First Edition: Oct. 4, 2021

KHN: Mandatory Vaccines For Health Care Workers Might Upend Nurses’ Training
Kaitlyn Hevner expects to complete a 15-month accelerated nursing program at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville in December. For her clinical training this fall, she’s working 12-hour shifts on weekends with medical-surgical patients at a hospital. But Hevner and nursing students like her who refuse to get vaccinated against covid-19 are in an increasingly precarious position. Their stance may put their required clinical training and, eventually, their nursing careers at risk. (Andrews, 10/4)

KHN: Youthful Advisers Help Shape A Mental Health Program For Their Peers 
Phebe Cox grew up in what might seem an unlikely mental health danger zone for a kid: tony Palo Alto, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley. But behind its façade of family success and wealth, she said, is an environment of crushing pressure on students to perform. By 2016, when Cox was in middle school, Palo Alto had a teen suicide rate four times the national average. Cox’s family lived by the railroad tracks where many of the suicides occurred. She got counseling. But that option, she told KHN, is not always easily available to teens in crisis — and she and her peers regarded school mental health services as their last choice because of concerns about either confidentiality or anonymity. (Kreidler, 10/4)

KHN: Listen: California Banks On A Bold Treatment: Pay Drug Users To Stop Using
When Billy Lemon was trying to kick his methamphetamine addiction, he went to a drug treatment program at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation three times a week and peed in a cup. If it tested negative for meth, he got paid about $7.As the pandemic has raged, so has the country’s drug epidemic. Health officials have been struggling with methamphetamine and cocaine abuse, in particular, because of a lack of effective treatment for those stimulants. (Dembosky, 10/4)

KHN: Santa Cruz Health Officials Honored For Persevering In Covid Battle Against Tide Of ‘Denialism’
Two California public health officials who pressed forward with aggressive measures to contain covid-19 even while enduring death threats and harassment will be honored with the 2021 PEN/Benenson Courage Award from PEN America, the group announced Friday. Mimi Hall and Dr. Gail Newel, health director and health officer, respectively, for Santa Cruz County, California, will be honored Tuesday at the PEN America Literary Gala in New York City. Newel was one of the first officials in the nation to institute a shelter-in-place order at the beginning of the pandemic, and under Hall and Newel, Santa Cruz has experienced some of the lowest covid case rates in the country, as well as one of the smallest gaps in vaccination by race or ethnicity. (Barry-Jester, 10/1)

KHN: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: The Health Agenda Still On Hold 
Democrats on Capitol Hill missed their deadline to finish two huge bills that constitute the bulk of President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda, but negotiations continue over expansions to major health programs, as well as ways to rein in prescription drug costs. Meanwhile, the Biden administration issued regulations to implement last year’s law to limit “surprise” medical bills to patients who get care outside their insurance networks. Health providers — doctors and hospitals — are already complaining that they will be asked to pick up too much of the bill to protect patients. (10/1)

KHN: What The Stalemate On Capitol Hill Means For Your Drug Prices 
As President Joe Biden’s government overhaul stalls in Congress, tensions are mounting over what changes ― if any ― could come for Americans at the pharmacy counter. The proposals in flux range from tinkering with tax credits to far-reaching changes in federal payments systems. (Tribble, 10/1)

KHN: Journalists Drill Down On Covid Vaccine Boosters, Misinformation Online 
KHN Midwest correspondent Lauren Weber discussed how hospitals are dealing with covid-19 on WOSU’s “All Sides With Ann Fisher” on Tuesday. Weber also discussed the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of a covid vaccine booster on WAMU’s “1A” on Sept. 24. ... KHN reporter Victoria Knight discussed doctors who spread covid misinformation on social media on Newsy’s “Morning Rush” on Tuesday. (10/2)

The Hill: Democrats Offer Array Of Options For Passing Stalled Infrastructure, Reconciliation Bills 
Democratic lawmakers on Sunday offered numerous options for pathways for the potential to pass the stalled infrastructure bill and reconciliation package after failing to bring either key measures of the Biden administration to a vote in the House last week. Some lawmakers said they were confident that they would be able to pass both measures while others, including some progressives who refused to vote for the bipartisan bill unless they could pass the larger reconciliation package first, suggested they'd be open to a smaller price tag or a shorter amount of years of funding social programs. House Democrats failed to bring either bill up for a vote last week as moderate lawmakers like Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) refused to budge from their demands of a lowered reconciliation package. (Choi, 10/3)

The Hill: Schumer Sets One-Month Goal For Passing Two Spending Bills
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Sunday said he hopes to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill and a reconciliation package in the next month, setting another target date for Congress to approve two pieces of legislation central to President Biden’s domestic agenda after a failed attempt last week. Schumer, during a press conference in New York City on Sunday, said he believes Congress is on track to pass the pair of bills. (Schnell, 10/3)

Politico: Limiting Medicare Benefits Deepens Rift Among Hill Democrats
Means-testing Medicare, a long-running controversy in health policy debates, is re-emerging as a major source of tension for Democrats seeking a path forward on their stalled social spending package. Centrist lawmakers are demanding that an expansion of the program to cover dental, vision and hearing care be limited to the poorest Americans, to pare the projected cost by as much as half. (Ollstein, 10/1)

CBS News: Ocasio-Cortez Says Moderate Senators "Not Really Coming To The Table" Over Budget Bill 
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York, said Sunday that moderate Democratic senators are "not really coming to the table" to negotiate the details of a sweeping $3.5 trillion social spending package that is a cornerstone of President Biden's economic agenda but has been at the center of infighting among Democrats. "What we're seeing here is the dynamic where progressives are trying to skin this cat nine different ways but moderates are not really coming to the table," Ocasio-Cortez said in an interview on "Face the Nation." "This is the issue, is that we're saying, 'OK, we're going down from $6 trillion to $3 trillion, now it's $1 trillion, and we have some of these conservatives that say, 'Well, our line is zero, and you're lucky if you get $1.'" (Quinn, 10/3)

The New York Times: Whistle-Blower Says Facebook ‘Chooses Profits Over Safety’ 
On Sunday, Frances Haugen revealed herself to be “Sean,” the whistle-blower against Facebook. A product manager who worked for nearly two years on the civic misinformation team at the social network before leaving in May, Ms. Haugen has used the documents she amassed to expose how much Facebook knew about the harms that it was causing and provided the evidence to lawmakers, regulators and the news media. (Mac and Kang, 10/3)

Politico: Facebook Whistleblower Reveals Herself, Condemns Company As Dangerous 
Frances Haugen came out publicly on Sunday as the Facebook whistleblower whose revelations have in recent weeks prompted a congressional investigation into the company, public hearings with its executives and extensive reporting in The Wall Street Journal about the social network’s harmful effects on young children and teens. The social media giant has since faced intense backlash from critics outraged by its plans to expand into that market despite being aware of the dangers it could pose to younger users. (Levine and Cohen, 10/3)

The Wall Street Journal: Supreme Court’s New Term Tackles Guns, Abortion, Religious Expression
The Supreme Court returns to its courtroom Monday for its first in-person arguments since March 2020, opening a term featuring challenges to abortion rights, gun regulations and a secular public-school system. The term will be the first with Justice Amy Coney Barrett present in the seat once held by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Her death in September 2020 opened the door for Republicans, then controlling the Senate appointment process, to solidify the court’s conservative majority. (Bravin and Kendall, 10/3)

AP: What's Old Is New Again: Justices Back At Court For New Term
The Supreme Court is beginning a momentous new term with a return to familiar surroundings, the mahogany and marble courtroom that the justices abandoned more than 18 months ago because of the coronavirus pandemic. Abortion, guns and religion all are on the agenda for a court with a rightward tilt, including three justices appointed by President Donald Trump. The justices will meet in person for arguments Monday, although Justice Brett Kavanaugh will participate remotely from his home after testing positive for COVID-19 late last week. Kavanaugh, who was vaccinated in January, is showing no symptoms, the court said. All the other justices also have been vaccinated. (Sherman and Gresko, 10/4)

AP: Women's March Targets Supreme Court, With Abortion On Line
The first Women’s March of the Biden administration headed straight for the steps of the Supreme Court on Saturday, part of nationwide protests that drew thousands to Washington to demand continued access to abortion in a year when conservative lawmakers and judges have put it in jeopardy. Demonstrators filled the streets surrounding the court, shouting “My body, my choice” and cheering loudly to the beat of drums. (Knickmeyer, 10/2)

USA Today: Christmas With The Family? Too Soon To Say, Dr. Fauci Says
It's too soon to say whether the pandemic has eased enough for families to gather for Christmas this year, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday. Fauci, making the Sunday talk show rounds, said on CBS News' "Face the Nation" that  Americans first need to focus on lowering the number of new infections and hospitalizations. The best way to do that: Vaccination and booster shots, he said. "We've just got to concentrate on continuing to get those numbers down and not try to jump ahead by weeks or months and say what we're going to do at a particular time," Fauci said. "Let's focus like a laser on continuing to get those cases down." (Bacon and Santucci, 10/3)

Politico: Fauci Sees Hope In New Merck Drug 
Dr. Anthony Fauci praised Sunday the results of a late-stage clinical trial of an experimental antiviral drug from Merck that public health experts hope could open a new front in the United States’ pandemic response. “It’s extremely important,” Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert and President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, told CNN’s “State of the Union” — emphasizing that the drug, molnupiravir, can be taken by mouth as a pill. (Forgey, 10/3)

AP: Fauci Addresses Vaccine Hesitancy
Dr. Anthony Fauci says he’s worried that people resisting COVID-19 vaccine shots based on religious grounds may be confusing that with a philosophical objection. Fauci, who is President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, says getting the COVID-19 vaccine is no different in concept than receiving other vaccines such as for measles, which have been done for many years. He says a public health review found “very, very few, literally less than a handful” of established religions which actually oppose vaccinations. (10/3)

CIDRAP: US COVID-19 Cases Drop 15% In Past Week
The 7-day average of new COVID-19 cases dropped in the United States by 15% this week, to 106,400 cases per day, according to Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Walensky, during a White House press briefing, said hospitalizations also dropped to 8,300 per day (also a 15% decrease), and deaths remained at 1,476 per day, on average. Yesterday, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, the country confirmed 110,060 cases, including 2,718 deaths. (Soucheray, 10/1)

The Hill: COVID-19 Long-Haulers Plead For Government Action
After months of sharing their stories of ongoing symptoms, long-haulers are appealing to elected officials for assistance and begging them to provide help. “We need to have more legislation for survivors like ourselves and not just keep telling our stories because there's a bazillion stories out there now,” said Maya McNulty, a long hauler from New York. “We're not like some Netflix series that you can just binge watch and then the problem goes away. We are living with this … disease, and there is no hope.” The grassroots, nonpartisan group COVID Survivors for Change launched a week of action on Friday, with delegations from all 50 states dedicated to illustrating how the virus has changed the lives of long-haulers and families who’ve lost loved ones. (Coleman, 10/3)

The New York Times: The Delta Variant Caused A Spike In Deaths Among Nursing Home Residents, Study Finds
Although nursing home deaths from Covid-19 remain dramatically down from their peak at the end of last year, a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis shows a significant uptick in August as the Delta variant swept through the country. After declining for months, largely because of the federal effort to vaccinate residents, the number of deaths rose sharply from July to August. Nursing homes reported nearly 1,800 deaths among their residents and staff in August, which represented the highest monthly toll since February. (Abelson, 10/4)

Fox News: 90% Of Population May Need To Be Vaccinated To End Pandemic
Dr. Eric Topol, the founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, said in an interview published Sunday that up to 90% of Americans may have to be vaccinated to end the COVID-19 pandemic. "Now we need 85 to 95% vaccinated against Delta," he told USA Today. Tom McCarthy, the head of the Rhode Island Department of Health COVID Response Unit, also put the number at about 90%, citing the Delta variant, the paper reported. (DeMarche, 10/4)

The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Vaccinations In New York Accelerated Ahead Of Healthcare Worker Mandates 
Since former Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a vaccine mandate for New York healthcare workers more than a month ago, hospital employees in the state have been getting vaccinated at more than twice the rate as all New York adults, according to data provided by the state health department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of Tuesday, the day after the mandate took effect, 87% of hospital workers were reported as fully vaccinated, up from 76% on Aug. 17, the day after the mandate was announced. This 11-percentage-point increase compares with a 5-point rise for all adults in the state, whose overall vaccination rate remains at around 75%. (Rust, Dapena and Rivas, 10/2)

AP: Autopsies Relocated As Medical Examiner Goes Unvaccinated
An upstate New York county is being forced to send human bodies to a hospital 50 miles away for autopsies because its prominent medical examiner has not been vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to county officials. Rensselaer County moved autopsies on Friday to Glens Falls Hospital from Albany Medical Center Hospital, which requires everyone who works there to be vaccinated, Richard Crist, the county’s director of operations, told the Times Union. (10/2)

AP: More CT State Employees Comply With Vaccine Or Test Mandate
About 3,000 Connecticut state employees remained noncompliant Sunday with the governor’s order requiring a vaccine or weekly testing, according to the state. That’s down from the roughly 8,000 employees who were not complying as of Friday. Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont’s executive order requires employees to get vaccinated, or begin weekly testing, by the end of the day Monday. (10/3)

Bloomberg: Vaccine Mandates Hit Amid Historic Health-Care Staff Shortage
Nearly one in four beds lies empty at TaraVista Behavioral Health Center in central Massachusetts -- not for lack of patients, but for lack of staff. Even before the pandemic, nurses and lower-paid aides were in perennially short supply, but the 116-bed facility could still run full, said Chief Executive Officer Michael Krupa. At similar hospitals around Massachusetts, hundreds of beds can’t be filled, and “the reason is exclusively staff,” he said. What some are calling the worst U.S. health-care labor crisis in memory is sharpening concerns about attrition from resistance to vaccine mandates -- even in the medical mecca of Massachusetts, where Covid cases remain well within hospital capacity. About 16% of American hospitals had critical staffing shortages as of Oct. 1, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (Goldberg and Levin, 10/2)

The Boston Globe: 92 Health Care Facilities In R.I. Did Not Meet COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Deadline 
Despite being given more than five weeks’ advance notice, 92 health care facilities were not able to meet the state’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate deadline for health care workers on Friday and have requested a 30-day extension. Governor Dan McKee announced in mid-August that all health care workers in the state would have to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 1 or risk losing their jobs, and possibly their professional licenses. But on Saturday morning, the state health department published a lengthy list of facilities that were not fully compliant by the deadline. (Gagosz, 10/2)

The Washington Post: Several Hundred Virginia Health-Care Workers Have Been Suspended Or Fired Over Coronavirus Vaccine Mandates 
Several hundred hospital workers in Virginia have been suspended or lost their jobs because they refused to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, as required by most major health-care systems. The earliest vaccine mandates went into effect Sept. 1, with two other waves set for Oct. 18 and Nov. 1, according to a survey of hospital policies. (Portnoy, 10/3)

AP: COVID Vaccine Mandate Takes Effect For NYC Teachers, Staff
New York City teachers and other school staff members are supposed to be vaccinated against COVID-19 when the bell rings Monday morning, in one of the first school district mandates in the country requiring employees to be inoculated against the coronavirus. Mayor Bill de Blasio gave a final warning to the city’s roughly 148,000 public school staffers on Friday, saying unvaccinated employees would be placed on unpaid leave and not be allowed to work this week. The city planned to bring in substitutes where needed. (Matthews, 10/4)

San Francisco Chronicle: California Will Be First State To Require COVID-19 Vaccine For Students
California will require all public and private school students to be vaccinated against the coronavirus once the shot receives final approval for younger age groups. The rule, announced Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom, adds COVID-19 to the list of diseases that children must be immunized against in order to attend school in the state, which already includes chickenpox, measles, polio and tetanus. Students who refuse will be offered independent study instead. (Koseff and Tucker, 10/1)

Politico: Student Athletes Become The Latest Target For School Vaccine Mandates 
The battle to curb the spread of Covid-19 in schools is quickly moving to football fields and basketball courts. ... Eligible kids in Los Angeles public schools need their second dose of Pfizer’s vaccine by Halloween to join in-person extracurricular activities, including sports and after-school programs. Students 12 years old and up in Washington, D.C., public schools must be fully vaccinated beginning Nov. 1 to participate in school athletics. New York City students in “high risk” public league sports and extracurriculars must also get shots, while Chicago Public Schools has announced an athlete vaccine-or-test requirement. (Perez Jr., 10/3)

The Washington Post: As Students With Long-Haul Covid Return To School, Many Districts Don’t Fully Know How To Help 
At the start of the school year, 9-year-old Harli Hecht pulled out a set of rainbow-colored markers and crafted a letter to her fellow fourth-graders. “My name is Harli, and I’m in your class,” she printed on blue poster paper. “I am learning at home. I have two sisters and three dogs. Please write back to me when you have the time.” The note, now hanging in what should have been her classroom, represents the only meaningful contact Harli has had with other students since lingering covid-19 symptoms forced her into homebound learning this fall. The headaches, fatigue and emotional outbursts that have plagued Harli for more than a year have since kept her from participating in normal classroom learning or virtual instruction. (Iati, 10/3)

Palm Beach Post: Number Of Floridians Getting Vaccinated Slows To A Crawl
The number of Floridians receiving coronavirus shots climbed more slowly in the past week than at any time since late December, an analysis of state data shows. The state added just 85,026 more residents to Florida’s COVID-19 inoculation count in the past seven days, a Health Department report published Friday says. That’s the smallest increase since Dec. 28, the second week of statewide coronavirus immunization reporting. In total, 13,621,499 Florida residents have gotten at least one vaccine dose, covering 71% of the eligible population ages 12 and older, state health officials reported. That tally includes 436,543 fully vaccinated people who have gotten additional jabs. (Persaud, 10/4)

AP: Kentucky Plans Campaign To Encourage COVID-19 Vaccinations
Kentucky is planning an outreach campaign in coming months to continue encouraging more people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, Gov. Andy Beshear said. The campaign also will focus on the virus’s symptoms and long-term effects, he said. “The media campaign will emphasize the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine, and it will encourage Kentuckians to talk with a health-care provider about the vaccine,” Beshear said last week. (10/4)

Stateline: COVID Antibody Tests Won't Tell You What You Want To Know
Talk of the need for COVID-19 booster shots has prompted many Americans to seek antibody tests. In most cases, however, getting an antibody test to determine immunity is a fool’s errand, infectious disease doctors agree. The tests for antibodies, also known as serology tests, do not provide the answers that most people are seeking. Both the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration advise against using antibody tests to determine one’s level of immunity against COVID-19. So does the Infectious Disease Society of America, which represents infectious disease specialists. (Ollove, 10/1)

The Wall Street Journal: Is It Flu Or Covid-19? It’s Harder To Tell The Symptoms Apart This Year
Doctors expect the flu season to be rough this year, and with it comes another challenge: Figuring out whether your symptoms point to the flu, Covid-19 or something else. Many symptoms of flu and Covid-19 are similar. Fever, fatigue and achiness can occur with both. The often-milder symptoms of a Covid-19 breakthrough infection in vaccinated people—sometimes including a runny nose or sneezing—can make it even harder to distinguish between the two illnesses, or from a cold or allergies. (Dizik, 10/4)

The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Charges At Hospitals Can Vary By Tens Of Thousands Of Dollars, A WSJ Analysis Finds 
The cost of similar Covid-19 treatments can vary by tens of thousands of dollars a patient, even within the same hospital, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of pricing data that indicates pandemic care hasn’t escaped the complex economics of the U.S. health system. One kind of patient, with a type of severe respiratory condition that is common among those admitted with Covid-19, is an example of the wide range. The rates for these patients usually spanned from less than $11,000 to more than $43,000, the analysis found, but some prices could be far higher, depending on the severity of the case. (Mathews, McGinty and Evans, 10/3)

Stat: Pfizer Loses A Lawsuit Over Use Of Patient Copay Assistance Programs
In a setback to the pharmaceutical industry, a federal judge ruled that programs Pfizer (PFE) wanted to launch to provide copay assistance to Medicare patients would likely violate kickback laws, a controversial notion that has caused numerous drug makers to pay large fines. The ruling came in a closely watched lawsuit Pfizer filed in July 2020 that argued rules prohibiting companies from funding programs — either directly or indirectly — were unconstitutional. In one, Pfizer sought to provide direct financial assistance to Medicare beneficiaries using a heart failure drug. The other program would have used a charity to run a program to cover patient copays. (Silverman, 10/3)

Modern Healthcare: Rising Air Ambulance Charges Exceed $30,000, Report Finds
Air ambulance utilization and charges have been steadily increasing over the past several years, according to a new study. The average in-network negotiated rate for emergency transport by airplane—excluding mileage charges—rose 76.4%, from $8,855 in 2017 to $15,624 in 2020, according to a FAIR Health analysis of around 35 billion healthcare claims. But most air ambulance rides are out of network, leaving consumers to pay for most of the charges. The average charge associated with airplane ambulances rose 27.6%, from $19,210 in 2017 to $24,507 in 2020. The average Medicare reimbursement rose 4.7% to $3,216 over that span, the same rate increase as emergency helicopter rides. (Kacik, 10/4)

The Wall Street Journal: Pacemaker, Ultrasound Companies Seek Priority Amid Chip Shortage 
In the race to secure computer chips amid a global shortage, medical device makers say they have found their ace card: their products save lives. While only a tiny fraction of the world’s chips end up in medical equipment compared with cars and consumer electronics, the components are key to a range of vital devices like MRI machines, pacemakers and blood-sugar monitors for diabetes. To win priority over larger buyers, medical device makers say their most effective tactic is to raise awareness with executives at chip suppliers. (Roland, 10/3)

Modern Healthcare: Surprise Billing Rule Has Providers Fuming Over Insurer-Friendly Policies
Providers are crying foul about a regulation from the Biden administration that lays out the process they can use to settle out-of-network billing disputes with payers. The rule, released Thursday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is the next step in its implementation of the surprise billing ban passed last year by Congress. Payers praised the regulation as the "right approach," while providers swiftly denounced it as a "miscue" arbitrarily favoring insurers. At issue is the part of the regulation that lays out the independent dispute resolution process used when there is a disagreement between providers and payers over the fair price for an out-of-network service. (Bannow and Hellmann, 10/1)

Modern Healthcare: Biden's CMMI Signals New Value-Based Payment Priorities
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation will take a closer look at value-based payment models, with CMMI's chief operating officer Jon Blum noting that full-risk models can lead to overpayments by federal agencies and penalize providers with more vulnerable patient populations. "I don't think that CMS will be promoting models that have more risk just for the sake of having more risk," Blum said at the National Association of Accountable Care Organizations conference Thursday. (Tepper, 10/1)

The Washington Post: Major Pharmacies Face First Federal Trial Over Role In Opioid Crisis 
In a span of eight years, 10 pharmacies dispensed nearly 49 million prescription pain pills in two counties near Cleveland — enough to provide about a dozen doses to each man, woman and child who lived there every 12 months. Now Lake and Trumbull counties are set to face off against four of the nation’s largest chain pharmacies in a federal trial that could serve as a litmus test for thousands of cities and counties looking to hold them accountable for their role in the nation’s opioid crisis. (Kornfield, 10/3)

Modern Healthcare: MD Anderson Names First Chief Data Officer
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has appointed Dr. Caroline Chung, a radiation oncologist, as its vice president and chief data officer, effective Friday. Chung is the Houston-based cancer center's first-ever chief data officer. As chief data officer, Chung will be responsible for developing and implementing the organization's data strategy, according to a news release. That includes supervising a data governance and provenance office, as well as working with legal, information security, risk and compliance offices to create policies for how the center's data is used. (Kim Cohen, 10/1)

CIDRAP: CDC: 140 More Salmonella Cases With Unknown Origin, 419 Total
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in an updated yesterday confirmed an additional 140 cases in an outbreak of Salmonella Oranienburg illnesses with no confirmed food source, bringing the outbreak total to 419 cases and 66 hospitalizations in 35 states. So far there have been no deaths reported in this outbreak. Illnesses started on dates ranging from Jun 19 to Sep 14, the CDC said. The CDC first announced the outbreak on Sep 17, and cases have been increasing at a significant pace. (10/1)

Houston Chronicle: More 20- And 30-Somethings Are Being Diagnosed With Breast Cancer. Early Treatment Has Saved Lives
Victoriana Lara was breastfeeding her 3-month-old baby last November when she felt small lumps in her breast. The mother of four knew quickly that was something wrong. At first, she and her husband thoughts it could be a clogged milk duct, a common occurrence for breastfeeding women. But the lumps didn’t go away. After several months, Lara, who is uninsured, began calling Houston-area clinics in search of options. A mammogram showed a large mass, covering more than half her breast and cancerous lymph nodes under her arm, said Dr. Polly Niravath, oncologist and director of cancer survivorship program at Houston Methodist. Lara’s case was referred to the Houston Methodist Community Scholars Program through a partnership with Legacy Community Health, where she receives her primary care. (Garcia, 10/1)

NPR: Why Heat Waves Are A Growing Risk For Pregnant Women 
With extreme heat waves on the rise in a changing climate, doctors are finding that pregnant women are particularly vulnerable. Heat waves increase the chances of going into labor early, having a stillbirth, or having a baby with low birthweight. The risk is even greater for women of color, especially Black mothers. While women are often advised to stay hydrated during pregnancy, many are not warned by their doctors about the risks of heat. "Pardon the pun, but it really is a bun in a really hot oven and that's a dangerous scenario," says Dr. Nathaniel DeNicola, an OB-GYN and environmental health expert for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (Sommer, 10/3)

Politico: The Wild West Of CBD Products Could End Soon In California
California is poised to clamp down on the fast-growing hemp market in a push to make sure CBD-infused products are accurately labeled and safe — a shift that could be felt nationwide, given the state’s formidable purchasing power. The extract used in soap, food and other wellness goods has exploded in popularity since Congress legalized hemp in the 2018 farm bill. But the FDA has refused to regulate CBD, or cannabidiol, as a dietary supplement because it’s an active ingredient in a federally approved medication. In the absence of federal oversight, states largely have been left to monitor the products — and untested and mislabeled items have been flooding stores. (Nieves, 9/30)

AP: Tennessee: $116K From FEMA For Flood Victims' Mental Health
Tennessee officials say they are receiving more than $116,000 in federal funding to address the mental health needs of victims of deadly flooding in August. The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services says the money through the Federal Emergency Management Agency will be directed toward services for survivors of the Aug. 21 flooding that killed 20 people in Humphreys County. (10/4)

CNN: Nobel Prize In Medicine Awarded To David Julius And Ardem Patapoutian For Their Discoveries Of Receptors For Temperature And Touch 
The 2021 Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine has been awarded to David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian for their discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch. The two US-based scientists received the accolade for describing the mechanics of how humans perceive temperature and pressure through nerve impulses. "Our ability to sense heat, cold and touch is essential for survival and underpins our interaction with the world around us," the Nobel Assembly said in a statement announcing the prize. (Kottasova, 10/4)

Reuters: Global COVID-19 Deaths Hit 5 Million As Delta Variant Sweeps The World
Worldwide deaths related to COVID-19 surpassed 5 million on Friday, according to a Reuters tally, with unvaccinated people particularly exposed to the virulent Delta strain. The variant has exposed the wide disparities in vaccination rates between rich and poor nations, and the upshot of vaccine hesitancy in some western nations. (B and Abraham, 10/2)

AP: New Zealand Admits It Can No Longer Get Rid Of Coronavirus
New Zealand’s government acknowledged Monday what most other countries did long ago: It can no longer completely get rid of the coronavirus. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a cautious plan to ease lockdown restrictions in Auckland, despite an outbreak there that continues to simmer. ... Until recently, that elimination strategy had worked remarkably well for the country of 5 million, which has reported just 27 virus deaths. But that all changed when the more contagious delta variant somehow escaped from a quarantine facility in August after it was brought into the country from a traveler returning from Australia. (Perry, 10/4)

Bloomberg: Air New Zealand Says No Jab, No Flight For Travelers From Feb. 1
Air New Zealand Ltd. will require international travelers to be vaccinated when flying with the carrier starting from Feb. 1, the latest airline to stipulate mandatory jabs for not just crew but passengers also. All travelers aged 18 and above that arrive or depart New Zealand have to be vaccinated and those who haven’t been inoculated need to present proof that vaccination for them wasn’t a viable option due to health reasons, Air New Zealand said in a statement on its website. The carrier will roll out the International Air Transport Association Travel Pass to ensure these requirements are met. (Park, 10/4)

Bloomberg: U.K.’s Javid Tells Unvaccinated Care Workers To Find Another Job
U.K. Health Secretary Sajid Javid told care home workers they needed to get vaccinated against Covid-19 or find another job. The government has given the workers until Nov. 11 to get the vaccine or risk losing their jobs. In an interview with the BBC’s Radio 4 on Saturday, Javid said he wasn’t prepared to “pause” the requirement, adding that if you work in a care home and “cannot be bothered to go and get vaccinated, then get out and go and get another job.” The U.K. has suffered more than 137,000 deaths from Covid, the most in Western Europe. The virus swept through care homes, with their elderly and often medically vulnerable residents, at the start of the pandemic. (Davis, 10/2)

Reuters: Israel Requires COVID-19 Booster Shots For Stricter "Green Pass"
Israel on Sunday piled pressure on its vaccinated citizens to get a booster shot by making only those who received their third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine eligible for a "green pass" allowing entry to restaurants, gyms and many other venues. Israel was an early adopter of Pfizer/BioNtech booster shots -- administering them to members of risk groups in July and by the end of August to anyone above the age of 12. Its campaign is being watched closely by other countries. (10/3)

AP: Russia Hits Record Number Of Daily COVID-19 Deaths
Russia on Sunday reported a record daily death toll from COVID-19, the fifth time in a week that deaths have hit a new high. The national coronavirus task force said 890 deaths were recorded over the past day, exceeding the 887 reported on Friday. The task force also said the number of new infections in the past day was the second-highest of the year at 25,769.Overall, Russia, a nation of 146 million people, has Europe’s highest death toll from the pandemic, nearly 210,000 people. (10/3)