First Edition: Sept. 17, 2021
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KHN:
Scientists Examine Kids’ Unique Immune Systems As More Fall Victim To Covid
Eighteen months into the covid-19 pandemic, with the delta variant fueling a massive resurgence of disease, many hospitals are hitting a heartbreaking new low. They’re now losing babies to the coronavirus. The first reported covid-related death of a newborn occurred in Orange County, Florida, and an infant has died in Mississippi. Merced County in California lost a child under a year old in late August. (Szabo, 9/17)
KHN:
Dentists Chip Away At Uninsured Problem By Offering Patients Membership Plans
Nevada dentist David White has seen diseased and rotted teeth in the mouths of patients who routinely put off checkups and avoided minor procedures such as fillings. While dental phobia is a factor, White said, the overriding reason people avoid treatment is cost. To help patients lacking dental insurance, White in 2019 started offering a membership plan that looks much like an insurance policy — except it’s good only at his offices in Reno and Elko. Adults pay $29 a month — or $348 a year — and receive two free exams, two cleanings, X-rays and an emergency exam, services valued at $492. They also get a 20% discount on office procedures such as fillings and extractions. (Galewitz, 9/17)
KHN:
Covid-Overwhelmed Hospitals Postpone Cancer Care And Other Treatment
It’s a bad time to get sick in Oregon. That’s the message from some doctors, as hospitals fill up with covid-19 patients and other medical conditions go untreated. Charlie Callagan looked perfectly healthy sitting outside recently on his deck in the smoky summer air in the small Rogue Valley town of Merlin, in southern Oregon. But Callagan, 72, has a condition called multiple myeloma, a blood cancer of the bone marrow. “It affects the immune system; it affects the bones,” he said. “I had a PET scan that described my bones as looking ‘kind of Swiss cheese-like.’” (Neumann, 9/17)
KHN:
Leader Of California’s Muscular Obamacare Exchange To Step Down
Peter Lee, who has steered California’s Affordable Care Act marketplace since late 2011 and helped mold it into a model of what the federal health care law could achieve, announced Thursday he will leave his post in March. As executive director of Covered California, Lee has worked closely with the administrations of Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden to expand health coverage to millions of people who don’t get it through an employer or government program, most of them aided by income-based financial assistance from the state or federal government. Over 1.6 million people are now enrolled in plans through the exchange, which has covered 5.3 million Californians since it started selling health plans. (Wolfson and Hart, 9/16)
KHN:
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Much Ado About Drug Prices
Congressional Democrats are finding it harder to actually write legislation to lower drug prices than it is to make promises about it. But the drug price provisions of the $3.5 trillion social-spending bill are critical — not only to keep that promise to voters but to produce savings that will pay for many of the other promised improvements, like new dental and other benefits for Medicare patients. Meanwhile, the abortion debate has been jolted by the Supreme Court’s decision to allow a highly restrictive law to take effect in Texas. And the Biden administration unveils a “Covid Control 2.0” strategy that includes more sticks and fewer carrots. (9/16)
USA Today:
FDA Advisory Committee To Decide On Boosters
A federal advisory committee will decide Friday whether third shots of COVID-19 vaccines are safe and protective against infections. At root is whether the extra shots are "luxuries" or an essential part of providing complete protection against the virus, presidential adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said this week. He and other federal officials, including President Joe Biden, believe it is time to begin offering third shots to compensate for what appears to be fading protection. The government has agreements to purchase the doses and provide them at no cost to consumers. Others, particularly the director general of the World Health Organization, argue that Americans would benefit far more by getting initial shots to the unvaccinated around the world. (Santucci, 9/17)
Stat:
Tracking The FDA Advisory Panel Meeting On Covid-19 Booster Shots
Do most Americans already need Covid-19 booster shots, or at least will they soon? Those questions have been hotly debated in the public square over the past few weeks. But today, they’ll be debated in a formal setting where the discussion may affect whether the Biden administration carries through on an announced plan to offer adults booster jabs several months after they received their second shot of vaccine. (Branswell and Herper, 9/17)
CIDRAP:
Studies Show Good COVID Booster Effect, Waning 2nd-Dose Protection
Several new studies on the Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA COVID-19 vaccine describe good effectiveness against the Delta (B1617.2) variant after a booster dose and high but waning protection against infection and severe illness 6 months after the second dose. Other, much smaller, studies demonstrated the safety of third mRNA vaccine doses. And a new British study on waning two-dose effectiveness coincides with the recent decision by UK officials to recommend booster doses. (Van Beusekom, 9/16)
AP:
Federal Judge Halts Use Of Health Order To Expel Migrant Families Along The Border
A federal judge ruled Thursday that the U.S. government must stop using a Trump-era public health order to quickly expel migrants with children who are apprehended along the U.S.-Mexico border. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan gave the government two weeks to halt a practice that opponents say is unnecessary and improperly relies on the threat posed by Covid-19 to deprive people of their right to seek asylum in the United States. (9/16)
The New York Times:
Thousands Of Migrants Huddle In Squalid Conditions Under Texas Bridge
Thousands of migrants were crowded under a bridge outside the border community of Del Rio on Thursday, part of a massive surge in migration across the Rio Grande this week that has overwhelmed the authorities and caused significant delays in processing the arrivals. ... The scene — of dense crowds sleeping on dirt or milling about in triple-digit heat amid conditions of deteriorating sanitation — drew condemnations from local officials. Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas ordered the state police and the National Guard to assist border agents in Del Rio, saying the federal response had not been enough to quell the surge in crossings. (Dobbins, Sullivan and Sandoval, 9/16)
Houston Chronicle:
Gov. Abbott Sends Troops To Assist Border Patrol After Thousands Of Migrants Arrive In Del Rio
Thousands of asylum seekers, mostly Haitians, have arrived in Del Rio in recent days, the latest in a surge of migration to the southern border that the Biden administration has struggled to handle, prompting the federal government to boost Border Patrol in the region and Gov. Greg Abbott to send in more state troopers and the Texas National Guard. Masses of migrants have huddled under an international bridge where Border Patrol set up a temporary holding site to protect them from the sun while officials work to take them into custody and process them, to be either expelled immediately or allowed to seek asylum. (Wermund and Trovall, 9/16)
NPR:
The DOJ Moves To Block The Purdue Pharma Bankruptcy Deal That Shields The Sacklers
The Sacklers, who are not bankrupt, were granted releases from liability after agreeing to contribute roughly $4.3 billion of their private wealth to the deal. Supporters of the settlement, including most state attorneys general, said it will avoid costly litigation while funding drug treatment programs over the next decade. But throughout a two-week bankruptcy trial, and in court documents, the Justice Department repeatedly blasted releases from liability granted to the Sacklers as "unlawful" and "unconstitutional." (Mann, 9/16)
The New York Times:
U.S. Seeks To Block Bankruptcy Plan That Would Free Sacklers From Opioid Claims
The Justice Department moved on Thursday to block a bankruptcy plan that grants broad legal immunity to the pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma, whose drug OxyContin has been at the heart of the nation’s opioid epidemic. William K. Harrington, the U.S. trustee for the Justice Department, filed a motion in federal court to halt confirmation of the settlement while the department appeals the judge’s decision to approve the deal. (Benner, 9/16)
Bloomberg:
Texas Judge Rejects U.S. Bid For Earlier Hearing On Abortion Law
A federal judge in Texas denied a U.S. Justice Department request to move up a hearing on whether the state’s restrictive new abortion law should be put on hold while the government challenges the ban in a lawsuit. The Biden administration had argued that an Oct. 1 hearing on its motion for a temporary restraining order against the law should be moved to Sept. 21 because women are already being put at risk. But U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman in Austin denied the request Thursday. (Larson, 9/16)
USA Today:
AGs From 24 States Threaten To Sue Over Joe Biden's Vaccine Requirement
Twenty-four Republican attorneys general signed a letter to President Joe Biden on Thursday threatening litigation against the president's requirement for employees of businesses with 100 or more workers to be either vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing. The prosecutors, led by South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, called the requirement "disastrous and counterproductive." The prosecutors said the requirement would "drive further skepticism" about vaccines and cause some Americans to leave the job market, including healthcare workers. The letter was also signed by the attorneys general in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. (Bacon, Hayes and Hauck, 9/16)
Bloomberg:
Arizona AG Mark Brnovich Admits Suit Over Biden Vaccine Rules Is A ‘Long Shot’
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich acknowledged that his suit challenging the Biden Administration’s announced Covid-19 vaccine requirements for many U.S. workers is unlikely to succeed because the actual rules haven’t been finalized. “Is it a long shot? Yeah, I recognize that,” Brnovich, a Republican former federal prosecutor who is running for U.S. Senate in 2022, said in a phone interview. “But I also think these are very important principles to be fighting for.” (Larson, 9/16)
Stateline:
States Embrace Vaccine Mandates Despite Potential Worker Exodus
President Joe Biden soon will require millions of workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested weekly. But before Biden’s announcement last week, 18 states and the District of Columbia already had told public sector workers to get their jabs or risk losing their jobs, and 21 states plus D.C. had such mandates for health care workers. Many of those state mandates will take effect in the coming weeks, offering a glimpse of the effects Biden’s plan could have on the workforce once the final federal rule is in place. Like the federal plan, most of those state requirements will allow for weekly testing as an alternative to vaccination. (Brown, 9/16)
The Hill:
Seattle Area To Require COVID-19 Vaccine To Enter Indoor Venues
Customers at Seattle-area restaurants, gyms and other indoor venues will soon be required to provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19 under a new county health order issued Thursday. The order, which goes into effect Oct. 25, mandates that indoor restaurants and bars with the capacity to seat at least 12 people require all customers 12 years of age and older to provide proof of vaccination prior to entry. (Castronuovo, 9/16)
AP:
Beshear: Kentucky May Run Low On Monoclonal Antibodies
Kentucky may not have enough monoclonal antibody courses to meet the rising demand in the state, Gov. Andy Beshear says. The federal government is rationing the treatments in response to a national shortage, which may limit Kentucky’s ability to give the medicine to anyone who would need it. (9/17)
Politico:
DeSantis Opens New War With Biden Over Covid Treatments
First came masks. Then a feud over vaccine mandates. Now a new front has opened in the Covid battle between President Joe Biden and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis: Covid-19 antibody treatments. On Thursday, DeSantis ripped into Biden’s plan to distribute doses of monoclonal antibody treatments to states across the nation. Florida and six other Southern states have relied on the therapies to treat patients infected with the virus but also took up 70 percent of the orders in early September. ... “We've been handed a major curveball here, with a really huge cut from HHS and the Biden administration,” DeSantis said at a press conference in Broward County. “We're going to make sure we leave no stone unturned. Whoever needs a treatment, we're going to work like hell to get them the treatment.” (Sarkissian, 9/16)
ABC News:
Florida Surpasses 50K COVID Deaths After Battling Delta Wave
Florida surpassed 50,000 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began, health officials reported Thursday, with more than one fourth of those succumbing this summer as the state battled a fierce surge in infections fueled by the delta variant. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tallied 50,811 deaths after adding more than 1,500 COVID-19 deaths provided Thursday by the state's health department. Those reported deaths occurred over various dates in recent weeks. (Spencer and Licon, 9/16)
The Boston Globe:
UMass-Amherst Reports 371 COVID-19 Cases Two Weeks Into Classes
After two weeks of classes, a COVID-19 outbreak at UMass-Amherst, one of the only Massachusetts universities that does not require mandatory weekly testing, has shot from 149 to 371, according to data published Thursday by the school. Administrators say they expected an early increase in positive COVID-19 cases, and they’re confident the university’s vaccination requirement, mask mandate, and social distancing protocols will keep students safe. The school says 96.6 percent of its combined student, staff and faculty population of 29,300 is vaccinated. (Alanez and Carlin, 9/16)
Los Angeles Times:
Declining COVID-19 Cases Indicate Safe L.A. School Openings
The early weeks of fully opened Los Angeles County schools have coincided with declining pediatric coronavirus cases, the first indication campuses are generally operating safely without a troubling number of outbreaks. Citing the low number of coronavirus outbreaks in schools, public health officials on Thursday announced that schools in L.A. County will no longer be automatically required to send unvaccinated students home to quarantine for at least seven days after their last contact with an individual who tests positive. (Gomez, Lin II and Money, 9/16)
AP:
Beshear Slams School Leaders That Refuse To Require Masks
Kentucky’s governor on Thursday berated school leaders who refuse to extend mask requirements, accusing them of endangering children at a time the coronavirus is raging throughout the state. ... “If you are a school district that is not requiring universal masking, you are directly endangering the children, the staff ... everybody who is in each of your buildings,” [Gov. Andy] Beshear said at a news conference. “And it is an inexcusable decision. Every single public health agency, every one, has said that universal masking is the only way to keep kids in school.” (Schreiner and Blackburn, 9/16)
CNN:
Florida Chiropractor Signed Hundreds Of Mask Exemption Forms For Students, Pushing The District To Update Its Mask Policy
A school district in Sarasota County, Florida, has tightened its mask policy after a chiropractor signed hundreds of medical exemption forms that allowed students to opt out of wearing masks in schools, officials said. The Sarasota County School Board had voted in August to implement a 90-day mandatory mask policy for students, employees, visitors and vendors, with exceptions for medical reasons or if wearing a face mask would not be consistent with a student's Individualized Education Plan. Then on September 1, the district updated its policy to only accept medical exemption forms from licensed medical doctors, osteopathic physicians or advanced registered nurse practitioners, Superintendent Brennan Asplen said in a letter to families and employees. (Kaye and Elamroussi, 9/16)
ProPublica:
A Boy Went To A COVID-Swamped ER. He Waited For Hours. Then His Appendix Burst.
What first struck Nathaniel Osborn when he and his wife took their son, Seth, to the emergency room this summer was how packed the waiting room was for a Wednesday at 1 p.m. The Florida hospital’s emergency room was so crowded there weren’t enough chairs for the family to all sit as they waited. And waited. Hours passed and 12-year-old Seth’s condition worsened, his body quivering from the pain shooting across his lower belly. Osborn said his wife asked why it was taking so long to be seen. A nurse rolled her eyes and muttered, “COVID.” (Deam, 9/15)
NBC News:
Covid Likely Led To A Rare Disorder That Left 8-Year-Old Girl Paralyzed
A Minnesota woman whose daughter has been hospitalized since March is urging people to get vaccinated and wear masks as the delta variant spreads and children return to the classroom. Lani Bauer’s 8-year-old daughter, Avella, was diagnosed with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), a condition that developed after she tested positive for Covid-19. (Bhojwani, 9/16)
CIDRAP:
Comorbidities, Older Age Associated With Severe COVID In Kids
Among US children 17 and under, COVID-19 hospitalization was associated with older age and chronic comorbidities, including obesity or type 2 diabetes, according to a study yesterday in the Journal of Hospital Medicine. ... Factors associated with hospitalization were obesity or type 2 diabetes (aOR, 10.4), immunocompromised condition (aOR, 5.9), pulmonary disease (aOR, 5.3), cardiovascular disease (aOR, 5.0), asthma (aOR, 1.4), and private payer insurance (aOR, 1.16). While older children and adolescents were hospitalized at lower rates, the researchers note that those who were had a higher likelihood of severe illness. (9/16)
The Washington Post:
A Doctor Called Coronavirus Vaccines ‘Fake.’ Now He Sits On An Idaho Regional Health Board
Leaders of Idaho’s most populous county were deluged with constituent emails last month as they prepared to choose the newest member of a once-obscure regional health board. A doctor who served on the board for 15 years had just been let go over his support for pandemic restrictions. Hundreds wrote in for Ryan Cole, a doctor — backed by the Ada County Republican Party — who has called coronavirus vaccines “fake.” (Knowles, 9/16)
The Wall Street Journal:
Face Masks Don’t Obscure Parents’ Love
Parents worry, and Covid-19 has given them lots of things to worry about. Here’s one: How will babies be affected by being surrounded by people in masks? Will they have trouble connecting with their parents and other people? Fortunately, a new study and a number of earlier ones suggest that this worry, at least, is unfounded. Aside from providing much-needed relief to anxious parents, the research has some fascinating scientific implications. (Gopnik, 9/16)
NBC News:
Fake Covid Vaccination Card Market Booms
The online market for fake Covid-19 vaccination cards is booming. Thousands of online sellers are claiming to offer near-perfect copies of the cards at prices that have risen sharply in recent weeks, with some now selling a single card for hundreds of dollars. While it’s unclear how many cards successfully make it to people who try to buy them, the federal government is intercepting reams of them. A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the agency has intercepted thousands of packages of fake cards from China that “we basically stopped keeping track, because there were so many.” (Collier, 9/16)
The Washington Post:
Coronavirus Approaches 1918 Influenza Pandemic Death Toll
The United States just hit a grim milestone when it comes to the toll of the coronavirus, with now 1 in 500 Americans having died. But for some, an even-grimmer milestone is fast-approaching: When the death toll exceeds the 1918 influenza pandemic. We’re currently on-pace to surpass the 675,000 deaths that have been attributed to the last comparable pandemic in the coming days. The Washington Post’s tracker shows more than 668,000 deaths so far, with a still-increasing seven-day average of nearly 1,800 deaths per day. That means we’re likely to hit that number by early next week. ... But this moment also requires context. (Blake, 9/16)
The Washington Post:
How To Safely Get Health Care For Non-Covid Issues
Whether it’s time for a routine visit with your primary care physician or you have a medical emergency that needs immediate attention, here are tips for deciding when to see a doctor, where to go for treatment and how to try to stay safe. (Bever and Chiu, 9/16)
USA Today:
Only 9 Childhood Diseases Get More Than Half Of NIH Funding For Research, Study Shows: 'There's A Real Imbalance'
The ongoing COVID-19 vaccine trials in children has showed research in adults cannot be directly translated to kids, and the concept applies to other conditions and treatments in the pediatric field. “If there's one thing that the pediatricians banged into my head, it’s that children are not little adults,” Food and Drug Administration’s Dr. Peter Marks told USA TODAY last week. That’s why health experts are calling for more funding of pediatric diseases, especially after a study found the money going toward these conditions may not be allocated appropriately. (Rodriguez, 9/17)
Axios:
Intermountain, SCL Health Agree To Merge Hospital Systems
Intermountain Healthcare will acquire SCL Health roughly six months after Intermountain and Sanford Health ended their merger attempt. The combined Intermountain-SCL system will own 33 hospitals, will generate more than $13 billion of annual revenue and will dominate several areas throughout Utah and Colorado — consequently gaining leverage over health insurers and employers as a must-have network if the deal is finalized. (Herman, 9/17)
NPR:
Pufferfish Toxin Holds Clues To Treating 'Lazy Eye' In Adults
A treatment that simulates the loss of an eye may help adults with the vision impairment known as amblyopia or "lazy eye." Studies in mice and cats suggest that the approach allows the brain to rewire in a way that restores normal vision, a team reports this week in the journal eLife. "It's as if you've turned back the clock to a period of early development," says Mark Bear, Picower professor of neuroscience at MIT, and coauthor of the study. The result is likely to make other scientists "start to rethink what sort of visual experience can retrain the visual system in adulthood," says Steven Grieco, a postdoctoral fellow in anatomy and neurobiology at the University of California, Irvine. (Hamilton, 9/15)
Stat:
New Study Revives A Mozart Sonata As A Potential Epilepsy Therapy
Could this be the return of the “Mozart effect”? In 1993, researchers reported that after college students listened to a particular Mozart piano sonata for 10 minutes, they showed better spatial reasoning skills than they did after listening to relaxation instructions designed to lower blood pressure — or to nothing at all. And their IQ scores jumped by 8 or 9 points in what became known as the Mozart effect. Even though the benefits were hard to reproduce (and wore off within minutes), the fad of Mozart for babies’ brain development was born. (Cooney, 9/16)
Bloomberg:
Mental Health Could Be The Next Global Casualty Of Climate Change
One evening in July, Stephanie Felts was lying in bed trying to process simultaneous climate disasters all over the world. From a crushing Canadian heatwave to U.S. wildfires and China floods, the drumbeat triggered memories of a close call her family had with a raging inferno when they lived in Salt Lake City a few years ago. “I just realized, OK, this is as good as it will ever be—not because we can’t do anything to make things better, but because we just won’t,” said Felts, 43, who works in financial services and now lives near Atlanta. “It makes you feel like, ‘hey, the apocalypse is starting.’” (Sirtori-Cortina, 9/16)
Fox News:
CDC Study Finds Childhood Obesity Increased At ‘Substantial And Alarming’ Levels During COVID Pandemic
Child obesity levels in the U.S. increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among children who were already obese from the outset, according to the findings of a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC’s Dr. Alyson Goodman, who contributed to the report, said the results signal a "profound increase in weight gain for kids" and are "substantial and alarming." The study, released Thursday, is the largest yet to look at obesity trends during the pandemic. Among its chief findings was that roughly 22% of children and teens were obese last August – up from 19% a year earlier. (Betz, 9/17)
AP:
Body Composting A 'Green' Alternative To Burial, Cremation
In a suburban Denver warehouse tucked between an auto repair shop and a computer recycling business, Seth Viddal is dealing with life and death. He and one of his employees have built a “vessel” they hope will usher in a more environmentally friendly era of mortuary science that includes the natural organic reduction of human remains, also known as body composting. (Peipert, 9/16)
The Washington Post:
United Airlines Says 90 Percent Of Workers Vaccinated After Mandate
United Airlines, the first U.S. carrier to require its employees be vaccinated, said Thursday that nearly 90 percent of its workers have received coronavirus vaccines, while Southwest Airlines — which does not mandate the shots — announced new bonus pay to workers who show proof of vaccination. (Aratani, 9/16)
CNBC:
Is It Safe To Fly Now? One Preflight PCR Test Could Be The Answer
A study conducted earlier this year shows there may be a way to reduce the number of Covid infections on board commercial airplanes to virtually zero. Results of the study appeared in a peer-reviewed article published on Sept. 1 in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings medical journal. The article — a joint effort by Mayo Clinic, the Georgia Department of Public Health and Delta Air Lines — showed that that one polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test performed within 72 hours of flying decreased the rate of infected travelers onboard to 0.05%. That’s five people for every 10,000 passengers. At the time of the study, the rate of infection in the U.S. was 1.1% — or about 1 in every 100 people. (Pitrelli, 9/17)
The Wall Street Journal:
Adults Are Throwing Tantrums—In Restaurants, Planes And At Home. Blame The Pandemic
In line recently at a Winn-Dixie supermarket in Florida, John DiDonna worried that a nearby shopper was standing too close for Covid-era comfort. Mr. DiDonna asked him to take a step back. The shopper, he says, stepped even closer. Mr. DiDonna says he snapped. “Do you love me that much?” he barked. The other person argued back; Mr. DiDonna retorted with “a sprinkling of four-letter words,” he says. “Afterwards, I was mortified.” (Chaker, 9/16)
The Hill:
Man Charged In Fatal Planned Parenthood Shooting Ruled Incompetent To Stand Federal Trial
A Colorado man charged in the 2015 deadly shooting of a Planned Parenthood clinic has been ruled incompetent to stand federal trial.U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn ruled on Thursday that Robert Dear is “suffering from a mental disease or defect” rendering him not competent to proceed with the trial. ... Prosecutors said that Dear fired 198 bullets during the attack, which resulted in six deaths and eight injuries. (Williams, 9/16)
Houston Chronicle:
Higher Rates Of Food Contamination Found At Markets In Houston's Low-Income Areas, Researchers Say
Knowing that people living in low-income neighborhoods often suffer from higher rates of food borne or gastrointestinal illnesses, University of Houston researchers decided to analyze the produce Houstonians eat. What they found: Loose-leaf romaine lettuce purchased from supermarkets in low-income Houston communities were contaminated with higher rates of disease-causing microorganisms, fecal contaminants and pathogens than lettuce purchased in high-income communities in the city. (Britto, 9/16)
AP:
NYC's Rikers Island Jail Spirals Into Chaos Amid Pandemic
A spate of inmate deaths. Cellblocks unguarded. Staggering staffing shortages caused by AWOL guards. Detainees deprived of food and medical care. New York City’s notorious Rikers Island jail complex, troubled by years of neglect, has spiraled into turmoil during the coronavirus pandemic. It’s not just inmates and advocates saying that. City officials, including the mayor, admit there are serious problems. One jail watchdog called it “a complete breakdown in the operation of the jails.” “In our office’s 50 years of monitoring the city jails, this is one of the most dangerous times we’ve seen,” said Mary Lynne Werlwas, a lawyer and the director of the Prisoners’ Rights Project at the Legal Aid Society. (Sisak, 9/16)
The Washington Post:
Texas Rails Against Federal Plan To Bring Nuclear Waste Storage Site To The State
A private company has won federal approval to build an expansive nuclear waste site in Texas, even as residents, state lawmakers, environmentalists and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) rail against it. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on Monday issued a license for Andrews, Tex.-based Interim Storage Partners to store as much as 5,000 metric tons of radioactive waste. It’s one of two proposed storage sites — the other is in southeastern New Mexico — that has been under agency review for several years. (MacMillan and Gregg, 9/15)
AP:
Biden Slammed For Challenging Nuclear Workplace Health Law
Officials in Washington state are upset the Biden administration is challenging a law making it easier for workers who become ill at a former nuclear weapons production site to be compensated. The Supreme Court will likely decide in the next few weeks whether to accept the U.S. Department of Justice’s appeal. If the high court rejects the case, the state law will stand. State Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Thursday called on the Biden administration to “stop this assault on Hanford workers.” (Geranios, 9/16)
AP:
Covered California Director To Step Down In February
The director of Covered California said Thursday he will step down early next year, prompting a national search for a new leader of the nation’s largest state-based health insurance marketplace. Peter Lee has been Covered California’s only executive director in its nine-year history, launching the marketplace in 2012 at a time when the Affordable Care Act was a polarizing force in U.S. politics. (Beam, 9/16)
AP:
McAuliffe, Youngkin Clash Over Abortion, COVID In 1st Debate
Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin clashed over abortion and vaccination policies Thursday in Virginia’s first gubernatorial debate of the general election season, as each sought to cast the other as extreme. The candidates in the closely watched race met at the Appalachian School of Law in Grundy, a small town in southwest Virginia, where the debate got off to a relatively heated start, with cross-talk and occasional snide remarks. (Rankin and Helber, 9/17)
Detroit Free Press:
Feds: Female Genital Mutilation Case Involved Secret Network Of Doctors
Northville Dr. Jumana Nagarwala may be the only physician on trial on charges of performing female genital mutilation on minor girls in the U.S., but she wasn't the only doctor who was cutting children, federal prosecutors disclosed Thursday. Rather, they said, Nagarwala was part of a secret network of physicians in a tight-knit Indian community who were cutting 7-year-old girls across the country for years as part of a religious obligation and cultural tradition that had mothers and daughters traveling all over for the procedure. (Baldas, 9/16)
USA Today:
Cuba Begins Vaccinating Children As Young As 2
Cuba on Thursday began a COVID-19 vaccination campaign for children between the ages of 2 and 10, saying it was necessary to curb the spread of the delta variant. Cuba has two homegrown vaccines, Abdala and Soberana, that it says are safe and effective. Both require three shots. In previous weeks, the government started vaccinating people between 11 and 18 years old. Cuba faces a persistent outbreak of COVID-19, putting heavy pressure on medical facilities and compounding economic problems. Hard-hit provinces such as Matanzas, Ciego de Ávila and Cienfuegos have received support from doctors from other areas of the country as well as international donations. (Bacon, Hayes and Hauck, 9/16)
AP:
Cambodia Vaccinating 6-To-11-Year-Olds Before Schools Reopen
Cambodia began vaccinating 6-to-11-year-olds Friday so students can safely return to schools that have been closed for months due to the coronavirus. Prime Minister Hun Sen inaugurated the campaign to vaccinate the children, speaking live on state television and his Facebook page as his grandchildren and young family members of other senior officials were shown being given their jabs. (Cheang, 9/16)
Reuters:
Brazil Official Wants Halt To Teen COVID-19 Shots After Death; Health Agency Says No Evidence For Move
Brazil's federal government wants to halt COVID-19 vaccinations for most adolescents, citing a death under investigation and adverse events after some 3.5 million teens have already been immunized, but several state governments vowed to press on. At a news conference, Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga criticized states and cities for jumping the gun by vaccinating 12- to 17-year-olds without health issues that put them at risk of severe COVID-19, which he said was only supposed to start on Wednesday. (9/16)
Bloomberg:
Italy Introduces Sweeping Covid Pass Mandate In EU First
Italy will require all workers to have a valid Covid passport, as the government led by Prime Minister Mario Draghi moves to set the toughest vaccination requirements in Europe. A cabinet meeting Thursday approved the measure, which applies to all public and private-sector workers and will come into force Oct. 15. Workers faces fines of as much as 1,500 euros ($1,763) for noncompliance, while employers who fail to check their workers may have to pay as much as 1,000 euros. (Albanese, 9/16)
Reuters:
Dutch To Introduce 'Corona' Pass Despite Strong Opposition
The Netherlands will require proof of a COVID-19 vaccination or a recent negative coronavirus test for entry to bars, restaurants, museums, theatres and other cultural events from Sept. 25, as almost all social distancing measures are dropped. A narrow majority of Dutch parliament late on Thursday rejected a motion calling on the government to change its mind about the 'corona' pass, as Prime Minister Mark Rutte said it was needed to prevent a new wave of infections. (9/17)
AP:
Trial Begins Over COVID Outbreak In Austrian Ski Resort
A civil trial opened Friday in Austria over the government’s handling of a coronavirus outbreak at an Alpine ski resort during the early stages of the pandemic that relatives say resulted in unnecessary infections and deaths. The widow and son of a 72-year-old Austrian man are seeking about 100,000 euros ($117,000) compensation from the government in a test case for a larger class action suit involving hundreds of people who fell ill with COVID-19 following a trip to Ischgl in February and March 2020. (9/17)
Reuters:
Vaccinated Mr President? We'll Take Your Word For It, U.N. Says
The United Nations COVID-19 vaccination honor system will remain in place for presidents, prime ministers and diplomats who enter the General Assembly Hall next week and they are not required to show proof of immunization. ... The U.N. headquarters in Manhattan is international territory and is not subject to U.S. laws. However, U.N. officials have previously pledged to abide by local and national guidance when it came to the pandemic. New York City officials told the world body that under its rules people "entering the U.N. premises for the purpose of entering the General Assembly Hall would be required to show proof of vaccination in order to gain entry to the Hall." (Nichols, 9/16)
CNN:
Philip Morris International Takes Control Of Asthma Inhaler Maker Vectura
Cigarette giant Philip Morris International has taken control of UK inhaler maker Vectura despite objections from health care charities. The producer of Marlboro and Parliament cigarettes said in a statement on Thursday that it had secured nearly 75% of Vectura's shares, making it the majority shareholder. More than 45% of Vectura shareholders accepted the takeover offer, and Philip Morris international purchased 29% of the company's shares on the open market. (Riley, 9/16)
Bloomberg:
Guinea Declares End To Outbreak Of Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever
Guinea declared an end to an outbreak of Marburg fever, as it continues to search for the origin of a case reported last month. After six weeks of surveillance of 173 people who had contact with a person who died from the disease, no suspect cases were found, Health Ministry Secretary-General Sekou Conde said in a statement Thursday. An awareness campaign is continuing to ensure the public takes precautionary measures against contracting the illness, he said. (Camara, 9/16)