First Edition: Oct. 12, 2020

KHN: With Senate Control At Stake, Trump And COVID Haunt Ernst’s Fight To Keep Her Seat 
The week that Iowa reported its 90,000th confirmed case of COVID-19, Sen. Joni Ernst sat behind a plexiglass partition and told a debate audience watching from home what she thinks about masks. “Even though they’re homemade, they work,” said Ernst, an Iowa Republican, showing off a mask emblazoned with the logo of Iowa State University, the largest university in the state. But what about requiring people to wear masks when they cannot safely distance themselves? On that, she sided with the state’s Republican governor and President Donald Trump, contradicting evidence that states with mask mandates have seen bigger drops in coronavirus cases than those without: “We know that it doesn’t work,” she asserted about mandates. (Huetteman, 10/12)

KHN: COVID Takes Challenge Of Tracking Infectious College Students To New Level 
As the return of college students to campuses has fueled as many as 3,000 COVID-19 cases a day, keeping track of them is a logistical nightmare for local health departments and colleges. Some students are putting down their home addresses instead of their college ones on their COVID testing forms — slowing the transfer of case data and hampering contact tracing across state and county lines. (Weber, 10/12)

KHN: COVID Stalks Montana Town Already Saddled With Asbestos Disease
Frank Fahland has spent most days since the pandemic began at the site of his dream house, working to finish a 15-year labor of love while keeping away from town and the people closest to him. Like thousands of people from Libby and Lincoln County in the far northwestern corner of Montana, the 61-year-old Fahland has scarred lungs after years of breathing in asbestos fibers from dust and soil contaminated by the town’s now-defunct plant that produced vermiculite, a mineral used in insulation and gardening. (Hegyi, 10/12)

The Wall Street Journal: New U.S. Coronavirus Cases Dip Below 50,000 For First Time In Five Days 
The U.S. reported fewer than 50,000 new coronavirus cases for the first time in five days, while cases remained elevated in several states, particularly in the Midwest. In Wisconsin, the seven-day average of new coronavirus cases hit 2,510 as of Sunday, the highest level since the pandemic began, according to the state’s Department of Health Services. Wisconsin’s daily tally was more than 2,600, down from a peak of more than 3,000 reached Thursday. (Hall, 10/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Cases Keep Rising In Some New York Hot Spots
The coronavirus infection rate ticked up over the weekend in some New York hot spots where the state has tightened social-distancing restrictions, state officials said Sunday. Gov. Andrew Cuomo last week closed schools and nonessential businesses, banned mass gatherings and limited houses of worship to no more than 25% of their capacity, or 10 people, in parts of Brooklyn, Queens, Rockland and Orange counties where clusters of Covid-19 cases have emerged in recent weeks. (Vielkind, 10/11)

The Hill: CDC Study: 'Urgent Need' To Slow Spread Of Coronavirus Among Young Adults 
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study released Friday warned that there is an “urgent need” to address the spread of the coronavirus among young adults. The study found that increases among transmission in younger people are often a precursor to transmission among older, higher-risk people. (Sullivan, 10/9)

The Washington Post: Trump Says He’s Not Contagious. Health Experts Say That’s Not Certain.
President Trump tweeted on Sunday that he is “immune” to the novel coronavirus and “can’t give it,” even though the White House has not released any negative test results and immunity to the virus remains poorly understood. The tweet was quickly flagged by Twitter, which said it contained “misleading and potentially harmful misinformation” related to the coronavirus. It was the latest example of the social media giant pushing back against the president’s posts on the deadly virus, and it appeared to refer to Trump’s claim to immunity. Some recovered patients with covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, have been reinfected, and experts say many questions remain about immunity, including how long it lasts. (Brulliard and Sonmez, 10/11)

AP: Trump Claims He's Free Of Virus, Ready For Campaign Trail
President Donald Trump on Sunday declared he was ready to return to the campaign trail despite unanswered questions about his health on the eve of a Florida rally meant to kick off the stretch run before Election Day. His impending return comes after the White House doctor said he was no longer at risk of transmitting the coronavirus but did not say explicitly whether Trump had tested negative for it. The president insisted he was now “immune” from the virus, a claim that was impossible to prove and added to the unknowns about the president’s health. (Lemire and Yean, 10/11)

CNBC: White House Physician Says Trump No Longer Considered Transmission Risk
“Now at day 10 from symptom onset, fever-free for well over 24 hours and all symptoms improved, the assortment of advanced diagnostic tests obtained reveal there is no longer evidence of actively replicating virus,” said Dr. Sean Conley in a memo. “Moving forward, I will continue to monitor him clinically as he returns to an active schedule.” Conley added that Trump had demonstrated “decreasing viral loads.” Viral load refers to how much virus is present in any sample taken from a patient, whether it’s blood or — in the case of Covid-19 — secretions collected during a deep nasal swab. (10/10)

NPR: Trump's Doctor Says There's No 'Actively Replicating Virus' — So Is He COVID-19-Free? 
Ask an infectious disease doctor whether the president still has coronavirus, and you quickly realize that "having" the virus is a concept that exists more among laypeople than doctors. "We try to avoid that question," says Dr. Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center of Health Security. "It becomes much harder to explain to people, well why is the test positive when you're saying he's not contagious? It's because, that far out, it's not viable virus." (Schwartz, 10/11)

The Washington Post: Twitter Says Trump’s Tweet Claiming Virus Immunity Violates Rules Against Misleading Information
Twitter on Sunday flagged a tweet in which Trump claimed he is now immune after testing positive for the coronavirus more than a week ago, in the latest instance of the social media giant pushing back against the president’s posts on the deadly virus. Some recovered covid-19 patients have contracted the virus again, and public health experts remain uncertain on the issue of immunity. Nonetheless, on Sunday morning, Trump claimed in a tweet that he can no longer contract or spread the virus. (Sonmez, 10/11)

Politico: Trump Keeps Things Brief In First Public Address Since Hospitalization 
President Donald Trump on Saturday made his first public appearance since returning from a three-day hospitalization due to coronavirus, addressing hundreds of Black and Latino supporters crowded together on the White House lawn. “First of all, I'm feeling great. I don't know about you,” Trump told the estimated audience of 500 who, despite wearing masks, were packed together below the Truman Balcony where he spoke. According to a person familiar with the event, more than 2,000 guests had been invited. (Oprysko, 10/10)

Reuters: Trump Tries To Put COVID-19 Behind Him With Campaign Rally In Florida 
President Donald Trump will try to put his bout with COVID-19 behind him when he returns to the campaign trail on Monday, beginning a three-week sprint to the Nov. 3 election with a rally in the vital battleground state of Florida. The event at an airport in Sanford, Florida, will be Trump’s first campaign rally since he disclosed on Oct. 2 that he tested positive for COVID-19. Trump, who spent three days in the hospital for treatment, said on Sunday he was fully recovered and no longer infectious, but did not say directly whether he had tested negative for the virus. (Whitesides, 10/12)

The Hill: Des Moines Mayor Says He's Worried About Coronavirus Spread At Trump Rally 
The mayor of Des Moines, Iowa, said he is worried that President Trump's campaign rally in Des Moines this week could be responsible for spreading COVID-19 in the city. Asked by the Des Moines Register whether he is concerned that the event could accelerate the spread of COVID-19 in Des Moines, Mayor Frank Cownie (D) said he "absolutely" was. (Bowden, 10/11)

The New York Times: Trump’s Testimonial Is A Double-Edged Sword For Regeneron 
When President Trump promoted an experimental drug as a “cure” for Covid-19 in a video on Wednesday, it might have seemed that he was at it again: touting a questionable fix for a deadly pandemic, not unlike his earlier enthusiasm for the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine or even, at one point, disinfectant. But the treatment that Mr. Trump extolled, which was administered last week after doctors diagnosed Covid-19, is not a fringe product. It’s a promising drug in the final stages of testing developed by a respected biotech company, Regeneron. Infectious disease experts have been closely following the treatment, as well as a similar product from Eli Lilly, in the hopes that the therapies could be a real advance in the fight against Covid-19. (Thomas and Grady, 10/9)

The Hill: Trump Sparks New FDA Concerns With Praise Of 'Miracle' Treatment 
President Trump's public praise for an experimental coronavirus antibody treatment is putting new pressure on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to quickly give emergency clearance to a drug he has touted as a "miracle." Doctors think the drugs show promise as a potential treatment of COVID-19, though Trump has created confusion by quickly elevating them to a cure. (Weixel, 10/10)

Politico: Regeneron CEO: Trump ‘Is A Case Of One’ And ‘Weakest Evidence’ For Covid-19 Treatment 
Regeneron chief executive Leonard Schleifer on Sunday said President Donald Trump's treatment with the company's experimental antibody cocktail is "a case of one," but stressed ongoing clinical trials still need to show its efficacy. "The president's case is a case of one, and that's what we call a case report, and it is evidence of what's happening, but it's kind of the weakest evidence that you can get," Schleifer said in an interview on CBS' "Face the Nation." (O'Brien, 10/11)

The New York Times: Trump’s Virus Treatment Revives Questions About Unchecked Nuclear Authority 
President Trump’s long rants and seemingly erratic behavior last week — which some doctors believe might have been fueled by his use of dexamethasone, a steroid, to treat Covid-19 — renewed a long-simmering debate among national security experts about whether it is time to retire one of the early inventions of the Cold War: the unchecked authority of the president to launch nuclear weapons. Mr. Trump has publicly threatened the use of those weapons only once in his presidency, during his first collision with North Korea in 2017. But it was his decision not to invoke the 25th Amendment and turn control over to Vice President Mike Pence last week that has prompted concern inside and outside the government. (Sanger and Broad, 10/11)

The New York Times: White House Blocked C.D.C. From Requiring Masks on Public Transportation
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention drafted a sweeping order last month requiring all passengers and employees to wear masks on all forms of public and commercial transportation in the United States, but it was blocked by the White House, according to two federal health officials. The order would have been the toughest federal mandate to date aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus, which continues to infect more than 40,000 Americans a day. The officials said that it was drafted under the agency’s “quarantine powers” and that it had the support of the secretary of health and human services, Alex M. Azar II, but the White House Coronavirus Task Force, led by Vice President Mike Pence, declined to even discuss it. (Kaplan, 10/9)

Politico: Fauci Criticizes Inclusion In Trump Campaign Ad 
The new ad, titled “Carefully,” was released after Trump’s discharge from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., where he was being treated for coronavirus last weekend. The ad touts the strength of Trump’s leadership in response to the pandemic. An edited clip of Fauci shows him saying, “I can’t imagine that … anybody could be doing more.” (Cohen, 10/11)

The New York Times: Fauci Calls Out Trump Campaign Ad That Used Him Without Permission 
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert and one of the nation’s most popular public officials, took issue Sunday with a decision by the Trump campaign to feature him in an advertisement without his consent and said it had misrepresented his comments. “I was totally surprised,” Dr. Fauci said. “The use of my name and my words by the G.O.P. campaign was done without my permission, and the actual words themselves were taken out of context, based on something that I said months ago regarding the entire effort of the task force.” (10/11)

AP: Trump Official Says Vaccine Expected Starting In January
A Trump administration official leading the response to the coronavirus pandemic says the U.S. can expect delivery of a vaccine starting in January 2021, despite statements from the president that inoculations could begin this month. And a growing, bipartisan chorus of lawmakers, experts and public health officials says the country is ill prepared for a projected winter surge of COVID-19. (Mendoza and Linderman, 10/9)

NPR: Operation Warp Speed COVID-19 Vaccine Contract Terms Unknown
Members of Congress, advocacy groups and a former administration official say Operation Warp Speed should release its vaccine contracts with pharmaceutical companies, following an NPR report that the Trump administration awarded billions of dollars through a third party, bypassing the usual contracting process. "The administration really just seems to be playing a game of hide and seek," Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, told NPR. (Lupkin, 10/10)

The Washington Post: Barrett Supreme Court Hearing Expected To Focus On Health Care With The Pandemic Looming Over The Proceeding
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearings this week offer President Trump and Senate Republicans one of their final chances before the election to shift the fall agenda away from the coronavirus pandemic and toward an issue they believe is more politically beneficial: solidifying a conservative majority on the nation’s high court. But reminders of covid-19 will be inescapable. (Min Kim, 10/11)

AP: Senators Weigh COVID Risk For Barrett Supreme Court Hearing
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett vows to be a justice “fearless of criticism” as the split Senate charges ahead with confirmation hearings on President Donald Trump’s pick to cement a conservative court majority before Election Day. Barrett, a federal appeals court judge, draws on faith and family in her prepared opening remarks for the hearings, which begin Monday as the country is in the grips of the coronavirus pandemic. She says courts “should not try” to make policy, and believes she would bring “a few new perspectives” as the first mother of school-age children on the nine-member court. (Sherman, Mascaro, Jalonick and Balsamo, 10/11)

Politico: Harris To Attend Amy Coney Barrett Hearing Remotely 
Sen. Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, will attend Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings remotely, according to her Senate office. “Due to Judiciary Committee Republicans’ refusal to take common sense steps to protect members, aides, Capitol complex workers, and members of the media, Senator Harris plans to participate in this week’s hearings remotely from her Senate office in the Hart building,” a spokesperson for the California Democrat said in a statement on Sunday. (Levine, 10/11)

The Guardian: Barrett Was Member Of Anti-Abortion Group That Promoted Clinic Criticized For Misleading Women
Amy Coney Barrett, the supreme court nominee, was a member of a “right to life” organization in 2016 that promoted a local South Bend, Indiana, crisis pregnancy center, a clinic that has been criticised for misleading vulnerable women who were seeking abortions and pressuring them to keep their pregnancies. Barrett, whose confirmation hearing before the Senate judiciary committee is set to begin on Monday, was a member of the University Faculty for Life at Notre Dame from 2010 to 2016. Online records show that the group began promoting South Bend’s Women’s Care Center in 2016 on its website, adding a link to the group under a section called “Pro-Life Links”. (Kirchgaessner, 10/11)

AP: GOP US. Rep. Bost Of Illinois Tests Positive For COVID-19
U.S. Rep. Mike Bost of Illinois has tested positive for COVID-19, the latest lawmaker now confirmed to have the virus. The Republican whose district covers most of deep southern Illinois tested positive late Thursday, according to a statement from his office Friday. He had experienced “a mild cough and a rapid loss of both taste and smell,” prompting him to take the test. (10/11)

Roll Call: Lawmakers Want Widespread COVID-19 Testing On The Hill
Lawmakers continued to press for widespread testing in the Capitol complex Friday as another member announced they had contracted COVID-19. Sen. Christopher S. Murphy, D-Conn., told reporters on a press call that he had not heard any reports of progress on Senate-wide testing and called it “an abomination.” Murphy, the ranking Democrat on the Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee, said, “The cost is likely negligible in the grand scheme of things. So the issue here is not, is not, cost. The issue is a Republican Senate majority that just doesn’t want to let people know the extent of the spread in the White House, and in their caucus.” Murphy’s call for more testing comes as another member of Congress, Illinois Republican Rep. Mike Bost, said the COVID-19 test he sought after experiencing symptoms was positive. (Cioffi, 10/9)

The Hill: Pentagon Puts On Show Of Force As Questions Circle On COVID-19 Outbreak 
The Pentagon is putting on a show of force as most of its Joint Chiefs of Staff quarantine after two top military officials tested positive for COVID-19 last week and possibly exposed others. Defense Department officials have repeatedly insisted that military readiness has not been affected and that it remains ready to defend the country, a stance it repeated on Thursday. (Mitchell, 10/11)

The Hill: Senate Democrat Raises Concerns Around Universal Health Services Breach 
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) on Friday raised concerns around a recent cyberattack on hospital chain Universal Health Services (UHS) that resulted in the data of millions of customers potentially being compromised. In a letter to UHS Chairman and CEO Alan Miller, Warner, who serves as vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, asked a series of questions in relation to a ransomware attack on UHS last month that crashed systems at hospital facilities across the nation. (Miller, 10/9)

Politico: Debate Commission Cancels Oct. 15 Biden-Trump Showdown 
The Commission on Presidential Debates on Friday canceled the second pre-election showdown between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden, according to a person familiar with the situation. The debate, initially scheduled for Oct. 15 in Miami, was changed to a virtual format following the president's coronavirus diagnosis last week. Trump and his campaign protested against a virtual debate, calling the change a ploy to help Biden. Biden's campaign said it would not partake in the town hall-style debate if Trump did not show. The commission said the format change was to ensure the health and safety of everyone involved. (Forgey, 10/9)

Politico: Trump Didn’t Want To Do A ‘Glorified Conference Call,’ Eric Trump Says Of Canceled Debate 
Eric Trump pinned the blame on Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden for the cancellation of the Oct. 15 presidential debate, after the debate commission made the event a virtual one following President Donald Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis. The president’s son told ABC’s Jonathan Karl on Sunday that Biden “didn't want to stand on the stage with my father, and that should tell you everything you know you need to know about him.” (Bice, 10/11)

The Hill: Eric Trump Falsely Calls President's Coronavirus Treatment A Vaccine 
President Trump’s son Eric Trump on Sunday called his father’s treatment for COVID-19 a vaccine that he further claimed the president helped create from “day one.” “My father literally started day one creating this vaccine. He worked to push this vaccine, and now my father just took it, and you see how well he got over it,” Eric Trump told Jonathan Karl of ABC's "This Week." (Rahman, 10/11)

The New York Times: How Could Vote-By-Mail Impact The Election? Look At Michigan
The coronavirus pandemic has made voting by mail one of the election’s most contentious issues. More than 25 states have expanded access to universal mail voting, a move President Trump has repeatedly, and erroneously, equated with a fraudulent election. Already, there have been breakdowns. Last month, a vendor error led to nearly 100,000 voters in Brooklyn, N.Y., receiving security envelopes belonging to someone else. During Michigan’s primary, more than 2,200 ballots were rejected because they hadn’t been signed by the voter. (Bracker and Eaton, 10/11)

The Washington Post: Trump Pivots Again On Stimulus Talks After Bipartisan Backlash
The White House again pivoted its approach to stimulus negotiations on Sunday, with the president’s aides pushing for immediate action on a narrow measure after the administration’s $1.8 trillion proposal was rebuffed by members of both parties. In a letter to Congress sent Sunday, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin asked lawmakers to first pass legislation allowing the Trump administration to redirect about $130 billion in unused funding from the Paycheck Protection Program intended for small businesses while negotiations continue on a broader relief effort. (Stein and Werner, 10/11)

Politico: Meadows And Mnuchin Urge Repurposing PPP Money Amid Stimulus Wrangling 
Top Trump administration officials are calling on lawmakers to pass legislation to redirect unused funding from a small-business lifeline, the latest salvo in a week of twists and turns in talks between the White House and congressional leaders on a new round of coronavirus stimulus. “Now is the time for us to come together and immediately vote on a bill to allow us to spend the unused Paycheck Protection Program funds while we continue to work toward a comprehensive package,” White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin wrote in a letter on Sunday to members of the House and Senate. “The all-or-nothing approach is an unacceptable response to the American people.” (O'Brien, 10/11)

AP: COVID-19 Coverage Safety Net Has Plenty Of Holes In US
COVID-19 can do more than torment patients physically. It also clobbers some financially. Even though many insurers and the U.S. government have offered to pick up or waive costs tied to the virus, holes remain for big bills to slip through and surprise patients. People who weren’t able to get a test showing they had the virus and those who receive care outside their insurance network are particularly vulnerable. Who provides the coverage and how hard a patient fights to lower a bill also can matter. (Murphy, 10/11)

USA Today: Donald Trump Signs Law To Address Missing, Murdered Native Americans
President Donald Trump signed a bill Saturday aimed at addressing missing and murdered Native Americans. Savanna's Act will establish national law enforcement guidelines between the federal government and American Indian tribes to help track, solve and prevent crimes against Native Americans. The law is named after Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, a pregnant 22-year-old Spirit Lake tribal member from North Dakota who was killed in 2017. ... Murder is the third-leading cause of death for American Indian/Alaska Native women, according to the Urban Indian Health Institute. (Flores, 10/11)

Politico: Christie Exits Hospital After Bout With Coronavirus
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has been able to leave the hospital a week after testing positive for the coronavirus, he announced Saturday. “I am happy to let you know that this morning I was released from Morristown Medical Center,” Christie tweeted. (Landergan, 10/10)

FierceHealthcare: CMS: Unsubsidized ACA Exchange Population Declined By 45% Over 4 Years
The population on the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA's) exchanges that do not get subsidies declined by 45% from 2016 to 2019, a new report from the Trump administration found. The report, released Friday (PDF) from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), argues that people who don’t qualify for income-based subsidies to lower the cost of insurance are being priced out of the exchanges. (King, 10/9)

Reuters: As Globe Gallops Into Vaccine Trials, Insurers Remain Unfazed
The world is racing towards a vaccine in record time, stirring public concerns about safety to the extent that nine leading developers have felt compelled to issue a pledge to uphold scientific standards and testing rigour. Yet, while more than 40 experimental COVID-19 vaccines are being tested on humans, the insurance companies with decades of experience in assessing the risks of clinical trials don’t see anything to be unduly concerned about. Executives at insurer Allianz and brokers Gallagher and Marsh, among the leading players in clinical trials insurance, told Reuters that premiums had only marginally increased so far in the current pandemic. (Hussain, Cohn and Burger, 10/12)

Stat: Letter Urging Covid-19 Vaccine Trial Participation Sparks Backlash 
The presidents of two historically Black universities in New Orleans thought they were doing a public service by enrolling in a Covid-19 vaccine clinical trial back in August, so much so they urged their campus communities to consider doing the same. “I said we should inform our communities because I think there’s something about teaching by example,” said Reynold Verret, a biochemist who leads Xavier University of Louisiana. “We’re two Black men who rolled up their sleeves.” (St. Fleur, 10/12)

The Wall Street Journal: People Harmed By Coronavirus Vaccines Will Have Little Recourse 
The U.S. government paid out $4.4 billion over more than 30 years covering injuries relating to a host of vaccines—from flu to polio—but payouts for potential injuries from Covid-19 vaccines will be covered by a far less-generous program. Covid-19 vaccine injuries will be covered under a program known as the “countermeasures injury” compensation fund, which was set up in 2010 to cover harm resulting from vaccines for a flu pandemic, or drugs to treat an anthrax or Ebola outbreak, for example. (Loftus and Pulliam, 10/11)

Reuters: South Korea's Celltrion Gets Approval For Phase 3 Trials Of COVID-19 Antibody Drug
South Korean drugmaker Celltrion Inc 068270.KS said on Monday it has received regulatory approval for Phase 3 clinical trials of an experimental COVID-19 treatment. The approval comes as the company plans to seek conditional approval for its antibody drug, CT-P59, for emergency use by the end of this year. (Cha, 10/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Companies Face Uncertain Health Costs As Employees Defer Treatments 
People are deferring many routine medical treatments during the coronavirus pandemic, creating unexpected savings for some employers, while making it harder for companies to forecast health-benefit costs in the year ahead. As U.S. companies prepare to open their enrollment periods for health-care plans, many are uncertain about how much medical care their employees will consume in the year ahead. Health benefits typically account for a large portion of a company’s personnel costs. (Broughton, 10/11)

Reuters: U.S., AstraZeneca Strike Deal For Covid-19 Antibody Treatment
The U.S. government has awarded $486 million to AstraZeneca Plc to develop and secure supplies of up to 100,000 doses of Covid-19 antibody treatment, a similar class of drug that was used in treating President Donald Trump. The agreement, under the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed, is for developing a monoclonal antibody cocktail that can prevent Covid-19, especially in high-risk population like those over 80 years old, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said. (10/12)

CNBC: Mallinckrodt Files For Bankruptcy Protection Amid U.S. Opioid Litigation
Mallinckrodt filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday, saddled with lawsuits alleging it fueled the U.S. opioid epidemic and after it lost a court battle to avoid paying higher rebates to state Medicaid programs for its top-selling drug. The company listed both assets and liabilities in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion in a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District Of Delaware. (10/12)

Reuters: Novel Coronavirus Can Last 28 Days On Glass, Currency, Australian Study Finds 
The virus that causes COVID-19 can survive on banknotes, glass and stainless steel for up to 28 days, much longer than the flu virus, Australian researchers said on Monday, highlighting the need for cleaning and handwashing to combat the virus. ... By comparison, Influenza A virus has been found to survive on surfaces for 17 days. (Paul and Nicol Bikes, 10/11)

The New York Times: Extra Pounds May Raise Risk Of Severe Covid-19 
Obese Americans are more likely to become dangerously ill if they are infected with the new coronavirus. Now public health officials are warning that a much broader segment of the population also may be at risk: even moderately excess weight may increase the odds of severe disease. The warning, reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week, may have serious implications for Americans. While about 40 percent of U.S. adults are obese, another 32 percent are simply overweight, among the highest rates of obesity and overweight in the world. (Rabin, 10/10)

The Washington Post: Another Casualty Of The Coronavirus Pandemic: Trust In Science
In another era, what happened Wednesday might have been viewed simply as good news. Two companies, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly, have independently developed therapeutic drugs, called monoclonal antibodies, that in preliminary testing appear to reduce symptoms for coronavirus patients. They applied for emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. The positive development immediately became entangled in election-year politics, with President Trump repeatedly making false and exaggerated claims about the new therapeutics. He called them a cure, which they’re not. He said he was about to approve them — a premature promise given that the FDA’s career scientists are charged with reviewing the applications. (Achenbach and McGinley, 10/11)

The New York Times: ‘I Feel Like I Have Dementia’: How Brain Fog Plagues Covid-19 Survivors
After contracting the coronavirus in March, Michael Reagan lost all memory of his 12-day vacation in Paris, even though the trip was just a few weeks earlier. Several weeks after Erica Taylor recovered from her Covid-19 symptoms of nausea and cough, she became confused and forgetful, failing to even recognize her own car, the only Toyota Prius in her apartment complex’s parking lot. (Belluck, 10/11)

Stat: 'We Have To Deal With Uncertainty': FDA Leaders Explain How Covid-19 Has Upended Cancer Research And Care 
The Covid-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc across the globe — including upending the process of drug development. That has been especially true in clinical trials for oncology, which come with a complex set of considerations. Patients often have to come into the clinic or be hospitalized for treatment. They also have to be protected against possible infections that could devastate a weakened immune system. (Spinelli, 10/9)

AP: Next Gen Remote Therapy Has Bluetooth, Pulse Monitors, More
When patients sign up for the newest kind of therapy at the Mental Health Center of Denver, here’s what comes in their welcome packet: A biofeedback device that clips to their ear to measure pulse and blood-oxygen levels. A phone stand to prop up a smartphone during therapy sessions. And directions for downloading an app to chat with a therapist. It’s a new era in technology for the community mental health center, a key step toward “preparing for the next generation,” said Alires Almon, the center’s director of innovation. The 12-week, virtual therapy program isn’t meant to replace traditional face-to-face counseling — it’s a contemporary option for people who would rather work on their mental health at home with their smartphone than walk into a mental health center. (Brown, 10/11)

Stat: Why Is It So Hard To Get Home Care At The End Of Life?
"I want to go home with the time I have left. I want to be with my children.” Susan was sitting in the sunroom of the medical oncology floor. A hospital blanket, the ones that are never warm enough, was draped over her shoulders and the shoulders of her older sister. You could immediately tell they were sisters, but also best friends. They looked healthy and strong, both in the sixth decade of life. But Susan had a tumor in her brain and would likely soon die from it. (Charlotte Grinberg, 10/12)

Omaha World-Herald: Some Regional Colleges See Drop In Enrollment, While Health Care, Online Programs Do Well
Schools that focus heavily on health fields, including the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Nebraska Methodist College, Clarkson College and Lincoln’s Bryan College of Health Sciences had enrollment jumps this fall. (Ruggles, 10/11)

The New York Times: Over $150,000 In Fines Issued On First Weekend Of New N.Y.C. Lockdown 
Authorities cracked down this weekend on some of the city’s coronavirus hot spots, issuing more than 60 summonses and tens of thousands of dollars in fines to people, businesses and houses of worship that did not follow newly imposed restrictions on gatherings or mask-wearing and social-distancing requirements. Among those issued a summons by the New York City sheriff were a restaurant and at least five houses of worship in the city’s “red zones,” where coronavirus infection rates are the highest. Each of those locations was given a summons that could result in up to $15,000 in fines, said Sheriff Joseph Fucito. (Watkins, 10/11)

AP: Beshear To Quarantine After Guard Tests Positive For COVID
Kentucky’s governor said Sunday that he will quarantine after a member of his security detail who drove with his family the day before later tested positive for COVID-19. Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear said he and his family feel fine and show no coronavirus symptoms. Beshear’s wife and their two children also will quarantine. (Schreiner, 10/11)

The New York Times: Nevada Revokes Halt On Rapid Antigen Testing In Nursing Homes 
Under pressure from the federal government, Nevada health officials on Friday rescinded a statewide order directing nursing homes to halt the use of two government-issued rapid coronavirus tests that the state had deemed to be inaccurate. The reversal came shortly after the United States Department of Health and Human Services issued a threatening letter, dated Oct. 8, to Nevada officials. The federal document noted that swift punitive actions could be taken if the state did not promptly revoke its ban, which Adm. Brett Giroir, assistant secretary of Health and Human Services, called “unwise, uninformed and unlawful” and a violation of the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act. (Wu, 10/10)

Politico: ‘Twindemic’ Test: Massachusetts, Many Colleges Mandate Winter Flu Shots
More than a million Massachusetts students need a flu shot by New Year’s Eve if they hope to attend classes come January — making the state a national proving ground for battling a feared winter “twindemic" of flu and coronavirus. Protesters have swarmed downtown Boston and the state Capitol in the seven weeks since Republican Gov. Charlie Baker issued the first-of-its-kind requirement for students from preschool through college. As the Massachusetts mandate plays out, other states have weighed similar requirements while colleges throughout the country pile on their own orders to prevent flu patients from clogging doctors offices and emergency rooms alongside people infected with coronavirus this winter. (Perez Jr., 10/9)