CIDRAP: White House Diverges From CDC, Focuses On Aerosol COVID Spread 
Yesterday the White House published a blog post titled "Let's Clear the Air on COVID," describing the virus as primarily transmitted through aerosols—small, tiny airborne particles. Though some experts around the world have been arguing that point for years, and subsequently advocating for respirator use and enhanced ventilation systems, this is the first time the White House has formally acknowledged that aerosol transmission has been the primary driver of the COVID-19 pandemic. In doing so, it has turned away from the language used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (Soucheray, 3/24)

And more on aerosol transmission of the virus —

Al Jazeera: Two Years Of COVID: The Battle To Accept Airborne Transmission 
For Catherine Noakes, a scientist who studies how pathogens move in the built environment, the first few months of the coronavirus pandemic were punctuated with a foreboding sense of frustration. That frustration was rooted in the readily accepted assumption that COVID-19 was not spreading through the air via microscopic particles called aerosols, but predominantly through larger respiratory droplets expelled among people in close proximity and falling quickly on nearby surfaces. (Grover, 3/11)

Medical News Today: COVID-19: How Ventilation, Filtration, Humidity Prevent Transmission
A research team at the University of Oregon says ventilation, filtration, and humidity levels of an indoor room can reduce how easily a virus spreads. Additionally, they found there was not much difference in the number of virus particles projected through the air between people standing 4 feet (ft) or 11 ft away. The team believes their findings can assist building operators in creating an indoor environment that helps improve the health and safety of those inside. (Pelc, 3/2)

BMJ.com: Airborne Transmission: Are CO2 Monitors A Long Term Solution Or “Pandemic Hack?” 
There is ample evidence that SARS-CoV-2 can become airborne1 and that ventilation reduces the risk of transmission,2 but the difficulty is what to do about it. For all the sensitivity of the human senses, our eyes and ears cannot tell us whether the air in a room is full of aerosols harbouring SARS-CoV-2. But what if we could measure the freshness of that air and, therefore, get a rough idea of how safe we’d be in a particular indoor space—or at least how well ventilated it is? Carbon dioxide (CO2) monitors, which measure concentrations of the gas in parts per million (ppm), have emerged as one way to do that. (Baraniuk, 3/23)

In other updates from the CDC —

Politico: CDC Updates Covid-19 Guidance To Allow Patients Wear N95s 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday updated its guidance so that people visiting health care facilities are allowed to wear highly protective masks such as N95s. The change comes after a POLITICO report last week found that hospitals around the country routinely ask patients and visitors to wear a surgical mask instead of their own N95. (Levy, 3/24)

Philadelphia Inquirer: CDC Chief Rochelle Walensky On What's Next For The COVID-19 Pandemic
As COVID-19 cases were reported to be on the rise in nine states, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasized Thursday in a visit to Princeton University that the pandemic is not yet over. “We’re not at a steady state of disease that I can be happy with,” Rochelle Walensky said. “We still have 900 deaths a day in this country. I still think we have a lot of work to do to make sure that we’re in a place that is safe for this country and for the American people.” (Laughlin, 3/24)

AP: Experts Worry About How US Will See Next COVID Surge Coming 
As coronavirus infections rise in some parts of the world, experts are watching for a potential new COVID-19 surge in the U.S. — and wondering how long it will take to detect. Despite disease monitoring improvements over the last two years, they say, some recent developments don’t bode well: As more people take rapid COVID-19 tests at home, fewer people are getting the gold-standard tests that the government relies on for case counts. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will soon use fewer labs to look for new variants. (Stobbe, 3/25)

The Atlantic: A Stress Test For America's New COVID Plan Is Coming
Outbreaks have erupted across Asia. Massive swaths of Europe, including the United Kingdom—America’s best pandemic bellwether for much of 2021—are firmly in the grip of a more transmissible Omicron subvariant called BA.2 that’s been simmering stateside for months. Already, scattered spots throughout the U.S. look a shade foreboding. Several states’ wastewater-surveillance sites are witnessing a rise in viral particles, which, in previous waves, has preceded increases in documented infections by several days. Many states’ case rates have now hit a plateau, and a handful are even beginning a slow march back up. The other COVID shoe seems poised to drop in the U.S. at some point, perhaps quite soon. (Wu, 3/23)

In more updates on the spread of covid —

AP: COVID-19 Rates Plunge As Decision Nears On US Asylum Limits 
COVID-19 rates are plunging among migrants crossing the border from Mexico as the Biden administration faces a Tuesday deadline to end or extend sweeping restrictions on asylum that are aimed at limiting the virus’ spread. Lower rates raise more questions about scientific grounds for a public health order that has caused migrants to be expelled from the United States more than 1.7 million times since March 2020 without a chance to request asylum. (Spagat and Ghisolfi, 3/24)

AP: Contagious Omicron Subvariant In Oregon
An extra-contagious version of the omicron variant that is fueling COVID-19 surges in parts of Europe and Asia has been found in the wastewater of some Oregon communities. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that Oregon State University collected samples from more than 40 wastewater plants statewide, providing officials with measures of how much virus is in a community and the particular variants of the virus. Based on the collection in early March the omicron subvariant has been found in at least four communities. (3/24)

ABC News: Cornell University Reports Indications Of 'Substantial Prevalence' Of COVID-19 On Campus
After a significant viral outbreak before winter break in December, COVID-19 infection levels at Cornell University had markedly declined, as the omicron surge receded, and students returned to campus for the spring semester. However, as new case totals begin to tick up in the state of New York, the campus is once again reporting a viral resurgence. This week, Cornell elevated its COVID-19 alert system to "yellow," indicating that transmission is rising, and prevalence of the virus is above predicted levels. (Mitropoulos, 3/24)

KHN: Watch: Omicron Subvariant Is Nothing To Sneeze At, Explains KHN’s Public Health Expert 
Dr. Céline Gounder, KHN editor-at-large for public health, discusses that new omicron subvariant, how to know if your runny nose is spring allergies or covid-19 (that’s hard!), and the debate over whether Americans will need a fourth vaccination. (Zuraw, 3/25)

Dallas Morning News: Dallas County Reports Backlog In COVID Case Updates, Citing Omicron Wave
Dallas County officials said Wednesday that a backlog in COVID-19 cases has caused data that was not up to date to be reported publicly by Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins and others. After questions from The Dallas Morning News about a discrepancy between the regular news releases sent by Jenkins’ office and the county’s COVID-19 dashboard, a spokesman for Jenkins said the backlog was from the omicron wave earlier this year. He said it was not immediately clear how large the backlog was or when it would be resolved. (Scudder, 3/24)

Also —

CIDRAP: NFL Games Didn't Contribute To County COVID-19 Spread, Study Suggests
National Football League (NFL) games played with fans in the 2020 season, with mask mandates and physical distancing in place, had no effect on COVID-19 infections in the surrounding county, suggests a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Led by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers, the study estimated the effects of games played from September 2020 to early January 2021, well before the emergence of the highly transmissible Delta and Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variants. Of 29 stadiums, 13 were closed throughout the season, and 16 opened with reduced capacity, mask requirements, distanced seating, mobile ticketing, and enhanced cleaning.(3/24)

USA Today: Navajo Nation's Response To COVID-19 Makes Them A Model, Officials Say
Two years after the first cases of COVID-19 were detected on the Navajo Nation, the tribal government still requires masks in public, even as many cities and states elsewhere have relaxed the rule. It's part of a strategy put in place after the coronavirus swept through the Navajo Nation in the early weeks and months of 2020, leaving hundreds of people sick and dying. Officials say the response ultimately made Navajo a model for fighting a pandemic. Navajo officials have reported 1,659 COVID-19-related deaths since the first case was reported. Though numbers may be on the decline, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said the pandemic isn’t over. (Becenti, 3/24)

Roll Call: Longshoremen Seek Workers’ Comp Law Change For COVID-19 Coverage 
Between Dec. 29 and Jan. 14, Mark Bass, president of the International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1410 in Mobile, Ala., watched as COVID-19 cases swept through the maritime workforce, ultimately infecting about 20 percent of it. With workers packed in tight quarters, loading and unloading ships and often interacting with seamen coming in from different countries, infection was unavoidable. “There are just some jobs where you can’t stay 6 feet apart,” he said. And getting workers’ compensation for missing shifts because of the disease wasn’t easy. They and other workers had to prove they contracted the illness while on the job. (Wehrman, 3/24)

NBC News: Almost 2 In 5 Covid-19 Researchers Have Faced Harassment, Survey Finds
Nearly 2 in 5 Covid-19 researchers reported they had been harassed since the pandemic began, according to a new survey published Thursday in Science. The survey included responses from 510 researchers who have published about Covid-19 and was conducted by the news team of the journal Science. (Bush, 3/24)

More on covid research —

The Baltimore Sun: A Broccoli A Day Keeps COVID (And Colds) Away? Johns Hopkins Researchers Are Looking Into It
Your mom was right: Eat your vegetables! Vegetables have long been a mainstay of a healthy diet, but there may be one more reason to eat your greens. They may stave off a bad COVID-19 infection. Researchers at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center found that a chemical compound called sulforaphane found in abundance in broccoli, cabbage, kale and Brussels sprouts might slow growth of coronaviruses such as those that cause COVID-19 and the common cold. At the start of the pandemic, the researchers began looking for potential treatments for the virus when they came across the compound. They haven’t tested it in humans yet, but in cells and mice they found sulforaphane was a promising weapon against severe disease because it interferes with virus replication. That’s how the virus spreads in the body. (Cohn, 3/25)

CIDRAP: Aspirin May Cut In-Hospital COVID Death But Not Need For Organ Support
A pair of new studies detail the role of aspirin in the treatment of COVID-19, one estimating lower rates of in-hospital death and pulmonary embolism in moderately ill patients, and the other showing that blood thinners didn't decrease the need for organ support in critically ill patients. (Van Beusekom, 3/24)

CIDRAP: Prone Position Might Not Work For Awake COVID-19 Patients
Proning—lying on the stomach—has been useful for treating intubated, sedated COVID-19 patients, but a new study designed to tease out possible benefits for awake patients found that the method is difficult to use. (Schnirring, 3/24)

Fox News: Heart Disease, Stroke Deaths Rose During COVID-19 Pandemic: Study
There was a "notable several-fold increase" in risk-associated deaths from heart disease and stroke during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to researchers. In a study published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Network Open, authors from Kaiser Permanente, the Permanente Medical Group, the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine said that from 2019 to 2020 the estimated age-adjusted mortality rate increased by 15.9%, largely due to COVID-19 mortality. Rates of stroke and heart disease also increased by 4.3% and 6.4%, respectively. (Musto, 3/24)

In news about covid testing —

The Washington Post: Small Lab That Got $187 Million For Covid Testing Put Patients In ‘Jeopardy’
The drive-through coronavirus testing site, a metal shipping container in the parking lot of an Indianapolis shopping mall, gave Bridgette Alexander pause. The man administering tests at the site, run by a company called O’Hare Clinical Lab Services, was wearing jeans and a leather jacket, not medical scrubs or a gown. He moved among the cars without changing gloves, she said. He asked for her driver’s license but not her insurance card. (Boburg and Bellware, 3/24)

The Boston Globe: ‘I Literally Cried’: Some Parents Are Pinning Their Hopes On Moderna’s Vaccines For Kids Under 6 
They’ve hung on for two years, delaying family travel plans, juggling jobs and little ones at home, forever wrestling masks onto tiny faces even as the rest of the world moved on. But now, parents of young children are seeing a small glimmer of hope. Moderna on Wednesday announced plans to ask US regulators to approve two shots of its mRNA COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 6 months to 5 years. (Fatima, 3/25)

Inc.: Moderna Aims To Break The Final Vaccine Barrier And It May Change Return To Work For Parents 
Many parents with children under six years old have taken extra precautions during the pandemic because these kids are too young to be vaccinated and rarely wear their masks consistently. As companies started to call employees back to the office, some parents declined, fearing they might bring the infection home to their youngest children. A U.S. Census Household Pulse Survey in November asked respondents their main reason for not working, and 4.9 million people said they were caring for children not in school or day care, and 2.4 million people said they were concerned about getting or spreading the coronavirus. That's a huge number. In a tight labor market, a vaccine for the youngest children has the potential to bring parents who opted out back into the workforce, easing the labor crunch for some employers. (Morse, 3/25)

Bloomberg: ‘Forgotten’ Parents Of Kids Under 5 Push FDA To Clear Moderna Shot 
Pediatric hematologist and oncologist Alissa Kahn treats some of the most vulnerable kids with cancer and sickle cell diseases at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital in Paterson, New Jersey. She said the omicron variant was a disaster for her patients under 5, who are still ineligible for Covid vaccines. At the height of the wave, multiple preschool-age patients had to be admitted to the hospital due to dangerous Covid infections. Other young children with cancer had life-saving chemotherapy delayed, potentially reducing their chances of a cure. (Langreth and Rutherford, 3/23)

More on the vaccine rollout —

KHN: Senators Ask GAO To Examine Medicaid’s Low Covid Vaccination Rates 
Two prominent Democratic senators have requested a Government Accountability Office study of why covid vaccination rates remain far lower among Medicaid enrollees than the general population and what barriers are impeding state efforts to increase immunizations among program beneficiaries, low-income people who have been disproportionately affected by the virus. Sens. Robert Casey Jr. of Pennsylvania and Ron Wyden of Oregon asked for the inquiry, citing recent stories by KHN and Roll Call that have highlighted the problem and states’ ongoing struggle to raise vaccination rates, according to a letter to the GAO that was provided to KHN. A KHN article published in February reported data from several states — Utah, Washington, Virginia, and California — which showed that vaccination rates of the Medicaid population were well below overall state rates. For example, in California, 54% of Medicaid enrollees 5 and older had been at least partly vaccinated, compared with 81% of state residents in that age group. (Galewitz, 3/25)

NPR: Vaccines Show Promise In Reducing Long COVID
The chance of even a mild case of COVID-19 turning into a long-term, debilitating medical condition is one of the greatest fears of Americans trying to navigate the pandemic, which is again taking a turn as new data shows the BA.2 subvariant is taking hold in the U.S. Unfortunately, the only sure way to avoid long COVID is not to catch the virus in the first place. But there is now a growing body of research that's offering at least some reassurance for those who do end up getting infected — being fully vaccinated seems to substantially cut the risk of later developing the persistent symptoms that characterize long COVID. (Stone, 3/24)

In news about covid mandates —

The New York Times: Covid Cases Are Up In Schools. So Why Are Masks Off?
Over the course of the past two weeks, Covid positivity rates have ticked upward in New York City. But case rates among students have surpassed those in the general population (13.3 per 100,000 versus 9.6 citywide, for a seven-day period ending on March 22), figures the city’s Department of Education did not address when I reached out to ask about them. Some schools have had significant jumps. Hunter elementary school ended the week of March 12 with four cases; the week of March 19, there were 24. (Bellafante, 3/25)

Politico Pro: POLITICO-Harvard Poll: 40 Percent Of Parents Believe Masks At School Harmed Their Kids
A significant percentage of parents whose children wore masks in school during the last year believe it harmed their education, social interactions and mental health, according to a POLITICO-Harvard survey. The poll's findings come as the Biden administration monitors events in Europe, where BA.2, a subvariant of Omicron, is wreaking havoc, and White House officials warn that masks may be necessary if Covid-19 cases increase in the United States. (Goldberg, 3/24)

The Washington Post: Foreign Airlines Are Dropping Mask Mandates. Are U.S. Carriers Next? 
As many countries lift coronavirus restrictions and entry rules for travelers, some international airlines are also easing requirements for the journey. Dutch airline KLM will no longer enforce a face mask requirement onboard starting this week, despite government rules in the Netherlands, along with other carriers. The Netherlands lifted its mask mandate for public transit Wednesday, but it still requires them for air travel. (Diller, 3/24)

National Geographic: If No One Else Is Wearing A Mask, Should You?
Once Hawaii drops its mask mandate later this week, no state in the United States will require everyone to wear a mask indoors to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Yet in many supermarkets, office buildings, movie theaters, and other indoor locations, some people are still masking up. But if only half, or a few, or nobody else is doing so, does the mask offer the wearer sufficient protection? The question is becoming more urgent because even though rates of COVID-19 in most of the U.S. are currently low, they are rising in Europe—due to the fast-spreading variant Omicron BA.2—which has often presaged a spike here. (Landau, 3/24)

The Hill: Biden Warns Of 'Real' Food Shortage Risk Over Russia's Invasion Into Ukraine 
President Biden warned Thursday that there could be global food shortages resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and announced steps to prevent a potential crisis. “We did talk about food shortages. And it's going to be real. The price of these sanctions is not just imposed upon Russia, it’s imposed upon an awful lot of countries as well, including European countries and our country as well,” Biden said at a press conference from Brussels, where he is meeting with NATO leaders. Both Russia and Ukraine, for example, are providers of wheat, Biden noted, though he pointed out that the U.S. and Canada are both major wheat producers, too. (Gangitano, 3/24)

Politico: G-7 Leaders Pledge Action To Address Food Shortages Caused By War 
President Joe Biden and other leaders of the world’s major industrialized democracies pledged action on Thursday to address food shortages caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine, a top concern for Middle Eastern and African nations that depend on supplies from both countries. “We will make coherent use of all instruments and funding mechanisms to address food security, and build resilience in the agriculture sector in line with climate and environment goals,” leaders of the G-7 group said in a statement after meeting in Brussels. “We will address potential agricultural production and trade disruptions, in particular in vulnerable countries.” (Palmer and Lee, 3/24)

Reuters: As Sanctions Bite Russia, Fertilizer Shortage Imperils World Food Supply 
Sky-high fertilizer prices have farmers worldwide scaling back its use and reducing the amount of land they're planting, fallout from the Ukraine-Russia conflict that has some agricultural industry veterans warning of food shortages. (Polansek and Mano, 3/23)

In more news about the economic toll of covid and the war in Ukraine —

CBS News: Americans Face Triple Whammy As Rent, Gas And Electric Bills Surge 
The median rent around the U.S. reached a record high $1,792 last month, according to Realtor.com — a 17% jump from the previous year and the 10th month in a row rents had increased by double-digits. In 14 U.S. cities, the typical rent is no longer affordable, far surpassing the 30% of income that personal-finance experts recommend as a maximum. (Ivanova, 3/24)

CBS News: Stimulus Checks For Inflation: Here Are The States Planning To Send Money To Residents
Roughly a dozen states are proposing sending tax rebate checks to their residents to offset the highest inflation in four decades, with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle pointing to high gas and food prices as prompting their actions. ... These checks represent one-time tax rebates that will put money back into consumers' wallets. But some other states are considering or already planning to cut income taxes, providing an ongoing tax break for their residents. (Picchi, 3/24)

AP: Hawaii Governor Extends COVID-19 Food Assistance Spending
Hawaii Gov. David Ige has signed an emergency proclamation allowing federal funds to continue to flow to food assistance recipients during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic national public health emergency, his office said Thursday. The proclamation allows $18 million in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP benefits to go to recipients each month. (3/24)

AP: High Court To Weigh End Of $300 Weekly Unemployment Payment
The Ohio Supreme Court will hear arguments in May on whether Gov. Mike DeWine had the legal ability to end the state’s participation in a federal pandemic unemployment aid program last year ahead of a government deadline for stopping the payments. At issue before the court is a weekly $300 federal payment for Ohioans to offset the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The federal government ended that program Sept. 6 but DeWine stopped the payments June 26, saying the need for the payments had ended. (Welsh-Huggins, 3/24)

Also —

ABC News: School Cafeterias, Already On The Brink Of Collapse, Brace For End Of COVID-Era Free Meals 
The UBR -- or, Ultimate Breakfast Round -- is a food product that is ubiquitous in school cafeterias and offers USDA-approved nutritional value, as well as staff-approved convenient pre-packaging, Bock told ABC News. But after a February 2021 ice storm wiped-out a Rich's factory in Texas, the UBR disappeared. For months, Bock said, they couldn't get the product -- forcing a frenzied, and more expensive, pivot that left red ink all over menus that had been planned months prior. Over a year later, they can't get even remotely the same quantities they used to, Bock said. (Cahan, 3/24)

AP: Arizona Legislature Approves 15-Week Abortion Ban 
The Arizona Legislature on Thursday joined the growing list of Republican-led states to pass aggressive anti-abortion legislation as the conservative U.S. Supreme Court is considering ratcheting back abortion rights that have been in place for nearly 50 years. The House voted on party lines to outlaw abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, mirroring a Mississippi law now being considered by the nation’s high court. (Christie, 3/24)

CNN: Arizona Bill That Bans Most Abortions After 15 Weeks Heads To Governor's Desk
The Arizona law makes an exception for medical emergencies and requires physicians to file a report with the Arizona Department of Health Services if an abortion is performed after 15 weeks. There is no exception for cases of rape and incest. The bill makes it a felony for physicians to knowingly violate the new statute, but the bill says that no criminal punishment can be directed toward the maternal patient. Physicians could also face consequences such as having their license to practice medicine in the state suspended or revoked, along with fines if they are found to have given false information on forms related to the abortion. (Mizelle and Afshar, 3/24)

In abortion updates from Texas —

Houston Chronicle: Houston Lawmaker Threatens Legislation Against Companies Covering Employee Abortion Travel Costs
A Houston-area lawmaker is threatening to introduce legislation against companies offering to pay for employees' abortion-related expenses. The warning in question comes from Republican State Rep. Briscoe Cain (R-Deer Park), who in a recent Facebook post announced he is crafting a bill in response to Citigroup Inc.'s new company policy offering to cover travel expenses for employees traveling across state lines to seek the procedure. (Garcia, 3/24)

USA Today: What Citi's Abortion Policy Means For Companies As Supreme Court Considers Tighter Restrictions
Citigroup quietly expanded employees' health coverage in January to include paying for travel to obtain an abortion, a decision other large employers are likely to face as states impose new restrictions. Illustrating the sensitivity of the issue, Citi did not proactively tell workers of the benefit change. Instead, the bank disclosed it on Page 20 of a 152-page investor proxy filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing said, “in response to changes in reproductive healthcare laws in certain states in the U.S., beginning in 2022 we provide travel benefits to facilitate access to adequate resources.” (Buchwald, 3/24)

Bloomberg: U.S. Employers Add Abortion Travel Benefits As States Limit Access
The roar of anti-abortion laws sweeping through U.S. state houses is echoing loudly in human resources offices. Companies that have offered to help cover travel costs for employees who have to go out of state for abortions are trying to figure out how to go about it. Large corporations like Citigroup Inc., Apple Inc., Bumble Inc., Levi Strauss & Co. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. are now offering such benefits for reproductive-care services not available in an employee’s home state. (Butler, 3/24)

In abortion news from Florida and North Carolina —

Health News Florida: A Leon County Judge Signals Florida's 24-Hour Abortion Waiting Period Will Stand
A Leon County circuit judge indicated Wednesday she will uphold a 2015 state law that would require women to wait 24 hours before having abortions, opponents of the law said. Circuit Judge Angela Dempsey held a hearing on a motion by Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office to reject a constitutional challenge to the law. Dempsey had not issued a written ruling Wednesday afternoon. The Republican-controlled Legislature and then-Gov. Rick Scott approved the law, which is aimed at requiring women to wait 24 hours after initial clinic visits before having abortions. The Florida Supreme Court in 2017 approved a temporary injunction against the law, but the fight has continued in lower courts. (Saunders, 3/24)

AP: NC Lieutenant Gov Explains Abortion Decision Decades Ago 
Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, a recent rising force in North Carolina Republican politics and a vocal abortion opponent, confirmed Thursday that he and his future wife decided to get an abortion more than 30 years ago. Robinson and his wife, Yolanda, appeared in a video to address a social media post the lieutenant governor said he wrote 10 years ago — years before entering politics — but had gained attention this week. “Before we were married and before we had kids. We had an abortion,” Robinson says in the video. “It was the hardest decision we have ever made and sadly, we made the wrong one.” (Robertson, 3/24)

Also —

The Washington Post: Abortion Opponents Are Gunning For Contraception, Too 
A century ago, sex researcher Katharine Bement Davis published an excerpt from her ongoing study of women’s sexuality in which she revealed the frequency with which married women practiced contraception — and, when it failed, obtained abortions. But then, as now, discussions of women’s sexuality were deeply controversial. Davis’s study redefined birth control, masturbation and lesbianism as “normal,” but it also cost her job. At the heart of this controversy, then and now, is women’s ability to control their own bodies. (Jabour, 3/25)

World Health Organization: First Ever Country Level Estimates Of Unintended Pregnancy And Abortion
The Guttmacher Institute, the World Heath Organization and the UN’s Human Reproduction Programme (HRP) today released the first-ever model-based estimates of unintended pregnancy and abortion rates for 150 countries, highlighting major disparities in access to sexual and reproductive health care. The study, published in BMJ Global Health, analyzes rates from 2015 to 2019, with the aim of providing deeper insights into access to sexual and reproductive health services in countries of all income levels across the globe. (3/24)

The Washington Post: Ketanji Brown Jackson Appears ‘On Track’ For Confirmation, Senators Say
After a combined 36 hours of hearings on Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson — during which Republicans accused her of coddling vile criminals while Democrats hailed her qualifications and her historic distinction as the first Black woman to be nominated — she appeared to remain on track for confirmation early next month, according to interviews with key senators Thursday. Jackson’s confirmation will not be overwhelmingly bipartisan, and the top Senate Republican vote-counter, Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.), predicted no more than three GOP votes in her favor. (DeBonis, 3/24)

The Hill: McConnell To Vote Against Jackson's Supreme Court Nomination
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on Thursday that he will oppose Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's Supreme Court nomination. McConnell's decision isn't surprising — he voted against her last year for her appeals court spot and has signaled concerns through the week. But it underscores hardening GOP opposition to Jackson's nomination and comes after McConnell held off in announcing how he would vote until after the hearing. (Carney, 3/24)

Politico: The 9 Potential Senate Swing Votes On Ketanji Brown Jackson's Confirmation
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is on a relatively smooth path to becoming the first Black woman on the Supreme Court after three days of Senate confirmation hearings that have run the gamut in tone, from tense to rowdy to emotionally supportive. ... Some Republicans recently suggested that they’re torn between supporting Jackson’s historic nomination and voting no based on opposition to her judicial philosophy. A few in that group are retiring this year, freeing them from the potential political risks of backing her nomination, although a vote to confirm Jackson would roil the GOP primaries currently underway to replace them. (Levine and Everett, 3/24)

The Hill: GOP Shoots Down Supreme Court Boycott 
Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee are shooting down the idea of boycotting the panel’s vote on Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson. “There’s not going to be any boycott. There’s zero, not one iota chance that we would boycott,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a member of the committee. The idea of a committee boycott, which has floated around Capitol Hill for weeks, was spun up after 10 Republicans sent Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the committee chairman, a request that he suspend the hearing until they could get pre-sentencing reports tied to child pornography cases that Jackson presided over as a district judge. (Carney, 3/24)

The Washington Post: Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Striking Non-Endorsement Of ‘Super Precedents’ 
When Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearings haven’t devolved into tense battles over her rather unremarkable sentencing decisions in child pornography cases, they’ve actually included some pretty interesting exchanges on her judicial philosophy. And subtly high on that list: How much she undercut the left’s effort to establish certain cases as “super precedents.” (Blake, 3/24)

In other news about the Supreme Court —

The Hill: Supreme Court Silent On Thomas Health Status 
The Supreme Court on Thursday did not respond to inquiries about the health status of Justice Clarence Thomas and whether he remained hospitalized after being admitted late last week. ... Thomas’s close friend Armstrong Williams on Thursday told The Hill that Thomas is “resting and he’s going to be just fine” but declined to elaborate further on the justice’s health. Pressed on whether Thomas was still in the hospital, Williams declined to answer. (Kruzel, 3/24)

NPR: Supreme Court Backs A Prisoner Who Sought His Pastor's Touch At The Time Of Execution
The [Supreme Court] ruled Thursday that condemned prisoners are entitled to have religious advisers present in the death chamber to pray over them and touch them in a limited way. The decision came in the case of John Henry Ramirez, convicted in the brutal murder of Pablo Castro, a father of nine, who was stabbed to death as he was closing up the convenience store where he worked. The court's decision was the latest and by far the most definitive in a series of cases that have come to to the court, dividing the justices and even embarrassing them at times with contradictory rulings that appeared to be more favorable for Christian spiritual advisers than for minority religions. (Totenberg, 3/24)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Jacky Rosen Bill Aims To Protect Hospitals From Russian Cyberattacks
Nevada Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen and Republican Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy late Wednesday introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at protecting hospitals and the health care sector from potential Russian cyberattacks. The Healthcare Cybersecurity Act would direct the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to collaborate with the Department of Health and Human Services to bolster cybersecurity in the health care and public health sector, according to Rosen’s office. (Hynes, 3/24)

In other health care industry news —

WUSF 89.7: Planned Psychiatric Hospital In Tampa To Care For Women Who Have Experienced Trauma 
A psychiatric hospital that will be built in Tampa will be the first of its kind in the region to focus primarily on women. The Mariposa Women’s Neuropsychiatric Hospital will be located in the East Seminole Heights neighborhood and run by Gracepoint Wellness, a nonprofit that provides health care to women and children. The 24-bed facility will feature treatment for a variety of issues, including substance abuse, domestic violence and sexual assault. (Comber-Wilen, 3/24)

Bangor Daily News: Bangor’s New Autism Center Will Connect Kids With Therapy During Most Impactful Life Stage
A center that provides individualized therapy to young children with autism will open in Bangor on Monday. Heartleaf ABA will teach children ages 2-6 a variety of skills to prepare them to function and succeed in everyday settings from school to grocery stores, according to National Clinical Director Katie Arnold. Those include motor skills, social skills, eating, communication and using the bathroom. The center on Griffin Road is Heartleaf’s first brick-and-mortar location after the organization started out exclusively offering home visits. (O'Brien, 3/25)

Louisville Courier Journal: University Of Louisville Health Hospital Set For Major Expansion To Treat More Patients
Last year, University of Louisville Health CEO Tom Miller said, 40 patients per day weren't able to get a bed at the health care provider's downtown hospital. The facility doesn't turn away people seeking medical care, he added, and the hospital's emergency room has doubled as an inpatient unit to handle the influx of patients. But a planned expansion of the medical center, a seven-story tower next door with construction set to begin soon, will give doctors and nurses more room to operate. (Aulbach, 3/24)

Stat: Hospital Group AHA Makes An Unlikely Pivot Into Venture Capital
The American Hospital Association is a lobbying powerhouse, championing the interests of its thousands of member hospitals before Congress. Now, though, the trade group is dipping its toes into a decidedly different arena: venture capital investing. It’s rare for trade groups to dabble in venture capital — where investors fund startups in exchange for stakes in those emerging companies — because it’s so different from their typical bread and butter. But the not-for-profit AHA says it’s well-positioned to get health care startups off the ground because it can offer up their technologies to its almost 5,000 hospital and health system members. (Bannow, 3/24)

Houston Chronicle: A Legacy Of Racism In The Health Care System Is Hurting Patients, New Houston Research Shows
Iliana Oberkircher can’t quite recall how old she was. Maybe 10? But she clearly remembers holding an orange pill bottle, doing her best to translate the prescription from English to Spanish for her mother. The medicine was for her younger brother, Juan Carlos or “Carlitos,” who suffered from a complex heart condition, requiring her mother to shuttle him from doctor to doctor in the Rio Grande Valley, Oberkircher always came along to translate. “Looking back now,” Oberkircher said, “having a Latino physician who spoke Spanish was just unheard of.” (Carballo, 3/24)

Modern Healthcare: Google Teaming CVS, Scheduling Vendors To Display Appointment Availability
Google will soon enable patients to view appointment availability for participating healthcare providers directly from its search page, the technology giant announced Thursday. The new feature, unveiled at Google's annual The Check Up health event,  adds appointment availability to business profile boxes that display when users search for a physician or healthcare facility. Patients will be able to click on an appointment slot, which redirects them to the third-party partner's website and means they're not booking a visit through Google itself. (Kim Cohen, 3/24)

KHN: Bill Of The Month: The Case Of The $489,000 Air Ambulance Ride 
Sean Deines and his wife, Rebekah, were road-tripping after he lost his job as a bartender when the pandemic hit. But while visiting his grandfather in a remote part of Wyoming, Sean started to feel very ill. Rebekah insisted he go to an urgent care center in Laramie. “‘Your white blood count is through the roof. You need to get to an ER right now,’” Deines, 32, recalls a staffer saying. The North Carolina couple initially drove to a hospital in Casper but were quickly airlifted to the University of Colorado Hospital near Denver, where he was admitted on Nov. 28, 2020. There, specialists confirmed his diagnosis: acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a fast-growing blood cancer. (Appleby, 3/25)

In news about health care personnel —

AP: Defense Rests In Trial Of Ex-Nurse Who Made Medication Error 
The defense rested Thursday in the trial of a former Tennessee nurse who killed a patient by accidentally injecting her with a paralyzing drug. RaDonda Vaught, 37, is facing a charge of reckless homicide for administering vecuronium to 75-year-old Charlene Murphey instead of the sedative Versed on Dec. 26, 2017. Prosecutors argued that Vaught disregarded the standard of care expected of nurses as well as her own training when she made multiple errors leading to the fatal injection. Vaught’s attorney argued that the nurse was not acting outside of the norm and that systemic problems at Vanderbilt University Medical Center were at least partly to blame for the error. (Loller, 3/24)

The Boston Globe: Nurses At Beth Israel Lahey Health Sites Take Step Closer To Strike 
The 650 nurses at three Beth Israel Lahey Health locations have voted to authorize a potential strike, bringing the facilities closer to a three-day walkout over contract negotiations. The nurses are part of Northeast Hospital Corporation — which includes Beverly Hospital, Addison Gilbert Hospital in Gloucester, and Lahey Outpatient Center in Danvers. Nurses of Northeast, which is owned by Beth Israel Lahey Health, have been negotiating a new contract since October, in preparation for the current contract to expire next week. (Bartlett, 3/24)

CNN: The FDA Authorizes More E-Cigarette Products, But There's Still No Ruling On Menthol And Other Kid-Friendly Nicotine Products
The US Food and Drug Administration gave the official green light Thursday to several tobacco-flavored e-cigarette products from Logic Technology Development LLC. The FDA said it is also "close" to additional decisions about products that make up a larger share of the market. ... The FDA said Thursday that the tobacco-flavored Logic Technology products probably benefit adult smokers, serving as an alternative to traditional cigarettes. The likely benefit, the agency said, outweighs the risk that young people would start using them, provided that the company follows requirements to reduce access and exposure to them among youth. (Christensen, 3/24)

The Washington Post: FDA Permits Another E-Cigarette, Pledges Decisions Soon On Big Brands 
In announcing the decision on Logic, FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf said in a statement that the agency’s career scientists balanced the risks and benefits of the e-cigarettes. He said he was confident the FDA staff was using “the best available evidence with the most robust methods to ensure that products that continue to be marketed are appropriate for the protection of the public health.” (McGinley. 3/24)

In other news from the FDA —

AP: Pressured By Patients, FDA Reviews ALS Drug With Modest Data
When patients are battling a terminal illness and want access to an experimental drug, how much evidence that it works should regulators require before approval? That’s the question behind many of the Food and Drug Administration’s toughest decisions, including last year’s controversial approval of Aduhelm. Many experts — including the agency’s own outside advisers — say that Alzheimer’s drug is unlikely to help patients. (Perrone, 3/24)

In other pharmaceutical news —

Stat: Despite Competition, U.S. Cancer Drug Prices Rose Even As They Fell In Germany And Switzerland 
Even as prices rose substantially in the U.S. over a recent 12-year period, a new analysis found that prices for the same cancer drugs either decreased or did not exceed inflation in Germany or Switzerland, where governments negotiate pricing with manufacturers. After examining price changes for medicines approved to combat a dozen different forms of cancer between 2009 and 2020, researchers found that — with one exception — the median price for all of the drugs rose 6% in the U.S. two years after product launches. And prices climbed 15% by four years after a medication became available, despite a growing number of competitive treatments. (Silverman, 3/24)

Stat: Sun Pharmaceuticals To Pay $485M To Settle Claims On Overpayments
On the eve of a trial, Sun Pharmaceuticals has agreed in principle to pay $485 million to settle lawsuits that alleged its Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals unit misled regulators in order to win exclusive approvals for generic medicines, which delayed competition and forced consumers to overpay for the drugs. The settlement was disclosed in a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange. The lawsuits stemmed from a scandal that erupted more than a decade ago after U.S. authorities learned Ranbaxy, which was one of the biggest generic makers, falsified testing data and manufactured drugs that failed to meet safety standards. In 2013, the company, which is now part of Sun, pleaded guilty to felony charges and paid a $150 million penalty, as well as $350 million to settle civil claims. (Silverman, 3/24)

The Boston Globe: US Attorney’s Office Reaches Agreement With Trial Court Over Disability Discrimination Allegations
US Attorney Rachael Rollins announced Thursday that an agreement has been reached with the Massachusetts Trial Court resolving allegations that its drug court violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by discriminating against people with Opioid Use Disorder. A complaint to the US Attorney’s Office claimed the Trial Court discriminated against people taking medication for Opioid Use Disorder when they were ordered to stop taking their medication without medical assessment, the office said in a statement. The drug court personnel also required or pressured participants to take Vivitrol as a treatment. (Mercado, 3/24)

Also —

FiercePharma: As Russian Invasion Persists, Roche, Teva, Novartis, Merck And More Make Renewed Push To Support Besieged Ukraine 
As Ukraine holds the line against the Russian invasion, pharma majors are making a renewed push to adjust operations in the region and supply the besieged country with critical meds and tools. Swiss pharma Roche on Wednesday said it was donating additional drugs and diagnostics to Ukraine, building on 150,000 packs of antibiotics the company previously pledged. It says it’s adding to its commitment another 4,600 packs of specialized medicines for influenza, rheumatoid arthritis, spinal muscular atrophy and various cancers.  (Kansteiner, 3/23)

The 19th: Senate Approves Bill To Ban The Sale Of Baby Crib Bumpers
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday approved a bipartisan measure to ban the sale of crib bumpers, which have been linked to dozens of deaths of infants and more than 100 serious injuries since 1985. “Parents will have one less thing to worry about” when it becomes law, Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois said. The House of Representatives approved a related bill last year but will need to vote on the Senate’s Safe Cribs Act before it can head to President Joe Biden’s desk. “Crib bumper pads are an unnecessary deadly risk for sleeping infants, and so this would basically ban their sale,” Duckworth told The 19th in an interview ahead of the vote. (Becker, 3/24)

The Union Democrat: Ask The Pediatrician: Which Baby Sleep Products Should Be Avoided? 
Q: The number of baby sleep items on the market is overwhelming. What should I avoid? A: Having a baby is an incredibly exciting time and there are lots of fun baby items to buy. It's important to know, however, that some popular products are unnecessary and can actually be dangerous for infants. Examples include inclined sleepers, positioners, and crib bumpers. (DiMaggio, 3/21)

In other public health news —

Press Association: Artificial Sweeteners Linked To Breast And Obesity Cancers In New Study
Some artificial sweeteners may not be a good alternative to sugar and could push up the risk of cancer, scientists have suggested. Experts from the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research, and Sorbonne Paris Nord University, analysed data and suggested a potential increased risk for breast cancer and obesity-related cancers. Previous large-scale studies on humans have found no such association and UK experts said no causal link had been found. If true, the finding would relate to about three more cancer cases per 10,000 people over eight years, according to one analysis of the findings. (Kirby, 3/24)

Fox News: Drinking 2-3 Cups Of Coffee Daily Could Benefit The Heart, Studies Say
Drinking two or three cups of coffee every day may benefit the heart, according to studies being presented at the American College of Cardiology's 71st Annual Scientific Session. The American College of Cardiology said Thursday that consumption of the caffeinated beverage is associated with a lower risk of heart disease and dangerous heart rhythms, as well as a longer lifespan. The trends also remained true for those with and without cardiovascular disease, with researchers saying the analyses assure that coffee is not linked to new or worsening heart disease. (Musto, 3/24)

St. Louis Public Radio: Permanent Daylight Saving Time Won’t Work, Erik Herzog Says 
The U.S. Senate passed a bill last week that would make daylight saving time permanent. If it gains full congressional approval, the change would take place in fall 2023 and would keep evenings lighter year-round, eliminating the seasonal adjustments of springing forward and falling back to move in and out of standard time. Many rejoiced. Others pointed out that a two-year shift to daylight saving time was attempted in the 1970s but quickly repealed. The scientific consensus is that standard time — which most of the nation currently observes from November through March — is actually better for our health and circadian rhythms. Erik Herzog, a professor of biology and neuroscience at Washington University, told St. Louis on the Air that the effects of switching to daylight saving time are both immediate and long-lasting. (Mather-Glass, 3/24)

In mental health news —

NPR: Former TikTok Moderators Sue Over Emotional Toll Of 'Extremely Disturbing' Videos
When Ashley Velez accepted a job last year reviewing videos for TikTok, "we were told we would be the front line of defense from protecting children from seeing violence," she said. But the Las Vegas mother of two boys, ages 8 and 17, said she was stunned when she discovered what the position entailed. "We would see death and graphic, graphic pornography. I would see nude underage children every day," Velez said in an interview. "I would see people get shot in the face, and another video of a kid getting beaten made me cry for two hours straight." (Allyn, 3/24)

Dallas Morning News: For Many Dallas Teens, Reacting Without Thinking Can Be Deadly. A New Effort Within DISD Can Help
We all occasionally fly off the handle without thinking first. Thankfully, the consequences are usually trivial. But sometimes those consequences are fatal. That’s the hard reality behind, for instance, evidence-based training that teaches police officers to de-escalate volatile situations before resorting to lethal force. Likewise, it’s the same strategy underpinning a new mayor’s task force initiative for teenagers in some of Dallas’ most violent neighborhoods. It might sound naive but it’s not: Finding simple ways to cool tempers and slow down emotions can save lives. Too many anguished voices have testified in too many courtrooms, “It just happened so fast” or “I wish I could do it over.” (Grigsby, 3/23)

Stat: Dr. Glaucomflecken, The Internet’s Funniest Doctor, Is In On The Joke
Will Flanary’s days are spent conducting eye exams and cataract surgeries at a private practice outside Portland, Ore. The evenings are for family, and a standing commitment to make dinner for his wife and two daughters. That leaves nights and weekends for the ring light, the iPhone, and Flanary’s alter ego, an internet celebrity known as Dr. Glaucomflecken. Flanary, 36, has about 2.5 million subscribers across TikTok, YouTube, and Twitter, where his pointed satire of medicine’s many absurdities has ballooned into a cast of characters and a cottage industry. Flanary’s escalating popularity is all the more notable because his jokes, delivered in short skits, plumb the inane depths of American health care. The specificity is by design, Flanary said, giving his peers something to relate to and a growing audience of outsiders something to laugh at. (Garde, 3/25)

The Washington Post: Burger King And Chick-Fil-A Commit To Removing "Forever Chemicals" From Food Packaging 
Some of America’s favorite restaurants have just committed to taking something off consumers’ plates. Restaurant Brands International, which owns Burger King, Tim Hortons and Popeyes, announced plans late Wednesday to phase out these chemicals in its food packaging worldwide by 2025. Chick-fil-A announced a similar commitment Wednesday evening on Twitter to phase out these chemicals in packaging by the end of this summer. (Reiley, 3/24)

Consumer Reports: Revealed: The Dangerous Chemicals In Your Food Wrappers 
Independent testing of more than 100 packaging products from US restaurant and grocery chains identified PFAS chemicals in many of the wrappers, a Consumer Reports investigation has found. The potentially dangerous “forever chemicals“ were found in food packaging including paper bags for french fries, wrappers for hamburgers, molded fiber salad bowls and single-use paper plates. (Loria, 3/24)

In other news about environmental health —

Southern California News Group: Fogging Company Used Mislabeled Pesticides In California City Purportedly To Kill Coronavirus
A company executive has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges alleging his fogging disinfection business applied pesticides inconsistent with their intended use to purportedly kill the coronavirus in Culver City. Prosecutors have recommended that David Earl Gillies, managing partner of Utah-based Mountain Fog, receive two years probation and be ordered to pay a $10,000 fine for two misdemeanor counts of using a pesticide in a manner inconsistent with its labeling. Gillies, reached by phone at his home Wednesday, March 23, said he does not agree with how his case was handled. (Schwebke, 3/24)

Los Angeles Times: Compton Chemical Spill Triggers Hundreds Of Odor Complaints
More than 200 odor complaints poured in to air quality regulators Thursday after a bag containing a chemical used to make plastic sheeting broke open at a Compton plant in the early morning, prompting investigations. The incident began around 1:30 a.m. when a roughly 300-pound bag of the chemical was placed into an oven at the Plaskolite plant, according to Roger Hamilton, the company’s vice president of operations. The bag split open around 3:30 a.m. and started emitting a strong odor. The leaked chemical is methyl methacrylate, or MMA, which is also used in superglue, Hamilton said. (Seidman, 3/24)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: No Charges Filed In Milwaukee Health Department Lead Program Probe
No criminal charges will be filed in a years-long investigation into the Milwaukee Health Department's handling of its childhood lead poisoning prevention program, officials announced Thursday. The Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office determined there was insufficient evidence to prove that a crime had been committed, based on a review of an investigation by the state Department of Justice, the DA's Office said in a statement. The office also noted lack of clarity in state law, unreliable Health Department records, and conflicting witness statements as challenges in bringing any criminal charges. (Dirr and Spicuzza, 3/24)

Bloomberg: Is It Possible To Avoid Microplastics? Particles Found In Human For First Time
Microplastics were detected in human blood for the first time, according to a study that may indicate the potential for particles to travel to organs. Scientists found 17 out of the 22 healthy people they took samples from had quantifiable amounts of plastic particles in their blood. Researchers said further study is needed to determine the health risks of the materials. (Matsuyama, 3/25)

The Texas Tribune: Ken Paxton Investigates Pharmaceutical Companies Over Puberty Blockers 
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is investigating two pharmaceutical companies — Endo Pharmaceuticals and AbbVie Inc. — for allegedly advertising puberty blockers to children and their parents to treat gender dysphoria rather than the other medical conditions they are approved to treat. Paxton opened the investigation in December and filed civil investigative demands with the two companies on Thursday. This is the latest move in an ongoing effort by Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott to limit access to gender-affirming medical care for transgender teens in Texas. (Klibanoff, 3/24)

The Washington Post: It’s Pride Week In Austin Schools. The Texas AG Says That’s Illegal
Students in the Austin Independent School District can collect Pride flags and pronoun buttons this week as they celebrate LGBTQ students and work toward creating an inclusive environment. It’s the eighth year the district has held Pride Week, which includes lessons on diversity and acceptance. But on Tuesday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) sent a letter to the school district saying the celebrations constituted “sex education.” Without consent from parents, the district’s Pride Week is “breaking state law,” he said. (Mark, 3/24)

And more on transgender health care —

CNN: Arizona Lawmakers Pass Bill Outlawing Gender-Affirming Treatment For Trans Youth 
Lawmakers in Arizona approved two bills on Thursday targeting transgender youth in the state, including one that would restrict access to gender-affirming health care. The measures now will go to Republican Gov. Doug Ducey for his signature. The state's Republican-led House approved the health care ban on Thursday by 31-26. The bill had passed the state's GOP-controlled Senate by 16-12 in February. (Cole, 3/24)

Oklahoman: Oklahoma Looks To Ban Transgender Athletes From Female Sports
Gov. Kevin Stitt will get the final say on a bill that would block transgender athletes from competing in girls or women's sports. Republicans in the Oklahoma Senate gave final passage to legislation that would bar transgender athletes at K-12 schools or universities from participating in female sports teams or individual women's sporting events. Senate Bill 2, known as the "Save Women's Sports Act" passed the House last year and cleared the Senate on Thursday with Sen. J.J. Dossett, D-Owasso, crossing party lines to vote in favor. (Forman, 3/24)

CBS News: Teachers Speak Out Against Florida's "Parental Rights In Education" Bill 
Some of America's most highly regarded teachers are speaking out against Florida's "Parental Rights in Education" bill, and a growing number of LGBTQ teachers and allies across the country are worried about the impact this and similar legislation could have on students. ... Kentucky's 2022 Teacher of the Year, Willie Carver, drafted an open letter, signed by more than 200 teachers who've been honored by their state as a current or former Teacher of the Year, condemning policies that place "politics, misconceptions, teacher comfort, and other concepts above the needs of students." The signatories represent about 50 states and territories. (Jones II, 3/24)

Salt Lake Tribune: Growing Latter-Day Saint Support For LGBTQ Rights Tops The National Average
Support among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for LGBTQ rights, including same-sex marriage, has increased noticeably since 2015, mirroring trends across U.S. society generally, according to a recent study by the Public Religion Research Institute. Based on interviews conducted online and by phone of a nationally representative sample of more than 22,000 adults, the report uncovered an overall increase of 8 percentage points among Americans between 2015 and 2021. Nearly 8 in 10 (79%) now favor nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ individuals. Latter-day Saints’ backing for these same protections jumped by 12 percentage points during the same period to exceed the national average at 84%. (Kemsley, 3/24)

Columbus Dispatch: More Than Half Of Preschoolers Tested Failed Language, Hearing Tests
With much of their lives spent in the COVID-19 pandemic, families and health experts in Greater Columbus and across the United States have noticed a sharp increase in very young children with speech and hearing issues. In 12 central Ohio neighborhoods, 52% of children ages 3 to 5 who were tested by the group nonprofit Columbus Speech and Hearing failed their speech-language screenings, and 40% failed their hearing tests in 2021. Before the pandemic, 27% of children overall tested failed their speech-language assessments and 21% failed their hearing screenings in 2019. (Wright, 3/25)

In news from North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, and Florida —

North Carolina Health News: Report: 2020 Saw A Record Number Of Deaths In NC Jails 
North Carolina jails saw a record number of deaths due to suicide or substance use in 2020, according to a new report from Disability Rights North Carolina (DRNC). There were a record number of 56 deaths in North Carolina jails in 2020, despite estimates that nationwide lockups reduced their populations by a quarter in just months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the report found. Of those deaths, 32 were due to suicide or related to substance use, an increase from previous years. By comparison, there were 30 people who died from suicide or substance use in the state’s jails in 2019 and 22 in 2018. (Thompson, 3/25)

North Carolina Health News: Owners Of Troubled Thomasville Nursing Home Avoid Scrutiny
Pointed questions arose about drastically low staffing and apparent failure to plan by Kinston-based Principle Long Term Care after its facility Pine Ridge Health and Rehabilitation faced a crisis on the icy night of Jan. 16. By the time local EMS and government officials showed up, two residents had died at the Thomasville home and nearly a hundred were left in the care of one nurse and two assistants instead of the 13 to 15 who should have been providing care. (Goldsmith and Hoban, 3/23)

AP: Seven Children Hospitalized After Taking Prescription Pills
Authorities in Virginia on Thursday were still trying to piece together what happened and whether any adults will face criminal charges after seven children took prescription medicine and ended up in the hospital. Police in Hopewell, a small city about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southeast of Richmond, said they were called to a home late Wednesday afternoon, where they found four small children unresponsive. Three more children found in another part of the house were awake, but lethargic. The children ranged between the ages of 1 and 7. Lt. Cheyenne Casale said police believe a 7-year-old boy took medication he had been prescribed for anxiety, then gave some to the other children. (3/24)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Bipartisan Bill To Expand Mental Health Services In Georgia Finds Ire On The Right
It’s been called the “Pedophilia Protection Act,” guided by the World Health Organization and a measure that threatens to “take our guns.” The issue? Crime? Gun control? COVID-19? None of the above. The comments have come in reaction to a bipartisan effort to expand the way mental health is covered in Georgia. In the two weeks since House Bill 1013 was approved by that chamber, the overwhelming support heard in committee meetings and on the House floor has given way to a growing chorus of opponents who believe the legislation will allow pedophiles to avoid prison and deny Georgians their right to bear arms. “There’s only recently been this kind of mass attack on the bill that comes from a very small internet activation,” said the bill’s co-sponsor, state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, a Decatur Democrat. (Prabhu, 3/24)

Fresh Take Florida: Florida Fines Largest Medicaid Payment Vendor Nearly $9.1 Million Over Billing Glitches 
Florida fined its largest Medicaid payment vendor nearly $9.1 million over software problems that delayed payments for nearly three months for tens of thousands of health-care claims for the state's sickest and neediest children, the government’s health regulator said Wednesday. In a letter to the CEO of Sunshine State Health Plan Inc. of Tampa, the Agency for Health Care Administration also demanded detailed explanations for how the problems occurred and how the company responded. It also required the company to demonstrate within 30 days that future claims were being paid promptly and asked for weekly updates in phone calls with the CEO, Nathan Landsbaum, or another senior executive. (Bausch, 3/24)

In news from Michigan, Iowa, Montana, and California —

AP: Michigan Legislature Votes To Speed Health Care Approvals 
Michigan insurers that require health providers to get pre-approval to cover treatment would have to promptly respond to doctors’ requests or those requests would be automatically granted under a bill headed to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for her expected signature. The legislation received final, unanimous Senate approval on Thursday. (Eggert, 3/24)

AP: Jury Awards More Than $97M To Family Of Boy Injured At Birth
The family of a boy whose brain was severely injured during birth at an Iowa City hospital has been awarded $97.4 million — believed to be the largest medical malpractice verdict in Iowa’s history. A Johnson County handed down the award on Monday following a 14-day trial, the Des Moines Register reported. It came in a lawsuit filed by Kathleen and Andrew Kromphardt against Mercy Hospital Iowa City and an obstetrician. (3/24)

KHN: Montana Is Sending Troubled Kids To Out-Of-State Programs That Have Been Accused Of Abuse
The high demand for treatment for children with behavioral and substance abuse problems has led Montana health officials to spend Medicaid funds to send kids, including those who are foster children and wards of the state, to residential programs in other states with less stringent oversight. Some of those children have been sent to out-of-state programs that have been accused of abuse and mistreatment, according to documents from state agencies and media reports. (Evans, 3/25)

Los Angeles Times: Calls For Action After Regulators Criticize Delays In L.A. County's Public Health System
In mid-December, a woman in her early 40s with severe abdominal pain and unexplained weight loss was referred to a gastroenterologist at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center. The specialist said she would have to wait two and a half months for an appointment. Then she learned she’d have to wait another two and a half months for an MRI scan of her intestines. And four months for a colonoscopy. The news was frustrating but not a shock— the county hospital system had recently kept her waiting two years for a mammogram, she said. Her experience mirrors those of thousands of other patients who for years have faced delays to see specialists at Los Angeles’ county-run hospitals — waits that have cost some patients their lives. (Dolan and Mejia, 3/24)

In news about Obamacare —

Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Health Insurance: Poor Still Struggle Despite Obamacare
Emily Bender still gets medical bills she can’t afford to pay. They arrive every few months. Some are for the miscarriage she suffered more than a decade ago, others for emergency care related to her high blood pressure. All told, she owes as much as $5,000 for medical treatment she received years ago. For Bender, who lived without health insurance for years as a young mom in East Price Hill, those costs remain a burden even as she approaches middle age. The weight of them affects her most basic decisions, from the money she spends on food to the clothes she buys her children to the apartment she rents. (Horn, 3/24)

KHN: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: The ACA Turns 12
The Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, turned 12 this week, in spite of efforts to repeal it through both legislation and court action over much of its lifetime. But key decisions facing federal and state lawmakers and the Biden administration in the coming year will say a lot about how many Americans the law ultimately benefits, and how much it will benefit them. (3/24)

Newsweek: World's Best Hospitals 2022 
The hospitals that have fared best during the pandemic are those that have learned to work faster by communicating better and breaking down internal silos, according to Dr. Gregory Katz, professor of Innovation & Value in Health at the University of Paris School of Medicine: "A critical facilitator of velocity is broad participation from hospital teams. If there is one thing we take away from our fight against COVID-19, it's the value of preparation. For hospital leaders, it's all about choice, not chance." ... This year's rankings represent an expanded universe, with three new countries on the list—Colombia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates—bringing the total to over 2,200 hospitals in 27 countries.

The New York Times: How Long Should It Take To Grieve? Psychiatry Has Come Up With An Answer. 
After more than a decade of argument, psychiatry’s most powerful body in the United States added a new disorder this week to its diagnostic manual: prolonged grief. The decision marks an end to a long debate within the field of mental health, steering researchers and clinicians to view intense grief as a target for medical treatment, at a moment when many Americans are overwhelmed by loss. (Barry, 3/18)

The New York Times: Demand For This Toad’s Psychedelic Venom Is Booming. Some Warn That’s Bad For The Toad. 
After multiple combat tours as a Navy SEAL, Marcus Capone tried talk therapy. Brain-injury clinics. Prescription drugs. Nothing worked to ease his crippling depression and anxiety. Then he smoked the venom of the Sonoran desert toad. “I saw why they call this the ‘God molecule’ after I got a full central nervous system reset,” said Mr. Capone, 45, who now runs a nonprofit with his wife helping hundreds of other Special Operations veterans access toad medicine. (Romero, 3/20)

ABC News: What To Know About Egg Freezing — From When To Do It, To How Much It Costs
Egg freezing -- a process that involves collection, freezing and storage of a woman's eggs with the intention to use at a later time for pregnancy -- is more widely available than it was even five or 10 years ago, but it is still a complicated decision for many women. There is the cost -- often thousands of dollars -- as well as the fact that a woman's biological clock keeps ticking even amid egg freezing. (Kindelan and Demirel, 3/23)

The New York Times: She Starved And Nearly Died On Guardian’s Watch, Family Says
Bonnie Lee Apple’s family knew she was not well. Her ex-husband had complained to Ms. Apple’s court-appointed guardian, who has been in charge of her care since a 2018 aneurysm left her moderately brain-damaged, that she had lost considerable weight. Whenever her twin sister went to her apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, Ms. Apple, 66, was covered in blankets or sheets. Health aides said she was sleeping. When Ms. Apple’s 18-year-old daughter visited in early February, she thought her mother was near death. (Newman, 3/24)

Also —

The Wall Street Journal: The Pandemic Is Two Years Old. Baseball’s Vaccination Problem Is Just Beginning. 
Major League Baseball players have been more reluctant to take the Covid-19 vaccine than their counterparts in any of the other American professional sports. Now that decision could have a significant impact on how the upcoming season unfolds. Because of Canadian border restrictions, unvaccinated players won’t be allowed to enter the country to play against the Toronto Blue Jays. They won’t be paid or receive service time for any games missed because of their vaccination status under the industry’s new labor contract, which the owners and players’ union agreed to last week. The rule will, for the first time, provide a clear glimpse into how many players have declined to take the shots. (Diamond, 3/18)

The New York Times: Trying To Solve A Covid Mystery: Africa’s Low Death Rates 
There are no Covid fears here. The district’s Covid-19 response center has registered just 11 cases since the start of the pandemic, and no deaths. At the regional hospital, the wards are packed — with malaria patients. The door to the Covid isolation ward is bolted shut and overgrown with weeds. People cram together for weddings, soccer matches, concerts, with no masks in sight. Sierra Leone, a nation of eight million on the coast of Western Africa, feels like a land inexplicably spared as a plague passed overhead. What has happened — or hasn’t happened — here and in much of sub-Saharan Africa is a great mystery of the pandemic. (Nolen, 3/23)

The New York Times: ‘He Goes Where The Fire Is’: A Virus Hunter In The Wuhan Market
As soon as Edward Holmes saw the dark-ringed eyes of the raccoon dogs staring at him through the bars of the iron cage, he knew he had to capture the moment. It was October 2014. Dr. Holmes, a biologist at the University of Sydney, had come to China to survey hundreds of species of animals, looking for new types of viruses. (Zimmer, 3/21)

Stat: How We Got Herd Immunity Wrong 
Herd immunity was always our greatest asset for protecting vulnerable people, but public health failed to use it wisely. In March 2020, not long after Covid-19 was declared a global public health emergency, prominent experts predicted that the pandemic would eventually end via herd immunity. Infectious disease epidemiologist Michael Osterholm, who advised President Biden, opined in the Washington Post that even without a vaccine, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, would eventually “burn itself out as the spread of infection comes to confer a form of herd immunity.” The best strategy, he reasoned, was to “gradually build up immunity” by letting “those at low risk for serious disease continue to work” while higher-risk people sheltered and scientists developed treatments and, hopefully, vaccines. (David Robertson, 3/25)

Chicago Tribune: Vaccine Makers Are Raking In Big Profits. No Problem There. 
As people abandon masks and gather in bigger groups, it’s important to remember that COVID-19 is still with us. A new form of the omicron variant called BA.2 is causing another surge, though on a much smaller scale than previous variants. BA.2 is spreading so fast that it’s expected to be the dominant form of the disease in Chicago by the end of this month. Fortunately, most Americans have ready access to vaccines that prevent the worst symptoms. These amazing pharmaceutical products, created in an incredibly short time, have saved millions of lives worldwide and enabled the country to get back to business. (3/24)

Cincinnati Enquirer: As COVID Wanes, The Homeless Still Battle Illness, Uncertainty
It has been over 26 months since COVID-19 entered our daily lives. In January 2021, the vaccine became available. We were among the fortunate to receive some of the first doses, but not before hundreds of thousands worldwide died and numerous variants emerged. The Center for Respite Care has been on the front lines. Our commitment to the health of our clients did not halt when the world shut down, and it has not stopped. My team of 18 people and I keep The Center going. (Laurel Nelson, 3/24)

Los Angeles Times: COVID Relief Program Cuts To Come, With Latinos Affected Most 
Last week President Biden signed a new government spending bill into law. The roughly $22.5 billion for emergency funding for COVID-19 response efforts that the White House had requested was not included in the bill. That was removed after congressional Republicans pushed back on spending more on COVID relief, saying they needed to better understand how the money already allocated to those efforts has been spent thus far. The cutbacks will affect, among other programs, payments to treat and vaccinate people without insurance, as well as the purchase and shipment of monoclonal antibody treatments. As has been true throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the people likely to suffer most from these changes to COVID relief programs are communities of color, especially Latinos. (Arturo Vargas Bustamante, 3/25)

Bloomberg: Ukrainians Need Help To Maintain Progress Against TB 
The humanitarian crisis unfolding in Ukraine threatens to upend years of work to improve public health in the region — and especially to worsen the spread of tuberculosis. Ukraine has one of the highest rates of drug-resistant TB in the world. Of the nearly 24,000 people diagnosed in the country just last year, about a third have the most intractable kind — resistant to one or more treatment options. Ukrainian health authorities have been working for years to improve treatment and support for TB patients, and Russia’s invasion will almost certainly reverse their progress. To avoid a broader TB disaster in the region, the world needs to mobilize resources to help Ukrainians and refugees with the disease. (Lisa Jarvis, 3/24)

The New York Times: The Monster That Followed Him Home From War 
Le Roy Torres came home from his deployment in Iraq with a sickness he could neither explain nor shake: crushing headaches, fogs of vertigo, an increasingly harsh cough. Doctors shook their heads, prescribed ineffective antibiotics and, finally, to Mr. Torres’s deep mortification, suggested psychiatric medication. It took years of tests to prove what Mr. Torres suspected: His lungs and brain were damaged from exposure to military burn pits, a crude garbage disposal method in which all manner of plastics, medical waste and equipment are splashed with jet fuel and set ablaze, sometimes next to troops’ sleeping quarters or work stations. Burn pits were a standard garbage disposal method used by the U.S. military during the early years of the post-9/11 conflicts; their aftereffects are still emerging. (Megan K. Stack, 3/25)

The CT Mirror: It’s Still Time For Congress To Lower Drug Prices
We are paying more these days for everything from groceries to gas to housing. With inflation at its highest rate in four decades – rising seven percent last year alone – Americans want to know what Congress is doing to help them pay for the essentials they need. While some price increases are a relatively recent phenomenon, many Connecticut residents have struggled with high prescription drug costs for a long time. I wrote about this exact issue in October, and nothing has changed in the intervening months. For years, prescription drug price increases have exceeded even the highest rates of general inflation. If the prices for basic staples rose as fast as prescription drugs over the last 15 years, milk would be $13 a gallon, and a gallon of gas would be $12.20. (Anna Doroghazi, 3/25)

Stat: Digital Health: The Latest Iteration Of Medicine's Knowledge Problem 
When I did my residency in internal medicine and primary care a few years ago, digital health wasn’t on my radar. I didn’t get questions about health apps from my patients, didn’t talk about them with my colleagues, and certainly didn’t get any instruction about them. Fast forward a few years, and digital health tools — by which I mean apps for detecting, monitoring, treating, alleviating, and coordinating medical conditions — have exploded, catalyzed in part by the Covid-19 pandemic and its pressures on the health care system. There are now more than 350,000 apps, ranging from behavioral health to reproductive health, sleep medicine, addiction medicine, musculoskeletal medicine, and beyond. (Charlotte Grinberg, 3/25)

Houston Chronicle: I Treat Transgender Patients. Let My Peers In Texas Do Their Job.
I carried with me a deep sense of responsibility as I flew to Texas — my birthplace — this month. I was on my way to attend the SXSW festival and participate in a panel discussion about transgender health care. Landing in the middle of a political firestorm of anti-transgender legislation in Texas (and other states, too, including Florida, Arizona and Tennessee and more), I also felt fortunate. I don’t face these political obstacles in New York. (David Rosenthal, 3/24)

The Tennessean: Why Crucial Alzheimer's Medicine Coverage Must Remain For Thousands Of Tennesseans.
In January, the government agency in charge of Medicare proposed a rule that would be devastating for the six million Americans living with Alzheimer's disease, a debilitating brain disorder that destroys memory and thinking. In a bid to save money, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services wants to block seniors' access to a whole category of dementia medicines. (Saul Anuzis, 3/24)

The Tennessean: Alzheimers: How Tennessee Lawmakers Can Support Long-Term Caregivers
Currently 357,000 Tennesseans are providing care for a loved one with Alzheimer’s or dementia and many do not have the extra family support that my brother-in-law had. Thankfully, there is a bill in front of the legislature that seeks to bring relief to these caregivers. The Colonel Thomas G. Bowden Memorial Act (SB 1749/ HB 1686) will create a pilot program aimed at providing respite care to these family caregivers. This is a critical first step in supporting caregivers and the individuals struggling with Alzheimer’s disease by allowing them to remain at home as long as possible. (Laura Musgrave, 3/24)