First Edition: Oct. 17, 2022

KHN: Say What? Hearing Aids Available Over-The-Counter For As Low As $199, And Without A Prescription 
Starting Monday, consumers will be able to buy hearing aids directly off store shelves and at dramatically lower prices as a 2017 federal law finally takes effect. Where for decades it cost thousands of dollars to get a device that could be purchased only with a prescription from an audiologist or other hearing professional, now a new category of over-the-counter aids are selling for hundreds of dollars. Walmart says it will sell a hearing aid for as little as $199. (Galewitz, 10/17)

KHN: After Congress Fails To Add Dental Coverage, Medicare Weighs Limited Benefit Expansion
Proposed changes in Medicare rules could soon pave the way for a significant expansion in Medicare-covered dental services, while falling short of the comprehensive benefits that many Democratic lawmakers have advocated. That’s because, under current law, Medicare can pay for limited dental care only if it is medically necessary to safely treat another covered medical condition. In July, officials proposed adding conditions that qualify and sought public comment. Any changes could be announced in November and take effect as soon as January. (Jaffe, 10/17)

KHN: Listen: Why Childbirth Is So Dangerous For Many Young Teens
The new laws criminalizing abortion in many conservative states are expected to boost birth rates among teenage moms, whose bodies often aren’t built for safe childbirth. On this episode of NPR’s “Weekend Edition Sunday,” KHN senior correspondent Sarah Varney talks with host Ayesha Rascoe about the dangers that pregnancy poses for adolescents. (Varney, 10/17)

The Washington Post: Hearing Aids Are Going Retail With Lower Costs And Easier Access
The government on Monday will begin allowing pharmacies and big-box stores to sell hearing aids without prescriptions, a move that is expected to shake up an industry that has long been dominated by a handful of manufacturers under a model of care that critics said raised costs and stifled innovation. (Rowland and Morris, 10/16)

The Washington Post: How To Buy A Hearing Aid Online Or In A Store 
The new rule from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration goes into effect Monday, and experts have called it a game changer that is expected to make the devices more affordable and accessible for millions of people. With a variety of brands, styles and features to choose from, picking the right one may be daunting. Here’s some expert advice for buying a hearing aid that works for you. (Morris, 10/16)

NPR: What To Know Now That Hearing Aids Are Available Over The Counter
The move is being hailed as a win for those with hearing loss, which afflicts millions of people across the country, but experts say customers need to be cautious about what products they purchase as sales begin. "I hate to use the words 'buyer beware,' so instead it's 'buyer be educated' about what you're doing, what your needs are," said Kate Carr, president of the Hearing Industries Association, a trade group representing hearing aid manufacturers. (Hernandez, 10/17)

CNN: Hearing Aids: What To Know About Buying Them Over The Counter 
Dr. Frank Lin, director of the Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Dr. Lindsay Creed of the American Speech Hearing Association, offer their advice on what to keep in mind when buying hearing aids over the counter. Both Lin and Creed strongly recommend getting a hearing test before heading to the store. (Charles, 10/17)

Insider: Abbott Announces Another Baby Formula Recall On Similac Products
Abbott is again recalling Similac baby formula products — this time due to faulty bottle caps. The company issued a voluntary recall on Friday for several Similac ready-to-feed liquid products produced at its Columbus, Ohio facility. It discovered caps on 2 fluid-ounce bottles "that may not have sealed completely, which could result in product spoilage," Abbott said in a statement. (Biron, 10/15)

Press Association: Cancer Vaccine Could Be Available By 2030, Say Scientists Behind Covid Shot
Cancer vaccines could be accessible to patients within the next decade, the husband and wife team behind one of the most successful Covid jabs has said. German couple Professors Ugur Sahin and Ozlem Tureci said they are hesitant to say they can find a cure for cancer, but that they have had "breakthroughs" they will keep working on. (10/16)

The Guardian: Vaccines To Treat Cancer Possible By 2030, Say BioNTech Founders 
Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci, who co-founded BioNTech, the German firm that partnered with Pfizer to manufacture a revolutionary mRNA Covid vaccine, said they had made breakthroughs that fuelled their optimism for cancer vaccines in the coming years. Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Prof Türeci described how the mRNA technology at the heart of BioNTech’s Covid vaccine could be repurposed so that it primed the immune system to attack cancer cells instead of invading coronaviruses. (Sample, 10/16)

AP: Gates Foundation Pledges $1.2B To Eradicate Polio Globally 
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation says it will commit $1.2 billion to the effort to end polio worldwide. The money will be used to help implement the Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s strategy through 2026. The initiative is trying to end the polio virus in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the last two endemic countries, the foundation said in a statement Sunday. The money also will be used to stop outbreaks of new variants of the virus. The announcement was made Sunday at the World Health Summit in Berlin. (10/16)

Bloomberg: Gates Pledges $1.2 Billion To Speed End Of Crippling Poliovirus
Bill Gates says polio came tantalizingly close to being eradicated in the spring, before new outbreaks were seeded in Africa and a man was paralyzed in New York. Now the billionaire’s philanthropic foundation is pledging $1.2 billion to complete the mission. (Gale, 10/16)

CIDRAP: First Week Of New Flu Season Shows Highest Rises In The South
Most of the country is experiencing an early increase in flu activity, with southeast and south-central states reporting the highest levels, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said [Friday]. Its weekly report [was] the first for the 2022-23 flu season. (10/14)

Stat: CDC: Signs Point To An Early Start For Flu Season 
Flu transmission has been low since the start of the pandemic, but an odd spurt of activity in April, May, and even early June of 2022 — which coincided with the onset of an early and robust flu season in Australia — suggests that flu may be making its way back. (Branswell, 10/17)

NBC News: Surge In RSV, Virus That Can Severely Sicken Infants, Fills Hospital Beds
"The ones who tend to get the most sick are the infants below four months. And then the ones who are older who tend to get most sick are those who have some other medical conditions," said Dr. Sameer Kamath, chief medical officer for Duke Children’s Hospital and Health Center. (Bendix, 10/14)

NPR: Research Hints At Why Monkeypox Cases Could Keep Falling In The U.S. 
Health experts attribute the success to changes in behavior among those at high risk for monkeypox and quick uptake of vaccines. But a growing body of evidence suggests another factor is also helping slow down the outbreak: the virus can spread only under very particular circumstances. (Doucleff and Huang, 10/17)

CBS News: New COVID Variant BQ.1 Now Makes Up 1 In 10 Cases Nationwide, CDC Estimates
The CDC had previously bundled BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 with their shared parent BA.5 in the agency's weekly "Nowcast" estimates. BQ.1 was first named by scientists in early September, based on sequences spotted across the U.S. and several other countries. (Tin, 10/14)

San Francisco Chronicle: These Two New COVID Variants Could Drive The Next Surge. Here's Why They're Causing Surprise And Concern
Concern is rapidly growing over emerging omicron coronavirus variant BQ.1 and its sibling BQ.1.1, which experts say appear to be strong candidates for a winter surge in the U.S. and could knock the BA.5 variant out of its dominant spot. (Hwang, 10/16)

CNBC: Omicron Covid Boosters Appear To Work, Regardless Of Side Effects
If you already got your omicron-specific Covid booster, you might have experienced some side effects. Maybe even ones that were more intense than your previous shot. But there’s no need to worry: Experts and new data say the new shots appear to work — regardless of whether you experience moderate, mild or no side effects at all. (Constantino, 10/15)

Politico: Fauci Recalls Highs And Lows Of Trump Covid Response 
Anthony Fauci praised Operation Warp Speed, former President Donald Trump’s campaign to quickly create a Covid-19 vaccine, as “a very positive thing” in an interview Sunday. But what, host Jonathan Karl asked, about the idea that many Trump supporters continue to constitute a majority of the anti-vaccine movement anyway? (Olander, 10/16)

Politico: Battle Over Pregnancy Drug Highlights Risks Of FDA Expediting Drugs To Market 
The FDA will make its case this week to do something it hasn’t in over a decade — order a drug it expedited to the market to be pulled. A panel of independent expert advisers on obstetric and reproductive drugs will meet starting Monday to decide whether to recommend that Makena, an injection marketed as lowering the risk of preterm birth, remain available for at least some patients. (Gardner, 10/16)

Stat: What To Know About Roche’s Experimental Alzheimer’s Treatment
The next big Alzheimer’s disease study readout is almost here. Roche is nearing the completion of a pair of clinical trials involving its experimental treatment called gantenerumab. The Swiss pharma giant will announce results from the studies within the next six weeks. (Feuerstein and Garde, 10/17)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: New Technology Paves Way For Robotic, 1-Incision Colon Surgery
Friedman and HCA’s MountainView Hospital have joined a Food and Drug Administration clinical trial to confirm the safety and feasibility of using the da Vinci SP (single port) robotic system in a variety of colorectal surgeries. The trial is enrolling adult patients who are candidates for minimally invasive surgery for colon cancer, polyps and other conditions. (Hynes, 10/15)

CBS News: Man Plays His Saxophone Through 9-Hour, "Very, Very Complex" Brain Surgery To Remove Tumor
A musician had a brain tumor removed in Italy this week in a nine-hour surgery that he spent not only awake and fully conscious, but playing his saxophone. The 35-year-old male patient had the procedure at Rome's Paideia International Hospital on Monday and was discharged early Thursday morning. (Matranga, 10/14)

NBC News: Taking A Break From The News Can Improve Mental Health, Study Finds
The researchers looked at how people were best able to manage feelings of anxiety and depression at the height of the pandemic, finding that one of the most effective methods was to take breaks from the barrage of bad news. (Edwards, 10/14)

Fortune: The Science Behind Why You Need A Hobby To Boost Your Brain Health And Self-Esteem 
When Dr. Ken Duckworth, chief medical officer of the National Alliance on Mental Illness and author of You Are Not Alone, interviewed 130 people with mental health conditions for his new book, he found a common thread among many of his interviewees: they used hobbies as a way to manage their stress and mental health. One person Duckworth interviewed began drumming as a way to calm themselves and felt that the rhythmic aspect engaged them, while another enjoyed the playful nature of routinely going thrifting with a friend: one of them would look for motorcycle parts while the other searched for baseball cards. (Mikhail, 10/16)

CIDRAP: USDA Proposes Plan To Cut Salmonella Risks In Poultry Products 
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) today proposed new rules that would support a strategy for cutting Salmonella contamination in poultry products to reduce foodborne illnesses. In a nutshell, the USDA is exploring whether certain levels or types of Salmonella in raw poultry products pose enough of a risk to be considered adulterants. In August, the USDA's FSIS announced that it would declare Salmonella an adulterant in breaded and stuffed raw chicken products, which have been linked to as many as 14 foodborne illness outbreaks since 2018. (Schnirring, 10/14)