califf, Biden’s FDA Pick, Has Millions Invested In Pharma, Tech Companies
Robert Califf, President Biden’s choice to lead the Food and Drug Administration, earned $2.7 million as an executive at Google’s life science arm Verily, and he holds between $1 million and $5 million in equity in the company, according to a recent financial statement filed with the White House. Califf is also coming into the FDA’s top job with a massive stock portfolio. His financial statement lists roughly 30 companies in which he owns more than $100,000 worth of stock as part of a retirement account. His holdings include between $250,000 and $500,000 worth of stock in the pharmaceutical giants Bristol Myers Squibb and Amgen and between $100,000 and $250,000 in Gilead. (Florko, 11/23)

The New York Times: H.H.S. Is Doling Out Billions Of Dollars To Support Rural Health Care Providers Slammed By The Pandemic
The Department of Health and Human Services has begun distributing billions of dollars to rural health care providers to ease the financial pressures brought by the coronavirus pandemic and to help hospitals stay open. The agency said on Tuesday that it had started doling out $7.5 billion to more than 40,000 health care providers in every state and six U.S. territories through the American Rescue Plan, a sprawling relief bill that Congress passed in March. The infusion of funds will help offset increased expenses and revenue losses among rural physicians during the pandemic, the agency said. (Walker, 11/23)

AP: Juul To Pay $14.5 Million To Settle Arizona Vaping Lawsuit
E-cigarette giant Juul Labs will pay Arizona $14.5 million and vowed not to market to young people in the state to settle a consumer fraud lawsuit. The settlement announced by Attorney General Mark Brnovich Tuesday is the second Juul has reached with state prosecutors. It ends litigation the Republican U.S. Senate candidate filed in January 2020 against Juul and another maker of electronic cigarettes, alleging they illegally targeted young people in their marketing. Arizona previously obtained a $22.5 million judgment against defunct vaping product maker Eonsmoke but has not and is not likely to collect any of the money. (Christie, 11/24)

The Washington Post: D.C. Records 200th Homicide Of The Year, A Mark Not Seen Since 2003
A man was fatally shot at a gas station in Southeast Washington just after 10:15 p.m., becoming the latest victim of months of rising violence that has frustrated and angered city leaders and residents. Police identified him as Dawann Saunders, 30, of Maryland. Homicides rose in 29 major U.S. cities through September compared with the same period last year, according to the Council on Criminal Justice, a Washington-based institute. Killings across the country spiked nearly 30 percent in 2020, the FBI has said. Baltimore surpassed 300 killings for the seventh consecutive year, and homicides in Philadelphia reached 497 on Monday, 13 percent higher than this time last year. (Hermann, 11/23)

Bloomberg: P&G Recalls Old Spice, Secret Sprays After Carcinogen Found
Procter & Gamble Co. is recalling certain lots of Old Spice and Secret aerosol antiperspirants in the U.S. after the carcinogen benzene was detected in the products. The recall extends to aerosols with an expiration date through September 2023, P&G said Tuesday in a statement. The company is also recalling Old Spice Below Deck aerosol sprays. The recall follows findings from an independent laboratory, Valisure, that detected benzene in the antiperspirants earlier this month, as first reported by Bloomberg. Valisure tested 108 batches of antiperspirant and deodorant sprays from 30 brands including Old Spice, Secret and others, and detected benzene in 59 batches. (Edney, 11/23)

CIDRAP: Racial Minorities, Psychiatric Patients More Likely To Die Of COVID-19
Two US studies in JAMA Network Open today detail disparities in COVID-19 deaths in 2020, one showing higher mortality rates among racial minorities, and the other finding fewer infections but more deaths among patients with schizophrenia and other mood disorders. (Van Beusekom, 11/23)

CIDRAP: Study: No Risk Of Serious Adverse Events In Elderly COVID Vaccine Recipients
A new nationwide study in France involving people 75 years or older found no increase in acute myocardial infarction, stroke, or pulmonary embolism 14 days following each Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine dose. The data was published as a research letter yesterday in JAMA. To estimate the risk of acute myocardial infarction, hemorrhagic stroke, ischemic stroke, or pulmonary embolism in this age-group, researchers looked at unvaccinated and vaccinated adults 75 or older admitted to the hospital with these conditions between Dec 15, 2020, and Apr 30, 2021, throughout France. (11/23)

CIDRAP: Blood Clots A Risk In COVID-19 Patients After Hospital Stay, Data Show
A study of 2,832 hospitalized adult COVID-19 patients in Michigan shows that those with a history of blood clots and high concentrations of the biomarkers D-dimer and C-reactive protein were more likely than others to have potentially serious blood clots after release from the hospital. COVID-19 can induce blood clots in the veins and arteries, the authors noted. A clot can break off and travel to the lungs (pulmonary thromboembolism), where it can stop blood from flowing to the lungs and lead to death. (11/23)

Fox News: Israeli Company's COVID-19 Drug Shows Promise In Late-Stage Coronavirus Treatment
An Israeli public company says it developed the "only cure for late-stage COVID" and said that the results of its phase II clinical trial, disclosed first to Fox News, revealed that patients suffering from severe cases of COVID-19 had a 94% survival rate after being treated with the drug. Israeli biotechnology company Bonus BioGroup’s cell therapy MesenCure was administered to 50 hospitalized COVID-19 patients suffering from life-threatening pneumonia and respiratory distress, the company said, noting that 47 of those patients had survived. "These are the most clinically meaningful results presented today for treating severe COVID-19 patients," Dr. Tomer Bronshtein, the head of research at Bonus BioGroup Ltd., told Fox News in an exclusive interview. (Kaplan, 11/23)

Stat: From Scholarship To Trending: How Experts Used Social Media During Covid
How does one communicate the fast-moving science of a pandemic to the public? Social media, with its short messages and inflamed memes, would seem an imperfect fit. And yet Twitter and other online platforms have become vibrant public squares for discussion about Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic. (Osman, 11/24)

Fox News: Nearly 1 In 5 US Adults With Hypertension Are Taking Meds That Increase Blood Pressure
Many patients with high blood pressure may be unknowingly taking medications that are contributing to increased blood pressure, according to a study in JAMA this week. A team of researchers out of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, found that 18% — or nearly one in five — U.S. adults diagnosed with hypertension, reported taking medications that may actually increase blood pressure. Hypertension was defined in the study as an average systolic BP of 130 mm Hg or higher, average diastolic BP of 80 mm Hg or higher, or being told by a physician, the individual had high blood pressure. The authors also defined uncontrolled hypertension as an average systolic BP of 130 mm Hg or higher or an average diastolic BP of 80 mm Hg or higher. (McGorry, 11/23)

ABC News: Detecting Cancer With A Simple Blood Draw Could Soon Be A Reality
Every year, thousands of Americans undergo routine screening to catch cancer in its early stages, while it’s still treatable. But these routine tests can be painful and invasive, and doctors only regularly screen for five of some of the most common types of cancer. So for decades, scientists have been working on ways to screen for cancers using a simple blood draw rather than a painful biopsy or invasive test. These so-called "blood biopsy" tests are closer than ever to dramatically improving the way doctors screen for cancer. (Warner, 11/24)

CIDRAP: Antibiotic Spectrum Index Could Boost Antibiotic Stewardship In NICUs
Use of an antibiotic spectrum index (ASI) helped identify patterns of empiric antibiotic prescribing at three neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) and could help guide stewardship efforts, US researchers reported today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. Using antibiotic data from the pharmacy systems of three academic level 4 NICUs, the researchers collected the ASI per antibiotic days and the days of therapy (DOT) per patient days for all very-low-birthweight (VLBW) infants, who are at high-risk of exposure to broad-spectrum antibiotics because they require prolonged hospitalization and are at high risk of infection. The ASI was developed to compare antibiotic selection patterns by the spectrum of antimicrobial action and capture important differences in prescribing patterns. (11/23)

AP: AstraZeneca Opens Research Center As UK Builds Science Hub
Prince Charles praised Cambridge as a center of scientific collaboration Tuesday as the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca opened a 1 billion-pound ($1.34 billion) research center, hoping to build on work in developing one of the first COVID-19 vaccines. The 19,000 square-meter (more than 200,000 square-foot) complex near the University of Cambridge will house more than 2,200 research scientists. It joins a cluster of businesses seeking to make Cambridge a hub for life sciences research similar to what California’s Silicon Valley is for the technology industry. (11/23)

The Wall Street Journal: Pittsburgh Hospital Taps AI To Prevent Spread Of Infections
A Pittsburgh hospital is using artificial intelligence to help map the spread of infections through the facility, an effort aimed at better preventing hospital-based outbreaks. Even before Covid-19, infections were a huge problem for hospitals. About one in 31 U.S. patients contracts at least one infection linked to hospital care, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center said last week that it was deploying the machine-learning system at its flagship hospital, UPMC Presbyterian, after two years of testing at the facility. (McCormick, 11/23)

Crain's New York Business: NYU Langone, Long Island Community Merger Gets State's OK
The state Department of Health's Public Health and Health Planning Council on Thursday gave contingent approval for Long Island Community Hospital's merger with NYU Langone Health. The East Patchogue, Suffolk County, hospital became affiliated with NYU Langone in July. In the initial phase of the merger, NYU Langone health will be an active parent and co-operator of the Long Island hospital after satisfying certain contingencies. After that, a full asset merger will occur no more than three years later, with NYU Langone being the surviving corporation. (Sim, 11/23)

Modern Healthcare: Private Equity Pays Up For Medicare Brokers
Six months after signing up for a Medicare supplemental plan, Rob Erick was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Erick believes he navigated his 12 rounds of chemotherapy as seamlessly as possible thanks to his Medigap plan, and the guidance of his local, independent broker. A Medicare Advantage plan could have included the headache of prior authorizations, provider restrictions and out-of-pocket expenses, he said. (Tepper, 11/23)

San Francisco Chronicle: San Francisco Declares Water Shortage Emergency, Asks City Users To Conserve 5%
San Francisco has some of the most conservation-savvy water users in California and its reservoirs contain enviable reserves, a crucial resource two years into a statewide drought. Now the city is demanding its water customers use even less. (Johnson, 11/23)

The New York Times: Europe’s Death Toll From Covid Will Exceed 2 Million By Spring, The W.H.O. Says
Europe’s death toll from Covid will exceed two million people by next spring, the World Health Organization projected on Tuesday, adding that the continent remained “firmly in the grip of the Covid-19 pandemic.” Covid is now the leading cause of death in Europe, the W.H.O. said in a statement, with almost 4,200 new deaths a day, double the number at the end of September. To date, Europe, including the United Kingdom and Russia, has reported 1.5 million deaths. Between now and spring, hospital beds in 25 countries and intensive care units in 49 countries are predicted to experience “high or extreme stress,” the W.H.O. said. (Kwai, 11/23)

AP: Europe Is Only Region With More COVID, With 11 Percent Case Rise
The World Health Organization said that coronavirus cases jumped by 11% in Europe in the last week, the only region in the world where COVID-19 has continued to increase since mid-October. In its weekly assessment of the pandemic released on Tuesday, the U.N. health agency said cases and deaths globally have risen by about 6%, with about 3.6 million new infections and 51,00 new deaths reported in the previous week. (11/24)

AP: South Korea Sets Pandemic High With 4,000 New Virus Cases
New coronavirus infections in South Korea exceeded 4,000 in a day for the first time since the start of the pandemic as a delta-driven spread continues to rattle the country after it eased social distancing in recent weeks to improve its economy. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said most of the new 4,116 cases reported Wednesday came from the capital Seoul and its surrounding metropolitan region, where an increase in hospitalizations has created fears about possible shortages in intensive care units. (Tong-Hyung, 11/23)

Reuters: A Little Known Cult Is S.Korea's Latest COVID-19 Outbreak
A little known sect led by a pastor who pokes eyes to heal is at the centre of a COVID-19 outbreak in South Korea, as the country reported a new daily record of 4,116 cases and battles a spike in serious cases straining hospitals. In a tiny rural church in a town of 427 residents in Cheonan city, south of Seoul, at least 241 people linked to the religious community had tested positive for coronavirus, a city official told Reuters on Wednesday. "We believe the scale of the outbreak is large...," the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said in a statement. (Cha, 11/24)