Politico: Mass Arrests Jeopardizing The Health Of Protesters, Police
Mass arrests of protesters across the country — many held for hours in vans, cells and other enclosed spaces — are heightening the risk of coronavirus spread, according to public health experts and lawsuits filed by civil rights groups. ... The use of tear gas and pepper spray, which provoke coughing, adds to the health risk, as do police crowd control techniques like “kettling” — pushing demonstrators into smaller, contained and tightly packed spaces. “The police tactics — the kettling, the mass arrests, the use of chemical irritants — those are completely opposed to public health recommendations,” said Malika Fair, director of Public Health Initiatives at the Association of American Medical Colleges. “They're causing protesters to violate the six-feet recommendation. The chemicals may make them have to remove their masks. This is all very dangerous.” (Ollstein and Goldberg, 6/4)

Los Angeles Times: Tear Gas At Protests May Spread Coronavirus, Experts Say 
Using tear gas or pepper spray to subdue protesters will only help spread the coronavirus in the middle of a pandemic, infectious disease experts warn, urging law enforcement to abandon the practice for public health reasons. Spraying people with tear gas causes them to cough, shout and scream — and that will send infectious droplets from an infected person to others, said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, a professor of medicine and an infectious diseases specialist at UC San Francisco. (Lin, 6/4)

ProPublica: Tear Gas Is Way More Dangerous Than Police Let On — Especially During The Coronavirus Pandemic
When Amira Chowdhury joined a protest in Philadelphia against police violence on Monday, she wore a mask to protect herself and others against the coronavirus. But when officers launched tear gas into the crowd, Chowdhury pulled off her mask as she gasped for air. “I couldn’t breathe,” she said. “I felt like I was choking to death.” Chowdhury was on a part of the Vine Street Expressway that ran underground. Everyone panicked as gas drifted into the dark, semi-enclosed space, she said. People stomped over her as they scrambled away. Bruised, she scaled a fence to escape. But the tear gas found her later that evening, inside her own house; as police unleashed it on protesters in her predominantly black neighborhood in West Philadelphia, it seeped in. (Song, 6/4)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: ACLU Of Louisiana Calls Police Use Of Tear Gas On Protesters Unlawful 'Chemical Warfare'
The ACLU of Louisiana on Thursday condemned the actions of the New Orleans Police Department after officers Wednesday night shot tear gas into a crowd of protesters assembled on the Crescent City Connection, turning what had been a peaceful march into a chaotic rush off the bridge. A statement from ACLU Louisiana Executive Director Alanah Odoms Hebert called the police's tactics "violent and unlawful." (Ravits, 6/4)

Boston Globe: ‘A Balancing Act’: As Marches Continue, Spread Of Virus Remains A Concern
After more than two months of lockdowns and social distancing to avoid spreading the coronavirus, the sight of thousands of protesters crowding Boston’s streets and parks may have been jarring to some. But to many in the Black community and their supporters, the threat of spreading COVID-19 didn’t compare to their need to demonstrate against the systemic racism and police brutality faced by Black people. The protests erupted following the killing of George Floyd. (Martin and Abel, 6/4)

Los Angeles Times: California Lawmakers Promise To Set Rules For Rubber Bullets
Alarmed at numerous reports that protesters in recent days have been seriously injured by rubber bullets fired by police officers, a group of California lawmakers said Thursday they will introduce legislation to set clear standards for when the projectiles can be used. Four lawmakers proposed revising current policy on use of the projectiles in response to incidents reported throughout the country by those who have been protesting the death of George Floyd, who was killed when a Minneapolis police officer used his knee to pin Floyd’s neck to the ground. (McGreevy, 6/4)

Los Angeles Times: Amid Protests, California Coronavirus Cases Near 120,000
With protests across California decrying the death of George Floyd in their seventh day, health officials continue to sound the alarm that such close gatherings are likely to contribute to the spread of the coronavirus. The number of confirmed cases in California surpassed 120,000 on Thursday, with the death toll reaching more than 4,400. The long-standing anger over killings like that of Floyd — who was pinned to the ground as a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck — and the newer threat of the COVID-19 outbreak have become a joint crisis. (Carcamo, Karlamangla and Willon, 6/4)

NBC News: New York Protesters Say They Are Facing Two Deadly Pandemics: Racism And Coronavirus
At the start of a silent vigil outside the New York City mayor's mansion Wednesday night, one of the organizers called out a few ground rules to the thousands who had gathered. One of the most important, he said, “Keep masks on.” Few have forgotten the past few months: New York City, ground zero in the United States for the coronavirus pandemic that killed more than 20,000 of its residents, shut down as residents stayed inside as much as possible. (McCausland, 6/4)

The New York Times: How A City Besieged By The Virus Turned Out To Be Heard
A teenager outside the Port Authority Bus Terminal, taking a knee on a block crowded with protesters, relished the feeling lost these last months — of being part of something. A 23-year-old art teacher, Evan Woodard, was thrilled to see his city at the fore of a nationwide event. “I’m proud to call myself a New Yorker,” he said. “This is everyone’s city.” People who just last month were dutifully keeping behind doors and masks have turned out by the tens of thousands in the past week to gather in the streets and shout to be heard. (Wilson and Garcia, 6/4)

Los Angeles Times: Photo Of Long Beach Officer Standing Over Blood With His Baton Spurs Internal Investigation
The Long Beach Police Department has launched an internal investigation after an officer shared photos on his social media, including one showing him standing over blood with his baton, this week amid days of protests held in the city against the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. According to an email sent Thursday by City Manager Tom Modica, the department became aware of a “social media post an officer had on his Facebook page” that included “a baton and blood on the ground.” (Vega and Queally, 6/4)

Kaiser Health News: Social Media Fears About Lack Of Coverage For Protest Injuries May Be Overblown
Thousands of protesters thronged the streets in recent days to express their anger over the killing of an African American man, George Floyd, in police custody in Minneapolis. The mostly peaceful rallies have turned violent at times, with police using batons, tear gas and rubber bullets that caused serious injuries. That led to online social media postings that health plans might deny coverage for medical treatment of injured protesters, some suggesting it might be better for protesters not to tell providers how they got hurt. (Andrews, 6/5)

The Associated Press: Police Try To Stop Floyd Rally In Sydney Due To Virus Fears
Police challenged whether a Black Lives Matter protest planned for Saturday in Australia’s largest city is too much of a virus risk, as demonstrators in the capital reminded the country that racial inequality is not a U.S. issue alone. In Canberra, organizers of a rally Friday that attracted about 2,000 demonstrators handed out masks and hand sanitizer. Most protesters kept a recommended social distance but drew closer to hear speeches. Public gatherings are limited to 20 in Canberra, but police did not intervene. (6/5)

Reuters: Protesters Should 'Highly Consider' Coronavirus Tests, U.S. Health Official Says
A top U.S. health official cautioned on Thursday that protests sweeping across the country could increase the spread of the novel coronavirus, particularly in cities that have struggled to control the outbreak, and that participants should “highly consider” getting tested. Huge crowds have taken to the streets of dozens of cities since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody set off unrest that has roiled America in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. (Erman, 6/4)

The Washington Post: CDC Director Says Protesters Should Consider Getting Tested For Coronavirus
“I do think there is a potential, unfortunately, for this to be a seeding event,” Redfield said. “And the way to minimize it is to have each individual to recognize it’s to the advantage of them to protect their loved ones, to [say]: ‘Hey, I was out. I need to go get tested.’ You know, in three, five, seven days, go get tested. Make sure you’re not infected.” Redfield was testifying at a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing on his agency’s response to covid-19, the disease caused by the novel virus. Health experts are concerned about any large gatherings in a close space that can make it easier to spread the coronavirus. (Sun, 6/4)

The Hill: CDC Director Warns Floyd Protests Could Be 'Seeding Event' For Coronavirus 
“The way to minimize that is to have each individual recognize it's to the advantage of them to protect their loved ones to [say], ‘Hey, I was out. I need to go get tested,’” Redfield added. (Sullivan, 6/4)

CBS News: Cuomo Says George Floyd Protesters Should Assume They've Been Exposed To Coronavirus 
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Thursday that people in New York City protesting the death of George Floyd should assume they have been exposed to the coronavirus. "If you were at a protest I would assume you're exposed," Cuomo said. The governor also announced the state is opening COVID-19 testing facilities to all people who were at a protest. He urged protesters to act as if they have been exposed by telling those that they live with, and getting tested. (McNamara, 6/4)

San Francisco Chronicle: Newsom Says Protests May Cause California’s Coronavirus Numbers To Surge
Gov. Gavin Newsom said California should prepare for a surge in its coronavirus positive test rate after a week of protests against police brutality. ...Newsom added that he’s concerned about the virus’ disproportionate impact on California’s black community, which accounts for nearly 5% of all positive cases but 10% of virus-related deaths. (Vaziri, 6/4)

Kaiser Health News: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Protests And The Pandemic
Following the death of George Floyd while in custody in Minneapolis, protests have mushroomed around the U.S. to decry police violence, raising concerns among public health officials about the potential for further spread of the coronavirus. Meanwhile, the economic toll of the continuing pandemic is prompting some states to cancel or scale back plans to expand health coverage to more of their residents. (6/4)

Politico: Black Communities At Heart Of Floyd Protests Face 'Pandemic Within A Pandemic'
The black community in Minneapolis was already reeling before a white police officer killed George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, on May 25. The number of coronavirus cases in the state of Minnesota spiked dramatically in May. And although they make up less than a fifth of the city's population, black residents have accounted for a third of all Covid-19 infections there — neighborhoods where most of the households make $35,000 or less have been particularly hard hit. Meanwhile, roughly one in three black Minnesotans had filed for unemployment insurance as of May 18. (McCaskill and Doherty, 6/3)

The Washington Post: The Black-White Economic Gap Remains As Wide As In 1968
As Black Lives Matter protests grow across the nation over policing, the deep economic inequalities that African Americans face are coming to the forefront. In many ways, the gap between the finances of blacks and whites is still as wide in 2020 as it was in 1968, when a run of landmark civil rights legislation culminated in the Fair Housing Act in response to centuries of unequal treatment of African Americans in nearly every part of society and business. (Long and Van Dam, 6/4)

Politico: Mounting Unemployment Crisis Fuels Racial Wealth Gap
The economic meltdown that has devastated the country amid the coronavirus pandemic has proven uniquely damaging for black Americans, threatening to exacerbate an already staggering racial wealth gap and fueling nationwide protests focused on racial justice. Black workers are more likely to be out of a job, to have lost income or to have left the labor market altogether, economic data and surveys show — and less than half of black adults are now employed. (Cassella, 6/4)

Los Angeles Times: Trump Ignores Calls For Police Reforms
When George Floyd died last week after a Minneapolis police officer pinned him down with a knee on his neck, President Trump reacted much as he had in the past when a black person’s fatal encounter with law enforcement was caught on video. He declared himself disturbed by the “terrible thing” that he saw — then offered nothing in terms of policy to address enduring concerns about policing and racism. “Right now I think the nation needs law and order,” Trump told the conservative media outlet Newsmax. “You have a bad group of people out there.” (Megerian and Bierman, 6/4)

The Washington Post: Police Are Consistently Whiter Than The Communities They Work In, Particularly In Urban Areas
As police engage with protesters in cities across the United States, many major police forces are still much whiter than the communities where they work. Decades of reform have made police less white, but it has not been enough to keep pace with the changing demographics of the country. This widening racial gap has left very few police forces that resemble the people they serve, which experts say can hinder community relations and affect crime rates. (Keating and Uhrmacher, 6/4)

The Associated Press: Experts: Floyd’s Health Issues Don’t Affect Homicide Ruling
George Floyd had drugs in his system and severe heart disease when a Minneapolis police officer put a knee to his neck, but independent experts said the medical problems revealed in the full autopsy report don’t change the conclusion that the handcuffed man’s death was a homicide. “He has some underlying conditions” that made it more likely he would not fare well under stress, said Dr. Gregory Davis, medical examiner for Jefferson County, Alabama, and a pathology professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. But the circumstances of Floyd’s May 25 death are not ignored in Wednesday’s report, which said “restraint and neck compression are part of why he died,” Davis said. (Marchione, 6/5)

The Associated Press: Districts Jettison School Police Officers Amid Protests
An increasing number of cities are rethinking the presence of school resource officers as they respond to the concerns of thousands of demonstrators — many of them young — who have filled the streets night after night to protest the death of George Floyd. Portland Public Schools, Oregon’s largest school district, on Thursday cut its ties with the Portland Police Bureau, joining other urban districts from Minneapolis to Denver that are mulling the fate of such programs. Protesters in some cities, including Portland, have demanded the removal of the officers from schools. (Flaccus, 6/5)

The Hill: Family Attorney: 'Pandemic Of Racism And Discrimination' Killed George Floyd 
The attorney for George Floyd’s family said Thursday the "pandemic of racism and discrimination" killed the Minneapolis man, who died in police custody last week. “I just want to put it on the record...that it was not the coronavirus pandemic that killed George Floyd,” attorney Benjamin Crump said Thursday during a memorial for Floyd in Minnesota. “[It was the] other pandemic that we’re far too familiar with in America, that pandemic of racism and discrimination that killed George Floyd,” he added. (Klar, 6/4)

NPR: Listen: American Police
Black Americans being victimized and killed by the police is an epidemic. A truth many Americans are acknowledging since the murder of George Floyd, as protests have occurred in all fifty states calling for justice on his behalf. But this tension between African American communities and the police has existed for centuries. This week, the origins of American policing and how those origins put violent control of Black Americans at the heart of the system. (6/4)

The Associated Press: Floyd Death Pushes Military To Face 'Own Demons' On Race
The death of George Floyd in police hands has pushed the U.S. military to search its soul and to admit that, like the rest of America, it has fallen short on racial fairness. Although the military historically has prided itself on diversity, leaders acknowledge that black troops often are disproportionately subject to military legal punishment and are impeded in promotions. “I struggle with the Air Force’s own demons that include the racial disparities in military justice and discipline among our youngest black male airmen,” Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Kaleth O. Wright, an African American and the service’s top enlisted airman, wrote in a social media post this week. (Burns and Baldor, 6/5)

NPR: For Black Emergency Doctors In Washington, The Pandemic Is Personal
Dr. Janice Blanchard worries about her commute this week, which takes her past the White House. Police and federal law enforcement are heavy on the roads she drives to the George Washington University Hospital, where she works as an emergency medicine physician. "I am nervous I might be stopped," said Blanchard, who is black. "I realize I am low risk, but it is stressful." Blanchard is among some 1,500 African American doctors in Washington on the front lines of treating the coronavirus. (Cheslow, 6/4)

NPR: Being Black In America: 'We Have A Place In This World Too'
As protests continue around the country against systemic racism and police brutality, black Americans describe fear, anger and a weariness about tragic killings that are becoming all too familiar. "I feel helpless. Utterly helpless," said Jason Ellington of Union, N.J. "Black people for generations have been reminding the world that we as a people matter — through protests, sit-ins, boycotts and the like. We tried to be peaceful in our attempts. But as white supremacy reminds us, their importance — their relevance — comes with a healthy dose of violence and utter disrespect for people of color like me." (Peters, 6/5)

Stat: Longtime Exec Tony Coles On Biotech, Racism, And Opportunities For Change
The killing of George Floyd at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer has brutally underlined the systemic racism that informs policing, housing, education, and health care in the U.S. Biotech, like every other facet of society, is not immune to the effects of racism and inequality. We talked to Tony Coles, a longtime biotech executive, about why Floyd’s killing sparked global action, how to parse public statements from major drug companies, and what business leaders can do to combat racism. (Feuerstein, Garde and Robbins, 6/5)

The New York Times: Trump Administration Sets Demographic Requirements For Coronavirus Reports
The Trump administration on Thursday released new requirements for states to report coronavirus data based on race, ethnicity, age and sex of individuals tested for the virus, responding to demands from lawmakers for a clearer picture of the pandemic and its racial discrepancies. All laboratories — as well as nonlaboratory facilities offering on-site testing and in-home testing — will be required to send demographic data to state or local public health departments based on the individual’s residence, according to details released by the Department of Health and Human Services. (Weiland and Mandavilli, 6/4)

NPR: Race, Ethnicity Data To Be Required With Coronavirus Tests In U.S.
During a congressional hearing Thursday, Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, apologized for the agency's slowness in gathering better data. "I personally want to apologize for the inadequacy of our response," Redfield said. "We didn't have the data that we needed." Public health experts say what's been needed are detailed breakdowns on how the virus is affecting African American and other minority communities. These groups appear to have been hit especially hard, suffering higher rates of infection, serious illness and death. (Stein, 6/4)

Reuters: U.S. Health Department Asks Labs To Add Demographic Data To COVID-19 Results
U.S. laboratories testing patients for COVID-19 are required to report data such as a patient’s age and ethnicity along with test results, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said on Thursday. The move aims to better understand why the respiratory illness affects certain demographics such as racial minorities and older Americans more severely than others, the HHS said in a statement. (6/4)

The Washington Post: Race, Ethnicity Data To Be Required With Coronavirus Tests Starting Aug. 1
The new guidance compels all labs running tests to diagnose the coronavirus or determine whether someone might have antibodies to the virus to collect and submit information on people’s age, sex, location, and test result, as well as on race and ethnicity. There are 18 required pieces of information in all. The rules take effect Aug. 1. Labs must submit that data within 24 hours to a state or local health department, which must, in turn, forward it to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stripping off the person’s identity when sending to the government. (Goldstein, 6/4)

Politico: CDC Head Apologizes For Lack Of Racial Disparity Data On Coronavirus
Congress in its last relief package in April required the CDC to report data on racial disparities among coronavirus cases, deaths and hospitalizations after it became apparent the disease was killing and sickening members of minority groups at higher rates. A four-page report the agency released last week was ripped by lawmakers who said it included outdated and incomplete information. The CDC has said its information is lacking because some states haven't been reporting such data. (Ehley, 6/4)

ABC News: Trump Administration To Require Race Data In Coronavirus Lab Results For First Time 
Adm. Brett Giroir, assistant secretary for health who has been coordinating testing efforts, told reporters on Thursday: “We are dedicated to leading to America to healthier lives, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sex, geography, or sexual orientation.” When asked about if protestors should be tested, particularly if they were detained, Giroir said it would fall within the federal guidelines for states to offer it. (Flaherty, 6/4)

CNN: Emotional Debate Erupts Over Anti-Lynching Legislation As Cory Booker And Kamala Harris Speak Out Against Rand Paul Amendment
In an emotional exchange on the Senate floor, Democratic Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kamala Harris of California spoke out Thursday against an amendment that GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky was trying to add to anti-lynching legislation. As the memorial service for George Floyd was beginning in Minnesota, Paul, who has been holding up popular bipartisan legislation to make lynching a federal crime, came to the Senate floor in Washington to add an amendment to the anti-lynching legislation and then pass it. He argued the bill as written is overly broad and said that his amendment "would apply the criminal penalties for lynching only and not for other crimes." The GOP senator then asked for unanimous consent to pass the bill with that amendment. However, both Harris and Booker spoke against the effort and Booker formally objected. (Foran and Fox, 6/4)

USA Today: In Emotional Debate, Sens. Cory Booker, Kamala Harris Plead For Rand Paul To Allow Anti-Lynching Bill To Pass
"That we would not be taking the issue of lynching seriously is an insult, an insult to Sen. Booker, an insult to Sen. (Tim) Scott and myself," Harris said, listing the only three black senators that serve in the chamber, each of whom have been leaders on this issue. She called Paul's amendment and his comments "ridiculous" and said the changes he is pushing for are things that "would weaken" the bill and put a "greater burden on victims of lynching than is currently required under federal hate crime laws." "There is no reason for this," Harris said. "There is no reason other than cruel and deliberate obstruction on a day of mourning." (Hayes, 6/4)

CBS News: Senator Rand Paul Holds Up Passing Bill That Would Ban Lynching
Paul claimed that the bill's language was too broad and could "conflate someone who has an altercation, where they had minor bruises, with lynching." "We think that's a disservice to those who were lynched in our history," he said, adding it was also "a disservice to have a new 10-year penalty for people who have minor bruising." Paul said in a later statement that he would be writing an amendment adding "a serious bodily injury standard" to the bill, "which would ensure crimes resulting in a substantial risk of death and extreme physical pain be prosecuted as a lynching." (Silverstein, 6/4)

The Associated Press: Emotions Run High As Anti-Lynching Bill Stalls In Senate
The legislative effort to make lynching a federal hate crime punishable by up to life in prison comes 65 years after 14-year-old Emmett Till was lynched in Mississippi, and follows dozens of failed attempts to pass anti-lynching legislation. The Senate unanimously passed virtually identical legislation last year. The House then passed it by a sweeping 410-4 vote in February but renamed the legislation for Till — the sole change that returned the measure to the Senate. (Taylor, 6/4)

The New York Times: Two Huge Covid-19 Studies Are Retracted After Scientists Sound Alarms
The studies, published in renowned scientific journals, produced astounding results and altered the course of research into the coronavirus pandemic. One undercut President Trump’s claim that certain antimalarial drugs cure Covid-19, the illness caused by the virus, concluding that the medications in fact were dangerous to patients. The other found that some blood pressure drugs did not increase the risk of Covid-19 and might even be protective. Both studies were led by a professor at Harvard, and both depended on a huge international database of patient medical records that few experts had ever heard of. But on Thursday, the studies were retracted by the scientific journals in which they had appeared, The New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet, because the authors could not verify the data on which the results depended. (Rabin and Gabler, 6/4)

NPR: Study Showing Hydroxychloroquine Increases Death Risk For COVID-19 Is Retracted
The paper, published in the journal the Lancet last month, concluded that hydroxychloroquine, taken either alone or with an antibiotic, to treat patients with COVID-19 was of no benefit and actually increased a patient's risk of dying. The publication of the study prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to halt its own study of hydroxychloroquine. The WHO has now resumed the trial. The Lancet paper analyzed data, purported to be from COVID-19 patients in more than 600 hospitals around the world. The data were collected by a private company called Surgisphere, whose founder, Sapan Desai, is a co-author on the study. (Greenhalgh, 6/4)

Stat: Lancet, NEJM Retract Covid-19 Studies That Sparked Backlash
“We can no longer vouch for the veracity of the primary data sources,” Mandeep Mehra of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Frank Ruschitzka of University Hospital Zurich, and Amit Patel of University of Utah said in a statement issued by the Lancet. “Due to this unfortunate development, the authors request that the paper be retracted.” (Joseph, 6/4)

The Associated Press: Study On Safety Of Malaria Drugs For Coronavirus Retracted
Even though the Lancet report was not a rigorous test, the observational study had huge impact because of its size, reportedly involving more than 96,000 patients and 671 hospitals on six continents. Its conclusion that the drugs were tied to a higher risk of death and heart problems in people hospitalized with COVID-19 led the World Health Organization to temporarily stop use of hydroxychloroquine in a study it is leading, and for French officials to stop allowing its use in hospitals there. Earlier this week, WHO said experts who reviewed safety information decided that its study could resume. (Marchione, 6/5)

The Wall Street Journal: Authors Retract Studies That Found Risks Of Using Antimalaria Drugs Against Covid-19
Three of the Lancet paper’s authors said they decided to retract the paper after Surgisphere refused to share the full data set as part of a review triggered by concerns raised by outside researchers. The Lancet published a correction to the study on May 29. “We always aspire to perform our research in accordance with the highest ethical and professional guidelines,” the authors, Drs. Mehra, Patel and Frank Ruschitzka said in a statement. “We can never forget the responsibility we have as researchers to scrupulously ensure that we rely on data sources that adhere to our high standards. Based on this development, we can no longer vouch for the veracity of the primary data sources.” (Hopkins and Gold, 6/4)

CNN: Two Coronavirus Studies Retracted After Questions About Data 
In their retraction, Drs. Mandeep Mehra, Frank Ruschitzka and Amit Patel wrote that, after concerns were raised about the data and analyses conducted by Surgisphere and its founder, Sapan Desai, a co-author of the study, they launched a third-party peer review with Desai's consent. They aimed to confirm "the completeness of the database, and to replicate the analyses presented in the paper." "Our independent peer reviewers informed us that Surgisphere would not transfer the full dataset, client contracts, and the full ISO audit report to their servers for analysis as such transfer would violate client agreements and confidentiality requirements. As such, our reviewers were not able to conduct an independent and private peer review and therefore notified us of their withdrawal from the peer-review process," the three researchers wrote. (Gumbrecht and Fox, 6/4)

The Washington Post: Researchers Retract Lancet Hydroxychloroquine Study That Found Big Risks In Using It To Treat Covid-19
The retractions raised concerns in the medical and scientific community that researchers and even prestigious medical journals are lowering their standards in a rush to publish during the pandemic. “I’m concerned that the usual standards, both at the level of the journals and at the level of authors and faculty rushing to get high-impact work published, has meant that our usual standards have fallen,” said Steven Joffe, a medical ethicist at the University of Pennsylvania. (McGinley, 6/4)

Politico: Medical Journals Retract Two Influential Coronavirus Studies
The quick retractions of two prominent studies could undermine the public's — and politicians' — trust of scientific research during a pandemic when knowledge is rapidly evolving and accumulating, said Jennifer Kates, director of global health policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation. "Some will question scientific findings, in an environment where misinformation and distrust of information is already a problem," she said. (Tahir, 6/4)

Reuters: Authors Retract Lancet Article That Found Risks In Hydroxychloroquine Against COVID-19
The anti-malarial drug has been controversial in part due to support from Trump, as well as implications of the study published in British journal The Lancet last month, which led several COVID-19 studies to be halted. The three authors said Surgisphere, the company that provided the data, would not transfer the dataset for an independent review and they “can no longer vouch for the veracity of the primary data sources.” (Erman, 6/4)

The New York Times: This Time, Hardly Anyone Followed Trump’s Lead On Virus Drugs
Newly compiled prescription data shows that President Trump’s decision to take an antimalarial drug to ward off the coronavirus did not inspire many Americans to do the same, reflecting the fast-changing landscape surrounding the virus and efforts to treat it. First-time prescriptions ticked up by only several hundred the day after Mr. Trump mentioned at a White House event on May 18 that, as a preventive measure, he was taking one of two antimalarial drugs he had touted, according to nationwide data analyzed by The New York Times. (Gabler and Keller, 6/4)

Reuters: Does Drug Touted By Trump Work On COVID-19? After Data Debacle, We Still Don't Know
Scientists are resuming COVID-19 trials of the now world-famous drug hydroxychloroquine, as confusion continues to reign about the anti-malarial hailed by U.S. President Donald Trump as a potential “game-changer” in fighting the pandemic. (Kelland and Smout, 6/4)

Reuters: U.S. Doctors Group Sues FDA For Limiting Access To Drug Touted By Trump For COVID-19
A group of conservative U.S. doctors has sued the Food and Drug Administration for limiting use of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19, arguing that the therapy should be made widely available to fight the pandemic. (Martell and Erman, 6/4)

Modern Healthcare: Will Using Remdesivir Save Hospitals Money?
Gilead Sciences is factoring potential savings to hospitals into its pricing decision for its promising COVID-19 treatment remdesivir, but hospitals and health policy experts say hospital savings will be difficult to quantify this early. Gilead is running its own cost-savings analysis for hospitals, according to a SVB Leerink investor note. So far, hospitals have received remdesivir for free because Gilead has plans to donate enough doses to treat more than 120,500 hospitalized COVID-19 patients by early June. (Cohrs, 6/5)

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Distribution Of Covid-19 Drug Remdesivir Improved But Still Wasn’t Enough
After a rocky start, the federal government sent nearly a half-million doses of Covid-19 drug remdesivir to states over three weeks last month, but the supplies weren’t enough to treat the tens of thousands of hospitalized patients, a Wall Street Journal analysis of shipment and hospitalization data found. Supplies of the Gilead Sciences Inc. drug rose across states over those weeks—to enough to treat between 40,000 and 74,000 patients—according to Health and Human Services Department data reviewed by the Journal. (Walker, 6/5)

In other pharmaceutical news —

Reuters: Blood Pressure Drugs Linked To Lower COVID-19 Mortality: Study
Widely used drugs to control high blood pressure may help protect against severe COVID-19, a new study found, allaying concerns that they could make the illness caused by the coronavirus worse. Overall, patients with high blood pressure did have twice the risk of death and were more likely to need mechanical ventilation to help them breathe than those without hypertension - a known risk factor - researchers reported on Thursday in the European Heart Journal. (Joseph, 6/4)

CNN: Patients With High Blood Pressure Have Twice The Risk Of Dying From Coronavirus, Study Finds 
Coronavirus patients with high blood pressure have twice the risk of dying from the infection, an international study has found. High blood pressure has been known to worsen the risk of serious symptoms, but the study, published Thursday in the European Heart Journal, shows just how bad the risk is. (Fox, 6/4)

The Washington Post: The Biggest Challenge For A Coronavirus Vaccine Could Be Getting Countries To Share
Global leaders came together Thursday to raise at least $2 billion toward providing a future vaccine for the novel coronavirus to people throughout the world — a precarious diplomatic endeavor and one of the biggest unresolved problems in using a vaccine to combat the pandemic. The virtual summit was convened by a public-private partnership called Gavi, which aims to increase vaccination rates in lower-income countries. (Wan and Johnson, 6/4)

Reuters: Vaccines Group Raises $8.8 Billion For Immunisation Plans For Poor Countries
The GAVI vaccines alliance said on Thursday it had raised $8.8 billion from international donor governments, companies and philanthropic foundations to fund its immunisation programmes through to 2025. (Kelland, 6/4)

The Associated Press: UK Vaccine Summit Calls For Freely Available Virus Vaccine
A vaccine summit has raised billions of dollars to immunize children in developing countries as experts wrestled with how any potential vaccine against the coronavirus might be distributed globally — and fairly. The United Nations and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement have urged that “a people’s vaccine” be developed for COVID-19 that would be freely available to everyone, calling it a “moral imperative.” (Cheng and Neergaard, 6/5)

Stat: Inovio Sues Vaccine Manufacturer Amid Race To Develop Covid-19 Vaccine
As the race to develop a Covid-19 vaccine accelerates, Inovio Pharmaceuticals (INO) filed a lawsuit claiming it is being held “hostage” by its long-standing contract manufacturer, which is refusing to provide crucial data needed to scale up vaccine production. In arguing its case, Inovio maintained that a supply agreement requires VGXI to transfer technology know-how to other contract manufacturers if it declines to make a vaccine for Inovio. And recently, VGXI told Inovio that it cannot manufacture further batches of its experimental Covid-19 vaccine this year because it lacks manufacturing capacity, according to the lawsuit, filed in a Pennsylvania state court. (Silverman, 6/4)

Reuters: AstraZeneca Targets Two Billion Doses, Poor Countries With COVID Vaccine Deals
British drugmaker AstraZeneca has doubled manufacturing capacity for its potential coronavirus vaccine to 2 billion doses in two deals involving Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates that guarantee early supply to lower income countries. The deals with epidemic response group CEPI and vaccine alliance GAVI are backed by the World Health Organisation and aim to quell concerns that the company was committing all initial supplies of the vaccine to the developed world. (6/4)

The Wall Street Journal: AstraZeneca Signs More Coronavirus Vaccine Supply Deals
The distribution deals are the latest signed by a drugmaker working on a coronavirus vaccine. The companies have been straddling competing demands from national leaders who want to secure supplies for their own populations and from those who want to set up global allocation systems, including programs to vaccinate health-care workers around the world before the general population. In the first agreement, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, an Oslo-based nonprofit that has funded several coronavirus vaccine projects this year, said it is setting up a global development and distribution system for coronavirus vaccines with another nonprofit. (Loftus and Walker, 6/4)

Stat: AstraZeneca Lays Out Plans To Produce 2 Billion Doses Of Covid-19 Vaccine
“We believe we can get the vaccine to hundreds of millions of people around the world, importantly including those in the countries with the lowest income,” Pascal Soriot, AstraZeneca’s CEO, told a group of reporters on a webcast. “So our goal is really to not leave anybody behind.” (Herper, 6/4)

Reuters: Novavax Gets U.S. Defense Funding For Its COVID-19 Vaccine
Novavax Inc said on Thursday the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) will give the late-stage biotech company up to $60 million to fund the manufacturing of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine. The U.S.-based company said the deal includes the delivery of 10 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine - NVX‑CoV2373 - to the DoD this year. (6/4)

Reuters: Tyson The Alpaca Takes Heavyweight Role In Search For Coronavirus Vaccine
Scientists in Sweden are hoping an alpaca named Tyson can help deliver a knockout blow in the fight to develop a treatment or vaccine against the novel coronavirus that has killed nearly 400,000 people worldwide. After immunizing Tyson, a 12 year-old alpaca in Germany, with virus proteins, the team at the Karolinska Institute have isolated tiny antibodies - known as nanobodies - from his blood that bind to the same part of the virus as human antibodies and could block the infection. (6/4)

ABC News: In Coronavirus Vaccine Race, Past Missteps Serve As Cautionary Tales 
Polio in the first half of the 1950s crippled or killed tens of thousands of children each year, prompting widespread fear of a disease cloaked in mystery. So when Jonas Salk rolled out his vaccine in 1955, it was justifiably regarded as a major breakthrough not only in science, but in the psyche of the country. The excitement of Salk’s achievement, however, was partially undercut by a tragic, lesser-known chapter in the vaccine’s history, when a manufacturer of the vaccine inadvertently distributed a botched batch of the serum, leading to deaths and paralysis in dozens of children. (Bruggeman, 6/5)

Stat: How We Can Avoid Screwing Up The Response To Covid-19 Again 
Even as Americans fight (and even kill) over the country’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, there is no disagreement on one point: With 1.9 million cases and the death toll closing in on 110,000 as of June 5, for both economic and humanitarian reasons we absolutely cannot have a repeat of the tragedy that has unfolded since March. But with the current drop-off in cases, hospital admissions, and deaths likely to be followed sooner or later by local, regional, and possibly national resurgences, the implication is clear: If — or, more likely, when — those occur, we have to do better. (Begley and Branswell, 6/5)

Modern Healthcare: HHS Eyes How Healthcare Can Prepare For Emergencies
The federal government sent out a request for information on data analysis and public-private partnerships that will better prepare the healthcare industry for emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic. HHS is inquiring how healthcare organizations have used data to quantify the impact of crises like COVID-19 on access, timeliness and quality as well as how they've established public-private partnerships. Comments are due by July 8. (Kacik, 6/4)

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Coronavirus Deaths Pass 108,000; India Reports Its Highest Daily Toll
The U.S. coronavirus death toll passed 108,000 while reported cases topped 1.8 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Cases world-wide passed 6.6 million, and deaths stood at more than 391,000. Experts say official totals likely understate the extent of the pandemic, in part because of differing testing and reporting standards. (6/5)

CNN: US Coronavirus Deaths: Over 1,000 Reported In The Past 24 Hours 
In a little over a week, Americans have gone from taking their first hesitant steps outside again to marching in tightly-packed crowds in cities all over the country. Any uncertainty about venturing out during a coronavirus pandemic has been seemingly cast aside to protest police brutality after watching the video of George Floyd pinned under an officer's knee in Minneapolis. They've chanted slogans and shouted Floyd's name, some without masks. During arrests, police have loaded them into vehicles and holding cells -- without social distancing. (Karimi, 6/5)

The New York Times: Doctors Heavily Overprescribed Antibiotics Early In The Pandemic
The desperately ill patients who deluged the emergency room at Detroit Medical Center in March and April exhibited the telltale symptoms of the coronavirus: high fevers and infection-riddled lungs that left them gasping for air. With few treatment options, doctors turned to a familiar intervention: broad-spectrum antibiotics, the shot-in-the-dark medications often used against bacterial infections that cannot be immediately identified. They knew antibiotics are not effective against viruses, but they were desperate, and they feared the patients could be vulnerable to life-threatening secondary bacterial infections as well. (Jacobs, 6/4)

Politico: States Prod Nursing Homes To Take More Covid-19 Patients
Programs designed to help elderly people with coronavirus are creating a perverse financial incentive for nursing homes with bad track records to bring in sick patients, raising the risks of spreading infections and substandard care for seriously ill patients, according to advocates for the elderly and industry experts. Coronavirus-positive patients can bring in double or more the funding of other residents. States including California, Massachusetts, Michigan and New Mexico, wanting to relieve pressure on crowded hospitals, are providing extra incentives for nursing homes to accept such patients. (Severns and Roubein, 6/4)

Modern Healthcare: CMS To Fine Nursing Homes Weekly For Not Submitting COVID-19 Data
Nursing homes will face weekly fines if they fail to submit COVID-19 case and death data to the federal government, CMS Administrator Seema Verma said Thursday. More nursing homes have complied with the data requirements, with 88% — or 13,600 — of Medicare and Medicaid facilities submitting data as of May 31. They recorded more than 95,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, another 58,000 suspected cases and nearly 32,000 deaths, CMS said. That data, which excludes assisted living facilities, was made public Thursday. (Christ, 6/4)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Feds Release New COVID-19 Data On Nursing Homes
COVID-19 may have extracted a heavier toll on nursing home patients and workers than Georgia has recognized, according to data released Thursday by the federal government. At Legacy Transitional Care & Rehabilitation in Atlanta, 33 residents and five employees have died of COVID-19 so far this year, by the federal count. The state shows only 11 deaths from the coronavirus at the facility as of Wednesday. At Westbury Medical Care and Rehab in Jackson, 42 residents and one worker’s death were tied to the coronavirus, according to the federal report. State reports showed 34 deaths at Westbury. (Teegardin, 6/4)

State House News Service: COVID-19 Nursing Home Audits Show Progress, Concerns 
More than four dozen nursing homes were flagged for concerning results in at least one category of a COVID-19 audit conducted in late May, the Baker administration announced Wednesday, adding that dozens more that previously received similar warnings fared well on follow-up investigations. Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders said 49 of the 230 nursing homes audited between May 18 and May 29 "remain in the red," indicating they failed to meet one or more core measures of competency for responding to the highly infectious virus that has swept through facilities across the state. (Lisinski, 6/4)

The Washington Post: Hundreds Of Nursing Homes Ran Short On Staff, PPE As More Than 30,000 Residents Died
New federal data released Thursday reflect the rising death toll from covid-19 at the nation’s nursing homes and the desperate need at thousands of facilities for critical personnel and basic supplies. More than three months after the coronavirus began sweeping through U.S. nursing homes, thousands of homes are still underequipped for the continuing onslaught, the data show. So far, the number of nursing home deaths attributed to covid-19 has reached nearly 32,000 residents and more than 600 employees, and both counts are sure to rise: About 12 percent of the nation’s 15,000 homes have not yet reported figures. (Whoriskey, Cenziper, Englund and Jacobs, 6/4)

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Nursing Home Population Shrunk Roughly 10% This Year
The coronavirus pandemic dealt a crushing blow to nursing homes across the U.S., driving down their occupancy by nearly 100,000 residents between the end of 2019 and late May, according to new federal data. The data gives the public its first broad look into individual nursing homes and sheds new light on the scale of the pandemic’s impact on the industry and those it serves. Nursing homes reported nearly 32,000 resident deaths linked to the coronavirus, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said Thursday. (Weaver, Wilde Mathews and Kamp, 6/4)

San Francisco Chronicle: California’s Respite Care Centers For Seniors Threatened By State Budget Disaster 
The Bayview Hunters Point Adult Day Health Center gave Ernest and Linda Hills a much-needed routine. Taking care of Ernest, 82, had become increasingly difficult for Linda after he was diagnosed with dementia three years ago and Parkinson’s disease the following year. Then last summer she found the adult day health center, where her husband of four decades could get his physical and occupational therapy, socialize with friends and have access to recreational activities, all in the same place.“Going to the center was like a job for him,” said Linda Hills, 71. “It made him feel prideful.”Now the San Francisco center, and 260 others like it across California, could be forced to shut their doors by the end of the year. (Koseff, 6/5)

Los Angeles Times: She’s Patrolled Navajo Nation For Nearly 20 Years. Nothing Prepared Her For Coronavirus
The Navajo Nation patrol car pulled up to the jail near the center of town and Officer Carolyn Tallsalt stepped out. She adjusted her surgical mask, pressing the edges so they sealed against her cheeks, then flung open the door to the back seat where there was a woman in handcuffs. A jail guard proceeded to pepper the woman, arrested for disturbing the peace, with questions. Have you been in contact with anyone known to have coronavirus? Have you contracted the virus yourself? Do you have a fever or body aches? “No, no, no,” the mask-less woman mumbled, before coughing twice into the open air. Tallsalt stepped back. (Lee, 6/3)

The New York Times: On Tribal Lands, A Time To Make Art For Solace And Survival
For over 30 years, Marvin and Frances Martinez have risen with the sun to drive from their home at the San Ildefonso Pueblo in New Mexico to the centuries-old Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe. They arrive early to snag a prime spot beneath the rough-hewed wooden beams of the portal, a colonnade where they sell pottery blackened by blue smoke that recalls the legacy of Maria Martinez, the grande dame of Native American pottery and Mr. Martinez’s great-grandmother. They are among the 70 or so Native American artisans gathering here to earn a living, artfully arranging their silver and turquoise jewelry, polychrome pots, ubiquitous feathered dreamcatchers and other items on Pendleton blankets. (Brown, 6/5)

The Associated Press: Navajo Nation Keeps Closings, Curfews; Weekend Lockdowns End
The Navajo Nation is extending its closure of tribal government facilities and continuing its overnight curfews while ending weekend lockdowns imposed because of the coronavirus outbreak. Tribal health officials reported 128 additional cases of COVID-19 and seven additional deaths, increasing the total number of cases to 5,661 with 259 deaths, as of June 3.Tribal President Jonathan Nez signed an order June 3 extending the closure of Navajo Nation government offices and entities to July 5, officials said in a statement. (6/4)

Kaiser Health News: Montana’s Tribal Nations Preserve COVID Restrictions To Preserve Their Cultures
As Montana plows forward with its reopening, including throwing open the doors to tourism on June 1, the outlook is starkly different for members of the state’s Native American nations, which have approached the coronavirus with greater caution and stricter controls. For members of the state’s far-flung tribes, who make up nearly 7% of Montana’s population of roughly 1 million, protective attitudes toward elders and cultural heritage have shaped a pandemic response around defending the most vulnerable rather than prioritizing economics. (McLaughlin, 6/5)

The Wall Street Journal: Las Vegas Casinos Reopen With Social Distancing, Sinks By Slot Machines
During the pandemic-induced closure of casinos here, the Bellagio resort installed a new feature in between the twinkling slot machines: plumbing. Hard-wired hand-washing sinks branded “Vegas Safely”—complete with dispensers for gloves and masks—are among many reminders of the delicate balance being attempted by Strip operators like MGM Resorts International as properties began to reopen Thursday morning after restrictions were eased. (Sayre, 6/4)

The Washington Post: ‘Do Not Sit’: Virginia Commuter Trains Designate Social Distancing Seating Onboard
Your next ride on a Virginia commuter train will feel and look different. Virginia Railway Express is restricting where passengers can sit and stand to maintain social distancing. Decals on trains will direct riders to take a window seat in every other row to ensure proper distancing, VRE said. Most seats will have a “Do not sit in marked seats” graphic on them, which will also include an illustration urging passengers to stay six feet from each other. (Lazo, 6/4)

The Wall Street Journal: New Jersey Assembly Approves $5 Billion Emergency Bond Plan
The New Jersey Assembly passed a measure sought by Gov. Phil Murphy giving the state the authority to seek $5 billion in bonds as officials struggle to close a massive revenue shortfall stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic. New Jersey’s Department of the Treasury projects the state’s tax revenue to fall short of previous estimates by $10 billion through June 2021. That decline is the result of state restrictions on business activity to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, which has led to widespread unemployment and declines in corporate and income tax revenue. (De Avila, 6/4)

Reuters: Florida Offers Drive-Through Botox To Quarantined Residents
Quarantined Florida residents worried about their laughter lines and crows’ feet need frown no longer - Botox is back, and it’s being offered at a drive-through. On May 4, the U.S. state allowed a partial relaxing of restrictions imposed to slow the coronavirus pandemic. That means certain elective medical procedures could resume, including Botox injections and cosmetic surgery. (Fagenson, 6/4)

The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Reports 876 New Cases Of Coronavirus, 27 More Deaths; Hospitalizations Dip Under 1,100 
Maryland officials reported Thursday that the state has confirmed 876 new cases of the coronavirus and 27 more deaths, while its testing positivity rate dropped below 9%. Thursday’s additions bring the state’s total to 55,858 cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, and 2,546 people who have died due to the disease or complications from it. (Davis, 6/4)

The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore And Anne Arundel Counties To Adopt Statewide Guidelines For Lifting Coronavirus Restrictions 
The leaders of Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties announced Thursday they will lift several more coronavirus-related restrictions, effective at 5 p.m. Friday, allowing nonessential businesses to reopen. It’s the first time the two counties have adopted Gov. Larry Hogan’s reopening guidelines as they take effect. Previously, the two counties had waited to implement reopening. (Nobles III, 6/4)

Kaiser Health News: COVID-19 Overwhelms Border ICUs
Even as most California hospitals have avoided an incapacitating surge in coronavirus patients, some facilities near the Mexican border have been overwhelmed. They include El Centro Regional Medical Center in Imperial County and Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista in San Diego County, which link the spike in COVID-19 patients to their communities’ cross-border lifestyle. Some U.S. citizens and legal residents who live in Mexico are crossing the border from Tijuana and Mexicali into the U.S. for treatment. (De Marco, 6/5)

CBS News: NBA Approves Plan To Resume In July Months After Coronavirus Shutdown 
The NBA's board of governors has just approved a plan to resume its season on July 31, months after shutting down the league due to the coronavirus pandemic, the league announced Thursday. The season would restart with 22 of the league's 30 teams and play games at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. (Brito, 6/4)

The Washington Post: Paul Novicki Death: Detroit EMT Worker Dies Of Coronavirus
Paul Novicki’s family has little doubt how he caught the novel coronavirus. As an emergency medical technician, Novicki pushed through lengthy shifts to aid sick and injured people. Even as the virus spread through his suburb of hard-hit Detroit, Novicki continued working, undeterred by the risks. “To him, it’s just an occupational hazard. He would brush it off and go to work,” said his son, Zack Novicki. (Janes, 6/4)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Sisolak Highlights Positive Data In Nevada’s Fight Against Coronavirus 
Roughly a month after mapping out Nevada’s strategy for rebounding from its COVID-19 outbreak, Gov. Steve Sisolak on Thursday highlighted data that shows the state making continuing progress on declining infections, increased hospital capacity and expanded testing and contact tracing. (Dentzer, 6/4)

WBUR: Parents Sue DCF For Restricting Child Visitations During Pandemic
A group of Massachusetts parents has filed suit against the Baker administration, arguing it has unlawfully terminated visits with the parents' biological children in foster care. They argued the administration has imposed excessive restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic. (Becker, 6/4)

Boston Globe: Here’s What Can Reopen In Mass. During Phases 2, 3, And 4
Governor Charlie Baker said he expects to make an announcement on Saturday on when Phase 2 of reopening can begin in Massachusetts, as officials closely monitor key metrics of coronavirus public health data. If trends look as if they’re going in the right direction, Phase 2 could begin as early as Monday, June 8, Baker has said. (Reiss, 6/4)

WBUR: To Reopen Campus, Colleges Prepare To Take On Contagious Students 
Massachusetts colleges are planning to set aside dorm rooms to isolate and quarantine students with COVID-19 if campuses reopen this fall. To make rooms available for students who have to be isolated or quarantined, some universities will be moving other students into hotels. (Thys, 6/5)

Modern Healthcare: COVID-19 Takes Toll On New York–Presbyterian In First Quarter
New York–Presbyterian lost $128.5 million in the first three months of 2020 as the loss of revenue from postponed procedures and higher staffing and supply costs from COVID-19 wreaked havoc on the finances of the well-heeled health system. The loss, which represented an operating margin of -5.9%, was preceded by a $29.4 million operating profit in the first quarter of 2019, according to its financial statements. (LaMantia, 6/4)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: 133 New Coronavirus Cases In Southern Nevada 
Clark County recorded 133 new COVID-19 cases and no new deaths over the preceding day, according to data posted Thursday. The Southern Nevada Health District reported the new cases of the disease caused by the new coronavirus on its dedicated web page, bringing the total for the county to 7,056. The heath district estimates that 5,545 of those patients have recovered. (Brunker, 6/4)

Boston Globe: Raimondo Says Distance Learning Could Make The “Snow Day” A Thing Of The Past 
The governor said discussions are under way with superintendents, principals, teachers, and parents, and she plans to make announcements next week about what the future might look like for the state’s public schools. (Fitzpatrick, 6/4)

NPR: U.S. Unexpectedly Adds 2.5 Million Jobs As Unemployment Dips To 13.3%
The U.S economy rebounded with surprising strength last month as businesses began to reopen from the coronavirus lockdown. U.S. employers added 2.5 million jobs in May, as the unemployment rate fell to 13.3%. That's still extremely high by historical standards, but much better than forecasters were expecting. It reflects an improvement over April's jobless rate of 14.7%. April saw nearly 20.7 million jobs lost, as the U.S. slammed the brakes on its economy in a desperate effort to slow the spread of the pandemic. (Horsley, 6/5)

The Washington Post: May 2020 Jobs Report: Unemployment Rate To Be Close To 20 Percent
2.5 million people gained jobs in May, as states and counties began to reopen around the country. There are hopes that these figures show the country is moving away from the nadir of the crisis — the rocky bottom below which the United States will sink no further. Yet, with some 30 million workers collecting unemployment benefits, the labor market has been upended. (Rosenberg, 6/5)

CNBC: May Jobs Report: Unemployment Rate Comes In At 13.3%, Better Than Expected
Leisure and hospitality workers made up almost half the increase, with 1.2 million going back to work after a reported loss of 7.5 million in April. Jobs in bars and restaurants increased by 1.4 million as states began to relax social distancing measures. (Cox, 6/5)

The Hill: Unemployment Rate Falls, Economy Adds Jobs In Surprise
The May jobs report shattered economists’ expectations of a loss of nearly 8 million jobs that was expected to send the unemployment rate to 19 percent or above. (Lane, 6/5)

The Wall Street Journal: Unemployment Rate Fell To 13.3% In May 
The Congressional Budget Office, in a letter Thursday to members of Congress, said it estimated expanding enhanced jobless benefits through January 2021 would mean five in every six claimants would make more money from unemployment insurance than from work. The program pays workers an extra $600 a week and is currently set to expire in July. Lawmakers are debating whether to extend it as part of a new stimulus bill. (Mitchell, 6/5)

The Associated Press: Unemployment Rate Falls To 13.3%, US Adds 2.5 Million Jobs
Other evidence has also shown that the job market meltdown triggered by the coronavirus has bottomed out. The number of people applying for unemployment benefits has declined for nine straight weeks. And the total number of people receiving such aid has essentially leveled off. (Rugaber, 6/5)

Bloomberg: US Jobs Report May. 2020: Unemployment Rate Falls To 13.3%
Treasury yields and U.S. stock futures jumped after the report, while the dollar spiked against the yen. “These improvements in the labor market reflected a limited resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed in March and April due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and efforts to contain it,” the Labor Department said in a statement. (Mitrieva, 6/5)

The Washington Post: Coronavirus: For Many Who Lost Jobs In The Epidemic, Hunger Comes With Shame
The Robert Garcia that Robert Garcia always saw in the mirror was the Marine who jumped out of helicopters, the guy who built houses, rode a Harley and had plenty of buddies. Now, thanks to the coronavirus, his reflection shows a man alone in a single room in Santa Fe, N.M., out of work, looking outside and wondering what the neighbors are thinking when the food bank delivers his meals. “People see them coming and I feel this anxiety that they look at me in a different way,” Garcia said. “Like, ‘What’s wrong with this dude that he’s getting food like that?’ ” (Fisher, Hernandez and Sellers, 6/4)

The Washington Post: The U.S. Economy Is Likely Bottoming Out, But A Full Recovery Could Take Years
The U.S. economy’s steep slide appears to be leveling off amid signs that layoffs are easing, travel is modestly picking up, and Americans are beginning to eat out again, but a recovery from the coronavirus pandemic is still a long way off, with economic activity at deeply depressed levels. On Thursday, the latest sign that the economic decline may be bottoming out came as the government reported that 1.9 million Americans had applied for unemployment insurance during the last week of May — a painfully high number but the lowest since the novel coronavirus started spreading widely in the country in March. (Long and Rosenberg, 6/4)

The Associated Press: Despite Reopening, Some Jobs Lost To Virus Are Gone For Good
Factories and stores are reopening, economies are reawakening – but many jobs just aren’t coming back. That’s the harsh truth facing workers laid off around the U.S. and the world, from restaurants in Thailand to car factories in France, whose livelihoods fell victim to a virus-driven recession that’s accelerating decline in struggling industries and upheaval across the global workforce. (Chalton and Vejpongsa, 6/5)

CBS News: Nearly One In Five Say Coronavirus Has Caused Financial Hardship 
Overall, most Americans say their family has been financially affected in some way by the coronavirus outbreak and the subsequent lockdowns. Almost one in five Americans describe the impact as a hardship. Larger numbers describe it as inconvenient or difficult but would not go so far as to call it a hardship. Most Americans, however, remain optimistic that jobs will come back. (Backus and De Pinto, 6/4)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Flood Of Jobless Claims Continues In Georgia
A flood of jobless claims continued to pour into the state Department of Labor last week even as officials warned that some workers face a loss of benefits. About 149,163 claims were processed – down slightly from the previous week, but still far more than during the worst month of the Great Recession. Since mid-March, the department has processed more than 2.3 million claims, found 928,1010 of them valid and issued at least a first payment to 715,000 people, according to Mark Butler, the state labor commissioner. (Kanell, 6/4)

The Wall Street Journal: Appeals Court Blocks Texans’ Access To Mail-In Voting
Texans cannot request mail-in ballots based on a fear of catching the new coronavirus at the polls, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday, the latest development in a high-stakes fight over voting in the nation’s second-largest state. The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked an injunction from a federal judge last month that gave Texans the right to request mail-in ballots during the pandemic. “The spread of the virus has not given ‘unelected federal judges’ a roving commission to rewrite state election codes,” Judge Jerry Smith wrote for a unanimous three-judge panel. (Findell, 6/4)

CNN: Texas Voting: Appeals Court Blocks Order That Would Have Expanded Vote-By-Mail Amid Pandemic
District Judge Fred Biery had issued a decision in May that expanded mail-in voting by allowing the state's "disability" election provision to apply to all registered voters under age 65, who currently have to provide excuses when applying for absentee ballots. Texas' election code defines "disability" as "a sickness or physical condition that prevents the voter from appearing at the polling place on election day without a likelihood of needing personal assistance or of injuring the voter's health." (Mena, 6/5)

Texas Tribune: Federal Appeals Court Extends Block On Voting-By-Mail Expansion In Texas
In issuing his preliminary injunction, Biery cited the irreparable harm voters would face if existing age eligibility rules for voting by mail were in place for elections held while the new coronavirus remains in wide circulation. In his appeal to the 5th Circuit, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argued that Biery's injunction threatened "irreparable injury" to the state "by injecting substantial confusion into the Texas voting process mere days before ballots are distributed and weeks before runoff elections." Siding with Paxton, the 5th Circuit panel in part found that requiring Texas officials to institute voting by mail for all against their will would present “significant, irreparable harm” to the state. The panel pointed to the U.S. Supreme Court’s standing that lower federal courts should “ordinarily not alter the election rules on the eve of an election.” (Ura, 6/4)

The Hill: Tennessee Court Rules All Registered Voters Can Obtain Mail-In Ballots Due To COVID-19 
A Tennessee state court ruled Thursday that any registered voter in the state can qualify for mail-in voting. Unlike some other states, voters in Tennessee must cite an excuse for why they are not voting in-person. Outside of the ruling, which only applies to elections taking place this year, only people who are sick, disabled, traveling or elderly are eligible for mail-in voting in the state. (Moreno, 6/4)

Politico: New York Primary Battles Struggle To Draw Attention In A Shaken City
One of New York City's congressional primaries is among the progressive movement's best hopes for a repeat of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's upset win in 2018. Another could deal a blow to that movement. In one district that touches the north end of the Bronx, a three-decade incumbent, white congressman will have to fend off a challenge from a progressive, black candidate just weeks after getting caught on a hot mic saying he “wouldn’t care” about speaking on the city's civil unrest if he didn’t have a primary to win. (Durkin, 6/5)

The New York Times: Contact Tracing With Your Phone: It’s Easier But There Are Tradeoffs
The handshake came first. Then the high-five, fist bump and more recently, the elbow touch. Canadian researchers are now working on a new greeting, the CanShake. It is not a mere salutation. The CanShake — which involves people shaking their phones at each other upon meeting to transmit contact information — is one of many emerging concepts seeking to use smartphones to do mass contact tracing to track and contain the spread of Covid-19. All involve harnessing common consumer technology to log people’s location or movements and match it against the location of people known to be sick. (Richtel, 6/3)

The Hill: CDC Director: US Needs Up To 100,000 Contact Tracers By September To Fight Coronavirus 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield told Congress on Thursday that the country needs between 30,000 and 100,000 people working on contact tracing in order to help contain the next wave of the coronavirus. The estimate shows the daunting challenge of hiring an army of people to interview those infected with coronavirus to identify who they have been in contact with so that those people can quarantine and help prevent the spread of the virus. (Sullivan, 6/4)

The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore To Run Independent Contact Tracing Program With Funds From Pepsi, Rockefeller Foundation 
Baltimore is launching a coronavirus contact tracing operation separate from the state that will employ up to 300 individuals who have lost work due to the pandemic, officials announced Thursday. The $12 million public-private program — supported by the mayor’s office, Baltimore Civic Fund, Baltimore Corps and a host of foundations and corporations including the Rockefeller Foundation, PepsiCo and CareFirst — will train case investigators in contact tracing, health education outreach and care coordination, said Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young at a news conference at the city’s War Memorial. (Miller, 6/4)

Reuters: Singapore Plans Wearable Virus Contact Tracing Device For All
Singapore plans to give a wearable device that will identify people who had interacted with carriers of coronavirus to all of its 5.7 million residents, in what could become one of the most comprehensive contact tracing efforts globally. The small device, which can be worn on the end of a lanyard or carried in a handbag, follows glitches with an earlier smartphone-based bluetooth system which limited take up of the technology. (Geddie and Aravindan, 6/5)

Reuters: Europe Pins Hopes On Smarter Coronavirus Contact Tracing Apps
European countries cautiously emerging from the onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic are looking to a second generation of contact tracing apps to help contain further outbreaks. (Busvine, 6/4)

And in testing news —

The Wall Street Journal: Coronavirus Antibody Tests: Facts, Myths And Everything You Need To Know
The clamor for antibody tests is mounting. The blood tests are designed to detect whether people have been previously infected with the coronavirus and have developed antibodies to it. People who were sick but never got a Covid-19 test want to see if they did have the virus—in hopes that they may have some protection from future infection. Public health authorities are deploying the tests to help determine how widely the virus has spread. And businesses and governments hope the tests can help open up the economy and get employees back to the workplace. (Reddy, 6/4)

The Washington Post: Medical Research On Deadly Rare Diseases Declines Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
Anissa Merriam was a vibrant teenager, a talented artist who loved anime and excelled in difficult classes. But at 14, she started dropping her pencil and her hairbrush, and struggled with her studies. Something wasn’t right, she told her parents. Eventually, Anissa was diagnosed with a rare, neurodegenerative form of epilepsy that strikes in early adolescence, causing intractable seizures and dementia. Most patients die before 30. Today, Anissa, at 22, likes to dress up like 1930s child star Shirley Temple, watch Disney movies and tap dance. (McGinley, 6/4)

The New York Times: Did Mom Take Her Medicine? Keeping Eyes On Elders In Quarantine
Norman Potter’s mother, Dorothy, who suffers from a chronic pulmonary illness, lives alone in the mountain town of Newland, N.C., two hours from his home in Winston-Salem. For a year, Mr. Potter had been looking for technology that would enable him to monitor her health from afar. Mrs. Potter, 90, refuses to move closer to her son or daughter, Mr. Potter said. She and her seven siblings were born and raised in Newland. “She loves the house, her church and small group of friends,” he said. And, he said, “she is fiercely independent.” (Garland, 6/5)

The New York Times: Research Shows Students Falling Months Behind During Virus Disruptions
While a nation of burned-out, involuntary home schoolers slogs to the finish line of a disrupted academic year, a picture is emerging of the extent of the learning loss among children in America, and the size of the gaps schools will be asked to fill when they reopen. It is not pretty. New research suggests that by September, most students will have fallen behind where they would have been if they had stayed in classrooms, with some losing the equivalent of a full school year’s worth of academic gains. Racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps will most likely widen, because of disparities in access to computers, home internet connections and direct instruction from teachers. (Goldstein, 6/5)

The Washington Post: Amazon Reverses Its Decision To Ban An E-Book That Questions The Science About The Coronavirus
Amazon on Thursday backed away from a decision to block the sale of a self-published e-book about the coronavirus after critics, including Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, blasted the ban. On Thursday morning, Alex Berenson, a conservative-media favorite, tweeted to his more than 118,000 followers that Amazon banned his 6,400-word booklet. The booklet, “Unreported Truths about COVID-19 and Lockdowns: Part 1: Introduction and Death Counts and Estimates,” argues that the mainstream media is overstating the threat from the virus. Berenson dubbed them “Team Apocalypse.” (Greene, 6/4)

The Wall Street Journal: Airlines Add Flights As Travel Slowed By The Coronavirus Starts To Pick Up
American Airlines Group Inc. on Thursday joined other carriers in restoring some flying that was curtailed due to the coronavirus pandemic, as parts of the country start to reopen. American’s schedule will still be significantly smaller than most summers, when many people go on vacation. American said it would operate 55% of last year’s domestic schedule in July. In April and May, American’s domestic schedule was 20% of last year’s levels. (Sider, 6/4)

CNN: Coronavirus May Not Be Mutating, But Experts Say There Is Still Potential For Danger 
Covid-19 is not mutating, health experts say, but that doesn't mean it's not dangerous. So far, evidence does not show that the coronavirus is changing to become more severe or more transmittable, but complacency by people and local governments could increase its spread, World Health Organization infectious disease epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove said Wednesday at a news briefing. (Holcombe, 6/4)

Boston Globe: People Crave Togetherness. But What Happens When Friends Disagree About How Much Is Safe?
People crave togetherness right now — some more than others, leading to rifts among friends who take different views on COVID-19 protocols. Consider Malden City Council President Jadeane Sica, who threw an al fresco birthday bash last month and faced swift public backlash. Nobody wants to be the neighborhood pariah, but loneliness has a price, too. Researchers have found that it can be as damaging to health as smoking 15 cigarettes per day, says Dr. Jeremy Nobel, founder of the UnLonely Project, which promotes safe social connection through creative expression. (Baskin, 6/4)

Kaiser Health News: Efforts To Curb Congenital Syphilis Falter In COVID’s Shadow
U.S. public health officials are closer to identifying a road map for curbing the rising rates of syphilis infections in newborn babies, but with so many resources diverted to stopping the spread of COVID-19, many fear the rate of deadly infections will only get worse. Congenital syphilis — the term used when a mother passes the infection to her baby during pregnancy — is often a devastating legacy, potentially leaving babies blind or in excruciating pain or with bone deformities, blood abnormalities or organ damage. (Barry-Jester, 6/4)

The New York Times: Don’t Thank The Virus For Saving The Climate Yet
Much has been made about what the coronavirus “means” for climate change: measurable drops in carbon dioxide emissions and air pollution, behavioral changes that climate action might demand. To Daniel C. Esty, a professor of environmental law and policy at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and Yale Law School, taking only those lessons from the coronavirus would be a missed opportunity. (Schlossberg, 6/4)

Modern Healthcare: No 'Simple Switch' For Telemedicine Expansion, HHS Senior Adviser Says
HHS is reviewing possible steps to extend telemedicine flexibilities enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic, a senior adviser at HHS said Thursday, but eliminating regulatory barriers will require support from other federal agencies, Congress and state governments. (Cohen, 6/4)

Modern Healthcare: Private Equity Funds' Interest In Health IT Dips During COVID-19
Private equity funds are reporting slightly less interest in investing in health IT companies in the wake of COVID-19, according to a new survey. While 73.7% of private equity funds reported considering investing in population health management companies before COVID-19, only 67.5% are after the pandemic, according to Healthcare Growth Partners' survey of 80 venture capital, growth equity and buyout funds. Interest in revenue cycle management companies dropped from 72.5% to 65%. (Cohen, 6/3)

The New York Times: Coronavirus Rips Into Regions Previously Spared
For months, one enduring mystery of the coronavirus was why some of the world’s most populous countries, with rickety health systems and crowded slums, had managed to avoid the brunt of an outbreak that was burning through relatively affluent societies in Europe and the United States. Now some of those countries are tumbling into the maw of the pandemic, and they are grappling with the likelihood that their troubles are only beginning. Globally, known cases of the virus are growing faster than ever with more than 100,000 new ones a day. (Walsh, 6/4)

CIDRAP: Pandemic Total Passes 6.5 Million Fueled By Multiple Hot Spots
Global COVID-19 cases topped 6.5 million today, fueled by brisk activity in Latin American countries such as Brazil, Mexico, and Peru, and in hot spots in other parts of the world, such as India and Iran, a country that is experiencing a second spike in infections. The global total today rose to 6,588,761 cases, and deaths reached 388,416, according to the Johns Hopkins online dashboard. (Schnirring, 6/4)

The New York Times: Mexico Is Reopening After Quarantine. Many Worry It’s Too Early.
Packed street markets. Buzzing metro stations. Thronged sidewalks. And noticeably fewer people wearing masks. Mexico is starting to bustle again as the country gradually reopens after a quarantine that hammered its economy. But many Mexicans, including medical experts, are worried the move has come too early, and will lead to more illness and death under a pandemic that has not been brought under control in Mexico and is surging across Latin America. (McDonald, 6/5)

Reuters: After Pakistan's Lockdown Gamble, COVID-19 Cases Surge
Four weeks ago, with its most important festival coming up and millions of people facing starvation as economic activity dwindled, Pakistan lifted a two-month-long coronavirus lockdown. (Greenfield and Farooq, 6/5)

The Wall Street Journal: South Korea’s Coronavirus Formula: Heavy On Stimulus, Light On Lockdowns
South Korea’s economy has proved to be one of the most resilient in the world in the face of the coronavirus. But economists say that will be difficult to sustain. Dependent on exports—led by the likes of Samsung Electronics Co., Hyundai Motor Co. and LG Corp. —the economy is feeling the pain of the global spending slowdown caused by the pandemic. South Korea’s exports in May were down 24% from a year earlier, about matching April’s 25% drop. (Jeong, 6/4)

The Associated Press: Surgical Or Homemade, Masks Mark A Major Shift In Thinking
Think about Hannibal Lecter, the psychopathic cannibal in the “Silence of The Lambs.” Or Jason Voorhees, the hockey mask-wearing murderer in the “Friday the 13th” slasher film series. Before the coronavirus outbreak abruptly disrupted the livelihoods of millions of people, the sight of masks worn in public spaces in the Western world conjured up images of malevolent clowns and terrifying fictional villains. (Petrequin, 6/5)

The Associated Press: Japan’s Pandemic Deaths Low, But Future Success Uncertain
Japan has kept its deaths from the new coronavirus low despite a series of missteps that beg the question of whether it can prevent future waves of infections. Authorities were criticized for bungling a cruise ship quarantine and were slow to close Japan’s borders. They have conducted only a fraction of the tests needed to find and isolate patients and let businesses operate almost as usual, even under a pandemic state of emergency. (Yamacuchi, 6/5)

The New York Times: Fear, Illness And Death In ICE Detention: How A Protest Grew On The Inside
The tightly rolled piece of lined notebook paper had ‘important’ written on the outside in Spanish. Nilson Barahona-Marriaga, almost six feet tall with a scruffy beard and a shaved head, an immigrant from Honduras who had lived in Georgia for 20 years, unfurled it as if it were a precious scroll and began to read: “We wanted to tell you that we are going to go on a hunger strike. We ask you to join us.” Hours earlier on April 9, a woman on her work shift in the laundry room slipped the letter into the fold of a clean piece of clothing bound for the Echo-7 unit, a men’s section of Irwin County Detention Center, in south Georgia, where Barahona and 30 other immigrants detained by ICE were held. (Wessler, 6/4)

Politico: Suddenly, Public Health Officials Say Social Justice Matters More Than Social Distance
For months, public health experts have urged Americans to take every precaution to stop the spread of Covid-19—stay at home, steer clear of friends and extended family, and absolutely avoid large gatherings. Now some of those experts are broadcasting a new message: It’s time to get out of the house and join the mass protests against racism. “We should always evaluate the risks and benefits of efforts to control the virus,” Jennifer Nuzzo, a Johns Hopkins epidemiologist, tweeted on Tuesday. “In this moment the public health risks of not protesting to demand an end to systemic racism greatly exceed the harms of the virus.” (Diamond, 6/4)

The Atlantic: Role-Play Facebook Groups Provide Pandemic Escapism
“Has anyone seen my friend Josh?” a man at a crowded concert asked last week. “I went to the bar for beers and now I can’t find him.” “Josh? Where are youuu,” a woman chimed in. “I brought enough earplugs for everyone! I know it seems lame, but you’ll hear the show a lot better and undistorted,” another attendee offered shortly after. Losing track of a friend in a packed bar or screaming to be heard over a live band is not something that’s happening much in the real world at the moment, but it happens all the time in the 2,100-person Facebook group “a group where we all pretend we’re in the same venue.”  So does losing shoes and Juul pods, and shouting matches over which bands are the saddest, and therefore the greatest. Even the awkwardness of daily life is re-created in the virtual music venue, through posts such as “holds an empty cup the whole show because I don't know what else to do with my hands” and the riffing comments beneath them. (Tiffany, 6/4)

Undark: Government’s Use Of Algorithm Serves Up False Fraud Charges
In 2014, Carmelita Colvin was living just north of Detroit and taking classes at a local college, when she received a letter from the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency. The letter stated that she’d committed unemployment fraud and that she owed over $13,000 in repayment of benefits and fines. Colvin’s reaction, she recalled, was: “This has got to be impossible. I just don’t believe it.” She’d collected unemployment benefits in 2013 after the cleaning company she worked for let her go, but she’d been eligible. She couldn’t figure out why she was being charged with fraud. What Colvin didn’t realize at the time was that thousands of others across the state were experiencing the same thing. The agency had introduced a new computer program — the Michigan Integrated Data Automated System, or MiDAS — to not only detect fraud, but to automatically charge people with misrepresentation and demand repayment. (Wykstra, 6/1)

The New York Times: ‘There Is Nothing’: When The Slots Go Dark In A Casino Mecca
Now is usually when Atlantic City stirs back to life as winter’s sleepy tourist trade gives way to beachgoers and gamblers eager to spend time and money. Not this year. The boardwalk and beaches are almost empty, save for people fishing. And the casinos, whose very design is meant to lure gamblers inside and keep them there, now have security guards posted outside fenced-off entrances. “Atlantic City is a summertime city, it’s when we all make money,” said Benjamin Stevens, 26, a bartender at the Hard Rock Hotel Casino. “You usually work a lot in the summer to get through the wintertime.” (Yalkin and Gonzalez, 6/2)

Stat: Covid-19: Changing The Game For Health Care Companies, Investors 
Even as the health care industry has stepped up with an unprecedented response to the Covid-19 pandemic, health care companies are being undermined by a loss of revenue, splintering of their clinical workforces, and the disintegration of normal as we know it. For health-related entrepreneurs and startups, this means the rules of engagement with their stakeholders, including venture investors, are also changing. (Eric M. Stone, 6/5)

Bloomberg: Coronavirus: Post-Peak Lull In Cases Doesn’t Mean Weaker Virus 
It's natural to want some good news in troubling times. There are potential dangers in reading too much into things.  In Italy, there's an ongoing public debate about a possible encouraging shift toward a weaker version of Covid-19. A leading virologist and doctor have endorsed this idea as the number of deaths, cases, severely ill patients and viral load they’ve seen on swabs are declining or holding steady even as the country reopens. The virologist, Arnaldo Caruso, suggested that the virus could vanish even without a vaccine and that distancing and masks may no longer be needed soon. (Max Nisen, 6/4)

The Guardian: The Lancet Has Made One Of The Biggest Retractions In Modern History. How Could This Happen?
The Lancet is one of the oldest and most respected medical journals in the world. Recently, they published an article on Covid patients receiving hydroxychloroquine with a dire conclusion: the drug increases heartbeat irregularities and decreases hospital survival rates. This result was treated as authoritative, and major drug trials were immediately halted – because why treat anyone with an unsafe drug? Now, that Lancet study has been retracted, withdrawn from the literature entirely, at the request of three of its authors who “can no longer vouch for the veracity of the primary data sources”. Given the seriousness of the topic and the consequences of the paper, this is one of the most consequential retractions in modern history. (James Heathers, 6/5)

Los Angeles Times: How Fear Puts Us At High Risk For Trump's Magical Thinking
On Monday night, President Trump told the nation that he could stop the unrest from nationwide protests and restore security in America: “We will succeed 100%. We will succeed. Our country always wins.”Two weeks ago, he told the press he was taking hydroxychloroquine to ward off COVID-19. “I take it because I think I hear very good things,” he said. “I want the people of this nation to feel good. I don’t want them being sick.” So what if clinical tests have found the drug carried risks for coronavirus patients, with no benefits?Trump’s comments in these two instances and many others during his time in office are indicative of his magical thinking.Magical thinkers are impatient and go with their gut. And in the early days of the pandemic, Trump happily declared that the coronavirus would just disappear like miracle one day. (Michael S. Roth, 6/4)

Los Angeles Times: How To Make Sure Protests Don't Spread Coronavirus
When thousands of people started crowding city streets across the nation last week to protest the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers, where was the outcry about the risk of a new COVID-19 outbreak? Why weren’t the voices that were so quick to condemn the unmasked conservatives who protested pandemic shutdowns and the crowds of unmasked hikers and beachgoers speaking out again? It’s a good question that defies a simple answer. Was it the surprising escalation of protests? The protesters’ cause? Or the fact that it would come off as inexcusably tone-deaf to scold people about proper social distancing when they worry that they or their loved ones may be the next victims of a police shooting? (6/5)

The Hill: COVID-19 Deaths In ICE Detention Demands Medical Action Now 
As physicians and physicians-in-training at the Harvard Medical School’s Asylum Clinic, we have received urgent requests to speak on behalf of the needs of detainees living in circumstances promoting the rapid spread of COVID-19, such as crowded dormitory-style housing where detainees lack basic access to soap or masks. We cannot ignore these warnings any longer and need immediate action to release additional detainees and improve public health conditions inside detention centers. (Caroline Lee, Nishant Uppal, Parsa Erfani and Katherine Peeler, 6/4)

New England Journal of Medicine: The Legal Authority For States’ Stay-At-Home Orders
In March 2020, when many U.S. states and localities issued their first emergency orders to address Covid-19, there was widespread acceptance of the government’s legal authority to respond quickly and aggressively to this unprecedented crisis. Today, that acceptance is fraying. As initial orders expire and states move to extend or modify them, legal challenges have sprouted. The next phase of the pandemic response will see restrictions dialed up and down as threat levels change. As public and political resistance grows, further legal challenges are inevitable. Legal Challenges to Public Health Orders.The shape of these challenges is already morphing. Early cases alleged that stay-at-home orders violate individual rights. ...To prevent officials from trampling civil liberties during emergencies, some checks on their power are essential, but we believe the Wisconsin court grossly misapprehended how such checks ought to function. (Mark A. Hall, Michelle M. Mello, and David M. Studdert, 6/3).

The Hill: The Intellectual Disability Community Needs COVID Tracking 
Despite some states showing a flattening of the curve of COVID-19, hot pockets of vulnerability continue to report increases in cases and deaths. But not all vulnerable populations are even counted. A recent report by the Chicago Tribune and ProPublica highlighted concerns of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. The report shows  21.5 percent of persons residing in large residential state developmental centers have tested positive for COVID-19. (Laura Vanpuymbrouck and Sarah Ailey, 6/4)

New England Journal of Medicine: Of Heroes And Cowards 
I write this from a beige-themed medicine call room in a Santa Monica hospital. Before starting, I did a quick pass over the desk, keyboard, and phone with a germicidal wipe — a new ritual performed when settling into a workspace. Harsh, unflattering fluorescent light beams down from above. It’s 10 p.m. on an April evening, and I’m a second-year internal medicine resident at UCLA. This spring should have seen the triumphant debut of my new-found residency self-confidence. Why? Because I’ve finally completed at least once every rotation I’ll have to weather as a senior resident, an important benchmark as I progress through my medical training. Have there been lukewarm and critical evaluations along the way? Of course. Did I stress myself into dyspepsia while leading a code? Yep. Have I syncopized while admitting a patient in the emergency department? Double yep. But I made it through each new rotation, my confidence slowly building and my anxieties diminishing as the year progressed. After all, there can be no more fear of the unknown when there is no more unknown, right? Enter a viral pandemic. (Shire Lynn Beach, 6/3)

The Hill: The World Will Starve If We Keep Ignoring Disease Outbreaks 
The global coronavirus pandemic is exposing vulnerabilities in many of the systems we normally take for granted. Hospitals in New York, northern Italy and other disease epicenters have been overwhelmed with patients, putting doctors in the grim position of having to ration medical supplies and care. Food systems are also under strain, as panic buyers empty store shelves of staple products like flour and eggs, and lockdowns lead to farm labor shortages and slower international trade. In low-income countries, the situation is even more critical — business shutdowns and movement restrictions are leaving millions without any source of income, and without government safety nets, many are at risk of hunger and sliding deeper into poverty. (Elwyn Grainger-Jones, 6/4)

The Hill: The Crisis Within A Crisis: Panic And Pandemic 
The COVID-19 pandemic links the fates of individuals, communities and economies worldwide. But for those among us struggling with mental illness, their plight is particularly precarious. And just as the pandemic caught many hospitals and health systems unprepared, a crashing wave of suffering has entirely overwhelmed what meager systems are in place to deal with the mentally ill. If COVID-19 offers a wake-up call about our fragile human condition it is that the illness and suffering of one eventually touch us all, and that community health requires that we address the urgent needs of marginalized populations most in peril. (Garen Staglin and Former Rep. Patrick Kennedy, 6/3)

Boston Globe: Release The Holyoke Soldiers’ Home Report 
What did Baker administration officials know about the coronavirus crisis at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke and when did they know it? More than two months after that crisis erupted, there are still no straight answers from Governor Charlie Baker to those questions. Baker ordered an investigation into the matter on April 1, but the findings have yet to be released. (6/4)

Stat: Racism: The Contagion In Health Care We Need To Eradicate 
The virus persists in the bloodstream for years, often spanning generations. The warning signs aren’t always obvious and don’t follow the traditional path for how an infection progresses in humans. Even so, it exerts its sinister effects on the individuals infected and everyone around them. Some with the community-acquired form of this illness demonstrate moderate to severe symptoms: A profound sense of entitlement. Panicked calls to 911 using histrionic language. Irrational acting out and murderous rage. Hunting down and executing joggers. Breaking, entering, and murdering without identifying yourself. Applying pressure with a knee on the neck to the point of asphyxiation, disguised as “protect and serve.” (David Malebranche, 6/4)

The Washington Post: Racism Is Killing Black People. It’s Sickening Them, Too.
That was the one of the final pleas uttered by George Floyd last week before he was killed by police officers kneeling on his neck and back — the same plea cried out by Eric Garner before he died six years ago in a police chokehold. These words have become a rallying cry for protests across the nation. To those of us in the public health community, they are also a visceral reminder of a reality we have come to know all too well: Racism is a public health crisis. (Michelle A. Williams and Jeffrey Sanchez, 6/4)

Stat: Physician Advocacy Against Police Brutality: #ThisIsOurLaneToo 
Last week we found ourselves sharing yet again — first with anger, then with despair — the story and horrific images of another black life being stolen by police brutality. We tried to focus on our routine activities, like preparing coffee to help us get through another day in the hospital. Our hearts were heavy, our minds racing. We joined the medical profession to help preserve life, to give families more time with their loved ones, and to hold the hands of the hurting. But in those moments, we were the ones hurting. Yet as we walked through the wards, we felt the weight of a suffocating silence. (Chijioke Nze, Elorm F. Avakame, Olusola J. Ayankola and Jamaji C. Nwanaji-Enwerem, 6/5)

Boston Globe: Boston Needs To Adopt A Planning Equity Standard
The city of Boston faces unprecedented challenges due to the coronavirus pandemic. The communities hit hardest by COVID-19 now face economic fallout that will exacerbate existing poverty, unemployment, and housing insecurity. The pandemic has forced us to sit down and contemplate how we move forward as one community. Yet the real consideration is how we will choose to stand up. As the tidal wave of anguish, pain, fear, depression, and rage at the horrific killing of George Floyd crashes in our beloved city of Boston, we must ask: How do we move forward without reflecting on our own policies? (Members of the Boston City Council, 6/4)