First Edition: Sept. 3, 2020

Kaiser Health News: Why Black Aging Matters, Too 
Old. Chronically ill. Black. People who fit this description are more likely to die from COVID-19 than any other group in the country. They are perishing quietly, out of sight, in homes and apartment buildings, senior housing complexes, nursing homes and hospitals, disproportionately poor, frail and ill, after enduring a lifetime of racism and its attendant adverse health effects. (Graham, 9/3)

Kaiser Health News: Dozens Of U.S. Hospitals Poised To Defy FDA’s Directive On COVID Plasma
Dozens of major hospitals across the U.S. are grappling with whether to ignore a federal decision allowing broader emergency use of blood plasma from recovered COVID patients to treat the disease in favor of dedicating their resources to a gold-standard clinical trial that could help settle the science for good. As many as 45 hospitals from coast to coast have expressed interest in collaborating on a randomized, controlled clinical trial sponsored by Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said principal investigator Dr. Todd Rice. (Aleccia, 9/3)

Kaiser Health News: Watch: Florida Gutted Its Public Health System Ahead Of Pandemic  
KHN Midwest editor and correspondent Laura Ungar appeared on Spectrum News Bay News 9 to discuss her recent investigation with The Associated Press on how Florida slashed its local health departments — downsizing staffing from 12,422 full-time equivalent workers in 2010 to 9,125 in 2019 and cutting spending from $57 to $34 per resident over that period. The staffing and funding fell faster and further in the Sunshine State than the nation, leaving Florida especially unprepared for the worst health crisis in a century. Ungar also spoke on Fox 35 Orlando about the story, explaining how the cuts hampered the state’s ability to respond to the pandemic. (Ungar, (9/2)

McClatchy: CDC Sends ‘Urgent’ Request For COVID Vaccine Plans By Nov. 1
Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, sent a letter last week to the nation’s governors with an urgent request. The Trump administration wanted them to do everything in their power to eliminate hurdles for vaccine distribution sites to be fully operational by Nov. 1. The Aug. 27 letter, obtained by McClatchy, asked governors to fast-track permits and licenses for new distribution sites. “The normal time required to obtain these permits presents a significant barrier to the success of this urgent public health program,” Redfield wrote. (Wilner, 9/2)

Politico: CDC To States: Ready Vaccine Distribution For November
Federal health officials are urging states to get ready for coronavirus vaccine distribution by Nov. 1, according to a letter obtained by POLITICO. The letter from CDC Director Robert Redfield to governors is the latest indication that the Trump administration is preparing to deliver on the president's promise for a coronavirus vaccine this year. But it's unclear if any vaccine could be ready by Nov. 1, just two days before Election Day. (Owermohle, 9/2)

Fox News: CDC: Coronavirus Vaccine Could Arrive In October, November; Asks States To Prepare 
Two ongoing clinical trials are on track to conclude at the end of this year but Fauci said an independent board has the authority and “moral obligation” to end the trial early and distribute it to accelerate distribution if the results are good, according to Kaiser Health News. The vaccine’s potential fall timeline has raised some concerns by health experts over possible political pressure by President Trump and the White House to hurry a vaccine before the Nov. 3 election, even if it’s not safe. (Stimson, 9/3)

NPR: CDC Asks States To Plan For Potential Vaccine Distribution Starting In Late October 
The federal government has long aimed to have a COVID-19 vaccine ready by Jan. 2021, and established an initiative it calls Operation Warp Speed to accelerate the process of developing, manufacturing and distributing an effective vaccine. That process typically takes up to several years. (9/2)

The New York Times: The CDC Is Preparing For Covid-19 Vaccines A And B. Here’s What You Need To Know 
In planning documents sent last week to public health agencies around the country, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention described preparations for two coronavirus vaccines they refer to simply as Vaccine A and Vaccine B. The technical details of the vaccines, including the time between doses and their storage temperatures, match well with the two vaccines furthest along in clinical tests in the United States, made by Moderna and Pfizer. Here’s what you need to know about how the vaccines work, how they’re being tested and how they might be rolled out to the public — if, and it’s still a big if, they are proven to work. (Zimmer and Thomas, 9/2)

NPR: Inexpensive Steroids Can Save Lives Of Seriously Ill COVID-19 Patients
Three new studies strongly support using inexpensive and widely available drugs to treat people who are seriously ill with COVID-19. The drugs are steroids, and the research published Wednesday confirms they are proving to be the most effective treatment found to date. Initially, the use of these drugs in COVID-19 was controversial. Some doctors have long used steroids to treat conditions related to COVID-19, namely sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome. (Harris, 9/2)

Stat: Inexpensive Steroids Reduce Deaths Of Hospitalized Covid-19 Patients, WHO Analysis Confirms
The positive steroid findings — the result of a pooled look at data known as a meta-analysis — confirm a similar survival benefit reported in June from a single, large study. Corticosteroids are the first, and so far only, therapy shown to improve the odds of survival for critically ill patients with Covid-19. (Feuerstein, 9/2)

The Washington Post: Steroids Can Save Lives Of Severe Covid-19 Patients, Studies Say 
The World Health Organization, citing evidence from these and similar trials, announced Wednesday it strongly recommends doctors use the medications to combat severe or critical forms of disease caused by coronavirus infections. Finding a treatment that saves lives is “electrifying … it gives us hope. Maybe we’re gaining on this virus,” said Todd W. Rice, a critical care physician at Vanderbilt University Medical Center who was not involved in the studies. (Guarino, 9/2)

AP: Steroids Confirmed To Help Severely Ill Coronavirus Patients
New studies confirm that multiple types of steroids improve survival for severely ill COVID-19 patients, cementing the cheap drugs as a standard of care.An analysis of pooled results from seven studies, led by the World Health Organization and published Wednesday by the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that steroids reduced the risk of death in the first month by about one-third compared to placebo treatment or usual care alone in these seriously ill patients who needed extra oxygen.“This result opens up more choices” of steroids, said Dr. Martin Landray of the University of Oxford, who led one of the studies. “The more options there are in terms of availability, the better.” (Marchione, 9/2)

AP: Biden: Trump Ignores Pandemic, Stokes Unrest, Solves Neither
Joe Biden is calling the struggle to reopen U.S. schools amid the coronavirus a “national emergency” and accusing President Donald Trump of turning his back to stoke passions instead about unrest in America’s cities.The Democratic presidential nominee’s broadsides came a day ahead of his own trip to Kenosha, Wisconsin, where Biden said he wants to help “heal” a city reeling from another police shooting of a Black man. The wounding of Jacob Blake and subsequent demonstrations have made the political battleground state a focal point for debate over police and protest violence, as well as the actions of vigilante militias. (Barrow and Weissert, 9/3)

Politico: Biden Pins School Reopening Chaos On Trump As FEMA Denies Assistance 
Joe Biden promised Wednesday that he would harness billions of dollars in FEMA disaster aid to pay for supplies like masks and hand sanitizer to help schools reopen, if he's victorious on Election Day. The former vice president made that commitment during a speech in Delaware, kicking off a Democratic campaign blitz this week to blame President Donald Trump as parents and students throughout the country struggle with virtual learning and sudden school closures amid coronavirus outbreaks. (Scholtes, 9/2)

The Washington Post: Biden And Trump Battle Over Pandemic-Related School Closures. 
Joe Biden on Wednesday sought to channel the frustrations of students, parents, and teachers around the country by squarely blaming President Trump for school districts' inability to fully reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic. Biden, who with his wife, Jill, received a briefing from education leaders here at a sparsely filled downtown theater, said the lack of in-person primary school education around the country was a “national emergency.” (Viser, Dawsey and Parker, 9/2)

Politico: ‘I Just Don’t Get These Guys’: Biden Blasts Trump, GOP Lawmakers Over Virus Response
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden attacked President Donald Trump’s deal-making abilities and criticized congressional Republicans’ coronavirus response as woefully inadequate during a rare question-and-answer session with reporters Wednesday. In his first news conference in more than a month, the former vice president touted his work advancing the 2009 Recovery Act under the previous administration as a model for how to reinvigorate a flailing economy and help hurting Americans. (Forgey, 9/2)

The New York Times: As He Questions His Opponent’s Health, Trump Finds His Own Under Scrutiny 
For much of his life, President Trump has promoted himself as a virtual superman who has endless energy, needs little sleep, rarely gets sick and excelled at sports in his youth. As he once dictated in a statement put out in the name of an agreeable doctor, he is “the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.” So as Mr. Trump seeks to become the oldest individual ever elected to the office for a second term, recent questions about his mental and physical condition have sent him into paroxysms of pique. They have complicated his own efforts to question the health of his challenger and fellow septuagenarian, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Baker, 9/2)

Politico: Hahn, HHS In ‘Tit For Tat’ Feud Over Covid-19 Messaging
The dispute over whether to allow the use of blood plasma treatments for coronavirus on an emergency basis has set off what one senior official described as a “tit for tat” battle between Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn and the leadership of the Department of Health and Human Services, with each side engineering the replacement of communications aides installed by the other. HHS Secretary Alex Azar was furious when Hahn openly backtracked on claims about plasma’s effectiveness, at a time when President Donald Trump was preparing to tout the treatment at the Republican National Convention. Hahn, for his part, sought to apologize for data that overstated the treatment’s benefits and felt that his department’s promotion of the treatment as “another achievement in [the] administration’s fight” against Covid-19 smacked of politics at a time when the agency is trying to preserve its scientific integrity, said five people with knowledge of the internal deliberations. (Diamond and Owermohle, 9/2)

AP: Second Trump Appointee Out At FDA Amid Credibility Concerns
A second Trump administration appointee has been ousted at the Food and Drug Administration in the wake of the agency’s botched announcement about an experimental therapy for COVID-19, which medical experts said damaged the health regulator’s credibility with the public. An FDA spokesperson confirmed Wednesday that John “Wolf” Wagner, a political appointee installed by the White House earlier this summer, is no longer heading the agency’s office of external affairs. Instead, Heidi Rebello, a longtime FDA career official, has stepped into the position on an acting basis, overseeing all FDA public communications. Politico first reported the news. (Perrone and Foley, 9/2)

The Washington Post: Debate Rages Over Whether FDA Should Use Emergency Powers To Clear A Coronavirus Vaccine Early 
A fierce debate has erupted over whether the Food and Drug Administration should use its emergency authority to clear a coronavirus vaccine before it is formally approved — a move opponents warn could pose safety dangers and inflame anti-vaccination sentiment but others say could save thousands of lives by speeding protection from the virus. With concerns growing about the politicization of the FDA amid a botched White House rollout of the agency’s emergency authorization of convalescent plasma and sharply criticized comments by FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, some scientists and bioethicists are demanding the agency forgo use of its emergency authority for a vaccine. They worry its very flexibility, which gives FDA officials broad latitude, could make it easier for the White House to pressure the agency into clearing an unproven vaccine before Election Day, Nov. 3. (McGinley and Johnson, 9/2)

The Hill: Fauci: US Has 'Unacceptably High' Level Of COVID-19 Cases Going Into Fall 
Anthony Fauci said Wednesday that the United States has an “unacceptably high” level of new cases heading into the fall, and pushed for people to exercise caution heading into the Labor Day weekend to prevent further surges... The U.S. has around 40,000 new cases per day currently. “We're right around 40,000 new cases, that's an unacceptably high baseline,” Fauci said. “We've got to get it down, I'd like to see it 10,000 or less, hopefully less.” (Sullivan, 9/2)

Politico: ‘That’s Certainly Not My Approach’: Fauci Rejects Pursuing Herd Immunity 
Dr. Anthony Fauci argued Wednesday that the United States should not pursue herd immunity in its fight against the coronavirus — even as a top White House adviser has reportedly advocated the strategy and President Donald Trump himself invoked it this week. “We’re not there yet. That’s not a fundamental strategy that we’re using,” Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, told MSNBC. (Forgey, 9/2)

Politico: Pelosi Claims Hair Salon Scandal Was A 'Set-Up' 
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday claimed that she was set up by a San Francisco hair salon in a now-viral incident her Republican adversaries used to portray her as a hypocrite on pandemic precautions. Speaking at a news conference on education in her home district, the California Democrat declined to apologize for visiting the salon in spite of city regulations prohibiting indoor salon service. (Choi and Forgey, 9/2)

Fox News: Pelosi's Hair Stylist Claims, Through Lawyer, That Salon Owner OK'd Dem's Visit 
A San Francisco cosmetologist who works at the salon that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited earlier this week attempted Wednesday to distance himself from the salon's owner, Erica Kious. In a statement issued by his lawyer, hair stylist Jonathan DeNardo appeared to agree with Pelosi's accusation that her appointment at eSalon on Monday was "a set-up" designed to embarrass the Democrat for allegedly ignoring coronavirus rules, according to reports. (Aaro, 9/3)

AP: US Cuts Remaining Dues Payment To WHO After Trump Pullout
The Trump administration said Wednesday it won’t pay more than $60 million in dues it owes to the World Health Organization and will use the money instead to pay down other contributions to the United Nations. The announcement came just a day after the White House announced the U.S. would not participate in a WHO-run project to develop and distribute a COVID-19 vaccine. The decision to withhold roughly $62 million in outstanding 2020 dues to the WHO is part of President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the organization over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic and his allegations that the agency has been improperly influenced by China. (Lee, 9/2)

The Wall Street Journal: White House To Target Hospitals For Uneven Covid-19 Data Reporting
The Trump administration is taking aim at hospitals, charging that many have been contributing uneven data about Covid-19 cases in the federal effort to gauge the pandemic. In a move expected as early as next week, the administration is planning to publicize the names of hospitals with data missing from the federal pandemic reporting system, according to people familiar with the discussions. It’s the latest move by federal officials to target hospitals for gaps in daily tallies of Covid-19 patients, shortages of nurses, the number of available beds and other data. Making data gaps public will let those who use the data see its holes and put hospitals on alert that they risk losing payment from Medicare and Medicaid, the publicly subsidized health insurance programs, under a rule soon to take effect, the administration told industry officials Tuesday, people familiar with the discussions said. (Evans and Berzon, 9/2)

Stat: Biotech Leaders Call For Covid-19 Data Transparency, FDA Independence
A group of prominent biotech CEOs are calling on their peers and the federal government to hold themselves to the highest standards when it comes to developing and reviewing Covid-19 treatments. Among their demands: That biotech companies don’t simply release clinical trial data in press releases, and that federal regulators make it clear to the public that any vaccines or treatments will be approved strictly based on science. (Florko, 9/3)

NPR: Steep Decline Of ALS Patients Slowed Via A New Drug Combo
A combination of two experimental drugs appears to slow the decline of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, an illness often known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease. A six-month study of 137 patients with a fast-progressing form of the disease found that those who got daily doses of a two-drug combination called AMX0035 scored several points higher on a standard measure of function, a team reports in the Sept. 3 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. (Hamilton, 9/2)

The Wall Street Journal: ALS Drug Study Signals Progress Toward Treatment For Deadly Disease
Patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, who took an experimental drug kept the ability to walk, breathe and do other functions about six weeks longer than subjects who took a placebo in a recent trial—the latest sign of progress in finding new treatments for the deadly disease. The motor functioning of ALS patients who got the Amylyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. drug as part of the study declined more slowly than of subjects who didn’t get the drug, the researchers said, in a study published online Wednesday by the New England Journal of Medicine. (Rockoff, 9/2)

Stat: Experimental ALS Drug, Dreamed Up In A Dorm Room, Offers Patients Hope
An experimental drug for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, slowed the neurological decline of volunteers in a closely watched clinical trial, according to researchers, offering a glimmer of hope for a patient population that desperately needs new treatment options. Patients who took the medication — initially dreamed up over beers and obsessive internet searching in a Brown University dormitory — retained a higher level of certain motor functions than those given a placebo, according to the researchers’ study, published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. (Keshavan, 9/2)

The New York Times: New Treatment For Lou Gehrig's Disease Shows Promise 
Seven years ago, Joshua Cohen, then a junior at Brown University majoring in biomedical engineering, was captivated by the question of why people develop brain disorders. “How does a neuron die?” he wondered. After poring over scientific studies, he sketched out his ideas for a way to treat them. “I was sitting in my dorm room and I had kind of written out the research on these crazy-looking diagrams,” he recalled. (Belluck, 9/2)

Fox News: Honeybee Venom Destroyed Breast Cancer Cells: Study 
Venom from honeybees rapidly destroyed triple-negative breast cancer, a type of cancer that has limited treatment options, and HER2-enriched breast cancer cells, according to a study published in the journal npj Precision Oncology.  Using the venom from over 300 honeybees and bumblebees in England, Ireland and Perth, Western Australia, Dr. Ciara Duffy from the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research and The University of Western Australia, tested the effect of the venom on the clinical subtypes of breast cancer, according to the news release. (McGorry, 9/2)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Study: Bee Venom Kills Aggressive Breast Cancer Cells
The European honeybee has been the source of honey and venom used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years. A new study out of Australia suggests the venom from honeybees and bumblebees also can fight breast cancer — and win. Ciara Duffy, from the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research and the University of Western Australia, used the venom from 312 honeybees and bumblebees in Western Australia, Ireland and England to test the effect of the venom on the clinical subtypes of breast cancer, including triple-negative breast cancer, which has limited treatment options. (Clanton, 9/1)

Stat: Sanofi And GSK Move Covid-19 Vaccine Into Human Trials
Vaccine giants Sanofi and GSK are joining the ranks of Covid-19 vaccine makers testing their candidates in people, launching a large Phase 1/2 clinical trial Thursday that will take place at 11 sites across the United States. The trial, which is expected to be completed by early December, would pave the way for a pivotal Phase 3 efficacy trial to start the same month, if the experimental vaccine proves to be safe, tolerable, and appears to be generating enough of an immune response to proceed. (Branswell, 9/3)

Reuters: Sanofi, GSK Launch Trial For COVID-19 Protein-Based Vaccine 
French drugmaker Sanofi (SASY.PA) and its British peer GSK (GSK.L) have started a clinical trial for a protein-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate, as pharmaceutical companies race to develop treatments against the COVID-19 pandemic.Sanofi and GSK said on Thursday that they had started the “Phase 1/2” trial for their adjuvanted COVID-19 vaccine, which they hope to make available across the world. (Kar-Gupta, 9/3)

CIDRAP: US Experts Recommend Who Should Get COVID-19 Vaccine First
Healthcare workers, first responders, and adults with pre-existing conditions that put them at risk for severe symptoms of COVID-19 should be the initial recipients of the first approved vaccine in the United States, according to a framework from the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) published yesterday. Today, NAM will hold a virtual public meeting on the recommendations. The NAM report offers a detailed approach about how to best prioritize and allocate a COVID-19 vaccine. Even though the virus was discovered only in December of 2019, several countries have produced vaccines that are currently in late-stage clinical trials, and US President Donald Trump has said America could see a vaccine by the end of the year. (9/2)

USA Today: COVID Vaccine Trials Need Volunteers To Sign Up For Test Immunizations
Esther Aviles wants to help her special-needs students and her nine nieces and nephews.Joseph Shilisky believes the world needs ordinary people like him to step up. Robert Huebner likes to be among the first, whether it's the first to try a new computer game, a new restaurant, or – now – a new vaccine. All three are among the early volunteers in clinical trials to test potential COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccine developers have already shown basic safety, with no severe reactions in early trials. And they've shown their candidate vaccines trigger the kind of immune response they want to see. (Weintraub, 9/2 )

CNN: Experts Caution To Keep Coronavirus Vaccines Off The Fast Track
As many hope for a vaccine to bring Covid-19 under control, a leading vaccine expert warned against using an emergency use authorization (EUA) to put one on the US market as soon as possible. "How can you justify a substandard or lesser review for something that would be injected in tens of millions, maybe hundreds of millions of Americans?" Dr. Peter Hotez, a professor and the dean of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, said in series of social media posts Wednesday. (Holcombe and Erdman, 9/3)

The New York Times: DIY Coronavirus Vaccines? These Scientists Are Giving Themselves Their Own 
In April, more than three months before any coronavirus vaccine would enter large clinical trials, the mayor of a picturesque island town in the Pacific Northwest invited a microbiologist friend to vaccinate him. The exchange occurred on the mayor’s Facebook page, to the horror of several Friday Harbor residents following it.“Should I pop up and get your vaccine started?????,” wrote Johnny Stine, who runs North Coast Biologics, a Seattle biotech company with a focus on antibodies. “Don’t worry — I’m immune — I have boosted myself five times with my vaccine.” (Murphy, 9/1)

CNN: Wear A Mask During Sex And Avoid Kissing New People, Canada's Top Doctor Advises 
Sex in a pandemic can be complicated, Canada's lead medical doctor says, and it's best to skip kissing and perhaps wear a mask to prevent spreading Covid-19. Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's Chief Public Health Officer, issued a public statement Wednesday on staying safe from the virus when engaging in sexual activities. (Sutton and Cullinane, 9/3)

The Hill: Canada's Chief Medical Officer Suggests Wearing Mask During Sex With New Partners 
Canada's top medical officer suggested that residents wear masks when having sex with a partner for the first time in a statement Wednesday. Reuters reported that Theresa Tam made the advisement along with other tips in a statement addressing how Canadians could minimize the risk of transmitting the virus during sexual encounters. “Like other activities during COVID-19 that involve physical closeness, there are some things you can do to minimize the risk of getting infected and spreading the virus,” she reportedly said. (Bowden, 9/2)

Stat: Could Millions With Sickle Cell Trait Be At Risk For Severe Covid-19? 
Sickle cell disease, which causes Covid-like symptoms — clotting, strokes, and severe oxygen deprivation —  is one of the medical conditions that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says puts people at higher risk for severe illness from the coronavirus. Now, a research team is trying to determine whether the several million people who merely carry one copy of the sickle cell mutation — but do not have the disease itself — could be more vulnerable to Covid-19, and whether that might be one reason the virus is disproportionately sickening and killing Black Americans. (McFarling, 9/3)

CIDRAP: Waning MMR Immunity, Vaccine Hesitancy, Could Mean More Measles Outbreaks
A systematic review and meta-analysis of 62 studies has found that immunity conferred by the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine fades each subsequent year, suggesting that vaccination strategies should be revisited. The study, published yesterday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, showed that 96.0% of patients inoculated with the two-dose trivalent MMR vaccine initially developed antibodies against measles, while 93.3% had antibodies against mumps when excluding the Rubini strain (91.1% when including it), and 98.3% produced protective antibodies against rubella. But that immunity lessened each year. (9/2)

The Washington Post: The Coronavirus Reminds Us Of Our Deep-Rooted Need For Medicinal Plants 
In laboratories around the world, dozens of vaccines are in the works in an attempt to protect us against the novel coronavirus. Some are using tobacco, of all plants, as part of the process of developing ways to fight infection, though the potential antivirals rely far more broadly on manipulating DNA and RNA. These efforts employ leading-edge molecular science, but our instinct to fight nature with nature is ingrained deep in the human mind and reaches back thousands of years. Our abiding partner in this quest for wellness is the plant, in all its forms and component parts. (Higgins, 9/2)

The New York Times: Backed By Federal Funds, New Virus Tests Are Hitting The Market 
With the pandemic still raging as fall approaches, the government’s efforts to support development and deployment of a variety of testing methods are a rare if belated bright spot amid widespread failures to contain the virus.In the latest round of government backing, the N.I.H. said on Wednesday that it was providing nine more companies with $123.3 million from a $2.5 billion pot of money allocated last spring by the stimulus bill to support testing. That will bring the total amount disbursed so far by the N.I.H. to $372 million across 16 companies. (LaFraniere and Wu, 9/2)

NPR: Pandemic Depression Hits 25% Of Americans, Study Finds
Nearly a quarter of people in the United States are experiencing symptoms of depression, according to a study published Wednesday. That's nearly three times the number before the COVID-19 pandemic began.And those with a lower income, smaller savings and people severely affected by the pandemic — either through a job loss, for example, or by the death of a loved one — are more likely to be bearing the burden of these symptoms. (Chatterjee, 9/2)

AP: Depression, Anxiety Spike Amid Outbreak And Turbulent Times
Mental health therapists’ caseloads are bulging. Waiting lists for appointments are growing. And anxiety and depression are rising among Americans amid the coronavirus crisis, research suggests. In the latest study to suggest an uptick, half of U.S. adults surveyed reported at least some signs of depression, such as hopelessness, feeling like a failure or getting little pleasure from doing things. That’s double the rate from a different survey two years ago, Boston University researchers said Wednesday in the medical journal JAMA Network Open. (Tanner, 9/2)

USA Today: COVID-19 Pandemic Creates Fears That May Constrain Economic Growth
The nation is awaiting a vaccine that can halt the COVID-19 pandemic in its tracks, allowing life – and the battered U.S. economy – to return to normal. But a new study suggests the crisis has generated fears that are likely to dampen risk-taking and economic output for decades by increasing the “perceived probability of an extreme, negative shock in the future.” Over time, the economic cost of that warier outlook is “many times larger” than the short-term damage, the study says. The study, titled, “Scarring Body and Mind: The long-term belief-scarring effects of COVID-19,” attempts to quantify such long-term economic losses by assessing the toll taken by other economic upheavals, such as the Great Recession of 2007-09. (Davidson, 9/3)

USA Today: COVID-19 And Social Unrest Increase Need For Therapists Of Color
Jeannine Adams was already listening and offering help as a therapist, but she sought out someone to talk with. A Black woman, Adams "wanted to see someone I felt I could relate to. "That wasn't always easy. It usually required a long drive from her Morris County home, often to Montclair. The demand for therapists of color has historically surpassed the supply. Current events, including the coronavirus pandemic and social unrest, have made the need greater. (Havsy, 9/2)

The New York Times: University Of South Carolina Disciplines Fraternities For Virus Violations 
The University of South Carolina took disciplinary action on Monday against more than a dozen students and several Greek life organizations that administrators said recently hosted parties or large gatherings, as the number of cases of the coronavirus on campus rises. The university announced that 15 students had been placed under interim suspension and that six Greek houses had been charged with student conduct violations stemming from the parties, which officials said violated emergency orders in Columbia, S.C. (Vigdor, 9/1)

USA Today: Quarantine For 30 Of 40 Greek Houses At Indiana University-Bloomington
Seven more Greek houses at Indiana University-Bloomington are being directed to quarantine because of COVID-19, bringing the total up to 30 as of Wednesday evening. There are 2,600 students in 42 communal living houses at IU, IU spokesperson Chuck Carney said. The houses include 40 fraternity and sorority houses and the Evans Scholars and Christian Student Fellowship houses. (Gerike, 9/2)

WCIA.Com: Two Students, One Fraternity Suspended For Violating COVID-19 Safety Guidelines 
Two University of Illinois students and an entire fraternity are suspended for breaking the university’s COVID-19 safety rules. On top of that, around 100 students are being disciplined for their behavior over the weekend. ... “I see people going out to the bars still, and I know they’ve changed the regulations, but it’s still very concerning to me to see that many people going out, not really socially distancing and just living like normal,” said junior Kayla Vargas. (Bunting, 9/1)

Greenville News: 32 Furman Students Test Positive For COVID-19 After Fraternity Parties
Furman University has suspended the Kappa Alpha fraternity from campus for at least four years after the group hosted two parties that resulted in dozens of students testing positive for COVID-19. The university first announced last week that it was investigating reports of two parties at the former Kappa Alpha fraternity house on Aug. 21 and Aug. 22. As a precaution, school officials told 53 students who attended the parties to quarantine while they get tested for the virus. (Gilreath, 9/2)

The Wall Street Journal: To Test Or Not To Test? Colleges Face Decision As Students And Coronavirus Arrive On Campus 
lasses at the University of Arkansas started last week, but the campus had little back-to-school bustle. Many students are largely holed up in their dorm rooms amid fears of the coronavirus. Among its nearly 30,000 students, faculty and staff, Arkansas tested just 158 people on campus between Saturday and Tuesday and found 38 confirmed cases of coronavirus. Positive tests administered away from campus and self-reported by anyone who was on campus jumped by 295 new cases over the same period. (9/2)

USA Today: Between COVID-19 And Layoffs, Schools May Not Have Enough Teachers To Get Through The Year
In Las Vegas, where more than 1 in 6 workers are now unemployed, Fernando Valenzuela decided to quit his job this summer. He’s one of nearly 4,300 substitute teachers in the Clark County School District earning roughly $100 per day, without sick leave or health coverage. Though Valenzuela, who filled a full-time teaching vacancy at the Nevada Learning Academy, earned a bit more — $120 a day — than the Clark County average, it was still not enough for him to brave the risks of working at a school during the escalating coronavirus pandemic. (Harris and Morton, 9/3)

The Wall Street Journal: A Texas School Reopens And Everyone Holds Their Breath 
On the eighth day of opening a school to students, Superintendent Eddie Conger marveled that there were no reported Covid-19 cases. He had established safety measures, some beyond federal guidelines, but still was braced for the virus to strike. In a conference room that day, he got a jolt. An administrator told him a laser temperature check in the drop-off lane revealed a student with a fever. Everyone with a temperature under 100 can enter school, but 100 or over requires another check. A second high reading means a trip back home.“The kid never left the car,” the administrator assured Mr. Conger. (Hobbs, 9/2)

Reuters: Students Return To Class In Wuhan, But Parents And Teachers Wary Of Coronavirus Risk
Tears and excitement from students greeted teachers on the first day of school after seven months in the Chinese city of Wuhan, but parents and teachers warned that while the coronavirus has retreated, no one could afford to let down their guard. The central Chinese city - where the global coronavirus pandemic began - allowed more than 2,800 educational institutions to start their new term on Tuesday, opening their doors to nearly 1.4 million students for the first time since January. (Stanway, 9/3)

The Washington Post: First Coronavirus Death Linked To Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Reported In Minnesota 
A Minnesota biker who attended the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally has died of covid-19 — the first fatality from the virus traced to the 10-day event that drew more than 400,000 to South Dakota. The man was in his 60s, had underlying conditions and was hospitalized in intensive care after returning from the rally, said Kris Ehresmann, infectious-disease director at the Minnesota Department of Health. The case is among at least 260 cases in 11 states tied directly to the event, according to a survey of health departments by The Washington Post. (Shammas and Sun, 9/2)

The Hill: First Coronavirus Death Occurs Linked To Sturgis Motorcycle Rally In South Dakota 
Officials announced the first known COVID-19 death linked to last month's Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, which brought 400,000 people to South Dakota. A male biker in his 60s with underlying conditions died after visiting the rally, a Minnesota Department of Health spokesperson confirmed to The Hill. The Minnesota resident had been hospitalized in an intensive care unit for several weeks after the rally. (Coleman, 9/2)

NPR: States Report Coronavirus Cases Linked To Sturgis, S.D., Motorcycle Rally
The greatest share of cases so far have emerged in the rally's home state, South Dakota, which has registered more than 100 cases so far. A Minnesota man in his 60s who went to the rally was later hospitalized for COVID-19 and died earlier this week, said Kris Ehresmann head of infectious disease for the Minnesota Department of Health. (Stone, 9/2)