The Hill: White House Requests $22.5B For 'Immediate' COVID-19 Response Needs
The Biden administration is requesting $22.5 billion from Congress for the COVID-19 response, setting up a tussle with Republican lawmakers who have resisted new funding.  In a letter to Congress dated Wednesday, the White House said the additional funds are crucial for efforts around vaccines, treatments, and testing. In addition, $5 billion of the funding will go towards the global COVID-19 response, including vaccinating other countries, which is key to helping stop new variants from arising.  (Sullivan, 3/3)

AP: Biden Seeks $10B For Aid To Ukraine, $22.5B For Coronavirus 
[Acting OMB director Shalanda] Young said in the blog post that the money was urgently needed. The $10 billion to Ukraine would be a rapid escalation of the $1.4 billion provided by the United States since 2021, a reflection of the crisis caused by the Russian offensive that began last month. ... Republicans have balked at the request for added COVID-19 funds. But if that money is included in a single, mammoth package also financing government agencies and helping Ukraine and NATO allies, that would be a tough bill to vote against. (Boak, 3/3)

Stat: The Pandemic: A Series Of Failures, A Few Miracles — And A Lesson For Next Time, Global Health Experts Say 
As the nation exhales at the sight of descending curves of Covid-19 infection and death, top global health experts assessed the Biden administration’s handling of the pandemic, and the reviews weren’t good. “I think we’ve done very, very bad this year,” said Michael Mina, an epidemiologist, immunologist, and physician who has been a leading voice — and an often critical one — during the Covid crisis. From a lack of preparation, to “an inability to look past the moment,” and stymied creativity in facing the nation’s public health crisis, U.S. leaders have repeated the same mistakes, year over year, said Mina during a panel discussion at Harvard Kennedy School of Government’s Institute of Politics on Thursday. (Cueto, 3/3)

USA Today: COVID-19 Relief Funds Getting New Federal Scrutiny To Root Out Fraud
President Joe Biden highlighted the enormous challenge this week in his State of the Union address when he announced plans for a special prosecutor to “go after the criminals who stole billions of relief money.” While the White House cited as examples identity theft by criminal syndicates and widespread fraud of pandemic relief programs for small businesses and unemployed workers, experts say programs that have shelled out billions on COVID-19 testing and medical care also have been subject to fraud and misspending. (Alltucker, 3/4)

And more details on initiatives spotlighted at the State of the Union —

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Biden Administration Said It Will Set A Staff Ratio Requirement For Nursing Homes
President Joe Biden’s vow in his State of the Union speech Tuesday to increase oversight of nursing homes drew praise from patient advocates, but instant pushback from the nursing home industry in Georgia, who said it would damage them without helping them meet the goals. In initiatives detailed this week, the Biden administration said it will set a staff ratio requirement for nursing homes, in hopes of ensuring they always have enough staff to handle the patient load. It will also increase fines and penalties for facilities with poor records of caring for patients, and look for ways to phase out patient rooms with roommates in an effort to decrease infection spread and provide privacy. (Hart, 3/3)

KHN: ‘What The Health?’: A Health-Heavy State Of The Union
Russia’s attacks on Ukraine took the headlines for President Joe Biden’s first official State of the Union address, but Biden made a point to highlight several of the administration’s high-priority health issues, including covid, mental health, nursing home regulation, and ailments among military personnel from toxic burn pits. Also this week, the Biden administration unveiled a program aimed at getting the country better prepared should another covid surge take place. Congress is also starting work on pandemic preparation legislation, although some lawmakers might be reluctant to spend still more money on the effort. (3/3)

Columbus Dispatch: Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff Visits Nationwide Children's Hospital
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, visited Nationwide Children's Hospital Wednesday to push President Joe Biden's focus on mental health of youth during the COVID-19 pandemic. "I just want to make sure you're taking care of yourselves," said Emhoff to health care workers, as he toured the hospital's behavioral health treatment and research center, the largest on a pediatric campus in the United States. (Wu, 3/2)

In other news from the Biden administration —

Modern Healthcare: HHS Again Delays 'SUNSET' Rule, Which It Already Proposed Nixing
The Health and Human Services Department is again postponing the start date of a rule from President Donald Trump's administration that would require it to assess nearly all regulations after 10 years and automatically eliminate rules not reviewed within five years. The policy, known as the SUNSET rule, is now delayed until Sept. 22, HHS disclosed in a Federal Register notice Thursday. The rule was originally supposed to go into effect last March after the Trump administration finalized it in the final days of the president's term. Under President Joe Biden,, HHS first delayed the rule until this month after several organizations filed a lawsuit against it last year. The plaintiffs claim the regulation is a "ticking timebomb" that could severely disrupt the healthcare system by creating regulatory confusion. The complaint alleges more than 17,000 rules could sunset by 2026. (Goldman, 3/3)

Politico: Biden Admin To Applicants: Maybe Don’t Invest In Weed Companies 
Smoking weed may no longer be the only potential impediment to getting a job with security clearance in the Biden administration. Investing in cannabis companies could now trip up applicants, too. The Biden administration has expanded its employee conduct guidelines to potentially deny security clearance to individuals who have invested in companies that are involved in the marijuana business, according to an internal executive branch presentation shared with POLITICO. (Thompson and Fertig, 3/2)

AP: House Backs Bill To Help Veterans Exposed To Toxic Burn Pits 
A bill that would dramatically boost health care services and disability benefits for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan won approval Thursday in the House. The measure has the backing of the nation’s major veterans groups and underscores the continued cost of war years after the fighting has stopped. The bill’s fate is unclear in the Senate, but if passed into law, it would increase spending by more than $300 billion over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. ... The bill passed by a vote of 256-174 with 34 Republicans joining all House Democrats in voting for it. (Freking, 3/3)

ABC News: House Approves Bill To Help Veterans Exposed To 'Burn Pits'
The push to support military veterans plagued with health issues caused by toxic exposure to burn pits got a significant boost during President Joe Biden's State of the Union address Tuesday -- his support coming just before the House was set to vote Thursday. "I'm calling on Congress: pass a law to make sure veterans devastated by toxic exposures in Iraq and Afghanistan finally get the benefits and comprehensive health care they deserve," Biden said, calling it part of "a sacred obligation to equip all those we send to war and care for them and their families when they come home." (Khan, 3/3)

And the U.S. Senate votes to end the covid emergency —

Modern Healthcare: Senate Passes Resolution To End COVID-19 National Emergency
The Senate passed a resolution Thursday that would end the national emergency for COVID-19, but it is unlikely to pass the House. The resolution, which was sponsored by Senate Republicans, narrowly passed 48-47 along party lines. Five senators, including three Democrats, were absent, giving Republicans the votes needed for the resolution to pass. (Hellmann, 3/3)

In other news from Capitol Hill —

Politico: DeLauro Requests IG Investigation Into FDA's Handling Of Infant Formula Recall 
House Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro today asked the Health and Human Services office of the inspector general to investigate whether the FDA “took prompt, appropriate, and effective action” in the lead up to the massive recall of Abbott Nutrition infant formula last month, POLITICO has learned. How we got here: The request comes after POLITICO reported that FDA, CDC and Abbott were told of the first infant with a Cronobacter sakazakii infection in September. (Evich, 3/3)

The Washington Post: Sen. Ben Ray Luján Returns To Senate, Just One Month After Major Stroke
Sen. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico returned to work in the Senate on Thursday morning, barely a month after suffering a major stroke that left him hospitalized for weeks and sent a chill through fellow Democrats clinging to a 50-50 majority. Luján, 49, walked in and out of a Senate Commerce Committee meeting without assistance, where he was greeted with a bipartisan standing ovation. (DeBonis, 3/3)

Miami Herald: FL Legislature Passes Ban On Abortions After 15 Weeks 
The Florida Senate voted Thursday to pass a historic and controversial measure banning most abortions after 15 weeks. The bill’s path through the Florida Legislature was one of the most turbulent in recent memory. Lawmakers gave tearful speeches while debating it. Protesters disrupted multiple hearings. And the legal future of the proposal remains uncertain. But on Thursday, by the time the debate over life and liberty and privacy had ended, the Senate had voted 23 to 15 along party lines to pass House Bill 5. It didn’t change a single word of the measure that passed the House last month. (Wilson, 3/3)

Politico: Florida Lawmakers Approve Strictest Abortion Ban In State’s History
The measure prohibits women from receiving abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. It provides no exceptions for victims of rape, incest or human trafficking. Existing Florida law restricts abortions after 24 weeks. The Florida House approved an identical measure two weeks ago. Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book said before Thursday’s vote that the bill destined for the governor’s desk has left victims of rape and incest out in the cold.(Sarkissian, 3/3)

In abortion news from Idaho, South Carolina, California and Arkansas —

The 19th: Idaho State Senate Votes To Enact Six-Week Abortion Ban Similar To Texas Law
Idaho’s state Senate voted Thursday to enact a six-week abortion ban modeled after the Texas law that has eliminated access to the procedure before many people know they are pregnant. The vote puts Idaho on the path to becoming the second state with a six-week ban in place. The bill, known as Senate Bill 1309,  will next go to Idaho’s House of Representatives, where abortion rights organizations expect it to pass. A spokesperson for Republican Gov. Brad Little declined to comment on whether he would sign the bill, saying the office does not comment on pending legislation, but recently reiterated to the Idaho Spokesman Review his opposition toward abortion in general. (Luthra, 3/3)

AP: S. Carolina Lawmakers Stall Abortion Bills Through Walkout
Two South Carolina state senators on Thursday delayed two abortion-related bills, including one that would ban all abortions if the U.S. Supreme Court says states can do so, by simply leaving the room. The departure by Sens. Brad Hutto and Sandy Senn left the Senate Medical Affairs committee with just a handful of members present — not enough for a quorum. (Liu, 3/3)

Los Angeles Times: More California Nurse Practitioners Could Offer Abortions Under Bill
California would allow nurse practitioners to more easily work independently of a doctor and perform abortions under legislation that expands reproductive care as other states move to restrict access. The bill is one of several introduced this year by California Democrats who have been preparing countermeasures to expand abortion access for those who live in and out of the state, a months-long effort that comes in response to the possibility that the U.S. Supreme Court could overturn Roe vs. Wade, the nearly 50-year-old landmark decision that barred states from criminalizing abortions. (Gutierrez, 3/3)

AP: Arkansas Lawmakers OK $1M For Pregnancy Resource Centers 
Arkansas lawmakers approved setting aside in $1 million in state funds Thursday for private pregnancy resource centers that discourage pregnant women from getting an abortion. The majority-Republican House approved by a 75-19 vote legislation creating a grant program for the centers, which provide services to women with unintended pregnancies but do not perform abortions or refer women to abortion providers. The Senate approved the measure a day earlier, and it now heads to GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s desk. (DeMillo, 3/3)

The Wall Street Journal: Purdue’s Sacklers, States Reach Opioid Deal Valued At Up To $6 Billion 
Members of the Sackler family who own Purdue Pharma LP and grew wealthy from sales of OxyContin agreed to pay up to $6 billion to settle lawsuits accusing them of helping fuel the opioid-addiction epidemic, earning the unanimous support of state attorneys general to resolve the family’s liability and end the drugmaker’s bankruptcy case. The new settlement unveiled Thursday marks an increase from the $4.5 billion previously offered by the Sacklers, whose wealth has been estimated at roughly $11 billion. For the first time, the proposed deal has the support of a key group of state attorneys general who had opposed Purdue’s earlier efforts to resolve opioid-related liability, saying the Sacklers weren’t paying enough to fight opioid addiction and deter corporate wrongdoing. (Randles, 3/3)

Stat: Sacklers Agree To $6 Billion Purdue Bankruptcy Settlement Over Opioid Crisis
The settlement calls for the payout to be spread over 18 years, with larger initial installments. The amount of compensation for individuals – ranging from $3,500 to $48,000 – does not appear to be changing. As part of the arrangement, the Sacklers issued a statement regretting their role in the crisis to the victims — including people who developed opioid use disorder or lost loved ones to overdoses — and may be required to do so at a court hearing. It is a notable step, given that the Sacklers spurred outrage when they denied responsibility for the opioid crisis during congressional hearings. (Silverman, 3/3)

AP: Purdue Pharma Deal Has Families Deflated, Angry But Hopeful 
For those who lost loved ones in the opioid crisis, making sure the family behind OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma paid a price was never just about money. What many wanted was a chance to confront the Sackler family face to face, to make them feel their pain. While some may get that chance — at least by video — under a tentative settlement reached Thursday that also would force the Sacklers to pay out billions, the families still are coming away feeling empty, conflicted and angry yet again. There’s a bit of hope mixed in, too. (Weewer and Collins, 3/4)

In related news about the opioid crisis —

AP: West Virginia Sees Slight Decline In Overdose Deaths 
After facing an uptick in overdose deaths during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, health officials in West Virginia are cautiously optimistic that numbers are on the decline. From January 2019 to January 2020, West Virginia saw 869 overdose deaths, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control. That number rose to 1,510 between April 2020 to April 2021. (3/4)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Philly Residents In Areas Affected By Overdoses Want A Say In Talks Over A Supervised Injection Site
Several dozen people gathered outside the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia on Wednesday afternoon to protest talks between the Department of Justice and advocates who hope to open a supervised injection site in the city. Last month, the Justice Department signaled that it may be considering a change in its position on the sites, where addicted people can use drugs under medical supervision and be revived if they overdose. Under the Trump administration, the local U.S. Attorney’s Office battled in court to block the opening of Safehouse, the nonprofit formed in 2018 to open a site. But now, the department says it’s “evaluating” such facilities and discussing “appropriate guardrails” with stakeholders. (Whelan, 3/3)

WSB-TV Channel 2 - Atlanta: More Dangerous Meth Made In ‘Super Labs’ Most Used Drug In Atlanta 
It’s cheap, strong, and the most-used drug in metro Atlanta, but it’s not opioids. It’s meth, but not the same kind of meth that people used 20 years ago. Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Justin Gray learned it’s made differently in ‘super labs,’ and it’s even more dangerous. “And I knew the very first time I ever did it, I was in trouble,” said Deena Davis, who first tried meth in her early 20s.“I just knew I liked it way more than I was supposed to,” said Davis. (Gray, 3/3)

Bloomberg: Covid Hospitalizations In NYC Saw Biggest Racial Gap During Omicron
Black New Yorkers were hospitalized at two times the rate of White New Yorkers during the winter omicron surge. It’s the widest disparity in hospitalizations seen in two years of the pandemic, according to the New York City Health Department. “This is a significant inequity — and a particularly alarming one — so far into the pandemic,” said Michelle Morse, NYC Health’s chief medical officer. And it came during a time when the dominant variant had a lower risk of hospitalization than its predecessor, delta. (Muller, 3/3)

And nursing facilities are still reeling from covid —

WUSF Public Media: Plight Of Nursing Home Residents In The Pandemic Has Some Families Taking Care Into Their Own Hands 
Susy Bogdan didn’t plan on having her 91-year-old mother as a roommate. The family had paid thousands of dollars so that her mom could live comfortably in a retirement community that would transition her from independent living to skilled nursing care if she ever needed it. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and everything changed. Bogdan, 54, is one of many people who started taking care of their loved ones themselves as a result of COVID-19. A survey published in late 2020 from the collaborative Embracing Carers found 13% of respondents became unpaid caregivers for the first time during the pandemic. (Colombini, 3/3)

Health News Florida: COVID Separated Families From Loved Ones In Care Facilities. Lawmakers Don't Want It To Happen Again 
When the coronavirus pandemic began back in early 2020, Mary Daniel went from visiting her husband nearly every day to being barred from seeing him. “On March the 11th, I went to see him as I do every single night and on the 12th they called me and said, 'you can’t come back,'” Daniel told a panel of House lawmakers Monday. “I panicked. I promised him the day that they told us he had Alzheimer’s that I wouldn’t leave his side, that I would be with him every single day and all the sudden I wasn’t going to be able to do that.” (McCarthy, 3/3)

In other news about the spread of the coronavirus —

Indianapolis Star: House Bill 1001: Gov. Holcomb Ends Indiana COVID Public Health Emergency
Gov. Eric Holcomb signed an executive order ending the COVID-19 public health emergency Thursday night after nearly two years, days before the emergency was poised to expire. The House approved a measure Thursday allowing for the continuation of enhanced Medicaid and food assistance benefits, as well as enabling children under age 12 to receive a COVID-19 vaccination outside a doctor's office. Previously those provisions were only allowed because of the public health emergency. Holcomb had requested all three provisions before he would commit to ending the emergency. (Lange, 3/3)

Indianapolis Star: Indiana COVID Patients' Vaccination Status To Be Tracked On Dashboard
Indiana employers who want to persuade their employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine now have another tool to help them do so. The Employers’ Forum of Indiana, a health care coalition, has a new dashboard that aims to track the number of vaccinated and unvaccinated people hospitalized with the virus. It compiles information from nearly 20 hospitals around the state that the health care facilities have made public that reveals the breakdown of vaccinated vs unvaccinated hospitalized patients. (Rudavsky, 3/4)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Fewer Than 500 Patients Hospitalized With COVID-19 For The First Time Since Midsummer
The number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Wisconsin dropped below 500 Thursday for the first time since last August, according to data from the Wisconsin Hospital Association. The WHA reported 474 COVID-19 patients and 83 patients in intensive care. This is the lowest number of intensive care patients since the first week of August. Hospitalization totals have been in a steady decline since its record-breaking peak of 2,278 patients on Jan. 12. (Bentley, 3/3)

In covid research —

The New York Times: Covid Invades Cells In The Penis And Testicles Of Monkeys, Study Says 
The coronavirus may infect tissue within the male genital tract, new research on rhesus macaques shows. The finding suggests that symptoms like erectile dysfunction reported by some Covid patients may be caused directly by the virus, not by inflammation or fever that often accompany the disease. The research demonstrated that the coronavirus infected the prostate, penis, testicles and surrounding blood vessels in three male rhesus macaques. The monkeys were examined with whole body scans specially designed to detect sites of infection. (Rabin, 3/1)

Bloomberg: Arthritis Drug Reduced Deaths From Covid in Study
Eli Lilly & Co. and Incyte Corp.’s rheumatoid arthritis drug baricitinib reduced the risk of death from Covid-19 in a large U.K. study, bolstering evidence that the class of inflammation-fighting medicines can help infected patients. Adding baricitinib to standard treatments lowered the risk of death among hospitalized Covid patients by 13%, according to results from the U.K. trial, called Recovery, in 8,156 people with the disease. Most of the patients also received steroids, and about one-quarter also got a different type of arthritis drug, Roche Holding AG’s Actemra. (Kresge, 3/3)

Fox News: COVID Infected Patients At Risk For 20 Types Of Heart And Vascular Disease: Study
People infected with COVID-19 are at risk of having a cardiovascular disease-related incident 30 days after having been infected by the virus, researchers showed in a recent report in the journal Nature Medicine. The report found those with COVID-19 are potentially susceptible to developing 20 different heart and vascular diseases including among others: heart failure, pericarditis, myocarditis, stroke, cerebrovascular disorders, and dysrhythmias. Even individuals who were not hospitalized with the infection were found to have developed more cardiovascular disease than those who were never infected, the study said. (McGorry, 3/3)

The Guardian: ‘Bot Holiday’: Covid Disinformation Down As Social Media Pivot To Ukraine 
When David Fisman tweets, he often receives a deluge of hate within moments of posting. Fisman, an epidemiologist and physician, has been outspoken about Covid and public health. Even when he tweets something innocuous – once, to test his theory, he wrote the banal statement “kids are remarkable” – he still receives a flood of angry pushback. But in recent days, Fisman noticed an “astounding” trend, he said. He posted about topics like requiring vaccination and improving ventilation to prevent the spread of Covid – and the nasty responses never came. No support for the trucker convoy, no calls to try the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, for treason. ... Covid misinformation, which has often trended on social media over the past two years, seems to be taking a nosedive. (Schreiber, 3/4)

CNN: Surgeon General Launches Effort To Get To The Bottom Of Covid-19 Misinformation 
The office of US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a request Thursday for information surrounding health misinformation, seeking input and data from tech companies, health care providers and community organizations. The request seeks to understand the scope and impact of misinformation on Covid-19 -- especially when it comes to health care and people's willingness to get vaccinated. "Misinformation has had a profound impact on Covid-19 and our response," Murthy told CNN. "Studies have demonstrated that the vast majority of the American public either believes common myths about Covid-19 or thinks those myths might be true. And many of those include myths around the Covid-19 vaccine, so we've seen firsthand how misinformation is harming people's health when it comes to Covid." (Nedelman and Bonifield, 3/3)

And more on the spread of misinformation —

ABC News: Group Of Physicians Combats Misinformation As Unproven COVID-19 Treatments Continue To Be Prescribed 
In July 2020, as the country faced its first summer wave of coronavirus cases, a group of physicians stood in front of the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court and held their first self-titled "White Coat Summit" to tout the unproven benefits of hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 treatment. "It is called hydroxychloroquine, zinc, and Zithromax," Dr. Stella Immanuel, a Houston-based primary care physician, told the crowd. "I know you people want to talk about a mask. Hello? You don't need a mask. There is a cure." (Kim, Romero, Abdelmalek and Osunsami, 3/4)

ABC News: Ivermectin, Condemned By Experts As COVID-19 Treatment, Continues To Be Easily Accessible Through Telemedicine 
In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, as hospitals became overrun, a group of doctors began touting an anti-parasitic medicine called ivermectin as a viable treatment for COVID-19, one going as far as calling it a "miracle cure" for the coronavirus, despite experts in the medical community urging caution and warning that science so far did not support its use in the treatment of COVID-19 outside of a clinical trial. "There is a drug that is proving to be a miraculous impact, and when I say miracle, I do not use that term lightly," Dr. Pierre Kory, a critical care physician, said at a congressional hearing in December 2020. "And I don't want to be sensationalized." (Kim, Romero, Abdelmalek and Osunsami, 3/3)

AP: Anti-Vaccine Doctor Pleads Guilty To Joining Capitol Riot
A California doctor known as a leading purveyor of coronavirus misinformation pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge on Thursday for joining the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol last year. Dr. Simone Gold, founder of the anti-vaccine group America’s Frontline Doctors, entered the plea to a charge of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds. The conviction carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail. (Kunzelman, 3/3)

NBC News: CDC Numbers Show More Than 90 Percent Of People In U.S. Can Ditch Masks
Data released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that Covid-19 levels have dropped significantly enough that more than 90 percent of people in the U.S. can go without masks. The updated data, which show that nearly everyone in the country lives in areas with low to medium risk for Covid, were released days after the agency issued new guidance that tweaked how it measured that risk. (Stelloh, 3/3)

And more on covid mandates —

NPR: NFL And NFL Players Association Drop All COVID Protocols For 2022 Season
The NFL and the NFL Players Association announced Wednesday they have agreed to suspend all COVID-19 protocols going into the 2022 football season, effective immediately. In a memo released by the league, both the NFL and the players' association announced the suspension, meaning the NFL will no longer conduct mandatory testing for any of its players and staff. The league cites the "encouraging trends regarding the prevalence and severity of COVID-19, the evolving guidance from the CDC, changes to state law and the counsel of our respective experts" as reasons for the change in COVID protocols. (Franklin, 3/3)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Will Lift Indoor Mask Rules Friday
Los Angeles County has officially exited the high coronavirus community level, as calculated by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, meaning it will lift its indoor mask order Friday. L.A. County was determined to be in a low coronavirus community level, according to CDC data published Thursday afternoon. Local health officials had been waiting for the CDC’s update before acting. Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer confirmed Thursday that the county will issue a new health order — effective Friday — that will lift the indoor mask order, regardless of vaccination status, in places such as bars, stores, offices, restaurants, gyms and movie theaters. (Lin II and Money, 3/3)

AP: Vermont Going Mask-Optional As Of March 14 
Vermont is going mask-optional as of March 14, based on its low COVID-19 hospitalization rates and the majority of its population being vaccinated. “The decision to wear a mask will be up to each person based on their own circumstances and health needs,” Patsy Kelso, state epidemiologist, said at Gov. Phil Scott’s weekly news conference on Thursday. (3/3)

AP: Masks Optional At Auto Plants Not In High Virus Risk Areas
Face masks will be optional for U.S. union auto workers, as long as their factories are in counties that are not at high risk for the novel coronavirus. A task force of officials from Ford, General Motors, Stellantis and the United Auto Workers union decided to drop a mask requirement at a meeting on Thursday. (3/4)

Bloomberg: Florida's DeSantis Uses Video Of Him Scolding Mask-Wearers For Donor Drive
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is using a viral video of him chiding masked students to solicit campaign contributions. “The political science show cannot go on,” he tweeted on Thursday from his political account with a campaign-style video that criticizes Democrats who have been seen at recent public events without masks. “It’s curtain call for Covid theater.” DeSantis, who has long been critical of mask wearing and the federal response to the Covid-19 pandemic, told the students Wednesday at a cybersecurity announcement at the University of South Florida in Tampa that they did not need to wear masks. Several of the students removed them. (Crooks, 3/3)

AP: As Vaccine Demand Falls, States Are Left With Huge Stockpile 
As demand for COVID-19 vaccines collapses in many areas of the U.S., states are scrambling to use stockpiles of doses before they expire and have to be added to the millions that have already gone to waste. From some of the least vaccinated states, like Indiana and North Dakota, to some of the most vaccinated states, like New Jersey and Vermont, public health departments are shuffling doses around in the hopes of finding providers that can use them. (McDermott, 3/3)

ABC News: With Millions Still Unboosted Against COVID, Public Health Experts Face Tricky Messaging Around Potential 4th Shot 
The number of Americans who are receiving their first COVID-19 vaccine now stands at a pandemic low, with fewer than 80,000 Americans initiating vaccination each day. Further, since December, the rate of people getting boosted has also fallen significantly, dropping from 1 million booster shots administered a day to less than 140,000. ... Amid the declining interest, some scientists and health officials say it is possible Americans could need an additional booster this fall, or seasonal boosters in the future, to address waning vaccine immunity or new coronavirus variants. (Mitropoulos, 3/3)

ABC News: Without COVID-19 Vaccines For Youngest Children, Families Feel Left Behind By 'Next Phase' 
While much of the country is relieved to move into a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of families with young, unvaccinated children have looked on with frustration, feeling forced to now raise their guard even higher. "Just going to the grocery store is less safe now, because we can't rely on other people protecting him by wearing a mask," said Rebecca Sanghvi, the mother of a 2-year-old son. (Haslett, 3/3)

KHN: When Teens Blow Off Parents’ Pleas To Get Vaccinated, The Consequences Can Be Deadly
Kennedy Stonum, a high school junior, deflected repeated entreaties from her father to please just get vaccinated against covid-19. “I would send her articles. I would send her studies. I would send her whatever I thought might either scare her enough about covid to get the vaccine or allay her concerns enough about the vaccine,” said Lee Stonum, 41, a public defender in Orange County, California. His mother, who lives in Cleveland, also sent emails to her granddaughter urging her to get the shots. (Wolfson, 3/4)

In other vaccine-development news —

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: COVID Vaccine Maker Moderna To Open Hub In Atlanta
A biotech firm that has been a leader in making COVID-19 vaccines has announced plans to locate a 150-job office in Atlanta, officials said Thursday. Moderna Inc., a 12-year-old, Massachusetts-based company, expects to start operations in the second quarter of this year, according to a statement from the company and government officials. The company specializes in messenger RNA products – mRNA – which are used in therapies and vaccines, most notably the shots made widely available last year to immunize people against the coronavirus that has now killed more than 900,000 Americans. (Kanell, 3/3)

Bloomberg: Moderna, WHO Set For Vaccine Clash As Patents Threaten MRNA Use
Moderna Inc. is heading for a clash with the South African government and the World Health Organization over patent claims that vaccine advocates say could threaten the continent’s access to Covid-19 shots. Medecins Sans Frontiers and other health and relief groups are calling on the vaccine-maker to abandon three patent applications filed years ago in South Africa, saying they could impede a WHO-backed effort to make messenger RNA shots for low-income countries at a hub in Cape Town. (Sguazzin, 3/4)

Bloomberg: Shionogi Says Study Found Covid-19 Shot Effective And Safe
Japanese drugmaker Shionogi & Co. said its experimental Covid-19 vaccine was found safe and effective in a study, creating an indigenous supply source for the Asian nation that is racing to complete a booster drive in hopes of curbing future outbreaks. The recombinant protein-based vaccine that was being tested as a booster shot met its primary endpoint in the Phase 2/3 trials, Osaka-based Shionogi said in a statement Friday announcing the interim report’s findings. There were no serious treatment-related adverse events, deaths or adverse events of special interest, it said. (Matsuyama and Huang, 3/4)

CIDRAP: Third Vaccine Dose Boosts Omicron Protection, With Some Waning
Two doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford, Pfizer/BioNTech, or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine offered limited protection against symptomatic infection with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, and although a third dose with any of the three vaccines boosted effectiveness substantially, it waned a bit over time. These findings, from a study by UK Health Security Agency researchers, were published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine. (Van Beusekom, 3/3)

CNN: Civica Rx Will Provide Insulin For No More Than $30 A Vial 
Civica Rx, a non-profit generic drug maker backed by hospitals, insurers and philanthropies, announced Thursday that it plans to manufacture and sell insulin for no more than $30 a vial. It is expected to be available as soon as early 2024, pending federal approval. Insulin, which more than 8 million Americans with diabetes depend on, has been a poster child for the soaring cost of prescription drugs. Though insulin was discovered more than a century ago and costs little to make, the list price of the brand name products that Civica Rx is targeting is roughly $300 per vial, according to the Gary and Mary West Foundation, which co-founded Civica Rx. The cost has nearly tripled since 2010. (Luhby, 3/3)

Modern Healthcare: Civica To Manufacture, Distribute Affordable Insulin By 2024
Hospital-backed Civica on Thursday said it plans to produce insulin that will be available at lower prices, making it more accessible to people with diabetes. Through partnering with other entities working in the diabetes space, the not-for-profit generic drugmaker will sell three versions of insulin at one price, based on the cost of development, production and distribution. "Diabetes is arguably America's most expensive chronic condition, and it is heartbreaking that millions of people are rationing their care and putting their lives at risk because they can no longer afford insulin," said Dan Liljenquist, board chair of Civica, in a news release. "Through mission-driven partnerships, we are choosing to create a new market reality where no one is forced to ration essential diabetes medications." (Devereaux, 3/3)

Forbes: Blue Cross Health Insurers Back Nonprofit Drug Maker’s Cheaper Insulin
Blue Cross and Blue Shield health insurance companies say they will join the effort by nonprofit drug maker Civica Rx to make and sell cheaper insulin for $30 per vial. Civica, which grabbed headlines four years ago for its work with well-known U.S. hospitals and health systems to buy and develop generic drugs to avoid shortages, Thursday announced plans to manufacture and distribute “insulins that, once approved, will be available to people with diabetes at significantly lower prices than insulins currently on the market.” (Japsen, 3/3)

KHN: $35 Insulin Cap Is Welcome, Popular, And Bipartisan. But Congress May Not Pass It Anyway
Democrats in the Senate are primed this month to make their first attempt at salvaging one of the most popular elements of President Joe Biden’s stalled Build Back Better plan — the proposal to cap insulin costs at $35 a month. It might not go well. That’s true even though the idea of helping millions of Americans with diabetes afford a crucial medicine has immense public support and even bipartisan adherents. But then, there is politics — between Democrats and Republicans, of course, but also among Democrats. (McAuliff, 3/4)

In related news about drug prices —

KHN: California Governor’s Big Promises On Drug Prices Are Slow To Materialize 
When Gov. Gavin Newsom took office in 2019, he promised to lower prescription drug costs for all Californians. But now, as Newsom nears the end of his first term, his ambitious ideas — such as requiring California to make its own insulin and forging drug partnerships across state lines — have failed to get off the ground or haven’t produced the hefty savings he promised. (Hart, Bluth and Young, 3/4)

Stat: Washington State Gets Closer To Forming Prescription Drug Affordability Board
In a closely watched development, House lawmakers in Washington state passed a bill to create a prescription drug affordability board, a controversial tactic that a growing number of states are exploring as they seek to control the rising cost of medicines. These initiatives are loosely modeled on rate-setting boards that regulate what public utilities can charge residents. In this instance, the Washington board would run “affordability reviews” to determine whether a medicine is priced at excessive levels or has sharply increased in price and, if that was found to be the case, set an upper-payment limit, according to this document. (Silverman, 3/3)

Stat: With Aduhelm In Limbo, Biogen Starts Laying Off Employees
Biogen’s largest-ever corporate restructuring began Wednesday, as employees around the world got word they would be laid off by the struggling biotech company, STAT has learned. A Biogen spokesperson confirmed the layoffs but would not provide an exact number of affected employees. People close to Biogen have said the company will cut about 1,000 jobs — more than 10% of its workforce — through layoffs, voluntary resignations, and the elimination of open positions. Biogen has said it hopes to save about $500 million a year in the process. (Feuerstein and Garde, 3/3)

In other health care industry developments —

Detroit Free Press: Michigan Medicine Data Breach May Have Exposed Patients' Information
Michigan Medicine is notifying about 2,920 patients that some of their health information may have been exposed when an employee's email account was compromised. The email account was compromised Dec. 23, resulting in a cyberattacker gaining access to and using the account to send phishing emails, the health system said in a news release Thursday. The employee learned about the breach when suspicious activity occurred Jan. 6 and immediately reported the situation to the health system's information technology department. The email account was disabled and immediate password changes were made. (Hall, 3/3)

The Boston Globe: Mass General Brigham Ads Touting Expansion Are Ruffling Feathers
The state’s largest health system wants to expand, and it wants your support. For weeks, Mass General Brigham has splashed its teal ads across newspaper pages, television screens, and the Internet to rally support behind its proposed $2.3 billion expansion. The campaign, which experts estimate cost millions of dollars, has angered competitors and a legislator, who say the health system is using its deep pockets to relay misleading information to regulators and the general public. Mass General Brigham, for its part, says it’s using the ads to dispel misinformation spread by critics and to speak directly to patients. “It is important people know the facts, and advertising is just one way to make sure those facts are publicly known and set the record straight from unfounded claims,” said Jennifer Street, a spokesperson for MGB. (Bartlett, 3/3)

Stat: Even As It Struggles, Startup Insurer Bright Health Deepens Its Ties To Cigna
Bright Health is hemorrhaging money, raising questions not only about its future but also about its increasingly close relationship with Cigna, which has become a major investor. Bright, one of the largest startups combining health insurance and doctor clinics, disclosed this week that it lost almost $1.2 billion in 2021 and will lose upward of $800 million this year, suggesting it will quickly burn through the $550 million cash injection Cigna extended in January. Some of those losses were expected, but some — such as Bright struggling with basic medical claims technology — were surprising. (Herman, 3/3)

Stat: Black Biotech Leaders Struggle For Funding Amid Industry Diversity Pledges
Paul Mola tried his best to keep cool. But inside, he was reeling. On a mid-February afternoon, he spoke to a room of students and San Diego life science leaders about his journey as a Black entrepreneur and founder of a local biotech company. As the CEO of Roswell Biotechnologies, “I truly try to have a team that is empowered, where they feel supported,” he told the audience. None of them knew that two days later he’d lay off nearly half his company after failing to raise enough money. (Wosen, 3/4)

Modern Healthcare: Sutter Health Trial Highlights Not-For-Profit Status Isn't Tied To Charity Care
When a top Sutter Health executive claimed in federal testimony Wednesday that her health system isn't required as a not-for-profit to provide free or discounted care to low-income patients, it raised a surprisingly thorny legal question. The trial, Sidibe vs. Sutter Health, isn't about hospitals' financial assistance policies, but they've come up more than once as the $13 billion health system works to paint itself as an altruistic organization. Sutter is defending against allegations that its anticompetitive practices caused Northern Californians to overpay for healthcare by more than $400 million over six years. (Bannow, 3/3)

In obituaries —

The Boston Globe: Dr. W. Hardy Hendren III, ‘A Legend In The Pantheon’ Of Pediatric Surgeons, Dies At 96
The go-to surgeon when miracles were needed, Dr. W. Hardy Hendren was affectionately known as Hardly Human, a nickname that paid tribute to his superhuman endurance during operations that lasted more than 24 hours and to his ability to heal patients who couldn’t be cured anywhere else in the world. For Dr. Hendren, who taught medical residents to always put the patient first, his devotion to surgery was its own life lesson. “What was important was that you do a good job in the operation,” he once said. “You never walk away from the table knowing that you had not done well.” (Marquard, 3/3)

Axios: A Drink A Day Could Be Associated With Brain Changes, Study Finds
Having even one drink a day could reduce one's overall brain size over time, according to a study published today in the journal Nature Communications. The study found the greatest risks with heavy drinking, but alcohol consumption was linked to reduced brain volume among far more moderate drinkers. The findings could throw cold water on other studies suggesting that lighter alcohol consumption has no impact on, or may even benefit, the brain. (Reed, 3/4)

Press Association: Is Wine Good For You? Drinking It With Meals May Reduce Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes
People who drink wine with their meals may be at lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, a new study suggests. Researchers analysed data from 312,400 patients on the UK biobank database and found that drinking alcohol with meals was associated with a 14% lower risk of the condition compared to consuming alcohol without eating food. The potential benefit of moderate drinking was seen only among people who drank alcohol during meals, although the specific time of meals was not collected in this study. (3/3)

In news about water safety —

AP: EPA Confirms Filters Reduce Lead In Michigan City's Water
The filters distributed in Benton Harbor, Michigan during the city’s recent lead water crisis worked properly, according to a study state officials said was conducted to give residents assurance. Michigan officials said the study was done “out of an abundance of caution” after residents and advocates in Benton Harbor slammed the state’s slow response to the city’s lead problem and requested more aggressive actions — including a study of the filters. (Phillis, 3/3)

AP: Fuel In Water Deepens Native Hawaiians' Distrust Of Military
A well-known adage in Hawaiian, ola i ka wai, means “water is life.” Native Hawaiians revere water in all its forms as the embodiment of one of the Hawaiian pantheon’s four principal gods. The resource is so valuable that to have it in abundance means prosperity. The Hawaiian word for water — wai — is repeated in the word for wealth — waiwai. (Kelleher, 3/3)

In other public health news —

NPR: As More Black Americans Buy Guns, Worries Grow Over Black Suicide Rates
When Russell and Sharis Lewis want to unwind, they pack up their guns and drive from their home in Florissant, a suburb north of St. Louis, to an indoor range called the SharpShooter on the city's south side. Russell dons big, protective headphones, carefully lays out his firearms and selects a Panzer Arms M4 12-gauge semiautomatic shotgun. He takes aim at paper targets, including one labeled "Snowflakes," and squeezes the trigger. The gun gives off a deafening blast, and the recoil can be felt through the air from several feet back. "It's just something about the power and being able to release that and let it go downrange," Russell says. "It's just a nice thing to do. It relaxes me." (Smith, 3/3)

CIDRAP: Women Have Borne An Outsized Social, Economic Burden During Pandemic
From March 2020 to September 2021, women were more likely than men to lose their jobs, forego work to care for others, and report increasing violence, and women and girls were more likely than men and boys to drop out of school for reasons other than school closures, according to a study yesterday in The Lancet. University of Washington at Seattle researchers reviewing public datasets found that relative to men, women were more likely to report job loss (26.0% vs 20.4%) and staying home from work to care for others (1:8 ratio of men to women in March, 2.4 by September). They were also 1.23 times more likely to say that gender-based violence had increased during the pandemic. (3/3)

CIDRAP: Study: Spending Time Outdoors Lessened Pandemic Anxiety, Depression
Denver residents who spent significant time in green space during the pandemic had lower levels of anxiety and depression, according to a new study in PLOS One. The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder and tracked mood changes and green space use during the first year of the pandemic among 1,200 Denver residents. Respondents' answers were paired with satellite images of green space near residential addresses. (3/3)

CBS News: "We Go Right To The Mother": New Program Helps Mothers And Their Babies Stay Out Of Poverty 
For years, Gardner worked as a director of a nonprofit after-school program. Right before the pandemic hit, she left the job and went through her savings. Gardner soon found herself expecting her now 5-month-old son Garrett with no job. But then, a social worker told her about a new program where she could get $500 to $1,000 a month for three years. The pilot program, known as The Bridge Project, aims to keep mothers and their babies out of poverty. (Duncan, 3/3)

CBS News: "Rat Carcasses On The Conveyor Belt": Inside Family Dollar's Rodent-Infested Warehouse
Family Dollar closed more than 400 stores last month after more than 1,000 dead rodents were found at one of its distribution facilities. Now, details about the infestation are coming to light in a 22-page FDA inspection report that cited problems ranging from "four rat carcasses on the conveyor belt" to rodent droppings "too numerous to count." Several products sold at Family Dollar stores in six states were voluntarily recalled, the Food and Drug Administration said last month. (Picchi, 3/3)

Los Angeles Times: Newsom Unveils New Homelessness And Mental Health Plan
As California cities struggle to address a homelessness and mental health crisis on their streets, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration on Thursday unveiled a proposal to push more people with severe psychiatric disorders and addiction issues into court-ordered care that includes medication and housing. The proposal, which Newsom is calling the Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment Court, is the state’s latest effort to address one of California’s greatest struggles, and a recognition that something more robust is needed to solve the problem. Newsom allocated $12 billion for homelessness in the state budget last year and proposed an additional $2 billion in his January financial blueprint. (Wiley, 3/3)

San Francisco Chronicle: Gavin Newsom's Bold New Mental Health Plan Was Inspired By The Misery On San Francisco Streets
The misery experienced on San Francisco’s sidewalks has long offered a case study in the failure of California’s mental health care system. Now, the dire situation is inspiring a proposal for a sweeping overhaul. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan, to be unveiled Thursday, seeks to tackle two big flaws in the system: the shortage of desperately needed care and the strict limitations on compelling treatment for people who are too sick to understand they need help. (Knight, 3/3)

In news about the housing crisis in Utah —

Salt Lake Tribune: If Salt Lake County Can’t Agree On Winter Homeless Shelters, State Says It Will Step In
After years of conflict over where to put winter overflow shelters, a new proposal would require Salt Lake County’s cities to work together on finding extra beds for the unsheltered — or risk having the state step in and do it for them. Space shortages have plagued the region’s homeless resource centers in recent years, forcing providers to scramble each winter for stopgap solutions to keep people out of the elements. Now, Rep. Steve Eliason, R-Sandy, is trying to create a more structured process for opening these overflow shelters and compel more cities to contribute to solving a regional problem. (Rodgers, 3/4)

In news about transgender health care —

The Texas Tribune: Parents Of Trans Kids Are Preparing For Child Welfare Investigations 
For the last two weeks, a mom in the Austin area has been vacillating between rage and panic. Some days, she’s so fired up she feels like she could take on the entire state of Texas by herself. Other days, she just crawls under her weighted blanket and lets the fear take over. The woman, who asked not to be identified to protect her family, has an 8-year-old transgender daughter. In late February, Gov. Greg Abbott directed the state’s child welfare agency to open child abuse investigations into parents that provide gender-affirming care to their children. This family hasn’t had a visit from Child Protective Services, but they know others who have and they’ve started preparing for the possibility that they could be next. (Klibanoff and Dey, 3/4)

The Washington Post: ‘Safe Folders’ For Transgender Children: What To Know 
While there has been a wave of bills in the past two years aiming to curtail trans children’s access to health care and ban them from sports teams consistent with their gender identities, families of trans children across the country have long felt vulnerable to investigation and scrutiny, experts say. In response, many parents who support their trans children have relied on a network of organizations for help, sharing essential practices to protect their loved ones. These include “safety folders” (also referred to as “safe folders”), which some Texas parents urged others to compile in the wake of Abbott’s order. (Branigin, 3/3)

Dallas Morning News: UNT Students Protest Jeff Younger, Conservative Speech On ‘Transgender Child Abuse’
Student protests over a conservative politician who promotes criminalizing sex reassignment surgeries for children escalated to police intervention during a Wednesday night event at the University of North Texas. Videos circulating online show dozens of students banging on desks, shouting and cursing at Jeff Younger, who will be in a May runoff in the Republican primary for Texas House District 63. He was involved in a yearslong custody battle for his child, whose mother says is a transgender girl. (Olivares, 3/3)

AP: Oklahoma House Passes Bill Targeting Transgender Girls 
An Oklahoma House panel passed a bill Thursday to prevent transgender girls from playing on female sports teams at Oklahoma schools. The House Rules Committee passed the bill on a 6-2 party-line vote with Republicans in support. The measure now heads to the full House for consideration. Civil rights groups and the gay rights organization Freedom Oklahoma immediately criticized the bill’s passage. (3/3)

In other news from across the U.S. —

The Texas Tribune, ProPublica and NBC News: Firefighter Disciplined After Delayed 911 Response In Texas Winter Storm 
The Houston Fire Department reprimanded a firefighter for misconduct after an investigation into a delayed 911 response to a case in which a mother and daughter died of carbon monoxide poisoning. The department opened the investigation in July, following reporting from ProPublica, The Texas Tribune and NBC News, which revealed that first responders initially decided not to enter a Houston family’s home during the massive winter storm that hit Texas in February 2021, a decision that resulted in a couple and their two children being exposed to the lethal gas for an additional three hours. (Trevizo, Churchill and Hixenbaugh, 3/4)

Miami Herald: DeSantis Backs ‘Free Speech’ Protection For Doctors 
Gov. Ron DeSantis called on legislators Thursday to protect doctors’ ability to express themselves freely without fear of reprisal from the boards that regulate the medical profession. A federation of state medical boards warned doctors in July not to spread misinformation during the pandemic or risk losing their licenses. “You’re not going to have good medicine practice if people are fearful of doing things that the evidence is telling them to do, just because it may conflict with the narrative,” DeSantis said at Florida State University’s Panama City campus. (Wilson and Mahoney, 3/3)

Detroit Free Press: Report: Food Insecurity Is Ongoing Problem In Michigan
Health care expenses associated with food insecurity amounted to $1.8 billion a year in Michigan. It's a cost that comes into sharp focus in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, Michiganders struggled to put food on the table because of the pandemic's economic upheaval, highlighting the close relationship among  poverty, food insecurity and health. That's according to a report released Thursday by the Food Security Council, created by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020 to look into the scope and reasons behind food insecurity in the state. The advisory group submitted its findings and recommendations to the governor last month. (Rahman, 3/3)

AP: Maine Backs Off Plan For New Medical Marijuana Rules 
Maine marijuana regulators are backing off a proposal to change the state’s medical marijuana rules after disapproval from the industry. The rules included product tracking and other new security requirements. Members of the industry slammed the proposal as an overreach that would likely result in higher costs for consumers. (3/3)

AP: Maine Makes A Dent In State's Nurse Shortage 
A report commissioned by health groups in Maine found that the state has reduced its projected nursing shortage by more than half. The Maine Nursing Action Coalition and the Maine Hospital Association commissioned the report. The Portland Press Herald reported Wednesday an original projected shortage of 3,200 registered nurses by 2025 is down to 1,450. (3/4)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: What’s Working In Public Health? CDC Director Finds Reason For Hope In St. Louis
The director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention got her fill of St. Louis Thursday in a uniquely extensive visit to a city that included speaking to medical students, meeting with the city’s health director, hearing from clinic leaders and touring one of those clinics in one of the city’s most impoverished areas. “We in the CDC are only as good as our public health partners are in the community, and so as I travel, I really want to see what’s working in public health in the community and what’s not working, and I want to hear and learn,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who became director just as COVID-19 vaccines were rolled out over a year ago. (Munz, 3/4)

AP: UN Atomic Agency: Strike At Nuke Plant Hit Training Center
The head of the United Nations’ atomic agency a Ukrainian nuclear plant was hit by a Russian “projectile” but that the building was a training center. Earlier reports conflicted over what part of the plant was affected by fire that broke out after shelling. Nuclear plant spokesman Andriy Tuz told Ukrainian television overnight that shells fell directly on the facility, and set fire to reactor that is not operating and to an administrative training building. (Heintz, Karmanau and Chernov, 3/4)

The Washington Post: Mayor Of City Near Russian-Occupied Ukrainian Nuclear Plant Awkwardly Says Everything Is Fine
After Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and surrounding area early Friday, the mayor of the nearby city of Enerhodar said in a video address that the plant — part of which had earlier been on fire — was operational and running as usual, in a video address that Ukraine’s national atomic energy company said may have been made under duress. Following the Russian capture of the town, a visibly grimacing Mayor Dmytro Orlov put out an awkward video statement on Telegram calling on Ukrainians not to provoke Russian troops and saying that no shots had been fired at civilians. He also suggested, improbably, that Russian troops had fired blanks. (Stern and Suliman, 3/4)

USA Today: Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant Fire Prompts Chernobyl Comparisons
Fears of an unprecedented nuclear disaster spread rapidly overnight when part of Europe’s largest nuclear plant caught on fire in Ukraine as Russian forces shelled the area. Amid a stream of confusing, alarming, and, at times, conflicting information about the incident, The International Atomic Energy Agency soon said the "serious situation" had not affected essential equipment at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and that there had been no change in radiation levels. Ukrainian authorities confirmed that the blaze was later extinguished by firefighters on Friday. That didn't stop Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy from giving an emotional plea to his nation and all of Europe in an overnight video address. (Shannon and Weise, 3/3)

Financial Times: IAEA Head Requests Chernobyl Visit To Avoid Further Nuclear Plant Attacks 
Rafael Mariano Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has told Ukraine and Russia that he wants to visit Chernobyl as soon as possible, to agree a framework to avoid further attacks on nuclear power plants. Grossi was speaking at a news conference at IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria after Russian forces fired a projectile into a training centre at the Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe’s biggest nuclear power facility early on Friday. (Cookson, 3/4)

AP: EXPLAINER: How Dangerous Was Russia's Nuclear Plant Strike? 
But even though the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is of a different design than Chernobyl and is protected from fire, nuclear safety experts and the International Atomic Energy Agency warn that waging war in and around such facilities presents extreme risks. One major concern, raised by Ukraine’s state nuclear regulator, is that if fighting interrupts power supply to the nuclear plant, it would be forced to use less-reliable diesel generators to provide emergency power to operating cooling systems. A failure of those systems could lead to a disaster similar to that of Japan’s Fukushima plant, when a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011 destroyed cooling systems, triggering meltdowns in three reactors. (Rising, 3/4)

In other news on the Ukraine invasion —

Reuters: U.S. Waives COVID Test For Americans Leaving Russia, Belarus 
The United States is waiving a requirement for negative COVID-19 tests from Americans leaving Belarus or Russia to travel home, the State Department said on Thursday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it would exercise its discretion to allow travel by U.S. citizens, permanent residents and holders of valid immigrant visas who were in either country by a Feb. 28 cut-off date. (3/3)

The Washington Post: U.S. To Share Some Coronavirus Technologies With World Health Organization 
The Biden administration will share U.S. government-devised coronavirus technologies with the World Health Organization, a policy shift intended to allow other countries to replicate some American scientific breakthroughs and better fight the pandemic abroad, federal officials said Thursday. Under the plan, some technologies now being developed by the National Institutes of Health will be licensed to the WHO’s COVID-19 Technology Access Pool, senior NIH official Anthony S. Fauci told reporters. The technologies will also be sub-licensed to the United Nations-backed Medicines Patent Pool. (Diamond, 3/3)

Reuters: S.Africa Risks Destroying 100,000 Vaccine Doses By End-March Due To Slow Uptake 
About 100,000 doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine (PFE.N) are at risk of being destroyed by the end of this month due to slow uptake by citizens, South African health authorities said on Friday. South Africa has recorded the most coronavirus infections and deaths on the African continent, however inoculations have slowed and the country has ample vaccine stocks of about 25 million doses. (3/4)

NPR: Striking New Evidence Points To Seafood Market In Wuhan As Pandemic Origin Point
Over the weekend, an international team of scientists published two extensive papers online, offering the strongest evidence to date that the COVID-19 pandemic originated in animals at a market in Wuhan, China. Specifically, they conclude that the coronavirus most likely jumped from a caged wild animal into people at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, where a huge COVID-19 outbreak began in December 2019. Scientists who weren't involved in the research papers are calling the new data "very convincing" and a "blow" to the lab-leak theory — that the virus somehow escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which does research on coronaviruses. In reaction to the papers, they say the newly published data is tipping the scales toward wildlife sold at the market. (Doucleff, 3/3)

In other global developments —

Bloomberg: Mosquito-Borne Virus Spreads From Pigs To Humans In Australia
A mosquito-borne disease that can cause brain inflammation has emerged in Australia and infected at least one person, prompting officials to issue health alerts for people working with pigs and horses. The confirmed Japanese encephalitis case in Queensland state, along with three suspected human infections in Victoria, follows the detection of the virus earlier in the week across multiple pork farms. On Friday, the nation’s health department declared the situation a Communicable Disease Incident of National Significance. (Gross, 3/4)

Bloomberg: Facebook Researchers Find Its Apps Can Make Us Lonelier
Loneliness has come into sharper focus at Meta during the Covid-19 pandemic, as people use its social media apps as alternatives to in-person experiences. Meta has promoted its role as a digital connector, running ads touting its groups and messaging products. “We change the game when we find each other,” reads a tagline for one of its recent commercials. But internally, employees are questioning their products’ impact on mental health. Meta wants to address the problem but doesn’t know how. Internal research shows that a given feature — such as one that shows people photo memories — can spark feelings of connection for some and sadness for others. Regulators, meanwhile, are already probing whether Meta’s Instagram harms young people. (Nix and Wagner, 3/2)

Undark: Wood-Burning Stoves Raise New Health Concerns
When Susan Remmers moved into her home in Portland, Oregon, she thought she’d live there for the rest of her life. Remmers, a 58-year-old with a mobility disability, planned to outfit the house with ramps to be wheelchair accessible, and she viewed her 2012 purchase as an investment in her and her partner’s future. But within months of moving in, she noticed grey smoke billowing from the chimney of the house next door. Next, she says, came the sore throats, headaches, and tight lungs. Remmers had no history of respiratory issues, but by 2016 she ended up in the emergency room in the middle of the night when she had trouble breathing. She was pretty sure that the source was the smoke, and says that she asked her neighbor to stop burning wood for heat. But he kept doing it, as did other neighbors in her quiet residential neighborhood on the city’s northeast edge. Now, almost 10 years after moving in, Remmers is desperately trying to leave the home she once saw as a haven. (Kruzman, 3/2)

The Wall Street Journal: Companies Bet You’re Ready To Test At Home For More Than Covid-19 
The Covid-19 pandemic has hastened consumers’ willingness to test for more medical conditions at home, test makers said, expanding the market for self-diagnostic products. Manufacturers are developing new types of at-home tests, including for flu and strep throat, aimed at consumers who are increasingly monitoring and managing their own health through fitness apps and smartwatches. (Hufford, 3/3)

NBC News: First To Cancel Sports In 2020, Chicago State University Quietly Set Pivotal Trend
Elliott Charles, a young administrator at Chicago State University, feared he'd "committed career suicide" two years ago when he made the unprecedented decision to cancel basketball games over a budding health crisis. The move on March 4, 2020, made the little-known school the first sports program from North America's four major sports leagues or NCAA Division I to cancel games because of the coronavirus pandemic. (Li, 3/4)

AP: In Somaliland, COVID Brings 'Cutters' Door To Door For Girls 
Safia Ibrahim’s business was in trouble. COVID-19 had taken hold in Somaliland, in the Horn of Africa. The 50-year-old widow with 10 children to support set out door to door on the capital’s outskirts, a razor at hand, taking advantage of the lockdown to seek work with a question: Have your daughters been cut? Her business is female circumcision, learned at the age of 15, performed hundreds of times and now being passed along to her daughters. She congratulates young girls upon completing the procedure: “Pray for me, I’ve made you a woman now.” She believes her work keeps girls pure for marriage. “This is our Somali culture. Our great-grandmothers, grandfathers — all of them used to practice,” she said, even though she now knows there’s no medical or even religious reason for the removal of external genitalia, which can cause excessive bleeding, problems with urination and childbirth, infections and even death. But it remains legal in Somaliland, so Ibrahim will continue until authorities tell her to stop. (Anna, 2/28)

On TV and in print —

The Wall Street Journal: ‘The Dropout’ Review: Out For Blood At Theranos 
Elizabeth Holmes, who rode Silicon Valley’s “fake it till you make it” ethos all the way to a four-count felony conviction, isn’t interesting because she’s a victim. She’s interesting because, by every indication, she’s a sociopath. And yet, by the end of episode 1 of Hulu’s dramatic series “The Dropout,” a viewer will be wondering if the subject’s misbehavior is going to be blamed on her chilly mother, her feckless father, her own frigidity, mean girls, a sexual assault at Stanford, or the fact that she couldn’t run as fast as the other kids in grade school. (Anderson, 2/28)

Undark: Book Excerpt: The Lockdown Diaries Of Wuhan
Old Ji is a 40-something delivery driver employed by Meituan, one of China’s biggest online platforms for shopping and retail services. After Wuhan was locked down, Old Ji posted his first Weibo message on Jan. 24, 2020: “#Wuhan novel coronavirus# It’s coming to me closer and closer.” The message was posted with two photos. One photo shows three people in full PPE entering a building in a residential community. The other is of an “urgent notice” issued by the property-management office of his community, notifying residents that a couple had contracted the virus and were under quarantine at home. The notice urged residents not to leave home but if they had to, to wear face masks. (Yang, 3/4)

Stat: It's Past Time To Change Personal Protective Equipment Guidelines 
Every time we enter a Covid patient’s room, we first don gloves, and a disposable gown. When we come out of the room, we remove that gear and put it in one of the many bulging disposal bags lining the halls of our hospital. We go through the same process for the next patient, as do health care workers across the country and around the world. It would not be uncommon for this to happen 30 times a day for each patient as nurses, physicians, aids, and others provide care. Multiply our actions by the thousands of health care workers who see patients every day, and the nearly 800 days since Covid-19 was declared a public health emergency in the U.S. and around the world, and the scope of the disposal problem becomes huge. (Bruce Farber and Aradhana Khameraj, 3/4)

The Washington Post: An Unwelcome Exception To Returning To Pre-Pandemic 'Normal’ 
No more masking, school closures, social distancing — there are many things to celebrate as we transition into a new phase of covid-19 and, hopefully, return to some pre-pandemic normal. But the end of the public health emergency could harm millions of Americans in a way that’s received relatively little attention. I’m referring to the Great Medicaid Purge, which could come as soon as this summer. (Catherine Rampell, 3/3)

The New York Times: What Will Our Covid Future Look Like?
Omicron cases, hospitalizations and deaths have been substantially declining across the United States for more than a month. In response, governors and mayors are rolling back restrictions like mask mandates and vaccine passports. Many wonder whether this period of low cases and decreasing demand on hospitals is a turning point in the pandemic or is simply a lull before a new variant causes another dangerous surge. (Jeffrey Shaman, 3/4)

The Washington Post: Covid Isn’t Over, But It’s Over For Me 
The day my mother called to tell me she had tested positive, I realized that, for me, covid was over. Practically speaking, of course, it was not. This was late January, when cases were up in Albany County, N.Y. — double the January before — and we were operating under an emergency mask mandate. Augusta County, Va., where my parents live, was weathering a similar surge: twice as many cases as the same time last year. (Kate Cohen, 3/3)

The Boston Globe: The Doctor Poets Of COVID 
Medicine and poetry have never been strangers. John Keats trained as a doctor; Walt Whitman worked as a nurse during the Civil War; and physician William Carlos Williams won the first National Book Award for Poetry, in 1950, as well as a Pulitzer Prize in 1963. The New Jersey-based Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which focuses on health care, underwrites the distribution of the anthology “On Doctoring,” co-edited by the physician-poet John Stone, to every first-year medical student in the country. (Alex Beam, 3/4)

Miami Herald: FL DeSantis Has A COVID Mask Complex Not Even A Wife Can Fix 
Don’t listen to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a follower of debunked science. Keep that mask on indoors when social distancing isn’t possible and it’s prudent to do so, Floridians. DeSantis has a masking complex not even a wife can fix.“ The political science show cannot go on,” an arrogant and defiant DeSantis tweeted Thursday, doubling down on his outrageous, mocking anti-mask behavior in Tampa the day before. “It’s curtain call for COVID theater,” he repeated. But ask yourselves: How can a man, whose wife was being treated for cancer, thoughtlessly walk up to strangers — active high school students at that — and bully them into taking off the masks protecting them and others from COVID-19 infection? (Fabiola Santiago, 3/3)

Newsweek: Without A Federal Law Guarantee, Reproductive Rights Are In Peril 
Senate Republicans recently blocked passage of the Women's Health Protection Act, a bill that would have protected the right to abortion free from medically unnecessary restrictions. The vote was held exactly six months after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Texas' SB8 law, which bans abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy, to go into effect. At a stroke, SB8 stopped the people of Texas from exercising their right to basic reproductive health care, and effectively overturned Roe v. Wade for 1 in 10 women of reproductive age in the United States. Now, in the absence of a federal law protecting those rights, people in many other states may soon share the same predicament. (Jennie Wetter, 3/3)

Los Angeles Times: Newsom's Plan To Help People With Mental Illness Is Overdue 
Like too many people with mental illness, Chad Ricketts is on the verge of going to prison instead of receiving care. That’s the California way when it comes to treating serious brain illnesses, as pathetic as it is. Hopefully, change is coming. More on that in a minute. (Anita Chabria, 3/3)

Stat: The FDA's 83-Year-Old Animal Testing Rule Needs An Update 
From every sector, the cry is being raised: “We can’t go back to the way things were before the pandemic.” CEOs and politicians, educators and entrepreneurs, health professionals and scientists, all urge the importance of taking stock, adjusting, and learning. One sector in which this must happen now is drug development, where an 83-year-old rule requiring that drugs be tested in animals impedes the development of life-saving medicines. The 1938 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act requires that every drug be tested on animals — even though more than 90% of drugs found to be safe and effective in animals fail during human clinical trials, and even though safer and more effective methods of drug testing have been developed since then. (Gary Michelson and Aysha Akhtar, 3/4)

The CT Mirror: Stop The Yale Acquisition Of Hospitals
Where is the Connecticut Department of Public Health? Where is the state Office of Health Strategy? Now is the time for the state to put some serious brakes on the ongoing shrinking of medical providers in the state. Is the state going to allow a continuation of Yale New Haven Health’s acquisitions? This time, Yale wants to buy two more health systems and three more Connecticut hospitals. The Yale medical behemoth is planning to add Waterbury Hospital, Manchester Memorial Hospital and Rockville Hospital to its ever-growing system. The change, in addition to shrinking consumer choice, also would switch these three hospitals from non-profits to profit-making institutions. (Alvin Greenberg MD, 3/3)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Access To Health Care Is Domestic Tranquility 
When was the last time you read the Preamble of the Constitution? It starts “We The People …,” remember? When you read it did you absorb the ideals it espoused or were they just words? It seems that our state’s Republican legislators are determined to rewrite it as it relates to any issue they (or the citizens in their respective districts) don’t personally agree with, particularly Medicaid expansion. Instead, Missouri has morphed the preamble into: We the people of the divided state of Missouri do not have representatives who are the least bit interested in upholding the wishes of the majority of the state’s constituents. Justice, domestic tranquility, and providing for the common defense be damned. They are not concerned with the general welfare and have no plans to attempt to secure the blessings of liberty to anyone but themselves. (Janet Y. Jackson, 3/2)

The Baltimore Sun: Legislating A ‘Healthful Environment’ For Marylanders 
Combating climate change, improving environmental conditions and ensuring that everyone has access to green spaces would go a long way to improving public health. We know, for example, the negative impacts that heat and air pollution have on birth outcomes. Research has revealed that higher levels of air pollution and heat during pregnancy are associated with preterm birth, low birth weight and stillbirth, and that these adverse outcomes are higher among Black and brown moms. (Rebecca Rehr, 3/3)

Also —

The Star Tribune: We Must Stand Up For Trans Kids 
Transgender patients and families currently suffer some of the most significant inequities in health care. Access to quality health care and access to health care where they are not made to feel less than who they are, or excluded, is often not available. It is unavailable because many years of continued discrimination have been allowed to occur, and the rights and health needs of LGBTQ people have continued to be ignored. This must stop. (Marc Gorelick, 3/3)

The New York Times: Who Should Be Allowed To Transition? 
Two and a half years ago, I sat in a medical waiting room nervously rehearsing my reason for seeing the nurse practitioner. The words I needed to say to her — that I was transgender and wanted her help medically transitioning — I had once promised myself not to say to anyone. I thought I’d keep this part of my identity my deepest secret, one I’d known since childhood but would never reveal. (Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, 3/4)