The New York Times: U.S. Rate Of Suicide By Firearm Reaches Record Level 
The rate of suicides involving guns in the United States has reached the highest level since officials began tracking it more than 50 years ago, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rate increased by more than 10 percent in 2022 compared with 2019, and in some racial and ethnic groups, the rise was significantly steeper, especially among Native Americans. Overall, about 27,000 of 50,000 suicides were carried out by gun in 2022. (Baumgaertner, 11/30)

CBS News: Firearm Suicides Reached "Unprecedented" High In 2022, CDC Data Shows
And while firearm suicide rates increased in all racial and ethnic groups during this period, the magnitude of the increase differed among groups, according to the report. "For example, whereas non-Hispanic White persons experienced the highest overall rate (11.1 during 2022), this rate represented a 9% increase from 10.2 during 2019. The largest rate increase (66%) occurred among (American Indian or Alaska Native) AI/AN persons, among whom the firearm suicide rate increased from 6.4 during 2019 to 10.6 during 2022," the authors wrote. (Moniuszko, 11/30)

If you are in need of help —

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

In other mental health news —

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Is Launching CARE Court. Here's What To Expect
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mental health program known as CARE Court arrives in Los Angeles County on Friday, with officials expressing optimism that it will help with the homelessness crisis. “We know that there are too many people with severe mental illness who are living on the streets,” Board of Supervisors Chair Janice Hahn said at a Thursday news conference. “We’ve all seen them, and so far, we’ve been unable to reach them or give them the care that they need. ... That’s why what we’re doing here today is so important.” (Cosgrove and Curwen, 11/30)

Fox News: Depression Rates Higher Among College Students Than Their Peers, Study Suggests
College students may be at a greater risk of experiencing depression and anxiety compared to young people who are not in higher education, according to a new study published in The Lancet Public Health. Researchers from University College London analyzed data from two studies. The first study looked at 4,832 young people who were 18 and 19 years old between 2007 and 2009. (Rudy, 12/1)

New Hampshire Public Radio: Questions Linger About Intersection Of Guns, Mental Health Policy In Wake Of NH Hospital Shooting 
The gunman who shot and killed a security guard at New Hampshire’s secure psychiatric hospital two weeks ago had previously been a patient there, having been involuntarily committed to New Hampshire Hospital on multiple occasions in 2016 and 2017. That history, in addition to the fact that the gunman — 33-year-old John Madore — had also faced criminal charges following an earlier armed standoff at his home, has raised questions about whether a patchwork system of gun regulations may have allowed him to obtain firearms. (Bookman, 12/1)

The CT Mirror: In Hearing, CT Asks If Killingly Is Addressing Student Mental Health
An attorney for the state of Connecticut grilled the Killingly School District’s superintendent on Thursday about what immediate actions the local Board of Education took to address students’ mental health needs after a survey revealed that nearly 15% of 7th to 12th graders had considered suicide. (Monk, 11/30)

CNN: From ‘Menty B’ To ‘Grippy Socks,’ Internet Slang Is Taking Over How We Talk About Mental Health 
In recent years, phrases like this have become ubiquitous, particularly online: “stressy depressy,” short for stressed and depressed, “menty b,” short for mental breakdown, and “suey,” short for suicidal, are just some of the jokey shorthand people have begun using to talk about mental health and mental illness. (Asmelash, 11/30)

In related studies about how the brain functions —

The New York Times: Brain Study Suggests Traumatic Memories Are Processed As Present Experience
At the root of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is a memory that cannot be controlled. It may intrude on everyday activity, thrusting a person into the middle of a horrifying event, or surface as night terrors or flashbacks. Decades of treatment of military veterans and sexual assault survivors have left little doubt that traumatic memories function differently from other memories. A group of researchers at Yale University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai set out to find empirical evidence of those differences. (Barry, 11/30)

The Washington Post: Women’s Brains Change Across The Menstrual Cycle, New Research Shows 
A woman’s menstrual cycle is driven by the ebb and flow of hormones that prepare the body for pregnancy. This symphony of hormones not only transforms the reproductive organs, but, according to recent research, also reshapes the brain. Two studies released in October performed detailed brain scans of women at multiple points across the menstrual cycle, finding that the volume or thickness of certain regions change in sync with hormone levels. The areas of the brain highlighted by both studies are those in the limbic system, a group of brain structures that govern emotions, memory and behavior. (Kim, 11/30)

The Washington Post: GOP Lawmakers Grill CDC Director On China’s Respiratory Virus Spike
In her first appearance before Congress as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mandy Cohen faced a barrage of questions Thursday from Republicans about a new spike in respiratory illness in China and whether the agency had erred in its early recommendations to contain the coronavirus. The hearing represented one of Cohen’s first public opportunities to restore trust in the agency, which became a punching bag for Republicans who opposed school closures, vaccine mandates and masking requirements in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Cohen’s appearance came as clusters of pneumonia in Chinese children emerge as the latest public health issue enmeshed in geopolitical conflict. (Nirappil, 11/30)

CNN: The Threat Of Respiratory Illnesses Is Underway, CDC Director Says, And Hospitalizations Are On The Rise
Dr. Mandy Cohen, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, updated a congressional subcommittee Thursday about cases of respiratory illness in the US due to three viruses: flu, the coronavirus and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. “RSV season is in full swing,” Cohen told the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. (Goodman and McPhillips, 11/30)

Stat: CDC Director Unscathed In First Congressional Testimony 
House Republicans sought Thursday to hammer the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s coronavirus record but struggled to pin the relatively new director down on agency missteps. (Owermohle, 11/30)

In related news —

Connecticut Public: RSV Vaccine Shortage Forces Some CT Pediatricians To Ration Doses
Hospitals and pediatricians are facing a “severe shortage” of a vaccine meant to protect children from respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local health officials in Connecticut. “We have requested doses and not received all of the vaccines that we’ve requested from CDC,” according to Dr. Jody Terranova, deputy commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health. (Polansky, 11/30)

Fox News: Childhood Pneumonia Outbreak Reported In Southwestern Ohio
A pediatric pneumonia outbreak has been reported in Warren County, Ohio, which is located in the southwestern portion of the state. The Warren County Health District (WCHD) has recorded 142 cases of childhood pneumonia since August, which exceeds the average number seen in the county. "We do not think this is a novel/new respiratory disease but rather a large uptick in the number of pneumonia cases normally seen at one time," a WCHD spokesperson said in a Wednesday press release. (Rudy, 11/30)

The Atlantic: We’re That Much Likelier To Get Sick Now
Last fall, when RSV and flu came roaring back from a prolonged and erratic hiatus, and COVID was still killing thousands of Americans each week, many of the United States’ leading infectious-disease experts offered the nation a glimmer of hope. The overwhelm, they predicted, was probably temporary—viruses making up ground they’d lost during the worst of the pandemic. Next year would be better. ... But infections are still nowhere near back to their pre-pandemic norm. They never will be again. (Wu, 11/30)

The Hill: Sparks Fly As DeSantis, Newsom Hit Each Other Over COVID-19 Policies
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) hit each other over their record on COVID-19 as the two clashed in a feisty debate on Fox News on Thursday night. “You had Disney closed inexplicably for over a year. You are not following science. You were a lock-down governor,” DeSantis said in a jab at Newsom during the debate, which was hosted by Fox host Sean Hannity. But Newsom shot back, suggesting DeSantis’s comments were hypocritical. “Let’s talk about your record on COVID,” Newsom said. “You pass an emergency declaration before the state of California did. You closed down your beaches, your bars, your restaurants. It’s a fact. You had quarantines — you had quarantines, you had checkpoints all over the state of Florida.” (Vakil, 11/30)

The New York Times: DeSantis And Newsom Debate Fact-Check: A Spirited Discussion, Different Sets Of Facts
Earlier this year, Mr. DeSantis signed a measure banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy — before most women know that they are pregnant, as Mr. Newsom said. But the claim that it “criminalizes women” is not established. The governor and his campaign have called that claim a “lie” and Mr. DeSantis has repeatedly said that is not the intent. (Fichera and Hubler, 11/30)

San Francisco Chronicle: DeSantis Holds Up S.F. ‘Poop Map’ During Debate With Newsom
“This is a map of San Francisco,” DeSantis said, holding a map up for the cameras to see Thursday night as he debated Gov. Gavin Newsom on Fox News. “There’s a lot of plots on that, you may be asking, ‘What is that plotting?’ Well, this is an app where they plot the human feces that are found on the streets of San Francisco, and you see how almost the whole thing is covered.” (Fan Munce, 11/30)

In other election news —

KFF Health News: KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Trump Puts Obamacare Repeal Back On Agenda 
Former president and current 2024 Republican front-runner Donald Trump is aiming to put a repeal of the Affordable Care Act back on the political agenda, much to the delight of Democrats, who point to the health law’s growing popularity. Meanwhile, in Texas, the all-Republican state Supreme Court this week took up a lawsuit filed by more than two dozen women who said their lives were endangered when they experienced pregnancy complications due to the vague wording of the state’s near-total abortion ban. (11/30)

And from Capitol Hill —

The Washington Post: Sen. Rand Paul Performs Heimlich On Sen. Joni Ernst During Luncheon
While hosting a luncheon Thursday featuring dishes from her state, Senate Republican Joni Ernst of Iowa choked on some of the food, a spread of corn, rib-eye and pork chops. But Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) came to the rescue, Senate colleagues said, moving swiftly to perform the Heimlich maneuver. Ernst later joked about the incident in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, thanking Paul. (Somasundaram, 11/30)

KFF Health News: In Congress, Calls Mount For Social Security To Address Clawbacks 
An investigation by KFF Health News and Cox Media Group gained further traction on Capitol Hill this week as additional members of Congress formally demanded answers from the Social Security Administration about billions of dollars it mistakenly paid to beneficiaries — and then ordered they repay. Two members of a Senate panel that oversees Social Security sent a letter to the agency’s acting commissioner, Kilolo Kijakazi, urging her to do more to prevent overpayments and “limit harm to vulnerable beneficiaries” when trying to recover the money. (Hilzenrath and Fleischer, 11/30)

The Texas Tribune: Paxton Sues Pfizer For Not Ending Pandemic Sooner
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accused drugmaker Pfizer of fear-mongering and lies about the effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine, which the company insinuated would end the pandemic, according to a lawsuit Paxton announced Thursday. “In a nutshell, Pfizer deceived the public,” reads the 54-page lawsuit, filed in a Lubbock state district court. (Harper, 11/30)

The Wall Street Journal: Anthony Fauci To Testify In House On Covid-19 Pandemic’s Origins, U.S. Response 
After months of negotiations, former chief White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci has agreed to testify in Congress on the U.S. response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the virus’s origins in China. The testimony by Fauci, who led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1984 until last year, will be his first before the Republican-controlled House.  (Strobel and Gordon, 11/30)

CNBC: Covid Vaccine Rates Are Falling In U.S.
Three years into the Covid-19 pandemic, few Americans are rolling up their sleeves to get a Covid vaccine. Only 15.7% of U.S. adults had received the newest Covid shots from Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax as of Nov. 18, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those jabs, some of which won approval in mid-September, are designed to target the omicron subvariant XBB.1.5. (Constantino, 11/30)  

USA Today: Is It COVID Or The Flu? As Cases Rise, Here's How Symptoms Differ
Most areas of the U.S. are seeing a rise in seasonal influenza activity. South-central parts of the country, the Southeast, the mountain states and the West Coast regions are leading the way. According to CDC estimates, this flu season has already resulted in 1.2 million illnesses, 12,000 hospital admissions and 740 deaths. (Loehrke, 11/30)

CIDRAP: Meta-Analysis Reveals High Rates Of Heart Complications In Long-COVID Patients
A review and meta-analysis of long-term cardiac complications of long COVID finds a high prevalence of chest pain and abnormal heart rhythms (arrythmias). ... The most widely examined cardiac complications were chest pain and arrhythmias. When study quality and characteristics were disregarded, the estimated prevalence of chest pain and arrhythmias were 9.8% and 8.2%, respectively. Less-examined complications were stroke (0.5%), heart abnormalities (10.5%), thromboembolism (1.4%), high blood pressure (4.9%), heart failure (1.2%), myocardial injury (1.3%), myocarditis (0.6%), abnormal ventricular function (6.7%), edema (2.1%), coronary disease (0.4%), ischemic heart disease (1.4%), valve abnormalities (2.9%), pericardial effusion (0.8%), atrial fibrillation (2.6%), and impaired diastolic function (4.9%). (Van Beusekom, 11/30)

KCCI: Iowa Veterinarian Prescribes COVID-19 Drug For Mystery Dog Illness
A mysterious dog illness spreading across the United States is being treated with Paxlovid, the drug to treat COVID-19, by a Cass County veterinarian. (Purpura, 11/29)

AP: Don’t Eat Pre-Cut Cantaloupe If Source Is Unknown, CDC Says
Consumers shouldn’t eat pre-cut cantaloupe if they don’t know the source, U.S. health officials said Thursday, as the number of illnesses and recalls tied to a deadly salmonella outbreak grows. At least 117 people in 34 U.S. states have been sickened by contaminated cantaloupe, including 61 who were hospitalized and two who died, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Another 63 illnesses, 17 hospitalizations and one death tied to the same outbreak have been reported in Canada. The illnesses are severe, with more than half of infected people hospitalized, including residents of long-term care centers and children in day care, the CDC said. (Aleccia, 11/30)

On lead contamination and PFAS —

WMFE: Small Planes Using Leaded Fuel Pose A Health Danger. What's Being Done To Help? 
The EPA recently declared that emissions from aircrafts that use leaded fuel pose a danger to public health. The Engineering dean at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University explains. (Blake, 11/29)

CBS News: Pennsylvania Department Of Health Issues Warning About Children's Cups Recalled Due To High Lead Levels
The Pennsylvania Department of Health has issued a warning about children's cups recalled due to high levels of lead. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled PandaEarOpens, LAOION, and Green Sprouts stainless steel bottles and cups because their lead levels exceeded the federal content ban. (Guise, 11/30)

KFF Health News: ‘Forever Chemicals’ Found In Freshwater Fish, Yet Most States Don’t Warn Residents 
Bill Eisenman has always fished. “Growing up, we ate whatever we caught — catfish, carp, freshwater drum,” he said. “That was the only real source of fish in our diet as a family, and we ate a lot of it.” Today, a branch of the Rouge River runs through Eisenman’s property in a suburb north of Detroit. But in recent years, he has been wary about a group of chemicals known as PFAS, also referred to as “forever chemicals,” which don’t break down quickly in the environment and accumulate in soil, water, fish, and our bodies. (Norman, 12/1)

In other health and wellness news —

The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer: Sweet Solution: UH Researchers Find The Key To Killing Cancer Cells May Be Sugar 
Too much sugar isn’t good for you. There isn’t a nutritionist anywhere who will say otherwise. Overconsumption of sugar leads to diabetes, obesity, inflammation, a weakened immune system - even wrinkles. But that bad could be turned into a good, when it comes to combating cancer. Sugar as it turns out, is bad for the cells in the body in a lot of ways, and now a group of researchers studying pancreatic cancer at University Hospitals Seidman Cancer has discovered it’s bad for cancer cells too. (Kroen, 11/30)

Good Morning America: New Study Reinforces Skin-To-Skin Contact Is Critical For Premature Babies
For babies born prematurely, early skin-to-skin contact may have significant health benefits, according to a new study. The study, published Thursday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that premature babies who were held close to their mother or father's skin right after birth showed better communication, social skills and more positive interaction with their mothers at 4 months compared to those who were placed in an incubator. (Jhaveri, 11/30)

Stat: Congenital Heart Disease Patients Face New Threat Of Heart Failure
When Jennifer Case was living in Los Angeles in her early 30s, she was hospitalized 11 times. She had been born with two rare heart abnormalities, Ebstein anomaly and Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. Her parents were told that she probably wouldn’t live. She did live. But by her 30s, she had also developed heart failure, a condition in which the heart can’t pump blood throughout the body properly. She had dizziness and swelling in her legs, and at one point during work, she fainted. (Chen, 12/1)

The Washington Post: It’s Never Too Late To Lift Weights: Older Bodies Can Still Build Muscle
Contrary to popular wisdom among many gym-goers and even some scientists, healthy people in their 60s, 70s and beyond can safely start lifting weights and rapidly build substantial muscle mass, strength and mobility. A new study of resistance exercise and the elderly found that even people in their 80s and 90s — who hadn’t weight trained before — showed significant gains after starting a supervised program of lifting weights three times a week. (Reynolds, 11/29)

Capitol News Illinois: Illinois High Court Finds Medical Workers Exempt To Privacy Law 
The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday ruled the state’s strongest-in-the-nation biometric information privacy law does have an exemption: health care workers who use fingerprints or similar scans to access things like medication, materials or patient health information. In a unanimous opinion, the justices ruled against a pair of nurses who sued their employers over their use of fingerprint-enabled medication storage – a technology many hospitals have adopted to curb abuse or theft of certain drugs. (Meisel, 11/30)

In other health care industry news —

Stat: Site-Neutral Cuts To Hospital Payments Draw New GOP Opposition
On its face, a minor policy to make sure Medicare pays hospitals the same as physician offices to administer medications has broad, bipartisan support from think tanks, stakeholders, and academics. But Republicans in the House and Senate are divided over the issue, creating a major obstacle to passage anytime soon. (Cohrs, 12/1)

Modern Healthcare: High-Needs Medicaid Market Presents Investment Opportunities
A cooling market for Medicare Advantage has some investors seeing opportunities in Medicaid. Investors have long been drawn to Medicare Advantage, but that segment has become crowded, dominated by a handful of big companies and less appealing amid regulatory changes. At the same time, states have invited innovation by creating incentives to attract companies willing to take on high-risk Medicaid beneficiaries. (Hartnett, 11/30)

The CT Mirror: CT Presents Draft Settlement In Prospect-YNHH Hospitals Sale
State officials have presented a draft settlement agreement to parties involved in Yale New Haven Health’s bid to purchase three Connecticut hospitals owned by Prospect Medical Holdings, and hospital executives are exchanging proposals with the state, a spokeswoman for Office of Health Strategy told The Connecticut Mirror. (Carlesso and Altimari, 11/30)

Modern Healthcare: How ChatGPT Has Changed Healthcare In Just 1 Year
Thursday marks the one-year anniversary of OpenAI's release of the public version of ChatGPT. The healthcare industry is still buzzing over the technology.  Health tech industry leaders saw the generative artificial intelligence text application as a possible game-changer almost immediately after its release. ... While some decision-makers remain thrilled about using ChatGPT—and generative AI more broadly—in healthcare, others are concerned about its potential to perpetuate racism and advance misinformation. (Perna, 11/30)

Stat: Radiology Is Caught Between AI's Potential And Concern For Patients
Radiology has long led the way in the application of artificial intelligence in medicine. More than three-quarters of AI and machine learning devices authorized by the Food and Drug Administration work with medical images — and that dominance was evident at this year’s meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, where AI vendors gathered to tout their latest offerings. (Palmer, 11/30)

Also —

Axios: New Doctors Just Aren't That Interested In Geriatrics
Doctors specializing in care for older adults are increasingly in demand as the country ages — but America's newer physicians aren't that interested in geriatric medicine. Less than half of 348 post-residency fellowships for geriatric internal medicine filled up in the initial matching process this year, according to new data from the National Resident Matching Program, the nonprofit that oversees placement of physicians in training. (Goldman, 12/1)

Modern Healthcare: 2024 Women Leaders Awards Opens For Nominations
Modern Healthcare is changing its annual awards program honoring the women shaping healthcare in order to spotlight more of these leaders. Beginning in 2024, our flagship Women Leaders awards will celebrate a new class of honorees each year who are helping guide their organizations and the industry. (11/30)

Reuters: Novo Nordisk Finds Compounded Wegovy Up To 33% Impure, Sues Florida Pharmacies
Novo Nordisk said on Thursday it sued one compounding pharmacy and refiled a lawsuit against another after finding their products claiming to contain the active ingredient for its in-demand weight-loss drug Wegovy were impure, some by as much as 33%. The Danish drugmaker said it found impurities in all the drugs tested from Wells Pharmacy and Brooksville Pharmaceuticals, both based in Florida. Novo first sued Brooksville in July, and discovered a substance called BPC-157 in samples from Wells. (Wingrove, 12/1)

Reuters: AbbVie Seeks Lift From 'Guided Missile' Cancer Drug With $10 Bln ImmunoGen Deal 
AbbVie will buy ImmunoGen for $10.1 billion in cash, it said on Thursday, the latest major drugmaker to acquire a maker of promising "guided missile" cancer therapies as its top-selling treatment Humira faces newer rivals. ImmunoGen's Elahere belongs to a new class of treatments called antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) that precisely targets cancer cells, potentially reducing toxicity for other cells. (Leo and Mishra, 11/30)

Reuters: US FDA Probes Quality Issues With China-Made Plastic Syringes
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Thursday it is looking into reports of leaks, breakages and other quality problems with plastic syringes manufactured in China. The agency was conducting further investigations along with federal partners and may prevent plastic syringes made in China from entering the U.S. market, if necessary, it said. (11/30)

On the opioid crisis —

Stat: Purdue Pharma Bankruptcy Settlement Reaches Supreme Court
After weeks of anticipation, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday will hear arguments to decide the fate of a controversial bankruptcy deal in which the owners of Purdue Pharma would contribute up to $6 billion in exchange for immunity from further lawsuits. (Silverman, 12/1)

Side Effects Public Media: The White House Is Urging Schools To Address A Rise In Fentanyl Exposure Among Teens
Narcan, also known by its generic name naloxone, is a life saving medication that reverses opioid overdoses. But in two-thirds of adolescent overdose deaths the medication wasn’t used even though there was someone nearby. The main driving factor behind these overdose deaths is fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is so potent even a tiny amount can be fatal. (Li, 11/30)

Reuters: Ex-US Marine Pleads Guilty To Firebombing California Abortion Clinic 
An ex-U.S. Marine pleaded guilty on Thursday to federal charges that he firebombed a women's health and abortion clinic in Southern California last year and admitted in court to plotting several other acts of "domestic extremism," prosecutors said. Chance Brannon, 24, was on active duty stationed at the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base in San Diego County when he hurled a Molotov cocktail at the entrance to a Planned Parenthood clinic in the early morning hours of March 13, 2022, according to a federal indictment. (Gorman, 11/30)

More abortion news from Ohio and Florida —

Courthouse News Service: Ohio Exempt From Some Family Planning Funding Regulations, Sixth Circuit Rules
A Sixth Circuit panel on Thursday granted Ohio an injunction specifying that clinics receiving federal family planning funds must be physically and financially separated from facilities that provide abortion physically and financially separated from facilities that provide abortions — but clinics must still provide abortion referrals when requested. (Monserud, 11/30)

AP: Opponents Gave Input On Ballot Language For Abortion-Rights Measure, Ohio Elections Chief Says 
Republican Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose consulted with three prominent anti-abortion groups while drafting the contested ballot language used to describe Issue 1, an abortion-rights measure overwhelmingly approved by voters earlier this month, cleveland.com reported Wednesday. ... When asked about the language previously, LaRose described his role as writing truthful and unbiased language. Gabriel Mann, a spokesperson for Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights, said it was always clear that LaRose’s chosen language was intended to benefit the amendment’s opponents. (11/29)

Health News Florida: A Florida Poll Finds Support For Amendments On Marijuana And Abortion Rights
Florida voters largely support proposed constitutional amendments to legalize recreational marijuana and to protect abortion rights if the issues make it to the ballot, a new poll from the University of North Florida suggests. Sixty-two percent of people surveyed said they would vote for a constitutional amendment that would prohibit any law banning abortion before viability or to protect the life of the patient, according to the poll released Thursday by the UNF Public Opinion Research Lab. (Roguski, 11/30)

Other health news from Missouri and North Carolina —

St. Louis Public Radio: New Lawsuit Argues That Gender Dysphoria Is A Disability
The families of two transgender boys filed a federal lawsuit against the University of Missouri this month in an attempt to reverse its decision to stop providing gender-affirming care to minors. University of Missouri Health’s decision was a reaction to a state law that bars minors from beginning gender-affirming care. (Woodbury, 11/30)

North Carolina Health News: Answers To Questions About Medicaid Expansion 
Medicaid expansion finally launched Friday in North Carolina, giving an estimated 600,000 low-income residents across the state access to health insurance. Here are answers to some questions you may have about expansion and what it means for the state. (Baxley, 12/1)

Reuters: AIDS Response 'Under Threat' Amid Human Rights Backlash - UN
The global response to AIDS is "under threat" because of an unprecedented backlash against human rights that is stigmatizing the groups most at risk of HIV infection, the head of the United Nations AIDS programme has warned. Winnie Byanyima, executive director of UNAIDS, said countries where there are laws against LGBTQ people, or which criminalise sex work or personal drug use, are largely the places seeing a rise or plateau in new infections. (Rigby, 11/28)

The Guardian: ‘A Moment To Fight Again’: US Activists Warn Of Backsliding On World AIDS Day
Kevin Robert Frost, the chief executive officer of the Foundation for AIDS Research (Amfar), one of the world’s leading AIDS research, treatment, and prevention non-profits, said: “Funding to treat and prevent this disease has become a political football in Washington.” ... Frost pointed to this year’s fight to reauthorize the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a bipartisan, international program first authorized by president George W Bush in 2003. The program is widely acknowledged as having saved millions of lives across the world in the two decades since its inception by providing people in developing countries with free access to effective HIV/Aids treatment drugs. Earlier this year, the reauthorization of PEPFAR was caught up in the national debates about abortion – despite US laws preventing any money under PEPFAR from going toward abortions. (Neus and Albertario, 12/1)

In case you missed it —

KFF explains the debate in Congress surrounding the reauthorization of PEPFAR:

PEPFAR Reauthorization: The Debate About Abortion

Also —

BBC News: Preventative HIV Drug Highly Effective, Study Says
A drug which stops HIV infecting the body has proved to be a highly effective "real-world" preventative treatment, a study has confirmed. The results of the research on 24,000 people taking it across England, have been described as "reassuring". Thousands of people are already taking PrEP through sexual health clinics. (Foster, 11/30)

AP: South African Company To Start Making Vaginal Rings That Protect Against HIV
A South African company will make vaginal rings that protect against HIV, which AIDS experts say should eventually make them cheaper and more readily available. The Population Council announced Thursday that Kiara Health of Johannesburg will start making the silicone rings in the next few years, estimating that 1 million could be produced annually. The devices release a drug that helps prevent HIV infections and are authorized by nearly a dozen countries and the World Health Organization. (Cheng, 11/29)

ABC News: Hart Island, Site Of Thousands Of AIDS Burials, Opens To Public After Decades Of Stigma
New York City's Hart Island -- the burial site of more than 1 million people who were unclaimed, unidentified or unable to be buried elsewhere -- is opening to visitors after decades of being shrouded in mystery and stigma. For Elsie Soto, whose father died of AIDS complications in the '90s, the public tours being held on the island signal a step in the right direction toward shedding light on the stories of marginalized groups in New York City. Her father, Norberto, is one of potentially thousands of AIDS patients buried on Hart Island. (Alfonseca, 12/1)

The New York Times: Federal Law Requires A Choice: Marijuana Or A Gun? 
For Vera Cooper, the time had come to buy a gun. In her mid-70s at the time and widowed several years earlier, she was already feeling vulnerable, living by herself. Then came the tipping point: The plumbing business that Ms. Cooper owns in the Florida Panhandle had to fire a worker, and he stormed out of the office, threatening vengeance. At a nearby gun store, she settled on a .22 caliber pistol that “felt good in my hand.” Then came the problem. A question on the firearms transaction form she was required to complete asked whether she was an “unlawful user” of marijuana or any other drug categorized by the federal government as a controlled substance. (Kovaleski, 11/29)

The Washington Post: If An Octopus Is So Smart, Should You Eat It? 
A growing scientific understanding of the cognition of octopuses and other cephalopods is now calling into question the idea of eating these problem-solving sea creatures — as well as our notion of what exactly makes an animal “intelligent” in the first place. (Grandoni, 11/29)

CNN: One Identical Twin Went Vegan While The Other Didn’t. See What Happened 
Healthy twins who ate a vegan diet for eight weeks had lower “bad” low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, cholesterol, better blood sugar levels, and greater weight loss than siblings who ate a diet of meat and vegetables, a new study found. (LaMotte, 11/30)

Axios: Pickles, Halloumi And Camel Milk: What We’ll Be Eating In 2024
Get ready to eat more buckwheat, pickles, caramelized bananas, cinnamon sugar, dressed-up ramen, grilled halloumi cheese and Korean cuisine in 2024 — and to wash it down with a tall, cool glass of camel milk. Why it matters: It's the time of year when everyone in the food business predicts what we'll be seeing on restaurant menus and store shelves — trends that can translate to serious bucks when a particular dish or ingredient catches on. (Kingson, 12/1)

The Washington Post: A Plane Fueled By Fat And Sugar Has Crossed The Atlantic Ocean
For the first time ever, a commercial plane flew across the Atlantic Ocean without using fossil fuels. Virgin Atlantic said the test flight Tuesday from London to New York was powered only by sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, a broad category of jet fuel that creates fewer carbon emissions than standard kerosene blends. The fuel on this flight was made from waste fats and plant sugars and emits 70% less carbon than petroleum-based jet fuel, according to a press release. It landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Tuesday afternoon. (Rivero, 11/28)

The New York Times: When The Neighbors Are All Older, Too 
Kathy Fitts loved her roomy house in suburban Atlanta. But after her children moved out, and the pandemic exacerbated the isolation she often felt as a divorced woman, she left for Latitude Margaritaville, a Jimmy Buffett-themed housing development in Daytona Beach, Fla., for those “55 and better.” Visiting a friend who had relocated there, “I thought, wow, these people are having a good time,” Ms. Fitts, 68, said. She bought a two-bedroom villa and settled in almost two years ago. (Span, 11/25)

The New York Times: Egypt Wiped Out Hepatitis C. Now It Is Trying To Help The Rest Of Africa.
Effective drugs that have made the disease curable have yet to reach most of the region. (Nolen, 11/28)

The New York Times: Climate Change Drives New Cases Of Malaria, Complicating Efforts To Fight The Disease 
There were an estimated 249 million cases of malaria around the globe last year, the World Health Organization said on Thursday, significantly more than before the Covid-19 pandemic and an increase of five million over 2021. Malaria remains a top killer of children. Those new cases were concentrated in just five countries: Pakistan, Nigeria, Uganda, Ethiopia and Papua-New Guinea. Climate change was a direct contributor in three of them, said Dr. Daniel Ngamije, who directs the W.H.O. malaria program. (Nolen, 11/30)

Dallas Morning News: This World AIDS Day, We Must Recommit To A Lifesaving Program
Operating in 50 countries, PEPFAR is one of the most successful foreign investment programs since the Marshall Plan. “Remember and commit,” the theme of this World AIDS Day, is a fitting description for PEPFAR as it faces its fourth reauthorization. Over the years, PEPFAR has saved the lives of many women and children like Tatu Msangi and Faith. Congress must remember this tremendous progress and renew our commitment to women and children by reauthorizing the program. (Hannah Johnson, 12/1)

USA Today: 20 Years Ago, George W. Bush Launched AIDS Relief And Saved Lives. US Needs To Lead Again
Since 2003 PEPFAR has saved 25 million lives, enabled 20 million people with HIV to start antiretroviral treatment and prevented 5.5 million babies from being born with HIV. (Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, 12/1)

Stat: What PEPFAR Has Meant On The Ground In Ukraine 
In Ukraine, a little bit of good news can go a long way, and the lifesaving work being done as a result of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has been a rare but reliable source of good news. That’s why the U.S. Congress’ delay in reauthorizing this program has been so difficult to hear about. (Sergey Strashuk and Vira Horovenko, 12/1)

Bloomberg: Kids' Flu Shots Are Lagging - And Flu Season Is Heating Up
As of Nov. 4 (the most up-to-date data), just 32.6% of children had received their flu vaccine, compared to 36.5% at that same point last year. That’s the lowest rate in the last five years, driven by about a dozen states with downright dismal adherence to pediatric flu shots. (Lisa Jarvis, 11/30)

The Washington Post: China’s Rise In Respiratory Illnesses Is Not Yet Cause For Concern 
Chinese hospitals in recent weeks have reported an increase in respiratory illnesses, including “clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia” in Beijing, Liaoning and other cities, as the World Health Organization (WHO) put it. Children seem especially affected. Some pediatric hospitals are already over capacity, with social media users in China detailing wait times of more than 13 hours. (Leana S. Wen, 11/30)

Chicago Tribune: End Of Affirmative Action Could Worsen Health Disparities
Studies show diversity, inclusion and equity in the health care workforce lead to better patient outcomes. While Black Americans represent 13% of the U.S. population, fewer than 6% of U.S. physicians are Black. Only 3% of U.S. doctors in dermatology are Black. (Willie Wilson, 11/30)

The Boston Globe: Donated Breast Milk, An Intimate And Selfless Gift
A baby is born 12 weeks early. He is terrifyingly small and vulnerable and will need to stay in the hospital for a while, being monitored and cared for. Breast milk is both nourishment and medicine for this child, but his mother’s milk supply has not had a chance to develop yet. That’s where donated breast milk, from a milk bank, comes in. (Wickersham, 12/1)

Houston Chronicle: Why Seniors Should Beware Of Medicare Advantage
During the annual Medicare open enrollment period (Oct. 15-Dec. 7), senior Americans are inundated with advertisements, phone calls and other gimmicks to convince them to enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan rather than traditional Medicare. Those ad campaigns apparently work: The market share of Medicare Advantage plans has increased from 13% in 2004 to more than 50% in 2023. But many U.S. seniors may not understand what they’re signing up for. (Hagop M. Kantarjian and Mary Alma Welch, 11/30)

The Colorado Sun: Colorado’s Prescription Drug Affordability Board Shouldn't Buy Into Pharma Industry Fear Tactics To Protect Its Profits 
Within the bewildering behemoth that is the U.S. health care system, the pharmaceutical industry stands out for being particularly opaque and profit-oriented. Americans pay two to five times more than peer nations for the same name-brand drugs. Colorado’s Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB) is changing all that — and the pharmaceutical industry is digging in its heels. (Hope Stonner, 12/1)

The New York Times: Donald Trump Still Wants To Kill Obamacare. Why?
Trump has declared that if he returns to the White House, he’ll once again seek to do away with the Affordable Care Act, the reform that has produced a significant decline in the number of Americans without health insurance. (Paul Krugman, 11/30)