The Boston Globe: National Milestone Reached, With Half Of US Adults Having Received At Least One COVID-19 Shot
Half of all adults in the United States have received at least one COVID-19 shot, the government announced Sunday, marking another milestone in the nation’s largest-ever vaccination campaign but leaving more work to do to persuade skeptical Americans to roll up their sleeves. Almost 130 million people 18 or older have received at least one dose of a vaccine, or 50.4 percent of the total adult population, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. Almost 84 million adults, or about 32.5 percent of the population, have been fully vaccinated. (4/18)

AP: Half Of US Adults Have Received At Least One COVID-19 Shot
The U.S. cleared the 50% mark just a day after the reported global death toll from the coronavirus topped a staggering 3 million, according to totals compiled by Johns Hopkins University, though the actual number is believed to be significantly higher. (Yen and Mattise, 4/18)

NPR: Global COVID-19 Deaths Top 3 Million
Global deaths from COVID-19 has surpassed 3 million, according to the latest data from John Hopkins University. Leading in those deaths are the United States, with more than 566,000, and Brazil, with more than 368,000. They are followed by Mexico, India and the United Kingdom. The global death toll reached 1 million in September 2020 and 2 million in January. (Muhammad, 4/17)

CNN: In The Race Between Covid-19 Vaccines And The Virus, Hesitancy Gives Dangerous Variants A Leg Up, Expert Says 
More than half of all US adults have now gotten at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But some experts worry that now comes the hard part: reaching the audiences that aren't as eager to get vaccinated against the virus. "I worry that we're starting to get to that point -- which we always knew existed somewhere in the horizon -- where the level of supply would outstrip the demand," epidemiologist Dr. Abdul El-Sayed told CNN on Sunday. (Maxouris, 4/19)

CBS News: Fauci Expects Decision On Whether To Resume Johnson & Johnson Vaccine By Friday 
Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Biden, said Sunday he believes there will be a decision over whether to end the pause on the use of Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine by Friday. "A decision almost certainly will be made by Friday," Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in an interview on "Face the Nation." "I don't really anticipate that they're going to want to stretch it out a bit longer, in one way or the other, make a decision about J&J. I don't know what that's going to be, but thinking about what the possibilities are, one of the possibilities would be to bring them back, but to do it with some form of restriction or some form of warning. But I believe by Friday we're going to know the answer to that." (Quinn, 4/18)

Politico: 'I Doubt Very Seriously If They Just Cancel' Paused J&J Vaccine, Fauci Says 
Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, predicted Sunday that the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine will continue to be used "in some form," though it could come with a warning or restriction. Asked in interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" whether it's more likely the vaccine will still be used with some restriction or not used at all, Fauci stressed that "everything is on the table" but estimated the vaccine won't just be shelved after federal agencies called for a pause in its use last week. (O'Brien, 4/18)

In related news about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine —

The Atlantic: The Danger Of A ‘Dudes Only’ Vaccine
The Johnson & Johnson shot is teetering on the precipice of becoming America’s “dudes only” vaccine. On Tuesday, the CDC and FDA advised halting the vaccine’s nationwide rollout to investigate six cases of a rare blood-clotting disorder that’s occurred in people within about two weeks of receiving the vaccine—all of them women under the age of 50. In an emergency meeting convened Wednesday by the CDC, experts raised the possibility of limiting its future use to males, reserving Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, as some have unfortunately put it, for johnsons alone. (Wu, 4/16)

Roll Call: Johnson & Johnson Pause Slows Vaccines For Homeless, Homebound 
The pause on the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine may be jeopardizing access for some of the trickiest people to vaccinate, public health experts say. While the pause won't make much of a dent in overall supply because of pre-existing manufacturing issues, the vaccine has unique properties that make it easy to use. It's stable at refrigerator temperatures and can be transported without cumbersome freezers or dry ice. The single-shot vaccine was ideal for reaching people without cellphones and remote homebound seniors who required long trips to reach. (Kopp, 4/16)

Los Angeles Times: How FDA's Pause On Johnson & Johnson May Affect Global Rollout
More than a billion people around the world have been waiting for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine — a cheap, easy-to-transport, one-dose injection that reduces the risk from COVID-19. Now the global rollout has been thrown into doubt. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which this week recommended that use of the vaccine be paused while scientists study a possible link to extremely rare blood clots, has no authority outside the United States. But many countries follow its lead. (Baumgaertner, 4/17)

KHN: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Pause And Effect On Covid Vaccines
The effort to vaccinate Americans against covid-19 took a hit [last] week. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration jointly called for a pause in use of the vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson while experts try to figure out whether it is responsible for a small number of serious blood clots, mostly in women of childbearing age. (4/16)

In related news about blood clots —

The New York Times: ‘We Were Flying Blind’: A Dr.’s Account Of A Woman’s J.&J. Vaccine-Related Blood Clot Case 
An 18-year-old woman was stricken with severe headaches, vomiting, seizures, confusion and weakness in one arm early this month, strokelike symptoms that doctors at a Nevada hospital were shocked to see in someone so young. Scans found several large blood clots blocking veins that drain blood from the brain, a condition that can disable or kill a patient. Doctors performed a procedure to suction huge clots from her brain, only to find that new ones had formed. (Grady, 4/16)

CIDRAP: Scientists Tie Platelet Factor 4 To AstraZeneca COVID Vaccine-Related Clots
UK researchers have uncovered the novel mechanism behind rare abnormal blood clotting seen in some AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine recipients, according to a study today in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study involved clinical and lab evaluation of 23 previously healthy patients who experienced blood clots and thrombocytopenia (low platelet counts) 6 to 24 days after receiving the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Most clots were cerebral venous thrombosis, while some were arterial thrombosis and venous thromboembolisms such as pulmonary embolisms. (4/16)

Anchorage Daily News: Alaska Will Offer COVID-19 Vaccines To Tourists Starting June 1
Print article The state of Alaska will begin offering COVID-19 vaccinations to tourists arriving and departing the state through four of its biggest airports starting June 1, Gov. Mike Dunleavy said Friday. “The idea is that we have access to vaccines, so why not use them? So this is what we’re saying to our tourists: If you come to Alaska — and this will start on June 1 — if you come to Alaska, you get a free vaccination,” he said. The vaccinations will be offered at the Anchorage, Juneau, Ketchikan and Fairbanks airports, said Heidi Hedberg, director of the Alaska Division of Public Health. (Brooks, 4/16)

WLRN 91.3: International, Out-Of-State Students Can Get Vaccinated In Florida 
Camila Gutiérrez, an international student at Florida International University, got an email this week offering her the COVID-19 vaccine. She immediately signed up. The native of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, rushed to do so because she hasn’t been able to get immunized against the deadly virus, despite the minimum age restriction dropping to 18 about two weeks ago. (4/16)

The Boston Globe: As Mass. Expands Vaccine Eligibility, Experts And Advocates Urge Greater Equity In Distributing Doses
As everyone in Massachusetts 16 or older becomes eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine Monday, health officials cautioned the state must do more to deliver doses to communities of color, which have been disproportionately hit by the pandemic. With appointments open to 1.7 million more residents, the state will reserve 20,000 appointments for communities of color for a week, starting Monday, at the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center mass-vaccination site, according to Governor Charlie Baker. A recent analysis found that Black and Latino communities have some of the lowest inoculation rates in the state. (Hilliard, 4/18)

North Carolina Public Radio: The VA Has Vaccinated Millions. Congress Is Asking It To Inoculate Many More
When it comes to getting its patients vaccinated, the Department of Veterans Affairs health care system has in many ways been out ahead of its counterparts responsible for inoculating the general population. In several regions, the VA already has opened vaccinations to all its enrollees, regardless of age or health status. (Price, 4/16)

KHN: Snag A Vaccine Appointment, Then Face The Next Hurdle: How To Get There?
The airport says a lot about Cortez, Colorado: The single-engine planes that fly into its one-room airport seat nine passengers at most. The city of about 9,000 is known largely as a gateway to beautiful places like Mesa Verde National Park and the Four Corners Monument. But covid vaccines have made Cortez a destination in its own right. “We had a couple fly in to get their vaccine from Denver that couldn’t get it in the Denver metro area,” said Marc Meyer, director of pharmacy services and infection control for Southwest Health System, which includes clinics and a community hospital in Cortez. Others have come from neighboring states and as far away as California, Florida and the Carolinas. “They all come back for their second dose,” he said. “Because it’s so hard to get in the cities.” (Bichell, 4/19)

KHN: The Shock And Reality Of Catching Covid After Being Vaccinated 
Robin Hauser, a pediatrician in Tampa, Fla., got covid in February. What separates her from the vast majority of the tens of millions of other Americans who have come down with the virus is this: She got sick seven weeks after her second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. “I was shocked,” said Hauser. “I thought: ‘What the heck? How did that happen?’ I now tell everyone, including my colleagues, not to let their guard down after the vaccine.” As more Americans every day are inoculated, a tiny but growing number are contending with the disturbing experience of getting covid despite having had one shot, or even two. (Findlay, 4/16)

In other news on the vaccine rollout —

AP: Celebrities Make A Stand For COVID Vaccines On TV Special
President Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama and a slew of celebrities including Billy Crystal, Jennifer Hudson and Lin-Manuel Miranda are part of a special aimed at boosting COVID-19 vaccination rates. “Roll Up Your Sleeves,” airing at 7 p.m. EDT Sunday on NBC, will feature Matthew McConaughey interviewing Dr. Anthony Fauci to help separate “fact from fiction” about the vaccines, the network said. (4/16)

Axios: Head Of World's Largest Vaccine Maker Urges Biden To Lift Export Ban On Raw Materials 
The CEO of the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest maker of vaccines, asked President Biden on Friday to lift a U.S. export embargo on raw materials for vaccines, saying it is hampering vaccine production in other parts of the world. Equitably producing and distributing coronavirus vaccines may be the defining global challenge of 2021 and a crucial step to controlling the pandemic, as prolonged unequal access to vaccines may allow the virus to spread and dangerously mutate in unvaccinated parts of the world. (Knutson, 4/16)

Also —

CNBC: 13-Year-Old In Pfizer Covid Vaccine Trial Who Wants To Be An Epidemiologist: ‘I Like To Learn Everything I Can’
Epidemiology is not high on your average teen’s list of hobbies. But it is for Andrew Brandt, a 13-year-old who lives in New Orleans and is enrolled in Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine trial for children. “When the pandemic started, it was sad because I did want to help people and I just kind of felt like I really couldn’t do that,” Andrew tells CNBC Make It. Finding the Pfizer trial for his age group felt like a tangible way to pitch in, and also fit his interest in science and medicine. (Stieg, 4/17)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Women Reporting Irregular Menstrual Cycle After Vaccination
It’s not listed as a side effect, but women are reporting having irregular menstrual cycles after getting the coronavirus vaccine. Dr. Katharine Lee, a postdoctoral scholar in the public health department at Washington University in St. Louis, noticed her first cycle after getting the vaccine was “different,” and wondered if she were the only one. She reached out to a few friends and colleagues, some of whom had also noticed something was a little off, too, Salon reported. (Clanton, 4/16)

The Washington Post: Coronavirus Vaccination Cards A Target Of Scams
One listing offered eBay customers an “Authentic CDC Vaccination Record Card” for $10.99. Another promised the same but for $9.49. A third was more oblique, offering a “Clear Pouch For CDC Vaccination Record Card” for $8.99, but customers instead received a blank vaccination card (and no pouch).All three listings were posted by the same eBay user, who goes by “asianjackson” — using an account registered to a man who works as a pharmacist in the Chicago area — and all were illegal, federal regulators say. The account sold more than 100 blank vaccination cards in the past two weeks, according to The Washington Post’s review of purchases linked to it. (Diamond, 4/18)

KHN: Journalists Unpack Patchwork Vaccine Rollout, Rapid Covid Tests And More
California Healthline correspondent Rachel Bluth unpacked California’s newly expanded vaccine eligibility rules and the state’s vaccine appointment website on KALW’s “Your Call” on Thursday. ... California Healthline correspondent Angela Hart discussed California cities’ experiment with city-managed homeless camps on KQED’s “Forum” on Thursday. ... Midwest editor and correspondent Laura Ungar joined a covid-19 reporter’s roundtable on Illinois Public Media’s “The 21st Show” on Wednesday. Ungar also discussed gender-based vaccine disparities with KCBS on Tuesday. (4/17)

CNBC: Covid: More Young People Hospitalized As More Contagious Variants Spread
Dr. Paul Offit, a physician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said he is now seeing more patients with a rare inflammatory condition, a complication of Covid-19, than he has ever witnessed since the pandemic began. In Texas, Dr. James McDeavitt, dean of clinical affairs at Baylor College of Medicine, said he and his colleagues are noticing a rise in admissions of young people with Covid-19, though he did not have hard data yet to back up the anecdotal evidence. (Lovelace Jr., 4/16)

SC Times: Younger Residents Fill ICU Beds In St. Cloud's Newest COVID Surge
As the city sees its fourth surge in COVID-19 cases, younger residents are filling the intensive care unit beds in the St. Cloud area, an upward trend physicians say is worrying. Over 70% of the ICU patients CentraCare is treating recently are under 65 years of age, and the main spreaders of the virus remain those in their 20s and 30s, said Dr. George Morris, CentraCare's incident commander for COVID-19 response. (Most, 4/19)

In other updates on the spread of the coronavirus —

The New York Times: Virus Surge Strikes Pennsylvania As Variants Spread Across U.S. 
Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are surging in Pennsylvania, as state officials warn of the impact of trends seen across the country: increased travel, relaxing restrictions and the spread of more contagious virus variants. Pennsylvania is reporting an average of 4,922 cases a day, up from roughly 2,515 a month ago, according to a New York Times database. Hospitalizations have also climbed by about 16 percent in the past two weeks. (Ngo, Ivory, Leatherby and Gebeloff, 4/19)

The New York Times: Colorado Officials Warn About Fourth Wave Of Covid Infections
Health officials in Colorado are warning about another wave of infections as new coronavirus cases in the state jump to levels not seen since January and as counties start to loosen virus restrictions. The state is reporting an average of 1,661 new cases a day, up by 18 percent in the past two weeks, according to a New York Times database. Hospitalizations have climbed by 19 percent in the same time period. (Ngo, 4/18)

The Hill: Whitmer: State Won't Close Down Again Following GOP Lawsuits 
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), indicated Sunday that her state would not implement new coronavirus-related lockdown restrictions in response to a spike in new infections due to Republican-led lawsuits last year that challenged her constitutional authority to do so. Speaking Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," Whitmer explained to host Chuck Todd that the lawsuits had left her without the ability to unilaterally implement new COVID-19 lockdown measures shutting down businesses in the state, which experts, including Anthony Fauci, have said is the best response in the face of rising infection numbers. (Bowden, 4/18)

Crain's Detroit Business: ER Doctors 'Manage Chaos' Amid COVID-19 Surge In Michigan
Emergency doctors and nurses in Michigan are seeing a massive increase in patients seeking care in hospital EDs, a mixture of ailments not seen before in previous COVID-19 surges. Some people are flocking to hospital EDs suffering from such traditional emergencies as stroke, chest or abdominal pain, visits which they might have tried to avoid last year. Others, those in their 30s or 40s, and some teenagers and children, are coming in with COVID-19 illnesses or symptoms, ED healthcare workers tell Crain's. (Greene, 4/18)

Also —

Fox News: New Hampshire Lifts Coronavirus Mask Mandate
New Hampshire’s mask mandate expired Friday after the state’s governor announced in a tweet on Thursday that it would not be renewed. Gov. Chris Sununu said the decision was made as the state’s rate of virus-related hospitalizations remains stable, vaccination efforts increase and COVID-19 deaths continue to decline. "This mandate going away will not limit or prevent the ability of private business or cities and towns from requiring masks, as was the case before," Sununu further explained. "New Hampshire residents know how to keep ourselves and our neighbors safe without a state mandate – just as we did before the winter surge." (Hein, 4/17)

CIDRAP: Study Notes 10% Of Marines Who Had COVID-19 Experience Reinfections
Previous COVID-19 infection did not completely protect young US Marines in a study led by scientists from the Naval Medical Research Center and published yesterday in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine. Of the 2,346 otherwise healthy quarantined Marine recruits studied from May 11 to Nov 2, 2020, 189 were seropositive, or had antibodies against COVID-19 in their blood, indicating previous coronavirus infection, while 2,247 were seronegative. (4/16)

Roll Call: CDC To Ramp Up COVID-19 Variant Sequencing 
The Biden administration will direct $1.7 billion to sequence the emerging variants of the virus that causes COVID-19, the White House announced Friday. New variants of the coronavirus make up about half of the current COVID-19 cases in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “The emergence of variants underscores the critical need for rapid and ongoing genomic surveillance,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky told reporters in a press briefing. (McIntire, 4/16)

Axios: The All-Purpose Disease Pathogen Test 
Faster and cheaper genetic sequencing can give us the ability to test for almost any infectious pathogen — provided we use it. Doctors never identify the causative agents of many infections, leading them to misdiagnose patients and even miss the early emergence of new diseases, but wider use of genetic sequencing promises a future in which no virus will be left behind. (Walsh, 4/17)

In other covid research developments —

CIDRAP: OCD Drug Spotlighted As Potential COVID-19 Treatment
Despite a highlight story on 60 Minutes last month, fluvoxamine, a drug typically used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), is still just a brief mention in the "cytokine inhibitors" section in the New York Times' "Coronavirus Drug and Treatment Tracker." For now, it makes sense. Fluvoxamine, a serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), has shown promise in two smaller studies, but larger trials have not been published yet. (McLernon, 4/16)

NPR: COVID-19 Antibody Drugs Are Tough To Deploy In Surges
Government officials are trying to figure out how to make better use of drugs that can keep people with COVID-19 out of the hospital. That's an urgent but daunting challenge in Michigan, where hospitals are struggling to keep up with a surge in new cases. Monoclonal antibodies can hold the coronavirus in check by mimicking the body's natural immune defenses. The drugs, produced by Regeneron and Eli Lilly, can keep people with mild to moderate COVID-19 out of the hospital and have emergency authorization for people over 65, as well as others with certain underlying health conditions. (Harris, 4/16)

USA Today: COVID-19: Monoclonal Antibodies Are 'Happy Pill' For At-Risk Americans
As of Wednesday, the government had bought nearly 1 million doses of monoclonals from the two companies that have authorized products, Regeneron and Eli Lilly, and has made them available to 5,800 sites across the country. Many hospital systems, particularly those in large urban areas, have adopted the drugs. Forty-three percent of the federally funded doses have been used in patients, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. The remaining doses sit on pharmacy shelves. Last month, the Biden administration announced a $150 million plan to improve access to the drugs, particularly among vulnerable people. (Weintraub, 4/17)

The New York Times: The Covid-19 Plasma Boom Is Over. What Did We Learn From It? 
Scott Cohen was on a ventilator struggling for his life with Covid-19 last April when his brothers pleaded with Plainview Hospital on Long Island to infuse him with the blood plasma of a recovered patient. The experimental treatment was hard to get but was gaining attention at a time when doctors had little else. After an online petition drew 18,000 signatures, the hospital gave Mr. Cohen, a retired Nassau County medic, an infusion of the pale yellow stuff that some called “liquid gold.” (Thomas and Weiland, 4/17)

The New York Times: Can Covid Research Help Solve The Mysteries Of Other Viruses? 
Barie Carmichael lost her sense of taste and smell while traveling in Europe. She remembers keeping a dinner date at a Michelin-starred restaurant but tasting nothing. “I didn’t have the heart to tell my host,” she said. It may sound like a case of Covid-19. But Ms. Carmichael, 72, a fellow at the University of Virginia’s business school, lost her ability to taste and smell for three years in the 1990s. The only respiratory infection she’d had was bronchitis. (Kolata, 4/17)

The New York Times: Biden Administration Ends Limit On Fetal Tissue Research 
The Biden administration on Friday lifted restrictions on the use of fetal tissue for medical research, reversing rules imposed in 2019 by President Donald J. Trump. The new rules, disclosed by the National Institutes of Health, allow scientists to use tissue derived from elective abortions to study and develop treatments for diseases including diabetes, cancer, AIDS and Covid-19. (Mandavilli, 4/17)

NPR: Biden Administration Reverses Trump Fetal Tissue Research Rules
Fetal tissue is uniquely valuable to medical researchers - useful for developing treatments and better understanding diseases like HIV, Parkinson's, and COVID-19. But many anti-abortion rights groups oppose it on moral or religious grounds. Now, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra says he's reversing several restrictions on fetal tissue research put in place during the Trump administration. (McCammon, 4/16)

Politico: Biden Administration Reverses Trump Restrictions On Fetal Tissue Research
The Trump administration, under pressure from allied anti-abortion groups, ended fetal tissue research at the National Institutes of Health and established an ethics board to review government support for the research at universities and other labs. The board, which was filled with critics of the research, met just once and rejected 13 of 14 projects that NIH scientists had deemed worthy of support. (Ollstein, 4/16)

KHN: The Great Undoing: Which Of Trump’s Policies Will Biden Reverse?
KHN has put together an interactive tool of significant health policies implemented by the Trump administration using its own authority — executive orders, agency guidance or formal regulations — and is tracking Biden administration and court actions. (Rovner)

In updates on HHS housing of migrant children —

ABC News: 'Unbearable' Conditions Push Biden Administration To Close Houston Migrant Center 
The Biden administration over the weekend shuttered a Houston warehouse that housed unaccompanied migrant children following allegations that the nonprofit organization running the site failed to provide adequate living conditions for hundreds of young girls, multiple sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) opened the warehouse early this month in response to the surge of migrants arriving at the southern border. (Vega, Kim, Bruggeman and Scholz, 4/19)

Houston Chronicle: Feds Abruptly Decide To Move Migrant Children From Emergency Shelter In Houston
Federal authorities on Saturday abruptly emptied an emergency shelter for unaccompanied migrant children, loading the 450 girls on buses and sending them to other facilities or placements with sponsors. Authorities gave few reasons for the sudden move, but it came just days after the Houston Chronicle reported that immigrant advocates were raising concerns about crowding and other conditions at the shelter, which was operating in a warehouse near George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Compounding the chaos was the sudden death Friday night of an adult staffer from the Department of Health and Human Services working at the shelter. (Serrano and de Luna, 4/17)

In updates on covid's economic toll —

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Monthly Child Tax Credit Payments To Begin Arriving In July
Monthly payments of a new child tax care credit provided under President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion pandemic relief law will start hitting bank accounts in July, the head of the IRS announced this week. Eligible families have the potential to receive up to $3,600 per child in the form of $300 monthly installments on top of the $1,400 stimulus checks and unemployment benefits that have already been doled out to millions of Americans still struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Lee, 4/16)

CNBC: Will There Be A Fourth Stimulus Check? What We Know So Far
As the IRS sends out the last of the third round of stimulus checks and tops off payments for millions of other Americans, some lawmakers are already pushing for a fourth check. ... The continued economic fallout from the pandemic is why a group of 21 Democratic Senators recently sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking him to include recurring direct payments and automatic unemployment insurance extensions in his long-term economic plan. The lawmakers, including Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Budget Committee Chair Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., argue that the third stimulus payment, a provision of Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan (ARP) signed into law in early March, would not last many cash-strapped families long. (Adamczyk, 4/16)

Houston Chronicle: Biden Administration Rescinds Billions In Medicaid Funding For Texas
A federal waiver granting Texas billions of dollars over the next decade to help cover emergency care for the uninsured was abruptly rescinded Friday, a move that could upend the state’s health care safety net and adds pressure on Republican leaders hesitant to expand Medicaid. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said in a letter that it had incorrectly allowed Texas to forgo the normal comment period when applying for an extension of its 1115 waiver, which reimburses hospitals in the state for uncompensated care. (Blackman, 4/16)

Modern Healthcare: Biden Admin Throws Out Texas Medicaid Waiver
The Biden administration on Friday unwound a 10-year extension of Texas' Medicaid waiver, arguing that the Trump administration should not have approved its more than $100 billion request without going through the usual notice and comment period. Texas asked CMS to fast-track an extension of its Medicaid waiver, which mostly covers uncompensated care costs, in November. At the time, the state said it needed an exemption from the usual public comment period to ensure financial stability for providers and the state's Medicaid program during the COVID-19 public health emergency. (Brady, 4/16)

The Washington Post: Trump Tried To Shrink Medicaid. Here's How Biden Will Try To Expand It. 
The Trump administration spent four years trying to reshape Medicaid to make it fit conservative priorities. But now the Biden administration is trying to pull it in a different direction. President Trump pushed states to weed out ineligible enrollees and greenlit work requirements in exchange for benefits. But President Biden – and, if confirmed, his nominee to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Chiquita Brooks-LaSure -- are expected to push to get more people on the Medicaid rolls. (Ellerbeck and Cunningham, 4/19)

In other Medicare and Medicaid updates —

Clarion-Ledger: Mississippi Investigating Medicaid Drug Services Provider Centene
The state auditor and Mississippi attorney general are investigating whether Centene Corp., as a provider of Medicaid drug services, failed to disclose discounts on pharmacy services, inflated dispensing fees and received reimbursements for amounts already paid. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost made similar allegations in a lawsuit. “Corporate greed has led Centene and its wholly owned subsidiaries to fleece taxpayers out of millions,” he said. “Centene has broken trust with the state of Ohio, and I intend to hold this company accountable for its deceptive practices.” (Mitchell, 4/18)

Modern Healthcare: Payers, Providers Clash Over Telehealth Reimbursement As Congress Mulls Changes
As members of Congress decide how to expand access to telehealth after the pandemic, one of the biggest questions has centered around how much Medicare providers should be paid for virtual care. While the rates Medicare pays for telehealth and in-person services are currently the same, that arrangement—along with several other CMS telehealth waivers—expires at the end of the public health emergency absent Congressional action. (Hellmann and Tepper, 4/16)

The Hill: Trump Looms Over Senate's Anti-Asian Hate Crimes Battle
Ninety-two senators voted last week to advance an Asian American hate crimes bill. But its passage likely depends on Democrats agreeing to soften language that Republicans say ties hate crimes too narrowly to the characterization of COVID-19 as the “China virus.” Even Republicans who voted to advance the hate crimes legislation sponsored by Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) see it as a jab at President Trump. The bill links his characterization of COVID-19 as the “China virus” to racist and hateful acts. (Boton, 4/18)

WHNT: Tuberville Puts Forward Amendments To COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, Asian Americans Ask For Apology
The COVID-19 Hate Crime Bill received major bipartisan support this week, but it will see some contention next week by six Republican senators, including Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville. Tuberville will introduce four amendments to the bill. ... The first amendment to the bill wants to protect public speakers so they can continue to say COVID-19 started in China. The second adjustment wants to ensure fraudulent COVID-19 hate crime accusers can be prosecuted. Thirdly, Tuberville wants the DOJ to see if strict COVID-19 protocols and hate crimes correlate. The 4th amendment to the bill wants anyone who comes forward with a COVID-19 related hate crime to register their race, ethnicity, immigration status, and political affiliation. (Fitzgerald, 4/16)

Los Angeles Times: Hate Crimes Against Asian Americans In L.A. More Than Double 
The Los Angeles Police Department documented 15 hate crimes against Asian Americans in 2020, more than double the previous year, according to a new study by the agency. The findings were included in a report submitted to the Police Commission this week that analyzed hate crimes and hate incidents against the Asian American and Pacific Islander community in L.A. last year. Seven hate crimes were reported against Asian Americans in 2019 and nine the previous year. (Miller, 4/17)

Axios takes a deep dive into racism and health care in this five-part series —

Axios: Structural Barriers Create Stark Racial Divide In Americans' Health 
A person without stable housing doesn't have a place to keep insulin cold. A person without a car may not be able to get to the doctor until it's an emergency. A low-wage worker is less likely to have health insurance, and therefore more likely to skimp on care they might need. The American health care system delivers far better results for white patients than it does for people of color, and those health disparities are in large part a reflection of broader social and economic inequality. (Baker, 4/17)

Axios: A Timeline Of Health Care Disparities
1492: Europeans arrive in North America, bringing deadly epidemics that spread to Native peoples throughout the continent. (4/17)

Axios: How Telehealth Can Narrow Racial Disparities 
Racial disparities have been a constant problem in maternal health care, from rising death rates to the threat of severe COVID-19 among pregnant women. But now experts are hopeful that telehealth can help narrow those disparities. It's not a complete solution to the racial barriers women of color face. But some experts are optimistic that telehealth — long-distance health care through videoconferences and other technology — can help reduce those barriers by offering flexibility in appointments and better access to diverse providers. (Fernandez, 4/17)

Axios: Rural Children Of Color Face Stark Health Care Inequalities 
Living in the nation's poorest, most rural communities can be a death sentence for African American and Native American children. Lack of health care and healthy food make Black and indigenous children in the nation’s most disadvantaged counties five times as likely to die as children in other areas of the country, the advocacy group Save the Children found after analyzing federal data. (Rummier and Contreras, 4/17)

Axios: People Of Color Are More Likely To Be Uninsured And Face Increased Risks For Chronic Conditions 
While the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed serious disparities in access to health care, those differences were baked deep into the American health system long before the coronavirus came along. These systemic disparities are partly why people of color are more likely to be uninsured and face increased risks for certain chronic conditions — and even have shorter life expectancies. (Owens, 4/17)

In other news about health care and race —

Stat: In Q&A, VP Harris Calls For Urgent Action On The Black Maternal Health Crisis
It’s an American crisis that was long ignored at the government’s highest levels: Black women in the U.S. are roughly three times more likely to die giving birth than white women. Now, breaking new ground for a vice president, Kamala Harris is calling for sweeping action to curb racial inequities in pregnancy and childbirth. “With every day that goes by and every woman who dies, the need for action grows more urgent,” Harris told STAT in an emailed interview. (St. Fleur, 4/19)

Fox News: Fauci Ties Gun Violence To A Public Health Issue
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top disease expert in the U.S., tied gun violence to public health in the country during an interview Sunday after a recent spate of mass shootings. Fauci was a guest on CNN’s "State of the Union," and the host, Dana Bash asked him his opinion on gun violence, which she described as "another epidemic" in the U.S. "When you see people getting killed, I mean, in this last month, it’s just been horrifying what’s happened. How can you say that’s not a public health issue?" (DeMarche, 4/18)

Indianapolis Star: FedEx Shooting: Indianapolis Trauma Doctors See Gun Violence Every Day
On Friday morning when Dr. Jennifer Hartwell awoke to news of a mass shooting at a local FedEx facility, she called some of her fellow trauma surgeons to make sure they were OK in the wake of tragedy that left eight dead and at least five wounded. Many said sure, they were fine; it was just another busy night. Mass shootings grab the headlines but for trauma surgeons an incident like the one last week at the FedEx Ground Plainfield Operations Center is unfortunately another example of the gun violence whose victims these doctors treat every day. (Rudavsky, 4/19)

A Peloton treadmill faces scrutiny —

CNBC: U.S. CPSC Tells Consumers To Stop Using Peloton's Tread+ Treadmill
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on Saturday said consumers should stop using the Tread+ treadmill from exercise equipment maker Peloton if small children or pets are around. The announcement came one month after Peloton itself disclosed an accident involving the treadmill that resulted in the death of a child. (Novet, 4/17)

The Washington Post: Peloton Fights With CPSC Over Recalling Its Treadmills After Child Deaths, Injuries
One month after revealing that one child died and others were injured in accidents on Peloton treadmills, the at-home exercise company is fighting a federal safety agency’s request that the company recall the products and has delayed the agency’s investigation into potential safety problems, according to officials familiar with the incident. The Consumer Product Safety Commission this week took the unusual step of issuing an administrative subpoena to require Peloton to disclose the name of the child who died and the family’s contact information so regulators can continue an inquiry into what went wrong, according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. (Frankel, 4/17)

In other public health news —

The New York Times: How Safe Are You From Covid When You Fly? 
More people are flying every day, as Covid restrictions ease and vaccinations accelerate. But dangerous variants have led to deadly new outbreaks, raising questions about just how safe it is to travel now. (Grondahl, Mzezewa, Fleisher and White, 4/17)

USA Today: COVID Travel And Stress: Airports Step Up Mental Health Assistance
Robin Hancock gently worked her steel tongue drum with a pair of mallets, producing a set of soothing, mystical tones. They blended with the soft sound of chirping birds and bubbling creeks pouring from a Bluetooth speaker. Her warm voice invited the two visitors in the dimly lit room to slip into a nature setting of their choosing. The 20-minute guided meditation took place at an unlikely location: Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, which until 2020 was the world’s busiest passenger hub. The airport interfaith chapel’s executive director, Blair Walker, introduced the meditation sessions last fall in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Ridderbusch, 4/18)

North Carolina Health News: Illness Can Turn Housing Instability Into Homelessness 
A freezing February rain pummels the hospital windows, but for once, it won’t reach Donna. The 52-year-old cannot remember the last time four solid walls and a roof protected her from the bitter Appalachian winter. The bacterial infection that brought her to the intensive care unit in the middle of the night weakened her, but Donna was well enough to appreciate the perks her illness bestowed. (Engel-Smith, 4/19)

Fierce Healthcare: Lyft Pass For Healthcare Lets Patients Book Their Own Rides To The Doctor 
Ride-sharing company Lyft is letting patients schedule nonemergency medical transport (NEMT) on health organization's dime with the launch of Lyft Pass for Healthcare. The latest healthcare offering falls in line with the initial Lyft Pass service launched in July 2020, which allows business organizations to monitor and cover the cost of employees’ transportation. Now, the company is extending those capabilities to healthcare organizations—commercial health plans as well as Medicare or Medicaid—and their members. (Muoio, 4/16)

Stat: American Hospital Association Loses Its Top Lobbyist At A Critical Time 
Tom Nickels helped build the American Hospital Association into one of the biggest lobbying forces in Washington. He was the industry’s dealmaker on every big health policy battle of the last 25 years, from the fight over the Affordable Care Act to the creation of Medicare’s drug benefit to the deficit reduction frenzy of the 1990s. And now — as the hospital industry stares down a newly empowered Democratic Party eyeing a litany of unprecedented health reforms — Nickels is retiring at 68. (Cohrs, 4/19)

Stat: Report Guides Pediatricians On Preventing Abuse Of Children With Disabilities
Children with disabilities are at least three times more likely to experience abuse and neglect compared to their peers, and a new American Academy of Pediatrics report underscores the role of pediatricians in preventing maltreatment and offers guidance on how they can support families. “I’m always struck by the numbers of kids that are abused, and how prevalent abuse [is] in the population of children with disabilities,” said Lori Legano, the director of Child Protection Services at NYU Langone Health’s department of pediatrics and the lead author of the report, which was published Monday in Pediatrics. (Sohn, 4/19)

Crain's Chicago Business: HCSC Execs Collect Pay Hikes At Blue Cross Parent
Top brass at Chicago-based Health Care Service Corp. got big raises last year, as health insurers emerged largely unscathed from the economic fallout of a pandemic that hammered other segments of the health care industry. The biggest winner was former board member David Lesar, who served as interim CEO of HCSC from July 2019 through May 2020. His total compensation surged 172% to $16.9 million. Paula Steiner, who left HCSC after stepping down as CEO in July 2019, pocketed $12.6 million last year. Maurice Smith, who took the helm last June, got a 63% boost to $5.9 million, while longtime board Chairman Milton Carroll's pay jumped 81% to $8.9 million. (Goldberg, 4/18)

AP: Officials Warn Of Possible Legionnaires’ Disease Exposure
State and local health officials are warning of a potential for Legionnaires’ disease exposure at a hotel in Missouri. Two people were diagnosed with the severe form of pneumonia after using the hot tub or the pool late last month while staying at a Comfort Inn & Suites in Macon, KMIZ-TV reports. (4/17)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Verdicts Tossed Vs. Paint Companies In Milwaukee Lead Poisoning Trial
A federal appeals court has thrown out a historic verdict against paint companies a jury found responsible for the lead poisoning suffered by three men who lived in old Milwaukee houses as toddlers. Those three cases were among about 170 lead poisoning cases filed after the Wisconsin Supreme Court's controversial 2005 ruling that expanded potential liability of lead pigment manufacturers and before the Legislature closed that avenue in 2011. The three cases were the first to go to trial. Jurors in the combined trial found three companies responsible for the brain damage and resulting life limitations endured by the three plaintiffs, and awarded $6 million in damages in 2019. (Vielmetti, 4/16)

Courier-Journal: Overdose Deaths In Kentucky Spike During COVID-19 Pandemic, Data Shows
In Kentucky, long plagued by high rates of addiction, overdose deaths rose by 50% from September 2019 to September 2020, compared to the previous 12 months, according to preliminary figures released April 13 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Kentucky had 1,956 overdose deaths over that 12-month period compared to 1,304 deaths the previous year, the CDC said, using preliminary data that could change. Indiana had 2,169 deaths in that period, a 32% increase. (Yetter, 4/19)

Capitol Beat News Service: Medical Marijuana For Georgians With Serious Health Issues Nears Reality
Medical marijuana is nearing reality for thousands of Georgians suffering from serious health conditions as state officials sift through applications for growing licenses and lawmakers recently paved the way for pharmacies to become dispensaries. A program years in the making to regulate the cultivation, extraction and distribution of low-grade marijuana oil is set to award licenses to six groups from among 70 applicants later this spring or early summer. (Evans, 4/17)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Touro University Nevada Gets $3M Gift For Autism Center
Touro University Nevada is getting a $3 million endowment gift for its autism center from the Middle Eastern nation of Qatar. The funding for the private Henderson university’s Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities will be used primarily for scholarships for Southern Nevada families who don’t have health insurance or can’t afford to pay for care at the center. The scholarships will be awarded beginning in June 2022. (Wootton-Greener, 4/18)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Nevada Bill Aims To Help Home Care Workers, Clients
The legislation would create a board of state health officials, disability advocates, workers and agency owners to examine the state of home care in Nevada and issue recommendations to improve the quality of care and the working conditions. The median hourly wage for personal care aides in the state is $11.07, according to the union. The bill also would enable workers to seek training and benefits such as paid sick leave, protective equipment and health care coverage to address the shortage of quality care that seniors and people with disabilities are facing in Nevada. (Erickson, 4/18)

AP: Food Boxes With Fresh Produce To Be Given Away In Jackson
Thousands of food boxes of fresh produce will be available for pick-up at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds in Jackson on Wednesday. The food is being provided as part of a federal program to support families who have lost income during the coronavirus pandemic. “A lot of our citizens are still struggling with health and loss of work as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson said in a press release. (4/18)

CIDRAP: H1N1v Flu Infects Wisconsin Child
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today reported a variant H1N1 influenza (H1N1v) case in Wisconsin, the third variant flu case to be reported for the 2020-21 flu season. In its weekly FluView report, the CDC said the child was not hospitalized and completely recovered. An investigation found that he or she had direct contact with pigs and that no human-to-human transmission was linked to the infection. The case is the first involving H1N1v to be reported in 2021. (4/16)

Axios: The State Worst Hit By The Pandemic
When the coronavirus pandemic hit, the job facing governments was to save lives and save jobs. Very few states did well on both measures, while New York, almost uniquely, did particularly badly on both. The jury is still out on whether there was a trade-off between the dual imperatives; a new analysis from Hamilton Place Strategies shows no clear correlation between the two. (Salmon, 4/19)

CNBC: China Is Starting Clinical Trials Of A Covid Vaccine That Can Be Inhaled
China’s CanSino Biologics will be starting clinical trials for a Covid-19 vaccine that is administered through inhalation next week, the company’s co-founder and Chief Executive Xuefeng Yu told CNBC on Sunday. Efficacy rates for China’s Covid vaccines have been found to be lower than those developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. Earlier this month, the director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control publicly acknowledged that Chinese vaccines “don’t have very high protection rates” and that they were considering giving people different Covid shots to boost vaccine efficacy. (Lee, 4/19)

Politico: Made-In-China Pills Come With Unwanted Side Effects For The EU 
What do you do when the country you rely on for your life-saving medicines is the one you consider your systemic rival? Every day, many tons of chemicals are churned out in Chinese factories, which are then processed and synthesized into the molecules that are the active ingredients for everyday drugs. They leave the ports on the country's eastern seaboard and journey thousands of kilometers in cargo ships until they reach Europe, where they're put into packaging and sent to hospitals and pharmacies across the continent. (Martuscelli, 4/15)

In other global coronavirus news —

AP: EU To Purchase 100 Million More Vaccine Doses
Pharmaceutical company BioNTech and its U.S. partner Pfizer say they will provide 100 million more doses of their coronavirus vaccine to the European Union this year. The two companies said Monday that the 27-nation group’s executive Commission exercised an option to purchase the additional doses, bringing the total number of shots to be delivered to the EU in 2021 to 600 million. (4/19)

Reuters: Canada’s Ontario To Expand Use Of AstraZeneca COVID Vaccine As Epidemic Rages 
The Canadian province of Ontario will begin offering AstraZeneca’s (AZN.L) COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday to people turning 40 or older this year, according to a government source. The change will broaden access to vaccines as a third wave of infections threatens to overwhelm hospitals in Canada's most-populous province, and should make it easier to use doses that in some cases have been accumulating at pharmacies. (Martell, 4/18)

CNBC: Covid: Chile's Coronavirus Cases Hit Record Levels Despite Vaccine Rollout
Chile’s vaccination campaign against the coronavirus has been one of the world’s quickest and most extensive, but a recent surge in infections has sparked concern beyond its borders. Almost 40% of the South American country’s total population have now received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, according to statistics compiled by Our World in Data, reflecting one of the highest vaccination rates in the world. (Meredith, 4/19)

Bloomberg: India Bans Oxygen To Most Industries To Meet Hospitals’ Demand
India has barred the supply of oxygen to many industries to meet rising demand from hospitals which are under pressure from a surge in coronavirus infections in the country. Clinical demand for the gas has increased to 60% of India’s production and is expected to rise further, the Ministry of Health said in a statement late Sunday. The nation reported a record 273,810 new infections on Monday. (Sanjai and Pradhan, 4/19)

Fox News: Israel Drops Outdoor Mask Mandate With 80% Of Adults Vaccinated
Israel has dropped its outdoor mask mandate as it closes in on total immunization of its adult population against the coronavirus, according to reports. Instituted almost a year ago at the start of the pandemic, Israel required masks outdoors for non-exercise activities. The mandate has ended as of Sunday. Israel hosts a population of 9.3 million, but the nation has aggressively pursued vaccination of its adult population: close to five million people – or around 80% of the adult population – has been vaccinated, according to Reuters. (Aitken, 4/18)

In travel updates —

AP: Australia-New Zealand Travel Bubble Opens With Joy, Tears
As the passengers walked a little dazed through the airport gates, they were embraced one after another by family members who rushed forward and dissolved into tears. Elation and relief marked the opening of a long-anticipated travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand at the Wellington Airport on Monday. Children held balloons and banners and Indigenous Maori performers welcomed the arrivals home with songs. (Perry, 4/19)

CBS News: Macron Says France "Finalizing" Plans To Ease Restrictions For Vaccinated Travelers
France is finalizing plans to lift restrictions for Americans traveling to the country who have received their COVID-19 vaccines, French President Emmanuel Macron said, as the nation grapples with another surge in coronavirus cases.  (Quinn, 4/18)

USA Today: In Our Push To End The Pandemic, Kids Cannot Be An Afterthought
Americans face a challenge of our own making on the path to herd immunity: our failure to properly consider the needs of children. While we can celebrate the fact that nearly 200 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the U.S., few of them, outside of clinical trials, have gone into the arms of children younger than 16. That’s why we need to recalibrate our expectations — and redouble our efforts — so that the tens of millions of children in this country are kept safe. (Richard E. Besser and Julie Morita, 4/19)

Los Angeles Times: How Long Haul COVID Could Offer Clues For Treating Other Puzzling Chronic Illnesses 
Shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, doctors began seeing puzzling symptoms in patients that lasted well beyond the initial infection period. These COVID-19 long-haulers suffered from distressing or debilitating problems months after supposedly recovering from the disease .On a Facebook support page for long-haulers, one person who had developed extreme fatigue said: “It was like I was chained to my bed. It seemed impossible to even think about getting up.” Another with brain fog shared: “I was cleaning my gutters and forgot where I was and what I was doing on the roof.” (Leroy Hood, 4/18)

New England Journal of Medicine: SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine–Induced Immune Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia 
The coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) stimulated the development of highly effective vaccines that were produced with unprecedented speed with the use of diverse technologies. No major safety warnings, other than rare cases of anaphylaxis, were reported in the initial trials, which involved tens of thousands of adults, and the risk of serious adverse effects has remained remarkably low after vaccination of more than 400 million people worldwide to date.1 It is not surprising, however, that new reports of adverse events have emerged as many additional people are vaccinated and follow-up is extended. For example, cases of immune thrombocytopenia and bleeding without thrombosis that were induced or revealed after exposure to the messenger RNA (mRNA)–based vaccines produced by Moderna (mRNA-1273) and Pfizer–BioNTech (BNT162b2) have been reported.2 (Douglas B. Cines, M.D. and James B. Bussel, M.D., 4/16)

CNN: There Will Be No Graceful Exit From The Covid-19 Pandemic
The vaccine rollout has given many Americans hope that the end of the pandemic is in sight and that we can finally pull the curtain down on our collective trauma. But even with the expanded distribution of the Covid-19 vaccines, it is increasingly apparent there will be no graceful exit from the pandemic, which has caused societal strife, high unemployment and growing inequalities, not to mention the deaths of more than 560,000 people in the United States. We also face the dire possibility that Covid-19 will become an endemic disease, like the cold or flu. (Mathew Burrows and Barry Pavel, 4/16)

Stat: U.S. Civil War Public Health Lessons Could Have Blunted Covid-19 
As the U.S. approaches 600,000 deaths from Covid-19, it is hard to fathom that this calamity pales in comparison to America’s worst outbreak of epidemic diseases during and just after the Civil War. From smallpox and measles to dysentery and typhoid, the Civil War, which lasted from 1861 to 1865, triggered an explosion of deadly epidemics on a scale never seen in the U.S., before or since. A million sick soldiers, newly emancipated ex-slaves, families caught in the crossfire, and hungry refugees died during the war, about 3% of the U.S. population. Two-thirds of these deaths were from disease. For comparison, it would take nearly 10 million Americans deaths from Covid-19 to reach the Civil War’s death toll. (Jonathan S. Jones, 4/18)

Newsweek: I Got The Johnson & Johnson Shot. Here's What I Need To Hear 
I was one of the last people in the U.S. to get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, breezing into Walgreens for my jab the day before federal health agencies called for a pause. I never thought twice about getting a coronavirus vaccine, but now I'm monitoring my 45-year-old female body for blood clots and feeling solidarity with vaccine hesitators. If public health officials want to build trust in people like me, they might start with these two words: I'm sorry. The words "I'm sorry" show contrition, humility and concern for individuals—attributes that public health officials would do well to demonstrate to a public primed to believe a lot of people in government are "drunk with power." (Kelly J. Kelly, 4/16)

Modern Healthcare: It's Time To Use The ACA To Broaden Access To Lower-Cost Drugs
The Affordable Care Act ushered in one of the greatest increases in healthcare coverage in U.S. history. Eleven years later, thanks to President Joe Biden and the sweeping pandemic relief bill, we finally have the first real expansion of the law's insurance coverage and Medicaid expansion. Despite this, we haven't realized the ACA's full potential when it comes to lowering drug costs. When I worked at HHS during the Obama administration, helping to implement the ACA, I met workers and families across the country deeply proud and relieved to finally have health coverage for the first time. Now, despite more than 70 congressional attempts to repeal the ACA and three visits to the Supreme Court, it is clear that the law provides necessary protections for Americans and is woven into the fabric of our society. While the ACA is most heralded for its expansion of access to affordable, quality healthcare, it also contained important provisions to lower drug costs. (Meaghan Smith, 4/16)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: The Single Policy Intervention That Can Improve Health For Moms And Babies 
As mothers and pregnant women, we know that the birth of a child is one of life’s most meaningful experiences. Yet in Pennsylvania, where there is no state-supported paid family leave program, most parents face an impossible choice: take leave without pay and stay home to care for a new baby, or return to work to earn the resources needed to survive, risking the health and welfare of a new infant. As physicians who care for women and children, we know that not having paid family leave has profoundly negative effects on the health and well-being of Philadelphia’s mothers and infants. A lack of paid family leave is associated with increased risks of postpartum depression and suicide, maternal and infant hospitalization, and infant death. We think a lot about our patient, who we’ll call Danielle. Danielle brought her baby in for a newborn visit at our pediatric office. When asked about her plans for feeding her baby, Danielle replied that she had to go back to work in two weeks, so although she knew the health benefits of breastfeeding her baby, she would be switching to formula. Danielle also had a C-section, but without paid family leave, she had no choice but to return to a physically demanding job long before her body could heal and recover. (Stacey Kallem, Aasta D. Mehta and Yuan He, 4/18)

Stat: The FDA Should Embrace Remote Inspection Technology 
While pharmaceutical regulatory authorities in other countries are employing creative ways like video-based remote inspections to fulfill their obligations to the public, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration remains committed to conventional on-site inspections. By September 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic had precipitated a virtual pause in drug inspections: Roughly 85% of inspections had been curbed within U.S. borders and 99.5% outside the country. (Patrick McLaughlin and Tyler Richards, 4/19)

The Boston Globe: The Chipping Away Of A Woman’s Right To Choose 
Between January 2017 and November 2020, 35 states passed 227 laws that restricted a woman’s access to abortion services. Seven states — Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio, and Utah — accounted for more than half of those laws. Abortion opponents are hoping that Donald Trump’s appointment of more than 200 federal judges, as well as three Supreme Court justices — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett — will help overturn Roe v. Wade. It is worth noting that all of these attempts to chip away and ultimately eliminate a woman’s constitutional right to make a private decision to end a pregnancy are being made in the absence of any statistics that abortions are becoming a more dangerous procedure or any other information that might justify a return to a national abortion ban. (Mary Ann Sorrentino, 4/16)

Houston Chronicle: Laws Decriminalizing Drug Paraphernalia Will Improve Texans' Health
One of the first patients I ever lost in my work as a paramedic died from complications of hepatitis C, a virus that attacks the liver. Years of viral insult had withered his liver into a hard, shrunken version of itself, and this was causing blood to back up into his throat. We worked as hard as we could, as fast as we could, and yet we failed that day. His blood showered over me, down my scrubs and into my shoes until my socks squished. That day was horrifying, but perhaps the worst part of it is that it was entirely preventable. (Claire Zagorski, 4/16)

The Baltimore Sun: Having A Mental Illness Is Not A Crime And Shouldn’t Be Treated As One
Police aren’t the ideal people to handle mental health crises, but often find themselves doing just that. They’re frequently the first deployed when families call 911 because someone in the home is suffering mental distress and is a threat to themselves and others. Unfortunately, sometimes these calls can go horribly wrong, like when police can’t de-escalate the situation and end up using force — sometimes lethal — to subdue someone. As police departments around the country face intense scrutiny in the wake of officer involved killings — like that of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota — many are looking at ways to reform their law enforcement methods. As part of that evaluation, police are increasingly acknowledging they don’t handle mental health calls as well as they could and are devising new policies and dedicating new resources to those types of calls. (4/19)

Scientific American: For Americans' Health, A Dollar Of Carbon Emissions Prevented Is Worth A Ton Of Cure 
In late February, the Biden administration made a major announcement that has the potential to affect the health of Americans for generations. Notably, it had nothing directly to do with COVID-19 or even health care reform. Instead, the news was that the recently reestablished “Interagency Working Group on the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases” had released a preliminary report on the federal government’s best estimate of the cost to society of continuing to burn fossil fuels. A final report is due early next year, but for now, the administration values a metric ton of emitted carbon dioxide at $51, methane at $1,500 and nitrous oxide at $18,000. These are the figures that will be used in calculating the costs and benefits of the administration’s climate policies, including measures to protect Americans from the health effects of the changing environment. (Timothy G. Singer and Frances C. Moore, 4/17)