First Edition: Sept. 21, 2020
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
Trump-Biden Race Could Hinge On How Florida’s Pinellas County Swings
Betty Jones voted for President Donald Trump in 2016, but the lifelong Republican has her doubts she will do it again this year.The federal response to the coronavirus pandemic that has killed about 200,000 Americans and forced older adults to restrict their activities has her contemplating a leadership change. (Galewitz and Snipe, 9/21)
Kaiser Health News:
Without Ginsburg, Judicial Threats To The ACA, Reproductive Rights Heighten
On Feb. 27, 2018, I got an email from the Heritage Foundation, alerting me to a news conference that afternoon held by Republican attorneys general of Texas and other states. It was referred to only as a “discussion about the Affordable Care Act lawsuit. ”I sent the following note to my editor: “I’m off to the Hill anyway. I could stop by this. You never know what it might morph into.” Few people took that case very seriously — barely a handful of reporters attended the news conference. But it has now “morphed into” the latest existential threat against the Affordable Care Act, scheduled for oral arguments at the Supreme Court a week after the general election in November. And with the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday, that case could well morph into the threat that brings down the law in its entirety. (Rovner, 9/21)
Kaiser Health News:
California’s Deadliest Spring In 20 Years Suggests COVID Undercount
The first five months of the COVID-19 pandemic in California rank among the deadliest in state history, deadlier than any other consecutive five-month period in at least 20 years. And the grim milestone encompasses thousands of “excess” deaths not accounted for in the state’s official COVID death tally: a loss of life concentrated among Blacks, Asians and Latinos, afflicting people who experts say likely didn’t get preventive medical care amid the far-reaching shutdowns or who were wrongly excluded from the coronavirus death count. (Reese, 9/21)
Kaiser Health News:
‘An Arm And A Leg’: A Primer On Persisting In Difficult And Uncertain Times
Laura Derrick lived with an undiagnosed medical condition for decades, and when she finally got answers and access to effective treatment, medical bills threatened to swamp her family. During her personal fight for affordable health care, she was inspired by and swept up in a historic political fight. This is a great time for Derrick’s story, which is all about persistence through difficult and uncertain times. In late 2018, it was one of the first stories on “An Arm and a Leg,” and it has special resonance right now when we’re all enduring a lot. (Weissmann, 9/21)
The Washington Post:
Nearly 200,000 Deaths, Millions Of Ripples. Each Covid-19 Fatality Shifts Attitudes About The Virus.
As the nation is set to pass another dark milestone in the virus’s long, deadly march — with no end in sight — the political battles over how to curb its spread have stolen much of the nation’s attention, making it more difficult to notice just how searing each death’s impact can be. Two hundred thousand deaths is akin to losing the entire population of Salt Lake City or Montgomery, Ala. — a devastation. It is also the number of covid-19 fatalities that President Trump said at a March 29 news conference would mean that “we all together have done a very good job.” (Fisher, Gowen, Rozsa and Sacchetti, 9/19)
The New York Times:
Covid-19 Deaths: With Flags, Crosses And Photos, Mourning 200,000 Dead
The loved ones left behind are trapped in an extraordinary state of torment. They have seen their spouses, parents and siblings fall ill from the virus. They have endured the deaths from a distance, through cellphone connections or shaky FaceTime feeds. Now they are left to grieve, in a country still firmly gripped by the coronavirus pandemic, where everywhere they turn is a reminder of their pain. (Bosman, Kovaleski and Fortin, 9/20)
The New York Times:
How The Unpredictable Coronavirus Pandemic Took A Terrible Toll
It is a staggering toll, almost 200,000 people dead from the coronavirus in the United States, and nearly five times that many — close to one million people — around the world. And the pandemic, which sent cases spiking skyward in many countries and then trending downward after lockdowns, has reached a precarious point. Will countries like the United States see the virus continue to slow in the months ahead? Or is a new surge on the way? (Romero, Fernandez and Santora, 9/20)
The Wall Street Journal:
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Death Puts Spotlight On Affordable Care Act
The death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a devastating blow to the Supreme Court’s liberal minority, pushing out of reach—should President Trump succeed in gaining confirmation of another nominee—the occasional victory it claimed from a right-moving court by finding common ground with a single conservative justice. It still takes five votes on an eight-member court to issue a decision, so if one justice on the right joins those on the left to produce a tie, the lower-court decision on review remains in force, but produces no nationwide precedent. (Bravin, 9/19)
BuzzFeed:
Obamacare Is In Danger After Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Death
The fight to replace the late justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court could determine whether Obamacare is repealed next year, potentially stripping tens of millions of people of their health insurance during a global pandemic. After Republicans in Congress failed to repeal the Affordable Care Act in 2017, 20 red state attorneys general led by Texas launched a lawsuit to have the law overturned by the courts. The case is scheduled to go before the Supreme Court for oral arguments on November 10, one week after the election. A decision could come in the first half of 2021. (McLeod, 9/19)
Vox:
What Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Death Means For Supreme Court’s Obamacare Case
The Affordable Care Act is coming before the Supreme Court in November — and this time, with no Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg there to protect the law. Ginsburg, who was appointed to the Court by President Bill Clinton in 1993 and served until her death on Friday, voted to uphold the law in 2012. Along with the three other liberal justices and Chief Justice John Roberts, she saved Obamacare then from a legal challenge that would have invalidated the law entirely. (Scott, 9/18)
NBC News:
Obamacare May Be Doomed If 8-Member Supreme Court Presses Ahead With Fall Cases
Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death, ending one of the most remarkable careers in American legal history, leaves the Supreme Court under a cloud of uncertainty as it prepares to begin its new term in two weeks, with questions about who will put her successor on the court, when will that happen and how will it affect some of the major cases on the docket — including the fate of Obamacare. Ginsburg's death on Friday leaves eight justices on the court, which raises the prospect of 4-4 tie votes. After Justice Antonin Scalia died in 2016, the remaining justices ended up deferring contentious issues or deciding cases without sweeping rulings. But his death left an even number of generally liberal and conservative votes. (Williams, 9/19)
Vice:
Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Death Puts Obamacare In Jeopardy
The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has increased the chances that Obamacare could be struck down. A challenge to the landmark healthcare law is scheduled to come before the court on Nov. 10, just days after Election Day. With Ginsburg on the court, there had been five justices who’d protected the law against its earlier challenge in 2012 and appeared likely to protect it against the latest attack from Republican officials. But her Friday death has turned Obamacare’s survival from a seeming sure thing to an open question. (Joseph, 9/19)
The Washington Post:
ACA And The Supreme Court: How Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Death Could Jeopardize Affordable Care Act
The death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg injects fresh uncertainty into the future of the Affordable Care Act, as the Supreme Court prepares to consider anew the constitutionality of the law that has reshaped the United States’ health-care system in the past decade. As the senior member of the court’s liberal bloc, Ginsburg was a reliable vote to uphold the ACA in the past and had been expected to do so when the high court reviews the law a third time in its coming term. The sudden shift in the court’s composition provides the latest lawsuit seeking to get rid of the health-care law a greater opportunity, though not a certain victory, while mobilizing Democratic and swing voters focused on the issue in the upcoming elections, according to legal scholars and political analysts. (Goldstein, 9/19)
Healthcare Dive:
'People Should Worry:' ACA In Limbo After Bader Ginsburg's Passing
In less than two months, the Supreme Court is set to hear the case that could overturn the Affordable Care Act — without Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the bench, fanning anxieties the landmark law is in greater jeopardy due to her passing. "People should worry," Nicholas Bagley, a health law expert and professor at the University of Michigan, said. The death of the liberal justice on Friday at the age of 87 means that of the nine justices, there are now only three appointed by Democratic presidents instead of four. (Liss, 9/19)
Axios:
Pelosi: Trump Wants To "Crush" Affordable Care Act With Ginsburg Replacement
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday that President Trump is rushing to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg because he "wants to crush the Affordable Care Act." Why it matters: Pelosi wants to steer the conversation around the potential Ginsburg replacement to health care, which polls show is a top issue for voters, especially amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Trump administration has urged the courts to strike down the law, and with it, protections for millions with pre-existing conditions. (9/20)
Politico:
Pandemic Supercharges Campaign Battles Over Obamacare
The Obamacare wars are back. President Donald Trump and Joe Biden are starting to talk about the Affordable Care Act and its protections for people with pre-existing conditions as voters clamor for assurances that their health coverage will remain secure at a time of great upheaval. Competing pledges to maintain protections for people with pre-existing conditions are also emerging in key Senate and battleground House races across the country — even from incumbents who voted to repeal the ACA. (Luthi and Ollstein, 9/18)
Health Affairs:
After Justice Ginsburg’s Loss, What A New Court Could Mean For The ACA
The loss of Justice Ginsburg has led to a flood of questions about what comes next for the Court and the country. Who will be nominated to fill her seat? Will a new justice be seated by the time the Court is scheduled to hear California v. Texas on November 10? How does the new makeup of the Court, without Justice Ginsburg, affect the potential outcome in Texas? And what is the role of Congress in addressing the lawsuit? This post grapples with the answers to some of these questions and what they mean for the fate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). (Keith, 9/20)
AP:
Biden To Focus On Health Care In Supreme Court Debate
Joe Biden on Sunday used the sudden Supreme Court vacancy to reinforce his argument that the upcoming election should be a referendum on President Donald Trump’s handling of health care and the coronavirus. The death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg jolted the presidential campaign just six weeks before the election and as several states are already voting. Trump has seized on the opportunity to nominate a new justice to motivate his most loyal voters. Biden kept the focus on health care, which has proven to be a winning issue for Democrats during previous elections and could be even more resonant amid the pandemic. (Jaffe, 9/20)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Ginsburg’s Death Sets Up Titanic Battle Over Abortion Rights
In a political year dominated by a deadly pandemic and a fight for racial equality, the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg may rocket the abortion question back to the center of American consciousness, with the future of that constitutional right hanging in the balance in the selection of her successor. “I think there is hope,” Alexandra Snyder, executive director of Life Legal Defense Foundation, an anti-abortion law firm based in Napa, said Saturday. (Asimov, 9/20)
The New York Times:
Abortion Was Back-Burnered In The Presidential Race. Not Anymore.
For Joshua Hon, the prospect of another open seat on the Supreme Court was the moment he’s been waiting for since voting for President Trump four years ago.“I would not say that I love Trump, but I do believe that abortion is killing babies,” said Mr. Hon, 35, who lives in Durham County in North Carolina. (Lerer and Dias, 9/20)
NPR:
Ginsburg's Death A 'Pivot Point' For Abortion Rights, Advocates Say
[Ruth Bader] Ginsburg's death sets up a divisive nomination fight in the midst of a presidential campaign. And advocates on opposing sides of the issue agree that it could be a turning point in the long-running debate over one of the most divisive issues for the court: abortion rights. (McCammon, 9/19)
The Hill:
Planned Parenthood: 'The Fate Of Our Rights' Depends On Ginsburg Replacement
Planned Parenthood sounded the alarm Friday night after the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, noting that abortion rights could be decided on the high court based on her replacement. “Tonight we honor that legacy, but tomorrow, we’re going to need to get to work to preserve the ideals she spent her life’s work defending. Because this is not an understatement: The fate of our rights, our freedoms, our health care, our bodies, our lives, and our country depend on what happens over the coming months,” Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill Johnson said in a statement. (Axelrod, 9/18)
USA Today:
Doug Collins Slammed For Tweet On Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Abortion Stance
As condolences for Ruth Bader Ginsburg's family and fond memories of her life poured in from Democrats and Republicans alike, GOP Rep. Doug Collins' voice was missing from those honoring her. Instead, Collins received backlash for his tweet Friday night focusing on Ginsburg's position on abortion rights. "RIP to the more than 30 million innocent babies that have been murdered during the decades that Ruth Bader Ginsburg defended pro-abortion laws," Collins tweeted. "With @realDonaldTrump nominating a replacement that values human life, generations of unborn children have a chance to live." (Santucci, 9/19)
Politico:
How The Supreme Court Could Now Limit Abortion Rights
Republicans’ vows to quickly fill the vacancy left by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death will dramatically accelerate the push to restrict abortion access, no matter what happens to Roe v. Wade.T here’s no guarantee that even an expanded conservative majority at the Supreme Court would target the landmark decision that legalized abortion nationwide nearly 50 years ago, given some justices’ anxiety about overturning precedent. But even without touching Roe, the Court could greenlight many narrower restrictions that would effectively eliminate access to the procedure for much of the country. (Ollstein, 9/19)
Newsweek:
Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Most Famous Supreme Court Cases
Few Supreme Court Justices have left a legacy as ideologically coherent as Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The second of only four female justices to be sworn in, Ginsburg was always an ardent defender of women's rights and gender equality. ... Ginsburg's powerful voice influenced her colleagues and colored court opinions on a number of issues. Her work has been a driving force in advocating for reproductive rights, gender equality, and fourth amendment rights. (Crowley, 9/18)
Bloomberg:
Ginsburg Successor Could Shift Law On Abortion, Health-Care Act
A conservative successor to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg would move the U.S. Supreme Court closer to overturning the right to abortion, threaten the Affordable Care Act and, if confirmed quickly enough, strengthen President Donald Trump’s hand in legal disputes over the November election. Ginsburg’s death Friday gives the president and his Republican allies an opening to leave a transformational mark on a court already shaped by two Trump appointments. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed Friday to bring a new Trump nominee up for a vote, even though the election is less than seven weeks away. (Stohr, 9/18)
The New York Times:
To Conservatives, Barrett Has ‘Perfect Combination’ Of Attributes For Supreme Court
Two years ago, after nominating Brett M. Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, President Trump strongly hinted that his choice for the next opening would be a former law professor he had named to a federal appeals court the year before: Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Now, three years into that job, Judge Barrett is regarded — at least for now — as the leading contender to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on Friday. If Judge Barrett were nominated and confirmed, she would be the sitting justice with the least courtroom experience, but one viewed as a home run by conservative Christians and anti-abortion activists. (Dias and Liptak, 9/20)
USA Today:
Front-Runner For Supreme Court Nomination To Replace Ginsburg Is A Favorite Of Religious Conservatives
The front-runner for President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nomination in the aftermath of Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death is a darling of religious conservatives. Amy Coney Barrett, 48, a finalist for Trump's second high court nod in 2018 that ultimately went to Brett Kavanaugh, could move the high court further to the right – perhaps for decades to come. ... She has written that Supreme Court precedents are not sacrosanct, which liberals have interpreted as a threat to the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide. (Wolf and Groppe, 9/19)
The Washington Post:
Amy Coney Barrett, Potential Supreme Court Nominee, Wrote Influential Ruling On Campus Sexual Assault
Amy Coney Barrett, a leading contender for the Supreme Court seat held by the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, wrote an influential appellate decision last year that made it easier for students accused of sexual assault to challenge universities’ handling of their cases. Barrett led a three-woman panel of judges that said Purdue University may have discriminated against a male student accused of sexual assault when it suspended him for a year, a punishment that cost him his spot in the Navy ROTC program. (Reinhard and Brown, 9/20)
CNN:
Woman Suspected Of Sending Poisoned Letter To Trump Arrested
A woman suspected of sending a letter containing the poison ricin to President Donald Trump was arrested as she tried to enter the US from Canada at a border crossing in New York state, a US law enforcement official said. The woman was carrying a gun and arrested by US authorities, according to the law enforcement official. US prosecutors in Washington, DC, are expected to bring charges against her. (Perez, 9/20)
The New York Times:
Woman Suspected Of Sending Ricin To Trump Is Arrested
The suspect had been living in the United States last year and was arrested in March 2019 by the Mission, Texas, police for possession of an unlicensed weapon, resisting arrest and carrying a fake driver’s license, according to a senior intelligence official. While in the Hidalgo County Jail in Edinburg, Texas, authorities discovered that she had overstayed her six-month visa and had violated the terms of her passport by committing a crime while in the United States, and she was deported back to Canada, the official said. (Benner and Draper, 9/20)
USA Today:
Woman Suspected Of Sending Ricin To Donald Trump Arrested: Reports
The package, addressed to President Donald Trump, was intercepted by federal authorities in the past week, a law enforcement official said Saturday. The woman was taken into custody by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Peace Bridge border crossing near Buffalo and is expected to face federal charges, three law enforcement officials told The Associated Press on Sunday. NBC News also reported the woman's arrest, citing a federal law enforcement official. Her name was not immediately released. The FBI, in a brief statement, described the missive as "a suspicious letter received at a U.S. government mail facility." (Johnson, 9/19)
The Washington Post:
Trump Says, Without Evidence, Every American Will Get Coronavirus Vaccine By April
President Trump said Friday that every American would have access to a coronavirus vaccine by April, contradicting his own statement of two days earlier and sowing deeper confusion about the process and timing of vaccine approval and distribution. When Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield said earlier in the week that the general public was unlikely to get access to a vaccine until the second and third quarters of 2021, echoing other scientific leaders in the administration, Trump said he’d misspoken. ... Then, at a news briefing Friday, Trump announced a specific timeline, not far off from the one Redfield had laid out two days earlier. (Itkowitz and Johnson, 9/18)
Roll Call:
Trump Contradicts CDC, Pledging 100 Million Coronavirus Vaccines In 2020
President Donald Trump touted vaccine distribution plans in a Friday news conference and pledged 100 million vaccine doses by the year’s end, a promise that contradicts the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s most optimistic projections. “We will have manufactured at least 100 million vaccine doses before the end of the year, and likely much more than that,” Trump said. “We expect to have enough vaccines for every American by April.” (Kopp, 9/18)
USA Today:
Coronavirus: Trump Says Americans Will Have COVID-19 Vaccine By April
Trump's critics expressed skepticism about the speed of delivery, citing logistical challenges as well as concerns that Trump will promise virtually anything in the weeks before the election and as the nation wrestles with a pandemic that has killed nearly 200,000 Americans. Though several vaccine trials are underway, none have been approved and public health experts have noted the process takes months at best. (Fritze, Collins and Jackson, 9/18)
Politico:
Trump Says U.S. Will Have Vaccine Doses For All Americans In April
Trump touted the timeline as evidence of "historic progress," and said of a vaccine, "we essentially have it — we will be announcing it soon." Notably, the president did not repeat his familiar prediction that the government would authorize a vaccine by election day, which top government scientists have said would be unlikely. The Food and Drug Administration has not yet given emergency authorization or approval to any of the coronavirus vaccines now in development. Vaccines from Moderna, Pfizer and AstraZeneca are now in the final stage of clinical trials in the United States, and the government has pre-purchased hundreds of millions of doses of at least a half-dozen experimental shots. (Owermohle, 9/18)
The New York Times:
Health Officials Tiptoe Around Trump’s Vaccine Timeline
As the nation’s coronavirus death toll neared 200,000, top administration health officials on Sunday delicately sidestepped President Trump’s ambitious declaration last week that a vaccine would be available for every American by April. Instead, Adm. Brett Brett P. Giroir, who heads up national testing efforts, and Alex M. Azar II, the secretary of health and human services, offered a slightly more conservative timetable for vaccine availability. (9/20)
Fox News:
CDC Reverses Course Again, Says Asymptomatic People Should Be Tested
This is the second time that the CDC has reversed course on their testing policy. On August 26th, the agency ignited a controversy when it changed its guidance to say that asymptomatic individuals do not need to be tested, even if they came into close contact with someone who has coronavirus. The reversal Friday moves the CDC back in line with its original guidance. (Best, 9/19)
Politico:
CDC Reverses Course On Testing For Asymptomatic People Who Had Covid-19 Contact
In addition to recommending testing for close contacts of sick people, the CDC now says that contacts should self-quarantine at home for 14 days, even if they test negative — and stay away from other household members in a separate bedroom if possible. "A single negative test does not mean you will remain negative at any time point after that test," the new CDC guidelines warn. "Even if you have a negative test, you should still self-isolate for 14 days." (Lim, 9/18)
AP:
CDC Drops Controversial Testing Advice That Caused Backlash
U.S. health officials on Friday dropped a controversial piece of coronavirus guidance and said anyone who has been in close contact with an infected person should get tested. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention essentially returned to its previous testing guidance, getting rid of language posted last month that said people didn’t need to get tested if they didn’t feel sick. That change had set off a rash of criticism from health experts who couldn’t fathom why the nation’s top public health agency would say such a thing amid the pandemic. (Stobbe, 9/18)
The Hill:
CDC Reverses Guidance On COVID-19 Testing For Asymptomatic People
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday revised controversial guidance that previously stated people without COVID-19 symptoms don’t necessarily need to be tested. In updated guidance, the agency said: “If you have been in close contact, such as within 6 feet of a person with documented SARS-CoV-2 infection for at least 15 minutes and don't have symptoms you need a test." “Please consult with your healthcare provider or public health official. Testing is recommended for all close contacts of persons with SARS-CoV-2 infection,” the CDC added. (Hellmann, 9/18)
The New York Times:
Emails Detail Effort To Silence C.D.C. And Question Its Science
Dr. Alexander’s point-by-point assessment, broken into seven parts and forwarded by Mr. Caputo to Dr. Robert R. Redfield, the C.D.C. director, was one of several emails obtained by The New York Times that illustrate how Mr. Caputo and Dr. Alexander attempted to browbeat career officials at the C.D.C. at the height of the pandemic, challenging the science behind their public statements and attempting to silence agency staff. Far from hiding what they knew about the virus’s danger, as Bob Woodward’s new book contends President Trump was doing, the emails seem to indicate that aides in Washington were convinced of their own rosy prognostications, even as coronavirus infections were shooting skyward. (Weiland, 9/18)
The New York Times:
In ‘Power Grab,’ Health Secretary Azar Asserts Authority Over F.D.A.
In a stunning declaration of authority, Alex M. Azar II, the secretary of health and human services, this week barred the nation’s health agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, from signing any new rules regarding the nation’s foods, medicines, medical devices and other products, including vaccines. Going forward, Mr. Azar wrote in a Sept. 15 memorandum obtained by The New York Times, such power “is reserved to the Secretary.” The bulletin was sent to heads of operating and staff divisions within H.H.S. (Kaplan, 9/19)
The Hill:
US Sets Record With 1M Coronavirus Tests Conducted, Well Short Of What Experts Say Is Needed
Single day testing numbers had decreased in recent weeks, with the U.S. testing an average 650,000 people a day during the week ending Sept. 13. In July, the U.S. tested an average of more than 800,000 people daily. A shortage of testing materials has made identifying those with COVID-19 difficult and has led to hours-long lines to get tested in certain areas like Houston and Miami when cases were surging there. (Coleman, 9/20)
Reuters:
U.S. Sets Record With Over One Million Coronavirus Tests In A Day
The United States set a one-day record with over 1 million coronavirus diagnostic tests being performed, but the country needs 6 million to 10 million a day to bring outbreaks under control, according to various experts. The country performed 1,061,411 tests on Saturday, according to data from The COVID Tracking Project, a volunteer-run effort to track the outbreak. (9/20)
FierceHealthcare:
CVS Aims To Have 4,000 Drive-Thru Testing Sites Open By Mid-October
CVS Health is planning to double the number of its drive-thru testing sites by mid-October, the healthcare giant announced on Thursday. CVS intends to add more than 2,000 sites at its pharmacies in the next several weeks, bringing its total to more than 4,000 nationwide. The new locations will be opened in waves, beginning with 400 new sites opening on Friday. CVS currently offers testing in 33 states and the District of Columbia. (Minemyer, 9/17)
AP:
Push Is Underway To Test COVID-19 Vaccines In Diverse Groups
In front of baskets of tomatoes and peppers, near a sizzling burrito grill, the “promotoras” stop masked shoppers at a busy Latino farmers market: Want to test a COVID-19 vaccine? Aided by Spanish-speaking “health promoters” and Black pastors, a stepped-up effort is underway around the U.S. to recruit minorities to ensure potential vaccines against the scourge are tested in the populations most ravaged by the virus. (Neergaard and Narancio, 9/18)
The Washington Post:
Nearly 11,000 People Have Been Exposed To The Coronavirus On Flights, The CDC Says
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigated 1,600 cases of people who flew while at risk of spreading the coronavirus, identifying nearly 11,000 people who potentially were exposed to the virus on flights. But though the agency says some of those travelers subsequently fell ill, in the face of incomplete contact tracing information and a virus that incubates over several days, it has not been able to confirm a case of transmission on a plane. (Duncan, 9/19)
The Hill:
New Study Shows Dangers Of In-Flight COVID-19 Transmission
One person with COVID-19 infected 15 others during a long-haul flight from London to Vietnam in early March, according to a new analysis. The study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which was released ahead of its final publication in November, is one of the first to analyze the dangers of in-flight transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. (Weixel, 9/18)
CIDRAP:
COVID-19 Likely Spreading From People To Animals—And Vice Versa
Three new studies suggest that high proportions of cats and dogs may have acquired COVID-19 from their owners and that the virus jumped back and forth between humans and minks on farms in the Netherlands. The first, a small, unpublished study from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, suggests that a large proportion of pet cats and dogs may have gotten COVID-19 from their owners, as evidenced by antibodies against the coronavirus in their blood. (Van Beusekom, 9/18)
CIDRAP:
Certain Underlying Conditions Stand Out As COVID-19 Hospitalization Risk Factors
Increased age, male sex, non-Hispanic black ethnicity, and certain underlying health conditions are associated with a greater risk of hospitalization from COVID-19, according to an analysis of data from more than 5,000 hospitalized adults. A group based at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported its findings today in Clinical Infectious Diseases. (9/18)
Fox News:
Coronavirus Causing 'Persistent Fatigue' In More Than Half Of Recovered Patients, Study Finds
As researchers work to understand both the short and long-term effects of the novel coronavirus, more than half of participants in a recent study who have recovered from COVID-19 are still experiencing “persistent fatigue” related to the disease. The study, conducted by Dr. Liam Townsend, St. James's Hospital and Trinity Translational Medicine Institute, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, and others, found that fatigue was present in more than half of the patients studied “regardless of the seriousness of their infection,” according to a news release on the findings. (Farber, 9/19)
NPR:
Advances In ICU Care Are Saving More Patients Who Have COVID-19
If you think all the coronavirus news is bad, consider the uplifting story of Don Ramsayer. The 59-year-old man from Cumming, Ga., is living evidence that doctors in intensive care units quickly figured out how to help more patients survive. In early August, Ramsayer was helping his son pack up the car for his freshman year at The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina. Ramsayer had been having night sweats and wasn't feeling that well, but he tried to play it down. (Harris, 9/20)
AP:
Drug Shows Promise In 1st Largely Minority COVID-19 Study
A drug company said Friday that a medicine it sells to tamp down inflammation has helped prevent the need for breathing machines in hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the first large study that primarily enrolled Hispanics and Blacks. Switzerland-based Roche reported the results for tocilizumab, sold now as Actemra and RoActemra for treating rheumatoid arthritis and some other diseases. The company said it would quickly publish the results, which have not yet been reviewed by independent scientists, and would speak with regulators about next steps. (Marchione, 9/18)
NPR:
New Drugs For COVID-19 In The Works
If the coronavirus vaccines currently being tested don't pan out, don't expect new drugs to fill the gap any time soon. Many drugs are in the works, and those that succeed could play a role in reducing symptoms and sometimes saving lives. But, given the way drugs are developed, it's unlikely that any single medicine will be anywhere as potent against the coronavirus as a successful vaccine. (Harris, 9/18)
The Washington Post:
Covid-19 Vs. Flu Symptoms: Is It Possible To Tell The Difference?
The confluence of the coronavirus pandemic and the annual flu season this fall and winter has public-health officials nervous. Simultaneous surges of both respiratory viruses — sometimes called a “twindemic” — could overwhelm hospitals, straining resources and health-care workers’ time.Infectious-disease doctors are urging people to get a flu vaccine to lower their risk of contracting influenza viruses and helping them to spread. But flu symptoms and warning signs of covid-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, are similar, and it can be hard to tell the difference. Here’s how experts respond to common questions about the illnesses. (Iati, 9/18)
Stat:
Black Doctors' Group Creates Panel To Vet Covid-19 Vaccines
As trust in federal health agencies has withered over the last few months, a group of Black physicians has been working on an antidote: creating their own expert task force to independently vet regulators’ decisions about Covid-19 drugs and vaccines as well as government recommendations for curbing the pandemic. Organized by the National Medical Association — founded in 1895 as an answer to racist professional societies excluding Black doctors — the committee is meant to safeguard against any unscientific guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration. (Boodman, 9/21)
CIDRAP:
Study Warns Of Pairing Azithromycin With Drugs That Affect Heart Rhythm
A large new study of patients who received either azithromycin or amoxicillin found no increased risk of cardiac events associated with azithromycin, except among patients also taking medications that affect the electrical impulses of the heart, researchers reported this week in JAMA Network Open. (Dall, 9/18)
Stat:
Promising Results For Trodelvy, A Drug Just Acquired By Gilead
When Gilead Sciences announced its $21 billion acquisition of Immunomedics one week ago, Gilead executives said that clinical data on Immunomedics’ cancer drug Trodelvy — shared confidentially during negotiations — justified the high cost of the deal. On Saturday, data from Trodelvy studies in bladder cancer and triple-negative breast cancer were presented publicly for the first time at the annual meeting of the European Society for Medical Oncology. The results were better than expected, which may boost Trodelvy’s chances of growing into a multi-billion dollar drug and in, turn, ease investor concerns about Gilead’s acquisition. (Feuerstein, 9/19)
FiercePharma:
New Trodelvy Breast, Bladder Cancer Data Show Why Gilead's Going Big For Immunomedics
Compared with the spate of multibillion-dollar buyouts last year, biopharma M&A has been relatively quiet in 2020—until last week, when Gilead Sciences surprised the market with its $21 billion purchase of Immunomedics. Now, two sets of new cancer data from Immunomedics’ first-in-class antibody-drug conjugate Trodelvy offer a glimpse into why Gilead paid such big money for the biotech—even as they illuminate the potential competition ahead. (Liu, 9/19)