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KFF Health News Original Stories
Fact Check: US Rep. Gaetz’s Diagnosis of What’s Driving Insulin Costs Misses the Root Cause
A diabetes diagnosis is not always related to a person’s weight or overall health, especially for those with Type 1 diabetes, who are dependent on insulin treatment for life. (Victoria Knight and Colleen DeGuzman, 4/22)
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: A Conversation With Peter Lee on What’s Next for the ACA
Amid covid-19, the potential overturn of Roe v. Wade, and a war in Europe, the Affordable Care Act has been flying under the radar in 2022. But this will be a pivotal year for the federal health law. Unless Congress acts, millions of Americans could see their costs for coverage rise dramatically as expanded subsidies expire. At the same time, the end of the public health emergency could boost the uninsured rate as states disenroll people from Medicaid. Peter Lee, who recently stepped down as the first executive director of the largest state-run ACA insurance marketplace, Covered California, has thought long and hard about how the ACA came to be, how it’s been implemented, and what should happen to it now. He joins host and KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner for a wide-ranging discussion on the state of the ACA. (4/21)
Political Cartoon: 'Born A Frog?'
KFF Health News provides a fresh take on health policy developments with "Political Cartoon: 'Born A Frog?'" by Dave Coverly.
KHN is now on TikTok! Watch our videos and follow along here as we break down health care headlines and policy.
Summaries Of The News:
CDC Alert Warns Of Puzzling Hepatitis Cluster In Young Kids
The CDC issued a nationwide health alert Thursday over 9 cases among kids ages 1 to 6 that the agency are investigating with the Alabama Department of Public Health, telling doctors to be on the look out for others. North Carolina reports that it may have two more. There have also been cases in the U.K., Europe and Israel.
The Washington Post:
CDC Issues Nationwide Alert About Mysterious Hepatitis Cases In Kids
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a nationwide health alert Thursday about an unusual cluster of serious hepatitis cases in young children for which the cause, or causes, is not known. Federal health officials and the Alabama Department of Public Health are investigating nine cases of hepatitis in children 1-to-6 years old who were hospitalized between October 2021 and February 2022 with significant liver injury. All of the children were previously healthy, officials said, and two required liver transplants. There are no reported deaths. CDC’s alert is to notify physicians and public health authorities nationwide to be on the lookout for symptoms and report suspected cases. (Sun and Cha, 4/21)
The New York Times:
C.D.C. Issues Alert Over Cluster Of Hepatitis Cases In Children
Officials are investigating the possibility that an adenovirus, one of a group of common viruses that can cause cold-like symptoms, as well as gastroenteritis, pink eye and other ailments, may be responsible. Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver that has a wide range of causes, including viruses, chemical exposures, some medications and other medical conditions. (Anthes, 4/21)
Reuters:
U.S. Warns Doctors To Look For Hepatitis In Children As Probe Widens
The first such U.S. cases were identified in October 2021 at a children’s hospital in Alabama that admitted five young patients with significant liver injury - including some with acute liver failure - of unknown cause. In those cases, the children tested positive for adenovirus. The more common forms of the liver disease - hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C - were ruled out. A review of hospital records identified four additional cases, all of whom had liver injury and adenovirus infection. Lab tests found that some of these children were infected with adenovirus type 41, which causes acute infection of the digestive system. The state has not found any new cases beyond the original cluster. (Steenhuysen, 4/21)
Stat:
N.C. Is Second U.S. State To Report Unusual Cases Of Hepatitis In Kids
Health authorities in North Carolina say they are investigating two cases of hepatitis in young children, making the state the second to report cases that appear to be linked to an outbreak that is being seen in a growing number of countries. Bailey Pennington, a spokesperson for the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, told STAT of the cases in an email on Thursday, saying the state is both conducting surveillance for other possible cases and working with its poison control center and epidemiologists to try to determine the cause of the illnesses. (Branswell, 4/21)
Also —
Press Association:
Adenovirus: Child Hepatitis Cases Investigated In UK After Numbers Exceed 100
The number of cases of hepatitis among children under the age of 10 being investigated has risen to 108, health officials have confirmed. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said it, Public Health Scotland, Public Health Wales and the Northern Ireland Public Health Agency were continuing to investigate the rise in cases of sudden onset hepatitis, liver inflammation, in children since January. It said on Thursday a further 34 cases had been identified, bringing the total across the UK to 108, with eight children having received a liver transplant. (Gammie, 4/21)
CIDRAP:
Israel Examining 12 Unexplained Pediatric Hepatitis Cases
In the wake of unexplained hepatitis cases reported in young children by a number of countries, Israel's Ministry of Health (MOH) said yesterday on Twitter that a request for information to hospitals has turned up 12 cases in recent months. It said the 12 cases that fit the definition and are under investigation are from two hospitals—Shaare Zedek Medical Center and Schneider Children's Medical Center. (4/20)
Vaccination Rates For Kindergarten Students Fall During Pandemic
Vaccine coverage levels for diseases such as measles fell below the target of 95%, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. Causes include people cutting back on medical appointments during the height of the pandemic and a spillover of covid vaccine hesitancy into attitudes toward routine immunizations.
The New York Times:
Routine Childhood Vaccinations In The U.S. Slipped During The Pandemic
Kindergartners in the United States fell behind on routine childhood vaccinations during the pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Thursday, a slide that experts attributed to skipped checkups and to a groundswell of resistance to Covid-19 shots spilling into unease about other vaccines. During the 2020-21 school year, about 94 percent of kindergartners had the required vaccines, a drop of roughly one percentage point from the previous school year, the C.D.C. said. That pulled coverage levels below the target of 95 percent, raising fears that life-threatening childhood illnesses like measles could at some point become more prevalent. (Mueller and Hoffman, 4/21)
Politico:
CDC: Kindergarten Vaccination Rates Drop Across The U.S.
Childhood immunization dropped dramatically at the start of the pandemic as families stayed at home, and have been slow to catch up. Over the last two years, the CDC saw a more than 10 percent drop from pre-pandemic levels in states’ orders for Vaccines for Children, the federal program through which about half the children in the country are immunized. The drop in the 2020-2021 school year “means that there’s 35,000 more children in the United States during this time period without documentation of complete vaccination against common diseases,” said Georgina Peacock, acting director of the Immunization Services Division, during a briefing on Thursday. (Mahr, 4/21)
AP:
Rates For Measles, Other Vaccinations Dip For Kindergartners
In addition, almost 400,000 fewer children than expected entered kindergarten and their vaccination status is uncertain, the CDC said. ... “We haven’t seen outbreaks and that’s probably representative of the fact that families were staying home during the pandemic,” said Dr. Georgina Peacock, the CDC’s director of immunization services. But authorities worry that could change if kids remain behind on their shots as more people return to normal routines. (Tanner, 4/21)
And in updates about covid vaccines for children and teens —
The Hill:
Fauci Says Vaccine Approval For Those Under 5 Likely Not Until June
A COVID-19 vaccine for children under five might not be approved for emergency use until June, Anthony Fauci said on Thursday. Fauci, the chief medical adviser for President Biden, told CNN’s Kasie Hunt that health regulators were concerned because vaccine makers Moderna and Pfizer were creating slightly different products, which required additional scrutiny. (Dress, 4/21)
CIDRAP:
Risk Of Myocarditis After COVID Vaccine Low But Highest In Young Men
A new study of 23.1 million Scandinavians suggests that the risk of myocarditis after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination is low but highest in 16- to 24-year-old males after the second dose. The results were published yesterday in JAMA Cardiology. .(Van Beusekom, 4/21)
White House Releases Strategy To Tackle Record Overdoses
President Joe Biden's plan emphasizes harm reduction, urging states and local agencies to take steps to prevent deaths and illness while helping drug users to get treatment. Improving access to clean needles, fentanyl test strips and naloxone are examples.
AP:
Biden Drug Control Plan Stresses Harm Reduction, Treatment
President Joe Biden is sending his administration’s first national drug control strategy to Congress as the U.S. overdose death toll hit a new record of nearly 107,000 during the past 12 months. The strategy, released Thursday, is the first national plan to prioritize what’s known as harm reduction, said White House drug czar Dr. Rahul Gupta. That means it focuses on preventing death and illness in drug users while trying to engage them in care and treatment. (Johnson, 4/21)
NPR:
Drug Overdose Deaths Are At A Record High. Here's What The White House Plans To Do
In its first detailed plan to slow the rise in drug overdose deaths, the Biden administration is emphasizing harm reduction. That means increasing access to clean needles, fentanyl test strips and naloxone. Clean needles help reduce the spread of disease. Fentanyl test strips enable drug users to check if they are about to consume this powerful opioid that can shut down breathing in seconds. Naloxone is a drug that can rapidly reverse an opioid overdose. (Bebinger, 4/21)
The Hill:
White House Unveils National Drug Control Strategy Amid Rising Overdoses
Rahul Gupta, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said on a call with reporters that many of the deaths are due to synthetic opioids like fentanyl, but also pointed to meth and cocaine. “This is the most dynamic drug environment we have ever seen in this nation,” he said. “For far too many years, the overdose crisis has been unraveling the very social fabric of our nation and destroying American lives and livelihoods,” Gupta added. (Sullivan, 4/21)
In related news about the opioid crisis —
Philadelphia Inquirer:
Philadelphia Overdoses Could Be Helped By A Biden Administration Drug Policy
The Biden administration on Thursday released its first national drug strategy, aimed at curbing overdose deaths — which now exceed over 100,000 a year — and focusing on expanding services designed to reduce the harmful effects of opioid addiction. The administration says it will work to enhance access to treatment and address long-standing racial inequities in drug investigations and arrests. President Joe Biden’s plan also pledged to expand harm reduction access and medication-assisted drug treatment in prisons, while targeting drug-trafficking organizations and “reducing the supply” of illicit drugs in the U.S. with requests for hundreds of millions of dollars in budget raises for border control agents and the Drug Enforcement Administration. (Whelan, 4/21)
Bloomberg:
Opioid Crisis Settlements: NYC Gets $256 Million From Big Pharma
New York City will receive up to $256 million to tackle the city’s opioid crisis, Mayor Eric Adams and New York Attorney General Letitia James said Thursday. “Today marks a significant milestone in our collective fight to combat the opioid crisis -- a scourge on the state,” James said during a briefing at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan. “These funds will have an immediate impact on our communities and for individuals on the ground who are struggling with drug addiction.” (Woodhouse, 4/21)
KGET 17:
Overdose Rescue At Walmart: Former Fentanyl Users Just Happened To Have Life-Saving Narcan In Their Car
You may know about Narcan, the opioid overdose antidote that is saving lives. The question we might ask is, should all Americans keep it handy? What if no one we know is really in danger of opioid overdose, as far as we know? Here is one good reason. Because an overdose emergency can present itself anywhere, without warning. Anywhere, even the grocery store, while you’re perusing magazines in the checkout line. It happened that way at about 7:30 p.m. Monday evening for Cheyenne Nunley and Isaiah Ramirez, boyfriend and girlfriend, former admitted fentanyl users themselves, both 20. They were at the East Hills Walmart buying the fixings for homemade enchiladas. In line, ready to check out – when someone burst out of the men’s restroom. A man was inside, frothing at the mouth, overdosing. (Price, 4/20)
Fox News:
Father Who Lost Daughter To Fentanyl Demands Action On Border: 'She Didn't Overdose, She Was Poisoned'
Matt Capelouto warned the spike in fentanyl-related deaths should be treated as a "national security threat" on "Fox & Friends First." "I think there's a misconception that this is a… drug problem and this has to be looked at more as a national security threat," Capelouto told co-host Carley Shimkus. "We have people dying from this before they even have a chance to get addicted." Capelouto lost his daughter in 2019 during her college winter break in Southern California after she took a fentanyl-laced Oxycodone pill. Capelouto said his then 20-year-old daughter was studying on a full academic scholarship at Arizona State University.
In other news from the Biden administration —
San Francisco Chronicle:
VP Kamala Harris Decries U.S. Maternal Health Care Crisis In S.F. Visit, Praises UCSF Program
The United States is facing a maternal health crisis, with the highest maternal death rate among wealthy nations and particularly high rates among Black women, Vice President Kamala Harris said during a visit to UCSF medical facilities in San Francisco on Thursday. The country must make solving the crisis a national priority, she said. “It is real and it is impacting so many women and their families and communities,” Harris said after touring UCSF’s perinatal care program for Black families, called EMBRACE, located at the medical center’s Mission Bay campus. “A big factor that contributes to these outcomes is system inequities, the differences in how people are treated based on who they are or where they live.” (Ho, 4/21)
Army Expands Pregnancy Leave Policies
Also: a cluster of suicides among crew of a drydocked aircraft carrier.
ABC News:
Army Revises Policies On Pregnancy, Parental Leave For Soldiers
The United States Army has announced new policies to expand soldiers' and their family's health. The 12-part directive expands previous policies such as allowing paid medical leave for pregnancies and pregnancy losses for soldiers and/or their spouses. It also creates new policies such as ones addressing soldiers and spouses going through fertilization treatment. (Dunn, 4/21)
Task & Purpose:
The Army Just Became The Only Service To Give Non-Birthing Parents Leave After A Miscarriage
The Army will now give both parents convalescent leave in the case of a miscarriage, stillbirth, or loss after birth. “The Army will be the only service so far to apply this convalescent leave to male soldiers, acknowledging emotional loss after this very significant life event,” Amy Kramer, the policy lead action officer, told reporters on Thursday. “So in addition to the convalescent leave provided to the female soldier that undergoes the actual miscarriage for physical healing and emotional healing, male soldiers, their spouses, will also be eligible.” (Britzky, 4/21)
And multiple suicides aboard one Navy ship are investigated —
NBC News:
At Least Five USS George Washington Shipmates Died By Suicide In Last Year
At least five U.S. sailors who served on the same aircraft carrier in Virginia have died by suicide in the last year, including three who died within a week earlier this month, military officials said Thursday. The string of suicides among USS George Washington sailors may indicate a larger mental health problem, according to experts, and it comes less than three years after a similar cluster of suicides on another Navy vessel. (Chan, 4/21)
Military.com:
10 Deaths In 10 Months: String Of Suicides On A Single Aircraft Carrier
The fact that the carrier is in the shipyards -- and for far longer than originally planned -- has created a difficult environment, according to the sailors who spoke to Military.com. The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier has been undergoing a refueling and complex overhaul at Newport News since 2017. The massive maintenance period, which typically lasts four years, is usually done halfway through a carrier's 50-year life to refuel the nuclear reactor and see to repairs and upgrades. In 2019, the ship was scheduled to be done in 2021. By 2020, that had changed to 2022. Danny Hernandez, a spokesman for Newport News Shipbuilding, told Military.com in an email that "COVID-19 impacts and unplanned growth work resulted in delays to the schedule." (Toropin, 4/20)
Leading Cause of Child and Teen Deaths: Guns
For the first time, guns killed more people ages 1 to 19 in the U.S. than vehicle crashes, drugs overdoses or cancer. And a spate of articles on the epidemic of teen gun violence and suicide.
NBC News:
In A First, Firearms Were Leading Cause Of Death For U.S. Children And Teens In 2020
Guns became the leading cause of death among children and teens in 2020, killing more people ages 1 to 19 in the U.S. than vehicle crashes, drugs overdoses or cancer. More than 4,300 died of firearm-related injuries that year — a 29 percent increase from 2019 — according to a research letter published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. The letter analyzed decades of mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Bendix, 4/22)
New England Journal of Medicine:
Crossing Lines — A Change In The Leading Cause Of Death Among U.S. Children
Injuries are the most common cause of death among children, adolescents, and young adults between 1 and 24 years of age in the United States; indeed, injuries are responsible for more deaths among children and adolescents than all other causes combined. For more than 60 years, motor vehicle crashes were the leading cause of injury-related death among young people. Beginning in 2017, however, firearm-related injuries took their place to become the most common cause of death from injury (see graph).1 This change occurred because of both the rising number of firearm-related deaths in this age group and the nearly continuous reduction in deaths from motor vehicle crashes. The crossing of these trend lines demonstrates how a concerted approach to injury prevention can reduce injuries and deaths — and, conversely, how a public health problem can be exacerbated in the absence of such attention. Between 2000 and 2020, the number of firearm-related deaths among children, adolescents, and young adults increased from 6998 (7.30 per 100,000 persons) to 10,186 (10.28 per 100,000 persons), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (Lee, Douglas and Hemenway, 4/21)
In related news —
KRTV:
Another Teen Shooting Death In Billings Highlights Increasing Youth Gun Use
A 15-year-old boy died at a Billings residence on Saturday, April 9, 2022, after what the Billings Police Department says appears to be an accidental shooting. Officers responded to a shooting in the 500 block of South 33rd Street around 9:15 p.m. Saturday. The victim was dead when officers arrived at the scene. The police department said the investigation is ongoing, but "at this time appears to be an accidental shooting. "That incident makes it three teenage shooting deaths within three months in Billings. Police say it’s because children have more access to guns now than ever before. (Conlon, 4/11)
AP:
Judge Refuses To Reduce Bond For Parents Of Teen Charged In Michigan School Shooting
A judge denied a motion Tuesday to reduce bonds for the jailed parents of a Michigan teenager who is charged in a shooting at Oxford High School that left four of his fellow students dead. Oakland County Circuit Judge Cheryl Matthews said that James and Jennifer Crumbley’s actions before their Dec. 4 arrests in a commercial building in Detroit were meant to conceal their whereabouts. (Williams, 4/19)
Los Angeles Times:
A Mother Battles Gun Violence In South L.A. After Losing Her Son
Tashon Logan, her eldest son, was shot to death at age 19 on March 31, 2019 — less than four hours before rapper Nipsey Hussle was gunned down in front of his South Los Angeles store. She is not the first mother to bear the weight of raising children in a tough neighborhood with more gangs and guns than opportunity. But hers is an uncommon common story, one of atonement and second chances. Bracks is a 47-year-old single mother and recovering addict who lived for two years in a rescue mission and a string of flophouses before finding a stable home to raise her family. She lost one son and almost lost another. And as she works through the grief and pain of Logan’s slaying, she is newly focused. (Sheets, 4/19)
CNN:
Their Teenage Children Died By Suicide. Now These Families Want To Hold Social Media Companies Accountable
On January 4, 2015, while his family was taking down their Christmas tree and decorations, CJ retreated into his room. He sent a text message to his best friend – “God’s speed” – and posted an update on his Facebook page: “Who turned out the light?” CJ held a 22-caliber rifle in one hand, his smartphone in the other and fatally shot himself. He was 17. Police found a suicide note written on the envelope of a college acceptance letter. His parents said he never showed outward signs of depression or suicidal ideation. “When we found him, his phone was still on, still in his hand, with blood on it,” Donna Dawley said. “He was so addicted to it that even his last moments of his life were about posting on social media.” (Kelly and General, 4/19)
WHYY:
Could Planting Gardens Be The Key To Preventing Shootings? These Grays Ferry Residents Are Giving It A Go
The vacant lot used to be a dumping ground for litter, but about a month ago residents started giving it a makeover in hopes of improving community morale. And Glasgow, like many working to curb Philadelphia’s gun violence crisis, believes it could significantly reduce the amount of gunfire in the area. ... Transforming vacant lots has shown some promise for slowing violence. A 2018 University of Pennsylvania randomized control study found that when lots in low-income neighborhoods were cleaned up, the surrounding areas saw about a 29% drop in gun assaults, while areas around lots left untouched saw no reduction. (Caiola, 4/22)
Kentucky Abortion Law Blocked, Temporarily
U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings paused Kentucky's strict abortion law in response to a restraining order request from the state's abortion providers. In Tennessee, a law that would tightly regulate medication abortion advances.
Louisville Courier Journal:
Federal Judge Puts Temporary Hold On Kentucky Abortion Law, Clearing Way For Services To Resume
A federal judge has issued a temporary order blocking Kentucky's sweeping new abortion law that has forced the state's only two providers to stop offering the procedure. In a ruling issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings granted a request from one of the state's two abortion providers for a temporary restraining order. The law has put Kentucky in the national spotlight for becoming the first state to eliminate access to all abortion services. (Yetter, 4/21)
AP:
Kentucky Abortion Law Blocked In Win For Clinics
Jennings’ order did not delve into the larger issue of the new law’s constitutionality. Instead, it focused on the clinics’ claims that they’re unable to immediately comply with the measure because the state hasn’t yet set up clear guidelines. The judge said her order does not prevent the state from crafting regulations. Jennings, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, said she decided to block the measure because she lacked information “to specifically determine which individual provisions and subsections are capable of compliance.” (Schreiner, 4/21)
In abortion updates from Tennessee, New Hampshire, and Connecticut —
AP:
Bill Regulating Medication Abortions Heads To Tenn. Governor
Tennessee would become the latest state to impose harsh penalties on doctors who violate new, strict regulations dictating the dispensing of abortion pills under a proposal headed toward Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s desk. The proposal mirrors similar proposals introduced in Republican-controlled states seeking to clamp down medication abortion access. It’s a coordinated nationwide effort spearheaded by anti-abortion groups upset over the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recent decision to remove a rule that required women to pick up the abortion medication in person. (Kruesi, 4/21)
AP:
Bill Adding Exception To NH Abortion Ban Headed To Governor
A bill adding an exception to New Hampshire’s new abortion ban for cases in which the fetus has been diagnosed with “abnormalities incompatible with life” is heading to the desk of Gov. Chris Sununu, who has said he will sign it. Since Jan. 1, New Hampshire has outlawed abortion after 24 weeks gestation, with exceptions only for pregnancies that threaten the mother’s life or health. Doctors who provide late-term abortions can face felony charges, and ultrasounds are required before any abortion. (Ramer, 4/21)
Slate:
Connecticut’s Abortion-Protection Blueprint
At least 26 states will ban most or all abortions if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade this summer, as it appears poised to do. Many blue states have strengthened abortion rights in the run-up to Roe’s potential demise. But few are planning for red states’ campaign to punish abortion providers and patients in places where it remains legal. Connecticut, however, will not be caught off guard. On Tuesday, the state’s House of Representatives passed a bill spearheaded by Rep. Matt Blumenthal that would transform Connecticut into a sanctuary for legal abortion. The measure, H.B. 5414, bars state courts from enforcing another state’s penalties against someone who performed or facilitated an abortion that’s legal in Connecticut. It allows people sued under vigilante abortion bans, like Texas’ S.B. 8, to countersue in Connecticut court, collecting both damages and attorneys’ fees if they prevail. And it broadly prohibits state authorities from complying with another state’s request to investigate, penalize, or extradite individuals for providing or facilitating reproductive health services. (Stern, 4/20)
Also —
USA Today:
Medical Students And Doctors Worry They Can No Longer Give Abortions
On Match Day, the celebratory day in March on which medical students discover where they will be doing their residency training, second-year medical student Dana Vega was ecstatic to learn she'd gotten into the Texas A&M College of Medicine. Vega didn't think Texas' restrictive abortion law would interfere with her right to learn the medical procedure. She soon realized she was wrong. Now, she said, she is questioning her dream of becoming a doctor in her home state. (Miranda and Ramirez, 4/22)
The Atlantic:
The Resurgence Of The Abortion Underground
There’s a common story about abortion in this country, that people have only two options to intentionally end a pregnancy: the clinic or the coat hanger. They can choose the safe route that’s protected by Roe v. Wade—a doctor in a legal clinic—or, if Roe is overturned, endure a dangerous back-alley abortion, symbolized by the coat hanger. But a close look at the history of abortion in this country shows that there’s much more to this story. As the Supreme Court prepares to hear a case that could overturn Roe v Wade in June, activists are once again preparing to take abortion into their own hands. (4/22)
Study: Over 18,000 Cancer Samples Gene-Sequenced To Help Treatments
A report in AP notes that "no one has ever done so many" cancer sample genetic blueprints, and the hope is to track down new mutations that could point to future treatments. Also: A potential breakthrough in early detection of multiple myeloma.
AP:
Study Mines Cancer Genetics To Help With Targeted Treatment
Scientists have analyzed the full genetic blueprints of more than 18,000 cancer samples, finding new patterns of mutations that could help doctors provide better, more personalized treatment. Their study, published Thursday in the journal Science, isn’t the first to do such comprehensive “whole genome” analyses of cancer samples. But no one has ever done so many. (Ungar, 4/21)
Stat:
Multiple Myeloma Defies Early Detection. This Precursor Could Help
For all the recent advances in treating multiple myeloma, scientists have only inched forward in finding ways of screening or intervening early for the disease. Where the discovery of a polyp or a lump might avert progress of colon or breast cancer, blood cancer clinicians have few ways to treat patients who are on the cusp of developing cancer. “We wait, wait, and wait until people get cancer and have, like, organ damage,” said Irene Ghobrial, a hematologist-oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. “Then we treat. But if we can reverse that and think of early detection — detecting it before people get it — could I completely cure myeloma? Can I prevent a whole cancer from happening? We have amazing drugs that work. We shouldn’t just wait.” (Chen, 4/21)
Stat:
Guardant Health CEOs Lay Out Their Vision For Cancer Detection
Bay Area biotech Guardant Health is closer than ever to its ultimate goal — developing and deploying a simple, blood-based test that you could get during an annual doctor’s visit to spot cancer early enough that it might be treated more successfully. And 2022 is shaping up to be a big year for the company’s ambitions. Since its founding in 2012, Guardant has grown into a $7 billion company with more than 1,400 employees and multiple tests approved by the Food and Drug Administration for both early- and late-stage cancer. These so-called liquid biopsy tests take floating bits of DNA from a blood sample and scan them for mutations and chemical modifications that are telltale signs of cancer. The company’s products are already helping doctors figure out if colon cancer patients still have any tumor left after treatment, whether a cancer has returned, and what treatments make most sense for those with advanced disease. (Wosen, 4/22)
In other research news —
The Boston Globe:
Scientists To FDA: Don’t Forget About T Cells
A group of nearly 70 academic scientists, doctors, and biotech leaders sent a letter with an unusual request to the US Food and Drug Administration on Thursday: Please pay more attention to T cells, an overlooked part of the immune system that helps clear up viral infections. For much of the pandemic, COVID-19 vaccine developers and researchers have largely focused on studying antibodies induced by the shots. Neutralizing antibodies, which many labs are skilled at measuring, are essential for preventing the coronavirus from infecting our cells in the first place. Earlier in the pandemic, the Pfizer and Moderna shots triggered high levels of antibodies that prevented 95 percent of infections. But as new variants emerged, fewer of those antibodies were able to recognize the changing virus. Booster shots can help raise the level of helpful antibodies, but protection against infection is short-lived. (Cross, 4/21)
Stat:
The Good Science Project Wants To Rethink How The U.S. Funds Science
The Good Science Project is hoping to push the NIH and other government science agencies to be faster, bolder, and more efficient. The new nonprofit, launched this week, highlights simmering concerns among researchers and science policy experts across the country that the U.S. isn’t getting its money’s worth when it comes to the billions of taxpayer dollars spent each year in pursuit of new knowledge. (Facher, 4/22)
The Boston Globe:
In An Effort To Curb Lyme Disease, Scientists Hope To Release Thousands Of Genetically Altered Mice On Nantucket
As spring emerged on this island of manicured estates and idyllic beaches, a group of scientists from the Boston area arrived on a recent afternoon with an extraordinary request for local officials: Let us release hordes of genetically altered mice into the wild. Hundreds of thousands of them, potentially. The engineered rodents would look exactly like the native white-footed mice. But each of their cells would carry genetic code, specially tailored in an MIT lab, for resistance to the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. White-footed mice are a key reservoir for the harmful bacteria. (Abel, 4/21)
Covid Testing Company Faked Results
A Los Angeles covid-testing company, Sameday Technologies, accused of faking results has agreed to pay $20 million in a settlement. Dr. Jeff Toll, who was accused of teaming with the company, agreed to pay nearly $4 million to resolve allegations of insurance fraud. In other covid news, some patients reports covid symptoms return after using Paxlovid, and unionized nursing homes had fewer covid fatalities.
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. Company Faked COVID Test Results, Authorities Say
A company accused of handing out fake results for hundreds of coronavirus tests will pay more than $20 million in a settlement announced by Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer. Feuer and Dist. Atty. George Gascón accused Sameday Technologies and its chief executive, Felix Huettenbach, of sending fake results to hundreds of people, telling them they had tested negative for the coronavirus when laboratories had not actually run their tests. Some tests were never processed at all, according to the complaint filed in court Wednesday. (Alpert Reyes, 4/21)
In other news about the spread of covid —
The Boston Globe:
A Puzzling Phenomenon: Patients Report A Rebound Of COVID-19 Symptoms After Taking The Antiviral Paxlovid
When it first hit the market in December, the COVID-19 antiviral treatment, Paxlovid, was hailed as a game-changer, an effective medicine that kept at-risk people out of the hospital. But now some patients are reporting on social media an unusual and unnerving phenomenon: their COVID symptoms appear to rebound after taking the medication. And it’s not just their symptoms that reappear. Many report that after finishing their five-day course of treatment, feeling better, and testing negative on an at-home rapid test, they then test positive again a few days later. (Lazar, 4/21)
Bay Area News Group:
San Mateo: Nearly 90 Students Test Positive For COVID-19 After Attending Prom
Nearly 90 San Mateo High School students have tested positive for COVID-19 after attending prom earlier this month, according to school officials. The school held its prom April 9 at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. As of 11 a.m. Thursday, about 90 of the nearly 600 students who attended the event had tested positive for the coronavirus disease, said San Mateo Union High School District spokesperson Laura Chalkley. “From what is being reported to us, cases are mild or students are asymptomatic,” Chalkley said. Chalkley said masks were strongly recommended at the event, per current public health guidelines in San Francisco, however many students chose not to wear a mask. (Green, 4/21)
The Washington Post:
Metro Schools Report Post-Spring Break Covid Case Counts
D.C. regional schools reported post-spring break coronavirus case numbers this week that were mostly lower in comparison to previous returns from breaks during the school year. Testing strategies have varied across the region. Some school districts required testing to return after breaks, such as at D.C. Public Schools. Others sent test kits home, but instructed families to report only positive results, like in Montgomery County. Most Virginia schools did not have compulsory testing after spring break. (Asbury and Stein, 4/21)
CIDRAP:
AstraZeneca's Evusheld Slashes Risk Of Symptomatic COVID-19 Up To 83%
AstraZeneca's monoclonal antibody combination tixagevimab-cilgavimab (Evusheld) reduced the risk of symptomatic COVID-19 infection by 83% over placebo at a median follow-up of 6 months, finds a phase 3 randomized clinical trial published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine. (Van Beusekom, 4/21)
AP:
Hawaii Ends Free COVID-19 Testing Program As Cases Rise
Hawaii’s coronavirus positivity rate has more than doubled in the last month as mask mandates ended and demand for tests dropped. Despite the rise, the state Department of Health Health stopped its free testing program Wednesday as federal funding ended. State organized vaccination efforts will also transition to traditional health care settings and a mobile vaccine program to reach people who can’t leave their homes will end. (4/21)
Also —
Modern Healthcare:
Unionized Nursing Homes Have Lower COVID-19 Mortality Rates, Study Finds
Unionized nursing homes have a 10.8% lower resident COVID-19 mortality rate and a 6.8% lower worker COVID-19 infection rates than non-unionized nursing homes, according to research published this week. Using data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Service Employees International Union, the Health Affairs research analyzed 13,350 nursing homes between June 8, 2020 and March 21, 2021. Labor unions representing nursing home workers have asked for numerous policies to decrease worker infection risk and lower resident mortality rates, including paid sick leave, access to personal protective equipment, surveillance COVID-19 testing, higher staffing levels, and the isolation of infected residents, said Adam Dean, lead author of the study and assistant professor in the department of political science at George Washington University. (Devereaux, 4/21)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Can An Employee’s Spouse Who Contracts COVID Sue The Employer? A Federal Court Wants The California Supreme Court To Weigh In
In a case from San Francisco, a federal appeals court asked the California Supreme Court on Thursday whether a worker’s spouse who contracts COVID-19 can sue the worker’s employer — an answer that seems likely to be affirmative, based on the state court’s past actions. The suit was filed by Corey Kuciemba and her husband, Robert Kuciemba, an employee of Victory Woodworks, a furniture construction company in San Francisco. After the city imposed COVID health restrictions on workplaces in May 2020, they said, the company brought in workers from an infected site, disregarded the restrictions and required Robert Kuciemba to work near them. (Egelko, 4/21)
Philadelphia Rescinds Mask Mandate After Just Days
The mandate, which came under intense criticism from businesses and residents, had required people to wear masks at all indoor public settings. Meanwhile, Boston and other cities are also urging residents to continue to wear masks even without mandates.
AP:
Philadelphia To End Mask Mandate, Days After Reinstating It
Philadelphia is ending its indoor mask mandate, city health officials said Thursday night, abruptly reversing course just days after people in the city had to start wearing masks again amid a sharp increase in infections. The Board of Health voted Thursday to rescind the mandate, according to the Philadelphia health department, which released a statement that cited “decreasing hospitalizations and a leveling of case counts.” The mandate went into effect Monday. Philadelphia had ended its earlier indoor mask mandate March 2. (Rubinkam, 4/22)
AP:
Boston Officials Recommend Wearing Masks Indoors Again
Boston health officials are recommending that people wear masks indoors again because of a steep increase in COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks. The Boston Public Health Commission said Thursday that people should take precautions, citing a 65% increase in cases and a slow rise in hospitalizations. The number of COVID-19 deaths statewide has been on the decline since January and is far from the peaks earlier in the pandemic. (4/21)
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. County Keeps Mask Mandate At Airports, Public Transit
Despite recent changes at the federal level, Los Angeles County is continuing to require travelers to mask up when aboard public transit or in indoor transportation hubs such as airports. The new health officer order, which went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday, means the nation’s most populous county again has face-covering rules that go beyond those set by the state. On Wednesday, the California Department of Public Health unveiled its own updated guidance that strongly recommends residents mask up when using public transit, though it’s no longer required. (Money and Lin II, 4/21)
The Hill:
Fauci: Judge’s Decision To Strike Down Travel Mask Mandate Could Set ‘Disturbing’ Precedent
Top infectious diseases expert Dr. Anthony Fauci on Thursday said a judge’s decision this week to strike down a federal mask mandate on public transportation systems could set a “disturbing” precedent for the next public health crisis. The White House’s chief medical adviser told CBS’s Robert Costa that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) should be the arbiter of public health decisions, not the courts. Fauci said the mask mandate was “not a judicial matter.” (Dress, 4/21)
The Washington Post:
How A Single Judge’s Ruling Upended National Covid Policy
For more than a year, a little-known group called the Health Freedom Defense Fund has been working to roll back vaccine and mask mandates all over the country, often filing lawsuits one community at a time — from a tiny town in Idaho to the Los Angeles Unified School District and beyond. The group, created last year by a former Wall Street executive turned anti-vaccine activist to advocate for “bodily autonomy,” saw mixed results, with some local officials bending under the pressure and others winning efforts to dismiss lawsuits they viewed as coming from a fringe organization. Until this week. (Abutaleb, Sampson and Marimow, 4/21)
In other news about mandates —
AP:
California Will Keep Workplace Pandemic Rules Through 2022
California workplace regulators on Thursday extended mandatory pay for workers affected by the coronavirus through the end of 2022, acting more than two months after state lawmakers restored similar benefits through September. The decision again pitted management against labor as the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board renewed revised workplace safety rules that would otherwise have expired in early May. (Thompson, 4/21)
Covid Helped Drive US Pharmaceuticals Spending Up 12% In 2021
A study shows the cost of covid vaccines and therapies played a part in a large rise in spending on pharmaceuticals in 2021. Separately, a report dives into what Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Republican, wrongly tried to blame for the rise in insulin costs. Other news covers marijuana issues across the states.
Stat:
U.S. Spending On Pharmaceuticals Jumped 12% In 2021, Fueled By Costs Of Covid-19 Vaccines And Therapies
Thanks to Covid-19 vaccines and therapies, U.S. spending on pharmaceuticals rose 12% in 2021 as use reached record levels and new prescriptions for acute and chronic care largely recovered from the slowdown seen during the pandemic, according to a new analysis. Meanwhile, out-of-pocket costs paid by patients hit $79 billion, a $4 billion rise from the year before and the same level seen in 2018 after two years of declining costs. Overall, these costs were relatively low — less than $20 per prescription — but about 1% of all prescriptions filled, or 64 million, ran patients $125, underscoring ongoing barriers to affordability. In fact, 81 million prescriptions were not filled last year. (Silverman, 4/21)
KHN:
US Rep. Gaetz’s Diagnosis Of What’s Driving Insulin Costs Misses The Root Cause
At the end of March, after the House passed a bill that would cap the cost of insulin at $35 per month for insured consumers, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) tweeted about why he voted against the legislation. “Insulin price increases have more to do with increased consumer demand than the bad behavior of Big Pharma, which I am quick to condemn,” Gaetz wrote. (Knight and DeGuzman, 4/22)
In news about marijuana —
AP:
'Amazing': Cannabis Sales In New Jersey Bring Excited Buyers
Michael Barrows wore his Grateful Dead T-shirt and Jerry Garcia face mask for opening day of recreational marijuana sales in New Jersey on Thursday, one of dozens of people who lined up before dawn to join the celebratory scene. “It’s pretty amazing, exciting, and if I get pulled over on the way home and I’m ever asked if I have any drugs in the car, now I’m allowed to say ‘Only this,’” Barrows said, holding up the canister of marijuana flower he had just purchased. Possession of cannabis is now legal in New Jersey, although driving under the influence is still prohibited. (Catalini, 4/22)
AP:
Beshear Seeks Input For Possible Action On Medical Cannabis
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday he will form an advisory team as part of a broad review as he weighs whether to take executive action to legalize access to medical marijuana. Beshear said he instructed his legal team to analyze potential options for executive action to create a framework to make medical cannabis available for people suffering from specified medical ailments. (Schreiner, 4/21)
NBC News:
Florida Bride, Caterer Accused Of Serving Cannabis-Laced Food At Wedding
A Florida bride and a caterer have been charged with serving food containing cannabis to unsuspecting guests at a February wedding, according to officials.The bride, 42, and the caterer, 31, were arrested this week and charged with violations of an anti-tampering law and delivery of cannabis, according to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Department and court records. ... Some people felt so ill that they went to the hospital, where they tested positive for THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana. Guests reported feeling heavily drugged and said they had not been warned, according to a detective’s affidavit. One guest said he had trouble operating a cellphone, and another thought she might die, the sheriff’s detective wrote. (Helsel, 4/21)
VA Closes Medical Facility In Montana Over Safety Issues
The Veterans long-term care center in Miles City, Montana, temporarily closed following a Department of Veterans Affairs investigation into a self-report of patient safety issues. Residents must be relocated.
Billings Gazette:
VA Care Facility In Miles City Closed Over Patient Safety Concerns
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Montana has temporarily closed the Veterans long-term care center in Miles City following concerns over patient safety, the agency said Thursday. In December, the VA’s regional office received a self-report from the facility over concerns for patient safety. The VA did not disclose the nature of the concerns or whether any veterans were harmed as a result of the concerns other than to say they were valid. The VA reportedly investigated the situation at the CLC in Miles City through an administrative review process, deemed the concerns justified and decided to move the veterans at the facility to other long-term care centers, according to Montana VA spokesperson Matt Rosine. (Etherington, 4/21)
In other health care industry news —
Modern Healthcare:
Medicare Cuts Squeeze Rural Hospitals
Sequestration's Medicare payment cuts will have a disproportionate impact on small, rural hospitals, new reports show, and the cuts will soon get deeper. A 1% reduction to all Medicare payments via sequestration kicked in April 1, after Congress suspended the program during the COVID-19 pandemic. The cuts will scale up to 2% on July 1; an additional 4% Medicare reimbursement reduction is slated for 2023 via the Pay-As-You-Go Act. Sequestration, combined with waning reimbursement levels from private insurers, declining COVID-19 relief grants, lower patient volumes and higher operating costs, jeopardize more than 600 rural hospitals, or more than 30% of the U.S.' approximately 1,800 rural hospitals, according to a report from the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. Two hundred of those hospitals are at risk of closing over the next two to three years, according to the report. (Kacik, 4/21)
Stateline:
With Implicit Bias Hurting Patients, Some States Train Doctors
In a groundbreaking study, Dr. Lisa Cooper, a leading researcher on racial health disparities at Johns Hopkins University, found that nearly all 40 participating Baltimore-area primary care doctors said they regarded their White and their Black patients the same. But that’s not what her testing on their unconscious attitudes revealed. Those tests, conducted a decade ago, showed that two-thirds of the physicians preferred White patients over Black. About the same percentage perceived White patients as more cooperative, while they perceived Black patients as more mistrustful and reluctant to comply with medical guidance. (Ollove, 4/21)
The Columbus Dispatch:
End-Of-Life Care 'A Balancing Act,' Case Western Law Expert Says
Despite claims by former Mount Carmel Health Systems doctor William Husel's lead defense attorney, some medical and legal experts say the murder trial of the former doctor likely won't shape the future of critical-care medicine. Husel, who worked in the intensive care unit at Mount Carmel West for more than five years, was found not guilty Wednesday of 14 counts of murder and potential lesser charges of attempted murder. He had been accused of ordering unnecessarily high doses of fentanyl for critically ill patients in his care who had been removed from ventilators and were close to death. (Bruner, 4/22)
AP:
HBCU Known For Placing Grads In Med School Planning Its Own
A small, historically Black university known for its success in getting Black graduates into medical school announced Thursday that it is now planning its own medical school in New Orleans. The coronavirus pandemic emphasized the need for greater diversity in medicine, because representation and trust are part of the reasons for health disparities affecting underrepresented populations, said Reynold Verret, president of Xavier University of Louisiana. (4/21)
Bloomberg:
UnitedHealth’s Deal for Atrius Doctors Cleared by Massachusetts AG
UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s plan to buy nonprofit Atrius Health, one of largest doctor groups in Massachusetts, has been approved by the state’s attorney general. As a condition of allowing Atrius to become a for-profit company, most of the $236 million UnitedHealth agreed to pay for Atrius’s assets would be placed in a charitable foundation when the deal closes, according to the attorney general’s office. (Tozzi, 4/21)
KHN:
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: A Conversation With Peter Lee On What’s Next For The ACA
In this special episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” podcast, host Julie Rovner talks with Peter Lee, former head of Covered California, the largest state-run marketplace for insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Lee, who was the first executive director of Covered California and held the job for more than 10 years, stepped away in March. He reflects on how the ACA has changed the nation’s health system, what could result if Congress fails to renew expanded premium subsidies that have helped boost coverage, and what should happen next with the health law and the millions of Americans who still lack health insurance coverage. (4/21)
Vermonters Exposed To Toxic Substances Can Sue For Medical Expenses
The bill, signed by Governor Phil Scott, a Republican, allows victims exposed to toxic substances to sue the facility where it happened. Meanwhile, in Maine a person has died from the rare Powassan virus after a tick bite and in Wisconsin norovirus spreads after a prom.
AP:
VT Governor Signs Bill For Toxic Exposure Medical Monitoring
Vermont Gov. Phil Scott signed a bill into law Thursday that will allow people exposed to toxic substances to sue the culpable facility for medical testing or procedures to monitor for diseases from the exposure. The governor’s bill signing came three days after U.S. District Court Judge Geoffrey Crawford gave final approval to a $34 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit against a plastics company over toxic chemical contamination of soil and groundwater in the Bennington area. (Rathke, 4/21)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
Fox News:
Maine Resident Dies From Rare Tick Virus
A person in eastern Maine has died from a rare virus spread by an infected tick. The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that the person from Waldo County contracted the Powassan virus. They developed neurologic symptoms and died while in the hospital. The person likely became infected in Maine, the agency said. Maine has identified 14 cases of the Powassan virus since 2010. Cases of the virus are rare in the U.S., with about 25 cases reported each year since 2015. (Musto, 4/21)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Norovirus Case Linked To Waukesha North Prom That Left Students Sick
While it says it is still investigating what caused some Waukesha North High School students to become ill after attending prom earlier this month, the Waukesha County Health Department has said one of the ill attendees has norovirus. The department said in an emailed statement that it has not identified a potential source or cause of the illness. According to an April 13 letter from Waukesha North principal Kristin Higgins, the school's administration received more than a dozen reports of students experiencing gastrointestinal issues such as vomiting and diarrhea following prom. The school held its prom on April 9 at the Brookfield Conference Center. (Johnson, 4/21)
AP:
Judge Blocks Montana's Transgender Birth Certificate Law
A Montana judge on Thursday temporarily blocked enforcement of a law that required transgender people to have undergone a “surgical procedure” before being allowed to change their sex on their birth certificates. The law was part of a growing list of Republican-controlled states including Alabama that have moved to restrict transgender rights as they gain more visibility in culture and society. (Hanson, 4/21)
AP:
EXPLAINER: What Medical Treatments Do Transgender Youth Get?
Transgender medical treatment for children and teens is increasingly under attack in many states, labeled child abuse and subject to criminalizing bans. But it has been available in the United States for more than a decade and is endorsed by major medical associations. Many clinics use treatment plans pioneered in Amsterdam 30 years ago, according to a recent review in the British Psych Bulletin. Since 2005, the number of youth referred to gender clinics has increased as much as tenfold in the U.S., U.K, Canada and Finland, the review said. (Tanner, 4/21)
Oklahoman:
How Oklahoma Is Preparing For 988, The Number For Mental Health Crises
With a crisis call center vendor selected, Oklahoma is preparing for the July launch of 988, a new national three-digit phone number for people to call in a mental health crisis. The state Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Department announced last week that it has selected Arizona-based Solari Crisis and Human Services to operate Oklahoma’s 988 call center. The state’s mental health commissioner wants 988 to address and de-escalate mental health crises in the moment, but also to serve as an entry point to connect with other mental health resources. Depending on a person’s needs, that could look like dispatching a mobile crisis team or setting a follow-up appointment with a local treatment provider. (Branham, 4/21)
San Francisco Chronicle:
S.F. Police Responding To Fewer Mental-Health Calls, But Officials Call For Quicker Action
San Francisco’s efforts to reduce the number of mental health-related calls handled by police have shown progress but need to be accelerated, according to a new city report and the supervisor who has spearheaded the program. The report released this week showed that while new teams of mental health professionals have increased the percentage of calls they responded to about people in crisis, and police have reduced their portion of those calls, officers are still involved in a “significant” number. (Moench, 4/21)
Puerto Ricans Cannot Claim SSI Disability Benefits: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court issued a ruling denying access to disability benefits to residents of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Meanwhile, in news from other countries, covid cases declined last week.
Politico:
Supreme Court Rejects Disability Payments For Puerto Rico Residents
The Supreme Court on Thursday turned down a bid to allow Puerto Rico residents to claim benefits under the federal government’s main disability insurance program, ruling that the Constitution does not require Congress to offer such payments to residents of the island even though people born there are U.S. citizens. The only dissenter from the high court’s ruling was Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who was born in New York and is of Puerto Rican descent. (Gerstein, 4/21 )
The Washington Post:
Supreme Court Rules That Congress Can Exclude Puerto Ricans From SSI Aid Program
SSI benefits are available to U.S. citizens living in any of the 50 states, District of Columbia and the Northern Mariana Islands. Along with Puerto Ricans, those in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam are excluded. Sotomayor said a program that is designed to help the poorest citizens should not depend on location. “In my view, there is no rational basis for Congress to treat needy citizens living anywhere in the United States so differently from others,” she wrote. (Barnes, 4/21)
In global covid news —
Fox News:
COVID Cases Declined Again Last Week Worldwide: WHO
The World Health Organization (WHO) said in a weekly report that the number of new COVID-19 cases around the world fell by nearly a quarter last week. The agency said that nearly 5.59 million cases were reported between April 11 and April 17, which is 24% less than the previous week. Additionally, the number of newly reported deaths dropped by 21% to 18,215. While new cases declined in every region, the Americas only saw a 2% decrease. The countries with the highest reported case numbers last week were South Korea, France and Germany. (Musto, 4/21)
AP:
UK Patient Had COVID-19 For 505 Days Straight, Study Shows
A U.K. patient with a severely weakened immune system had COVID-19 for almost a year and a half, scientists reported, underscoring the importance of protecting vulnerable people from the coronavirus. There’s no way to know for sure whether it was the longest-lasting COVID-19 infection because not everyone gets tested, especially on a regular basis like this case. (Ungar, 4/21)
Press Association:
England Covid-19 Infections: 70% Of Country Has Been Hit
Around seven in 10 people in England are likely to have had coronavirus since the early months of the pandemic, new figures suggest. An estimated 38.5 million people in private households - or 70.7% of the population - have had at least one infection since the end of April 2020. The figures have been compiled by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) using data from its long-running Covid-19 infection survey. The survey began in England on April 27 2020, which means the estimates do not cover most of the initial wave of the virus that began in early March. (Jones, 4/22)
Bloomberg:
Thailand Scraps Covid Testing Mandate To Lure More Tourists
Thailand will scrap a mandatory Covid test on arrival as the Southeast Asian nation rolls back some of the pandemic-era measures seen as deterring global tourists. The RT-PCR tests will be replaced with a voluntary self-administered antigen tests for those entering via air and land borders from May 1, Taweesilp Visanuyothin, a spokesman for the nation’s main virus task force, told reporters after a meeting on Friday. (Nguyen, 4/22)
Bloomberg:
Pfizer’s Covid Pill Gets WHO Endorsement For High-Risk Patients
The World Health Organization endorsed Pfizer Inc.’s antiviral pill Paxlovid for Covid-19 patients who are most at risk, saying that it “strongly recommends” the drug for people who aren’t severely ill. People who are older, not vaccinated or immuno-suppressed should take the medicine as soon as possible if they get ill to reduce the risk of hospitalization, according to a guideline published in the BMJ by a group of experts advising the health agency. (Hernanz Lizarraga, 4/21)
In news about the opioid crisis in Canada —
The Globe and Mail:
Some Parents Are Losing Not One, But Two Children To Drug Overdoses, As Canada’s Opioid Crisis Worsens
Most of us have a hard time conceiving what it must be like to have a child die from a drug overdose. But two children? A growing number of parents are going through this unfathomable experience. Though experts can’t point to any figures or studies on the phenomenon, they say that it is no longer rare. “It’s happening more than you would think,” says Leslie McBain, one of the founders of the advocacy group Moms Stop the Harm, whose only child, Jordan Miller, succumbed to an overdose at the age of 25. The double deaths underline the awful toll that is being taken by Canada’s “other epidemic.” (Gee, 4/20)
Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
Each week, KHN finds longer stories for you to enjoy. This week's selections include stories on loneliness, PTSD, "magic mushrooms," scuba diving with disabilities, and more.
The New York Times:
How Loneliness Is Damaging Our Health
For two years you didn’t see friends like you used to. You missed your colleagues from work, even the barista on the way there. You were lonely. We all were. Here’s what neuroscientists think was happening in your brain. (Leland, 4/20)
The New York Times:
Why Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Gets Overlooked
Nancy Méndez-Booth was diagnosed with PTSD after she delivered a stillborn baby in the winter of 2008. Within an hour after she rushed to the hospital, in labor and exhilarated, a doctor told her that the baby she had spent years planning for had no heartbeat. When she returned home from the hospital, Ms. Méndez-Booth said she felt as though she had “arrived from Mars”; she got lost in her own apartment building. She oscillated between numbness, vivid paranoia — she worried the police would arrest her for her son’s death — and bursts of anger. (Blum, 4/7)
The Hill:
Psilocybin, The Active Ingredient In ‘Magic Mushrooms,’ Makes Scientific Gains
Research on the use of psychedelic drugs as potential treatment for psychiatric disorders has gained momentum in the U.S. in recent years, with compounds like psilocybin — the active ingredient in “magic mushrooms” — shifting from the fringes of medicine toward the mainstream. (Guzman, 4/19)
The Washington Post:
Synthetic Blood Substitute Research Advances Rapidly
Although donor blood is our best option, it has several limitations. Each unit can be stored for up to only six weeks at cool temperatures, causing logistical challenges for use in emergency situations. Blood cells also have a mosaic of proteins on its surface that elicit strong immune responses if mismatched during a transfusion and can harbor infectious pathogens. The ideal prototype of a blood substitute aims to overcome these limitations. (Das, 4/16)
Also —
The Washington Post:
The Right Kind Of Data From Wearable Gadgets Could Help You Sleep Better
After one fitful night last week, the chunky fitness watch I’ve been wearing for a few months delivered some bad news: I had only spent five minutes in rapid eye movement, or REM, sleep. The rest of the numbers didn’t seem much better. 24 minutes of “deep” sleep. Close to six hours of lighter sleep. More than an hour and a half awake and an average of about 15 breaths per minute. (Velazco, 4/20)
The Wall Street Journal:
Social Media Offers A Trove Of Information For Medical Researchers
Medical researchers are turning to social-media posts to improve patient care. Using machine-learning algorithms to sift through social-media posts, researchers can get insights into patients’ experiences that are often overlooked or difficult to attain when relying mainly on data from medical reports and doctors’ charts. It also provides data more quickly than traditional epidemiological or medical studies, which can take years to complete. (Ward, 4/10)
The Washington Post:
For Divers With Disabilities, Scuba Has Therapeutic Power
Tracy Schmitt spent years trying to find a scuba instructor. She is a competitive sailor, skier and mountaineer, but each dive shop she approached refused to entertain the idea that she could be a capable student. “I had all of these conversations trying to be persuasive,” Schmitt says. “Not even to get accepted but just to — pardon the expression — get a foot in the door.” Schmitt was born a quadruple amputee. Her disability eclipsed her many achievements, such as captaining 110-foot ships in the eastern Atlantic, and the instructors assumed teaching her to dive would be impossible. (Compton, 4/11)
NBC News:
How Abercrombie & Fitch’s Image Of Masculinity Affected Asian Men
Anthony Ocampo remembers how difficult it was to come of age as a queer, Filipino American man in the early 2000s, an era defined by rigid standards of beauty. One of the companies that set those very standards was Abercrombie & Fitch, the subject of the new Netflix documentary “White Hot: The Rise and Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch.” With the heavy aroma of its cologne wafting from stores and its highly stylized wall-to-ceiling ads featuring muscular, shirtless, white male models, the brand set the bar for what was considered attractive for men at the time, said Ocampo, a 40-year-old former store employee featured in the documentary. At one point, he bought into it, too. (Yam, 4/20)
The Wall Street Journal:
‘No Father Wants To Sell His Son’s Kidney.’ Afghans Pushed To Desperate Measures To Survive
When Taliban fighters surrounded Herat in August, Gul Mohammad was besieged by people who had lent him money for food and medicine, and who demanded he pay up before the city fell. He and his wife agreed they had only one option. They didn’t tell their 15-year-old son Khalil Ahmad why he was brought from their shantytown mud house to a nearby hospital. “If we had told him, he might not have agreed,” Mr. Mohammad said. At the hospital, doctors put the child under anesthesia. Then they removed his kidney. His parents sold it for $4,500, just enough to cover what they owed. (Rasmussen, 4/19)
Different Takes: It's Still Too Hard To Get Covid Meds; Ideas For Maskless Covid Prevention
Opinion writers discuss these covid related issues.
The New York Times:
Covid Drugs Save Lives, But Americans Can’t Get Them
Almost two months after President Biden promised to make lifesaving drugs against Covid widely available to Americans, the medications remain hard to get for many, despite supplies, leaving large numbers of Americans to face increased risks of avoidable death and serious illness. That’s largely because, once again, a dysfunctional health care system that costs more and often delivers less than that of any other developed country has hindered our pandemic response. (Zeynep Tufecki, 4/22)
Bloomberg:
How To Avoid Getting Covid In A Mostly Mask-Free World
This week’s lifting of mask requirements on airplanes and, in many parts of the country, on public transportation is a major turning point in the U.S. pandemic response. From now on, it seems, avoiding or minimizing Covid-19 infection will be a personal endeavor, not a societal one. This is for some people a welcome shift toward normalcy and for others a cause for anxiety and confusion. Many occupy an awkward middle space between not wanting to throw in the towel and also wanting to break free of some restrictions. About 42% of adults in the U.S. have gone back to some but not all of their pre-pandemic activities, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll. (Lisa Jarvis, 4/21)
The Washington Post:
Now’s Not The Time To Dispense With Covid-19 Precautions
Too many Americans seem to believe the covid-19 pandemic is over — or at least that conditions have improved to such an extent that they can forgo precautions. This is most evident in the knee-jerk response to the court order this week lifting mask mandates in transportation settings, with many transportation agencies and corporations immediately dispensing with their requirements. This is misguided. In reality, the United States has experienced a concerning rise in cases in recent weeks because of the spread of new omicron subvariants. Failing to take this seriously could put vulnerable Americans at risk. (Lucky Tran and Oni Blackstock, 4/20)
NBC News:
Covid Mask Mandate For Travel Has Been Lifted. Where Do We Go From Here?
There’s a lot to say about Monday’s decision. It was issued by a highly inexperienced judge rated unqualified by the American Bar Association. Research shows that masking yourself alone is insufficient and that universal masking provides the most protection. Monday’s decision will likely lead to increased spread of Covid, prolong the pandemic and cause sickness and long-term disability. With Covid rates on the rise, thousands of people could die as a result. (Terri Gerstein, 4/19)
The Atlantic:
The Playacting Over Masks Really Needed To End
The U.S.-government mandate requiring mask wearing on transportation is now dead, and it was killed in the worst way possible. A judge deemed “not qualified” by the American Bar Association wrote a muddled decision that invalidated a regulation hated by the president who picked her, while overriding the authority of the executive branch and its expert advisers to make policy. (Tom Nichols, 4/21)
The Washington Post:
A New Potential Delay In Kids' Covid Vaccines Is An Insult To Parents
Parents of young children have been asked to put up with a lot during the covid-19 pandemic — working through day-care closures, mourning lost time with grandparents, teaching 2-year-olds to wear masks. The latest insult: The Biden administration seems to think we’re too stupid to make decisions about the vaccines that could give our kids a new normal. (Alyssa Rosenberg, 4/21)
Viewpoints: Maryland Closer To Heath Care Equity; Tennessee Expands Coverage For Postpartum Women
Editorial writers examine these health care and pregnancy issues.
The Baltimore Sun:
A Three-Pronged Approach To Widening Health Care Access In Maryland
At a recent White House event, President Joe Biden joined his predecessor, Barack Obama, to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act ’s passage. So much has changed for the better thanks to the ACA: The country’s uninsured rate has dropped dramatically (by half in Maryland), people no longer struggle to get coverage due to preexisting medical conditions, and millions of Americans receive help paying their insurance premiums. But there’s still work to be done to get everybody covered and to ensure they have access to the care they need. (Vincent DeMarco, 4/21)
The Tennessean:
Tennessee Has Reached A Turning Point In Maternal Mortality Crisis
As of April 1, pregnant people in Tennessee will have access to Medicaid coverage for a full year postpartum. In line with Gov. Bill Lee’s original proposal, the state has extended this coverage from two months to twelve and has expanded the benefits to cover oral health care — a critical piece of the overall puzzle to ensure healthy pregnancy and maternal outcomes. April is Minority Health Month, making right now an opportune time for all of us to recognize this progress and continue seeking changes in our state and nationwide to improve access to necessary health care. (Steven J. Brady, Shawn Massey and Daphne Ferguson-Young, 4/21)
Los Angeles Times:
The List Of Foods Banned During Pregnancy Is Absurd
The lists of banned foods for pregnant women is absurd, without a doubt designed by malpractice attorneys making sure no risk, however small, goes unstipulated. No OB has ever been sued for recommending a woman with child follow strict dietary guidelines that forbid almost every soft cheese worth eating, including feta, blue and brie (listeria risk); deli meats, a category I assume contains every species of corned and smoked brisket (more listeria risk); and organic health food store staples such as fresh-squeezed juice and raw alfalfa sprouts (bacteria risk). (Jim Sollisch, 4/22)
Miami Herald:
Reproductive Justice Goes Hand In Hand With Securing Better Healthcare For People Of Color
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a 15-week abortion ban into law in Florida last week. Oklahoma recently made it a felony to perform an abortion. More than half the states in America now have some type of abortion ban. These sanctions will create a chilling effect that will reduce the health, well-being and quality of life of women in our country — and more so for women of color and low-income people. As a participant in YWCA’s Stand Against Racism Challenge, I am pleased that this week’s theme is reproductive justice — which is more than simply reproductive rights. (Monica Skoko Rodriguez, 4/21)