First Edition: Sept. 27, 2021

KHN: Firefighters On Front Lines, No Strangers To Risk, Push Back Against Covid Vaccine Mandates 
Kentucky firefighter Jimmy Adams saw the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic when he served as a medic who helped care for the sick on medical calls amid surging covid cases. He knew retired firefighters who died of complications from covid-19. But he reasoned that they were older and likely had underlying health issues, making them susceptible to the virus. “That’s how you make peace with those things,” said Adams, 51, a lieutenant. He believed the precautions his department was taking kept him safe. But he refused to get a covid vaccine. The reason wasn’t strictly political, he said. He had grown weary of the debate around masks, mitigation, caseloads and vaccines. (West, 9/27)

KHN: These Schools Use Weekly Testing To Keep Kids In Class — And Covid Out 
On a recent Monday morning, a group of preschoolers filed into the gymnasium at Hillside School in the west Chicago suburbs. These 4- and 5-year-olds were the first of more than 200 students to get tested for the coronavirus that day — and every Monday — for the foreseeable future. At the front of the line, a girl in a unicorn headband and sparkly pink skirt clutched a zip-close bag with her name on it. She pulled out a plastic tube with a small funnel attached. Next, Hillside superintendent Kevin Suchinski led the student to a spot marked off with red tape. Suchinski coached her how to carefully release — but not “spit” — about a half-teaspoon’s worth of saliva into the tube. (Herman, 9/27)

KHN: Who Qualifies For A Covid Booster? The List Is Growing Longer
On Friday, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said people whose jobs put them at risk of coronavirus infection qualify for a shot to boost the protection of their covid-19 vaccination. That step to include people with “institutional and occupational exposure” overrules the recommendation of her agency’s advisory panel, and the move was a surprise to many. (9/27)

KHN: From The FDA’s Empty Seat To Chock-Full ICUs, Journalists Recap The Week’s Stories 
KHN correspondent Rachana Pradhan discussed why President Joe Biden hasn’t yet nominated a permanent leader for the Food and Drug Administration on Newsy’s “Morning Rush” on Thursday. ... KHN freelancer Nick Ehli discussed Montana’s overrun intensive care units on the Northern Broadcasting System’s “Voices of Montana” on Wednesday. (9/25)

Reuters: COVID-19 Pandemic Cut Life Expectancy By Most Since World War Two
The COVID-19 pandemic reduced life expectancy in 2020 by the largest amount since World War Two, according to a study published on Monday by Oxford University, with the life expectancy of American men dropping by more than two years. Life expectancy fell by more than six months compared with 2019 in 22 of the 29 countries analysed in the study, which spanned Europe, the United States and Chile. There were reductions in life expectancy in 27 of the 29 countries overall. (Jack, 9/26)

Bloomberg: Covid Cuts Two Years Off The Life Expectancy Of U.S. Men
American men lost 2.2 years of life expectancy last year because of Covid-19, the biggest decline among 29 nations in a study of the pandemic’s impact on longevity. Deaths among working-age men contributed the most to declining lifespans in the U.S., according to research led by demographers at the U.K.’s University of Oxford. Only Denmark and Norway, who have excelled at controlling their outbreaks, avoided drops in life expectancy across both sexes, the study published Sunday in the International Journal of Epidemiology found. (Gale, 9/27)

The Hill: Pelosi Sets Thursday Vote On Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill 
The House will vote Thursday on the Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure bill, pushing back an originally planned vote for Monday that Democratic moderates had demanded as part of a deal with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Lawmakers will still debate the bill on the House floor on Monday, but the actual vote will be pushed to Sept. 30, when some surface transportation programs are set to expire, Pelosi announced in a Sunday night missive to Democrats.  (Marcos, 9/26)

Politico: Pelosi Sets Infrastructure Vote As Dem Leaders Struggle To Unify Caucus
Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday announced the House will vote Thursday on President Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill, as Democratic leaders race to unify their fractious caucus ahead of a critical week. Pelosi told her members Sunday night that the vote will now take place Thursday, the same day that a slate of surface transportation programs expire, rather than Monday as originally planned. Debate on the infrastructure legislation will still begin Monday, Pelosi said — the date she and a group of moderates had originally agreed upon in August. (Ferris and Caygle, 9/26)

NBC News: Congress Braces For High-Stakes Week Over Shutdown, Default And Infrastructure
The Democratic-controlled Congress is poised for a chaotic week. On Monday, the Senate is bracing for a vote — which Republicans have already vowed to block — to avert a government shutdown and a debt default. The government would shut down Friday if there's no resolution. The House is expected to vote Thursday on an infrastructure bill that progressive Democrats have threatened to block to maximize their leverage over a separate multitrillion-dollar package. The vote had originally been scheduled for Monday. (Kapur and Finn, 9/27)

Roll Call: House Passes Abortion Rights Legislation 
The bill would prohibit some state-level restrictions such as bans on mandatory waiting periods and limits on when during pregnancy an abortion can be performed. It also would not permit limits on a health care providers' ability to administer abortion services, such as the abortion pill mifepristone, by telemedicine, other than limits all telehealth providers follow. (Raman, 9/24)

CNBC: House Passes Abortion Rights Bill In Response To Restrictive Texas Law
House Democrats on Friday approved wide-ranging legislation to protect abortion rights, a swift but mostly symbolic response to the Supreme Court’s refusal to block a Texas law banning most abortions. The bill, which passed 218-211, is principally a show of solidarity, given that the bill, the Women’s Health Protection Act, will face steep opposition from Senate Republicans and is not expected to advance through the chamber. (Franck, 9/24)

Modern Healthcare: Providers Have Unanswered Questions Ahead Of COVID-19 Grant Reporting Deadline 
For some healthcare providers, meeting next week's deadline for reporting on their federal COVID-19 grant spending is shaping up to be a mad scramble. Accountants helping providers get ready for the Sept. 30 deadline to report on the first tranche of Provider Relief Fund spending say even those who've been prepared for weeks have legitimate questions about how to move forward. Congress approved $178 billion to help providers weather the unprecedented crisis, but many in the healthcare industry say the Health and Human Services Department's guidance on how to account for that money has been confusing and unclear. (Bannow, 9/24)

The New York Times: Schools With Mask Mandates Saw Fewer Outbreaks, C.D.C. Finds 
School mask mandates have generated controversy in many parts of the country. Now, two studies, published on Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, provide additional evidence that masks protect children from the coronavirus, even when community rates are high and the contagious Delta variant is circulating. One study, conducted in Arizona, where children returned to school in July, found that schools that did not require staff and students to wear masks were 3.5 times as likely to have a virus outbreak as schools that required universal masking. (Rabin, 9/24)

The Washington Post: Pediatric Covid-19 Cases Rose Faster In Counties Without School Mask Requirements, CDC Says
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday offered more evidence that school mask requirements can help keep children healthy and in classrooms, showing lower spikes in pediatric coronavirus cases and fewer school outbreaks in places that require them. In an analysis of 520 U.S. counties, the CDC found that pediatric cases rose more sharply in places without school mask requirements. And in a separate report that looked at Arizona’s two most populous counties, the agency found that schools without mask requirements were 3.5 times as likely to experience an outbreak than schools with them. (Balingit, 9/24)

CNN: In A Matter Of Days, Pfizer CEO Says They'll Be Ready To Ask For Approval Of A Covid-19 Vaccine For Kids 
Pfizer/BioNTech plans to ask for authorization of a Covid-19 vaccine for children under 12 soon, bringing the US one step closer to offering protection to a population that has grown particularly vulnerable as the fall season gets underway. "It is a question of days, not weeks," Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla told ABC News Sunday about when the company will submit data on children ages 5 to 11 to the FDA for consideration. (Holcombe, 9/27)

CNBC: CDC Director On Whether Kids Should Go Trick-Or-Treating On Halloween
Kids should be able to go trick-or-treating this Halloween with a couple of caveats, Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Sunday. “I certainly hope so,” Walensky said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” when asked whether it’s safe for children to go trick-or-treating this year. “If you’re able to be outdoors, absolutely,” she said. (Clifford, 9/26)

AP: US Has Enough COVID-19 Vaccines For Boosters, Kids' Shots
With more than 40 million doses of coronavirus vaccines available, U.S. health authorities said they’re confident there will be enough for both qualified older Americans seeking booster shots and the young children for whom initial vaccines are expected to be approved in the not-too-distant future. The spike in demand — expected following last week’s federal recommendation on booster shots — would be the first significant jump in months. More than 70 million Americans remain unvaccinated despite the enticement of lottery prizes, free food or gifts and pleas from exhausted health care workers as the average number of deaths per day climbed to more than 1,900 in recent weeks. (Richmond and Foody, 9/26)

Politico: Pfizer CEO: We Can Do Both Booster Shots And Primary Vaccines 
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said Sunday that first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine and booster shots can be distributed simultaneously. "I think it is also not the right thing to try to resolve it with an 'or' when you can resolve it with an 'and,'" Bourla said on ABC's "This Week." "It's not, 'Shall we give boosters or give primary doses to other people?' I think the answer should be, 'Let's give both boosters and doses for other people.'" (Parthasarathy, 9/26)

The Washington Post: CDC’s Rochelle Walensky Admits Coronavirus Booster Messaging Led To Confusion
The director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledged that seemingly contradictory messaging between her agency and the Biden administration has led to confusion among doctors and patients about who should get booster shots and when. On CBS’s “Face the Nation,” host Margaret Brennan pointed to the apparent disconnect between comments from President Biden — who has suggested most Americans should get boosters — and recommendations by U.S. health agencies. Rochelle Walensky said: “I recognize that confusion.” (Pietsch and Timsit, 9/27)

The Washington Post: Changes In Covid Booster Shot Guidance Lead To Confusion, Chaos For Doctors And The Vaccinated 
Even in Idaho, which has one of the lowest coronavirus vaccination rates in the country, clinics have been gearing up for an onslaught of calls and emails requesting booster shots. Administrators at the Primary Health Medical Group updated their website Thursday and then set about revising it Friday when government eligibility recommendations for boosters suddenly changed to include workers in high-risk jobs. Even then, the clinic’s chief executive had to figure out which occupations that meant. “Who’s at high risk? I had to look it up. Is it firemen? I don’t know,” said David Peterman. (Wolf, Sellers, Cusick and Mueller, 9/25)

The Hill: Confusion Reigns Over Vaccine Booster Rollout
States are bracing for confusion as the Biden administration begins rolling out booster doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine. Chaotic and at times disparate messaging from administration health officials over the past month has culminated in a complicated set of recommendations about who should be getting booster shots, and why. (Weixel, 9/26)

The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Booster Shots Are Here, And So Is The Angst Over Who Gets One
Americans have reached the booster angst stage of the pandemic—and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s announcement on Friday backing extra shots for some people, but not all, has left many with more questions than answers. ... “The patient portal is being overrun with emails from patients,” says Mark Fierstein, a primary care physician at NYU Langone Ambulatory Care Lake Success in New York. “There’s a lot of questions. The confusion is because every day someone comes out and says something a little different.” (Reddy and Chaker, 9/25)

Stat: Biden's Covid Booster Plan Pits The White House Against Scientific Advisers
The White House’s chaotic, contradictory messaging on Covid-19 vaccine booster shots has given Americans whiplash. But more concerning, experts say, is that it risks undermining President Biden’s campaign pledge that he would listen to the scientists and adhere to official approval processes. (Facher and Branswell, 9/24)

Roll Call: Biden Administration Defends Booster Shot Decision Amid Confusion 
The Biden administration spent Friday morning trying to clear up confusion about who should receive a Pfizer COVID-19 booster shot after days of back-and-forth debate between federal officials and their independent advisers. Varying decisions in the multistep process leading up to permission for a third shot created puzzlement but ultimately aligns the two leading public health agencies with the White House's goal of providing boosters to the majority of Americans. (Cohen, 9/24)

AP: COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters Could Mean Billions For Drugmakers
Billions more in profits are at stake for some vaccine makers as the U.S. moves toward dispensing COVID-19 booster shots to shore up Americans’ protection against the virus. How much the manufacturers stand to gain depends on how big the rollout proves to be. U.S. health officials late on Thursday endorsed booster shots of the Pfizer vaccine for all Americans 65 and older — along with tens of millions of younger people who are at higher risk from the coronavirus because of health conditions or their jobs. (Murphy, 9/25)

Bloomberg: CDC Director Warns Of ‘Dire Straits’ In Delta-Hit Areas Of U.S. 
Parts of the U.S. health system “are in dire straits,” as the spread of the Covid-19 delta variant forces some states to prepare for rationed medical care, Rochelle Walensky, head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said. “That means that we are talking about who is going to get a ventilator, who is going to get an ICU bed,” Walensky said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “Those are not easy discussions to have, and that is not a place we want our health care system to ever be.” (Fisher, 9/26)

NPR: New York Expects Health Care Worker Shortages Ahead Of Vaccine Mandate Deadline 
New York state officials are bracing for staffing shortages when the state's health care worker vaccination mandate takes effect on Monday, and could be looking to the National Guard — as well as medical professionals from other states and countries — to help address them. Gov. Kathy Hochul released a plan on Saturday, outlining the steps she could take to increase the workforce in the event that large numbers of hospital and nursing home employees do not meet the state's deadline. (Treisman, 9/26)

The New York Times: These Health Care Workers Would Rather Get Fired Than Get Vaccinated 
Deborah Conrad, a physician assistant in western New York, and Simmone Leslie, a hospital switchboard operator in Queens, have both worked long, risky hours during the pandemic. But now, both are prepared to lose their jobs rather than meet Monday’s state deadline for health care workers to get vaccinated .In defying the order, they are resisting a step that public-health experts say is critical to save lives and end the pandemic. While they each cite differing reasons for their decisions — Ms. Leslie said her employer rejected her request for a medical exemption; Ms. Conrad referenced vaccine side effects she claimed to have seen but that veer from the scientific consensus — their recalcitrance embodies a conundrum facing New York. (Barnard, Ashford and Vigdor, 9/26)

Reuters: New York May Tap National Guard To Replace Unvaccinated Healthcare Workers 
New York Governor Kathy Hochul is considering employing the National Guard and out-of-state medical workers to fill hospital staffing shortages with tens of thousands of workers possibly losing their jobs for not meeting a Monday deadline for mandated COVID-19 vaccination. The plan, outlined in a statement from Hochul on Saturday, would allow her to declare a state of emergency to increase the supply of healthcare workers to include licensed professionals from other states and countries as well as retired nurses. (Layne, 9/26)

Insider: New York Suspends Unemployment Insurance For Unvaccinated Workers
Healthcare workers who refuse the COVID-19 vaccine and are fired for failing to comply with a new state law will not be able to collect unemployment benefits unless they present a doctor-approved request for medical accommodation, according to the New York Department of Labor. New York's new vaccine mandate, which goes into effect Monday, makes it necessary for workers in New York's hospitals and nursing homes to have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Employees working at in home care, hospice, and adult care facilities need to be vaccinated by October 7. The mandate also applies to all out-of-state and contract medical staff who practice in New York. (Walsh, 9/26)

The New York Times: N.Y.C.'s Vaccine Mandate For Teachers Is Delayed By A Court
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration has been temporarily blocked from enforcing a vaccine mandate for nearly all adults in New York City public school buildings, after a federal appeals court granted a temporary injunction on Friday. The mandate, which affects well over 150,000 people working in the nation’s largest school system, was set to go into effect on Monday at midnight. Educators, parents and union officials have been bracing for the likelihood of staffing shortages and disruption in at least some schools where significant numbers of educators and staff members are not vaccinated. (Shapiro and Bromwich, 9/25)

Reuters: Court Sets Hearing For Wednesday On New York City Schools Vaccine Mandate 
A requirement for New York City school teachers and staff to get vaccinated for COVID-19 was temporarily blocked by a U.S. appeals court just days before it was to take effect, but the court on Saturday set a hearing on the matter for next week. Mayor Bill de Blasio last month set Monday as the deadline for 148,000 staff members of the largest U.S. school system to get at least one dose of a vaccine under a mandate aimed at slowing the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. (Szekely, 9/25)

The Washington Post: Staten Island Crowd Storms Mall Food Court, Opposing NYC’s Indoor Dining Vaccine Mandate 
As customers enjoyed their Saturday afternoon at Staten Island Mall and prepared to dig in to their meals, a raucous, maskless crowd of dozens opposing New York City’s indoor vaccination mandate stormed into the food court while chanting, “U-S-A!” Their goal: to eat at the food court without showing proof of vaccination. “Everybody go get food and eat. That is what we’re here to do!” one woman said to the group, according to a video from freelance journalist Oliya Scootercaster. “We’re going to meet over there and go into the food court area and sit our butts down and stay as long as we like!” (Villegas, 9/26)

The Washington Post: Massachusetts Man Daniel Libby Attacks Rail Conductor Who Asked Him To Wear Mask, Police Say 
Daniel Libby was set to board a Boston-area train when a rail conductor asked the passenger for a simple request: Put a mask on. But instead of adhering to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s mask mandate for riders regardless of vaccination status to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, the 40-year-old man responded Wednesday by allegedly attacking the conductor who asked him to wear a face covering. Libby, of Middleborough, Mass., was arrested and charged with assault and battery on a public official, MBTA police said in a news release. Police said the man “responded with several expletives and refused to place a mask on” at the Braintree MBTA Commuter Rail Station. (Bella, 9/26)

AP: Third Judge Blocks Gov. Lee's Mask Opt Out In Schools
A third federal judge has blocked Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s order allowing families to opt out of school mask mandates. The decision, handed down by U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw late Friday, is the latest development in the ongoing legal battle over Lee’s order launched by parents and advocates alarmed over the spike in coronavirus cases in Tennessee’s schools. Lee issued the order in August after a handful of Republican lawmakers demanded the governor call a special session so the GOP-dominant General Assembly could halt mask mandates in schools and other COVID-19 safety measures. Many students have been attending classes without masks ever since as pediatric hospitalizations reached record highs. (Kruesi, 9/25)

The New York Times: Covid Rapid Test Prices: How A Law Allows Labs To Charge Any Price 
At the drugstore, a rapid Covid test usually costs less than $20.Across the country, over a dozen testing sites owned by the start-up company GS Labs regularly bill $380. There’s a reason they can. When Congress tried to ensure that Americans wouldn’t have to pay for coronavirus testing, it required insurers to pay certain laboratories whatever “cash price” they listed online for the tests, with no limit on what that might be. (Kliff, 9/26)

CIDRAP: COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Has Decreased, Survey Says
Of 1,061 people who were hesitant about receiving the COVID-19 vaccine at the end of 2020, 32% were at least partially vaccinated by spring 2021, and 37% said they were likely to be, according to a research letter published today in JAMA Network Open. The researchers surveyed 3,439 people from Aug 9 to Dec 8, 2020, of whom 1,061 said they were vaccine hesitant. While follow-up from Mar 2 to Apr 21, 2021, showed that most people in this subgroup were either vaccinated (32%) or said they were likely to be (37%), 32% said they were unlikely to be vaccinated. (9/24)

AP: LA Police, Fire Agencies Had Over 200 COVID-19 Outbreaks
Public health officials have identified more than 200 coronavirus outbreaks at police or fire agencies throughout Los Angeles County since the start of the pandemic, according to data obtained by the Los Angeles Times. The 211 outbreaks, accounting for more than 2,500 cases between March 2020 and last month, represent 9% of total workplace outbreaks across the county, the newspaper reported Sunday. However, they have continued to occur regularly even as vaccination rates increased among police and fire personnel and the number of individual coronavirus cases per outbreak has fallen since last winter. (9/26)

AP: Kentucky Company's New Respirator To Aid Healthcare Workers
A Kentucky safety and personal protective equipment developer is manufacturing a new respirator to help front-line healthcare workers during the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Andy Beshear said. ... Cynthiana-based Bullard said the new respirator is designed to be more comfortable and make it easier for the workers to better communicate. The respirators were built with “all day use” in mind, to be worn around the shoulders instead of the waist, said Landon Borders, Bullard’s director of product development. (9/27)

The Wall Street Journal: Apple’s IOS 15 Has A Fall-Prevention Feature Everyone Should Use 
Wearable devices are good at detecting if you’ve fallen down, but now it’s possible to figure out if your walking is unsteady, well before you take a tumble. Apple’s latest iPhone operating system, iOS 15, takes the walking metrics previously rolled out in the Health app—walking asymmetry, double support time, step length and walking speed—and assesses them to rate a person’s overall walking steadiness. After a few days of collecting data as you walk around, preferably carrying or wearing your iPhone at hip level, you’ll receive a notification that your walking steadiness is OK, low or very low. (Jargon, 9/25)

CNN: Alzheimer's Drug Aduhelm: What One Ex-FDA Adviser Called 'Probably The Worst Drug Approval Decision In Recent US History' 
Dr. Aaron Kesselheim had been on an advisory committee for the US Food and Drug Administration for a half-dozen years, but he had never been to a meeting like this one. The FDA establishes advisory committees to assist the federal agency with one of its most important duties: deciding whether to approve the distribution of new drugs. The stakes of these decisions are enormous. Based on the outcome of the FDA's deliberations, patients may gain access to lifesaving medicines, and manufacturers may reap billions in profits. (Toobin, 9/26)

AP: UMass Lowell Professor Gets $2.7M Alzheimer's Research Grant
A University of Massachusetts Lowell researcher has received a $2.7 million federal grant to continue her research into the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. The National Institutes of Health grant will help engineering associate professor Joyita Dutta look at the disease from a network perspective, viewing the interconnections between the regions of the brain, the university said in a statement last week. (9/26)

AP: Struggling Mississippi Hospital Seeks Financial Turnaround
Leaders of Greenwood Leflore Hospital held closed-door hearings in the past week to brief local officials and its own employees about proposals for a financial turnaround. CEO Jason Studley said no layoffs or terminations are anticipated, although some positions might not be filled as employees leave, the Greenwood Commonwealth reported. Studley told the newspaper he would publicly release details of the financial plan in the coming week. (9/26)

CIDRAP: Telehealth Widened Eye Care Disparities In Pandemic, Data Show 
Male, Black, older, and non–English-speaking eye care patients and those with no more than a high school education were less likely to choose telemedical care over in-person visits during the COVID-19 pandemic, finds a retrospective study yesterday in JAMA Ophthalmology. Led by Johns Hopkins University researchers, the study analyzed health insurance claims data of 1,911 ophthalmologic and optometric patients with 2,262 telemedical visits at Massachusetts Eye and Ear from Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2020. They then compared the data with statistics from 2019 and in-person visits. (Van Beusekom, 9/24)

CIDRAP: Salmonella Outbreak From Mystery Food Source Climbs To 279 Cases
A Salmonella Oranienburg outbreak tied to a still-unknown food source has sickened 152 more people with 4 more states reporting cases, pushing the total to 279 cases from 29 states, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said yesterday in an update. So far, 26 patients have been hospitalized, reflecting an increase of 8. No deaths have been reported. The latest illness onset was Sep 13. States reporting the most cases include Texas, Oklahoma, Illinois, Virginia, and Minnesota. (9/24)

CIDRAP: Foodborne Illnesses Decreased In 2020, Study Finds
Foodborne illnesses decreased by 26% in 2020 compared with the average from 2017-19, according to a report today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly (MMWR). In 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's FoodNet surveillance system, which covers 10 US states and about 15% of the US population, identified 18,462 infections—26% lower than the 2017-19 average—including 4,788 hospitalizations and 118 deaths. ... The researchers speculated that pandemic-related behaviors, such as more handwashing, less international travel, and restaurant closures, may have contributed to the decrease in foodborne illnesses, but they note that changes in healthcare delivery and healthcare-seeking behaviors may have caused underreporting. (9/24)

The New York Times: As Covid Wave Pushes Up Demand, Costco Limits Purchases Of Toilet Paper And Water.
Last year, a frantic run on toilet paper that left store shelves bare across the United States became a symbol of the panic that seized Americans in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. Now, at least one big-box retailer is trying to prevent a repeat of that frenzy as the Delta variant has driven caseloads higher in many parts of the country. The retailer, Costco, which is known for its bargains on bulk food and cleaning supplies, confirmed in a fourth-quarter earnings call on Thursday that it was “putting some limitations on key items” such as toilet paper, cleaning products and Kirkland Signature water. (Levenson, 9/27)

The Washington Post: Linda Evangelista Says CoolSculpting ‘Disfigured’ Her. Here’s What Experts Say About The Procedure.
Danielle Venuto isn’t a supermodel, but she can relate to runway icon Linda Evangelista, who revealed this week that she had become “brutally disfigured” and “unrecognizable” following a cosmetic body-sculpting procedure more than five years ago that, instead of reducing areas of fat, increased them. Venuto, a 32-year-old who lives in New York City, underwent the same procedure, CoolSculpting, in May 2019. She’s small — 114 pounds — and said she just wanted help with stubborn areas on her lower abdomen and flanks. By July of that year, she said, she knew something was wrong with the area on her stomach. “I was like, ‘It’s not looking right, this is weird, it’s protruding out more,’ ” she said. “And then by December it looked like a complete stick of butter. It was legitimately horrible. I was extremely self-conscious and insecure about it. It looked like I had a little kangaroo pouch.” (Haupt, 9/25)

The New York Times: What Is CoolSculpting? 
On Wednesday, Linda Evangelista, the ’90s-era supermodel, shared on Instagram that she had been disfigured by a fat-reducing procedure called CoolSculpting that did the opposite of what it promised: Instead of reducing the amount of fat she had, CoolSculpting increased it, she said. After treatment, Evangelista said, she developed a condition known as paradoxical adipose hyperplasia, or PAH, in which the tissue in the treated area grows larger and hardens and stays that way. PAH is sometimes referred to as the “stick of butter effect,” because it can look like a stick of butter hidden under the skin; the enlarged tissue matches the long, thin shape of the CoolSculpting applicator. (Moyer, 9/25)

AP: Georgia Sees Spike In New 'Obamacare' Sign Ups
Georgia experienced a dramatic increase in the number of people signing up for health care coverage during a special enrollment window for the Affordable Care Act. Between February 15 and August 15, a little more than 147,000 people in the state selected an ACA health plan, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The report was released on Sept. 15. (9/26)

AP: Collins Wants Congress To Pass Fetal Alcohol Disorders Bill
Maine’s Republican senator has co-sponsored a proposal designed to help prevent fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Sen. Susan Collins said the proposal would use early intervention to address the problem of prenatal substance exposure. She said the proposal would boost federal, state and local programs and funding for prevention efforts. (9/26)

AP: Ducey Replaces Massage Therapist Regulatory Board's Members
Gov. Doug Ducey has ousted and replaced all five members the Arizona State Board of Massage Therapy in the wake of a newspaper’s critical report about the occupational regulatory panel’s handling of complaints about alleged sexual abuse by therapists. Ducey’s announcement Friday didn’t mention the Arizona Republic’s Sept. 15 investigative report that the board was lax in disciplining therapists accused of abuse, but he said it was critical that the board “protects massage clients, especially those who are in a vulnerable position.” (9/25)

CIDRAP: Potential Human-To-Human Spread Eyed In Ohio H1N2v Flu Case
In its latest weekly flu update today the CDC said a variant H1N2 (H1N2v) case has been reported from Ohio, the nation's third involving the influenza subtype this season. The patient is younger than 18, wasn't hospitalized, and has recovered. Neither the patient nor his or her household contacts had contact with swine or had attended agricultural events where pigs were present, features that are often associated with swine-variant infections. (9/24)

Stat: WHO Recommends Regeneron Drug, But Criticizes Pricing And Distribution
The World Health Organization added a Regeneron Pharmaceuticals medication to its list of recommended treatments for Covid-19, and at the same time, joined Unitaid in criticizing the company’s pricing and distribution of the drug globally. As part of their message, the agencies also urged Regeneron to transfer technology used to make its monoclonal antibody to other manufacturers so that lower-cost biosimilar versions could be made more quickly for low and middle-income nations. They also directed the message at Roche (RHHBY), which struck a deal with Regeneron to make the treatment for distribution outside the U.S. (Silverman, 9/24)

The Wall Street Journal: WHO Seeks To Revive Stalled Inquiry Into Origins Of Covid-19 With New Team
The World Health Organization is reviving its stalled investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 virus as agency officials warn that time is running out to determine how the pandemic that has killed more than 4.7 million people world-wide began. A new team of about 20 scientists—including specialists in laboratory safety and biosecurity and geneticists and animal-disease experts versed in how viruses spill over from nature—is being assembled with a mandate to hunt for new evidence in China and elsewhere. (Hinshaw and McKay, 9/26)

ABC News: Prince Harry, Meghan Call For COVID-19 Vaccine Equity At Star-Studded Global Citizen Live 
Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan appeared at a star-studded concert Saturday to draw attention to making COVID-19 vaccines accessible to everyone around the world. Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, traveled from their home in California to New York City to join stars including Billie Eilish, Camila Cabello and Jennifer Lopez at Global Citizen Live, a 24-hour event at Central Park's Great Lawn. (Kindelan, 9/25)

The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Vaccine Gap Between Rich And Poor Nations Keeps Widening 
The central African nation of Burundi has yet to administer a single Covid-19 vaccine. In Kinshasa, a megacity of 12 million in the Democratic Republic of Congo, healthcare workers have given out fewer than 40,000 Covid-19 shots. In Uganda, people line up for hours outside hospitals only to be turned away amid dwindling vaccine supplies. Nearly 10 months after the first Covid-19 vaccine became available to the public, the divide between nations that have shots and those that don’t is starker than ever. The U.S. and other rich countries such as Israel and the U.K. are doling out third shots, while in low-income countries—the vast majority of which are in Africa—just 2.2% of people have received even a single dose. (Bariyo and Steinhauser, 9/25)

AP: New Zealand To Allow Home Isolation To Travelers
New Zealand’s prime minister says the government will start a pilot program of home-isolation for overseas travelers, ahead of what she expects to be increasing vaccination levels. Currently New Zealanders have to quarantine in hotels for two weeks when they return home from abroad. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday a pilot program that will allow New Zealanders to quarantine at home will include 150 business travelers who arrive between Oct. 30 and Dec. 8. The program will involve monitoring and testing. (9/27)

Reuters: Fourth Member Of Brazil's Delegation To U.N. Tests Positive For COVID-19
Pedro Guimaraes, a member of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's delegation to the United Nations, has tested positive for COVID-19, the CEO of state lender Caixa Economica Federal said on his one of his social media accounts on Sunday. Guimaraes, who said he was fully vaccinated, is the fourth member of the delegation that was with Bolsonaro in New York for his address to the United Nations to test positive. ... Health minister Marcelo Queiroga, Bolsonaro's son Eduardo and one diplomat also tested positive for COVID-19. Queiroga, diagnosed during the visit, is still in isolation in a New York hotel. (9/26)

Reuters: China Says It Will Reduce Abortions For 'Non-Medical Purposes'
China will reduce the number of abortions performed for "non-medical purposes", the country's cabinet said in new guidelines issued on Monday that it said were aimed at improving women's reproductive health. China has already enacted strict measures aimed at preventing sex-selective abortions, and health authorities also warned in 2018 that the use of abortion to end unwanted pregnancies was harmful to women's bodies and risks causing infertility. (9/27)