The Washington Post: Kamala Harris Unveils 2024 Policy Agenda, Including $6,000 Child Tax Credit For Baby’s First Year 
Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday unveiled an aggressively populist economic agenda, providing the most detailed vision yet of her governing priorities since becoming the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee. The most striking proposals were for the elimination of medical debt for millions of Americans; the “first-ever” ban on price gouging for groceries and food; a cap on prescription drug costs; a $25,000 subsidy for first-time home buyers; and a child tax credit that would provide $6,000 per child to families for the first year of a baby’s life. (Stein and Diamond, 8/16)

NPR: Harris Wants To Give Families A Big Tax Break For A New Baby
Vice President Harris is unveiling an economic plan on Friday that will focus on the high cost of housing, groceries and raising kids. ... A child tax credit has also been proposed by Republicans. Vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance said on Sunday that he would like to see it expanded to $5,000 per child. (Khalid, 8/16)

AP: Election 2024: Harris' Shifting Positions On Marijuana, Death Penalty, Fracking
Politicians often recalibrate in the face of shifting public opinion and circumstance. Across two decades in elected offices, Vice President Kamala Harris is no exception. (Slodysko, Blood and Suderman, 8/16)

CNN: What Voters Need To Know About Harris’ And Trump’s Economic Policy Proposals 
Donald Trump held two speeches this week centered on the economy and his policies, but he has yet to release a detailed economic plan. Harris is expected to speak Friday afternoon about the economic proposals she’s rolled out this week. She is expected to release a plan Friday that builds on the Biden administration’s efforts to reduce prescription drug costs. (Lobosco and Luhby, 8/16)

AP: Beyond 'Childless Cat Ladies,' JD Vance Has Long Been On A Quest To Encourage More Births 
Five summers ago, Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance — then a 34-year-old memoirist and father of a 2-year-old boy — took the stage at a conservative conference and tackled an issue that would become a core part of his political brand: the United States’ declining fertility rate. “Our people aren’t having enough children to replace themselves. That should bother us,” Vance told the gathering in Washington. He outlined the obvious concern that Social Security depends on younger workers’ contributions and then said, “We want babies not just because they are economically useful. We want more babies because children are good. And we believe children are good, because we are not sociopaths.” (Licon, 8/16)

The Wall Street Journal: Exclusive: Medicare’s Drug-Price Talks Are About To Get More Heated
Companies and officials are already preparing for negotiations over more drugs that could take a bigger bite out of high drug costs, and possibly their bottom lines. Next up are prices of 15 more drugs the government will identify by Feb 1. The two sides are also fighting over how the talks should work. Among the drug industry’s demands: clarity on how CMS determines the price of a drug. Drug companies are also fighting the agency’s potential changes for next year, including possibly cutting back the number of in-person meetings to fewer than three. (Hopkins, Loftus and Walker, 8/16)

Stat: Medicare Drug Price Savings: Why Estimates Will Vary Widely
The White House is touting just how much its new Medicare negotiation process cut drug prices. The problem is, the numbers it’s using don’t actually mean much. (Zhang, 8/15)

The Hill: 5 Takeaways From First Medicare Drug Price Negotiations
Drugmakers have said the process was not a legitimate negotiation, but all of them agreed to participate, and none pulled their drugs from the Medicare program. “The negotiations were comprehensive. They were intense. It took both sides to reach a good deal,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said of the talks. Federal officials held three meetings with each participating drug company to discuss the offers and counteroffers and attempt to arrive at what officials said was a “mutually acceptable price” for the drug. (Weixel and Choi, 8/16)

The Washington Post: Biden-Harris Health Care Event Quickly Takes The Tone Of A Rally
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, touting their efforts to lower prescription drug prices for Medicare recipients, hosted their first joint appearance since Biden ended his reelection bid, a policy event that quickly took on the tone and feel of a campaign rally. ... Turning to the reason for the event, Biden said he had been fighting since 1973, his first year in the Senate, to give Medicare the authority to negotiate drug prices. If Republicans regained the White House, he added, they would undo the progress his administration had made. “We finally beat Big Pharma,” he said. “And, might I add, with not one Republican vote in the entire Congress.” (Abutaleb and Wootson Jr., 8/15)

Also —

Stateline: To Lower Prescription Drug Costs, States Head To The Courthouse
Last month, the Federal Trade Commission released a scathing report suggesting that pharmacy benefit managers, the middlemen in the drug supply chain known as PBMs, are “profiting by inflating drug costs and squeezing Main Street pharmacies. ”The FTC found that because of consolidation in the industry, the three largest PBMs now manage nearly 80% of all prescriptions filled in the United States. PBMs use that power, the agency concluded, to raise drug prices, control patients’ access to them, and steer people away from independent pharmacies and toward the pharmacies they own. (Chatlani, 8/15)

Bloomberg: CVS Court Defeat Shows Ways Drug Middlemen Try To Influence Health Care
A recent court defeat for CVS Health Corp. is shining a light on how health-care corporations wield their financial might over doctors and pharmacies in ways that can put profits over patient care. With more than a dozen similar cases still pending in private arbitration, the pharmacy giant has millions of dollars on the line. (Tozzi, 8/15)

The Washington Post: Sweden Detects Mpox Variant For The First Time Outside Of Africa
Swedish officials said Thursday they have detected a version of mpox that only a day earlier prompted global health authorities to declare a health emergency, marking the first time that variant has been discovered outside of Africa. Swedish officials said the patient was infected during a stay in a part of Africa where clade 1 is circulating and was diagnosed with that variant after seeking care in the Stockholm region. That patient has received care, said Magnus Gisslen, state epidemiologist at the Public Health Agency of Sweden. (Nirappil, 8/15)

Reuters: Mpox Virus Detected In Pakistan, Health Authorities Say
Pakistan's health ministry has confirmed at least one case of the mpox virus in a patient who had returned from a Gulf country, it said on Friday, as provincial health authorities reported they had detected at least three cases. A health ministry spokesperson said the sequencing of the confirmed case was underway, and that it would not be clear which variant of mpox the patient had until the process was complete. (Ali and Greenfield, 8/16)

Reuters: China To Monitor Arrivals Of People, Goods For Mpox Virus 
China will monitor people and goods entering the country for mpox for the next six months, a statement from its customs administration said on Friday, after the WHO said the virus was again a global health emergency. "Personnel from countries with monkeypox outbreaks who have been in contact with monkeypox cases or display symptoms ... should take the initiative to declare themselves to Customs," it said. The WHO changed the name of monkeypox to mpox. (8/15)

USA Today: As Mpox Outbreak Spreads Beyond Africa, How Is The US Preparing?
On Thursday, Swedish officials said they recorded their first case of mpox, which spreads with skin contact. The announcement came a day after the World Health Organization issued its second emergency declaration in two years due to the recent outbreak in and around the Democratic Republic of Congo, in central Africa. The mpox virus circulating in Congo and a dozen other African countries, and now Sweden, is a different strain than the one that has circulated in the U.S. since a global outbreak began in 2022. (Cuevas, 8/15)

On mpox vaccines and treatments —

Bloomberg: Mpox Outbreak: Response Delayed With Congo Yet To Request For Shots
Mpox vaccine donations, the fastest way to get shots to the Democratic Republic of Congo, are being held up because the African nation is yet to make a formal request, according to the head of the global vaccination partnership. ... The US announced Wednesday it would donate 50,000 doses to Congo to help the country handle the the fast-spreading outbreak that was declared a global public health emergency by the World Health Organization. (Furlong, 8/15)

Reuters: Mpox: Vaccine Group Gavi Says It Has Up To $500 Million For Shots 
The global vaccine group Gavi has up to $500 million to spend on getting shots to countries affected by an escalating mpox outbreak in Africa, its chief executive Sania Nishtar told Reuters. Gavi helps countries with fewer resources buy and deploy vaccines, usually against childhood diseases like measles, but it expanded into broader efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Rigby, 8/16)

Stat: Poxvirus Vaccine Maker Could Boost Doses By 8 Million Next Year
STAT caught up with CEO Paul Chaplin on Thursday to ask what Bavarian Nordic can actually produce — if purchasers place orders. To date the only order the company has received is one for 175,000 placed by the European Union’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA), which it is donating to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. BN, as Chaplin refers to the company, has topped that up with a donation of 40,000 doses. The combined purchases and donation equal 215,000 doses, enough vaccine to vaccinate 107, 500 people. Jynneos is given in two doses. (Branswell, 8/16)

Bloomberg: Mpox: Vaccine Maker Bavarian Wants Jab Approved For Adolescents
Bavarian Nordic A/S, the only company with a vaccine approved for mpox in the US and Europe, wants permission to use the jab for adolescents as a new variant of the virus spreads. Bavarian will submit clinical data to the European Medicines Agency to support the extension to include people at age 12 to 17 in Europe, the company, which is based north of Copenhagen, said on Friday. (Wienberg and Wass, 8/16)

Stat: Antiviral Medication For Mpox No Better Than Placebo, NIH Says 
The National Institutes of Health said Thursday that an antiviral often used to treat mpox did not resolve patients’ symptoms faster than placebo in a randomized trial. The results are notable because the drug, tecovirimat, has rarely been studied clinically for mpox, despite its wide use during the 2022 and 2023 outbreaks in the U.S. and Europe. (Mast, 8/15)

The Telegraph: WHO Updates Pandemic Watchlist To Include Black Death And Bird Flu
The Black Death plague, bird flu and mpox are among 24 threats that have been added to an influential watchlist of the pathogens that could trigger the next pandemic. In the first update since Covid-19 swept the planet, a World Health Organization (WHO) panel has dramatically expanded the scope of its index of so-called priority pathogens. Already notorious diseases like Zika, yellow fever and avian influenza have been added, alongside lesser known threats such as Sin Nombre virus. Several bacteria, including cholera, the plague and salmonella, have also been incorporated for the first time. (Newey, 8/13)

On bird flu, covid, and cholera —

Reuters: US Undercounts Bird Flu In Cattle As Farmers Shun Testing 
The U.S. bird-flu outbreak in dairy cattle is much larger than official figures suggest due to farmers' reluctance to test their animals and risk the economic consequences of a positive result, according to Reuters interviews with dairy experts, veterinarians, and farmers in six states with known cases. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has counted bird flu in about 190 dairy herds in 13 states since March. The virus's jump from birds to cows heightened concerns that it could adapt to spread among humans. Scientists have warned that limited surveillance could weaken the U.S.' ability to respond to further human spread. (Douglas and Polansek, 8/15)

CPR News: Bird Flu Cases Now Detected In Domestic Cats In Colorado
Colorado’s outbreak of H5 bird flu is now showing up in another animal species: cats. Six feline cases of Influenza A (also known as HPAI, Highly Pathogenic Avian Flu H5N1) have been diagnosed in domestic cats in Colorado so far this year. That’s according to the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association’s website. At least five of the cases were located in Northern Colorado, in Larimer, Adams and Morgan counties, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture website tracking the virus in mammals. (Daley, 8/12)

CBS News: $646 Million Set Aside To Rebuild N.Y. Health Care Workforce Devastated By COVID, Gov. Kathy Hochul Says
A major financial boost is in the works to help rebuild New York's health care industry decimated by COVID-19. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday announced a program called Career Pathways Training, which will provide funding to recruit and train thousands of much-needed workers. Speaking to a group of workers at the headquarters of 1199 SEIU Health, one of the largest health care unions, the governor said they would be one of three groups to receive a combined $646 million to recruit and train a new wave of workers. (Duddridge, 8/15)

CIDRAP: Global Cholera Cases Decline, But Deaths On The Rise 
Compared to last year at this time, global cholera cases have declined 31%, but deaths are 34% higher, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today in its latest update, which includes data received in July. For July, 17 countries reported nearly 52,000 cases, along with 223 deaths. Four WHO regions reported cases, with the Eastern Mediterranean region hit hardest, followed by the African region. (Schnirring, 8/15)

Modern Healthcare: Employer Health Plan Costs Expected To Rise 9% In 2025: Aon
Employer-sponsored health plan costs are expected to rise 9% in 2025, totaling more than $16,000 per employee before cost-saving measures, according to professional services and consulting company Aon. Aon predicts that demand for prescription drugs such as glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists and growth in medical claims for high-cost treatments such as gene and cell therapies are among the main drivers of rising costs for employers. (DeSilva, 8/15)

Modern Healthcare: Supply Chain Shortages Forced Providers To Delay Care In 2023
Health systems have been forced to delay care and forgo revenue as they manage device and drug shortages. More than half of 102 hospitals, health systems and suppliers surveyed had to cancel or reschedule procedures multiple times last year due to product shortages, according to a poll conducted this spring by Premier, a consulting and group purchasing organization. Syringes, IV fluids, saline, aortic balloon catheters and surgical tourniquets are in short supply, providers said. (Kacik, 8/15)

Modern Healthcare: Healthcare Bankruptcies Slow In 2024: Gibbins Advisors
Healthcare company bankruptcy filings are on track to slow in 2024. Twenty-nine healthcare companies, each with liabilities of more than $10 million, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the first half of the year. At that rate, 58 healthcare companies are projected to seek bankruptcy protection this year, which would be a 27% decrease from 2023's 79 cases filed, according to a report published Wednesday by advisory firm Gibbins Advisors. (Hudson, 8/15)

The New York Times: Revenues Down And Stock Battered As Data Firm Faces Scrutiny
Already under investigation in Congress, a data analytics firm that has helped major health insurers make billions of dollars by reducing reimbursements for medical bills is facing growing scrutiny from Wall Street and in the courts. The firm, MultiPlan, and the insurance companies it serves often collect larger fees when payments to medical providers are far lower than the amount billed. A recent investigation by The New York Times found the approach left some patients with unexpectedly high bills as they were asked to pick up what their plans did not cover. (Hamby, 8/16)

Health News Florida: Orlando Health Bids $439M To Bankrupt Steward Health For 3 Florida Hospitals
Orlando Health has made an offer to buy bankrupt Steward Health Care’s “Space Coast” Florida properties for $439 million, according to a court document filed Wednesday. The qualified, binding purchase agreement includes Rockledge Regional Medical Center and Melbourne Regional Medical Center, both in Brevard County, and Sebastian River Medical Center in Indian River County. The deal also includes some of Steward’s medical clinics in those areas. (Mayer, 8/15)

Stat: UnitedHealth In Contract Dispute With Trinity Health 
A widespread, monthslong contract dispute between UnitedHealthcare and Trinity Health has created a confusing patchwork of disrupted access across multiple states. (Bannow, 8/15)

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?' Podcast: Happy 50th, ERISA
In this special episode of “What the Health?”, host and KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner speaks to Larry Levitt of KFF, Paul Fronstin of the Employee Benefit Research Institute, and Ilyse Schuman of the American Benefits Council about the history of ERISA and what its future might hold. (Rovner, 8/15)

Also —

Roll Call: NIH Reorganization Unlikely To Happen This Congress, Analysts Say 
House and Senate Republicans have floated separate plans to reorganize the National Institutes of Health, but the efforts are unlikely to go anywhere this Congress, say multiple Capitol Hill staffers and other stakeholders. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NIH enjoyed bipartisan support from Congress, with year-over-year funding increases and praise for the agency whenever its officials appeared before Congress. (Cohen, 8/15)

Reuters: US FDA Clears Use Of Cresilon's Gel To Stop Severe Bleeding In Seconds 
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared Cresilon's gel to quickly control bleeding, the privately held company said on Thursday, potentially giving emergency medical technicians and combat medics a tool to prevent death from blood loss. Unlike its previously approved product for small nicks and cuts, the new gel, Traumagel, can be used for life-threatening injuries, CEO and co-founder Joe Landolina told Reuters. (Singh, 8/15)

Reuters: US FDA Approves AstraZeneca's Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treatment 
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved AstraZeneca's blockbuster cancer drug, Imfinzi, for the treatment of patients with a type of non-small cell lung cancer on Thursday. The health regulator approved Imfinzi as an additional treatment after surgery in adult patients with non-small cell lung cancer. The drug is already approved in the U.S. for patients with a late-stage form of the disease, where the cancer cannot be removed through surgery. (8/15)

Reuters: Bayer Wins Victory In US Legal Battle Against Roundup Cancer Claims 
Bayer won a legal victory in its fight to limit liability from claims that its Roundup weed killer causes cancer, as a U.S. appeals court on Thursday said federal law shields the German company from a lawsuit by a Pennsylvania landscaper. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia rejected plaintiff David Schaffner's claim that Bayer's Monsanto unit violated state law by failing to put a cancer warning on the label for Roundup. Schaffner was diagnosed in 2006 with a kind of cancer called non-Hodgkins lymphoma, a common claim for Roundup plaintiffs. (Stempel, 8/16)

Stat: Lykos Therapeutics Cuts 75% Of Staff After FDA Rejects MDMA-Assisted Therapy
Lykos Therapeutics, whose MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder was rejected late last week by U.S. regulators, announced Thursday that it would cut 75% of its staff, and that the company’s founder would step down from its board. (Keshavan, 8/15)

The Atlantic: Why People Are Breaking Open Their Mounjaro Pens
By the time Lisa started breaking open her Mounjaro pens with pliers, she had run out of other ideas. She was 300 pounds. She had already tried bariatric surgery. (It had limited success.) She had tried getting her insurance company to cover Mounjaro. (It stopped after a month.) She had tried a cheaper copycat version from a compounding pharmacy. (It didn’t work as well, and she worried about what she was actually getting.) “I was absolutely desperate to stay on,” she says, but she could not afford the sticker price. (Zhang, 8/15)

Axios: UN Talks Aim To Turn DNA Data Into Assets
Negotiators from around the world are meeting in Montreal this week to hammer out how to divide the billions of dollars and other benefits derived from using genetic sequences to make new drugs, cosmetics and agricultural products. (Snyder, 8/15)

Ohio Capital Journal: Ohio Sees Spike In Out-Of-State Abortions, But Access To Abortion Care Can Be Challenging 
Even though abortion is legal in Ohio, accessing abortion care can be burdensome. Northwest and Southeast Ohio don’t have any surgical abortion centers — meaning folks in those corners of the state have to travel far distances, sometimes even going out-of-state, to receive abortion care. There were 18,488 abortions performed in Ohio in 2022, a 27.4% decrease compared to 2012, according to Abortion Forward. Of those abortions, 1,287 were people who came to Ohio from a different state, according to Abortion Forward. (Henry, 8/16)

WUSF: Florida’s Abortion Law Is Driving More Residents To Seek Care In Other States
Clinics in Washington and Chicago are reporting increases in patients from Florida and elsewhere in the Southeast. But it’s not easy to travel, and some women are finding ways to work around the law. (Colombini, 8/15)

SC Daily Gazette: ‘Perfect Storm’ Of Crises Is Leading To Cutbacks In Abortion Care, Advocates Say 
Advocates for abortion access say compounding crises of abortion bans, rising economic costs and systemic health care issues are beginning to cause significant funding challenges and potential disruptions to reproductive care of all kinds. Several people described it as a “perfect storm” of problems with the U.S. health care system, particularly post-pandemic, and the rise of abortion bans and other reproductive care restrictions in the wake of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision in June 2022. (Moseley-Morris and Resnick, 8/15)

The 19th: Abortion Providers Brace For 'Havoc' Under Trump-Vance
With former President Donald Trump open to restricting access to a major abortion pill physicians are steeling themselves if he wins for the possible end of legal telehealth abortion — a method that has allowed thousands of patients to circumvent state bans over the past two years. (Luthra, 8/15)

Updates from Iowa —

AP: Iowa Abortion Providers Dismiss Legal Challenge Against State's Strict Law Now That It's In Effect 
Iowa abortion providers opted to dismiss their lawsuit against the state Thursday, forgoing a continued legal battle after the Iowa Supreme Court upheld the state’s strict abortion law and reiterated that there is no constitutional right to an abortion in the state. Iowa’s law prohibiting most abortions after about six weeks, before many women know they are pregnant, went into effect on July 29. Abortion had been legal in Iowa up to 20 weeks of pregnancy. (Fingerhut, 8/15)

Axios: Iowa's Largest County Is Offering Free Emergency Contraceptive Pills
Emergency contraception tablets are now available at the Polk County Health Department (PCHD) for free and without question. Why it matters: Iowa enacted one of the strictest abortion bans in the nation last month. PCHD's new program provides recipients with a levonorgestrel tablet, similar to Plan B, which is used to prevent pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex. (Clayworth, 8/14)

In other reproductive health news —

KFF Health News: Inside Conservative Activist Leonard Leo’s Long Campaign To Gut Planned Parenthood
A federal lawsuit in Texas against Planned Parenthood has a web of ties to conservative activist Leonard Leo, whose decades-long effort to steer the U.S. court system to the right overturned Roe v. Wade, yielding the biggest rollback of reproductive health access in half a century. (Pradhan, 8/16)

North Carolina Health News: Conference Focuses On Black Breastfeeding
The day before nearly 190 people gathered on the North Carolina A&T State University campus in Greensboro last week to take a deep dive into how to normalize breastfeeding in Black communities, nine students took part in a “white coat” ceremony. They’re part of a cohort who will join more than 40 other people who have trained at what organizers say is the first lactation training program to be held at a public historically Black college or university in the U.S. (Fernandez, 8/15)

Health News Florida: Appeals Court Backs Hospital Districts, School Boards In Fight Over Opioid Lawsuits
A state appeals court Wednesday ruled that Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody could not prevent opioid epidemic lawsuits filed by hospital districts and school boards after she reached settlements with the pharmaceutical industry. A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal overturned a 2023 decision by Leon County Circuit Judge John Cooper that said Moody had the power to enter settlements that effectively included trumping separate claims by local government agencies. (Saunders, 8/15)

The Baltimore Sun: Judge Rules Baltimore’s $11 Billion Opioid Lawsuit Can Head To Trial 
Baltimore’s lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors will proceed to a trial next month after a city judge on Thursday denied motions from the companies to throw out the case. (O'Neill, 8/15)

MIT News: An Implantable Sensor Could Reverse Opioid Overdoses 
In 2023, more than 100,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses. The most effective way to save someone who has overdosed is to administer a drug called naloxone, but a first responder or bystander can’t always reach the person who has overdosed in time. Researchers at MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have developed a new device that they hope will help to eliminate those delays and potentially save the lives of people who overdose. The device, about the size of a stick of gum, can be implanted under the skin, where it monitors heart rate, breathing rate, and other vital signs. When it determines that an overdose has occurred, it rapidly pumps out a dose of naloxone. (Trafton, 8/14)

On kratom and ketamine —

Los Angeles Times: Kratom Regulation Bill Quietly Dies In California
A California bill that would have imposed regulations on kratom products was quietly shelved Thursday following a clash between advocacy groups focused on the burgeoning industry. ... Scientists are still learning about its complex effects, which can range from stimulant to sedative and stem from chemical compounds called alkaloids. The Food and Drug Administration has warned against using kratom for medical treatment and says it is “not appropriate for use as a dietary supplement.” (Alpert Reyes, 8/15)

The New York Times: Matthew Perry’s Assistant And Doctors Charged With Getting Him Ketamine 
Matthew Perry’s personal assistant, two doctors and two others have been indicted and charged with providing the ketamine that caused the death of Mr. Perry, a star on the television show “Friends,” the authorities said on Thursday. In documents filed in federal court in California, prosecutors said that Mr. Perry’s assistant and an acquaintance had worked with two doctors and a drug dealer to procure tens of thousands of dollars worth of ketamine for Mr. Perry, who had long struggled with substance abuse and addiction. (Stevens, 8/15)

The New York Times: The Pain Of Matthew Perry’s Last Days As He Relied On Ketamine 
On the day Matthew Perry died, his live-in personal assistant gave him his first ketamine shot of the morning at around 8:30 a.m. About four hours later, while Mr. Perry watched a movie at his home in Los Angeles, the assistant gave him another injection. It was only about 40 minutes later that Mr. Perry wanted another shot, the assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, recalled in a plea agreement that he signed. (Jacobs and Stevens, 8/16)

If you need help —

Dial 988 for 24/7 support from the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It's free and confidential.

CIDRAP: NY Officials Tell Providers To Stop Using Ciprofloxacin To Prevent Bacterial Meningitis
The New York State Department of Health (NYSDH) is telling healthcare providers to discontinue the use of ciprofloxacin in people who've had contact with patients diagnosed as having bacterial meningitis. Ciprofloxacin is among the antibiotics that have been recommended for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) to prevent illness in contacts of people with invasive meningococcal disease, a rare but severe infection caused by Neisseria meningitidis. But in a health advisory notification yesterday, department officials said they've been finding an increase in ciprofloxacin-resistant strains of N meningitidis over the past 18 months. (Dall, 8/15)

Military.com: A Patient Died At Colorado VA Hospital After Staffer Turned Off Their Notification Device
A patient at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center in Aurora died last year after a hospital staff member turned off their notification device alerting them to the veteran’s rapidly declining condition. An investigation by the VA’s Office of Inspector General found, in spring 2023, a telemetry medical instrument technician missed several red alarms concerning the patient’s oxygenation levels. By the time clinicians arrived, the individual was “unresponsive and pulseless,” inspectors found. (Tabachnik, 8/15)

The Washington Post: D.C.’s 911 Call Center Has Had Tech Problems Eight Times In 2024 
D.C.’s beleaguered 911 center has experienced outages and connection issues eight times this year, ranging in duration from 20 minutes to five hours, with the most recent glitch occurring Friday, according to D.C.’s deputy mayor for public safety and justice. Officials acknowledged the challenges following a rough stretch with two outages in the past two weeks, including one on Aug. 2 where call center workers lost access to key location-tracking software for hours. While the problems did not prevent people from being able to call 911, they did open the door for mistakes by reducing dispatchers’ ability to assess the availability of first responders. (Gathright, 8/15)

KFF Health News: Amid Medicaid ‘Unwinding,’ Many States Wind Up Expansions
Trisha Byers left behind one crucial item when she moved to North Carolina last year to be closer to her family after suffering a brain injury: health insurance. In Massachusetts, Byers, 39, was enrolled in Medicaid, the government health program that covers low-income people. But she was ineligible in North Carolina, which had not yet expanded Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act. She said she racked up thousands of dollars in unpaid emergency room bills while uninsured for several months after her move. (Galewitz, 8/16)

On extreme heat in California and Nevada —

Los Angeles Times: As Heat Rises, California Reduces Farmworker Oversite
California has sharply cut its enforcement of heat-protection laws for outdoor laborers while extreme heat has intensified in recent years — endangering farmworkers, construction workers and others who toil in scorching temperatures — an investigation by the Los Angeles Times and Capital & Main has found. From 2017 to 2023, the number of field inspections conducted by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, known as Cal/OSHA, dropped by nearly 30%, according to agency data. The number of violations issued to employers in that period fell by more than 40%. (Lopez, 8/15)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Las Vegas’ Heat Has Killed More Than 100 This Year, Coroner’s Office Says
Southern Nevada’s brutal summer has killed 123 people this year, according to the most recent numbers released by the Clark County coroner’s office. That marks a significant increase in the summer death toll, which was last released at the end of July. At that time, 63 heat-related deaths were reported. (Halaly, 8/15)

From Massachusetts and New Hampshire —

The Boston Globe: Maternal Health Bill Passes Mass. Legislature
Expectant parents in Massachusetts are likely to have more freedom choosing where and how they give birth following the passage Thursday of a sweeping maternal health bill that expands access to midwives in the state. If the measure gets the governor’s signature, certified professional midwives would be licensed, regulated, and covered by Medicaid in Massachusetts and would be able to write prescriptions. Massachusetts is one of just 12 states without licensed midwives. (Laughlin, 8/15)

AP: Massachusetts Governor Signs Law Phasing Out Toxic PFAS In Firefighters' Gear 
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed into law Thursday a bill that would phase out the use of PFAS, a group of toxic industrial compounds, in firefighters’ protective gear. The chemicals — associated with health problems including several types of cancer, such as breast, kidney and testicular cancer — are used in gear to repel water and other substances when fighting a fire. Connecticut is the only other state with a similar law regarding firefighters’ protective gear. (LeBlanc, 8/15)

The Boston Globe: N.H. Sends AFFF Firefighting Foam With PFAS To Be Destroyed
Thousands of gallons of unused liquid concentrate intended for use in firefighting foam had been sitting in storage for about two decades at various sites across New Hampshire. Even as the environmental and health risks associated with aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) became clear, what remained unclear was what firefighting agencies both in the state and nationwide should do with their unwanted inventory. (Porter, 8/14)

On transgender health in Texas and elsewhere —

The Texas Tribune: Texas Sues Biden Again To Block Protections For Transgender Workers
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton returned to court on Thursday to press his case against the Biden administration’s workforce protections for transgender employees. Texas’s lawsuit, filed in federal court on Thursday against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the U.S. Justice Department, argued that the agency’s guidelines were unlawful and asked that the court permanently block them. (Guo, 8/15)

Roll Call: Trans Care Debate Influenced By Misinformation, Doctors Say 
Doctors and advocates say efforts to ban gender-affirming care and the often inaccurate language lawmakers use to do it exploits most Americans’ relative unfamiliarity with transgender people to push a political agenda. As those efforts have grown — nearly exclusively led by Republicans — they have superseded both abortion rights and same-sex marriage as the go-to social issue among conservatives in the lead-up to the November elections. (Heller, 8/15)

USA Today: Rocket Fuel Chemical Found In Food And Water, Consumer Reports Says
Perchlorate, a chemical found in rocket fuel, has contaminated water and food and is more likely to be found in food given to babies and children, a study from Consumer Reports found. The chemical is naturally occurring and man-made, but it is being found more often in groundwater, according to the Department of Toxic Substances Control. This is an issue, according to James Rogers, Ph.D., the Director of Food Safety Research and Testing at Consumer Reports. (Gomez, 8/15)

The Mercury News: U.S. Has Lowest Life Expectancy Among Rich, English-Speaking Countries: Study
A new study has found that Americans have the lowest life expectancy of similar English-speaking countries. The researchers from Penn State University who conducted the study compared mortality rates from 1990 to 2019 from six English-speaking nations and found that people in Canada, Ireland, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand all on average live longer than their American counterparts. (Matthews, 8/15)

Reuters: US FDA Seeks Fresh Curbs On Sodium Levels In Packaged, Processed Foods
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday laid out fresh goals to cut sodium levels in packaged and processed foods by about 20%, after its prior efforts to address a growing epidemic of diet-related chronic diseases showed early signs of success. The FDA in October 2021 had set guidelines to trim sodium levels in foods ranging from potato chips to hamburgers in a bid to prevent excessive intake of salt that can trigger high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. The agency is now seeking voluntary curbs from packaged-food makers such as PepsiCo, Kraft Heinz and Campbell Soup. (8/15)

Reuters: PepsiCo Can Be Sued Over Health Claims For Gatorade Protein Bars, Judge Says
PepsiCo can be sued for marketing its Gatorade protein bars as good for you though they have more sugar than protein and more sugar than typical candy bars, a federal judge ruled. In a decision on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Casey Pitts in San Jose, California said three self-described fitness enthusiasts leading a proposed class action plausibly alleged that PepsiCo's marketing and labeling was deceptive. (Stempel, 8/15)

The Washington Post: A TikTok Candied-Fruit Recipe Is Causing Burns, Hospital Warns 
Colleen Ryan, a surgeon at Shriners Children’s Boston, said Wednesday that she had seen two patients in two weeks who had suffered burns while participating in the trend. “Word of mouth” among colleagues in the United States and around the world indicates that many doctors are seeing an uptick in related deep-scald burns, she said in a statement released by the hospital this week. The hospital warned parents to be wary of their children’s attempts to make tanghulu’s dipping syrup, in which sugar is melted in the microwave or in a pan. (Heil, 8/15)

CIDRAP: Putting A Face On The 'Invisible Threat' Of Antimicrobial Resistance 
While it's a different type of crisis than the COVID-19 pandemic, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the most significant public health threats facing the world. There's hope that the story of Mallory Smith — who died in 2017 at age 25 — and the stories of others whose lives have been upended by antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, can help "move the needle" on AMR. (Dall, 8/13)

Stat: How Extreme Heat Impacts Disabled Americans Differently
STAT spoke with five individuals who've had to find ways to navigate the particular challenges that heat presents people with different disabilities. (Broderick, 8/16)

North Carolina Health News: How To Better Connect And Communicate With People With Dementia
Attendees of the Dementia Caregiver Conference learned how to better connect and communicate with people with dementia. (Vitaglione, 8/14)

The War Horse: Does Sleeping on the Street Make This Disabled Marine Corps Veteran a Criminal?
Unsheltered veterans are uniquely vulnerable to losing not only their possessions but also their benefits. And with the number of homeless veterans growing last year, the Supreme Court ruling and its ripple effects threaten a decade of gains in securing housing for men and women who served the country. (McCarthy, 8/15)

The Washington Post: Nurse, 97, Began Working At Hospital During WWII And Hasn’t Stopped 
“I love people, and my health is good, so I’m happy to do what I can,” said Grace Carr of Allentown, Pa., who has worked at the same hospital for 80 years. (Free, 8/10)

The Washington Post: How Zyn Became ‘In’ Amid Right-Wing Fervor For Nicotine 
How did Zyn become a Big Tobacco lifeline, a social media sensation and a culture war symbol? The answer involves Sweden, Chuck Schumer and the “Hawk Tuah Girl.” (O'Neill, 8/15)

Time: Dobbs-Era Policy Has Irrevocably Changed Teenage Pregnancy 
The risk of teenage pregnancy continues to rise at alarming rates. Representing 5% of total births in the U.S. in 2022, there were more than 146,000 teen births—the overwhelming majority of which are oftentimes unintended. Part of this is due to the advancement in our bodily development. In May, 2024, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health released important data that shows the continued trend of earlier puberty in girls. This, coupled with data showing that more than 30% of teens are having sex (most of the time without contraception), sheds light on just how vital reproductive care and sex education is to young people. (Dr. Scott A. Rivkees, 8/15)

The New York Times: How To Stop The Deadliest Infectious Disease
While international public health efforts have cut global TB case rates by a quarter and death rates by half since 2000, it is still the world’s No. 1 infectious-disease killer. TB claims more than one million lives annually. (Atul Gawande, 8/16)

Bloomberg: Why Ticks Are Becoming An Even Bigger Danger
Climate change is making these tiny hazards to public health more threatening. As temperatures warm, ticks are spreading endemic diseases more readily, as well as introducing new ones. Both the public and health officials ought to be armed with as much knowledge as possible to combat the danger. (Lara Williams, 8/15)

Scientific American: Eating Disorders Can Strike Anyone 
Eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder and avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder. These diseases have grave physical consequences, such as heart arrhythmias, and psychiatric ones, such as depression and suicidality. They are also on the rise, likely related to social isolation in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and increased social media use. (Ashley Andreou, /15)

Stat: Gilead Suit Alleging Delay Of Safer HIV Meds Won't Stifle Innovation
Gilead Sciences, a pharma company that dominates the market for HIV treatments, agreed in June to settle a case in federal court for $40 million that had been brought by 2,625 people living with HIV. But as a similar and far larger case looms in California courts, right-leaning, big-business-can-do-no-wrong opinion columnists and editorial boards are claiming the lawsuit threatens to destroy the pharmaceutical industry’s ability to innovate. That’s utter nonsense. (Peter Staley, 8/16)

The Washington Post: The Paris Olympics Shows Covid Is Still With Us. Athletes Must Adapt.
Perhaps the most high-profile covid case from Paris was Noah Lyles, the American runner who achieved the title of “fastest man on Earth” after winning the 100-meter race. After finishing third in the 200 meters, he collapsed on the track, gasping for breath. He then asked for a wheelchair to get back to the stands. (Leana S. Wen, 8/16)