First Edition: Oct. 27, 2021

KHN: Pharma Campaign Cash Delivered To Key Lawmakers With Surgical Precision 
The Biden administration and Congress are embroiled in high-stakes haggling over what urgent priorities will make it into the ever-shrinking social spending bill. But for the pharmaceutical industry there is one agenda: Heading off Medicare drug price negotiation, which it considers an existential threat to its business model. The siren call to contain rising drug costs helped catapult Democrats to power, and the idea is popular among voters regardless of their politics. Yet granting Medicare broad authority to intervene in setting prices has nonetheless divided the party. (Knight, Pradhan and Lucas, 10/27)

KHN: KHN Campaign Contributions Tracker: Pharma Cash To Congress
Every year, pharmaceutical companies contribute millions of dollars to U.S. senators and representatives as part of a multipronged effort to influence health care lawmaking and spending priorities. Use this tool to explore the sizable role drugmakers play in the campaign finance system, where many industries seek to influence Congress. Discover which lawmakers rake in the most money (or the least) and which pharma companies are the biggest contributors. Or use our search tool to look up members of Congress by name or home state, as well as dozens of drugmakers that KHN tracks. (Lucas and KHN staff, 10/26)

KHN: How Billing Turns A Routine Birth Into A High-Cost Emergency
Caitlin Wells Salerno knew that some mammals — like the golden-mantled ground squirrels she studies in the Rocky Mountains — invest an insane amount of resources in their young. That didn’t prepare her for the resources the conservation biologist would owe after the birth of her second son. Wells Salerno went into labor on the eve of her due date, in the early weeks of coronavirus lockdowns in April 2020. She and her husband, Jon Salerno, were instructed to go through the emergency room doors at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado, because it was the only entrance open. (Bichell, 10/27)

KHN: Medicare Plans’ ‘Free’ Dental, Vision, Hearing Benefits Come At A Cost 
When Teresa Nolan Barensfeld turned 65 last year, she quickly decided on a private Medicare Advantage plan to cover her health expenses. Barensfeld, a freelance editor from Chatham, New York, liked that it covered her medications, while her local hospitals and her primary care doctor were in the plan’s network. It also had a modest $31 monthly premium. She said it was a bonus that the plan included dental, hearing and vision benefits, which traditional Medicare does not. (Galewitz, 10/27)

The New York Times: F.D.A. Panel Recommends Vaccine For Children 5 To 11
An expert committee advising the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday recommended that regulators authorize Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine for 5- to 11-year-olds, bringing about 28 million children a major step closer to becoming eligible for shots. If the F.D.A. follows the panel’s advice in the coming days, as is expected — and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agrees — the Biden administration will have expanded vaccine access to all but the youngest Americans, while providing booster shots for many as well. (LaFraniere and Weiland, 10/26)

Stat: FDA Advisers Recommend Pfizer Covid Vaccine Be Authorized For Children
An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration voted in favor of authorizing the Covid-19 vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech for children ages 5 to 11. After sometimes tense deliberations that weighed the benefits of vaccination against potential risks, the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted 17-to-0 with one abstention on Tuesday that two 10-microgram doses of the vaccine should be granted emergency use authorization, a clearance that will remain in effect only as long as the pandemic is considered a public health emergency. (Herper and Branswell, 10/26)

Bloomberg: Pfizer Vaccine For Small Kids Could Also Work For Big Kids, Company Says
Pfizer Inc.’s lower-dose Covid-19 vaccine for kids under 12 appears to offer protection across the board, company officials said, and the drug giant may look into offering lower doses for teens who now get the adult dose. A scientific advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration is deliberating Tuesday on whether to recommend the vaccine, which Pfizer makes with partner BioNTech SE, for 5- to 11-year-olds. If cleared by regulators, it would make a Covid-19 vaccine available to all school-age children for the first time. (Baumann, 10/26)

The New York Times: When Vaccinating Kids, Does Weight Matter? Should an 11-Year-Old Wait to Turn 12 to Get a Bigger Dose?
Children ages 5 to 11 may be eligible for the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine by early next month: two shots spaced three weeks apart. But unlike kids 12 and older, who get the same dosage as adults, the kids in the younger age group will receive 10 micrograms of vaccine per dose, or one-third the amount that a 12-year-old would get. This has created some confusion for parents of 11-year-olds on the cusp of turning 12. Is it best to hold out for the larger dose? Or is it better to get the smaller dose right away? Does the weight or height of the child make any difference? (Caron, 10/26)

CNN: What Will A Covid-19 Vaccine For Younger Kids Mean? An Expert Weighs In 
A US Food and Drug Administration advisory committee recommended Tuesday that the agency grant emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. Next, the FDA decides whether to authorize the vaccine, and then the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's vaccine advisory committee will meet to consider whether it should be recommended for that age group. If CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky signs off on that recommendation, younger children could be getting vaccinated next week. (Hetter, 10/27)

The Hill: Dem Hopes For Infrastructure Vote Hit Brick Wall 
Democratic leaders scrambling for an infrastructure vote this week to boost two Democratic gubernatorial candidates hit a brick wall Tuesday, when the head of the Congressional Progressive Caucus said liberals will oppose the popular public works bill until a larger benefits package is finalized. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) emerged from an hourlong meeting with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) amplifying her long-held position: Progressives won’t support the bipartisan infrastructure bill, known as the BIF, before there’s agreement on every detail of the social spending package at the heart of President Biden’s domestic policy agenda. (Lillis and Wong, 10/26)

The Hill: Democrats Haggle As Deal Comes Into Focus 
Disagreements among Democrats on several key issues, including ambitious proposals to expand Medicare benefits and lower the price of prescription drugs, are holding up a framework agreement on a major budget reconciliation package. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) are pushing hard to reach a deal on the reconciliation bill this week to give President Biden something to take to a global climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, next week. (Bolton, 10/26)

Politico: Democrats Pitch Industry-Friendly Medicaid Workaround To Win Manchin’s Support 
Democrats are coalescing around a plan to offer a few years of subsidized private insurance to uninsured people with lower incomes in states that refused to expand Medicaid. The latest idea is an attempt to save a pillar of the party’s health care agenda as members rush to broker final agreements on their sweeping social spending package. The plan is more amenable to the private insurance industry and comes days after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) expressed opposition to the party’s preferred proposal: to create a new federal program that mirrors Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion. (Ollstein, 10/26)

USA Today: Why One Key Democrat Doesn't Want The Federal Government Picking Up The Tab For Medicaid Expansion
One Senate Democrat could block an effort by his colleagues to extend health care to millions of poor people in a dozen states. For West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, his opposition is a matter of fairness. Taxpayers in his state – and in the 37 other states that have expanded Medicaid eligibility under the 2010 Affordable Care Act – pick up 10% of the cost to cover low-income residents who are covered by the law. Why then, he argues, should the federal government now pay for 100% of the cost in the states that have refused the 90-10 split – as Democrats are proposing to do in the massive social spending bill pending in Congress. (Groppe, 10/26)

USA Today: New Infections Drop More Than 50% As Delta Wave Wanes
New coronavirus infections are down 56.8% nationwide since the delta variant surge peaked in the first week of September, a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. Cases are down in every region – the South, Mid-Atlantic, most of New England, the Midwest, the West. Some of the states hit hardest in the delta wave – Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, South Carolina and Tennessee – are reporting cases at a rate about one-sixth of where they were less than two months ago. Arkansas and Louisiana cases have fallen by more than three-quarters since then, too. (Bacon, Schnell and Ortiz, 10/26)

The Washington Post: U.S. Cases Down Nearly 60 Percent Since Delta Variant Surge
New coronavirus infections in the United States have dropped nearly 60 percent since a September spike brought on by the more contagious delta variant, according to data compiled by The Washington Post. The seven-day average of infections stood at about 69,000 this week, figures show, reflecting a 58 percent drop from the latest surge’s peak around Sept. 13, when the average for that week was 164,475. (Jeong and Suliman, 10/27)

Bloomberg: Pediatric Covid Hospital Visits Plunge In U.S. As Schools Reopen
Hospital admissions are declining sharply among U.S. children with Covid-19, even more than adults, quieting concerns for now that the return to school could trigger a major uptick in viral transmission. Daily pediatric admissions with confirmed Covid have fallen 56% since the end of August to an average of about 0.2 per 100,000, according to Department of Health and Human Services data. Among adults, new admissions fell 54% to 2.1 per 100,000 in the same period, the data show. (Levin, 10/26)

CIDRAP: Study Links March Madness Parties To More County COVID Cases 
A research letter yesterday in JAMA Network Open ties large gatherings of unvaccinated students and nonstudents at US universities during last spring's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) March Madness basketball tournament to COVID-19 outbreaks in the surrounding community. (Van Beusekom, 10/26)

CNN: Immunocompromised People May Need A Fourth Covid-19 Shot, CDC Says 
A study from Johns Hopkins University this summer showed that vaccinated immunocompromised people were 485 times more likely to end up in the hospital or die from Covid-19 compared to most vaccinated people. In small studies, the CDC said, fully vaccinated immunocompromised people accounted for about 44% of the breakthrough cases that required hospitalization. People who are immunocompromised are also more likely to transmit the virus to people who had close contact with them. The US Food and Drug Administration has also authorized booster shots of all three available vaccines for certain people and that would include the immune compromised, the CDC says. (Christensen, 10/26)

Axios: CDC Says Some Immunocompromised People Can Get Fourth COVID Shot 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in updated guidelines Tuesday that some immunocompromised people who have received either Pfizer or Moderna's COVID-19 vaccines will be able to get a fourth shot. People over 18 who are "moderately to severely immunocompromised" and have received three doses of an mRNA vaccine may get a fourth shot (of either the Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson vaccines) at least six months after getting their third Pfizer or Moderna dose, per the CDC. (Saric, 10/26)

Detroit Free Press: Metro Detroit Health Depts. Offering Moderna, J&J COVID-19 Boosters
The city of Detroit and its neighboring suburban health departments have begun giving Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 booster shots. The city said it began offering the boosters Tuesday, in addition to Pfizer boosters, at all city-run vaccination sites, including 10 walk-in centers and home visits. Oakland County Health Division also began administering booster doses of Moderna and J&J vaccines at sites in Pontiac and Holly, with more clinics scheduled throughout the week in Rochester, Pontiac and Southfield. Pfizer booster doses also will be available. (Hall, 10/26)

Politico: Federal Judge Tosses Out Southwest Airlines Pilots' Petition Against Vaccine Mandate 
A Texas judge on Tuesday dismissed a request for an injunction against an impending vaccine mandate brought by a union that represents pilots at Southwest Airlines, a significant blow against their attempt to sidestep President Joe Biden's mandate for government contractors. Federal workers and government contractors, which includes major U.S. commercial airlines, must be vaccinated by Dec. 8. (Pawlyk, 10/26)

AP: Meatpacker Tyson: Mandate Led 96% Of Workers To Get Vaccine
Meatpacking giant Tyson Foods says more than 96% of its workers have been vaccinated ahead of the company’s Nov. 1 deadline for them to do so. The company based in Springdale, Arkansas, said the number of its 120,000 workers who have been vaccinated has nearly doubled since it announced its mandate on Aug. 3. At that point, only 50% of Tyson workers had been vaccinated. (Funk, 10/26)

The Hill: Business Lobby Calls For Administration To 'Pump The Brakes' On Vaccine Mandate 
The Biden administration’s looming vaccine-or-test mandate has unsettled several business groups, who are calling for the rule to be postponed until after the holidays.  These business groups, representing sectors ranging from retail to trucking, scheduled meetings with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) this week to discuss their concerns about the federal requirements. (Coleman, 10/26)

Axios: Alabama Governor Orders State Agencies To Fight Federal Vaccine Mandate 
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Monday signed an executive order directing state agencies to not enforce federal coronavirus vaccine mandates, and instead cooperate with the state's attorney general to sue the Biden administration over the requirements. No government entity shall impose any agreement demanding that an employee get vaccinated, the Republican governor's executive order says. It adds that state employees will not be required to present vaccination proof to receive any sort of government service or to enter a government building. (Gonzalez, 10/26)

The Boston Globe: More Than 800 Boston City Employees Are On Unpaid Leave For COVID-19 Noncompliance
More than 200 City of Boston workers were placed on unpaid leave Tuesday for their noncompliance with COVID-19 requirements, meaning they failed to either verify their vaccination status or show proof of a weekly, negative test for the virus. The total number of city workers on unpaid leave for violating the policy remains north of 800. Acting Mayor Kim Janey announced a vaccine mandate for the city workforce, which includes more than 18,000 employees, in August. At the time, she emphasized that vaccinations were key to the city’s battle against the pandemic. The new requirement took effect in phases, with different groups of workers having to comply by different dates. (McDonald, 10/26)

Fox News: Unvaccinated Los Angeles City Workers To Fork Over $130 A Week For Testing, Given Two More Months To Comply
Los Angeles city employees who have not been vaccinated will have to fork over $130 each week to cover COVID-19 testing but will have a longer deadline to get the shots or lose their jobs, according to a plan passed by lawmakers Tuesday. City workers originally had until Oct. 20 to get fully vaccinated but now they have until Dec. 18. During the extended period, unvaccinated workers will have $65 deducted from their paychecks twice a week to cover the cost of weekly testing, or $260 per pay period. (Casiano, 10/26)

AP: California County Closes In-N-Out Over Vaccine Verification
Another California county closed down an In-N-Out restaurant on Tuesday because the popular burger chain refuses to enforce COVID-19 vaccination rules. Contra Costa County health officials indefinitely shut the Pleasant Hill restaurant after it ignored repeated warnings to verify that customers who wanted to dine indoors had vaccination cards or proof they had tested negative for the virus in the past 72 hours. (10/27)

AP: Enforcement Of Indoor Vaccine Mandates Proves Uneven In US
Go out for a night on the town in some U.S. cities and you might find yourself waiting while someone at the door of the restaurant or theater closely inspects your vaccination card and checks it against your photo ID. Or, conversely, you might be waved right through just by flashing your card. How rigorously vaccination requirements are being enforced varies from place to place, even within the same state or city. (Jones and Rodriguez, 10/26)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: 2 Lawsuits Aim To Quash CCSD’s Student Mask Mandate
Two lawsuits — one of which seeks $200 million in restitution — are asking different courts overturn a COVID-19 pandemic face mask requirement for Clark County School District students. On Friday, parents Jason Ruiz, Robert Parker and Erin Gomez filed a civil rights complaint in Clark County District Court on behalf of five children against the school district, Gov. Steve Sisolak and Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford. That followed a previous lawsuit filed Sept. 20 in U.S. District Court by 14 plaintiffs on behalf of 18 children seeking to overturn the face mask mandate. It named district Superintendent Jesus Jara and the Clark County School Board as defendants. (Wooton-Greener, 10/26)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Fla. Surgeon General Didn’t Wear Mask Because He Can’t ‘Communicate Clearly’
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo on Tuesday wrote on Twitter about his refusal to wear a mask while meeting with state Sen. Tina Polsky, who has breast cancer, saying he can’t “communicate clearly and effectively” with his face covered. “Having a conversation with someone while wearing a mask is not something I find productive, especially when other options exist,” Ladapo said in his first public remarks about the incident. “It is important to me to communicate clearly and effectively with people. I can’t do that when half of my face is covered.” (Rohrer, 10/26)

Salt Lake Tribune: More Than 200 Utahns Have Died Of COVID-19 In October Alone
Ten more Utahns died of COVID-19 in the past day, according to the Utah Department of Health. One of them was between the ages of 25 and 44, and four were 45-64. In the past week, 54 Utahns have died of the coronavirus. Since the beginning of October, the number of deaths totals 216 — 6.8% of the 3,159 COVID-19 deaths in the Beehive State since the pandemic began. And there are still five more days in the month. (Pierce, 10/26)

Dallas Morning News: Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson Tests Positive For COVID-19
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson says he tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday even though he was fully vaccinated. Johnson, 46, said in a statement that he experienced mild symptoms and wouldn’t attend any events he had scheduled for the rest of the week, including a City Council meeting Wednesday. He has repeatedly urged the public to get vaccinated against the virus and wear masks. He again asked the public to get inoculated and receive booster shots, if eligible. Being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can largely reduce a person’s risk of hospitalization and death from the virus, doctors say, but infections can still happen. (Bailey Jr., 10/26)

AP: Beshear: Federal COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Available
Financial assistance is available for COVID-19-related funeral expenses incurred after Jan. 20, 2020, Gov. Andy Beshear said. The funds are available through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. So far, 2,500 Kentuckians have received assistance for a total of more than $18 million, Beshear said Monday. (10/27)

NPR: YouTube, Snapchat And TikTok Child Safety Hearing: 4 Key Takeaways
Lawmakers in the Senate hammered representatives from Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube on Tuesday, in a combative hearing about whether the tech giants do enough to keep children safe online. It marked the first time Snapchat and TikTok have landed in the hot seat in Washington, D.C., and for nearly four hours lawmakers pressed the officials about how the apps have been misused to promote bullying, worsen eating disorders and help teens buy dangerous drugs or engage in reckless behavior. (Allyn, 10/26)

AP: Facebook Froze As Anti-Vaccine Comments Swarmed Users
In March, as claims about the dangers and ineffectiveness of coronavirus vaccines spun across social media and undermined attempts to stop the spread of the virus, some Facebook employees thought they had found a way to help. By altering how posts about vaccines are ranked in people’s newsfeeds, researchers at the company realized they could curtail the misleading information individuals saw about COVID-19 vaccines and offer users posts from legitimate sources like the World Health Organization. (Klepper and Seitz, 10/26)

The Washington Post: Facebook Prioritized ‘Angry’ Emoji Reaction Posts In News Feeds 
Five years ago, Facebook gave its users five new ways to react to a post in their news feed beyond the iconic “like” thumbs-up: “love,” “haha,” “wow,” “sad” and “angry.” Behind the scenes, Facebook programmed the algorithm that decides what people see in their news feeds to use the reaction emoji as signals to push more emotional and provocative content — including content likely to make them angry. Starting in 2017, Facebook’s ranking algorithm treated emoji reactions as five times more valuable than “likes,” internal documents reveal. The theory was simple: Posts that prompted lots of reaction emoji tended to keep users more engaged, and keeping users engaged was the key to Facebook’s business. (Merrill and Oremus, 10/26)

Fox News: 'Kissing Disease’ Among Teenagers May Trigger Multiple Sclerosis: Report 
Infectious mononucleosis – also known as "mono" or "the kissing disease" – in childhood or adolescence is associated with an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) as an adult, according to a new study. In order to reach these conclusions, researchers from Sweden and the United Kingdom used data from nearly 2.5 million Swedish people. In the population-based cohort study, published earlier this month in the journal JAMA Network Open. the authors wrote that they had used the Swedish Total Population Register to identify Swedish-born individuals from Jan. 1, 1958, to Dec. 31, 1994, who reached 25 years of age from Jan. 1, 1990, to Dec. 31, 2019, with both parents alive in 1990, in order to aid in the identification of all first-degree relatives as well as MS diagnoses in parents. (Musto, 10/26)

Axios: "Alarming" Trend In Colorectal Cancer Cases Under 35
Young adults with colon cancer are just as likely to die from the disease as older people — in some cases, maybe even less likely — according to a study to be published today in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Colorectal cancer is among the fastest-growing cancers among people younger than 50, and researchers aren't sure why. (Reed, 10/27)

Axios: First-Of-Its-Kind Study To Test Preventative Breast Cancer Vaccine 
Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic have launched a first-of-its-kind study for a vaccine aimed at preventing lethal breast cancer. Triple-negative breast cancer is considered one of the most aggressive types of breast cancer because it does not typically respond to hormonal or targeted therapies, researchers say. (Chen, 10/26)

Axios: FTC Data: Annual Cigarette Sales Increased For First Time In 20 Years 
The number of annual cigarette sales increased in 2020 for the first time in two decades, according to data from the Federal Trade Commission. The number of cigarettes sold by the largest cigarette companies in the U.S. increased from 202.9 billion in 2019 to 203.7 billion in 2020, according to the most recent FTC Cigarette Report. (Doherty, 10/26)

Houston Chronicle: Texas Reaches $290 Million Settlement With Opioid Manufacturer Johnson & Johnson
The state of Texas has settled with drug manufacturer Johnson & Johnson for its role in the nationwide opioid epidemic, with the company agreeing to pay $290 million to partly fund addiction recovery efforts in cities and counties, Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday. About $3.9 million will go directly to Harris County if approved by commissioners, according to Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee. (Gill, 10/26)

Modern Healthcare: 5 Things About DOJ's Upcoding Allegations Against Kaiser
Kaiser Permanente allegedly coerced employees to upcode claims for Medicare Advantage beneficiaries, resulting in an estimated 75% error rate, according to a new complaint from the U.S. Justice Department. The federal government intervened in six related lawsuits in July and filed a complaint Monday, outlining how Kaiser physicians allegedly changed medical records often months after care was provided to boost the Oakland, California-based integrated health system's Medicare Advantage reimbursement. More than half of Kaiser physicians said they were forced to add diagnoses they did not consider, evaluate or treat, according to one of the whistleblowers and former Kaiser medical coder, Randi Osinek. (Kacik, 10/26)

Dallas Morning News: Lawsuit Accuses High-Profile Health Care CEO April Anthony Of Stealing People, Ideas From Encompass
April Anthony, founder of leading home health care company Encompass, is being accused of breaching her employment contract by secretly meeting with employees after leaving the firm earlier this year, resulting in five high-ranking executives joining her new competing venture. Dallas-based Encompass Health, founded by Anthony in 1998, and Birmingham-based Encompass Health Corp., which trades on the NYSE and acquired Encompass Health in 2014, sued Anthony Tuesday in state court in Dallas. The lawsuit accuses Anthony, 54, of Highland Park, of violating an employment agreement she signed in October 2019 that prohibited her, once she left Encompass, from recruiting away employees for two years or engaging in a competing business for a year. (Walters, 10/26)

The Wall Street Journal: The Elizabeth Holmes Trial: Investor Describes Being Wooed By Theranos 
When members of the DeVos family invested $100 million in Theranos Inc. in 2014, they felt like they were part of an exclusive group backing a startup that would change healthcare, jurors heard Tuesday in the criminal-fraud trial of Elizabeth Holmes. Lisa Peterson, a representative for the DeVos family office, is the second witness to testify about the specific investments listed in the 12-count indictment filed against Ms. Holmes, which charges the Theranos founder with deceiving investors and patients about the capabilities of Theranos’s finger-prick blood-testing technology. (Randazzo and Somerville, 10/26)

AP: Wisconsin Lawmakers To Send Anti-Abortion Bills To Governor
The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Assembly was poised to give final approval Wednesday to a package of anti-abortion bills that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is all-but certain to veto. Final approval of the bills designed the reduce the number of abortions in the state comes after the state Senate, also controlled by Republicans, passed the measures over Democratic objections last week. Republicans do not have enough votes in the Legislature to override an Evers veto. Democrats have accused Republicans of only taking up the bills to energize conservatives ahead of the 2022 midterm election. (Bauer, 10/27)

AP: Illinois Senate OKs Repealing Abortion Parental Notification
The Illinois Senate voted Tuesday to repeal a law requiring that parents or guardians be notified when girls younger than 18 are seeking an abortion. Building on momentum among abortion-rights activists after September’s Texas “heartbeat” law banned most abortions, Democrats who control the General Assembly want to dump the 1995 law requiring notification, which both sides of the debate call the last restriction on abortions in Illinois. (O'Connor, 10/27)

Bloomberg: Serious Covid Cases In The U.K. Hit Levels Last Seen In March
The U.K. reported its highest daily death toll from coronavirus since the beginning of March, adding to fears that tighter restrictions might be needed this winter. The number of people hospitalized is also at the highest since that period. Steadily increasing hospitalization and death rates have put pressure on the government to enact its “Plan B,” which could include mandatory face coverings and a recommendation to work from home. (Capel, 10/26)

AP: BioNTech To Work With Senegal, Rwanda To Make MRNA Vaccines
Senegal and Rwanda have signed an agreement with German company BioNTech for the construction of its first start-to-finish factories to make messenger RNA vaccines in Africa. BioNTech, which developed the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, said Tuesday that construction will start in mid-2022. It is working with the Institut Pasteur in Dakar, Senegal’s capital, and the Rwandan government, a statement said. (Petesch, 10/26)

AP: Beijing Confirms Strict 'Closed Loop' For Winter Olympics
Chinese organizers have confirmed participants in next year’s Winter Olympics will be strictly isolated from the general population and could face expulsion for violating COVID-19 restrictions. Vice mayor and Beijing 2022 organizing committee official Zhang Jiandong told reporters Wednesday that those taking part in the games beginning Feb. 4 must remain in a “closed loop” for training, competing, transport, dining and accommodation. (10/27)

CIDRAP: H3N2 Strain Makes Early Mark On Europe's Flu Season
Though flu cases are still low in Europe, an unusually early spike in Croatia is a sign that the 2021-22 flu season could be severe for older people, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said today. The ECDC said the main subtype detected in the region over the past month is influenza A H3N2, which is known for disproportionately affecting older people and has been linked to lower vaccine effectiveness. It said the early signals suggest the season could be severe for older people but noted the timing of flu circulation may vary among countries. (10/26)

Bloomberg: WHO Clears HPV Shot From China’s Innovax To Ease Global Shortage
The World Health Organization approved a cervical cancer vaccine from China’s Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise Co., broadening access in developing countries to a scarce shot that prevents one of the most common causes of cancer. The inoculation was developed by Wantai’s vaccine subsidiary Xiamen Innovax Biotech Co. and works against the two highest-risk types of human papillomavirus, a sexually-transmitted virus that can cause cervical cancer. It received a stamp of approval from the WHO, known as a prequalification, which is widely recognized by developing nations as proof of a product’s safety and efficacy. (10/26)